Oil to No Oil

[Max52]

Been a dry eye sufferer for years now and have tried a number of different drops, everything from restasis to lotemax to hylo, to serum. Have tried lipiflow and am currently seeing a corneal specialist. Also on doxy for about 3 years. I had my glands expressed about 3 months ago and the doc was very pleased that she got the oil flowing from several glands even though it only gave me about 2 days of relief. She expressed my glands again last week and couldn't get much oil flowing in either eye...maybe 2 in the left and one in the right. My question is..do the amount of glands that are open and flowing change back and forth from some to none, or many to few just naturally, or when they stop flowing are they closed for good? Have considered probing, but at this point my doc hasn't suggested it...thanks...Max

[Daniel2]

There are glands that are closed but can be potentially opnened with compresses/expressions etc, and other glands that are atrophied and cannot changed.

And yeah it changes back and forth for me, 2 months ago my doctor told me that I had 10 glands opened, 1 month ago that I had 15, and now receltly he told me that I have 11 opened. It's normal id

[waterbee]

Been a dry eye sufferer for years now and have tried a number of different drops, everything from restasis to lotemax to hylo, to serum. Have tried lipiflow and am currently seeing a corneal specialist. Also on doxy for about 3 years. I had my glands expressed about 3 months ago and the doc was very pleased that she got the oil flowing from several glands even though it only gave me about 2 days of relief. She expressed my glands again last week and couldn't get much oil flowing in either eye...maybe 2 in the left and one in the right. My question is..do the amount of glands that are open and flowing change back and forth from some to none, or many to few just naturally, or when they stop flowing are they closed for good? Have considered probing, but at this point my doc hasn't suggested it...thanks...Max

It's poss for glands to stop providing oil full stop even with them open, diet is usually the issue for those cases though,but you could always add some extra fish oil to your diet to help if in any doubt.

[Max52]

It's poss for glands to stop providing oil full stop even with them open, diet is usually the issue for those cases though,but you could always add some extra fish oil to your diet to help if in any doubt.

Thanks...I already take 3600 mg/day along with a tablespoon of flaxseed. Any more and I fear I would turn into a fish. I must admit I drink quite a bit though and wonder how much that is effecting my mgd. I haven't seen any studies on alcohol and mgd.

[waterbee]

Thanks...I already take 3600 mg/day along with a tablespoon of flaxseed. Any more and I fear I would turn into a fish. I must admit I drink quite a bit though and wonder how much that is effecting my mgd. I haven't seen any studies on alcohol and mgd.

Made me laugh about turning into a fish
I saw a study on the effects of alcohols on dry
Eye and it stated that even one glass of wine
Effects dry eye, I would look into it incase. I don't drink oftan (last time was Xmas!)
So I can't say I've ever noticed.

[Max52]

Made me laugh about turning into a fish
I saw a study on the effects of alcohols on dry
Eye and it stated that even one glass of wine
Effects dry eye, I would look into it incase. I don't drink oftan (last time was Xmas!)
So I can't say I've ever noticed.

Can you provide a link for that study..I'd love to read it

[LaDiva]

Alcohol dehydrates you so will cause eyes to be dry, but I am not sure it does anything to the oil glands. If you drink and have Ocular Rosacea it will do a major job on your glands due to the inflammation it causes. If you don't have inflammation or Ocular Rosacea, salud!

[waterbee]

Can you provide a link for that study..I'd love to read it

Found it. It's baced on beer, not wine intake and the subjects
Did not have dry eye, yet it still effected there TBUT so I suppose with an allready low tbut
It's going to makes things worse.



http://allaboutdryeye.com/2012/07/19...e-study-finds/

[Max52]

Alcohol dehydrates you so will cause eyes to be dry, but I am not sure it does anything to the oil glands. If you drink and have Ocular Rosacea it will do a major job on your glands due to the inflammation it causes. If you don't have inflammation or Ocular Rosacea, salud!

Thanks LaDiva, but are you saying it will do damage to your OIL GLANDS if you have ocular rosacea? I must say I don't get the whole ocular rosacea thing. I've been told I do and been told I don't. How can they tell for sure? My eyes don't get bloodshot and my cheeks aren't particularly red.

[Max52]

Found it. It's baced on beer, not wine intake and the subjects
Did not have dry eye, yet it still effected there TBUT so I suppose with an allready low tbut
It's going to makes things worse.

http://allaboutdryeye.com/2012/07/19...e-study-finds/

Thanks....nothing there about mgd and oddly enough my tbut is normal. I'm not sure if it's logical that mgds would be effected. After all they are glands and I don't know if any other glands in the body are effected by excess alcohol.

