Just started taking doxycycline now

[romeodakins]

After almost a year I went back to my eye doctor. I think my main issue is my oil glands are too thick and they can't flow out. My doctor perscribed 100 doxycycline tabs to me. He said it should take effect after I use all the tabs. I have a couple of questions

- If the doxycycline works, will it fix my oil glands permanently or long term? How long would it be in effect and would my dry eyes seem like they have disappeared?

- How should I take the doxycycline. I know it has many uses and my eye doctor only told me to use it. When the pharmacist gave it to me they first thought I was using it for acne. Then I told her it was for my eyes. She told me not to eat or drink any dairy products before or after 2 hours of taking the doxy. This is really a burden to not be able to drink or eat dairy. I was wondering if what she is saying is true since it seemed like she didn't have much idea that I was using it for my eyes. Also I received a paper that instructed how to use it and it said that you can take the doxy with food or milk to prevent stomach aching. I want to ask you guys since you guys use doxy for dry eyes and not for acne or infections.

[NotADryEye]

I'm not sure about doxy healing mgd. That depends on what is the underlying cause of the mgd. Doxy reduces inflammation in the glands. So when the inner cells of the glands break down and turn into meibum, the cells themselves are not inflamed. I believe this is why doxy helps to clear the meibum and improve its quality. But still you will have the question, why are the glands inflamed in the first place?

That may be harder to answer. There may be an underlying autoimmune condition. You might have a bacterial infection that doxy does not clear up. There may be demodex mites. Something else possibly. For example, if you have chalasis, then there is can be constant stress on the mg's every time you blink. This can cause inflammation. If you are aqueous deficient you may have the same problem and you may even end up with conunctivalchalasis.

So the answer probably is, it depends.

I take only 20mg doxy daily. I take it on an empty stomach, 2 hours after eating, 1 hour before. I think that with long-term use of antibiotics it is important to maintain gut flora. So I take a probiotic at least 6 hours after taking doxy.

[romeodakins]

I'm not sure about doxy healing mgd. That depends on what is the underlying cause of the mgd. Doxy reduces inflammation in the glands. So when the inner cells of the glands break down and turn into meibum, the cells themselves are not inflamed. I believe this is why doxy helps to clear the meibum and improve its quality. But still you will have the question, why are the glands inflamed in the first place?

That may be harder to answer. There may be an underlying autoimmune condition. You might have a bacterial infection that doxy does not clear up. There may be demodex mites. Something else possibly. For example, if you have chalasis, then there is can be constant stress on the mg's every time you blink. This can cause inflammation. If you are aqueous deficient you may have the same problem and you may even end up with conunctivalchalasis.

So the answer probably is, it depends.

I take only 20mg doxy daily. I take it on an empty stomach, 2 hours after eating, 1 hour before. I think that with long-term use of antibiotics it is important to maintain gut flora. So I take a probiotic at least 6 hours after taking doxy.

Thanks! I emailed my doctor and he says it's not really that important that I need to take it on an empty stomach or take it 2 hours apart from dairy products since I only need a small dose of the doxy's medicine. My doctor says he sees I have a record of having eczema and it is possible to have caused my dry eyes. Is this possible? Out of all the doctors I've seen, this one seems like the best one I've ever had. He actually gave me some new insight about my eyes unlike my other doctors.

[LaDiva]

Hi Romeo,
Do consider taking probiotics. I use them regularly and also take antibiotics daily. It is important to keep your gut flora balanced, or you can develop other problems, like yeast infections. I also try and avoid sugar, for the same reason. If you can find out what flares your eczema, perhaps it would help your eyes. Is the trigger food allergies, stress, lotions, pollens, chemical stuff? When I was a kid, I had it on my arms and legs, and when I got older, occasionally on my eyelids! Your doc could be onto something here, but I also have rosacea, so not sure where one crosses over the other. Best of luck to you.

