Newly diagnosed and worried :(

[KittyCat]

She also said none of my glands are blocked, but they are wonky compared to my right eye where they're perfectly straight. My right eye is lovely thin, clear oil. My left eye is more like butter.

[LindaDawn]

It maybe you had those tests which were perfect and she just didn’t say. Or that she felt your eyes were not too bad and you didn’t need them. You are so so doing the righrt th8ng by being investigated. I wish I had done so earlier in my dry eye journey. Keep us informed,

[gilles]

I think it is probably a mixture of screen time due to work and possibly anxiety/stress as the symptoms came on around a month after lockdown, where I became incredibly anxious (panic attacks, obsessive cleaning/checking the news/not leaving the house/tight chest/not sleeping etc). I'm starting to believe there is a big link between mental health and dry eye. I have read that people seem to have more symptoms when they are feeling stressed/down/anxious. Again, something to look into.
Cat

Anxiety and stress - which can also lead to bad quality of sleep - could be triggers for production of bad sebum in all glands (face, eyelids, etc.). Did you ever get diagnosed for seborrheic dermatitis, or do you have an oily skin (did you ever suffer from acne) or have dandruff? These symptoms could go in hand with thick oil causing blockages and not getting unplugged because of the lack of blinking when working on a screen a lot.
Are the blink exercises being helpful? Because you mentioned having the symptoms with only one eyelid; which could mean you are partially blinking (maybe caused by weakened eyelid muscles).

[KittyCat]

You are so so doing the righrt th8ng by being investigated. I wish I had done so earlier in my dry eye journey. Keep us informed,

Thanks Linda, really hope I'm going to be ok! I have health anxiety, it's something I've developed in the last few years. So a global pandemic and a chronic illness diagnosis all in the same month has been horrific for me. Especially with people in my life thinking I "just have dry eyes" when I was really struggling to come to terms with it all. I'll keep you updated for sure! IPL can't make me worse, surely!

[KittyCat]

Did you ever get diagnosed for seborrheic dermatitis, or do you have an oily skin (did you ever suffer from acne) or have dandruff? These symptoms could go in hand with thick oil causing blockages and not getting unplugged because of the lack of blinking when working on a screen a lot.
Are the blink exercises being helpful? Because you mentioned having the symptoms with only one eyelid; which could mean you are partially blinking (maybe caused by weakened eyelid muscles).

I have had acne since I was 21! So I was on birth control until this month (so 13 years) to control the symptoms. Is there a link between acne and dry eye? Is it the hormonal link? I am thinking of getting my hormones tested out of curiosity. I still have oily skin now but the really deep acne seems to have stopped.

I think I do find the blinking exercises useful yes! And I've noticed my right eye is much stronger than my left, how interesting!

[gilles]

I have had acne since I was 21! So I was on birth control until this month (so 13 years) to control the symptoms. Is there a link between acne and dry eye? Is it the hormonal link? I am thinking of getting my hormones tested out of curiosity. I still have oily skin now but the really deep acne seems to have stopped.

I think I do find the blinking exercises useful yes! And I've noticed my right eye is much stronger than my left, how interesting!

Meibomian gland dysfunction is comparable with acne in a way that both are plugged/blocked glands, and in most cases it is due to thick or bad oil. The cause of the thick or bad oil could be all the reasons you find on google when you search for acne-causes: stress, sleep, hormones, anxiety, oily skin (sebor. derm). Even better, the medication you can use to fight off the inflammation is both used for acne and MGD, namely minocycline (i.e., doxy- and tetrycycline).

I also recently started these blink exercises and also noticed my right, dominant eye being much stronger than my left and that it sometimes twitches/spasming after squeezing hard. I also noticed how I don't close my eyes properly when I still had some led light on in a darkened room. I read on this forum how a doctor recommended his patients to do these exercises frequently (e.g. at every red light) throughout the day.
Have you added a nighttime ointment to you routine? If not, I would recommend it in your case, and it won't hurt to try. Vitapos is one of the many ointments out there that you could try out. See after a week or two if that helped out (it helps counter desiccating stress at night, which promotes the healing). I have not found a definite answer if the desiccating stress at night is due to dry eyes (an indicator) or if it could be a cause, but one should counter it in both cases.