Probing / IPL

[SaraLC]

Good afternoon dry eye sufferers,

I am pretty certain I might have obstructive MGD and I would like to ask your opinion & experiences about probing, would it be the only solution at this point (important gland loss)?
My ophthalmologist (from a dry eye clinic) warned me against it because it could damage my glands which are already compromised. Are there any studies that prove this? I can't find any, only one stating that taking into account how expensive and invasive the procedure is, the gains are very litte to non documented. That doesnt mean it is risky, maybe just useless.

I had only one IPL session in September to treat the 1st chalazion I got on the upper lid and it settled but in December I got another bigger chalazion this time on the lower lid (same eye). Does this mean that the IPL is not good or enough for me? I am scared of getting more IPL sessions and making it worse. Anyone in this case?
If I do IPL without probing first, would it exacerbate the issue if my glands are already very obstructed at this stage (chalazions and serious loss of glands)?

Anyone here who has done Probing (with or without IPL / Lipiflow), do you actually recommend this procedure?

I am seeing Dr Yodaiken in Manchester next week, he offers pretty much every treatment available. Anyone had any experience with him?

Thanks for your help!

[Hokucat]

Hi. I had probing several times, no IPL, and each time I had it, it temporarily helped my eyes feel more moist. But as you mentioned, it is a very invasive and uncomfortable procedure, and I also wondered about the risk, but I had tried just about everything else. So I would say to do probing only if you know you have blocked meibomian glands AND after you’ve tried other less invasive treatments first.

The one thing I want to emphasize about probing is that it will likely be temporary, as whatever was causing your glands to get clogged up could happen again. At least this was the case for me, until I found the right changes/additions to my diet during my last probing in 2015, where I did not need any addition probings. But it was key for me to get my glands open with probing, otherwise the diet changes most likely would not have helped.

I hope you find some relief soon. Here’s my dry eye story I wrote a few years back, in case there’s anything here that might help or encourage you:

https://www.dryeyestories.com/new-bl...ous-deficiency

[PG]

I'm not sure what probing is? I had IPL with manual extraction. The doctor uses a Qtip and squeezes each gland individually. Like popping a pimple. I did IPL with extraction four times in a row, as a series of sessions, and then once a year. It was very helpful. Not sure how you'd unplug glands without it. Maybe hot compresses multiple times a day? It only gets replugged if I don't go once a year now. I had a lipiscan to confirm plugged glands first. Seems like if a doctor doesn't do a particular procedure, they don't recommend it.

[Hokucat]

Probing uses a wire probe to unblock each gland, mainly needed for removing blockage from glands with scar tissue. Other treatments like IPL, LipiFlow, and manual expression cannot clear glands with scar tissue on their own, however these treatments have been helpful for some people to keep their glands open after getting probing to open scar blockage.

Probing is a very invasive and uncomfortable process, so would only do it if it is known or highly suspected the majority of one’s glands are blocked by scar tissue, and/or after other less invasive treatments have been tried.

PG, that’s great IPL and expression works for you! I’m glad you are doing well, have not come across your posts in awhile. We are a few of the old timers in this forum :-)

[jack1988]

Good afternoon dry eye sufferers,

I am pretty certain I might have obstructive MGD and I would like to ask your opinion & experiences about probing, would it be the only solution at this point (important gland loss)?
My ophthalmologist (from a dry eye clinic) warned me against it because it could damage my glands which are already compromised. Are there any studies that prove this? I can't find any, only one stating that taking into account how expensive and invasive the procedure is, the gains are very litte to non documented. That doesnt mean it is risky, maybe just useless.

I had only one IPL session in September to treat the 1st chalazion I got on the upper lid and it settled but in December I got another bigger chalazion this time on the lower lid (same eye). Does this mean that the IPL is not good or enough for me? I am scared of getting more IPL sessions and making it worse. Anyone in this case?
If I do IPL without probing first, would it exacerbate the issue if my glands are already very obstructed at this stage (chalazions and serious loss of glands)?

Anyone here who has done Probing (with or without IPL / Lipiflow), do you actually recommend this procedure?

I am seeing Dr Yodaiken in Manchester next week, he offers pretty much every treatment available. Anyone had any experience with him?

Thanks for your help!

Hi, how did the probing go? I have it performed on my right eye only and it helped me. Had IPL afterwards too.

Take care