What eye drops shoud I use?

[nipanddale]

Hey all-
I've been recovering for about a month now. I'm feeling pretty good; I almost look sober when I walk! My smile is still shaped like a triangle, and the surgery side of my face still feels "dead".

I'll get to the point:  the eye on my surgery side still dries out a lot. Norma thought it best to continue using the Refresh brand drops they gave us st St. Vincents, but I don't want to pay $15 a box, only to run out in two or three days. (I suspect when you buy the single doses you're paying for the plastic thingies, not the drops.)

I bought a bottle of the Refresh tears and gel stuff last night, but they seem to work less effectively. I put them in, and I'm fine for about an hour, but I feel like I have to apply them much more frequently.

P.S.: How long until I can sleep on my surgery side? I don't sleep on my back, and my other side is getting sore.

P.P.S.: How the heck do you change the photo on your postings?

Health and happiness to all!

Dale

[DeniseSmith]

Dale,

I use Systane, however, its not cheap either.  I don't buy the individual vials, because they seem to go too fast.  I do find as I get further out from my initial surgery I am using them less and less.  My eye waters on its own from time to time, to that my budget for eye drops has dropped considerably.  Also, when I go to the eye dr. we ask for sample and they always give me a bunch of bottles.  You might try that when you are at the eye dr.

Denise

[Cheryl R]

You can use what ever brand you want and it does sometimes take experimenting to see what works best for you.    The Refresh tears probably aren't the thing if you have pretty dry eye but I do use the Refresh liquigel and like it.     I use the bottle version and have multiple bottles as have to carry one in my pocket at work and always have some in my purse.   Target doesn't seem to be carrying the smaller bottle now but Walmart still does.                 I tried the Genteal version of the liquigel type and it doesn't work at all for me.              I had my facial nerve severed and a nerve graft put in so dry eye may always be in my future.   
     Good luck in your continued recovery.                         Cheryl R.

[amymeri]

I use plain saline in indidual vials (you can get 100 3mL vials for $20 at the pharmacy and it lasts for a couple months because I use a vial a day).  At night or whenever I tape my eye because it is feeling so irritated I use Lacrilube or GenTeal Gel (in a tube) which is a big relief.

Don't use anything with a preservative.

You can go to bellspalsy.ws for lots of good information about facial paralysis and eye care.  For me the eye care has been the hardest and most time consuming part of this.

Amy

[Raydean]

I've been using eye drops for about 9 years now.  I've tried them all.  You gotta try Long Lasting Tears Naturale Forte Lubicant eye dropss  by Alcon, the same people that make Systane.  Price is pretty good.  under $9.00 a bottle. But what I like is it keeps the eye moister for longer periods of time then other products, without the big oily feeling.  I wake up with little or none of that gunky eye stuff in the AM, nor is my vision blurred when I use it..  I give this product a thumbs up.

As mentioned in another posting, hit your Doctor up for samples.  This way you can try different types plus it's nice to have an extra something around, or in glove box as a "just in case".



Best to all
Chet