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Dapsone
Hi Vivian,
I just read your post and was wondering how you're doing. I have been searching for an answer for my dry eyes due to Lasik surgery 11 years ago! (I'm 32). My dryness occurs at night while I'm sleeping and it's extremely uncomfortable. I've been seeing Dr. Plugfelder in Houston, as he's a very well known Dry Eye Specialist. He had me try plasma tears (eyedrops made from my own plasma!). I've also taken Doxycycline, have tried eye goggles, drops, gels, plugs, taping my eyes shut...just about everything. Nothing has helped. You mentioned Dapsone. I haven't heard of this. Can you provide any more information on it? I cant seem to find much online. Thanks so much for your help!! I hope you're doing better.
Tara
I did want to take the time to update everyone about my situation and maybe y'all could help me with a few questions.
The symptoms of my dry eyes have gotten a bit worse over the past few months, it's been frustrating b/c I have been having other health problems along with my dry eyes.
I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and I finally traveled to Houston, Texas to see Dr. Richard Yee. I honestly didn't know what to expect from seeing him. Part of me was ready for him to just tell me what all the other doctors have told me and part of me was hoping he'd find something else and hopefully have a way for me to find relief from the pain and discomfort I get from my eyes.
When his nurses first took me in they checked my vision and did the schirmers test.
-I can see beyond perfect according to the machine that measures your eyes (I am not sure what it's called, but its the machine where you look in and see a barn...)
- But when I do a vision test, what I should be seeing clear is all blurry. (And originally we all thought it was due to how dry my eyes were dry)
-They also tested my eye pressure, it was good 10 and 11.
-The schirmers test told us that my left eye is a 2 and my right eye is a 6. Which I can see that b/c I have always told everyone my left eye has always been the one that has cause me more pain and discomfort.
So it's pretty obvious to them right off that bat I have a bad case of dry eyes just based on the schirmer's test. But then Dr. Yee comes in and right off the bat he is very nice and comforting. He also found somethings going on that the other doctors have failed to catch.
-He quickly noticed my Meibomian glands were blocked, and when he pushed on them it wasn't clear oil, but some white gunk. So I now am diagnosed with meibomian gland blepharitis. I will say that I have been asking again and again to my doctors in Dallas about this condition, and they ASSURED me I had no such thing, it's just amazing how Dr. Yee saw right off the bat about my bleph. He said I have it pretty bad, so the damage done by lasik and the condition of my bleph has made me like the perfect storm of dry eye.
-They also put dye in my eyes so he could see the extent of the damage that the Lasik has done to my eye, and judging from his comments and my boyfriends reactions (they had a camera pointed on my eyes so everyone in the room was able to see it) the damage is pretty bad. This is also surprising because every doctor has told me my eyes have healed "perfectly" and there doesn't seem to be any extensive damage. But not according to Dr. Yee!
-One final observations he noticed was that the tissue on my eye ball is very badly wrinkled. He told me that my eyeball is supposed to be completely smooth, but the tissue on my eye wrinkles so much, like "wrinkled bed linen" he described that my eyes were so dry that my eyelids are like "windshield wipers" and over the course of my dry eye battle, the eyelids have been stretching out the tissue in my eyes. Dr. Yee said that the wrinkles on the eyes can be the cause of a lot of my discomfort as well. I forgot what he called it, but I want to assume its similar to macular pucker.
So after he looked at my eyes he gave me the plan of action, he feels that he can take me from a 10 to a 5.....he feels confident that eventually he can get me down to about a 2/1...but only time will tell.
I am currently doing this now with Dr. Yee's instruction:
-Restatsis 3x a day
-Serum drops 4x or more a day
-Dapsone 4x a day.
(Dapsone is a compounding eye drop that he has specifically invented. It is supposed to help inflammation, kind of like steroid drops without the risks of glaucoma and other effects of using a steroid for longer periods. I will say that it has been effective in helping the inflammation, but it doesn't last as long as steroid do. I really do have to put it in 4x a day, I would put it in more if I could afford to have two bottles made every month!)
