What is the natural progression for someone with Dry Eye

[jack1988]

The steroids took me a couple weeks to really start noticing the reduction in inflammation. My steroids are also very weak .2% lotoprednol.

the spray you have there worries me because it doesn't have the concentration of hypochlorous acid and it isn't described for eye cleansing. Again, don't half ass this, it's your eyes. Talk to your doctor about a hypochlorous acid spray specifically for the eyes. You may need to have it compounded unless they have it prepared already in the U.K.

My steroids are 0.1% Fluorometholone.

It says the acid is safe around the eyes and it's 0.2%.

Yes, they are steroid drops. Do you know how long steroid drops take to start working? Also, how long does Doxy start to work?

I forgot to mention the doctor who I saw mentioned IPL to me if this current regime does not work!

Oh, btw, I have just ordered this online. it isn't for dry eye but it contain hypochlorous acid - https://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/natr...r-confirmation

The steroids took me a couple weeks to really start noticing the reduction in inflammation. My steroids are also very weak .2% lotoprednol.

the spray you have there worries me because it doesn't have the concentration of hypochlorous acid and it isn't described for eye cleansing. Again, don't half ass this, it's your eyes. Talk to your doctor about a hypochlorous acid spray specifically for the eyes. You may need to have it compounded unless they have it prepared already in the U.K.

[jack1988]

I would think something with a PH of 9 like baking soda would irritate you. Baby shampoo was the old school way to clean your eyelids. You dilute baby shampoo in water and clean with that. I know this is hard to wrap your head around, as it was for me, this is forever. There's no stopping the compress, massage and lid scrubs. If you stop, things will continue to get worse. Again, you have to understand what's happening here. You have thick oil in your glands, you have to thin it with the compress, massage that oil out with your fingers and the clean the lids.

i haven't asked but I assume the fml drops are steroid drops correct? Those are just lowering the inflammation until you get the MGD under control. So if you don't get the basics down meaning the lid regimen, then once you stop the steroids you'll be back to a burning mess.

Yes, they are steroid drops. Do you know how long steroid drops take to start working? Also, how long does Doxy start to work?

I forgot to mention the doctor who I saw mentioned IPL to me if this current regime does not work!

Oh, btw, I have just ordered this online. it isn't for dry eye but it contain hypochlorous acid - https://www.chemistdirect.co.uk/natr...r-confirmation

I would think something with a PH of 9 like baking soda would irritate you. Baby shampoo was the old school way to clean your eyelids. You dilute baby shampoo in water and clean with that. I know this is hard to wrap your head around, as it was for me, this is forever. There's no stopping the compress, massage and lid scrubs. If you stop, things will continue to get worse. Again, you have to understand what's happening here. You have thick oil in your glands, you have to thin it with the compress, massage that oil out with your fingers and the clean the lids.

i haven't asked but I assume the fml drops are steroid drops correct? Those are just lowering the inflammation until you get the MGD under control. So if you don't get the basics down meaning the lid regimen, then once you stop the steroids you'll be back to a burning mess.

[jack1988]

Don't use baking soda...use baby shampoo if anything but you need a high quality lid scrub. It's essential in my opinion.

fair enough, why do you say that?

so, today is the second day of doxy and using FML drops. My eyes feel a bit more sore than usual this afternoon and when i left went and went outside they fel sensitive and they watered. Could that be due to fml drops?

Also, once my inflammation is under control, can I stop with the compress and just clean the eye lids?

Thanks

I was worried that FML drops would sting, but they're actually okay. The Doxy is giving me gut ache though :/

I will scrub the lid with bicarbonate Soda, that will do I think.

Don't use baking soda...use baby shampoo if anything but you need a high quality lid scrub. It's essential in my opinion.

