Plugs and Follow Up

[lboogie]

Hello All,
I have an appt. on Monday with my insurance-covered opth. who has so far been really helpful in doing pretty much what I suggest. We are going to explore silicone plugs. It was suggested by my lasik OD b/c they provide better blockage.

I'm nervous about complications from them -- what should I be aware of? The last thing I need is more problems.

Also, how should I ask him about oil glands? Can they actually tell how many are pumping good oil?

And lastly, are there drops I should ask about? FreshKote, the Alrex as suggested by my lasik OD? I might mention my slight facial rosacea to him too.

Thanks so much

[Lucy]

You should not expect trouble with the plugs. Plugs are a pretty simple procedure and it takes just a little while. YOU NEED TO RELAX. I'm not even going to explore "problems" you may incur. Your doctor will tell you. Do not

Also, how should I ask him about oil glands? Can they actually tell how many are pumping good oil?
And lastly, are there drops I should ask about? FreshKote, the Alrex as suggested by my lasik OD? I might mention my slight facial rosacea to him too.

1. Doctor, I'm concerned about my meibomian glands, tell me how they look. Do they seem blocked? How should I proceed with self care?

2. What drop do you think would be good for me? I've heard about Freshkote and what do you think about that for me?

It might help to write the questions out so that you don't forget what to ask. It's easy to forget when you're in the office. Good luck! Lucy

P.S. I wanted to add that trying too many things at once often leaves one confused as to which one may (or may not) be helping. You may want to leave a couple of weeks between adds or changes.

[rubyslippers]

Got silicone lower plugs last Thursday and got one upper silicone today. It feels like my dry eye is for the most part gone. I did the collagen 90 day dissolvables and they helped some, but nothing like the silicone ones. He said my tear ducts are large and he put in big ones to completely occlude. He also said the silicone ones just do an all over better job of completely blocking the duct. I am so happy I could cry---no pun intended. I am still going to get some better contacts too.


As for problems? If you start itching you call your dr. right away as that is an allergy. Have your doctor set them high and loose for 5 days and then have them pushed down when you know there is no allergy. Mine pushed mine down today. After he put them in on Thursday I could feel one scratching my eye a little. No big, deal he just took 2 seconds and pushed it down a little bit.

Be sure to have them flush the deadening drops as they are very irritating, and then I use Refresh drops heavily for a few hours after. I had a little irritation with one on day 3 for a few hours but it went away. Really, this has been such a breeze and helped me so much. I honestly feel that I have my life back!

Some people lose them if they rub their eyes a lot. My doctor said he has only ever had a couple of people lose them and one person repeatedly. In that case cautery would be my next step. I was actually able to work out in my yard for 2 hours today in the BREEZE and with my contacts in and I never had to use drops at all that entire time. Just 10 days ago I was using drops every 10 minutes and I still was miserable.

Also, the whole thing takes just seconds for each eye. There really is nothing to it.

Good luck with the plugs.