IPL with Dr Toyos

[autumnn]

Yes, I am two weeks past the 2nd treatment. He anticipates I'll need 4 but am willing to do 6 if needed of course.

[EllMitcho]

fantastic news ! fantastic thread !

Question : did Dr Toyos discuss any kind of possible risks, side effects or complications he had ever seen as a result of the IPL treatment?

Not trying to dampen the hope (anything but - I'm trying not to get too excited myself !) it's just that I'm wary of invasive procedures in general and especially anything involving my already raw eyes

Thanks

Ell

[autumnn]

Hi Ell- All he discussed is possible redness and sensitivity to the sun for a few days after. Remember the procedure itself is not invasive and is on the skin- much like dermatology......my eyeballs felt nothing painful

[autumnn]

Sazy, I hope you can get to a computer soon! I cant wait to hear about your visit Call me anytime or post and let us all know.

[NCRedhead]

Great information here...

Autumn....your story is giving me hope! Did Dr. Toyos say where in Tennessee he or a colleague would be practicing? Living in NC, I can definitely get to Tennessee. If he didn't say, could you ask him at your next visit?

[autumnn]

Hi NCRedhead- Google "Toyos Clinic" and it is all there

[NCRedhead]

Thanks...emailed Memphis clinic already

The Memphis office does not list IPL as a procedures that they do, but I emailed them about it. Will let folks know what they report back.

[sazy123]

Hi im back!

Sorry i didn't get in contact sooner but my old US sim didn't work and didn't have internet.

The low down:

First he removed my smart plug in the left eye, the right was gone, This was awful, they had to flush it out and the instrument (scary looking thing) was painful maybe due to inflamed lids, it took awhile but came out in the end!!

Dr toyos said that most of my glands are open (as i suspected), but the oil is ''crystallised'' from the inflammation and veins, he pushed on eyelids to see the oil coming out. He said i have lots of tanglestacia under eye lids not that i can see it (and im still sceptical that its anything less than the norm), he obviously sees it under the microscope though. He said the IPL should reduce the tangestacia and veins that are sending inflammatory signals to the eyelids, the veins from the face connect to the eyelids so thats why treating the face is necessary.

He didnt look at my inner eyelids and didnt say i had allergies, i did think this was strange.

He did the maximum level of IPL, rather than doing milder treatment- to see how you react, he said as im coming from a long way it would be better. He said worst case scenaro i would get sunburn redness for a few weeks. After i had some very slight redness in places but that went in quickly, and i had no redness at all. Apparently i reacted well to the IPL (skin wise).

Afterwards Dr toyos said i got the ''hot compress'' effect, as more oil came out when he pressed on eyelids and nicer more clear fluid came out, but i believe because the IPL acts as a hot compress its a good sign to get this effect, but doesn't mean you are going to benefit.

I went to see him the next day, for check up as i was in town. And he has told me to eat salmon 5 times a week, discontinue eye drops/compresses etc. I think the reason for this is because he wants to make sure it is the IPL helping not the eyedrops, the compresses may interfere though. I know eyedrops are never going to improve it, and i will not be able to manage if i cant use them before bed- so i wont be able to do this fully. He told me to use 1 drop of XBRIM a day if that wasnt enough 1 drop of lotamax (alternatively).

So thats the good stuff.

The bad stuff is that im doubting my prognosis with this, i had a bad throat and was abit run down after the plane flight so he saw me when the oil was prob flowing better than it usually would due to less inflammation. and the oil he saw on the next day (he said flowing better) could be due to that.

Secondly i thought my skin would have improved more (as that is quite mild rosacea around nose), but its more or less the same, im thinking that if i had had more redness- that would have shown that it was doing something?? but because i didnt, that implies that im not responding to it.

I dont think my eyes benefited from the first one (although its hard to tell at the mo coz my throat is abit bad). I know its only the first treatment, and i know my eyes weren't going to drastically improve, i knew it would take a few treatments to notice a difference but i cant help feeling its not going to work and its such an effort to fly all that way etc.. The plane flight was awful BTW- much better with out a connecting flight for 2 hours!! And then next time i have the problem of somewhere to stay for 3 weeks as my gran prob cant go to florida now!

To top it off i had 10 hours to kill before my flight home- so i went down to venice beach- which was great, i saw a guy i saw at the motel, i spilt water on my phone and now it wont work! so the trip cost more than i wanted.

Point to add about the open glands, Dr toyos said because i was young the glands have not become blocked, over time they might. But i have spoken to some with blocked glands and they manage to get them open and working and improvement, but apparently mine are open but still dont get improvement from hot compresses, so it doesn't make sense that im just at a lesser stage than those with blocked glands, i feel the MG dysfunction is being caused by inflammation in a different way. Donno.

I should stay positive as i dont think i have other options anyway so i may as well keep positive until the third treatment. Its hard coz i no MY dry eye doesnt respond to anything and this may likely be the same.

Im going to do a whole allergy thing- getting rid of perfumed products from bedding etc, and clean whole room of dust, go on a strick diet with lots of salmon and hope that the ''combination'' of things along with the IPL, will get me somewhere.

