Plugs are making eyes Worse???

[xosweetiexo]

Hello everyone,

My doctor put in my plugs (which I've never ever tried before) in my eyes on Thursday. My eyes are still SOOOOOOO DRY!!!! I feel like if anything they are even MORE dry than they were before. How is this possible? Does it take a while for my eyes to get wetter? I heard it is supposed to feel better within the first 24 hrs and none of that has occured for me.

I am also using restasis (have been on it for 2 months) and haven't seen any improvement.

I have not been able to wear my contacts because my eyes have been getting REALLY RED... I dont know what to do anymore....

Why are the plugs not working?

[SallyP]

I also had plugs put in last Thursday 12th March, and they've made no difference whatsoever, in fact, feel worse, and now feels as if there's something permanently in my eye! Nothing seem to help, except sleep!!!

[kitty]

Plug irritation/awareness can cause the eyes to initially feel worse. Depending upon the plug type, it can take 7-10 days for things to calm down. If it feels like the plug is scratching your eye and/or the inside corner of your eye is red/inflamed, and it has been 2 days or more since the plug was put in, please call your doctor's office. (I'm providing advise given to me by my eye doctor when I experienced the same thing.)

If you are double plugged, there is a theory that this can create a "cesspool" of inflammation which can make the eyes feel worse.

Bottom line, if something does not feel right, call your doctor!

[xosweetiexo]

Well, the 1st day I was having difficulty looking left and right. I feel like it is getting better (comfort) very slowly. But my eyes feel ReALLY dry- even more than before....

So you think I should just give it another 7 days to see how I feel? I got concerned because I heard people saying that their eyes felt better within 24 hrs and doctors saying that within the first couple of days is when the plugs work the best. I just dont know which one is true?

[SallyP]

I'm sorry, I don't know the answer because for me, they did nothing the last time, and I didn't even know they'd come out (that's how good they were!) Must admit, I don't think the anaesthetic helped, and my eyes have been the worst ever, since the plugs were put in again, and I feel as if there's something in my eye. If that continues, I will go and have them taken out. Sorry not much help. The whole thing is horrendous for me, and I cannot believe there's no cure, and I don't even know what caused it in the first place, but I cannot tell you what a huge relief it is to speak to others with the same problems. Every evening about 7pm, my eyes don't move properly within the sockets and don't even open and close properly, very slow, and all I can do to relieve it is sleep. And......I don't even know if I'm posting these messages in the right place?! Hope I'm not upsetting anybody, and doing it wrong??

[indrep]

Typically if you are secreting some tears, the plugs will allow that to stay on the ocular surface and give you some relief. However if you secrete very few tears and the doctor put a drop of anesthetic in the eye rather use a Q-tip to apply only to the punctal opening then your eye will be very irritated. It could take several days for the eye to quiet down.

What happens is the outer layer of cells are compromised due to the very dry condition of the ocular surface. The cells are very near "death" and when the anesthetic with preservatives hit then it speeds up the cell death. This creates a very irritated surface. Now you have the dry eye damage compounded by the preservative anesthetic compounded by the castor oil in Restasis.

[beachblanketbingo]

Hello

try nixing the restasis and see if that helps - I found that when I took restasis it made my eyes burn and everything else suffered...

[SallyP]

Unfortunately, in the UK, we cannot get Restasis, except from the vets!

[sazy123]

Sally,

You can get restasis from www.edrugnet.com without a perscription, its the legit stuff and some, including me have done this.

[xosweetiexo]

How long does it take to start feeling better with using punctal plugs? Does it take longer than a week to start feeling better or should I have felt/seen results by now?

[SallyP]

the plugs haven't made any difference to my eyes, in fact I think I rubbed them so much after because they were so uncomfortable, I think they're not in any more!!

[IanJ]

If you are double plugged, there is a theory that this can create a "cesspool" of inflammation which can make the eyes feel worse.

I recently had one of the plugs removed from my left eye for exactly this reason. The eye was fine for nearly a year double plugged, but then it got inflammed and wouldn't completely go away despite anti-biotics etc.

The symptoms are a feeling of dryness and blurred vision, especially first thing in the morning. The eye was secreting a white goo which I was always mopping up.

1 week after getting a plug removed and the inflammationetc has cleared up.

Ian.

[blakesl8]

I agree. I tried a few different types of plugs, and they didn't work for me. THey made my eyes really watery and even redder.

[SallyP]

Think I'm going to have mine taken out. Have made no difference whatsoever, and when my eyes are in certain positions, it feels as if there's something in them (a large fly)!!! I suppose they may be sitting slightly proud and need adjusting, but the thought of having the yellow dye, anaesthetic etc, which makes my eyes bad for about a week after, doesn't fill me with joy.

[calli66]

Plugs didn't work for me, either. I have Sjogren's, which means my eyes can get inflamed pretty easily. Having plugs kept more tears in my eyes and improved the ocular surface, but they also kept more inflammatory cells in there because my tears couldn't drain. They got itchy, red, goopy, etc. Not to mention that the head of the plugs pushed up and were always making little scratches on the conjunctiva (according to the eye doctor---who removed them). I'm a bit drier, but more comfortable without plugs.

Calli