[LaDiva]

The persistent inflammation keeps the glands riled up and the oil insipid. As to exactly how this works, I am not sure. I've read that it is a cascading affect where one thing triggers another, and the cycle is constant. I think the tear film is also affected so that the tear quality is not the best. Ocular Rosacea is difficult to diagnose. I went to a doctor who had special equipment, but I don't have any idea what the machine he used was called. He took high resolution shots of the veins in the eye. I remember having all kinds of colored dyes dumped into my eyes as well. I am happy to hear your tbut is normal. That is very good news. If you have Ocular Rosacea, maybe try going dry for a couple of weeks, and see if the glands improve. If you have inflammation though, you should clearly be able to see signs. Hang in there. It sounds to me like you have a good chance of conquering all of this. As an added thought, you can also modify your diet. There are websites with lists of foods to avoid if you have Rosacea. The foods are hit and miss, so you just have to experiment.

http://www.rosacea.org/weblog/ocular...rying-tell-you

[Max52]

The persistent inflammation keeps the glands riled up and the oil insipid. As to exactly how this works, I am not sure. I've read that it is a cascading affect where one thing triggers another, and the cycle is constant. I think the tear film is also affected so that the tear quality is not the best. Ocular Rosacea is difficult to diagnose. I went to a doctor who had special equipment, but I don't have any idea what the machine he used was called. He took high resolution shots of the veins in the eye. I remember having all kinds of colored dyes dumped into my eyes as well. I am happy to hear your tbut is normal. That is very good news. If you have Ocular Rosacea, maybe try going dry for a couple of weeks, and see if the glands improve. If you have inflammation though, you should clearly be able to see signs. Hang in there. It sounds to me like you have a good chance of conquering all of this. As an added thought, you can also modify your diet. There are websites with lists of foods to avoid if you have Rosacea. The foods are hit and miss, so you just have to experiment.

http://www.rosacea.org/weblog/ocular...rying-tell-you

Thanks again LaDiva..you seemed to have really delved deeply. Can you tell me what would clearly be signs of inflammation? Is it just red eyelids?...Max

[LaDiva]

You are welcome Max. I've had this for about six years, so plenty of time to wander around amid treatments and possibilities. When I have a Rosacea flare, the surface of my eyes becomes red and my eyeball actually feels swollen. That kind of inflammation is easy to see and feel, but there is a more subtle inflammation with or without a flare-up. It can be seen on the inside of the lids and sometimes the lid margins. You can also see tiny blood vessels on the eyelid margins. This is a pretty good forum: http://rosacea-support.org/community/viewforum.php?f=20

I also have tear deficiency and MGD in addition to Rosacea. Since you only seem to have oil problems, I am very hopeful for your outcome. IPL is supposed to be helpful to people with Ocular Rosacea, as it kills some of the extra blood vessels caused by Rosacea that feed into the eye. It can help quell inflammation and encourage oil production. IPL didn't work very well for me since I also have tear deficiency, but it has helped others who don't have the added problem with tears.

Diet is a huge help, so think about trying out a Rosacea-friendly diet for awhile, and see if that helps. Red wine can be a big problem, but any fermented beverage is generally a problem, and that is anything alcoholic. I love that jammy Zin, so what a bummer. You might also have your hormone levels checked if that has not already been done. Too little testosterone can = too little oil. Best Wishes to you. I suspect you are going to be able to conquer your situation, but you may need to modify your eating and drinking, and also watch foods high is histamines, or foods that contain histamine liberators.

Rosacea triggers and foods: http://www.rosacea.org/patients/materials/triggers.php
Histamine triggers: http://www.michiganallergy.com/food_and_histamine.shtml

[Eileen510]

Alcohol dehydrates you so will cause eyes to be dry, but I am not sure it does anything to the oil glands. If you drink and have Ocular Rosacea it will do a major job on your glands due to the inflammation it causes. If you don't have inflammation or Ocular Rosacea, salud!

LaDiva - thanks you so much for that info - it validates my experience. If I drink 1/2 glass of wine I can feel my eye's drying out within the hour. When I told my Ophthalmologist he laughed and said it shouldn't make any difference.

[LaDiva]

You are welcome Eileen. I really miss my red wine...