Some function regained in meibomian glands

[hannidan]

I'm a middle aged man with meibomian gland disease, possible rosacea with other eye complications. Warm compresses weren't working for me (this is an understatement) so I had 4 IPLs followed with a 6 week break. Next was a Lipiflow procedure with a 4.5 month wait for the meibomian glands to turn back on. After the wait there was no activity to speak of so I had Lipiflow a second time (this was probably unnecessary). I then started testosterone cream daily (5%). My total testosterone levels went from 330 (low normal) to 390 (still low normal range) in 6 weeks and almost all of my meibomain glands started producing, some better than others. Some additional information. It's my understanding body fat has an enzyme (aromatase) that converts testosterone into estrogen (not what you want if your a male with eye problems). Zinc apparently inhibits this somewhat, of course so would losing body fat. Quick side note, I've also had some success with increasing my omega 3 supplement to 5 grams a day, reducing inflammation. I'm using Dr. Barry Sears book "Toxic Fat" as a reference for this, his position is that an obese person can handle 5 grams a day and a normal weight person 2.5 grams daily with no adverse effects. I located a good brand on the International Fish Oil Standards website, lots of fish oil reviews there. Hope this helps some of you.

[MGD666]

Hello hannidan,

Thanks for your post. So, do you think the Lipiflow helped out at all? The IPL? Is the testosterone cream you are using the kind compounded by a pharmacy? Do you apply it to the upper lids? I tried the testosterone drops for 3-4 months but did not notice much, if any improvement, and was hopeful that it would help (I took finasteride aka propecia for several years, and believe it to be the main cause of my dry eye issues). Which fish oil or omega 3 brand did you end up with after your research?

[hannidan]

Hi MGD666;

I was also a propecia user, stopped 2 yrs 9 months after my eye problems started (after Lazik) when I realized it was robbing my entire body of testosterone. Noticed an improvement within 3 days of stopping, unfortunately my mgd had advanced to a severe (in my humble opinion) case of posterior blepharitis and I was getting nowhere with warm compresses in clearing my mg channels. I think the IPL was of some benefit to me mostly due to a stealthy case of ocular rosacea. When I was using warm compresses my upper cheeks to eye area would burn so acutely I'd walk around with ice packs pressed against my face and my aqueous tear layer would disappear. I was super pleased with the Lipiflow in that it cleared out the solidified, backed up meibomian gland secretions really well. Clearing out the channels merely gave my mg's a chance to regenerate, however. With my mg scarring, eye lid capillary build out and lower testosterone levels they couldn't quite rally on their own. The testosterone cream I ended up using ( 1 ml at 5% testosterone, 66 dollars a month) was from a compounding pharmacy (local) and I apply it to the bare skin on the underside of one of my arms. It's absorbed systemically. I added a zinc pill daily to short circuit the aromatase in my fat and have been slowly losing weight (down 40 lbs in what will eventually be a 65 lb loss.....I hope.....). I'm reluctant to tell you which fish oil I'm using as it may appear I'm promoting a brand. If you search International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS) I should think you'll be able to find their website. Click around and you'll see the test results. The place that does the testing is in Canada I think, do be sure to concentrate on a brand available in your location. Also, since I was using 5 grams a day, at first, it made more sense to go with a larger pill size. One more thing, testosterone testing is a little "troubled". If I remember correctly there are 3 or 4 ways of testing and each has it's own pluses and drawbacks. This caused me to lose a year in treatment until I started reading and realized a low normal reading only meant I wasn't going to get my insurance to pay for supplementation.

Hope this helps