[jack1988]

I'm the same way, no crust, if you looked maybe just a tad pink on my margins but I would look "normal" also. The bacteria is inside the gland and the lipid byproducts inside the gland causes the oils to thicken. So you use a hot compress, twice a day, then clean the eyelids directly afterward. They should sell Alcon eye scrubs in the U.K. try amazon. Get a good lid cleaner in the meantime, then get a prescription for hypochlorous acid spray. Here in the states we need a script for something like avenova which is a hypochlorous acid spray. It kills the bacteria around the eyelid. It's usually our own staph that's naturally in our skin that tends to over grow inside the meibomium gland. So the idea is if you clear the glands then clean all the bacteria off the lids. You reduce that bacterial lipase avtivity in the gland and the oils should run easier and more clearly. Good thing he put you on the doxy. One of the best treatments for MGD, I just recently started doxy and got a stomach flu so had to stop. But once my gut is good I'm going to give it a try again.

I think youre om a good path, once you get a hypochlorous acid spray and get a good heat mask online that you can toss in the microwave and really massage those lids. You will feel a lot better in a couple months. Let me also suggest you take a high quality omega 3 I use Nordic naturals ultimate omega liquid. But any high quality omega 3 fish oil in triglyceride form would be great. The idea with the fish oil, is that once you clear the garbage out, you want to replace it with good quality oil. So a healthy diet, a good multivitamin and a good fish oil supplement will do wonders to get that oil in good shape again. You could also get a blood panel andcheck your hormones. Hormone replacement would help as well asssuming your androgen deficient.

Good luck!

Thanks

I was worried that FML drops would sting, but they're actually okay. The Doxy is giving me gut ache though :/

I will scrub the lid with bicarbonate Soda, that will do I think.

No, weirdly, he never mentioned any wipes. He said, use warm compress and then massage the lower lids.

Hmm...I will make sure it is not too hot then. How often do I have to use warm compress? The strange thing is, I don't have any crustiness or anything, and to the untrained eye my eyelids look 'normal'

I'm the same way, no crust, if you looked maybe just a tad pink on my margins but I would look "normal" also. The bacteria is inside the gland and the lipid byproducts inside the gland causes the oils to thicken. So you use a hot compress, twice a day, then clean the eyelids directly afterward. They should sell Alcon eye scrubs in the U.K. try amazon. Get a good lid cleaner in the meantime, then get a prescription for hypochlorous acid spray. Here in the states we need a script for something like avenova which is a hypochlorous acid spray. It kills the bacteria around the eyelid. It's usually our own staph that's naturally in our skin that tends to over grow inside the meibomium gland. So the idea is if you clear the glands then clean all the bacteria off the lids. You reduce that bacterial lipase avtivity in the gland and the oils should run easier and more clearly. Good thing he put you on the doxy. One of the best treatments for MGD, I just recently started doxy and got a stomach flu so had to stop. But once my gut is good I'm going to give it a try again.

I think youre om a good path, once you get a hypochlorous acid spray and get a good heat mask online that you can toss in the microwave and really massage those lids. You will feel a lot better in a couple months. Let me also suggest you take a high quality omega 3 I use Nordic naturals ultimate omega liquid. But any high quality omega 3 fish oil in triglyceride form would be great. The idea with the fish oil, is that once you clear the garbage out, you want to replace it with good quality oil. So a healthy diet, a good multivitamin and a good fish oil supplement will do wonders to get that oil in good shape again. You could also get a blood panel andcheck your hormones. Hormone replacement would help as well asssuming your androgen deficient.

Good luck!

[jack1988]

I'd wait about 15 minutes or so to let that medicine have time to absorb. I wait 15 minutes between my steroid and restasis...seems to work well for me.

Its important your compress isn't too hot or too cold...I use a laser thermometer to check the temp on my compress pad. It usually sits around 111-112F optimum is 104F...so I let them cool a bit then apply it until it's no longer warm 5-8 minutes usually. Now the key for me was expression after ward then cleaning my lids. So make sure you massage those lids nice and good after that heat. Again make sure you don't go too hot on the compress, I hear it can warp the cornea. Did the doctor mention a lid scrub like a hypochlorous acid spray? I think that's essential, once you express that shitty oil, you want to wipe away all of that discharge to keep the bacterial load down and just to keep everything clean. Glad you're getting some answers, makes tons of sense now why you're reflex tearing. You need oil like the tin man lol. So do I, so I get it.

No, weirdly, he never mentioned any wipes. He said, use warm compress and then massage the lower lids.

