IPL treatment - amount of pain involved?

[Charon]

Hi everyone! I am getting my first IPL treatment done this Friday. I am excited but a little nervous. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, but at this point I am willing to try almost anything. I have MGD as well as some allergies and ocular rosacea. based on what I've read, I am a good candidate for the procedure.

Anyway, my question is directed at those who have undergone IPL treatment. How did your eyes feel after the procedure? I am expecting a certain amount of pain, but I am curious how long it lasts for. I have a social event that night (as well as the following night) and I want to know if I should expect my eyes to be red and painful. If so, I might reschedule.

Any insight is much appreciated! thanks!

[grant555]

LOTS (of pain). during the actual procedure. afterwards, they give you a steroidal drop, and my eyes looked fine almost by the time i got home, but they will likely be somewhat more uncomfortable than usual for the rest of the day. for me, i had a lot of excess oil sitting on my eye but my eyes were really inflammed due to the aggravation, so it pretty much evened out. it just depends how sensitive your eyes are.

[bunnyrabbit123]

The first treatment was worst in terms of expression- the dr. had to really work on those glands to get anything to come out and I want to caution you not to expect much change in your condition after the first couple of treatments-#3 was when I started to notice my eyes felt lubricated and not gritty all the time. Anyway, I looked pretty bad when we left the office but was back to my normal inflamed self by the next day- I think you need patience for this to be successful, Charon. I wish you the best of luck. I am now scheduled for a maintence treatment in Oct. and I'm doing pretty good. Still using restasis 2x a day and systane occasionally, overall it's been worth it.

[Charon]

thanks y'all. After your feedback I decided to reschedule for mid-August. Bunnyrabbit, how are your eyes now? Would you say the treatment was worth the money? It's fairly expensive where I am--almost $600 per treatment. Seems like a lot to spend on a treatment just to see if it'll work. However, I have heard fairly good things from people who have had it. At this point I'm willing to give it a go--lord knows I've probably spent at least half that amount last 9 months on doctor's visits, eye drops, antibiotics, etc.

[bunnyrabbit123]

Charon,
The treatment cost at the Dr. I used was 375.00- the cost for this procedure is all over the place. It's maddening! I do feel that I've benefited more from this than months of restasis, a round of doxy (which did nothing for me at the time) compresses (hot and cold) and all the other drops that have been tried. I needed 4 treatments before I saw improvement- keep this in mind. It seems to vary from patient to patient and I continue to use my restasis 2X a day and systane balance even now. I am using the otc drops much less than before. I wish you huge improvements with this. I really wish there was something that worked for all of us and that would be covered by insurance. Good luck to you.
Claire