cautery

[hkgcomet]

I have extremely watery eyes now...like I said if I smile, laugh...show emotion, I have to blot. In the cold and wind, it's horrible. I try to wear windless goggles as much as possible outside.

D

Extremely watery...then you have more tears than me.
You should have more than normal tears in the eye now, but you still sensitive to the wind. Then that's not only dry problem...

I watched other people in the park, they nearly all have a snow white eye in this winter days ~_~
I am thinking of any method can make me overcome this problem. If I stand to the wind everyday, would my eye become stronger...

And also I would not do something permanently damage the body, because I want my normal eye back 1 day. Blocking all the tear duct just prevent the eye totally dry up, but it seems do nothing to other big problem come with dry eye.

Few years ago, I think fully plugged would make me solve all problem and can play computer game 12 hours a day, but the dream gone...haha.

[ringo]

Hi everyone,

All my four tear ducts are plugged, but my doctor insists that cautery will be even better, as according to him some tears do escape through the plugs. In your experience, is there a difference betwen having plugs and cautery?

Also, my doctor said that alternatively he can give me a Botox injection in the muscle of the eyelid (muscle orbicularis or something like that it is called). That prevents the eye from pumping out the tears, and he says patients claim it works.

I am afraid to do any of these procedures, due to the overflowing of tears that might occur,and their invasive nature.

Dear Dianat,

do you think your epiphora is caused by the cautery or by the actual irritation causing the dry eye to produce reflexive tears which feel bad to the eye? i had overtearin due to the dryness, paradoxically.

Please let me know.
Thank you.

[mylittlem]

Dry eyes and plugs versus cauterizing

Gary.

I would follow your instincts which seem to be telling you that cuartery is much too permanent. I would consider holding off on this. You could try the temporary plugs on the top at least initially to see whether or not you do experience excess eye tearing. The temporary plugs do break down and dissolve in a matter of weeks and might be a good way to determine whether or not they work for you on the top lids.

Another thought is that I had gone to an eye doctor once who had mentioned that there are actually different size plugs that can be inserted. I must admit I only heard this once and have never read it on this site, so I hope this information is correct. If it is in fact correct, then maybe larger plugs are your answer.

Good luck with the decision.

mylittlem

My eye doctor has plugged my lowers twice in the last year,I don't know what kind she used,but they seem to always come out.Probably from the lid scrubs or just rubbing my eyes on occasion. She wants to cauterize all four,I understand that as we age our tear production lessons considerabily,so I can see the plus side of cautery.I am 59 years young.

I have had dry eyes since getting the shingles in my eye in march of 06,and had no problem what so ever before that.Never had any eye surgery.

I just wanted to know what the cons of cautery is. This sounds so permanent even though that my doc says it can be reversed by surgery,if need be.

I also have a cataract in my right eye due to extended use of prednisolone drops. I will eventually have to have it removed,I am afraid to have any kind of surgery done to my eyes fearing that it might make my eyes drier!

Does anyone know if cataract surgery is as bad as the lasik surgery?
Just want to be very cautious!I had rather put up with blurred vision in the right eye than make my situation worse than it already is!

Thanks Gary

[Rebecca Petris]

Another thought is that I had gone to an eye doctor once who had mentioned that there are actually different size plugs that can be inserted. I must admit I only heard this once and have never read it on this site, so I hope this information is correct.

Quite right. Here's a link to a page with a list of several types of plugs and available sizes. (Not exhaustive, but has most of them.)

Also, a little tip: If you look at the forum table of contents, in small print just below some of the subject headings you'll see links to reference pages, product lists and such on this site relating to the subject of the subforum. There are a couple of plug information links on the plug forum.

[gary]

I had my bottom two ducts cauterized about a year ago,by my next appointment which was about three months later they had done reopened.She cauterized them again and tried to put plugs in the upper ones, she tried several times and gave up,she said that she couldn't get them in.

I have been going to her at Vanderbilt university for two years,she has yet to come up with anything to solve the problem.

She keeps saying that mine is age related,I think different. I realize that I am 60 years old,I think that mine stems from getting the shingles in the eye.

I have three older brothers,they have no problem with dry eyes,one is 10 years older than me. prior to getting the shingles the wind,nor dusty,or smokey conditions bothered me at all.

Now I can't stand even to have the air conditioner on in the car. I keep asking her to run some tests on meto try to find out exactly if the problem is water,oil or mucus deficency.She just says well sweetheart its a little of all.

I tried to get her to show me how to express my meibomian glands, just to see if the oil,if any was there,or if it looked good,her responce well sweetheart you don't want to do that.

She wanted me to try Botox ,but from what I have read one of the side effects is dry eye,so I didn't think that I needed to throw gas on the fire.

I am restoring an old car that I drove to high school,as long as I am working on it really concentrating on something my eyes are not that bad,as soon as I quit 10 minutes later my eyes start that real tired,sleepy,heavy feeling.

I believe that mine is oil related because when I look at my eyes in the mirror that look moist,I am also considering IPL, Memphis is just 170 miles from me.

