secretions

[patrick]

as like many of us suffering with mgd i'm told to express my glands on a regular basis. i've done this for months without ever seeing properly what i was actually doing. untill yesterday! i bought myself a 30x magnifying mirror and used it with doing the expressions.
for the first time i could clearly see the gland orifices and the secretions. (did it in bright sunlight).
surprisingly my lower lids look very healthy and with only the slightest force i see many dots of clear oil appear
however,the uppers look very different. i see many white dots and i have to use brutal force to express them. since i don't have a mastrota paddle i used the back of a tea spoon. i sterilised it with a bit of alcohol.the secretions of the upper lids have the many times mentioned tooth paste appearance. i expressed both my upper lids untill the point that they both were like empty or so. this took me about 45 minutes.
so today i thought i check my upper glands again to see how they are doing one day later. its unbelievable,but they're almost as clogged as they were yesterday. thats fast!
my question is; what could be the explanation for the fact that my lower lids look perfectly fine and the uppers look very messed up. and what can i do more to keep the cleared glands in my upper lids open for a longer period than one day?
my current regimen is taking two table spoons of flaxeedoil per day and doing warm compresses twice per day (10 minutes).
i don't take any medicine at all. opthalmologists just don't prescribe anything here since many of them don't even recognize mgd as a serious condition.

any input is very welcome of course!

patrick...

[irish eyes]

i expressed both my upper lids untill the point that they both were like empty or so. this took me about 45 minutes.
so today i thought i check my upper glands again to see how they are doing one day later. its unbelievable,but they're almost as clogged as they were yesterday. thats fast! patrick...

Hi Patrick

My input isn't going to be of any use because the same thing happens to my glands i.e. they clog up shortly after I express them.

My current consultant doesn't see the point of expressing glands (as they fill up again) but previous consultants have encouraged me to do it.

When people have probing / Lipiflow, presumably the same thing happens but not as rapidly. Advice from Lipiflow was that patients will vary but they expected the intervals of treatment to be around 5 or 6 months.

My top lids are a bit of a mess but glands are easier to work on. The lower lids are always sore but the glands seem to be sealed over and therefore very difficult to express.

[NeedMyEyes]

Unfortunately, IPl only targets the lower lids. However, Lipiflow targets both the upper and lower lids and in my case, I felt it worked a little harder on the upper lids. So maybe that will help?

However, I believe Dr. Latkany says that if you are really good at warm compress / massage (you have to use his method) you should be able to do this in less than 6 months on your own. I had Lipiflow 2 weeks ago but I am also trying for the warm compress to extend my Lipiflow results....

[patrick]

Hi Patrick

My input isn't going to be of any use because the same thing happens to my glands i.e. they clog up shortly after I express them.

My current consultant doesn't see the point of expressing glands (as they fill up again) but previous consultants have encouraged me to do it.

When people have probing / Lipiflow, presumably the same thing happens but not as rapidly. Advice from Lipiflow was that patients will vary but they expected the intervals of treatment to be around 5 or 6 months.

My top lids are a bit of a mess but glands are easier to work on. The lower lids are always sore but the glands seem to be sealed over and therefore very difficult to express.

hi irish eyes!
how are you doing?

thanks for your reply.your input is actually of any use,because it seems that i'm not alone with this problem.
i think opening up the glands is not really the issue,but keeping them open for a prolonged period seems to be the hard part of the trick.
i'd really like to learn what the best way is to keep them open and functioning.

patrick...

[jenny2008]

are you actually putting the spoon in your eye? i don't see how you can do that without going through a lot of pain? it hurts when the doc expresses my glands and he is super quick-less than a minute on both eyes.. I would be afraid I would get an infection. I just do the warm compress and massage...

[irish eyes]

hi irish eyes!
how are you doing?

thanks for your reply.your input is actually of any use,because it seems that i'm not alone with this problem.
i think opening up the glands is not really the issue,but keeping them open for a prolonged period seems to be the hard part of the trick.
i'd really like to learn what the best way is to keep them open and functioning.

patrick...

Hi again Patrick

No, you are not alone at all. It's so frustrating when you have followed the advice of doctors (sometimes conflicting) and there is little / no change. Although my consultant doesn't see the point of expressing the glands, he approves of the way I do it and thinks if it seems to help me, then to carry on with it.

I've seen Jenny's post and I want to ask the same question: did you actually put the end of the handle inside the lid in the way one sees a Mastrota paddle used? I don't think I would manage to do this with any success.

[patrick]

hi jenny and irish eyes,
yes i actually stick the handle behind my eyelids. (uppers only). it goes without saying that i use the utmost care to do not hurt myself.
i try to not touch the eyeball itself,because that's the most painful and causes a flow of reflex tearing.
still it is an annoying and very difficult task and of course it is preferably done by a medical professional.
but,since i can't find anybody here to do it for me on a regular basis i just do it myself. i'd really don't do it myself if i wouldn't have to though.
it takes me about 45 minutes to do it properly while a professional does it in less than a minute! unfortunately only because i can't find the right care here i'm waisting so much time.
need my eyes,you had lipiflow 2 weeks ago. i'm very interested to have this procedure done myself. this procedure has been approved here in europe. what is your opinion on this procedure? do you think it has been a positive contribution to your condition?

patrick...

[NeedMyEyes]

has lipiflow been helpful?

I tried to detail all this in another thread that i will try to update today, but in brief here:

It looks like the gland count has stabilized to 10 - 15 open in each lower lid. Also, some of these glands are really starting to put out a lot of oil, so it isn't just quantity, its quality.

In addition to Lipiflow, I had 2 IPL treatmens just before Lipiflow and the probing procedure. I have also had 2 tea tree oil scrubs. Also, I had temporary quadra plugs done yesterday. So I can't say I have a done a scientific trial on just Lipiflow - but yes, I am pretty sure it helped and I am pretty sure it opened up at least 6 or 7 glands that are pumping good oil in each lower lid and maybe more than that in the upper lids.

Am I feeling more comfortable - well it is only 2 weeks out and they say you have to wait 4 weeks for real results. And I have had some rough days in a new working environment in those days... So, I'll have to let you know in a couple weeks.