My lower plug experience yesterday

[Vicki In Oregon]

I got lower eye plugs yesterday because i just could not stand the pain any longer. I was scared because i can hardly do the test where they check the pressure of my eyes let alone them sticking something in my eyes. Turns out i had ample good reason to be scared. He could not open my eye ducts so he used what he called a dialator. This is this super sharp instrument he used to stick in the eye ducts to open them enough to put in the plugs. The right eye hurt the left was sheer hell. He went back and forth with it and i literally screamed. The pain as unbelievable i thought i was going to die. The numbing drops did not help enough other than to keep my eyes open. Normally my right eye is much worse than my left. Today my right was much better than my left that hurt a lot. i was not sure if it hurt more because of how painful it was when he put it in the left eye or if the plug had fallen out or what. Because the pain is very much like the pain i normally have, the feeling like stuff is in your eyes, like a super tight ill fitting contact. Anyway, now the left is settling down...but the right is acting up! Overall my eyes are better, enough better to make me content? No. I am confused and dont know what to do. I worry about them falling out. I worry about them scratching up my corneas. I dont know if i should go back and get uppers to get potentially more relief but if i did i would go to anohter doc in that clinic becasue the one i had was so rough and caused me unecessary pain. i am so tired of wearing my glasses all the time and trying to fit my sunglasses on top. It is crazy how this all happened overnight for me, completely turned my life upside down. Any advice or experiences greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Rebecca Petris]

There are quite a number of people who had an uncomfortable insertion process and/or who experienced considerable discomfort in the first days after insertion. It will pass. It may take some weeks to know whether the plugs are likely to help. Unless your doctor is urging you to do uppers (doesn't sound like that is the case though), I'd just stick with what you have and give it a trial before introducing any new changes.

[Vicki In Oregon]

Thanks Rebecca. The doc said he rarely did uppers which could mean never. He said he did not need to. But i think some of the docs there do it more than others. I feel a bit of improvment that is why i was thinking uppers would be good. Does insurance cover the skeleral lens you have? I wonder if that would work for me. I worry i may not be able to handle gas perms. Do they not make soft lenses that do the same thing yours do? thank you again.

[Jade9923]

Vicky,

I never got much relief at all with just my lowers plugged. It wasn't until my uppers were plugged that I got almost perfect relief. These docs just don't have much experience with these plugs. If you are still dry, get the uppers done. I remember after she plugged both uppers, I walked out of the office with tears overflowing from both eyes. I was so happy. I get so angry when doctors say that just the lowers need plugged, that they drain most of the fluid. Not true in my experience. Good luck!

[kitty]

Just an FYI. When I was hounding my doc for upper plugs, he said that he has used uppers in less than 10% of his patients. This tells me that a minority of the patients that HE sees has DES severe enough to warrant the use of uppers. The majority get satisfactory improvement from lowers alone. Does anyone have a source for stats on the percentage of DES patients that have 2 plugs vs. 4 plugs, or cautery x 2 vs. cautery x 4?

[Vicki In Oregon]

Thank you Kitty and Jade. I really want the uppers now. Thanks for giving me the confidence to pursue that. It sucks how all these docs would not do any plugs or now not the uppers. They all seem to think it is so uncommon and unneeded. Makes me worry about their expeirence if one does agree to do it. I had enough pain with the lowers and dont think it had to be this way. I called the office I go to which has many docs and asked them to find out who does the most plugs, still waiting on an answer. Are plugs harder to put in? Harder to remove? Do they feel different? Thanks!

[np1981]

I never got much relief at all with just my lowers plugged. It wasn't until my uppers were plugged that I got almost perfect relief....

I had the same experiance. Lower plugs did nothing. Upper & Lower plugs - massive difference!

[Vicki In Oregon]

Got Upper Punctals Today

I got upper punctals today. It was done by another doctor and this time NO pain at all. They are permanent like the lowers. But I don’t know what kind, just that they are silicone. He told the assistant to get small ones i know that much. The assistant told me they don’t migrate. Is this true? How long does it take to know if the punctual plugs are working? My left eye is manageable which it frequently is but my right eye is miserable still. Still feel like there is a pebble in it scraping away. I wonder if the blurry vision is permanent and does it worsen? I am doing everything the docs tell me to do so I would have expected to get better not worse. The blurriness I only recently discovered. If the upper and lower punctals dont work, then what does this say about my condition? That it is not aqueous but the MB gland? The docs dont know when I ask. He said I was an enigma. The SH test today showed 7 and 12. Last year when I was screened for Lasik (a time i had no problems at all) that same test yielded a score of 20 and 30. But I know the tests fluctuate and also don't indicate the level of pain one feels nor the type.

[kitty]

I'm glad your experience was a positive one. Vicki, everyone's response to plugs, drops or any other treatment is different. For me, it took about two weeks to notice minimal improvement with the uppers, 4 weeks to notice maximum improvement, then 5 weeks to notice a slide back to nominal improvement. Please don't think that your plugs will not be of benefit based on my experience. Everyone is different, every body is different, every eye is different. I also have temporary plugs which may be starting to disolve already.

[Vicki In Oregon]

Hi Kitty. My experience was only positive in that this time it did not hurt with the insertion but so far the pain is there and so is the blurred vision. So I am hoping for a miracle at this point. I am sorry they did not work for you. And expecially terrible that they did work some and then went back to not working for you when you thought you were going to benefit some. Ugh. Pain was bad but now blurred vision too is just too much. Sickens me to think that 2 months ago I was in such a better place and now my life revolves around this and this only.

[Vicki In Oregon]

i got the uppers today. I am wondering though...when i move my eyeballs my pain is reaaal bad, as in when i move them without moving my head, left to right top but not top to bottom, just periferal vision. The pain feels like it always has, like soemting is in my eye i cannto remove. , But i dont recall having it even more strongly when i move my eyeballs like this. It is super bad then. I am wondering if i am feeling the upper plugs? Any info appreciated, thank you!