New Guy With MGD Stopping By To Say Hello

[stumpy1972]

Just wanted to introduce myself. I a 44 yr old big dude (6'3", 350lbs) and somewhat new to this dry eye thing. I never had surgery, don't wear contact lenses, have had no eye injuries, hardly drink any alcohol and don't smoke. I started waking up in the morning about 5 months ago with my right eyelid sticking to my eyeball and that gritty feeling in my eye all day. I was diagnosed with MGD from my regular eye doc. about a month ago. I just saw a ophthalmologist who specializes in dry eye yesterday. They took some infrared pics of my lids and did a few other tests just to confirm that I have about 1/3 meibomian gland drop out and I have stage 3 MGD. He offers the Lipiflow, and then the typical doxycycline and topical steroid as symptom management options. I'm already on a diabetic med, a high blood pressure med and use a CPAP at night. So for now I'm sticking with the nighttime gel, warm compresses, gland massage, eyelid cleaning and Retain eye drops. I'm a mechanical designer by trade so I use a computer and CAD about 7-1/2 hrs a day. Everyday at work, I figure out what the problem is with machinery that is not working properly and I fix it.... I'm just completely overwhelmed by the fact that nobody knows the cause of MGD and there is no cure.... I'm an outdoor guy, hunting, shooting, kayaking, camping and all of the sudden that seems like it's all going to go bye bye. This will also possibly have a huge affect on my job since my eyes just seem to burn all day at work. I'm very depressed right at the moment and it's affecting my family and my job. Hopefully I will find some comfort and insight on this forum. Seems like some good folks and information here. Thanks for the opportunity to join.

[Lou67]

Welcome Stumpy - your story sounds very similar to mine, both in diagnosis, work environment and mental outlook. There's a lot of great archived data on this site - although the day-to-day new postings are sometimes slow. You may also want to checkout this site's facebook group for a little more activity/camaraderie.

[stumpy1972]

Thanks Lou67. I'll check it out. Camaraderie is going to be pretty helpful right about now

[sunflower7]

Hi stumpy, welcome to the forum. Since you've already dealt with other medical conditions, I'll use them for an analogy: Just like there's no real cure for diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea, there are things you can do and treatments you can take to control disease progression. Dry eye is like that. There's no real cure for things like MGD, but there are ways to manage it. It looks like you're on the right track with learning about the various treatments. I'll just suggest one more thing: have your eye doctor perform manual expression using forceps after heating your glands with a warm compress (here's a video of it being done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lapguls0Yhk). It's much cheaper than Lipiflow and could offer just as much relief. Personally, I had more success with manual expressions than Lipiflow. The only problem is finding an eye doctor who is willing to do it since most shy away and would prefer to administer Lipiflow which is less work, less time-consuming, and less risky for them.

Unfortunately, dry eye doesn't get as much attention as heart disease and diabetes. Nobody dies with "dry eyes" as the cause of death on their death certificate, after all. For this reason, even most eye doctors don't know much about it and if you complain to them about your symptoms they'll just give you a little sample of whatever brand eye drop last marketed to them and send you home. You will have to be very proactive and do all that you can at home: warm compresses, eyelid hygiene, Omega-3 supplements, humidity control, blinking exercises, etc. It will take months, if not years to find the right combination of treatments that work. I hope you find the relief.

[Mazza818]

Intense pulsed light [IPL] treatment @ Dry Eye Centre in Heathmont caused a lot of head aches that lasted weeks. I am suffering from dry eyes due to MGD which means my glands which produces oil is clogged up or blocked therefore there isnt enough oil surfacing the tears. As result the tears dry up quickly due to not enough oil. I am also experiencing fair bit of inflammed eyelids. Dry eye centre recommended IPL to help with it all. I under went 1 treatment of IPL and experienced migraines for 2 weeks after the treatment and after 2 weeks of constant migraines it started to fade away. I was taking panadols for those 2 weeks. BAD EXPERIENCE! Never went back for any further treatments.

Let me know If anyone else experienced head aches or migraines after IPL.

Thanks
Mazza

[Franklin1987]

Intense pulsed light [IPL] treatment by Dr Nicholas YOUNG @ Dry Eye Centre in Heathmont caused a lot of head aches that lasted weeks. I am not sure about other doctors and how they use the IPL but the clinic in Heathmont is a big NO NO. I suggest you stay away from the doctor at dry eye centre in Heathmont VIC If you're considering IPL treatment for dry eyes or inflammed eyelids. It may not have to do with the doctor; it may just be the machine they use or it may well be to do with the doctor If he doesn't know what intensity of the light should be and how deep should the light flash; or it can be a case of the doctor not knowing how to use the technology/machine property. Whatever the case might be; the treatment I got from Dr Nicholas Young was one of the biggest mistake of my life. Caused me a lot of grief and pain, in the most important part of your body; which is HEAD.

Currently undergoing IPL for dry eyes at this clinic and have had non of the above problems. Actually the opposite, seen slight improvements after my second treatment.

[Mazza818]

I am glad its working well for you. I had the most horrible migraines about 2 days after the treatment. It was very unusual and one I never had in the 28 years of my life. I certainly blame the IPL for it for sure. Migraine/headache lasted about 2 weeks and started to fade a little after.

[Mazza818]

Currently undergoing IPL for dry eyes at this clinic and have had non of the above problems. Actually the opposite, seen slight improvements after my second treatment.

I am glad its working well for you. I had the most horrible migraines about 2 days after the treatment. It was very unusual and one I never had in the 28 years of my life. I certainly blame the IPL for it for sure. Migraine/headache lasted about 2 weeks and started to fade a little after.