I am trying to decide between Dr.Foulks in Louisville and Dr Toyos in Memphis,does anyone know what Dr Foulks forte is?

I think that its time to find another doctor,she is supposed to be a dry specialist, I think that this time I am going to try a cornea specialist.



Any suggestions?

Gary

[irish eyes]

Hi Gary

Just curious, why was Botox suggested? I haven't heard anything about if affecting dry eye either way. What area did she propose injecting? It goes into the muscles therefore shouldn't affect the glands (???...?)

It's a pity that you weren't shown how to express the glands - it would have been an idea if the doctor had a go herself to see whether or not any oil came out. (You might have seen this video that illustrates the meibomium glands)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7liNLprZFoE

Any comments about all this being age related; well the clock is going in the same direction for us all - unless she knows something different!!

Here in the UK, we have to try and work out which doctors specialise in the cornea - and which of those have an interest in dry eye. It can be like a maze.

[ringo]

Aging ususally means increasing dryness for the eyes.

This is especially true for women after their menopause has starte.

there are extensive scientific research on that issue, but certainly aging affects the eyes and they get more dry with time.

Botox is claimed to help by paralysing the pumping out tears muscle in the eyelid.

But according to me this is very dangerous, as it might work well, but it might as well paralyse your eyelid in a way that it does not close properly, and there you have a very alarming complication.

[irish eyes]

Aging is a common cause but not the only one.

The degree to which your hormones affect dry eye depends largely on your individual `blueprint' so it isn't the same for all women.


Gary - did you see a previous posting of Dr Latkany.

Unfortunately once a herpes zoster ophthalmicus (shingles) patient always a herpes zoster ophthalimicus patient. It typically is never the same after an attack. Chronic dryness is one longstanding complication and there are others. The good news is there is plenty to do. You could wait but more often than not it does not resolve on its own. Ask your doctor about the many options available. But be proactive as relief is usually around the corner

[gary]

Hi Irish eyes
yes I have read Dr. Lantkey's post I was not encouraged by it.Once a zoster patient always a patient.

The doctor that recommended botox said it was for blephraspasams,which I very well could have had,because I was blinking a lot, but the side effects was dry eyes! I don't need them any drier!

The excessive blinking has subsided on its own. I already knew how to express the meibomian glands,I just wanted her to, thinking she might see how little oil was in there or maybe the quality of the oil might suggest something to her!

I understand that as we age our tear production slows down a little thats why I agreed to the cauterization,because the plugs that she put in keeps coming out. I just wished that she could have gotten the upper plugs in just to see if I would have excessive tearing,I could always get them removed if it got to be a bother or put in flow controllers.

I am not sure that the cauterization of the bottom ducts haven't reopened again, They already have reopened once and she redone them again.The last visit with her I asked her to check and she look at them with a naked eye and said they were still closed,I would have felt better about it if she had used her microscope to look.

Like I said before I think that the problem lies within the oil,because when I look in the mirror my eyes look pretty moist.

Gary

[djb]

cautery reopened once

Gary,

Quick question about your doctor's cautery procedure...did your doctor give you anti-inflammatory/anti-bacterial medication ointment/gel to put in your eye after your first cautery procedure???

Thanks,

djb

[irish eyes]

Hi Irish eyes
yes I have read Dr. Lantkey's post I was not encouraged by it.Once a zoster patient always a patient.


Gary

Oh Gary - I really didn't mean to depress you with that posting!!

I've heard that Botox is used for blepharospasms. I also blink a lot (or more accurately screw my eyes up) just so I can function. I've had to explain it to people if they are looking at me in a curious fashion - so I just gloss over it and then move on on.

I didn't get on with plugs at all. There is so much debris and infection floating around in my eyes that it seriously exacerbated the inflamation and I developed cysts galore. Not a nice sight to behold - the pain was another matter.

My consultant asked me to describe how I express the glands - it felt like some kind of test with a right / wrong answer. He advised me not to express them too often or it could cause trauma. Opinions will vary on this but he advised (in my case) no more than once a week. I agree with you that it would be helpful for the consultant to actually see the oil and then make some kind of comment on it.

[gary]

Hi djb
I was on Restasis before during and after the cautery,and still am on it,thats all. I have been on Restasis for about six months and cannot really tell if it is doing any good because I have good days and bad days.

I also take Barleans flaxseed capsules, ocusoft foam eye cleaner,just started taking doxy.


Hi Irish eyes

Please don't feel bad about Dr. Lantkay's posting,I had read that quite sometime ago. I am wanting to find a good compassionate doctor,I would like to find one closer to me it gets old to make a 300 mile drive every time I need to go to the doctor.

I would really like to be able to see Dr. Lantkay but that is a long ways away for me.I would walk to California if I knew they could cure my eyes!

Gary

[irish eyes]

Gary

Good morning from the UK.

What would any of us do just to have healthy eyes. This could raise some very meaningful philosophical questions.

[Lucy]

I could kick my Lasik surgeon in the shins, for starters. Lucy

[Guest]

I could kick my Lasik surgeon in the shins, for starters. Lucy

LOL! Me too!