Ointments, ointment, ointments...
one of those necessary evils for so many people!
I've been hearing from a lot of people who are concerned at not being able to find Refresh PM, or at least not for an accessible price.
Yes, Refresh PM as well as Refresh Lacri-Lube are on backorder at the manufacturer and have been for some months now, so the wholesalers are running out and many retailers are completely out.
Yes, the Amazon and eBay scalpers are out in force as usual.
Lacri-Lube is easier to find than Refresh PM.
No, so far as I know, neither product is being discontinued. I've learned the hard way not to be too adamant when I say that! Because, you know, that's what I said the first couple of times someone asked me if Unisol 4 was being discontinued, back in mid 2015. ("Of course not!" followed by a quick call to the manufacturer and then.... um... "Oh dear. I can't believe it but...") One never knows for sure, because of course, while we've been talking to Allergan frequently about this, if the product really were being discontinued, from past experience it seems likely that their sales staff might be the last ones to learn.
At any rate, I am ever so cautiously optimistic, emphasis on the
optimistic
, that Refresh PM and LacriLube are merely backordered,
NOT
on their way out.
Meantime, there ARE other ointments available, like
and
. The only unique thing about Refresh PM is the proportion of petrolatum to mineral oil (57.3%:42.5%, versus 94%:3% in the Alcon ones). For many people, these details don't matter; for some, they do matter. (You know who you are.)
If you're not able to get Refresh PM at a reasonable price right now, my suggestions would be:
Try the Genteal or Systane ones, esp. in combination with some kind of physical barrier at night (plastic wrap? sleep mask? moisture goggle? something anyway)
Try Genteal Gel or a similar polymer gel, if other ointments don't agree. Gels dissolve rather than leaving greasy residue.
Rebecca