Eye Drop News for Sjoggies

One of my fabulous readers let me know that Refresh Optive Advanced Sensitive is now available in a preservative free version.  I've been mourning the loss of Refresh Endura since Allergan took it off the US market almost three years ago.  

I haven't been able to find as perfect an eye drop match since then.  There are so many on the market and believe me I've gone through boxes of different brands trying to find something that made my dry eyes feel better.  As those with Sjogren's and dry eye conditions know, finding an eye drop that works is a very individual choice and what provides relief for one person might not for another. There is lots of trial and error involved.

Last year, I had tried the Refresh Optive Advanced Sensitive as I wrote about here.  While I initially liked how they felt, because they were not preservative free my eyes burned.  I eventually had to stop using them.  So when I heard the news about these new drops, I had to go to the drugstore to see if I could find these artificial tears. Lo and behold, there they were and I've been testing them for the last week.  They come in a box of 30 individual vials as pictured above. 

I've had much more luck with the preservative free version.  No burning and my eyes are definitely getting more relief than from some of the other artificial tears on the market. The drops are basically a combination of Allergan's Refresh Endura and Refresh Optive since they contain glycerin,  polysorbate 80, and carboxymethylcellulose sodium as active ingredients. These might just become my go to drops.

Which artificial tears do you find to be the most helpful?

Can My Eyes Really Get Drier?

Sahara Desert

Although I did not think it was possible, my eyes have actually gotten drier.  I guess we’ve moved from a regional desert to the Sahara.

Now, my eye history is long and complicated. My symptoms are made worse due to a previous corneal infection and subsequent scarring, which my doctors attribute to Sjogren's. I also have had uveitits, another serious eye condition which needs to be kept under control or can lead to vision loss. I also have seriously dry eyes, related to my Sjogren’s as well.

Last week, my eyes started to really bother me in a way I have come to associate with serious flares. I became extremely sensitive to light (again!, but it had been a while) and developed constant eye pain, to the point that putting in my usual preservative free drops in my eyes was quite painful.  My right eye became so uncomfortable that I had to use an eye patch just to watch TV. Looking at a computer screen was out of the question.

Generally, when I have a flare up, I put extra drops in my eyes. This time that made my eye hurt more, so I immediately became particularly concerned.

Early Sunday morning my husband I bundled up and trundled off to the emergency eye clinic, where my doctor wants me to go if anything out of the ordinary happens to my eyes.

The good news is that there was nothing requiring emergency care like a flare of my uveitis or an infection.  However, the doctor did notice that my eyes particularly the right eye was extremely dry to the extent that the layer that covers the front of the cornea or corneal epithelium had been effected. This extreme dryness she explained was why I could not put drops in my eye without pain; dryness this severe can feel like a corneal abrasion. Ouch! 

Of course, my blepharitis and ocular rosacea were also simultaneously in full force, which also contributes to eye discomfort. 

The doctor suggested using my nighttime eye ointment (my preference is Refresh P.M. Sensitive but there are a number available) frequently during the day to improve the lubrication, more warm eye soaks, and re-starting steroid eye drops. It was a bit of a surprise to me that my eyes could still be so dry given how much time and how many steps I take each day trying to keep them moist. I guess that is what happens with Sjogren's.

I thought I would share my daily growing eye care routine for my dry eyes and blepharitis.  

What do you do everyday to help combat your dry eyes?

~ Preservative free drops about 8 to 9 times a day.

~ Restasis 4 times a day as prescribed by my doctor

~ Steroid eye drops as prescribed by my doctor

~ Warm eye soaks 2 times a day.

~ Ocusoft lid cleanser

~ Preservative free nighttime eye ointment

~ Humidification every night for dryness

New Eye Drop: Refresh Optive Advanced

There is a new refresh eye drop available called Refresh Optive Advanced. My favorite eye drop, Refresh Endura, stopped being produced in the US in 2010 and I was in quite a pickle looking for an alternative. With other drops, nothing seemed to soothe my eyes as much as Refresh Endura which has active ingredients of Polysorbate 80 and Glycerin (1%).  I eventually found  that I was still able to order preservative-free Refresh Endrua from Canadian website www.well.ca (similar to sites such as www.drugstore.com in the US).  I order these in bulk every couple of months. 

It turns out that Allergan replaced Refresh Endura with Refresh Optive, which a wonderful blogger Sjoggie Stahmer recently wrote about in more detail. Refresh Optive's active ingredients are 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose and 0.9% glycerin. I did try these drops and did not find them to be as effective in alleviateing my dry eyes. So I was pleased to see a new Refresh drop at the drugstore called Refresh Optive Advanced.  It's active indgredients are really a combination of those found in Refresh Endrua and Refresh Optive: Glycerin (1%), Polysorbate 80 (0.5%), and Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium (0.5%).  Allergan advertises the drops as working on all three layers of the tears--the outer  lipid layer, the middle water or aqueous layer, and the bottom mucouid or mucuous layer.

The drops come in a bottle, not individual vials, which is an indication that they do contain preservatives.  I called Allergan and spoke with a medical representative to find out if Refresh Optive Advanced comes in a preservative free version or if there are plans to bring it to market soon.  As of now, these drops all contain preservatives and the representative was not aware if a preservative free version would become available. She recommended waitng 15 to 30 minutes before switching between different types of eye drops.  In my case that would be between the Refresh Optive Advanced and the Refresh Endura.

I do like the feel of the Refresh Optive Advanced, but when I did try to switch between them and Refresh Endura,  my eyes began to burn and sting.  I am not sure if this is a result of the preservatives in the Optive Advanced, but in my case it seems that I have to stick to one drop or the other to prevent that reaction.  Drops with preservatives can cause irritation, redness, and additional dryness for some patients.  I am hoping that Allergan will bring a preservative free version of the Optive Advanced to market.




*I have no relationship with any of the companies whose products are mentioned in this post*