Added 100% serum and Seabuckthorn oil, waiting for plugs

[Faith1989]

Hey everyone!

I have not posted in a while as I have been waiting for my serum to be made. (Had to wait two months) So I am now using 100% serum 8t/d and Lotemax in my right eye as needed. Although my eyes are feeling better my lids have been inflammed which REALLY sucks. My lids stated flaring up about 3 weeks ago and haven't gone down yet . My blepharitis was in what I thought was a remission until about three weeks ago. I think if my lids weren't flared up, my eyes would be great. Ever since starting serum, a lot of my redness has gone down and I do generally feel a bit better (minus the lids). I have been doing compresses twice a day with scrubs, taking my doxy and using Lotemax. I booked an appointment with my doc for next week to get his approval to keep using the Lotemax to get the lids down. Ever since I started serum, I feel hope for the inflammation in my eyes to heal, however I heard on here serum can make bleph worse (dont know if thats really true). Anyone have any suggesstions to get the lids to go down? Or anyone on serum who has bleph as well??

[Guest]

I've struggled with bleph myself (MGD) and yet I still used serum drops. I haven't come across anything to do with serum worsening bleph... not sure what the source of that info was...

Anyhow, even though I was using 100% serum, once I figured out that a major cause of my MGD was some kind of sensitivity to wheat, I cut wheat out of my diet and my MG's did much better... now they usually only flare up if I give in and eat wheat, or if I irritate my eyes more than usual at work, or with too much computer use etc. Still using serum, and no plans to quit anytime soon since it made an obvious difference to the overall comfort of my eyes.

[Faith1989]

Thank you for the positive response. I remember you mentioning this to me and I am going to try to cut out inflammatory foods again.(I failed the first time lol) Over Christmas I went to visit my family for a month and was really lazy with the compresses...I think I did two the entire month I was there and am now paying for it! I have ordered silicone plugs and am kind of scared to try them, with the blepharitis n all.. I am assuming u don't use steroids ever? I wouldn't even have to use them at all if I didn't have inflamed lids as my eyes r responding well to the serum.

[Guest]

I used to dip into my leftover steroid drops very sparingly once in a while when nothing else worked, but my eyes have gotten to the point where non-steroid methods are now enough to get them out of a flare.

[Faith1989]

What do you use again? Restasis and Serum? What do you use to clean ur lids? Haha sorry for the questions , I just also want to get my eyes in the no steroid zone.

[patientpatrick]

hey faith1989, does the Seabuckthorn oil do anything for you? I've been on theratears, theralife, biotears, omega3 in fish and flaxseed form and still don't produce enough oil in my mebomian glands. I have an aquaeous deficiency and and oil deficiency, so technically both types of dry eye. Drops don't seem to work longer than a few min for me, and to be honest, i've been noticing that my eyes actually feel drier after drops, but i use them anyway because the pain can get unberable. Anyway sorry to get off topic but I just wanted to know if the seabuckthorn oil is working for you.

[Faith1989]

Hi Patrick.. I have only been using it for two weeks , no real difference yet! R u using ne prescription drops at all?

[patientpatrick]

Im on Restasis, been on it since Nov. of last year. To be honest I'm not sure if its helping or making things worse. There are days when my eyes feel better, and i don't have to flood them with drops...(in fact sometimes the restasis drop feels soooooo good and my eyes feel moist for an hour or so) and there are times when my eyes feel grittier than before i started using Restasis. One doc I saw said it would be worth a try to go to a 0.1% cyclosporine treatment over the 0.05%, problem is my insurance will only cover the basic restasis. The funny thing is another doctor said not to be on Restasis for too long since its a new drug and haven't been long term studies on it. Seems weird because you need to take restasis long term to see results. Anyway, thanks for chatting.

[farmgirl]

Hi Faith: I have a question for you about the sore eyelids. Are they sore from the inside or the outside or along the edges where they close. Just curious because I have developed a problem with my lids being sore but it is on the outside in the inside corner and also along the lower lid margin. It is almost a contact dermatitis type of thing and I am thinking that I have developed a sensitivity to the drops I have been using....sigh. At first I thought it was coming from the salt off my fingers if I wipe extra moisture off of the eyelid, or possibly irritation if I just let it sit there. Now I am not so sure. What is yours feeling like?...F/G

[Guest]

What do you use again? Restasis and Serum? What do you use to clean ur lids? Haha sorry for the questions , I just also want to get my eyes in the no steroid zone.

