IPL with Dr Toyos

[stephgurl1986]

I also love this thread.

I sent the links of Dr. Toyos article to two of my doctors from university hospitals. One didn't answer at all and the other answered the morning thanking me for the article and saying that he has never heard about that before. I asked him about doctors using this method in Europe and he said he'd contact me once he found out something.

I really hope this is my cure! :-)

[sazy123]

msienkiewicz, thats good news. I would make sure if your doc is willing to do it, that he knows the whole procedure that DR toyos does because you want to give yourself best chance of recovery- you dont want to think it wouldnt help you if there was an aspect he missed out i.e if he didnt do the lower eyelashes or go as high as the eyelash margins (to treat the medium glands). maybe he could ring him?

Make sure he doesnt think its just treatment to the face like normal rosacea and with out doing the bottom eyelids- coz i believe that might be key.

Its probably a good idea your not getting plugs, they dont really help for MGD- mine didnt, i want them out but dont have time before IPL now.

[sazy123]

Doctor is doing IPL for dry eye in new york!

Dr Christopher Coad with Chelsea Eye & Cosmetic Surgery Associates is also doing it! In NEWYORK.... so there you go RobLIC
http://www.chelseaeye.com/

http://wbztv.com/local/dry.eye.treatment.2.1004860.html

I found the main news article for the one Phillip posted:

Skin Treatment Offers Dry Eye Sufferers Relief
Reporting
Mallika Marshall, MD
BOSTON (WBZ) ―

[Click to zoom.] Click to enlarge
Doctors say it was by chance that they discovered a skin treatment used for acne and rosacea also helps people who suffer from dry eyes.

WBZ
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Dry eye affects 59 million Americans, and it's often difficult to treat. Drops and warm compresses give patients some relief, but it's usually only temporary.

Now doctors are finding a skin treatment can help ease dry eye.

Season Newberry suffers from dry eye and has to use eye drops about 15 times a day.

"They can be painful, your vision is hazy - it's like you're looking through foggy glass sometimes, and it's just really annoying," she said.

Newberry works for an eye doctor who's decided to try something new to improve her tear production -- intense pulsed light therapy or IPL.

"It's the quality of tears, not necessarily the wetness of tears," said Dr. Christopher Coad with Chelsea Eye & Cosmetic Surgery Associates.

Our tears are more than water. Moisture is locked in by an oily layer and that oil is produced by glands under the eye.

In many dry eye patients the glands are blocked and don't secrete enough oil, causing water to evaporate.

The warm light therapy opens up the glands, improving moisture.

Because the procedure is so new only a handful of doctors are doing it.

"There's no downside," said Dr. Coad. "It doesn't cause damage to the eye. It doesn't cause damage to the skin."

Newberry has only undergone one treatment. Most patients need four, and it's not a cure.

"I'm not expecting miracles, but some improvement would be really nice," she said.

This procedure was actually discovered by accident. IPL was invented to treat skin conditions like rosacea and acne, but soon skin patients were telling doctors how their dry eye improved.

But im not sure if he does the bottom eyelids like Dr toyos does. Think worth finding out..

[sazy123]

Newyork is nearer for me, but id rather go to DR toyos for now as i know what he does.

[autumnn]

Thanks everyone for your support! I want so badly to have positive results for you. I am bringing another list of questions so let me know if there is something I can ask for you.
Irish Eyes- you got it exactly- a dog can be better than a therapist! My little spotted one is a rat terrier- ugly name for a beautiful dog. His name is Patrick and whenever I talk about him people think I am talking about my boyfriend! The other is SAdie- a sweet boston terrier....they are is moping right now- locked out of my room and sitting on the couch as I type this

[odydnas]

My dog Fez has been a lifesaver also...I think I like him more than most people I know! Haha.

Autumn, why did Dr. Toyos tell you to keep your dogs off your bed? I was wondering if that was bad for the eyes or something....

thanks!

[sazy123]

I find alot of comfort in my Labrador, shes so cute, shes three and still looks like a pup.

I had dry eye long before my dog and certainly didnt have a dog at uni a few years ago.

[autumnn]

Odydnas- Dr. Toyos said that he saw some allergies in my eye situation and advised that I keep where I sleep very clean. It is SO hard for me to do. And, if they are part of the problem I am going to need to get shots or take Pataday because I live in a one bedroom condo with three small dogs (my boyfriend has a dog too)....their dander has to be everywhere even though we are clean.

[happygirl14]

Hi Autumn,

Can you ask Dr. Toyos 2 questions or maybe you can answer them.

1. Does he cover the eye while doing the procedure?
2. Also why not do the top lid as well? My top lids are always a little swollen.

By the way my 2 dogs Copper & Dodger as well as my husband and daughter have gotten me through the roughest 2 years of my life with dryeye.

My dogs are 1/2 lab & 1/2 golden retriever and I love them so much. They sleep with me as well. Can you imagine how much room me and my husband don't have in our bed. It's hysterical. I don't know how I wouldn't be able to let them stay there but have been told not to let them sleep with me. Alas there have been some things I just haven't been able to give up.

But my dry eye came on before I even had them so I don't think they are the cause.

[mary kenny badami]

Much as our pets contribute to our emotional well-being (don't pounce on me all at once, folks -- I do still have cats who . . . um, er . . . which mean the world to me),
such pets also have the potential of contributing to asthma and allergy problems . . . and more than a few folks on here seem to have dry eyes directly related to allergies.