[romeodakins]

Hi Romeo,
Do consider taking probiotics. I use them regularly and also take antibiotics daily. It is important to keep your gut flora balanced, or you can develop other problems, like yeast infections. I also try and avoid sugar, for the same reason. If you can find out what flares your eczema, perhaps it would help your eyes. Is the trigger food allergies, stress, lotions, pollens, chemical stuff? When I was a kid, I had it on my arms and legs, and when I got older, occasionally on my eyelids! Your doc could be onto something here, but I also have rosacea, so not sure where one crosses over the other. Best of luck to you.

I don't think I get any eczema anymore so could it still be a factor or not? Right now I'm taking fish oil and doxycycline daily. Should I avoid any eyedrops or eyedrop vials since I only have issues with my oil glands? The doctor recommended I try the eyedrop vials because he says its better than normal drops but I kinda don't want to since eyedrop vials will still only provide temporary relief.

[LaDiva]

Plugged oil glands can be a byproduct of dry eyes, so I'd use the eye drops in the vials. I also think that the drops help improve the tear film, or at least some do. I have the same oil problem as you have with thick oil and should be getting some hormone eyedrops soon, but still plan to continue using the regular drops too. If the hormone drops help, I'll let the world know, believe me!

[Faith1989]

Doxy took three months to work. I find it less effective now, developed a resistance I suppose. I believe an anti inflammatory diet is important too. If the problem is mainly your glands, doxy should help. I agree with ladiva and I would also take a good probiotic.

[romeodakins]

Doxy took three months to work. I find it less effective now, developed a resistance I suppose. I believe an anti inflammatory diet is important too. If the problem is mainly your glands, doxy should help. I agree with ladiva and I would also take a good probiotic.

What's a probiotic? And I was going to wait to see the effect of the doxycycline before taking the vials. Should I just take the vials anyways right now?

[romeodakins]

Doxy took three months to work. I find it less effective now, developed a resistance I suppose. I believe an anti inflammatory diet is important too. If the problem is mainly your glands, doxy should help. I agree with ladiva and I would also take a good probiotic.

Do you still take doxy? How did you feel once it started to work? Did it feel like your eye problems were healed?

[romeodakins]

Also, when I spoke with my doctor, he did a standard vision test and looked in my eye with a light. Then he put dye in my eye and looked in again. My vision was perfectly fine and he said he doesn't see anything obviously wrong with my eye. He mostly giving me advice based on my symptoms. I told him that the eye compress I bought online really helps and basically is the only thing that is helping me and after I finish the compress I rub my eyes and it feels better which shows that my problem is my oil glands.

So does that eliminate any other possibilities, my eye surface doesn't really have problems I guess since he said it looks fine but my oil glands do. I'm just wondering did I develop this oil gland problem from not blinking enough or using the computer for a long time? I started having these issues last December. I did notice that I was using the computer a lot when it started.

[NotADryEye]

I'm just wondering did I develop this oil gland problem from not blinking enough or using the computer for a long time?

When we do things that require focus, like reading, watching TV, looking at computer screens, driving, or even sometimes talking on the phone (we might stare into space) or when we talk to people and make eye contact, we tend not to blink as often as when we do not do these types of activities. So when you are using the computer it is important for you to remember to blink, although I find remembering to blink to be virtually impossible.

[NotADryEye]

What's a probiotic?

This is from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disor...topic-overview

Probiotics are bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the intestines camera. The normal human digestive tract contains about 400 types of probiotic bacteria that reduce the growth of harmful bacteria and promote a healthy digestive system. The largest group of probiotic bacteria in the intestine is lactic acid bacteria, of which Lactobacillus acidophilus, found in yogurt with live cultures, is the best known. Yeast is also a probiotic substance. Probiotics are also available as dietary supplements.

It has been suggested that probiotics be used to treat problems in the stomach and intestines. But only certain types of bacteria or yeast (called strains) have been shown to work in the digestive tract. It still needs to be proved which probiotics (alone or in combination) work to treat diseases. At this point, even the strains of probiotics that have been proved to work for a specific disease are not widely available.