Monday Musings on Being Prepared And MIEBO Drops Update
I spoke too quickly about spring being here and managed to bring back the cold and rain. My grandson had a baseball scrimmage Saturday night, and I assumed I would be warm enough with socks and a cozy sweatshirt jacket.
Being Prepared
It quickly became clear that I was seriously underdressed. Luckily, I’d tossed my parka in the car on the advice of my grandson, and I was thrilled to discover I’d left gloves in one pocket and a hat in the other.
You can’t see my teeth chattering in this glamorous photo, but I did freeze my tail feathers off. The temps were only in the low 50s, but the wind was howling which made it feel so much colder. I finally resorted to sitting in the car for the last 20 minutes of the game. I’ll be more prepared next time.
Miebo Drop Update and Buying It For Less
I’ll apologize in advance for this, but the more I dug into this issue, the angrier I became.
Last week, I shared my struggle with dry eyes and the absurdly high price of the Miebo Eye Drops I was prescribed by my physician. Many of you shared your own struggles with DED(dry eye disease), and what you’re using. Several readers came to my rescue and let me know that the exact same formula has been sold over the counter for years at a fraction of the cost…so I began researching it.
In a 2023 news release, Bausch + Lomb Corp announced the commercial launch of their single ingredient, perfluorohexyloctane ophthalmic solution, as the first and only prescription eye drop approved for DED that directly targets tear evaporation. That statement is true at face value but rather misleading.
According to Ophthalmology Times Europe, Miebo is a brand name for perfluorohexyloctane, which is also sold under the brand names EvoTears and Novatears in other countries. Novatears have been available without a prescription in Australia and New Zealand since 2013. EvoTears has been available over the counter in Europe since 2015. You may be able to Google and find them from a company that will deliver to the US.
Without insurance, Miebo is in the $925.00 range for 3ml in the USA, which is a one-month supply. With my co-pay, it’ll cost me $411.00. I’m annoyed that it’s taken the FDA over 12 years to approve this medication. With over 38 million Americans struggling with dry eyes, it should not have taken them this long to approve it. And why are they allowing Bauch+Lomb to charge us and our health insurance companies such an exorbitant price?
Currently Reading/Listening
I’ve been listening to Courtenay Carver’s latest book, Gentle. The premise is quite simple. It’s about taking better care of ourselves and prioritizing self-care. I can never hear these messages too often, and I’m really enjoying it.
Outfit of the Week
This week’s outfit of the week is a classic as it gets with a cropped trench coat, cashmere polo sweater, 4 season stretch pants, cap toe flats, a camel saddle bag, some hammered gold hoops, and a brightly colored bandana.
Travel Plans
My husband and I have been discussing where we’d like to travel to this year. We’ve been trying to have an out-of-the-ordinary adventure each year because if not now, when? We’ve tossed the African Safari idea around, as well as a tour of Southeast Asia.
I had to buy tons of things for our trip to Svalbard and the Arctic Cruise last May, which was amazing! Where are you traveling this year? Are you needing to buy special clothes for your trip?
Thanks for reading, and be sure to wear what makes you feel confident and brings you joy!
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Send a letter to RFK Jr! He is working on many issues with big pharma as they have the highest paid lobbyists in the US. Many politicians are on the big pharma dole. I enjoyed this rant, thanks for sharing.
I’m wondering if the 100 ml price is analogous to the US price? The 3mls price is equivalent to about a teaspoon. I wonder if that’s all you’re getting for $20.
The ones I found are all 3ml. Did you find one that is 100mls?
Don’t get me started on Big Pharma……
But as for travel: African safari had been on my bucket list ever since I saw a coworker’s photos in the late 1980s. But hubby is a more cautious traveler than I am. We didn’t go until 2017 and then did Tanzania and Kenya. Hubby now says it was the best trip he ever took. We used a travel company based in Johannesburg South Africa, and absolutely everything was customized and carried out on schedule. If you’d like any info about the travel agency, you can email me.
That sounds amazing! My daughter loved her safari! I’m trying to talk my husband into it 🙂
We know several couples in which one wants to do a safari and the other is afraid. As my husband was. What finally made him change his mind, a couple we knew were going on a safari, and they knew that I wanted to do one but hubby did not, and there was a single woman on their tour who needed/wanted a roommate. So hubby knew I was prepared to go without him……..
Way to go, Sheila!
I’m gearing up for baseball season and soccer season with my grandsons. This time of year in the NW can go either way. It’s either winter coats, hats and gloves or a lightweight jacket. I’ve learned to just bring everything!! I feel your pain about the expense for eye care. I get prescription Restasis and it is very pricey. Our Medicare advisor recommended a mail order pharmacy in Canada. That has helped. In fact I was just at the eye doctor and he gave me a sample of Ivizia for dry eyes.
