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Ok, firstly, plugs were a God-send for me about 5 years ago when I first put them in so I don't want to put anybody off them. If your dry eyes are mostly due to aqueous deficiency, then plugs are the best solution I've found and I've tried most things.
However, recently, when one of my plugs fell out, I had an awful time putting it back in. The doctor took about two hours to get it in and eventually jammed in a larger one than had been previously in. He said that the scarring from previous times when the plug had been replaced meant that it was now more difficult to get it in.
When it got in, I immediately felt much better however, about two weeks later, I thought it had fallen out again as I began to notice the redness increasing in my eye and the discomfort similar to that you get when a plug falls out. I went to the doctor to get the plug replaced but she told me it was still there. What was actually happening in fact was that I was having a foreign body reaction to the plug.
The doctor tried to take it out but, after several attempts trying, the cap broke off the plug and she said that she didn't want to touch it. She said that the canal had been twisted inside out and that the plug was stuck. She referred me to a specialist who I went to see two days later.
To make a long story a bit shorter, I had an awful time trying to get it out. The surgeon couldn't get it out either and she had to give me an injection in my eye to kill the pain. This hurt like hell and my eye started bleeding so we had to wait till this stopped. Eventually, thankfully, she managed to get the plug out. The surgeon said that she wanted to wait two weeks to see if she got all of it as the other doctor had broken off the cap of the plug when trying to get it out and she didn't want to cauterize my eyes if part of the plug was still in there.
In any case, I'm going back to her in two weeks time to have my eyes cauterized. Without the plug, my eye feels dry as hell and I am reminded why I went down the plug route in the first place. However, I just want people to be aware that there is a risk doing it. There normally isn't much risk at the start but when your eyes start getting scarred and it gets hard to get the plugs in, it's then that you should be thinking about cautery. I had plugs in for five years and I realize now that I should have got them cauterized a long time ago.
That said, I haven't had my eyes cauterized yet so I don't know if it will be as effective as the plugs. People say it is so I am hopeful. I just wanted to pass on my experience to others. The whole episode was frightening and while I encourage people to go down the plug route, if it works well for you after about a year, I would advise cauterizing them. I hope that I will still be advising this in two weeks time. I will report back on my experience.
However, recently, when one of my plugs fell out, I had an awful time putting it back in. The doctor took about two hours to get it in and eventually jammed in a larger one than had been previously in. He said that the scarring from previous times when the plug had been replaced meant that it was now more difficult to get it in.
When it got in, I immediately felt much better however, about two weeks later, I thought it had fallen out again as I began to notice the redness increasing in my eye and the discomfort similar to that you get when a plug falls out. I went to the doctor to get the plug replaced but she told me it was still there. What was actually happening in fact was that I was having a foreign body reaction to the plug.
The doctor tried to take it out but, after several attempts trying, the cap broke off the plug and she said that she didn't want to touch it. She said that the canal had been twisted inside out and that the plug was stuck. She referred me to a specialist who I went to see two days later.
To make a long story a bit shorter, I had an awful time trying to get it out. The surgeon couldn't get it out either and she had to give me an injection in my eye to kill the pain. This hurt like hell and my eye started bleeding so we had to wait till this stopped. Eventually, thankfully, she managed to get the plug out. The surgeon said that she wanted to wait two weeks to see if she got all of it as the other doctor had broken off the cap of the plug when trying to get it out and she didn't want to cauterize my eyes if part of the plug was still in there.
In any case, I'm going back to her in two weeks time to have my eyes cauterized. Without the plug, my eye feels dry as hell and I am reminded why I went down the plug route in the first place. However, I just want people to be aware that there is a risk doing it. There normally isn't much risk at the start but when your eyes start getting scarred and it gets hard to get the plugs in, it's then that you should be thinking about cautery. I had plugs in for five years and I realize now that I should have got them cauterized a long time ago.
That said, I haven't had my eyes cauterized yet so I don't know if it will be as effective as the plugs. People say it is so I am hopeful. I just wanted to pass on my experience to others. The whole episode was frightening and while I encourage people to go down the plug route, if it works well for you after about a year, I would advise cauterizing them. I hope that I will still be advising this in two weeks time. I will report back on my experience.
DJB, I aleady did my research. The doctor I went to has a very good reputation. I had my follow-up appointment yesterday the the cautery was successful. The actual experience of having them cauterized was not bad at all. The injections were the worst part of it but I barely felt the hot poker.
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