Hi guys new here - I got MGD - Feeling 80% better

[DrHouse911]

Hi All,


I got a strange feeling of foreign body and dry eye on my left eye, After a trip abroad a month ago.

After seeing an OD. all they told me is i have bumps on the lower lid? gave me some steroid drops.

Those drops were ineffective and didn't work. so i stopped within 4 days.

I tried some prescription allergy drops that usually do the trick for me those failed.

So i been suffering for a month and it seemed to be getting worse, very depressing etc.



Luckily i found this site... able to do some research.

I self diagnosed it as MGD.

I think i an irritant started it. where it was either bacterial, or

Demodex

mites on eyelash (which is the first time i heard of such mites)

After some research there a strong correlation with demodex mights and MGD... research link below.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6118860/


so to treat that. i found on internet some girl using a solution of approximatly 1 drop tea tree oil ( i used organic one found at health food store or whole food) to 100 ml of water. with one drop
of baby shampoo.

the link above shows the use TTO to clear demodex mites on eyelashes.


So i mixed it up... and used as a wipe on my eyelids and my face..... wash it for about 1 min or 2 then rinise off.

then i do a second wipe and leave it on my eye lashes and eye brows... this i dont wash off.. its really mild so i figure longer i leave it more mites and bacteria it will kill during the day.

this definitely felt like it was doing something... i plan to do this in am and before bed time.


then wash my sheets and my pillow case.... weekly.

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secondly you can express your MGD glands manually with a qtip... and working on each blocked gland... I know the general area of dry eye feeling... which is the lower lid area...more on outer edge of the eye... i do a warm water rinse on my eye for 3-5 min to warm it up and proceed to gently express the glands to push out the blockage and foreign bodies, dead cells, etc.


after this with a wet qtip i gently wipe the MGD lower eyelid glands with warm wet qtip just to clear any debris on the surface...

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then i rinise with saline solution....


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finally i use Azithromycin drops prescription on, directly on the lower lid, by pulling the lid open with clean fingers and dropping it in the lid...

then move your eye and blink to get the solution all over the lid and eye.

AzaSite drops work in 2 ways:

handles bacterial issues...

secondly and more importantly it has anti inflamtory effects on the eye... you want to decrease the inflamation so glands can function properly...


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2893269/


So far its been day 2 with this protocol i feel a significant difference.


Now the second part is diet which i think is equally important...

i take 2 600mg pills of NOW NAC.. ( any brand will you prefer will work, i want to be specific) so i take this with after breakfast with food one at lunch and one at night, its a little hard on my stomach in am.

NAC is powerful anti-inflamatory.... which i used in the past... i also found someone using it for MGD in story on web...

I also take 1000 mg of fish oil.... i am using the nordica natural flavored liquid.... i found out i am really sensitive to which brands i use... so i use this one in liquid form rather then pill.

i will try to increase to 2000mg per day..


I think i am lucky that i caught this early, I see some docs often don't even consider MGD, and people suffer for years... problem is the longer it goes... the more damage it can do to the glands and your eye...

I'll keep posting as time progress... i am scheduled to see a specialist in dry eye just to confirm and get some baseline readings...

I also wear eye protection i think its nemesis lab glasses which wrap around the eye , in the house which helps with evap, or eyeglass when i go out...

I use systane ultra drops... not sure how effective these are...



Just a little background about me...

I had LPR reflux, which is almost incurable disease so i managed to cure it myself and the help of some the top doctors in USA.... that took about 5 years...

Hopefully i can figure this one out a little faster.


I definitely feel for anyone with this dreaded disease, i been reading a lot people affected MGD, with incredible diminished quality of life.

[Fenix]

I self diagnosed it as MGD.

I'm not here to judge, but self-diagnosis are so wrong. Did you use antibiotics without consulting an ophthalmologist first?

[Guest]

So I went to a Dry Eye specialist.

they did the following test:

camera scan of the MDG glands.
inflammation test on each eye.
tear quality test.

Dr. CONFIRMED i had MGD... i lost some glands on left eye ( the one bothering me) also had some inflammation and blockage on left eye.


Right eye i was shocked i lost some glands on right eye too



However, Dr stated i still have alot of glands so i am still good.

The tear quality test was good. Which sort of confirms the treatment protocol i was using was good. DR also approved of all the things i was doing.

I asked why i am losing glands? she said they don't know.

They don't know where the irritation on the left eye coming from.

The strategy would be to clean out the inflammation and glands on the left eye and continue use of restasis. But she said to use the Restasis on my other eye.


I decide to do a round of Lipiflow, on the left eye, the doctor says it takes a week or so to feel the effects... however. i felt pretty good few hours after the procedure.

She said Lipiflow is sort of hit or miss with some patients.


the doctor told me to finish the Azasite drops, continue with Restasis on both eyes.


I also wash my pillowcase and sheets weekly.

Diet clean, basically added omega-3 oil.


My eyes are feeling much better. I can use a computer and read now.


The sad part is insurance doesn't cover Lipiflow or IPL yet.

Most OD don't even know to test for MGD.. Really all they need to do is push on your lid with a slit lamp. Check the quality of the material coming out.



I would say my Quality life 1 out 10.. 1 being horrible.

when it was it worse near 3.

now i am at 8 or 9.

