Update: Four plugs in Scotland

[IanJ]

Hi all,

Update:

Got the old lowers removed and flow control plugs fitted. Also got smartplugs fitted on uppers. A good talk & examination with David Crystal, a few photos and I was able to see exactly what he'd done. Well chuffed.

A couple of hours later after we got home my eyes started to hurt....like pins were being jabbed into my eyes every few seconds or so. Suffered in silence for a while thinking it would go away...till I noticed my eyes were getting red in the corners. Had a close look in the mirror and the bottom flow control plugs had lifted and were rubbing my cornea. So, I took the blunt/rounded end of a toothbrush and gently pushed them down.....they went down rather easily and are now completely flush again......and immediately the jabbing pain went away. A little worrying but I'm just hoping it's evertything just settling in.
Went to bed and woke this morning, they are still flush and the redness is dying. Phew!

So, it's only been 18 hours but I can report that my eyes feel more consistently hydrated....and the good news is there is no excessive tearing whatsoever. That was a big worry.
Last night we visited some friends and I got the bum deal of having to sit right next to a really hot radiator. Now, that would have been sheer hell before...but certainly I coped with it very well......

It's early days yet, but a couple of days off work it is right now and then it'll be the big test come Monday......the air-conditioning at work.

PS. The other thing I'm looking forward to is not having to carry around pockets full of vials......I'm asthmatic so carry inhalers as it is.....I've felt like a walking drug store this past couple of years!

Ian.


-----------------------------

Hi all,

Just thought I'd update.

I went back to David Crystal in Edinburgh.....to get uppers fitted (I have silicone lowers already)...........but after a long discussion and talking about the pro's & cons the following was decided.

My eyes are great for a few days (99% normal), and then horrible, really bad, for the next few days......I go around in cycles so it seems..............
So, full plugs top & bottom seemed a little drastic, but as everyone is different we nearly went for 1 week'ers up top just to see how I reacted......but, since I go around in cycles it would probably be inconclusive.

So, I'm going back in a couple of weeks and getting the lowers removed, flow control plugs fitted, and full uppers fitted. Hopefully this will be a half-way house to what I have now (lowers only) and getting fully done. It's what I feel I need.

The other benefit is that the lowers I have at the moment are protrusive (dang cheap NHS!) and so changing them out will be beneficial. No more rubbing my cornea.

Ian.

[Hangus]

Hi Ian
Glad that things seem to be working out after your visit to David Crystal. I am considering going but like yourself my dry eye seems to be cyclical which makes determination of cause and effect quite difficult. I have permanent lower plugs and I gues my next move is to try upper Smart plugs. I have noticed a diminishing of symptoms but I never want to count chickens having been there before!
Just a question really about cost. The amount of work you have had done in Edinburgh would appear to be quite expensive. Can you give a break down of the cost of treatment?

Cheers
Barry

[stella]

about punctums

Delighted to hear of your improvement Ian !
Sounds like the plugs may be a real answer for u
You certainly deserve it - Lots of us have bennifited from your support good adivise and practical help !!!!
I have been offered plugs by my optician/optometrist
I am still unsure - I would need to know what kind of plugs
he was offering - Also I felt there may be some hard -sell with him as they cost £100 to fit (Maybe I am too suspicious)More likely he genuinely wants to help Anyway I have been a bit better lately and got Dr Latkany's book yesterday -Brilliant !!!I persauded my GP to start me on doxycycline -Tried to get her to give me PF prednisolone drops -Absolutely not So that solves that one
One thing may interest u that my optician told me ---
Apparantly anatomically speaking everyone has different sized punctums ,He said mine were large and would take plugs OK Some people have very small ones and cant take plugs ,by the same token maybe if they are too large they work their way out-Maybe that was what your problem was?
Mind, you would think they would come in different sizes
My optician tries temporary plugs first to see if u respond well .Wax or something i think they are
Did they do that with you?
Anyway its great to hear of your improvement
Stella
About lower punctums - apparantly the larger they are the dryer u will be cos you drain away too much - pretty obvious of couse
Another thing he told me was about yawning - It may produce tears but it opens the lower punctums and that drains them away- cant win can we !

[brd888]

Hello

Hi.
I too was at the same optician's yesterday (Wed 9th). Was good and well worth the money. I know a lot about dry eye through reading but it is obvious to see the difference with what I know and with someone who is professionally qualified and has actually examined many patients.
He said I had exceptionally clean eyelashes and lids - possibly due to several weeks of using Clarymist. I have narrow lower punctums but wider upper ones. He said I possibly have poor lipid secretion but hard to tell due to having used Clarymist. His opinion was a lacrimal deficiency (not enough water in tears).
I elected to have a smart plug fitted to my upper duct on the left eye only (because right eye is comfortable).
I should point out that there was no hard sell - he didn't even offer smart plugs, he said he thought I had come for information only. It was me who decided to have the treatment on the day.
One interesting thing - the tear drainage ducts do not use gravity, they pump out the tear film using suction during the blink process.

Anyway, it will take several weeks to see if this smart plug will work.

Regards.
Bruce