-HydroEye 4 tablets a day
-He also wants me to do the 9 hard blinks 3 times a day to help with the oil flow.
-I also got my lower ducts cauterized.
-He also suggested I get lipiflow, but as of right now I am not sure because of how much it costs and also because I have read some of the stories on here and most of them haven't been really happy with the results. So I am actually going to try to make up for this a little bit by doing warm compresses....I am just scared because I don't want to cause infections and other problems by applying so much heat around my eyes. So if any suggestions about how to warm compress would be greatly appreciated!
-He also says that later on I can get surgery to correct the wrinkles on my eyes. I am strongly considering this since it is covered by insurance, but this would be a last resort type of thing.
So that is my plan of action for a few months. Now that we have found that it's not just dry eye from lasik, but also from meibomian bleph and the wrinkles in my eyes, and now that I am getting some of the right treatment, I have a bit more hope that I will be able to find relief. Not a cure, but relief. I hope I wont have to put drops in my eyes every few minutes, I just hope my standard of living will improve a bit more, the more I continue with Dr. Yee's course of action for me.
But with this comes a lot of anger towards my doctors in Dallas. How did they not catch my bleph, even after I have asked them to check for it. I remember asking my doctor who was doing my lasik consultation to make sure I didn't have bleph and he assured me I didn't have anything and that my eyes were completely healthy and under control. Even after the surgery and I started having more problems, I asked them to look into bleph. They looked and assured me some more that I didn't have it. It makes me wonder how differenent it would have been if they werent so blinded by money and caught my bleph before lasik. And if they did catch it after lasik, would I be in this much pain and discomfort? I almost want to move down to Houston so I can be near Dr. Yee because he has been the only one who has truly took the time to listen and look into why my eyes are so dry.
But what's done is done, I can only remain hopeful that I will one day find more relief from this condition. Trying to keep positive! I definitely am glad I took the trip to Houston to see Dr. Yee. I would highly recommend any of my other texas sufferers to go see him. The Dapsone eye drops that he makes may help you find some relief!![/QUOTE]
Hi Vivian,
I just read your post and was wondering how you're doing. I have been searching for an answer for my dry eyes due to Lasik surgery 11 years ago! (I'm 32). My dryness occurs at night while I'm sleeping and it's extremely uncomfortable. I've been seeing Dr. Plugfelder in Houston, as he's a very well known Dry Eye Specialist. He had me try plasma tears (eyedrops made from my own plasma!). I've also taken Doxycycline, have tried eye goggles, drops, gels, plugs, taping my eyes shut...just about everything. Nothing has helped. You mentioned Dapsone. I haven't heard of this. Can you provide any more information on it? I cant seem to find much online. Thanks so much for your help!! I hope you're doing better.
Tara
I did want to take the time to update everyone about my situation and maybe y'all could help me with a few questions.
The symptoms of my dry eyes have gotten a bit worse over the past few months, it's been frustrating b/c I have been having other health problems along with my dry eyes.
I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and I finally traveled to Houston, Texas to see Dr. Richard Yee. I honestly didn't know what to expect from seeing him. Part of me was ready for him to just tell me what all the other doctors have told me and part of me was hoping he'd find something else and hopefully have a way for me to find relief from the pain and discomfort I get from my eyes.
When his nurses first took me in they checked my vision and did the schirmers test.
-I can see beyond perfect according to the machine that measures your eyes (I am not sure what it's called, but its the machine where you look in and see a barn...)
- But when I do a vision test, what I should be seeing clear is all blurry. (And originally we all thought it was due to how dry my eyes were dry)
-They also tested my eye pressure, it was good 10 and 11.
-The schirmers test told us that my left eye is a 2 and my right eye is a 6. Which I can see that b/c I have always told everyone my left eye has always been the one that has cause me more pain and discomfort.
So it's pretty obvious to them right off that bat I have a bad case of dry eyes just based on the schirmer's test. But then Dr. Yee comes in and right off the bat he is very nice and comforting. He also found somethings going on that the other doctors have failed to catch.
