Eye Plugs

[wolfdass]

I have had my upper eye plugs for about two weeks now (the lowers weren't quite enough on their own). With insurance all four plugs cost me about $350

I would have gladly paid $35,000 for the results I have seen. My life used to be centered around my eyes, now I barely notice them. They were constantly dry and always red...now they look amazing. No more drops. No more steroids. No more Restathis. No more doxy. I have tried everything under the sun.

If you haven't tried this route (or haven't tried plugging all four ducts) talk to your optomologist today. I am so mad this wasn't brought up earlier in my treatment...all those years of discomfort and frustration. Don't wait another day.

-Wolf

[rubyslippers]

I have 3 plugs and have to agree with you. I might even go for a fourth, but that eye is milder where the dry eye is concerned and I don't want to end up with a too-wet eye. I tried the temporaries (90 days) and they did help, but the permanents are so much better. I don't think the temps completely occluded the ducts without starting to dissolve almost immediately.

My doctor wanted my inflammation to settle and then to do a 30-60 trial on the temps to be sure. This is why we waited. He also wanted to see where my problem would "settle out" and not jump the gun and end up with dripping eyes if my own glands kicked in better. They did some, but not nearly enough to be without constant pain.

What amazed me is how simple the procedure is. A numbing drop per eye and then 30 seconds to insert painlessly in each eye. I had no irritation at all in one eye and only very, very mild in the other that passed in just a few hours. I had immediate, and I do mean immediate positive results.

[Rojzen]

great in many cases, but there are complexities, too

Wonderful to hear that tremendous improvement may be gained, for some, through plugging all four puncta. As someone who tried such double-plugging, a while back, I would like to say that this approach may not work for some of us. In my experience, the double-plugging would produce dramatic improvement in moisture levels for a day or two, but after that, my tear film would go back to being very unstable (causing windy/menthol sensation and burning), and the eyes then fluctuated between epiphora and real rawness. . .

On the other hand, I never had severe lacrimal deficiency, and so preserving tears was not, by itself, a logical solution for me. If, however, I had known about and used Dwelle when I tried double-plugging, I might have done lots better, and broadened the type of benefit I was getting from the plugs. . .

Happily, the Dr. Holly drops, like Dwelle, have put me into major remission of all symptoms, even though I now have only 1 plug remaining, in 1 eye. . .I would hypothesize that if one has severe aqueous/lacrimal deficiency, then double-plugging while also using Dwelle might be an extremely winning strategy, because so many who have aqueous problems also have wetting/dewetting issues secondary to subtle ocular surface changes that may set in after a long period of untreated dryness. . .

Bottom line is that one should not despair if results from double-plugging, alone, are not terrific. . .Should disappointment occur, there remain many other options to be used either in tandem with, or without, plugging. . .

[rubyslippers]

Rojgen, if your tears are good, what is the cause of your dry eye? My doctor said that in addition to my other problems, I had huge, really huge tear ducts. The plugging made quite a difference.

I wonder how many others, for whom plugging works, have very large ducts to begin with?

[calli66]

Plugs don't seem to help me very much. I've tried just 2 lowers, tried adding uppers, and currently have only one lower. I have Sjogren's Syndrome, and the plugs seem to accelerate the inflammation response, causing excess mucous, watery tears, itching, and lid swelling. I barely have any tears---probably measure about 2 Shirmer's. But for me, the plugs create more problems than they solve.

Calli

[kitty]

I'm glad you had such great results. Perhaps most of your problem is due to reduced tear volume, but the tear composition remains good. For me, I have nil tear volume and my tears lack Mucin. I have 3 plugs, they have helped somewhat, turning the pain down from a 9-10 to a 7-8. I'll take any improvement I can get.

Just one thing to think about with 4 plugs. If you have reflex tearing due to any reason (irritation, allergies or whatever), the tears will go down your face.