little dog dry eye problems

[bella300]

I joined this forum after surfing the net for solutions to extreme dry eye for a little dog.   She has repeatedly been to the vet, and has been treated somewhat sporadically for this condition.  Unfortunately I rely on pet sitters to administer the meds because my job as a flight attendant keeps me gone half of the month.  I have had a revolving door of pet sitters here because the larger percentage could not administer the optimmune gel and now she is still on that with  on the steroid/ combo Opthalmic-Neo/Poly/Dex.   My last pet sitter did not administer the meds, and worse, did not tell me.  So, in between my trips I noticed a deterioration but the pet sitter never admitted the problem.  The one prior did and I replaced her with a "vet tech" who did not admit her failure.  Only after 6 weeks did she shyly admit it.  By then, the poor little door had an emergency situation that was only resolved after hundreds of dollars,  With me, she is a good little patient but lets me know she does not like drops (hates drops) and will quickly tolerate the gels.  So the recommended compound optimmune of a higher concentration is not feasible unless anyone knows of a pharmacy that can do a higher concentrate of the Optiimmune in a gel ?

On this sight I discovered the Bio Tears recommendation, and I just ordered the human formula since the vet formula is no longer available online?   My question is:  what would be the dose for a 16 lb dog?  I saw the post here with the link but the link does not lead to the dose menu.  My take on this is that for veterinarian purposes for some reason these supplements are no longer being marketed.  No surprise there.  It seems like anything inexpensive in the herbal supplement format will be regulated by the big machine works of the medical fields/FDA.  

Also for the pet parents here concerned about this condition, I also ordered a formula of Chinese herbs from Pawhealer/Clawhealer and after I receive and use will come back to report.

Glad to be on this forum.   It is hard to find info on the dry eye for dogs.    

[bella300]

well, it has been 2 years now!   Maggie still has dry eye and is more compliant with drops.   She is 14 and has developed kidney issues and sometimes I wonder if it could have been a side effect of the cyclosporine in the optiimune.  I also have another older dog with kidney problems with no probable source.   I still use the Optiimune and genteal.  Her sight is dimming quite a bit and sees very little.   But I am glad she still sees a little.   One vet did want to remove her eyes.   Could not imagine that!   She has been a very happy rescue dog and have had her now for 3 years.   Sorry for the delay in answering!

[rickki6]

hello. new to this forum and have been reading about dry eye which my 6 month old female lab pup has. Ive been in the same boat, meds, vets, etc. thinking of changing her food and going herbal. wondering how the herbs are working or have worked from reading above?  thanks in advance

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi Bella....
How are things going with the Alternative Therapies?
Connie

[bella300]

dry eye therapy alternatives.

I want to thank the posters here on MedHelp to help me find a possible solution to the veterinarian conventional menu treatment for dry eye.  I have been through the loops at the vet's office: the Tear Test, glaucoma test, the prescribed optiimmune, the antibiotic/steroid combo, the eye drops (my little dog hates drops....) the suggestions for surgery for the tear duct deviation, the possible removal if all else fails, etc...My problems were compounded because I am not here to administer all of this every day:  I travel for a living.  But prior to coming to this forum I did order some chinese herbs which based on the balance of the body addresses major organ cleansing and immune system boosters.  Chinese medical treatments have been around hundreds of years prior to the quick jobs of conventional Occidental med treatments, so I thought I would give it a try.  My herbs for the little dog arrived yesterday and gads....they taste bad!  I had some small gel caps and filled those up (an alternative was to have the manufacturer cap the herbs for 10 bucks extra.  I went the cheap route knowing I could do it myself.   I gave one to her yesterday, and even though the label suggests two times daily I am going to start her off on one time daily to see if she gets gastric upset or diarrhea etc.  Like I say, the taste was bad.  Later this week if all goes well I will up the dose to the two time daily as instructed.  In the meantime she is still on all the conventional gels of optiimune, Neo/Poly/Dex (antibiotics/steroid) and lube gels (Genteal)
The Bio Tears that was recommended here on Med Help is now on its way and I called the company and they actually did manufacture the veterinary formula but has discontinued the product.  The rep did give me the recommended dose:  
under 10 lbs:  1 tab every other day
over 10lbs (my dog is 16 lbs)  1 time daily.

Probably higher for bigger dogs.

I am hoping on hope and wings and prayers I get some help for this.

If anyone has questions, I am here to answer.

thanks......

[bella300]

Thanks Connie,
The hardest part for me is being gone all the time for my job and to find a pet sitter to help to treat the little dog.  I finally did locate a pet sitter who after much practice can now apply the gels.  But I can only afford two visits a day.  She had finally mastered the gel applications of optiimunne and the genteal lube smears   The little dog will not under any circumstances tolerate drops.  If she does, it is from me ant it takes me a long time, and I have to trick her.  I have ordered some supplements as mentioned above in my first post, and will report on their effects soon.   Thanks for responding, Connie.

[TwoBitsMom]

Hi Bella300....
I am is somewhat of a rush, so I will not be able to give you a long lengthy reply, but I can tell you that I had a dog with dry eye. If your sitters are having difficulty applying the ointment into the eye, I do know that you can get optiimune in eye drop form. ( cyclosporine drops )  In addition to the optiimune, you can also purchase over the counter eye drop lubricants. These can be given several times a day, in addition to the optiimune.  If you give Optiimune...you need to wait about 5 or 10 minutes before using the over the counter drops.
I was told from and eye specialist that Genteal Brand drops are the best ones to use, because unlike other brands, the eyes won't build up a immunity to them.  I was using Optiimune and Systane Drops for my dog,
but switched to Genteal, and it seemed to work better.
I have not heard about Bio Tears....sorry.
If you want to try another web search for dry eye,  try using the medical term for the condition which is.... Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca

Best wishes...Connie