Debating an appointment with Dr Latkany --need advice

[laurig]

Hi - I'm Laurieg a new member.
I live in New York so I would not have to travel far if i make an appointment with Dr Latkany. I have MGD that has become difficult to deal with. My skin is very pale and sensitive and I'm not sure whether the warm compresses are just making more inflammation, since my eyelids are now quite pink. I have doing the compresses for about a week, since one eye became quite painful. Even though Dr Latkany is near, he is quite expensive, and for health reasons, I am unable to take any antibiotics-- which I was told by my current dr., is the only thing that would help my MGD. Since I can't do the antibiotics, am I better off saving my money for iPL treatments, and just buying Dr. Latkey's book. If anyone has met with Dr Latkany or knows a lot about what he does, I would really appreciate their advice.I'm quite miserable now so if he is fantastic, maybe my money is well spent with him.

[dave25]

In my opinion I would spend the money to see Dr. Latkany. I don't even live in New York and I took a flight just to see Dr. Latkany and I thought my trip was well worth the money I spent. If your eyes are really feeling bad it is better to go see a good eye doctor rather than taking a chance on someone who may or may not be as experienced in treating dye eyes and Dr. Latkany. Just my two cents.

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi laurieg and welcome.

If you can't take antibiotics, I feel sure Dr. Latkany would work with you on alternative treatments. While antibiotics (oral and topical) are common in MGD treatment, not all doctors use them routinely.

[Amy_NJ]

I absolutely recommend him. He was the only doctor that was able to help me with my MGD--I saw SEVEN doctors before him. He is worth every penny.

[bp77]

Hi laurieg and welcome.

If you can't take antibiotics, I feel sure Dr. Latkany would work with you on alternative treatments. While antibiotics (oral and topical) are common in MGD treatment, not all doctors use them routinely.

hey rebecca, can u tell me what other alternative is there other than antibiotics? thanks.

[Rebecca Petris]

Nutritional. Omega 3 supplementation, dietary change.
Heat therapy, lid hygiene and manual expression of glands.
IPL.
****** probe.
Lipiflow.
I'm sure there's more but these are some of the first to come to mind.

These are not all, obviously, suitable for everyone. I'm sure there are more things too.

And don't forget all the types of palliative things that are effective in some degree for combating dry eye symptoms & pain in most people regardless of whether their symptoms are from MGD or something else.

I often talk to people on the phone who say "I've tried everything". Fact is, everything they've tried came out of a bottle (or, well, twist-off vial). With serious dry eye, MGD etc you are best served by going beyond the bottle (in addition if not instead). Recognizing this is one of the first steps to taking control of your dry eye situation.

[Amy_NJ]

Agreed. I was not willing to take systemic antibiotics for a variety of reasons. We developed an alternative treatment plan, incorporating most of what Rebecca listed, that works for me.

[pete0085]

Agreed. I was not willing to take systemic antibiotics for a variety of reasons. We developed an alternative treatment plan, incorporating most of what Rebecca listed, that works for me.

Amy,

What did Dr. Latkany do for you that no other doctor was doing or what treatment was different?

[needhelp640]

Hey,

I saw Dr. Latkany about a month ago. He was the 11th doctor I had seen and I had seen the other ten in 3 other countries. As you can see, I'm pretty desperate.

I dunno what he'll do when you come in for an appointment but I can tell you about my visit. We spent around 20 minutes talking about my problems and then about treatments and then he had a look at my eyes and told me how we were gonna go about to solve each problem. I even had a notebook and I was writing notes down and he was patient enough to wait for me as I wrote everything down. I turned out to have a combination of punctate epithelial erosions, MGD, poor blink rate, allergies.

What I saw different in Dr.Latkany was his willingness to see me as a human being. My other doctors really didnt, even the one who did my LASIK. They'd see me for five minutes and kick me out.

Another thing different about him is that he'll figure out the cause of YOUR dry eye, not the general here use some OTC drops you'll be fine.

I haven't solved my problem yet but if I do solve it I think he'll be the one. Oh and another thing he replies to emails pretty quickly even at night sometimes

Overall i think he's worth the money when you think about the fact that he gives you a good amount of time. He is a real doctor that works from his heart.

Hope this helps.

[Amy_NJ]

Pete: He sat with me and actually made a diagnosis so I finally knew what was causing my problems. For me, my MGD is caused 100% by allergies. Every other doctor said it absolutely was not allergies. I also have some complicated other issues that he has been able to manage. We also figured out what medications/treatment plan works best for me--every other doctor just prescibed the usual medications and wished me luck. The first treatment plan he recommended for me did not work, and he didn't give up until we found the right one. If I was feeling miserable when I saw him, he actually scheduled up a follow-up appointment in the near future. And he examines my eyes/lids in detail each visit--some of the previous doctors never did that.

Simply stated, he gives an accurate diagnosis, so you can attack the problem correctly.

[laurig]

Thank you all- your input was very helpful!! I'm going to call Dr. Dr Latkany's office first thing Monday morning for an appointment. I hope I don't have to wait too long as I am now very anxious to see him. Amy, I also have many allergies -- just about all airborne -- dust mites, pollens, mold etc.., I also have many food intolerances, so treatments for me can be complicated. Even fish oil is a problem- too much will give me facial rashes. Until recently i attributed my dry eyes to my allergies. Amy, has DR. Latkany helped you with the allergy problems? I found Patanol made my dry eyes worse.
Thank you all again -I'll let you know how it goes. Laurig

[Rebecca Petris]

The first treatment plan he recommended for me did not work, and he didn't give up until we found the right one.

And just as importantly, YOU didn't give up when the first didn't work . I think that a common mistake when people see an 'expert' is to expect immediate results and be disillusioned when you don't get them. Immediate results are not the commonest outcome with dry eye. I know I'm a bit of a broken record about this, but I will say once again that our own commitment to the dr-patient relationship is a big factor in success.

[Lfarls]

Does any one know what the cost is to see Dr. Latkany? Does he accept insurance or is it out of pocket? I'm currently under going IPL treatments but I want to keep my options open..

[Amy_NJ]

I am not sure what the cost is. I have good insurance so it's not expensive for me. I think he accepts most insurance. I'm sure his office will work with you. He is mindful of cost.

As for Rebecca's comment re: expecting immediate results--it is so true! You have to keep up with the treatments in the long term. I was so discouraged countless times when I didn't see any improvement. When I started seeing Dr. L., I just had to trust that I was going to get better. And even when I didn't right away, I just kept with it. I finally began to see improvement and became functional again. Dr. L. is not a magician, but I'm sure you'll see improvement. People travel from all over the world to see him. And if seeing him is cost-prohibitive, you could always just go for one visit to get an accurate diagnosis, and then follow-up with a doctor more local to you to continue your treatment.

[Amy_NJ]

Thank you all- your input was very helpful!! I'm going to call Dr. Dr Latkany's office first thing Monday morning for an appointment. I hope I don't have to wait too long as I am now very anxious to see him. Amy, I also have many allergies -- just about all airborne -- dust mites, pollens, mold etc.., I also have many food intolerances, so treatments for me can be complicated. Even fish oil is a problem- too much will give me facial rashes. Until recently i attributed my dry eyes to my allergies. Amy, has DR. Latkany helped you with the allergy problems? I found Patanol made my dry eyes worse.
Thank you all again -I'll let you know how it goes. Laurig

I am allergic to all of the same stuff. I work with an allergist close to my home. The allergies have improved slightly but not much. I am getting the immunotherapy shots. But the medications I am taking coupled with the eyelid spa and vitamin supplementation have helped considerably.