Hmm...I will make sure it is not too hot then. How often do I have to use warm compress? The strange thing is, I don't have any crustiness or anything, and to the untrained eye my eyelids look 'normal'

Went to London today to see a specialist. He said my bottom glands on my right eye are blocked, and told me to warm compress and then express the glands. He also said there is a little bit of inflammation, and prescribed me Doxy tablets x1 daily, and FML eye drops 4x daily for 2 weeks, and then 2 times daily for 2 weeks.

How long after I put in the FML drops can I put my lubricator drops in? Forgot to ask the doctor that question!

I'd wait about 15 minutes or so to let that medicine have time to absorb. I wait 15 minutes between my steroid and restasis...seems to work well for me.

Its important your compress isn't too hot or too cold...I use a laser thermometer to check the temp on my compress pad. It usually sits around 111-112F optimum is 104F...so I let them cool a bit then apply it until it's no longer warm 5-8 minutes usually. Now the key for me was expression after ward then cleaning my lids. So make sure you massage those lids nice and good after that heat. Again make sure you don't go too hot on the compress, I hear it can warp the cornea. Did the doctor mention a lid scrub like a hypochlorous acid spray? I think that's essential, once you express that shitty oil, you want to wipe away all of that discharge to keep the bacterial load down and just to keep everything clean. Glad you're getting some answers, makes tons of sense now why you're reflex tearing. You need oil like the tin man lol. So do I, so I get it.

[jack1988]

Went to London today to see a specialist. He said my bottom glands on my right eye are blocked, and told me to warm compress and then express the glands. He also said there is a little bit of inflammation, and prescribed me Doxy tablets x1 daily, and FML eye drops 4x daily for 2 weeks, and then 2 times daily for 2 weeks.

How long after I put in the FML drops can I put my lubricator drops in? Forgot to ask the doctor that question!

[jack1988]

Ask him to express you glands to see if there's blockage and what is the consistency of the meibum if any. Curious to hear what they say. Good luck, I think you'll get this sorted out after this visit assuming the doc knows their shit.

Thanks

I would like to speak to someone on here who is from the UK, to see if they can recommend a specialist. Do you know of any users that are from UK? I tried using search function but to no avail

They have done the staining with the yellow liquid and told me my eye surface is fine. I have had bleph in the past, but my hygiene has been good so the inflammation is gone. I am seeing a specialist on Monday, so i will report back then

Ask him to express you glands to see if there's blockage and what is the consistency of the meibum if any. Curious to hear what they say. Good luck, I think you'll get this sorted out after this visit assuming the doc knows their shit.

[jack1988]

I'm telling you, we need more information here. So yu had a surgery that seems to have set off some dry eye issues, but again, why? Did the surgery make it to where you don't fully blink now so you're not expressing oil? Do you have an aqueous deficiency that just came apparent recently due to surgery?

The only way to know how to treat your problem is to see what's going on with your eye. That's why they call it a multifactorial disease...every person has different factors contributing to their dryness. I'm curious what yours are.

have you seen a doctor that's expressed your glands or done fluorescence staining to see what's going on? Until you do that you'll have no idea how to fix this.

They have done the staining with the yellow liquid and told me my eye surface is fine. I have had bleph in the past, but my hygiene has been good so the inflammation is gone. I am seeing a specialist on Monday, so i will report back then

I had squint surgery on my right eye a few years ago, and since then I have noticed that it is dry when I wake up sometimes, then over the past few months I have noticed after 12pm it starts getting really sore and red. My right eye is worse than my left in terms of dryness. Hylo-forte takes the edge off but that's about it

I'm telling you, we need more information here. So yu had a surgery that seems to have set off some dry eye issues, but again, why? Did the surgery make it to where you don't fully blink now so you're not expressing oil? Do you have an aqueous deficiency that just came apparent recently due to surgery?

The only way to know how to treat your problem is to see what's going on with your eye. That's why they call it a multifactorial disease...every person has different factors contributing to their dryness. I'm curious what yours are.

have you seen a doctor that's expressed your glands or done fluorescence staining to see what's going on? Until you do that you'll have no idea how to fix this.