Mastrota paddle tryout

[phenix01]

Hello

Just posting as I am trying the mastrota paddle for self meobemian gland expression. I find the lid massage technique very ineffective so I got myself a mastrota paddle.
I am doing warm compresses, following by mastrota paddle expression (gently), and then I rince my face. I find the tool reasonably easy to use, mainly for the lower lid.

Using a bright lamp I attempt to see if it is working, and I can see some oil flowing at some points. Any good oil is probably tougher to see however as it dissipates faster imo.

I will let those interested how this is helping/not helping.

Also applying tea tree oil after rincing my face.

If you have ever done similar experiences please share.

[Milo007]

Regular gland expression squeezing your glands could be harmful. I read a post by Dr. ****** where he says meibomian gland expression could actually cause the internal duct walls to collapse on itself creating a functional blockage. Moreover if there's a mechanical blockage expression could push the contents of the glands deeper into the glands instead of pushing them out due to blockage.
I would rather suggest to stick with warm compresses and follow it with blink exercises for 10 minutes.

[Guest]

Regular gland expression squeezing your glands could be harmful. I read a post by Dr. ****** where he says meibomian gland expression could actually cause the internal duct walls to collapse on itself creating a functional blockage. Moreover if there's a mechanical blockage expression could push the cinyetscontents of the glands deeper intointo the glands instead of pushing them out due to blockage.
I would rather suggest to stick with warm compresses and follow it with blink exercises for 10 minutes.

That’s why you shouldn’t reallly massage the gland or press hard close to the lid margin. Dr Korb suggest going to the bottom of the gland and just pressing lightly. That way you release the contents of the gland without pushing anything inward. Start on the inside portion of your upper lid near the orbit and press gently for a few seconds. Then, continue to do that in quadrants on the top, then bottom lids.

If if you’re having to use a paddle, I’m endearing if your not doing your compress hot or long enough. Before I got on doxy, I needed minimum 15 mins of heat and I’d have to reheat 3 times, every 5 mins. Sometimes I’d go for 25 minutes. My meibum was so thick, when I heated it, it would flow onto my lashes and the eyes would stick like glue. When your meibum is very thick, the melting point goes way up. I needed the compress to be 45 Celsius also, any cooler and it wouldn’t help me at all. Any hotter, I was causing more inflammation.

I hope the the paddle works, just be careful. I do agree the glands are sensitive and a paddle is very harsh. It has no give. I know you said gentle, yes, gentle expression is right. Good luck!

[Milo007]

That’s why you shouldn’t reallly massage the gland or press hard close to the lid margin. Dr Korb suggest going to the bottom of the gland and just pressing lightly. That way you release the contents of the gland without pushing anything inward. Start on the inside portion of your upper lid near the orbit and press gently for a few seconds. Then, continue to do that in quadrants on the top, then bottom lids.

If if you’re having to use a paddle, I’m endearing if your not doing your compress hot or long enough. Before I got on doxy, I needed minimum 15 mins of heat and I’d have to reheat 3 times, every 5 mins. Sometimes I’d go for 25 minutes. My meibum was so thick, when I heated it, it would flow onto my lashes and the eyes would stick like glue. When your meibum is very thick, the melting point goes way up. I needed the compress to be 45 Celsius also, any cooler and it wouldn’t help me at all. Any hotter, I was causing more inflammation.

I hope the the paddle works, just be careful. I do agree the glands are sensitive and a paddle is very harsh. It has no give. I know you said gentle, yes, gentle expression is right. Good luck!

Excellent and absolutely brilliant a post!


I would suggest everyone to go through each and every sentence of this post and note the info carefully.

Note that we should start with gentle presses from the bottom of the eyelids and move slowly in steps towards the top and leave the process when we reach about 2 mm below the lid margin.

Regarding the hot compress it's extremely helpful to note the point that one MUST maintain the temperature at 45°C not more than that not less than that. I relate from my personal experience that even at 47 °C I get inflammation which can block the glands instead of clearing it. Lesser temperatures won't be effective.

The key is ENOUGH TIME for the heat transfer process to take place at 45 °C. It should range from 12-25 minutes depending on the consistency of meibum in your glands. Consider inflammation as the limit to the time you can apply a warm compress.
This will come with a LOT of practice and hit and trials. Use a contact thermometer instead of an infrared one and add hotter water after every 2 minutes to maintain the temperature at 45°C. The amount of hotter water to be added each time is what you need to figure out based on your experience.

I would advise against harsh instrument based expression as it may permanently crush your eyelids and glands. Instead use a q-tip to apply gentle pressure.

[Guest]

Milo007

Its clear you have been working with a compress for a while. Initially I had to go 47C and then lowered it over time. 43-45C is perfect now...doxy is a lifesaver.

[Meibum Ian]

Milo007

Its clear you have been working with a compress for a while. Initially I had to go 47C and then lowered it over time. 43-45C is perfect now...doxy is a lifesaver.

What was the timeline like for for getting clear meibum from your glands?

Did you start with at least some glands where nothing could be expressed? How soon after beginning doxy did that begin to change? How many times did you have to compress / express the glands until decent meibum started to come from them?

Sorry for all the questions

[Guest]

What was the timeline like for for getting clear meibum from your glands?

Did you start with at least some glands where nothing could be expressed? How soon after beginning doxy did that begin to change? How many times did you have to compress / express the glands until decent meibum started to come from them?

