Why won't the opthamologist give me tetra or doxy cycline & control flow plugs?

[Vicki In Oregon]

I asked the optha AGAIN about using tetra or doxy and he said it is only for people who have Rosacea. I domt get it. If my tears evaporate quickly doesnt that mean an oil or mucis deficiency? he said there is no test to show for oil and mucus def but ppl on here have said they have it. I am too miserable to not try everything and anything out there and need to get back to work soon. He said no to the dry eye drops sold here and said no to Simalasan dry eye drops too saying they have some preservative despite it saying it does not. The control flow plugs he said he has not used but hears they are not comfy. But I dont know waht to do. The lower plugs are not near enough and lower and upper are too much, making me always blurry. The control flow uppers would not have plugged me completely thereby fixing the blurry prob and hopefully the pain. The downside is that your not so clean tears stay on the eyes but there is always a trade off. Anyway, I need to find i think a doc that has these type of plugs or something similar as I just dont know waht to do.

[neil0502]

No sarcasm intended here whatsoever: find another opinion from another ophthalmologist. See if the second supports any of the rationale of the first.

[Vicki In Oregon]

Thanks Neil. I will get a 2nd opinion this Friday. If it was not for this board I would not have even known that these exist! The docs dont mention everything. I have learned I have to be so proactive, even aggressive to get any care. Hopefully if I can get them they will be put in such a way that if they are not comfy it is from the plug itself, not because they are not inserted ideally since these docs dont seem to use them much if at all. Have you or anyone else out there tried these plugs? Thanks.

[Rebecca Petris]

I can understand your frustration as many here have had frustrations persuading doctors to investigate new possibilities when the old ones just aren't delivering. It's reasonable to expect some effort on the doctor's part to put themselves in our shoes but I think we also have to be willing to reciprocate.

Not all doctors (not by a long shot) are happy to prescribe oral antibiotics to all dry eye patients, and with your complex medical history perhaps he is also concerned about other side effects. With plugs, I think many, perhaps most doctors stick with a small number of types (possibly just one) that they have had good experience with. Maybe he's right about discomfort with flow controllers, I don't know. I always thought the concept was good but I have rarely heard patient reports about these plugs. At any rate, I agree with Neil, rather than battling it out, try someone else.

[Vicki In Oregon]

HI Rebecca. From your time on this board, do ppl without rosasea get prescritions for these 2 types of anti-biotics often? I have been told i have kera conjuctivitis too but not Blepharitis. I find my eye lids have in recent times been soooo painful along with my eyes themselves. The eye lids were not an issue until recently.

Do these antibiotics work as well topically? With less side effects to you know?

I wish there was more info on these control flow plugs. otherwise could i not just get a smaller size in another type that will allow for soem drainage? Problem is i think what i have is small, my ducts I was told are small. Not sure what it is about the control flow that makes them control flow or how they know how much to control. Also the same doctor said not to use heat on my eyes nor lid scrubs. I am beggining to wonder if that is in fact best. I would like to buy saline rinses online since my local stores dont seem to carry them. What is best to use? Only one store has some that come in 4 big vials or 6 and are so expensive.

How are the sclerals working for you?

I have seriously resorted to laying in my bed most of the day with my eyes closed and lights out. This is why I am so desperate for answers.

I did buy that ridiculously priced lid spray, the one available from AZ that is suppose to be like the Clarymist we don't have access to.

[kaypeeoh]

I have adequate tears but a poor tear film breakup time. I assume it's because of not enough lipid. It's not bad enough to make my eyes feel dry but prevents me from wearing RGP contacts. A few years ago a doctor prescribed doxycycline 100mg twice daily. I used it for two months before finding it didn't improve the TBUT. At the same time, I developed a skin rash. Tetracyclines in general can cause that, especially for someone who is out in the sun a lot.

I imagine every drug can be found though offshore pharmacies, with no doctor's Rx needed. But with no FDA control there's no guarantee you aren't getting sugar pills or worse.

[Maria1972]

Ussually antibitocs for dry eye are prescribed for people with MGD and blepharitis. If the reason why you have dry eye has nothing to do with it them it may not be useful.
My 1st ophtalmologis thought my problem was allergy related.
The second ophtalmologist prescribe me antibiotics and I got better.
So if you have MGD you could probbably see another oph and try that once, it won't hurt....(I guess)

(And these are two well known dry eye doctors....but with two diff approaches)