Making Progress

[Judy]

Hi SilverLady,

So, how do you know if you have autoimmune issues for sure? Is this something testing can tell? I have dry eyes, many infections in one surgically operated eye and now I have MGD or Blepharitis. I was very much thinking I would like to have permanent eyeliner done so I don't feel I have to wear eyeliner every day. I have light skin and blondish brown hair and my eyes have pretty much disappeared as I age. How did you hear that permanent eyeliner makes dry eye worse??? This news has really depressed me. Please tell me more. How vain, right?

[Silverlady]

Permanent eye makeup

Hi SilverLady,

So, how do you know if you have autoimmune issues for sure? Is this something testing can tell? I have dry eyes, many infections in one surgically operated eye and now I have MGD or Blepharitis. I was very much thinking I would like to have permanent eyeliner done so I don't feel I have to wear eyeliner every day. I have light skin and blondish brown hair and my eyes have pretty much disappeared as I age. How did you hear that permanent eyeliner makes dry eye worse??? This news has really depressed me. Please tell me more. How vain, right?

A rheumatologist tested me for Sjogrens Syndrome with bloodwork. There are specific tests for this progressive disease. And if you have other issues such as autoimmune thyroid, joint or skin disease he is able to test for these. Your doctor can advise you if you request this info. I found out from my opthamologist that the medical evidence shows that the tattooing in the eye area probably damages some of the glands. I'm really regretting my permanent makeup.

Billye

[Vicki In Oregon]

Silver lady I am so sorry about what the permanent makeup has caused you. The people who do it should be more well versed in their field. If it is their expertise they should be telling you all potential risks, same with the medications that do this to us.

I will ask my doc on Monday about these goblets. He is still not sure if I have lacrimal problem but seems to think it is not meiboian because I don't have rosacea but I would assume not all here have rosacea that have problems with their Meiboian gland.

I noticed that when I had all 4 plugs in I finally had relief. But the bluriness was too much. So the top were removed. Since that occurred a lot of the blurriness is gone, not all. But the pain is terrible. I can't choose between blurry vision and pain. Espeically when they are both to a great degree. I was to get the lowers removed Monday and was anxious to do it but now I dont think I will. When I tell him i hurt more I know he will agree since he was the one who wanted me to wear them as long as possible. he says the restasis works better then because it sits on the eye longer when you wear plugs.

Can I assume my problem is with the meiboian gland because while I had tons of relief with all plugs in, I also had a lot of tears and blurriness from both the tears not draining and the drops not draining and this lasted 24/7. So the only way to get relief was with a lot more tears BUT before this horrible condition began, I was never blurry, never had too much tears, and my eyes were comfy. So the plugs helped in that they overcompensated for perhaps not just not having enough tears but not having quality tears right? because i would not need all those extra tears to get relief if they were not evaporating so quick? So now I feel that i have both larcrimal and meiobian gland problem. I am sticking with just one doc in recent times that I like, but hard to get definite diagnosis.

NP I am sooo glad you have some relief!!!!! It gives the rest of us hope too.

[Lucy]

Can I assume my problem is with the meiboian gland because while I had tons of relief with all plugs in, I also had a lot of tears and blurriness from both the tears not draining and the drops not draining and this lasted 24/7

No. Theory is all we have, and even the doctors often do not know for sure.

[indrep]

Vicki in Oregon

You might have your doc look into a Flow Controller plug from EagleVision. This would allow all four puncta to be occluded BUT the lowers would allow some tear to drain. So you would have more tear on the eye than two occluded puncta but less than all four being occluded.

[Helen26]

[QUOTE=IanPratt]Helen,

How did your DR test the goblet cell density. The DR I was referred to looked at me like i had two head when I asked this question.

Ian

It was an optometrist I saw and I didn't have any scraping done!!! He just put some dye in my eye and said he could see that I only had about 50% of the amount of mucous I should have! I have no idea how he could tell. His solution is to use Theratears which I have been doing for a couple of months now and I don't know if they're doing much good but in the absence of anything better, I'm still using them. I'm hoping there will be better things available in the future.

