Plugs and MGD...yes or no.

[bernmee]

I have rosacea, ocular rosacea and MGD, and a nice variety of pain since Lasik 7 months ago.

I am plugged top and bottom from my Lasik surgeon but am now producing a good amount of tears (Schirmers result is 35). My new "dry eye" specialist says he is very on the fence about using plugs with those with MGD, and there is a lot of discussion about this issue, but as I have the plugs in he will work with this and see how we get on.

I am considering discussing the possibility of having one of the plugs taken out. I had a great three weeks a couple of weeks ago and am now back to daily pain, I'm wondering if removing one of the plugs would allow the inflamed cells and the other bad stuff to drain away. My last TBUT was 10 with some dry sopts on my cornea, and that was during my good spell.

Do others out there with MGD but a high Schirmers have plugs? Has anyone had one plug taken out, did it help.

I am on Doxy, Azacite and the multitude of other things we all do for dry eye.

[Meebo]

I have rosacea, ocular rosacea and MGD, and a nice variety of pain since Lasik 7 months ago.

I am plugged top and bottom from my Lasik surgeon but am now producing a good amount of tears (Schirmers result is 35). My new "dry eye" specialist says he is very on the fence about using plugs with those with MGD, and there is a lot of discussion about this issue, but as I have the plugs in he will work with this and see how we get on.

I am considering discussing the possibility of having one of the plugs taken out. I had a great three weeks a couple of weeks ago and am now back to daily pain, I'm wondering if removing one of the plugs would allow the inflamed cells and the other bad stuff to drain away. My last TBUT was 10 with some dry sopts on my cornea, and that was during my good spell.

Do others out there with MGD but a high Schirmers have plugs? Has anyone had one plug taken out, did it help.

I am on Doxy, Azacite and the multitude of other things we all do for dry eye.

Hmmm, a TBUT of 10 is pretty damn good. I have a TBUT of 3 due to my MGD, but my symptoms are mild since I do not have aqueous deficiency. If you are in the area, i recommend seeing Dr. Latkany in NYC about this.

[bernmee]

Yes a TBUT of 10 sounds great and it felt mostly great for three weeks, but the last two weeks it feels awful. 10 has been my top score so far, though I have no idea what it would be if I was tested today.

The last two days the pain has been so bad that its going to be a valium on the couch weekend. I hate to do it but I need to take the edge of the intensity or else I will go crazy. I don't understand why my symptoms are so severe with such a high TBUT but I guess that is just part of the wonderful world of dry eye.

I am on the West coast and am seeing a Dr. recommended by Rebecca who I find great, but thanks for the tip.

Do you have plugs?

Bernadette

[Meebo]

No plugs, however, if you are on the west coast you should try a Doctor Toyos. He is out of Tenn. but he travels to LA 3 times a week I believe to treat professional athletes and other patients in that area.

He is known for his IPL laser treatment that, based on his documented trial, may successfully alleviate symptoms associated with MGD due to rosacea.

[Teri]

Bernadette,

I have MGD and I have three plugs. I don't think it's a problem.

BUT, my eye doc told me in the beginning that he doesn't like to plug dry eye patients until the inflammation is "under control." So I had 2 months of treatment (you know: doxy, azasite, warm compresses, etc.) before he gave me lower plugs. Of course, the first time I saw him, I had a pretty bad case of untreated blepharitis, so getting that whipped into shape probably was a good idea.

I had lower plugs only for about 9 months, and I just got an upper plug in one eye about a month ago. It has helped, and I don't think there's any conflict with having clogged oil glands and plugs. If there's any kind of infection or over-abundance of bacteria, I would think that plugs wouldn't be beneficial.

On the other hand, you have plugs and think they are helping, so maybe you should leave them alone?

There are too many factors!

I hope you can solve this problem and get some relief! At least it sounds like you have a good doctor to work with.

Teri