double plugged and still dry

[kimby2007]

was wondering how many people on this board are double plugged like myself with double plugs. By dry I mean no tear excess. Strength in numbers right!!! Just curious to know.

[bernmee]

I had a second plug put in 10 days ago. i have had a total of three tears fall from my eye on three different days. I still have night problems but am working with Genteal gel on that one.

Kcoffiner...How long have you been double plugged? Have you ever had a tear fall out? Do you have the Schirmer's test or any other tests to measure your tears. Just wondering on this one as I have not yet had any tear tests done and am wondering if I should be asking for this. I am 9 weeks post Lasik in one eye.

I have no idea what rate of "tear fall' would be normal for a person would be if they were plugged...anyone know?

[kimby2007]

plugged

been double plugged for some time now. My Schirmer is at 0 so not surprised but trying not to freak out. Good knowing that I am not the only one this is happening to.

[bernmee]

Do you have days, even once a week, where a tear falls out...or are you just dry dry all the time.....you know what I mean.

I'm so new to this and it would be great for me to have a comparision point,

Thanks,

Bernadette

[rubyslippers]

Was it done recently? It can take up to 6 weeks to know if and how much it will help. Didn't cure all my problems but did help.

[bernmee]

Thanks for that rubyslippers...when you have nothing to compare it with its hard to know how you are doing.... I'd love to know how often a "normal" eye would have tears fall out if they were double plugged. But whenever a tear does fall out i lift my ey patch and show who ever is in my company, I get so excited, its funny how something so small can be such a big thing.

Are you double plugged? Do tears fall out and if so can you have tears fall out and still suffer from dry eye.

Either way I am happier double plugged then single plugged....it means I can move on to the next thing to help me improve my condition.

[calli66]

I used to be double, then went to quadra, then back to double, then to single (lower) plug. My eyes have a Shirmer of 0-2, with or without plugs.

My "excess moisture" (I don't call them tears) usually comes from inflammation, I think. The plugs seem to trap the bad stuff in my eyes and that irritates them. Plugs irritate them, too.

I used to think the plugs were helping me, but now I'm not so sure. I had one removed--- it just seemed red and sore around the punctum--even tho' I'd had the thing for months. It wasn't actively infected, though, just chronically unhappy. After I got it removed, my eye was much improved.

Calli

(Sjogren's, Hashimoto's)

[rubyslippers]

Double plugged in one eye and single plugged in the other. When I need to cry I cry lots of tears and it is just like normal crying like it was before dry eye and before plugs. The only difference I can see is when I "tear up" like I want to cry but not quite, the water that gets on my eye sits there for a long time blurring my vision because it won't drain down through my nose and make my nose run like it used to. It is very weird to really cry and not have my nose run. When I put drops in, they sit there for a long time too. It is wonderful not to have to put drops in every 5 minutes like before.

I actually force myself to yawn when my eyes are dry because it seems to squeeze some good moisture onto the eye and the plugs help keep it there. This can keep me from needing drops at times.

The 90 day plugs helped some, but nothing like these perms do. I have very large tear ducts and the mushroom head of the perms seem to occlude the ducts well. The others just sat down in there and did not work as well for me. I am sure to drop at least several times a day to wash the eyes clear of any buildup of anything.

[bernmee]

Thanks again rubyslippers...that seems to be how I am feeling with the whole plug thing.... and that is a great tip about rinsing them out as it has to be important that the bad stuff comes out someway...and the yawning will become part of my new rountine also.

You also told me about Genteal gel, and it has worked great the last three nights I have being using it. In fact, when i wake up during the night to apply I feel my dry Lasik eye is more moist then my good non lasik eye, I'm starting to wonder if I did suffer from dry eye prior to my surgery.

I have not at any stage been tested for tear quality/quantity, from reading all your posts I'm thinking this is something I need to discuss with my surgeon.

Bernadette
One dry eye from Lasik... the other eye untouched by a laser, and will remain that way

[rubyslippers]

I have never been tested or at least I don't know any of the numbers that people talk about around here. My doctor does do the yellow strip of paper thing now and then, but he said he does not believe in the numbers or the tests. He goes by what he sees (my eyes are dry before a blink is even complete) and even more than that by what I describe. He says he sees moderate but often I describe severe. He goes by what I say when working on the problem. He said everyone's nerve endings are different and he can have people for whom he can see no dry eye who are suffering horribly and others who would seemingly be miserable who have no awareness of dry eye.

[bernmee]

Thanks for that.

I have only had the staining test, and my eyes. according to him, don't have any dry spots and I am a mistery (to him). It took him a while to accept that there was a problem. He did Lasik in one eye and I don't think he wanted to see the "bad' side of Lasik. But with me he has had to, but only after I had a breakdown in his chair ans asked if I would be well enough for my wedding that he knew was coming up. The date came and went, and I think he knew when I had to postpone my wedding I was serious about my condition.

Its terrible that people have to go to such extremes to have "dry eye" taken seriously. And to think I had Lasik done thinking "dry eye" was what I felt when I left my lens in too long, and was relieved with an eye drop. How naieve all us Lasik patients really were. Even those who had "success", how many of them really knew what dry eye meant.

Anyway that is my little rant. i am getting great help from people on this site, and am still hopeful that I will heal in time.

Thanks for your replies, you "veterans" are are great source of knoweldge

[LasikLady]

I have plugs in all my tear ducts. I have been this way for almost 5 months. I do overtear. I need to blot at my eyes every 5 minutes on average, sometimes sooner. The excess tears "bug" me, it's hard to describe but my eyes feel great usually just after blotting them. My eyes well up but the tears don't actually run down my face that quickly. They will run "up" and settle on my upper lids and that can feel bothersome as well. Some days when I'm having a "good eye day" my tears seem thicker and I don't have any burning and I also blot less often. When I am in air conditioning my eyes really will tear up (reflex tears) before being all plugged they would just burn in air conditioning, now they wet themselves and that actually feels better. If I had just a bit less tearing I would be happier. In September my new doctor has agreed to try flow control plugs on me. He wanted me to wait through the summer to see if I needed total occlusion. I think I will still want to try the flow control plugs in the fall as I'm still overtearing.
All in all I am very glad I went for 4 plugs. It took about 2 months for my eyes to settle down and for me to see what this would really be like. It has been an improvement, I have more good eye days than I used to.
By the way, I tried 4 plugs (2 lower permanents, 2 upper temps) 4 months post lasik and had NO over tearing and some but not much improvement. Having it done again but this time with permanent uppers and 16 months post op it has been different. I think this is because the nerves are healed more and I am naturally making more tears. I am praying I will be like the patients Dr. Latkany has mentioned that resolve at 5 years. In the meantime I have taken control of my condtion thanks to this site and am managing pretty darn good most of the time.