The Schedule

Charlie’s schedule is a little easier… now that his tear production has (greatly) improved:

Each instillation is 1 drop/ both eyes…

Tacrolimus: once daily (evening). Previously twice a day.

Systane: two- three times a day…Dr Wolf suggested instilling the systane 5 min before the tacrolimus. As a matter of fact, Dr Wolf suggested using the lubricating drops frequently during the day.

Puralube (or genteel) ointment: twice a day… the puralube is warmed (NOT HOT) slightly to make instillation easier. This is done last.

Charlie is so compliant and accepting of this routine. I’m sure that his eyes feel so much better now that they are lubricated. Both eyes even look better… no longer dull and dry in appearance.

Dr Wolf explained that PK is like “going muddin’ with your windshield wipers broken”. We are trying to save the vision that remains.

*Side note* (I’m an ophthalmic nurse… for humans) you should wait 5 minutes before instilling each eye drop to insure that the subsequent drops do not roll out of the eye, therefor becoming ineffective. We use this time as our “lovin’ on Charlie” time!

God’s Blessings!

Judi - Wow that is some schedule.  It is great that Charile is such a good boy at taking his drops.  It certainly does make things a lot easier.

Heather - Sure thing.  I’ll add an update over the weekend for what each drop does.

For all of you who have pugs with eye problems, thank goodness your puggies found good mommas to take such good care of them. God bless you and your pugs!

For those of us fortunate enough to have no eye issues, is there anything we should be doing to preserve eye health?  I’ve never realized it was such a common problem.

Heather… it’s truly not as confusing as it looks. Once you actually start the schedule, it becomes routine.

And… the results are WELL worth the effort. Just knowing that Charlie’s eye are less painful (dry eyes can be quite uncomfortable)is a big incentive to continue the treatment. Saving his limited vision is the “icing on the cake”!

Pug hugs!

I agree with Martha—I am so blessed to have 2 pugs with no eye issues.  And to those parents of pugs with eye problems, God bless you for spending the money and taking the time to do whatever you can to help your pugs and their eye sight.

Hi Judi -

Thanks for the info.  I’m not intimidated by the schedule at all..I’m very familiar with the routine and thank goodness Mr. Baxter tolerates it as well as he does, just like Charlie.  They sure are troopers…A blessing for sure!

We do see a specialist, a dog opthalmologist and have since Bax first started with his eye problems way back when.  Same animal hospital his neurologist is in.  Yes, my pug has an opthalmologist AND a neaurologist.  He had cervical spine surgery a few years ago.  The things they can do nowadays…it’s truly amazing.  We call him our bionic boy.

Blessings and prayers for all of the puggies.

ObP,

Was Luna a rescue from a puppy mill or just mean people? 

Is it more common to see eye problems with pugs that have been mistreated or are pugs in general more susceptible to eye issues?

She is so tiny and cute, nice pose!

Heather

Thank you,  I am a worry wart in general so I am always afraid Brandy will have issues. But if it happens we will do what it takes so she will be comfortable,  she is our child since our son and daughter grew up

Wow, what a schedule.  Oh, since you travel all of the way to maitland… You should go a little farther South and visit Friends of Fleet Peoples Park. 

http://www.ffpp.org/

This is our favorite dog park to visit in Central Florida.  I hope that your pugs get a chance to check it out.

Hi Heather and everyone!

I was referred to this site because my Baby Maru has severe dry eyes.  He was on Optimmune for a year with no improvement.  Then we started Tacrolimus and NeoPolyDex with some improvement.  I saw an opthamologist last week, and here is our new eye treatment schedule:

Tacrolimus—both eyes twice a day.

NeoPolyDex—both eyes twice a day.

OptixCare—both eye EVERY HOUR.

The new ointment OptixCare has been working wonders thus far.  His eyes are clearer and glassier.  And for the first time in a LONG time, we can actually see the whites around his cornea.

The eye vet wants us to continue with this treatment for about 4 months.  But in the meantime, she wants us to consider a surgery called Parotid Duct Transposition, wherein a salivary gland is directed to the eyes so that the saliva can assist with the eye lubrication.  Do any of you have any expeirience with this procedure?

Thank you for any comments that you may have.

Thanks Karen!

Fortunately, my husband’s work shedule allows for us to do the hourly treatment, except for 2 days during the week.  And per the eye vet, this should be ok as long as we do as much as we can when one of us is home.

It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought.  I started wearing my sports watch at home, which beeps every top of the hour.  And Maru quickly learned that when he hears the beep, its ointment time, so he sits on the couch with his head up wainting for me to do the treatment.  He’s such a good boy!