I’m happy to join you in your dissatisfaction about prescription medication. During the past year, I’ve been prescribed many different meds for a dermatological condition. The last two cost over $1,000 per bi-weekly injection. I think that researching the prescriptions for ourselves is really important, and I’ve found that pharmacists are very helpful sources for information.
On a happier topic, I’m planning a trip to Japan for this fall, which has been on my bucket list for a while. I went to Morocco last year, which I loved.
I loved Japan and would go back in a heartbeat! Morocco is now on my bucket list 🙂
Hello Jennifer, I’ve been using Tyrvaya and Restasis and find the combo to work well – I also add Systane drops twice a day to mitigate the temporary stinging of the Restasis. But for me, what’s really helped is spending less time on my computer; the damage that computer work was doing to my eyes was one of the reasons that I retired from teaching at the end of last semester. As a blogger this may not be an option for you, though!
Regarding the Miebo, which I was using a few months ago, one of my ophthalmologists told me that she was not a fan because its main ingredient is a ‘forever chemical’ and that I may want to reconsider using it. I didn’t follow up on this because I had stopped using the medication (the combo of the two I’m using now just worked better), but you may want to investigate.
The Tyrvaya sounds fascinating. It’s a unique approach to dry eye. I’m happy to hear that combo is helping you. Yes, the computer is a real problem for my dry eyes. By forever chemical, do you mean a health concern? I’ve only read that is doesn’t break down so it doesn’t need preservatives or grow bacteria.
Dry eyes are a constant in my life. Everything that I love to do in retirement only aggravates dry eyes. Every year I see my eye doctor and every year he says that I have very dry eyes and writes down two over the counter artificial drops that I have used for years. He tells me they work just as well as Restasis and every year I insist on a prescription for Restasis. Then I supplement the Restasis with the otc drops and warm compresses. I have learned more from your blog than I have ever heard about from him or any other eye doctor. At my exam last month he told me that my cataracts are going to have to come out next year and that my dry eyes will be worse than ever. What is the use of having the cataracts removed if my vision will still be blurry because of the effects of my dry eyes. That is my rant of the day.
I’m so sorry you have to have your cataracts removed. I never had laser vision corrective surgery because of the resulting dry eyes. DED is painful too!
So sorry you’re having such trouble with dry eyes. I have glaucoma and had a terrible time getting drops in my eyes rather than on my face. I had a laser procedure done and so far I don’t need the drops to control pressure but I also have dry eye so I saved an article from e-Gleams about aids for administering drops. They listed Autodrop, Autosqueeze, NanoDropper & GentleDrop. I’d love to know where you decide to go for this year’s adventure. New Zealand & Australia are on our bucket list but aren’t sure how we could handle the long flight at 74 & 77, especially since we’re on the East coast.
Those sound interesting, thanks for letting me know. Yes, those long flights are tortuous for me because I struggle with jumpy legs. LOL, I seem to have lots of issues but I am grateful for what I’ve got.
Thanks for the info re Miebo drops and the links to where you found EvoTears. It absolutely infuriates me that the FDA took over 12 years to approve this drug and that the cost is super expensive. Really??? They manage to sell it in all these other countries for a fraction of the cost!
Exactly my thoughts.
I’m in Australia and just looked it up and Novatears is $26.99, that’s Australian dollars, so less in US dollars. Interesting how it took then 12 years to approve, yet Covid vaccine rolled out in a year or less.
The weather is so changeable this time of year. You never know when the temp will drop or wind pick up! The trench is cute as a jacket, but when it rains, especially with wind, I want my tail feathers covered.
We are hoping to do a little travel this year, but where? That is absured about the eye drops…so frustrating…
Jennifer, I always love the outfits you share. I feel your angst about the price of some drugs. I have a migraine med that’s over $800 a month. Hang in there and keep doing your research!
Oh no! I’m so sorry you get migraines. They are horrific!!
Hi Jennifer, that’s very annoying about your dry eye medication. Hope you are able to get them from the German sites, and that shipping is not too much! (I do love it when you have a good rant though, because it’s probably about something that would annoy me too!)
In a year’s time my husband and I plan to travel to New Zealand and possibly Australia. We had booked a cruise from Auckland to Sydney, but have decided to cancel. With the money we can hopefully have a nice road trip holiday on our own – we’ll do 2 weeks in New Zealand and then perhaps fly to Sydney and explore that area. Last year we did a cruise from Tokyo to Seoul, spending a few days in Tokyo beforehand (we’ve been before) and 5 days in Seoul afterwards. It was a good way to see something of both countries.