Sorry for all the questions

Depends on where I begin the timeline. I was able to eventually manage my MGD decently with just compress and Avenova spray for about 6-7 months. Then, I took the doxy and steroids from my correct doctor, after one month on doxy 100mg 2x a day and the steroid taper, I could feel my lids were healthier, the oil was thinner. I didn’t need as much heat or time with my compress. So one month to get clear oil coming out. Now after two months I’m even better with my lids. Which is another reason I’m feeling the pain more specifically in the cornea/sclera now. The inflammation is gone and my lids are controlled well.

So prior to doxy/steroids, I had glue come out of my eyes no matter how often I did the compress. That was 7 months. Then I got on the drugs/eye taping and in one month my oils ran clear AND freely. My glands werent sluggishly pumping the oil out anymore. After another month (2 total), it’s just better and better. In the beginning I had blocked glands. They were capped completely. The oil was toothpaste like. Even before I went into Jain, my oils were moving out of the gland better, but they were still very grey instead of clear. Now it’s like olive oil. I responded to you in a pm by the way.

[phenix01]

I would advise against harsh instrument based expression as it may permanently crush your eyelids and glands. Instead use a q-tip to apply gentle pressure.

Then why are Drs doing such instrument based expression with a lot of force?

[phenix01]

That’s why you shouldn’t reallly massage the gland or press hard close to the lid margin. Dr Korb suggest going to the bottom of the gland and just pressing lightly. That way you release the contents of the gland without pushing anything inward. Start on the inside portion of your upper lid near the orbit and press gently for a few seconds. Then, continue to do that in quadrants on the top, then bottom lids.

If if you’re having to use a paddle, I’m endearing if your not doing your compress hot or long enough. Before I got on doxy, I needed minimum 15 mins of heat and I’d have to reheat 3 times, every 5 mins. Sometimes I’d go for 25 minutes. My meibum was so thick, when I heated it, it would flow onto my lashes and the eyes would stick like glue. When your meibum is very thick, the melting point goes way up. I needed the compress to be 45 Celsius also, any cooler and it wouldn’t help me at all. Any hotter, I was causing more inflammation.

I hope the the paddle works, just be careful. I do agree the glands are sensitive and a paddle is very harsh. It has no give. I know you said gentle, yes, gentle expression is right. Good luck!

Very interesting, thank you

[Guest]

Then why are Drs doing such instrument based expression with a lot of force?

I would say once in a while, you may need to relieve blockage. But to do this nightly or regularly probably wouldn’t be good for the gland imho. That’s my take on it. I almost bought a paddle glad I didn’t. My MGD is from nocturnal lagopthalmos...so taping my eyes and doxy has thinned the oil nicely.

[Milo007]

Milo007

Its clear you have been working with a compress for a while. Initially I had to go 47C and then lowered it over time. 43-45C is perfect now...doxy is a lifesaver.

LOL

Initially I was so stupid that I used to soak washcloth in water at around 60°C and apply it with frequent re-soaking. I got terrible inflammation and discomfort and I dropped the idea for a month before I educated myself a bit to resume with it again.

I have been on doxycycline for a month along with azithromycin eye ointment. It really helped me a lot. Then I was put on chloramphenicol and polymyxin B eye ointment for another month. I used to take 100mg of doxycycline twice daily for the first week then followed my once daily for the next three weeks.

What about you?

Are you on it indefinitely?

What's your dosage?

[Milo007]

Then why are Drs doing such instrument based expression with a lot of force?

Because all doctors are not Dr. Korb and they don't care to think twice before proceeding with something they "think" would work without really contemplating on the possible side effects. It's only after a while you would come to know the practice was so wrong.

And oops! Some Guinea pigs have to pay the price.

[Milo007]

What was the timeline like for for getting clear meibum from your glands?

Did you start with at least some glands where nothing could be expressed? How soon after beginning doxy did that begin to change? How many times did you have to compress / express the glands until decent meibum started to come from them?

Sorry for all the questions

Ian I would advise you to have a one month course of doxycycline and azithromycin eye ointment before you consider a warm compress and lid massage.

The two drugs really help in clearing up solidified meibum. And then a warm compress would kick in after the meibum consistency is back to normal.

[Meibum Ian]

I read a post by Dr. ****** where he says meibomian gland expression could actually cause the internal duct walls to collapse on itself creating a functional blockage.

Other doctors would consider ******'s practice of probing as a diagnostic for checking gland health (I've read that he does this in an interview) pretty off the wall.

Lots of room for difference of opinion.

[Guest]

LOL

Initially I was so stupid that I used to soak washcloth in water at around 60°C and apply it with frequent re-soaking. I got terrible inflammation and discomfort and I dropped the idea for a month before I educated myself a bit to resume with it again.

I have been on doxycycline for a month along with azithromycin eye ointment. It really helped me a lot. Then I was put on chloramphenicol and polymyxin B eye ointment for another month. I used to take 100mg of doxycycline twice daily for the first week then followed my once daily for the next three weeks.

What about you?

Are you on it indefinitely?

What's your dosage?

I’ve been on doxy 100mg monohydrate tabs 2x a day for 7 weeks. I cannot handle the capsules. If you have a sensitive stomach, the tabs are great.

My guess is that after I’m done with this script, we will taper to 100mg once a day for a month and eventually taper to 50mg a day indefinitely. This is my assumption based on what we spoke about last meeting.

I just hope the lower doses remain effective. My lids should be decent, not great, but decent...now that I’m addressing the root cause. Matter of fact, taping my eyes shut has made my lids so much healthier. But I needed the doxy and compress to unplug them, now that they’re healthier, I hope that keeping them protected at night will allow them to regain some function without as many drugs.