Lower plugs follow up appointment and assesment

[Matt0029]

I have my 6 week follow up appointment and assessment for fitting of lower punctual plugs. My question is because they will be doing a schrimers test etc, am I best of not putting any drops in for a period of time before this. My appointment is around 9am in the morning.

[Hokucat]

Hi Matt, that was quick, seems like just a few weeks ago you got your plugs! Have you noticed whether the plugs are helping the dryness? If not, perhaps you can also try getting the uppers plugged at the same time, at least with the dissolvable ones. Sometimes plugging the uppers makes ones eyes water too much, or for me my eyes just didn't feel right with the uppers plugged at the same time, so that's why I would say try the dissolvable ones first.

Maybe ask your clinic to see if they have a preference on putting in drops before the assessnent. Whenever my Schirmers was taken, I was never asked to stop drops before the test, or when the last time was that I used drops. But when I had Lipiview, they told me to stop all oil-based eye drops the night before, and non-oil based drops the morning of the test, otherwise it could alter the Lipiview results.

[Matt0029]

Thanks will the schirmers test score I get now with lower plugs, help show if upper plugs will be helpful?

[Hokucat]

I don't know if they would base whether you try the upper plugs solely on the Schirmer score. They may also do other tests, like fluorescein staining, to see if you have dry spots, or ask if your eyes still feel dry and if so, whether you want to try plugging uppers at same time. I would say to try dissolvables in the uppers too, if your eyes still feel dry...I've found that clinical signs are helpful, but in the end, how I feel is just as important.