[DrHouse911]

I tried to post said unapproved first time.

any way quick recap:

I went to a Dry Eye Specialist.




Did 3 mgd test

MGD Positive

I was surprised i lost some glands on BOTH eyes. despite only really having the symptoms on the left eye.

• MGD positive.
• left eye passages are blocked.
• inflamation detected.

Did lipiflow on left eye.

Dr approved of my treatment protocol. and said continue with Restasis. finish azasite drops. add restasis drops to right eye too.


Lipiflow seems like it did something a few hours after the procedure, dr said this is hit or miss for some patients.


Quality life improved from 3 at worse to 8 now feeling pretty good.



Diet pretty clean, adding more green leafy veggies. No BREAD or WHEAT.

added omega-3

[mbperso]

I had something similar and allergy drop for 3 weeks worked

[DrHouse911]

mbperso,


so you applied allergy drops for 3 weeks and it disappeared?

[DrHouse911]

So my eyes are definitely alot better,

i don't need to use artificial tears every 10 secs (really didn't work)

however super windy days i need to wear eyeglasses...

i think there allergy component which contributes.

Olopatadine presecription allergy drops seem to work really great in addition to the therapy protocol i following above...

i am just mainly using that in left eye... which has more issues.

[mbperso]

mbperso,


so you applied allergy drops for 3 weeks and it disappeared?

Yes, I had an irritation in one top eyelid for 9 months and no doctor found out why.
Then I applied 4 allergy drops a day for 3 weeks (Cromedil) and the issue has gone.

[Drynyc]

Lost my password. Too lazy to try to recover setup a new account.

So I tried a drastic diet change. Eliminate all dairy except
eggs

i saw a few post from members using diet to cure dry eye

i started 2 days ago. Eating salmon. Grass fed beef.

Cooking with virgin coconut oil.

Going to add cod liver oil. lots of green veggies. Kale and spinach.

Drinking green tea with lemon.

1 or 2 NAC day.

seems to be helping.

I stopped the aza site drops.

I stopped the allergy drops.

I don’t need wetting drops anymore.

I really don’t notice it unless i blink and think about that it

[Guest]

my eye been feeling better since this radical diet.
no cheese ( basically a modification AIP, paleo diet) no dairy no cheese... i was eating lots cheses when i got this. cheddar and brie.

i been taking cod liver oil 1tsp carlson daily. has vitamin a.

and coconut oil for frying..

feel these oil really been helping...


I went for MGD probing today.. i was little worried because of one random guest horror story.

I probed the left lower lid(which the problem area)

they probed and expressed... dr should cleaned the area with saline after in hind sight.....

everything went well few hours later... feel better.

the clogged affected area you can actually hear a pop when they prob...

the second key is they need to express the mg gland... thats the part thats hurts... a bit...

I told the the doctor to goto town... so like engine with clogged oil ports.. she got soo sludge out.

whats interesting was some glands were fine olive oil consistency..

then the other grands had solid sluged out of them....

right now my eye feels good...

will see how it goes...

the whole inner eye lid a litte inflamed...

symptomp wise it feels better though..

i dropped some steriod drops... some other drops she recommended..

some xidra drops.

right now just trying to treat the inflamation..


also going to eat salmon for a few days just to get some good oils in the system keep those things flowing is the goal.

[Guest]

FYI thanks to HOKU cat following her diet protocol...

and someone else who suggested coconut oil and cod liver oil...

Definitely making progress..

it was worth nothing dr. was against probing this early... well i think the results of sludge removal and clearing it it was worth it ... one lid was $1k

[Drynyc]

Yesterday Thu

I had MGD probing and expression on the left eye.. the one the bothers me the most.. with the section near the outer eye feels slightly foreign body. and grit.

just on the lower eye lid.

the expression part is somewhat painful, but we got alot of whiteish sludge out.

amazingly you can hear the blocked glands pop... there a distinct popping sound.

some glands the secretion were fine olive oil like.
the blocked ones had the more viscous sludge.

dr should rinised with saline in hindsight.

i washed it with saline.

added blephamide. eye drops which antibiotic and anti-imflamtory.

also got a bunch more meds:

aza site with 1 time application with eyes closed to lash line... where meibomian glands are. just put drop clean finger rub in... i am going try this tonight.

low dose doxycline 50mg 2x a day with food... more of anti-inflammatory effect.


DAY2...

left eye feels better.

the eyebag area is flat compared to right side which is not treated.

[Drynyc]

thoughts in hindsight.

i did lipiflow.

really didn't help.

problem is if your meiboian gland 100% obstructed... and cant expressed with paddles... then their no way gentle IPL... is going to mel the blockage..

think of car engine with sludge..

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so far 1 out 10 10 being the best...

my left eye gone from 3 to 8 now...

probe defintely feel liked it help... diet changes also seem to be helping alot...

diet is the hard part most people cant stick to strict diet.

[Drynyc]

change my diet. decide to add more healthy carbs.

I was previously on low carbs.

eating some apples, some rice, and fruit.

ran outside 41 deg F, pretty cold and dry outside my eye was fine.

hopefully some more progress..

[Hokucat]

Drynyc and everyone else in this thread, so glad to hear you are doing better! It's so great and encouraging that you are getting some relief, and the different things that work for different people. Thanks for sharing!