-He quickly noticed my Meibomian glands were blocked, and when he pushed on them it wasn't clear oil, but some white gunk. So I now am diagnosed with meibomian gland blepharitis. I will say that I have been asking again and again to my doctors in Dallas about this condition, and they ASSURED me I had no such thing, it's just amazing how Dr. Yee saw right off the bat about my bleph. He said I have it pretty bad, so the damage done by lasik and the condition of my bleph has made me like the perfect storm of dry eye.
-They also put dye in my eyes so he could see the extent of the damage that the Lasik has done to my eye, and judging from his comments and my boyfriends reactions (they had a camera pointed on my eyes so everyone in the room was able to see it) the damage is pretty bad. This is also surprising because every doctor has told me my eyes have healed "perfectly" and there doesn't seem to be any extensive damage. But not according to Dr. Yee!
-One final observations he noticed was that the tissue on my eye ball is very badly wrinkled. He told me that my eyeball is supposed to be completely smooth, but the tissue on my eye wrinkles so much, like "wrinkled bed linen" he described that my eyes were so dry that my eyelids are like "windshield wipers" and over the course of my dry eye battle, the eyelids have been stretching out the tissue in my eyes. Dr. Yee said that the wrinkles on the eyes can be the cause of a lot of my discomfort as well. I forgot what he called it, but I want to assume its similar to macular pucker.
So after he looked at my eyes he gave me the plan of action, he feels that he can take me from a 10 to a 5.....he feels confident that eventually he can get me down to about a 2/1...but only time will tell.
I am currently doing this now with Dr. Yee's instruction:
-Restatsis 3x a day
-Serum drops 4x or more a day
-Dapsone 4x a day.
(Dapsone is a compounding eye drop that he has specifically invented. It is supposed to help inflammation, kind of like steroid drops without the risks of glaucoma and other effects of using a steroid for longer periods. I will say that it has been effective in helping the inflammation, but it doesn't last as long as steroid do. I really do have to put it in 4x a day, I would put it in more if I could afford to have two bottles made every month!)
-HydroEye 4 tablets a day
-He also wants me to do the 9 hard blinks 3 times a day to help with the oil flow.
-I also got my lower ducts cauterized.
-He also suggested I get lipiflow, but as of right now I am not sure because of how much it costs and also because I have read some of the stories on here and most of them haven't been really happy with the results. So I am actually going to try to make up for this a little bit by doing warm compresses....I am just scared because I don't want to cause infections and other problems by applying so much heat around my eyes. So if any suggestions about how to warm compress would be greatly appreciated!
-He also says that later on I can get surgery to correct the wrinkles on my eyes. I am strongly considering this since it is covered by insurance, but this would be a last resort type of thing.
So that is my plan of action for a few months. Now that we have found that it's not just dry eye from lasik, but also from meibomian bleph and the wrinkles in my eyes, and now that I am getting some of the right treatment, I have a bit more hope that I will be able to find relief. Not a cure, but relief. I hope I wont have to put drops in my eyes every few minutes, I just hope my standard of living will improve a bit more, the more I continue with Dr. Yee's course of action for me.
But with this comes a lot of anger towards my doctors in Dallas. How did they not catch my bleph, even after I have asked them to check for it. I remember asking my doctor who was doing my lasik consultation to make sure I didn't have bleph and he assured me I didn't have anything and that my eyes were completely healthy and under control. Even after the surgery and I started having more problems, I asked them to look into bleph. They looked and assured me some more that I didn't have it. It makes me wonder how differenent it would have been if they werent so blinded by money and caught my bleph before lasik. And if they did catch it after lasik, would I be in this much pain and discomfort? I almost want to move down to Houston so I can be near Dr. Yee because he has been the only one who has truly took the time to listen and look into why my eyes are so dry.
But what's done is done, I can only remain hopeful that I will one day find more relief from this condition. Trying to keep positive! I definitely am glad I took the trip to Houston to see Dr. Yee. I would highly recommend any of my other texas sufferers to go see him. The Dapsone eye drops that he makes may help you find some relief!![/QUOTE]
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