I've had both lower ducts cauterized. My left eye is a little bit drier than my right eye though, either that, or the cauterization has opened up slightly. I just went to the eye dr. a few weeks ago and he said that it looks like a "pore" on the right eye, and was not suer if it had opened up. It didn't as far as he could see. He tried a point 2 size plug and it didn't go in. The trainee doctor also said it was closed. But I am wondering if it is just so small that they cannot see it? If it was opened at all would they be able to tell, with their magnifier? Probably that eye is just dryer than the other? I never realized it before this though. Maybe i never noticed it. I'm obssessing I guess. Thanks, Michelle

Originally posted by MichelleDryEyes:
If it was opened at all would they be able to tell, with their magnifier?

Yes, absolutely.

Yeah, they should absolutely be able to see if it is open. My doctor said that sometimes it can look like it is open but there is a clear membrane over it that is keeping it closed. One time he wasn't sure if mine was open or if there was a clear membrane over it, so he took the tweezer that he would use to insert the plugs, and he was able to put it into my tear duct. He put some of the orange dye in my eyes and he was able to observe my tears being sucked up into the tear duct. Other than by just looking at it, I would think that those would be the two best ways to tell if it is actually open or not. Also, when you look in the mirror do you see a hole there? I am always able to tell if one of my tear ducts has opened, because I can see the hole. Sometimes it takes more than one try to get it to stay closed permanently. The body thinks there is supposed to be a hole there, so it puts one there and then you have to get it done again!

Until your left eye began to feel drier than the right, did the cauterization help you?

Anyway, good luck.

Elyse

Hi Purple! I don't see a hole. It looks like a pore, but no hole. The dr said so too, but I was thinking maybe it was so tiny or microscopic that he missed it. Oh well, probably not. I think the left eye must just be naturally drier than the right. The cauterization of the lower ducts did help, plus the flow thru plugs in the uppers. I would say I'm 90% satisfied. I still have to use tears, but not half as frequently. How are you doing? Thanks, Michelle

I have the same problem. Sometimes one eye is drier than the other, for no apparent reason. It used to be that my right eye was the worst, but now that I have had all 4 cauterized, the left eye seems to be drier than the right. My doctor notices it when he stains my eyes. He knows right away which eye is the one that is bothering me more. The only thing I can suggest is that you try and keep your left eye extra lubricated. If you put tear drops in your right eye 4 times a day, put them in your left eye 6 or 8 times a day. Or, if you put one drop of tears in your right eye, put two in your left. That's what I used to do when I had the corneal ulcer. I needed to keep my right eye super lubricated, so whenever I was putting tear drops in, I always put double the amount in that eye. Do you use any tears ointment anymore? Maybe it would help if you use that at night and maybe once or twice during the day, just when the dryness is at its worst. Or you can use something like Tears Again Gel Drops during the day if the ointment blurs your vision too much. I carry a whole arsenal of tear drops, ointments, allergy drops, etc... with me wherever I go. I never leave the house with less than 10 doses of tears with me! Lately I have been using them about 8-10 times a day, sometimes less sometimes more. But that is a huge improvement from before the cauterization, when I was using them 20-30, and sometimes even 35 or 40 times a day!

But even though the cauterization made a huge difference, I still have bad problems with irritation and allergies. Today they just would not stop itching and burning. I am student teaching now in an elementary school, and my eyes were so bad for a while today that I actually had to stop what I was doing and put a cold compress on them. (luckily I was not the one teaching the lesson at the time!) Normally they are not that bad. But we have been experiencing very very cold weather with a lot of very strong winds, and I have to walk about 2 blocks to get from my car to the school every day. Plus, I am in a building with a forced hot air heating system, which is particularly drying. I just told my cooperating teache when I first met her that if she sees me putting eyedrops in my eyes, I am OK, just ignore me! LOL! Right now the only thing that really seems to be helping me is my steroid ointment (dexamethasone). Today I used it around 3:30pm, and I can honestly say that until about 6 or 6:30, I felt good! But I can't use it more than once or twice a day, and I can't be on it forever! In April there is something new coming out called Restasis. It is a cyclosporine drop that is also mixed with some sort of longer acting tears formula, and I believe it is preservative free. It is supposed to help you produce your own tears and cut down on the inflammation and irritation. If there is a God, this will work for me! Right now my doctor says that I have more than enough tears, but they are not penetrating my eyes because due to my Meibomian gland dysfunction, I have very little oil in them. The oil is what makes the tears actually stay on the surface of the cornea. My tears just roll right off of my eyeball and well up in my lower lid. But they are not helping me there!

Anyway, that's enough complaining on my part. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I hope you get to feeling better. I am glad that you don't think your tear duct is open. It is such a pain to have to get it redone.

Good luck,
Elyse

[This message has been edited by purple2067 (edited 02-12-2003).]