Does epiphora after plug placement mean I'm not aqueous deficient?

[NeedMyEyes]

A little background first:

Have meibomian gland dysfunction that has recently improved very significantly.

Had maybe 5 Schirmer's tests, results below:

3 / 3 - was on steroids which have a very drying effect on me
30+ / 30+ - was taking eyedrops I had an allergy to, so caused tearing
15/15 - maybe not anesthetized so well
8/8 - VERY well anesthetized and they dabbed all the moisture out of my eyes.

Then I got lower punctal plugs a few days ago. Immediately after placement, experienced epiphora (within an hour or so). Getting worse over the last few days.

Have allergies and a few other things like lid wiper's epiheliopathy.

So, am I not aqueous deficient? Will the plugs reverse my MG progress? I am enjoying the ability to work at computers, etc.

Eyes still pretty red in the morning...

[y-gwair]

Not necessarily I'm afraid, tearing by itself doesn't mean that you are not aqueous deficient, it can be caused by irritation that derives from dryness. In my consultation last week, my schirmer scores post-plugs had gone up to 8/15, yet the wetter right eye had more significant signs of 'dryness' (corneal staining and dry patches). The MDG is definitely a lot worse in this eye, and I think the excess tearing is merely a reaction to this. There may be more tears, but they are of a poorer quality.

The left eye, which is has worse aqueous deficiency is actually more comfortable than the right, though it seems to be deteriorating as the meibomian glands are losing function. The surface condition of both eyes improved significantly after a course of steroids in January, but have deteriorated in the last 6 months, in spite of the plugs; the right lid now seems to be sticking to the cornea again at night with a lot of pain, which is what drove me to seek treatment in the first place. So no, I very much doubt plugs will help MG progress, I wonder if it may actually accelerate it by raising levels of pro-inflammatory substances in the eye. Many ophths. seem reluctant to use plugs for MGD for this reason. It didn't help that the first ophth. didn't identify any MGD disease at the beginning, it's certainly present now, I'm seriously wondering about having them removed.