I was just thinking – your grandson is a tween, isn’t he? I remember reading here when he was born, that’s how long I’ve been following you. Keep up the good work!
Your trip sounds amazing!! He’s a very tall 11 now. Almost taller than I am 🙂
Greedy pharmaceutical companies!! Such a disgrace that it’s always about money. I’m glad you found an alternative.
That was exactly my sentiment. It’s not as though B+L “discovered” this
Medication through years of expensive research.
Sorry you’re under the weather but your outfit sure was chic! As a scout leader I’ll tell you they the same temps out in the “open” are much colder than around buildings especially if it’s windy and especially if you’re sitting. I find a beanie hat is key to my being warm (you lose a lot of heat from your head and a ball cap doesn’t cover ears) and I keep one (and gloves) in the car. Until May! I bust out my long puffer for 50 degrees at a game or campout. The best way to warm up is to move around. Walk those sidelines! And eat/drink something warm.
You’re so right! I got up to move around but it was too late. By that time, I was already chilled to my bones and it took a long time to warm up. If my puffer had been longer it would have helped a lot too. You’re a smart cookie Shari!
I keep handwarmers in my car.
Very smart
Normally you cannot “cure dry just by using drops. I went to a leading authority on dry eye Dr. Arthur Epstine. He unfortunately died last year. He had lecture around the world on this topic. He first had me taking fish oil, not any OTC fish oil, but PRN De3. You should be able to get it thru a dry eye specialist. Drops never worked for me so then I had IPL done. It works the same as if you were having IPL to reduce any wrinkles on you face. You have one treatment every month for four months. The frequency they use for this is much lower that what one uses to treat wrinkle. The side advantage to this is that it does reduce the appearance of wrinkles and sun spots. You may want to check this out. I Am sure if you google his name, you will find more information. His practice was in Phoenix, AZ.
I have read about IPL for around the eyes and asked my eye Dr last week who had no idea of it worked. Do you wear shields and over your eyes? Did it hurt? I found it pretty painful on my face.
I want to suggest that you should find another eye doctor. There is a lot more to do than what your doc is suggesting. I recommend finding a dry eye specialist. Ones that offer IPL ,usually have the experience and training to treat dry eye. Find a doctor that listens to you.
The sad thing is this Dr specializes in treating dry eye! I will be asking around for a new one. Thanks
I have had IPL both around my eyes and directly on the eyelids. For IPL on the eyelids, they place metal shields directly on your eyeball. Then do maybe 3 zaps across your the top of your lid and across the bottom. It doesn’t hurt , it is more the very bright light that freaks me out. It is over very quickly. Or they can do in around the eye, they put a patch over the eye, which is much easier, but the results are not the same.
Thank you Elizabeth. I’ll ask my dermatologist about this because I know they’re offering it.
We are traveling to Cape Town, South Africa in May to visit our son and family. They have lived there for 1 1/2 years. It will be our first trip. I would love to see what you would pack! It will be late autumn and rainy there. I have tried to research a bit, and all I find are suggestions for packing for a safari. Although we will do this, most of our trip will be in the city and visiting vineyards!
Hope your eyes are feeling better.
If you’re going to be visiting vineyards etc, I would check the temperatures, and pack as though I was going to Napa.
Thank you so very much for the information on dry eyes. I have ordered one bottle!
I hope it helps you!
Hi , if you go to SEAsia don’t forget to go to Luang Prabang in Laos. One of the most amazing places in Asia- so quiet no traffic in the main town. I’ve been twice and going a third time as part of my Asian holiday.. Also don’t forget to visit Oz . Only to help with ideas Robyn
Sounds wonderful Robin. I’ve always wanted to visit Australia!
Can understand your annoyance about the eye drops. It is same with Ventolin puffers, $9 (Aust) at chemist here, no prescription needed, but around $60 in the USA (not sure if script needed). Am travelling to Paris, Vienna, Florence in September, but no need to buy new clothes for the trip, except for new walking shoes. Difficult choice between a safari and south east Asia, but friends and relatives say Vietnam is really a beautiful place to visit.
Belated comment about drops for dry eyes – in UK there is an artificial tears product sold generically as Hypromellose, at a fraction of the cost of branded drops. Pharmacists are reluctant to sell it ( no commission as with branded drops?). I get mine via an internet search, saves £££’s and is every bit as efficient.
Might this be available in USA?
I will check it out, thanks! This reminds me of the time my dentist prescribed a super strong dose of ibuprofen for a root canal. I asked why I couldn’t just take multiples of the over the counter version to get the same dosage and she said there was no reason I couldn’t.