Autumn and bev i will give you a ring later today.

Oh the other thing was he did two passes with the IPL, i couldnt tell if he went that near the lash line- he didnt do that it that many times near the eyelids- autumn was this the same with you? Did he do two passes with you?

[irish eyes]

Sazy

Hellooo!!

Great to get your very detailed account - thank you.

I'm sure you must be jet lagged. By the way - your story about the phone so reminded me of my daughters - !

Get some rest now.

[autumnn]

Hi Sazy- I think that sounds like a good visit. It is nice to hear that he diagnoses all of us differently and that he approaches our cases differently. So, none of your glands were blocked? Mine were 90 percent plus what was coming out was crystallized. I think it sounds like you might respond to the treatment quicker than the norm as you aren't blocked. Did he believe that his treatment would be able to help you turn the crystallized oil to normal oil for stretches of time (ie, between maintenance treatments?). How many sessions did he think you would need?
And, yes, he did two passes on me but did not turn the machine up- even though I asked him too! He said that I responded well to the setting the first treatment was on.
I keep reminding myself that one of his patients took 4 treatments and 3 weeks after that to feel relief- we all respond differently and it may take quite a bit of time to feel change...

[sazy123]

Im not sure it is good that my glands are open as i know this treatment treats blocked glands, im not sure if i have the same thing causing my MGD as others thats why im starting to doubt it. Im not sure the MGD is being caused by my face tanglesias- rather inner eyelid- viens etc..

He didnt mention about inflammation stopping the glands from producing oil as well as cystralised as i do believe that is happening as well, so i dont think its just a case of making the oil less crystralised- i think its a case of reducing the inflammation which imo seems to be coming from inside the eyelids... ahh so confused.

However, my right eye seems abit better but the left is still awfully dry (but actually not as dry as it was before the treatment- but im not taking anything from that as it could be the removal of the plug from this eye), the right in general isnt too bad, the left is unbearable. So its possible the first treatment helped my right (the eye with less inner eyelid inflammation and the one which didnt have the plug).

To add both eyes started off as bad as each other- as far as im aware- i lost the plug from the right eye a long time ago whereas the left was still in and had to be irrigated out- the left bottom inner eyelid has the worse inflammation so i do think the plug being in contributed to that, as the left eye eye worse than the right now.

I need to keep positive though.. my left eye is just driving me mad though.

[autumnn]

Sazy I know its hard (especially because of the distance that you are travelling, etc) and, I am having the same issue with wondering- BUT Dr. Toyos says that it takes 4-6 treatments to get the intended results. You have only had one- I have only had two- things are early on for us.
I am doing my best to reserve judgement until after 4-6 treatments otherwise I will go crazy!

[sazy123]

Sazy I know its hard (especially because of the distance that you are travelling, etc) and, I am having the same issue with wondering- BUT Dr. Toyos says that it takes 4-6 treatments to get the intended results. You have only had one- I have only had two- things are early on for us.
I am doing my best to reserve judgement until after 4-6 treatments otherwise I will go crazy!

Thanks Erin,

I have just spoken to Stacy, and shes going to ask around the employees in the office if anyone has got a spare room and wouldn't mind a lodger for 3 weeks.

She said she did get abit of relief after the first one, but then the symptoms came back, but obviously the second really helped. She also had blocked glands, but ''bloodshot'' eyes cleared up. Im hoping that if helps bloodshot eyes, that it will help veins/inflammation of inner eyelids. Because the veins in the face are obviously connected to both.

Does anyone get when they shut there eye and touch the top eyelid- a pulsating feeling?, again i only get it when my eyes are bad, my right hasn't been too bad, so im only getting it in my left at the mo. I thought its either the veins related to ocular rosacea etc or the stress on the eye on the environment?

[autumnn]

Stacey responded a lot quicker than the other person I spoke with (who didnt get relief until after the fourth treatment). Dr. Toyos says it is about the percent of glands open and what percent is producing good oil (he said comfort is when at least 50 percent of the lowers are producing good oil). After two treatments I can say that I feel a little bit better but certainly not "there" yet. It is dangerous emotionally to compare yourself to other patients- just remember each case is different and Dr. Toyos has been successfull in treating hundreds of cases with his 4-6 treatment protocol.....however, he told me one case he is working on may take up to nine treatments because the patient is responding so slowly...
I hope you find a room! If not, I would consider Tennessee- it seems that the cost of living is less expensive there.

[sazy123]

Hey, i have almost sorted accommodation out for a month in LA, found a sublet with a pool, but have to share a room which another girl which im not escatic about due to dry eye! but price wasn't too bad at $130 p/w. Im just wondering what im going to do for 3.5 weeks in LA and not spend to much money!! And i have a changeable ticket so will consider 6 weeks (3 appointments).

9 treatments? geez.. it would be expensive if i had to have 9! but i guess the patient will show some response by 4 treatments?

If anyone is in LA around this time and wants to meet up for drink or something to eat let me know.


Good luck to amyk who is going this friday and autumn and bev who are going soon.