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This is just a heads-up story / cautionary tale about my dry eye/bleph experience with an ophthalmologist.
I saw an ophthalmologist early last year. I told her of my dry-eye/bleph symptoms and she did a tear-duct test, to rule out other things that might be causing tearing eg. clogged tear ducts, nasal cavity infection, etc.
For the tear duct test, the Ophthalmologist uses that skinny instrument they stick into your tear duct, and then run a saline solution through it -- like a straw.
If the saline drains into the back of your throat and you are swallowing it, that means there is no blockages, and they can confirm the tearing is probably dry-eye related.
If the saline solution pours back OUT of the tear duct, onto your cheek, that means there is a blockage of some sort, and your tearing eyes are probably not dry-eye syndrome, but something else.
She put the little probe into my tear duct, and the saline solution poured back OUT of my eye.
She then concluded I must have a nasolacriminal duct obstruction. She immediately asked if I wanted to have a procedure done at the hospital -- a Lacricath probing, and I declined.
I declined, because I was in shock that there was a "blockage" in the first place.
Thing is, I had the same tear-duct test maybe 3 years prior with another Ophthalmologist, and the saline solution ran right back into my throat and i was swallowing it -- no blockage. But, maybe there was some changes for the worse?
She said she'd do a check-up with me if I liked in a year. She sent my test results and letter to my family doctor.
My family doctor then made an appointment with an ENT (Ear, nose and throat) specialist. I had no idea what this specialist was, but hey, if it's a new person who might be able to help me with my tearing eye, why not?
So I see this ENT, and he gives me a requisition form to get an x-ray of my face, and says he might be doing "lots of work" on me. I didn't know what that meant, but I think it all started making sense -- he was talking about serious invasive surgery!
It was like I had fallen down the rabbit hole and I was in the twilight zone.
I talked to my family doctor about it, and he looked seriously unimpressed with me.
I understand family doctors see a lot of patients in one day, and the only thing doctors have to go on, are the letters they get back from the specialists, with test results. He showed me the letter stating I had refused her first "Lacricath probing", and that I had a nasolacrminal duct obstruction.
It was in writing. And he did not believe me at all -- and he made that quite clear.
My doctor looked seriously peeved at me -- like I was the problem, and I was not trusting the specialists.
So I gave it a rest. I didn't do the X-ray. I didn't talk with my Ophthalmologist. I did nothing.
I had no one to trust anymore.
So 9 months goes by. My tearing eye is still bothering me. So long story short, I get another appt with another different Ophthalmologist in another city. I had to look up the eye clinic -- my family doctor was no help.
(My city only has 2 Ophthalmologists). So I see this new Ophthalmologist, and they do the tear-duct test with the saline solution.
I was nervous days before the appt. Because if they did the tear-duct test, and the saline solution poured back OUT, that meant I really did have something more serious going on with my tear-ducts and would require surgery or more serious invasive procedures.
He sticks in the little skinny probe into my tear-duct, and the saline solution..... pours into the back of my throat....I'm swallowing it.
.....
Wow.
So, there was no obstruction or clogged tear-duct in the first place.
The Ophthalmologist in my city had done something wrong. Whatever she did, the test was done wrong -- maybe the angle she stuck the little probe into the tear-duct?
I still have to deal with my DryEye tearing heavy eyelids everyday, but I'm so happy that at least it's not something more serious that requires surgery.
I knew my tear-duct wasn't clogged, and now I had proof.
I guess it's a little lesson on getting a "2nd opinion". Don't wait as long as I did -- almost a year.
I saw an ophthalmologist early last year. I told her of my dry-eye/bleph symptoms and she did a tear-duct test, to rule out other things that might be causing tearing eg. clogged tear ducts, nasal cavity infection, etc.
For the tear duct test, the Ophthalmologist uses that skinny instrument they stick into your tear duct, and then run a saline solution through it -- like a straw.
If the saline drains into the back of your throat and you are swallowing it, that means there is no blockages, and they can confirm the tearing is probably dry-eye related.
If the saline solution pours back OUT of the tear duct, onto your cheek, that means there is a blockage of some sort, and your tearing eyes are probably not dry-eye syndrome, but something else.
She put the little probe into my tear duct, and the saline solution poured back OUT of my eye.
She then concluded I must have a nasolacriminal duct obstruction. She immediately asked if I wanted to have a procedure done at the hospital -- a Lacricath probing, and I declined.
I declined, because I was in shock that there was a "blockage" in the first place.
Thing is, I had the same tear-duct test maybe 3 years prior with another Ophthalmologist, and the saline solution ran right back into my throat and i was swallowing it -- no blockage. But, maybe there was some changes for the worse?
She said she'd do a check-up with me if I liked in a year. She sent my test results and letter to my family doctor.
My family doctor then made an appointment with an ENT (Ear, nose and throat) specialist. I had no idea what this specialist was, but hey, if it's a new person who might be able to help me with my tearing eye, why not?
So I see this ENT, and he gives me a requisition form to get an x-ray of my face, and says he might be doing "lots of work" on me. I didn't know what that meant, but I think it all started making sense -- he was talking about serious invasive surgery!
It was like I had fallen down the rabbit hole and I was in the twilight zone.
I talked to my family doctor about it, and he looked seriously unimpressed with me.
I understand family doctors see a lot of patients in one day, and the only thing doctors have to go on, are the letters they get back from the specialists, with test results. He showed me the letter stating I had refused her first "Lacricath probing", and that I had a nasolacrminal duct obstruction.
It was in writing. And he did not believe me at all -- and he made that quite clear.
My doctor looked seriously peeved at me -- like I was the problem, and I was not trusting the specialists.
So I gave it a rest. I didn't do the X-ray. I didn't talk with my Ophthalmologist. I did nothing.
I had no one to trust anymore.
So 9 months goes by. My tearing eye is still bothering me. So long story short, I get another appt with another different Ophthalmologist in another city. I had to look up the eye clinic -- my family doctor was no help.
(My city only has 2 Ophthalmologists). So I see this new Ophthalmologist, and they do the tear-duct test with the saline solution.
I was nervous days before the appt. Because if they did the tear-duct test, and the saline solution poured back OUT, that meant I really did have something more serious going on with my tear-ducts and would require surgery or more serious invasive procedures.
He sticks in the little skinny probe into my tear-duct, and the saline solution..... pours into the back of my throat....I'm swallowing it.
.....
Wow.
So, there was no obstruction or clogged tear-duct in the first place.
The Ophthalmologist in my city had done something wrong. Whatever she did, the test was done wrong -- maybe the angle she stuck the little probe into the tear-duct?
I still have to deal with my DryEye tearing heavy eyelids everyday, but I'm so happy that at least it's not something more serious that requires surgery.
I knew my tear-duct wasn't clogged, and now I had proof.
I guess it's a little lesson on getting a "2nd opinion". Don't wait as long as I did -- almost a year.