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Hello - some of you may have seen my recent dry eye story and posts about visiting Dr. Richard Yee in Houston. Since that post I have seen Dr. Yee 3 times and had probing a week ago today on 1 eye.
Probing experience - my upper lid was much more sensitive than my lower lid. It's not a pleasant experience, but I heard many "popping" sounds so at least you feel like something helpful is happening. Dr Yee spent about 2 hours probing 1 eye and used a 2 mm probe then a 4 mm probe and then did Lipiflow.
Lipiflow - not painful but seems like a total waste and I can't believe how much people are charging. (Dr. Yee throws this in as part of his probing treatment) Seems like hot compresses work in a similar fashion and I didn't see anything dramatic happen after the procedure. I've actually had more oil come out after using the compresses than Lipiflow.
Meds - I'm still on Spironolactone and Daspone 4X day for 1 more week, then 2X day. He also put me on a testosterone drop which I can take up to 4X day right now.
Punctal Plugs - I had these put in the lower lids about a year ago but had Dr Yee remove. One punctal plug developed a growth around it and was sore so I had Dr. Yee take both of them out because I never noticed a difference to begin with. (14 and 17 Schrimers)
How am I doing now? I'm not 100% sure if it's the testosterone drops, continued use of S and D meds OR the punctal plugs being removed but before I went in for probing the inflammation in my eyes were a lot better. (which the redness was my #1 concern) My eyes still get red, but when I'm in optimal conditions (not in a store or office) they actually look somewhat normal which is a HUGE win for me. Probing - I can tell zero difference at this point. I'm still somewhat holding out hope, but a week out has provided no change.
Next steps - I'll go back to see Dr. Yee in a couple months and will continue with the meds. If by some miracle my right eye starts looking white with less veins, I would RUN back to see Dr. Yee again for probing in my other eye but based on the past week I'm doubtful that will happen. Dr. Yee did not recommend the chalsis surgery on my 2nd appointment as he said it wasn't bad enough, but we will continue to monitor. I'm open to that surgery if it will help me.
Hopefully this helps someone with their journey!
Probing experience - my upper lid was much more sensitive than my lower lid. It's not a pleasant experience, but I heard many "popping" sounds so at least you feel like something helpful is happening. Dr Yee spent about 2 hours probing 1 eye and used a 2 mm probe then a 4 mm probe and then did Lipiflow.
Lipiflow - not painful but seems like a total waste and I can't believe how much people are charging. (Dr. Yee throws this in as part of his probing treatment) Seems like hot compresses work in a similar fashion and I didn't see anything dramatic happen after the procedure. I've actually had more oil come out after using the compresses than Lipiflow.
Meds - I'm still on Spironolactone and Daspone 4X day for 1 more week, then 2X day. He also put me on a testosterone drop which I can take up to 4X day right now.
Punctal Plugs - I had these put in the lower lids about a year ago but had Dr Yee remove. One punctal plug developed a growth around it and was sore so I had Dr. Yee take both of them out because I never noticed a difference to begin with. (14 and 17 Schrimers)
How am I doing now? I'm not 100% sure if it's the testosterone drops, continued use of S and D meds OR the punctal plugs being removed but before I went in for probing the inflammation in my eyes were a lot better. (which the redness was my #1 concern) My eyes still get red, but when I'm in optimal conditions (not in a store or office) they actually look somewhat normal which is a HUGE win for me. Probing - I can tell zero difference at this point. I'm still somewhat holding out hope, but a week out has provided no change.
Next steps - I'll go back to see Dr. Yee in a couple months and will continue with the meds. If by some miracle my right eye starts looking white with less veins, I would RUN back to see Dr. Yee again for probing in my other eye but based on the past week I'm doubtful that will happen. Dr. Yee did not recommend the chalsis surgery on my 2nd appointment as he said it wasn't bad enough, but we will continue to monitor. I'm open to that surgery if it will help me.
Hopefully this helps someone with their journey!
All I want is these veins to be GONE or at least to be very small and less noticeable. Dr. Yee did not promise this will happen but did say patients have reported less redness after probing and lipiflow.
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