Cautery vs. PLugs

[Vijay]

I have read the other posts on this board regarding cautery but I did not encounter the problem I am currently having.

About 4 weeks ago, I had cautery done on my uppers and since then I have had less tears and sore/pain in my right eye. My right eye is also uncomfortable but no soreness or pain. Prior to cautery I was plugged uppers and lowers and now I have just the lowers plugged. I had the uppers permanently closed because the plugs kept falling out. However, when they were in, my eyes felt close to perfect. When they fell out, which happened several times, I experienced the same pain/soreness I am having now, which was immediately relieved upon insertion of a new plug. When I have lost lower plugs, I did not experience pain, merely discomfort and dryness. I went back to my doctor two weeks after cautery but she simply started talking about finding the right artificial tears. So my question is: IS there any reason why I would have less tears with permanently closed uppers as opposed to plugs? I mean where could they be going, unless I have experienced a radical decrease in tear production on the same day I had cautery. When I went to my doctor with this question, she couldn't provide an answer and I am currently very frustrated because I am basically back to where I was without any plugs at all which was constant pain even though I was using art. tears 20-30 times a day.

I appreciate any help. Thanks.

Vijay

[Silverlady]

sure?

Vijay,
Is she sure they are closed. Mine were cauterized and when I went back for the 6 week check up, one of them had opened up. It sometimes takes a couple of tries to get them closed. Nature finds a way around things. You could go to another doctor for a check. They can actuall insert a tiny probe and tell if it's closed. We did that.

Billye

[jdickison123]

cautery vs plugs

Hi, I've had Sjogren's for 4 years and been using Restasis but my eyes are getting much worse. My eye Dr just recommended cautery. I am concerned about surgical complications like Vijay has experienced and if in fact it could make things worse long-term. Does anyone know if the risk of complications/inflammation/infection post-cautery is low risk or fairly common? Am also wondering if this will mean I will need to use artificial tears many times a day as my natural tear output is pretty much zero. Anyone found any less invasive solutions than cautery? Thanks, Jo

[rubyslippers]

Have you tried plugs? I was considering cautery but decided to do the less permanent choice first. I am very glad I did.

[Vijay]

Vijay,
Is she sure they are closed. Mine were cauterized and when I went back for the 6 week check up, one of them had opened up. It sometimes takes a couple of tries to get them closed. Nature finds a way around things. You could go to another doctor for a check. They can actuall insert a tiny probe and tell if it's closed. We did that.

Billye

My doc didn't say explicitly that they were closed, but she didn't say that they weren't. She wanted me to focus on getting the right artificial tears. I think she didn't want to do cautery again because then that would prove she didn't do it right the first time. I can't think of another explanation.
As far as going to another doc: I had to go through 4 docs before finding this one, who was the first to actually do something about my dry eye besides suggest artificial tears. The solution was plugs, which worked great when they stayed in.I think I've exhausted the list of cornea specialists in my area. I'm also at a point that the notion of seeing another doc makes me want to hang myself.

Vijay