I have a question for those of you with permanent cauterizations of your eye ducts. I had my lowers ones done about 4-5 years ago (maybe longer--my memory!). This helped me immensely as my plugs kept falling out. Now I have plugs in one of my upper eyes. With this combo, life was good for my eyes. Well, my stupid upper plug keeps falling out now and my son is getting married next month. This has had me in tears for a good two months as I am so weary of running to the doctor for a new plug all the time. I don't know why I didn't think of it when I was in last, but is it possible to get upper and lower ducts plugged in one eye? Have any of you done it? Also, I am wondering if it could cause any complications down the road. I do have cataracts in both eyes and will need surgery on those in the next 10 years or so. I would love to hear anyone's experience with this. Thanks so much!
Hi Janny,
Yes, I have had all four ducts permanently cauterized. I got sick of running to the doctors every week to replace a plug. I probably did it about 12 years ago and have yet to have any issues. It was the best decision I made with regards to my eyes. I occasionally have a overflow of tears in one eye, but I welcome that as anyone with extreme dry eye can imagine!
Liz D.
hi janny.
I had my lower ducts plugged in 2010 and it helped me a lot. Since it was
successful I went ahead in Dec 2010 and had my lowers done permanently and
am happy with results. My eye dr. didn't recommend doing the uppers b/c he said
they really don't drain away as much as they lowers.
To make things as good as it was pre-sjogrens I use Xiidra drops and forget I ever
had dry burning gritty eyes.
shelly
Thanks Liz D. I'm pretty sure it was you who helped me with my anxiety about getting the lowers done (again--my memory!). Do the Xiidra drops really help? I went through the whole Restasis thing for so long...So, only one person on these boards has had 4 cauterizations? Wow. I guess I will make another appointment to talk to my opthamologist. Thanks so much and sure welcome any more experiences if there are any.
Sorry, Eye2dry, thanks for the help also. I will ask about the Xiidra drops. Glad your eyes are feeling as good as pre-Sjogrens! That's my goal again!
Hi, Janny, I just had this procedure done for my lower tear ducts on Wednesday, August 2. It was not nearly as painful as I had thought based on some of the posts I had read. The opthamologist applied a topical anaesthetic (lidocaine) first and let it take. Then she did each of the two injections (one for each eye) under the eye, not in the side of the nose and all around as I had read. Therefore, although the needles of course hurt a bit like any needle, I didn't cry out or shrink away from them. She then did a scratch test to make sure I was frozen, and I was within seconds. The cauterization itself took about 30 seconds in each eye and didn't hurt at all. Because I am on anti-coagulants (blood thinners) for a reason other than my Sjogren's, I bruised a little bit under each eye, but only in the eye socket and not all the way over to the outer eye. One bruise is completely gone now (Sunday), and the other is fading quite rapidly. I had NO PAIN at all when I came home, and unlike someone else had posted on one Sjogren's site, my face did not feel funny from the anaesthetic all the way home. I noticed an IMMEDIATE difference in the moisture in my eyes, even while we were driving home, although my eyes did sting for the rest of the day. Since Wednesday, I have been a lot more comfortable, and am noticing that my Restasis drops and Hydro-Gel non-prescription drops are staying in my eyes a lot longer (I had been told my tears were evaporating almost immediately during prior testing.) So I for one am VERY HAPPY I had this done, and am actually looking forward to the date two months from now when I am also getting the top ones done (by the way, the opthamologist said that getting all four done, upper and lower, in one sitting, was too much, despite my saying to her I would rather get it all over with in one swoop, so that might be the best approach). She also said that the punctal plug another opthamologist had put in a year or so before was no longer there, so these don't seem to be a permanent solution. I would say, go for it, you will feel so much better and for me, the anticipation was far worse than the actual procedure (I must confess I took an anti-anxiety pill first, as I have PTSD from another situation.) Hope this reassures you.