Back in 2009 when my eyes went to hell and were at their worst, I started with temp plugs in the summer, also started warm compress treatment, and fish oil (for the omega 3's), plus entered the lovely world of wearing goggles 24/7.

In Sept. 2009 I saw my GP and requested oral doxycycline for my rosacea (thinking it would also help my MGD) and got tetracycline 250mg 4 times daily instead.

Then saw my (then) new corneal specialist (still the one I see today) in October 2009 and he put permanent lower plugs in, started me on Restasis.

Jan. 2010 I had my uppers cauterized, approx. Somewhere in all that I started using Theralid cleanser for my lids.

March 2010 started 50% serum 4 times daily, approx.

April 2010 started using Lacriserts (inserting in the morning, removing in the evening), approx.

Aug 2010 switched to 100% serum and I think I'd stopped the Lacriserts by then (too expensive and I was no longer in a state of desperation regarding my eyes). I also started Salagen 5mg 4 times daily (doses 4 hours apart) at some point in all that... don't remember exactly when though (and I tapered up to that dose slowly to keep side effects to a minimum).

Went to BFS in Feb. 2012 where I was started on naltrexone 0.0035% drops twice daily, then later dextromethorphan cough syrup to see if it might help for neuropathic eye pain (Delsym, taken every 12 hours... or in Canada, Benylin DM every 6 hours). I was also started on an LED light machine (treatment applied over closed eyes) every other day to reduce inflammation.

Also, at some point in all that I accidentally discovered that I am allergic or sensitive to wheat - if I avoid that my MG's do a lot better (can do a search on the forums for when I was trying Brady Barrow's Rosacea Diet... that'll show when I started the no wheat thing I think since his diet kind of forces you to not eat wheat products since they are high in carbs) Once I figured that out, I stopped all heat treatments for my lids (ex. warm compresses and/or steam treatments), plus stopped the theralid cleanser.

In November 2012, I was able to stop using Salagen which was nice since it was costing me $115 per month. Also in Dec. 2012 I had my upper right puncta re-cauterized for the 3rd time and it seems to be holding up finally - this is also saving me a bit of money since i no longer use nearly as much Celluvisc drops as before - sweet!

So that is how it all happened... went from having eyes that couldn't tolerate much of anything, dipping into steroid drops to keep it manageable, to now, when life is lots better in terms of my eyes.

[jenny2008]

SAAG...why did u stop the compresses??? did u find that they werent helping? were they agggravating your eyes more??? i get my eyes expressed by the doc every month and then do warm compresses . stay away from wheat , dairy and soy adn gluten (mostly)

do your glands still get clogged after stopping the compresses?? thanks !!! i wuld love to stop them.. they take so much time and make my skin so dry

[Faith1989]

Sagg thanks for the detailed reply.. I have toyed with the idea of using Restasis again, however I know it is SUPOSE to reduce surface inflammation yet made mine worse. It did increase my tear production and I am more dry without it but the side effects for me were pretty bad. My eyes right now r not to bad during the day, but at night they start to bug me again... I am dropping serum almost every hour after six pm. Farmgirl: My right eyelid is sore on the actual lid and my lower waterline. my left eyelid shows no inflammation at all (soo annoying) The left one is skin colour, totally normal and the right one is red, I would almost rather have them both inflamed so the right eye doesn't look so bad by comparison. I have been taking my doxy, compresses nightly with tea tree shampoo scrubs (these seem to help best)
Jenny: I stopped compresses once over December, for me all hell broke loose lol They make me dry to so I only use them at night but I know they are doing some controlling of my symptoms!

[farmgirl]

Your lid sounds exactly like mine Faith but when I quit putting the drops I was using in it that went away in a day or two. That was only a couple of days ago so I may be premature in blaming the drops but for now I have switched drops and hope to keep it at bay. Are you sure you are not experiencing a contact dermatitis type reaction from something that you are putting in your eyes? That's my take on my problem...something to consider...cheers...F/G

[Faith1989]

Farmgirl what drops? Do you mean your serum?? Or juts a certain artificial tear..You may be right.

[Guest]

SAAG...why did u stop the compresses??? did u find that they werent helping? were they agggravating your eyes more???

I stopped the compresses because as long as I don't eat wheat, my glands look normal... figured no point in compresses if they are "normal" already. also, I've never been someone who has noticed that I feel better after compresses... I just feel the same before and after.

As I said, they'll still flare up a bit if I overdo it with my eyes, but most of the time they are perfectly normal looking as long as I do not eat wheat.