Below is a link to a DETalk thread started by Lucy and answered by others (I chime in on there at the end),
suggesting at the very least that we periodically buy new pillows because we spend so much time in our beds, where the potential for irritating our eyes is very great.

If you do an internet search for words like "pet dander" and "cat dander," you will find numerous commercial references to products designed to reduce the irritation factor of dander (= shed, dead, skin cells) on their human companions. I used to be skeptical about the advice, thinking it was an advertising ploy. But I was diagnosed at a major teaching hospital with asthma some years ago, where the experts were equally adamant about the likelihood that inviting my pets into the bedroom -- however consoling and endearing -- was likely making a bad health situation worse.

Just my few cents worth.

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...hlight=pillows

[amyk]

I also have trouble with my upper lids, in that they are red near the margin, have some visible veins, and appear to have caps/deposits on the margin that come and go. I emailed Dr. Toyos to ask him if IPL can help with the upper lids. He replied that his research shows that the upper lids are helped through IPL, but not as immediately as the lower lids, and that more than one treatment may be necessary to see any change.

I assume he can't perform IPL directly on the upper lid because it would be difficult to protect the eye. I wonder if he has done it near the eyebrow and if that helps with the upper lids. I'll have to ask about that when I see him in a few weeks, unless anyone knows anything about that.

[sazy123]

I also have trouble with my upper lids, in that they are red near the margin, have some visible veins, and appear to have caps/deposits on the margin that come and go. I emailed Dr. Toyos to ask him if IPL can help with the upper lids. He replied that his research shows that the upper lids are helped through IPL, but not as immediately as the lower lids, and that more than one treatment may be necessary to see any change.

I assume he can't perform IPL directly on the upper lid because it would be difficult to protect the eye. I wonder if he has done it near the eyebrow and if that helps with the upper lids. I'll have to ask about that when I see him in a few weeks, unless anyone knows anything about that.

He does use guards (see the article) so im not sure how its any different But it might be coz the skin on upper eyelid is thinner and more sensitive to the light... I would really like the upper doing as they look the redder and evidence of rosacea, but my bottom inner eyelids are far worse, upper arent too bad except the edges a little. But if doing the bottom is enough to take away symptoms im not bothered. I hope he can do the top at some point tho. But he thinks the upper can be helped by the treatment else where thats also encouraging (he does above the eyebrows, he may do around the upper like side of nose (thats one place that i think would help).

[autumnn]

I find alot of comfort in my Labrador, shes so cute, shes three and still looks like a pup.

I had dry eye long before my dog and certainly didnt have a dog at uni a few years ago.

I love labs!

Same here- had dry eye before the dogs and then it went away for about a year while having the dogs (strange I know)....but, if Dr. T says he sees some allergies I am willing to take some small steps at least....however, I feel that the allergies he might have noticed may have been from the drops I was trying at the time (Freshkote) as they made my eyelids itch...I'll report back tomorrow about what he notices this time....

[Meebo]

Toyos

I cannot wait to hear about the results. My symptoms are very similiar to Autmumns.

I definitely have an allergy component, but I am mostly of Italian descent, 25% being Scottish. On the one side of my face I have quite a bit of redness which may bwe rosacea, I still have not gotten a solid confirmation.

I did RAST allergy testing and it came up postive for dogs, cats, feathers, a certain dust mite, pork and oysters. (the later 3 very minimal)

However, there is still the possibility that there are some food intolerances I may have that are not actual alelrgies. For this reason I have been eating organic and staying away from known triggers such as tomatoes and caffeine. I do not eat anything with high fructose corn syrup, eat salmon at least 3 times per week and supplement with flax, vitamin c, Inf-Zyme (google it), B-Complex, magnesium malate, a vision supplement, and a multi-vit.

I have been feeling a lot better, some days being amazing, some days suck.

I still do not know if my problem really is ocualr rosacea either. I am planning on seeing another doctor soon. Time shall tell.

[autumnn]

I had a great visit yesterday with Dr. Toyos. Basically he examined my eyes and lids and said that 30 percent of my lower glands are now open (as opposed to ten percent before) but he said that the secretions coming out of the open glands are crystallized and toothpaste like. I asked him if they will change consistency with his treatment and he said “yes”. Apparently as he gets rid of the tenelegesia/veins the inflammation decreases and the glands produce healthy oil. I asked him if I was responding in a way that indicates the treatment is successful and he said yes, I am responding. Dr. Toyos could still see signs of allergies and wants me to be more diligent with keeping my dogs out of my bedroom (darn!). Dr Toyos was being filmed for what seemed to be a promotion on YouTube and my treatment was filmed (can you imagine my embarrassment- ponytail, no make-up, red splotches from the treatment) and I was interviewed after (I don’t think I will ever watch this- seeing pictures of myself is bad enough!). Then, Dr. Toyos examined my eyes- pushed very hard on the glands and I felt a pop- like one burst open. He said that he got a lot of them open on both eyes but seemed especially pleased with the left eye (which is my worst eye). He said at this point that I was “definitely responding”…..my boyfriend and I were practically clapping with relief/joy. As the visit before, Dr. Toyos spent a great deal of time with us- again I think it was over two hours and the treatment itself only takes 5-10 minutes. He was patient, answered all my questions, was stern about the pets, etc. The staff was extremely accommodating and friendly. I saw Dr Aseal (the head of the clinic) and he was beaming about Dr. Toyos and how they have brought in the best ophthalmologist with cutting edge techniques. Oh, and some good news for those closer to Tennessee rather than California- he is planning on doing IPL treatment in Tennessee starting in the next month or so.