Newbie Here with Question about Lipiflow

[EBMD]

Hi Rebecca! I don’t know which is causing my symptoms. Thankfully, I’ve never had any corneal erosions, just the dry, gritty eyes with occasional burning. It’s annoyingly inconsistent though – one day the right eye will feel worse, the next day it’ll be the left eye. There’s no rhyme or reason.

I’m looking at LipiFlow because my doctor suggested it and he thinks that my glands are blocked, especially in the right eye.

As for treatments, except for the two years of Restasis, everything else has been over-the-counter stuff:

• Drops (preservative free only) provide true relief only for those first few minutes when the eye feels nice and wet. I keep them in the refrigerator so they’re cold too. I’ve tried many different ones (as I’m sure we all have) and some have actually irritated my eyes.
• Bruder mask hasn’t had any effect. A cold mask actually seems to ease the burning somewhat, even though my eyes remain dry.
• Lid hygiene every evening with Occusoft.
• Humidifier in my bedroom and a small one by my desk at work.
• Omega3 supplement daily.
• I drink about 6 glasses of water every day, so I’m trying to keep myself hydrated that way too.
• Moisture chamber glasses - I already wear prescription glasses so I tried the Global Vision Outfitter glasses to wear over them and there were gaps everywhere. I have safety goggles that I can wear at home over my glasses that seal pretty well with just a few slight gaps, but my eyes don’t feel any different wearing them.
• At night I’ve tried Tranquileyes and Onyix. I don’t get a good seal with Onyix and it’s uncomfortable - I feel like it’s too close to my eyes if that makes sense. Tranquileyes is more comfortable, but I’m a side sleeper and it never stays on all night. I don’t know if they slip off or if I unconsciously push them off while sleeping.

[EBMD]

Thanks for the LipiFlow information, deep_dry_eye.

My doctor didn’t mention IPL, but I have read here that it will increase the quality of oil produced like you said. If the meibography shows that my glands are blocked, wouldn’t it make sense for me to do LipiFlow first to hopefully get them unblocked and then follow up with IPL?

I’ve been on Restasis for two years, but I don’t know if it’s done any good. I know my eyes feel worse now than they did two years ago. The only plus is that it no longer stings when I put it in.

I’m curious to see what a meibography will show. I’ve read how people will do the warm compresses and afterward, they’ll feel the oil flowing or their eyes will feel a little moist. I’ve used the Bruder mask over the years and my eyes have always just felt disappointingly dry afterward. Maybe my glands are too blocked for the heat to have any effect.

[Rebecca Petris]

Welcome EBMD!

I'm curious whether you know if you're experiencing more symptoms from the EBMD or the MGD, and if you are on treatment for EBMD. Also wondering if you're pursuing Lipiflow specifically because other treatments have not been enough? Lipiflow is good technology and all that, probably the worst that can be said of it is that it is overused in cases where not necessarily likely to be helpful.

[deep_dry_eye]

LipiFlow is considered to be relatively safe. They just warm up your eyelids and massage the lids (gently). There won't be any side effects or pain, it won't effect your vision at all and you can drive home for sure. The goal of LipiFlow is to remove any internal obstructions inside your glands. However, LipiFlow will not fundamentally fix the underlying issue (i.e., inflammation).

You should definitely supplement LipiFlow with other procedures to tackle the fundamental inflammation behind MGD. You should consider IPL, which for reasons unknown, can reduce the inflammation in your glands and make your glands express better quality oil. Some doctors here in Canada, they recommend 2 sessions of IPL before evaluating LipiFlow is necessary. Additionally, you should consider drugs such as Xiidra and Restasis which can help reduce and control the inflammation behind the MGD.

[EBMD]

Hi! First time posting, although I’ve been browsing for quite awhile.

Just had my annual eye exam today and my long time optometrist is going to contact an ophthalmologist group (that he refers his dry eye patients to) about scheduling me for a meibography and, most likely, Lipiflow.

What can I expect from both of these procedures? Are they painful? How invasive is the Lipiflow? (I hate having anything put in my eyes, so of course I end up with eye problems.) Most importantly, will I be able to drive home after getting Lipiflow or will my vision be affected for a short time after?

Briefly about me: I was diagnosed with EBMD two years ago (eyes felt dry and gritty and doctor could see the dots on my eyes in the slit lamp) and MGD one year ago (doctor had difficulty getting any oil to come out when he expressed my lower glands with his finger while viewing in the slit lamp). I found this forum in between those diagnoses and marvel over how well informed and educated you all are about your various conditions as well as how incredibly supportive everyone is of each other. I’ve found much comfort and many tips from reading all of your stories and am truly grateful to Rebecca for creating this site.