I agree with what you were suggesting that improving the lipid and aqueous layers might help increase the number of goblet cells - it seems to make sense. I have problems with all 3 layers and recently I've been working on my lipid layer and, although I still have bad days, I have noticed some improvement and I now have some good days when my eyes don't bother me at all.

[Guest]

Helen

Thanks for the info, I have just come back from the Optician with quite a good report.

I too have been using Theratears but recently I have been using Celluvic again at work as they both contain CMC and the Celluvisc is thicker and seems to help me out with my computer work.

Congratulatiions on the great news that you are having some good days.

My better days coincide with the days that I don't look at a computer screen for hours on end.

I have been doing warm compresses morning and night with lid massage, all 3 doctors have told me that Ii don't have a lipid problem but it seems to help anyway, so I will keep it up for now.

I wish you contiinued improvement.

Ian

[Helen26]

Ian

Same here - my eyes are so much better when I'm not at work staring at a computer screen all day. I don't work Fridays, so at least I get three good days each week. I got some wraparound clear glasses from the Optometrist I visited and I've started wearing these now when I'm using a computer or in air-conditioned rooms and I think they help (although they're not particularly attractive, but better than wearing sunglasses inside!).

If I were you I'd stick with the lid therapy regime because it might help prevent MGD / Blepharitis if you've not already got them. I didn't start off with MGD but now my meibomian glands have plugs in them - my optometrist said this is probably from a build up of debris in my eyes and using lacrilube at night (which I have now stopped using). I've got Blepharitis now too - my eyelids are completely stuck together and crusty in the mornings, but once I've cleaned them they don't bother me too much for the rest of the day, so I can cope with this.

Anyway, take care

Helen

[Guest]

I have seen 2 DR's and 1 optician that have told me I don't have any sign of MGD or blepharitis, although all 3 said that the warm compresses would do more good than harm.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones here in that my dry eyes are not clinically bad (according to the doctors), it still doesn't make my life any easier knowing this. I feel really debilitated and just can't work in front of the computer like I used to and I think that my eyes show that at the end of the day. Given that I am an IT consultant, life has become extremely difficult and not financially rewarding the past 12 months (no work, no pay).

I should be more excited that I have had some improvement in the past 4 months, it is just so difficult to accept that I am nearing 12 months since surgery and I never even thought I may be in this position.

The Optician did say today that I may have some degree of permanent dry eye as a result of the surgery, my world sank when she said this, but then she said, that I may just be a slow healer and because I have seen some improvement over the past 4 months that it is likely that I MAY still see some improvement in coming months (I hope she didn't just say this to make me feel better).

My major problem still seems to be my night dryness. I wake every few hours and feel the need to put more gel in. I don't know if I am overdoing it but I just don't want to ignore it to wake with an abrasion in the morning.

When I get up of a morning, my eyes are quite red but start producing tears quite quickly to the point that they sometimes overflow. I don't know if this is reflex tearing because of the dryness or because I am quadraplugged.

Even if I have a nap for an hour or so (on the train, etc), my eyes are really dry (and quite often red) when I wake up, it feels to me a little like sleeping with contact lenses in.

It worries me that I am making more out of this than there is, but when it effects my life the way it has, I am certain it is not in my head.

Cheers
Ian

[Vicki In Oregon]

Thanks Indrep!

Indrep I totally forgot to thank you for the info! I did ask the optha about it and he said his limited knowledge of them is that they are not comfortable and very spendy. My 4 plugs were $1400. Can’t imagine more expensive plugs but if they worked then that is what matters most. I will ask the next doc I see about it too. Who here has used these plugs or knows someone who has? My doc told me not to use warm compresses. Intially i think due to GPC. Now he still says not to use it and I think most the GPC is gone and plus have not worn contacts in so many months now. Thanks!