Upper plugs - painful procedure

[SirDryEye]

hello all,

i just had a very painful experience at the hospital. The doctor attempted to put in upper plugs and it was literally 10 minutes of torture. It felt very sharp and prickly. The doctor only managed to get one plug in. Is this normal?

[SirDryEye]

I am set to go back in two weeks to be put under anaesthetic

[Meibum Ian]

I am set to go back in two weeks to be put under anaesthetic

General anaesthetic?

[SirDryEye]

Yes that’s what the doctor said.

[hopeful_hiker]

I had lowers done under the local eye drop anaesthetic. When it fell out I came back and he did it just without anything. Maybe the upper eyelid is more sensitive? I mean it’s unpleasant but in my case it’s mostly huge reflex tears that interrupt the process (ironically).

[quattroboy]

hello all,

i just had a very painful experience at the hospital. The doctor attempted to put in upper plugs and it was literally 10 minutes of torture. It felt very sharp and prickly. The doctor only managed to get one plug in. Is this normal?

I didn't have any issues. Where they trying to put an oversized plug in??

Again I only needed local eye drop anaesthetic but then again I've just discovered my nerves are fried from LASIK so hey ho.

[SirDryEye]

quattroboy Yes the plug was too big for my eye, the doctor kept trying to dilate my eye and it was painful. My eyes feel fine now so I don’t think they’re damaged by the procedure which is good.

[Glucoa]

My doc just puts in a general anesthetic drop beforehand to check pressure and then attempts to insert the plugs. The uppers tend to be more painful (sharp and prickly as described) simply due to the awkwardness of pushing them up into the puncta.

You may have soreness for the next day or two as the eyelid and puncta heal, but should be fine after. I would wait a few weeks before having them insert the remaining upper plug again to let the inflammation wind down and also mention that the last plug attempted was too large.

[farmgirl]

also mention that the last plug attempted was too large.

Either that or the puncta is partially plugged. I had a problem with a plug that kept falling out so he forced a big one in and months later it did a U-turn and came out a separate hole. Now that puncta is permanently plugged off but I think that was the problem in the first place.

[hezza]

That's weird since they come in different sizes. It was a couple of weeks ago when my doc re-plugged my upper right duct and he casually said to me and his assistant "Was it large or medium?" Although he was in a hurry right before the closing it didn't hurt much. Although there was initial discomfort it was gone the day after.

[Rebecca Petris]

Hope you have a better experience next time around SirDryEye . They need to fit the right size plug and yes local anaesthetic. Most doctors don't necessarily stock multiple brands of plugs and some people are harder to fit than others. In tougher cases the dissolvable polymer types might end up being more practical. A silicone plug that doesn't fit correctly is going to be more prone to falling out (or worse yet, in).