Tenpororary plugs

[SirDryEye]

I had an appointment yesterday and the consultant recommended temporary plugs. I am very excited to have them put in. The doctor didn’t go into much detail so I’m looking for more information on the procedure. I see on this forum that a lot of people refer to “lowers” and “uppers” (WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW DO THEY DIFFER). I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS SO FEEL FREE TO CHIP IN....

Other questions:
1. What’s the benefit of having temporary plugs put in
2. Negatives?
3. If temporary plugs don’t work or wear away should I ask for permanent plugs
4. What does watery eyes feel like and is it worse than the gritty slight burn sensation I have?
5. What type of plugs are out there? What are the best and things to be weary of?
6. Is it obvious if a plug falls out?
7. Should I still continue u eye drops and warm compress?

Obviously i will ask a lot of these questions to the doc but it would be great to hear of someone else’s experience .

ALSO IF ANY MEMBERS ARE FROM THE UK HAS ANYONE BEEN TREATED IN LONDON? HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

[SirDryEye]

Pls ignore the spelling mistake in the title OOPS

[deep_dry_eye]

I had an appointment yesterday and the consultant recommended temporary plugs. I am very excited to have them put in. The doctor didn’t go into much detail so I’m looking for more information on the procedure. I see on this forum that a lot of people refer to “lowers” and “uppers” (WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW DO THEY DIFFER). I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS SO FEEL FREE TO CHIP IN....

Other questions:
1. What’s the benefit of having temporary plugs put in
2. Negatives?
3. If temporary plugs don’t work or wear away should I ask for permanent plugs
4. What does watery eyes feel like and is it worse than the gritty slight burn sensation I have?
5. What type of plugs are out there? What are the best and things to be weary of?
6. Is it obvious if a plug falls out?
7. Should I still continue u eye drops and warm compress?

Obviously i will ask a lot of these questions to the doc but it would be great to hear of someone else’s experience .

ALSO IF ANY MEMBERS ARE FROM THE UK HAS ANYONE BEEN TREATED IN LONDON? HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

1] Temp plugs as the name suggests are temporary plugs, you plug up ur tear ducts to maintain more tear in your tear well. They are temporary and will eventually dissolve .
2] None really, since they're temporary. However, some of us, myself included, believe MGD is an autoimmune/inflammation disease. Blocking your tear ducts may cause more inflammation.
7] Yes.

[farmgirl]

I had an appointment yesterday and the consultant recommended temporary plugs. I am very excited to have them put in. The doctor didn’t go into much detail so I’m looking for more information on the procedure. I see on this forum that a lot of people refer to “lowers” and “uppers” (WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW DO THEY DIFFER). I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS SO FEEL FREE TO CHIP IN....

Other questions:
1. What’s the benefit of having temporary plugs put in
2. Negatives?
3. If temporary plugs don’t work or wear away should I ask for permanent plugs
4. What does watery eyes feel like and is it worse than the gritty slight burn sensation I have?
5. What type of plugs are out there? What are the best and things to be weary of?
6. Is it obvious if a plug falls out?
7. Should I still continue u eye drops and warm compress?

Obviously i will ask a lot of these questions to the doc but it would be great to hear of someone else’s experience .

ALSO IF ANY MEMBERS ARE FROM THE UK HAS ANYONE BEEN TREATED IN LONDON? HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?

Here is an article that explains a lot about plugs, what they are and how they are used.

https://www.allaboutvision.com/condi...ctal-plugs.htm

To answer your first question there are in total 4 punctum in the eye drainage system, they are located at the corner of each lid close to the nose. There are therefore 2 on the upper and 2 on the lower. The lowers drain more than the uppers. What you are trying to achieve with plugs is to keep what little moisture you may have on the eye rather than have it just drain away.

Temporary plugs are used to determine if plugs will actually help you or not without committing to paying for permanent plugs. They are just that and will lose their effectiveness within a few weeks. If they don't work then permanent plugs will not help you either although you may have to experiment with plugging just uppers or just lowers or all 4. Plugs don't work for everybody so it is just a case of trial and error.

You can continue to use compresses or eye drops while plugged.

Watery eyes are annoying and can result in irritation of the tender skin around the eye and it is not recommended to be plugged if they are over-watering.

I fooled around with plugs for a while before I found out what worked for me. At first I had uppers only, that didn't help, then I had lowers only, that didn't help. Then I got temporary dissolvable ones in all 4 punctum and those helped a lot. They dissolve after a few weeks but work long enough to tell you if plugs are going to work for you. Following that I had all 4 plugged which helped so much that eventually I decided to permanently close the uppers. I have left the lowers plugged but did not cauterize them because I am hopeful that I might improve to the point that I don't need plugs at all and want to be able to remove them if experience over tearing.

Everybody is different and you may have to experiment to find out what works for you but the important thing is to always use either dissolvable ones or the umbrella type that can be easily removed. NEVER USE THE INTERCANALICULAR TYPE as they can become lodged in the canal and create huge problems. I think Matt0029 at this point is having issues related to these plugs at the moment.

If one fell out I would know immediately because I would become noticeably worse in that eye. With the umbrella type you can see the little cap so it is easy to check to see if they are in place.

Of all the things I do at the moment I am way better because of the plugs and as it is will never be without them.

[SirDryEye]

Thank you farmgirl for the reply, very helpful. Did u have to ask the doctor what type u wanted then? I want to avoid the bad plug as much as possible but worried the doctor will put them in if I don’t specify.

Also are plugs expensive? I live in the Uk. And is it better to try uppers or lowers first?

[deep_dry_eye]

One thing to note is that plugs will probably not help the underlying MGD condition (i.e., inflammation), but may make it worse. Plugs may help you symptomatically.

You should still tackle the fundamental underlying condition.

[farmgirl]

One thing to note is that plugs will probably not help the underlying MGD condition (i.e., inflammation), but may make it worse. Plugs may help you symptomatically.

You should still tackle the fundamental underlying condition.

Very true DDE, but what we are wanting to do is manage the debilitating symptoms and for sure you still need to tackle the underlying condition even if they help. They may help, they may not but you won't know until you try. Some of my plugs were covered, some not. When they weren't covered as I recall I paid $150 Canadian. Your doc has already suggested temporary plugs so go with what he suggests. If it comes down to permanent then you want to make sure (and you will have to ask) that they are the umbrella type that do not get buried in the canal and have a little cap that keeps them from dropping right down into the canal.

Based on my experience I would try lowers first but your doc may suggest otherwise.