IPL update

[farmgirl]

Last I posted I had completed 4 IPL treatments and was feeling quite a lot better. Then the cold weather hit along with the dry heated air inside the home and buildings. That set me back a bit so I asked my doc about more IPL. We decided on 2 more treatments and they helped a lot. Add to that the Xiidra twice a day and I felt really quite good. Then I went back to my tropical home for the winter and WOWZERS....today I put my Xiidra in the in the AM and forgot I had a problem At about 10:30 at night I finally put some saline in but the difference has been dramatic!

[Milo007]

Last I posted I had completed 4 IPL treatments and was feeling quite a lot better. Then the cold weather hit along with the dry heated air inside the home and buildings. That set me back a bit so I asked my doc about more IPL. We decided on 2 more treatments and they helped a lot. Add to that the Xiidra twice a day and I felt really quite good. Then I went back to my tropical home for the winter and WOWZERS....today I put my Xiidra in the in the AM and forgot I had a problem At about 10:30 at night I finally put some saline in but the difference has been dramatic!

I had my first IPL session this month. Really feeling optimistic about the procedure after reading your post.

What was the interval between two successive IPL sessions?

I guess the interval is important in terms of efficacy.

Unfortunately winter has been harsh for my eyes too. Low humidity combined with low temperature decreases my TBUT dramatically.

[farmgirl]

The first 4 were a month apart which suited me because I felt that it took that long for my eyes to recover from the trauma of squeezing the old congealed oils out. The next 2 were 2 weeks apart, and although I didn't feel ready to go again it was not a bad thing because I felt decidedly better after the second (6th) session.

[deep_dry_eye]

Really happy for you! If I rmb correctly, your IPL only does the lower lids. You should try and find an IPL provider that does upperlids as well, I find that to be even more effective! My Dr follows Dr Laura Periman's protocol which I think works to be one of the best IPL protocols that I know of. If I rmb correctly, you're on the west coast, and you can consider flying to Seattle to see Dr Laura Periman directly for another round of IPL treatments for your upper lids as well.

Or alternatively, you can convince your dr to get "corneal shields" and he can do your uppers as well.

[farmgirl]

Really happy for you! If I rmb correctly, your IPL only does the lower lids. You should try and find an IPL provider that does upperlids as well, I find that to be even more effective! My Dr follows Dr Laura Periman's protocol which I think works to be one of the best IPL protocols that I know of. If I rmb correctly, you're on the west coast, and you can consider flying to Seattle to see Dr Laura Periman directly for another round of IPL treatments for your upper lids as well.

Or alternatively, you can convince your dr to get "corneal shields" and he can do your uppers as well.

I think I was lucky to find someone who did it at all in Calgary and I am pleased with the results. My upper lids are in pretty good shape and express easily. I still have dry eye but it is much more manageable now.

I am in the tropics at the moment and it is dry season, so lots of sun and at 8 degrees off of the equator the sun is bright and hot. When my problem developed the first symptom I had was severe photo phobia. In this bright sun I had to wear sunglasses over my sunglasses. Since then I have not been able to saunter out of the house into the sun as my eyes will burn and I can't open them I have to shade them and look through slits.

TODAY thought I went out to clean the bird bath and water a few plants. The sun was bright. I spent a good 10 min in full sun with a hat on for shade. I came into the house and went to change my glasses and realized WOW!! I had gone out with regular glasses and hadn't even NOTICED. Now that is improvement, it would have been impossible up until now...color me happy.

For all of you out there this has been a 10 year battle for me, but (thanks to this forum and all the ideas out there), I am winning, I.am not getting worse. Hang in there and keep trying everything you can manage until you find that combination that works for you.

I have said it before and I will say it again....everybody, be conscious of what you are putting into, or near your eyes (wetting drops, gels, makeup, cleansers, etc) that nothing is causing more irritation than it is taking away, especially if you seem to be getting worse over time. That has been the biggest ah ha..moment for me over time. I have discovered that I was putting in more drops to sooth the irritation of the drops I was putting in.

[deep_dry_eye]

I think I was lucky to find someone who did it at all in Calgary and I am pleased with the results. My upper lids are in pretty good shape and express easily. I still have dry eye but it is much more manageable now.

I am in the tropics at the moment and it is dry season, so lots of sun and at 8 degrees off of the equator the sun is bright and hot. When my problem developed the first symptom I had was severe photo phobia. In this bright sun I had to wear sunglasses over my sunglasses. Since then I have not been able to saunter out of the house into the sun as my eyes will burn and I can't open them I have to shade them and look through slits.

TODAY thought I went out to clean the bird bath and water a few plants. The sun was bright. I spent a good 10 min in full sun with a hat on for shade. I came into the house and went to change my glasses and realized WOW!! I had gone out with regular glasses and hadn't even NOTICED. Now that is improvement, it would have been impossible up until now...color me happy.

For all of you out there this has been a 10 year battle for me, but (thanks to this forum and all the ideas out there), I am winning, I.am not getting worse. Hang in there and keep trying everything you can manage until you find that combination that works for you.

I have said it before and I will say it again....everybody, be conscious of what you are putting into, or near your eyes (wetting drops, gels, makeup, cleansers, etc) that nothing is causing more irritation than it is taking away, especially if you seem to be getting worse over time. That has been the biggest ah ha..moment for me over time. I have discovered that I was putting in more drops to sooth the irritation of the drops I was putting in.

I am truely very happy for you. I am a broken recorder, so I will repeat again.

Since IPL have been very effective for you, I advice you to continue this IPL treatment and perhaps seek a better IPL protocol on top of that. Not all IPL protocols are the same, some are more effective than others. I am on monthly IPL and it has helped me immensely, I continue to get better with each successive treatment, perhaps it can be the same for you. Additionally, once I switched to the IPL protocol which does my upperlids rather than just lowerlids, I noticed another immense improvement as well. You may experience the same as well.

It wouldnt hurt too much to explore these options. In Toronto, each IPL (w/ upper lids+corneal shields) treatment costs $400. Flying from Calgary to Toronto is only like $400 round trip? You can make this your vacation w/ IPL treatment ; )

[Hokucat]

Farmgirl, it’s so encouraging to hear IPL is helping you after 10 years battling dry eyes, and great advice on hanging in there and trying things until finding the combination that helps one manage. Similar to you, it took me over eight years before finding resolution. Hopefully with all the advances and availability of treatments now, most people will not suffer as long as we have, but it shows it’s definitely possible to come back and be able to function decently again.

Being cognizant of what one is putting in or near their eyes I agree is also key. I used Restasis for a few years, and my eyes got worse while I was on it but doctors kept telling me to use it. I also was prescribed steroid eye drops on and off by different doctors, and likely due to this have early cataracts. And I’m sure any drops I took with BAK earlier on added to my issues. Now I only use serum tears, and a couple drops of PF artificial tears in with my saline when inserting my scleral lenses in the morning, and thats it...so less can be more in some cases.

[farmgirl]

Awesome Hokucat, likewise very happy for you.....F/G

[Guest]

I think I was lucky to find someone who did it at all in Calgary and I am pleased with the results. My upper lids are in pretty good shape and express easily. I still have dry eye but it is much more manageable now.

I'm looking to add to my list of possible resources... can you share the name of the doc - or link to their website - who did this for you? (the IPL/gland expression)

[farmgirl]

I had it done at Clarity Laser Vision at the recommendation of Dr. Al Ghoul the corneal specialist.

[Guest]

I had it done at Clarity Laser Vision at the recommendation of Dr. Al Ghoul the corneal specialist.

Awesome - thanks so much - I've added this to my list of resources in Canada!