A Regener-Eyes story shared by a patient
Shared by permission
I wanted to share my experience as a patient who was using Regener-Eyes. I hope that my experience will help others.
How I got started on Regener-Eyes
I was sold Regener-eyes by my optometrist to treat my “moderate” dry eye. He said that he had seen good results in some patients who used it.
My first impressions
I noticed some red flags right away: The box seemed “cheap,” and had no ingredients list, or even an indication of what the product was intended to treat printed on the box (they have since added an indication, but no ingredients list.) I tried to find the information on the paper insert, but it was not there; just a word salad that meant nothing, and which I almost needed an electron microscope to read.
I thought the “Scientific Advisory Board” looked “interestingly suspicious,” to say the least.
And then I noticed the bottle, which was much smaller than I imagined it would be, for the price I paid, and just looked “cheap,” with a badly printed, crooked sticker on it. For an eyedrop product that contains no preservatives, I was worried about the type of bottle itself, which sucks air back into the bottle with every use, and has no filter to protect from contaminants, like many of my preservative-free eye drops do.
A phone call to the company; more research
I called the company to ask them about this bottle, and was told on the phone that “our product is naturally antibacterial.” I thought that was odd, but I believed it.
I asked them what the difference was between the Lite version (which I had purchased – six bottles) and the Professional version, which was much more expensive. I was told that “The Professional version is like a 10 out of 10, and the Lite version is like a 7 out of 10.” I didn’t even understand what on earth that was supposed to mean.
Despite all of this, I used the product, because I trusted my doctor. I thought that this was a real drug, and that it would help my eyes to heal and stop the inflammation that I had.
I figured that this was a small, cutting edge, boutique company, and that was why their packaging seemed so suboptimal.
I researched the product the best that I knew how to at the time. I had already called them to ask questions, but I also read their website, which had amazing claims on it. I also watched two videos that used animation to explain how the product worked. I also watched a video interview with the inventor, as well as other videos and articles. I was afraid every time I used the product, thinking “I’m going to get an infection,” but still I trusted my doctor, and the company.
My eyes get worse
Then my symptoms and inflammation started to get worse, and very quickly. The drops would also sting when I used them.
The pain and inflammation became so bad that I called my optometrist. He told me to be patient because I have to allow time for Regener-eyes to help me heal.
I call the company
I continued to get worse, so I called Regener-eyes and told them what was happening. The man on the phone said that what I was experiencing was normal, and that in fact, the same thing had happened to him. He said that this shows that the product is working, and causing an “immune response.” I asked him how long I should expect this to get worse and he said “about four weeks.”
I call the company again
I called again after five weeks of progressively getting worse and was told “four to six weeks.”
At no time was I told to call my doctor, like a real drug company would do.
And then it happens:
One day I was looking for more information about Regener-eyes on YouTube and found a video from the Dry Eye Foundation.
I was shocked, but not surprised; everything the video said was exactly what I had already suspected. I watched as many of their videos as I could, and read their website, biologiceyedrops.org.
I could not believe that I fell for this scam, or that my doctor fell for it; it all seemed so obvious in retrospect.
I immediately stopped using Regener-eyes, and started searching for an ophthalmologist.
I see an ophthalmologist and get a new diagnosis
When I saw the ophthalmologist, he told me that I had a rare disease called Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid, and sent me to a world renowned specialist in this disease.
I was told that I could have gone blind if I had not sought treatment in time – real treatment!
I call the company one more time
I called Regener-eyes again, just to see what they would say when I told them that even after more than six weeks of using their product , my inflammation had still not improved (although it was not getting worse anymore.) I did not tell them that I had stopped using the product, or about my diagnosis. I was on to them now.
Instead of being told to contact my doctor, I was instead asked who my doctor was, and that they would make arrangements to move me up to the Professional version of their product, which is more than twice the price.
At no time was I encouraged to report an adverse reaction to the FDA.
I was told that they were going to make a big announcement at the Vision Expo show in Las Vegas – “We are now FDA approved! We are approved for the treatment of dry eye. Before, we were FDA regulated, but now we are approved.” I remained silent, knowing that this was objectively a lie, although I gave the person on the phone the benefit of the doubt that he really did believe what he was saying, because he was told by the company to say it.
I contact the Dry Eye Foundation
Once I discovered the truth about Regener-eyes, I contacted the Dry Eye Foundation, as well as Dr. Brown, to thank them for saving my vision and preventing a disaster.
I have watched with interest how the exposure of this company has made them squirm – scrubbing their website of all the claims that it had before. Each time I checked the site, something else was gone, until eventually, even all of the white papers and “scientific” information was erased. But it’s all out there, forever, and easily accessible using WayBackMachine. I was elated to learn about and read the FDA’s recent letter to Regener-eyes – the writing is on the wall.
Courage is needed
As more and more doctors come to grips with the facts about this company and their reckless, deceptive behavior, the truth will continue to be exposed.
It is a slow process – courage is needed to admit that your white paper was wrong, and that you have been selling patients a useless, potentially dangerous product to put into their eyes, that has never been clinically studied and peer reviewed, or proven safe and effective, and is in fact illegal to market in the United States of America, which the FDA’s letter makes clear, and which Canada figured out two years ago.
It takes courage to admit that you were duped by deceptive marketers who, for the first time, managed to fool so many optometrists and ophthalmologists, and somehow became so popular in the industry, taking advantage of the pandemic, which kept the FDA very busy. But now their time has come.
How unproven and quack treatments harm people
Normally, unproven and quack treatments are at the fringes of the industry. Now, somehow, this thing has gone mainstream – but not for long.
Many unproven, disproven, and quack treatments can harm people, or even kill them.
But the way that most of them do their damage is by keeping people from real, competent medical care and real, proven treatments. They steal time – precious time.
And that is what happened to me.
I lost almost two months’ time where I could have been receiving real treatment.
Instead I was waiting patiently for Regener-eyes to work, and my disease was progressing insidiously, permanently damaging my eyes.
I hope that my experience means something to you, and that it will serve as a lesson and as a warning.