what is the right thing to do about my glands?

[bp77]

hey all, I need ur opinion. the doctors say that my gland are very blocked. some of them tell me that they need to press on them to get the oil out and some say no do not do it. is it better to get them expressed by the the doc or no? I am very confused by this mgd. thanks.

[Margaret]

I was told by a veteran here that a bad expression is probably better than no expression! Have you tried warm compresses? Not hot, but just warm? Azasite? There was another veteran that posted that Azasite worked for her but it took many months for it to work. I wonder if in combination Azasite and warm compresses might help? There are also Lipiflow and IPL...

[irish eyes]

Yes, this issue confuses me too.

My current consultant is against it but the only reason he gives is that it's pointless. They only fill up again so why do it?

Well I know they fill up again but it still gives me a measure of relief when I manage to unblock those that are vey inflamed.

One thing I must be careful of though is not to do it too often because it tends to make my eyes more sore...and there is certainly no point to that.

I believe Dr Latkany (in his book) advises people to do it.

[bp77]

Yes, this issue confuses me too.

My current consultant is against it but the only reason he gives is that it's pointless. They only fill up again so why do it?

Well I know they fill up again but it still gives me a measure of relief when I manage to unblock those that are vey inflamed.

One thing I must be careful of though is not to do it too often because it tends to make my eyes more sore...and there is certainly no point to that.

I believe Dr Latkany (in his book) advises people to do it.

thank u all for replying to me. I tried to get it done today since my doc told me that is the only thing for me. he pressed on couple of the glands and i stoped him because i died of pain. my lid got so sweellen . i put so much ice pack and i am in so much pain. how do u guys do this? i do not see any releaf other than more pain.

[sporta]

I also suffer with MGD and posterior Blepharitis. I finally found a doctor who is very interested in my condition and helping me. Of course it takes quite a while to see any results. He did not try and express my glands when I saw him and they were totally blocked. What he has me doing is:
During your morning long hot shower he gave me a lid wash that I use. With my finger tips I go back and forth over my closed eyes for 20 seconds. Rinse and then pinch my lower eye lids, rinse and do the process again.
After the shower I apply 1 drop of Azasite on my fingertip and rub it on my eye lids (keeping them closed) He said I would be on the Azasite for at least 2 months and then on one month, off one month.
Before bed I use Sterilid foam cleanser on my eyelids. It took me a while to get used to it as it can burn, but I was rubbing it in and he said to just do one swipe and let it sit for 1 minute before rinsing.
He increased my Fish Oil intake to 2 1200mg in the am and 2 1200mg in the pm
I was also to pick just one preservative free drop that I liked and only use that when needed. He didn't want using a lot of different types of drops (not sure why).
After 6 weeks I started to feel somewhat better and when he saw me he said my glands were opened about 60%. He then put me on 100mg of Doxy twice daily for a month.
At the moment I'm on 100mg Doxy in the am and doing the Azasite before bed.
And I just started doing the warm compresses again when needed.

One more thing, I did 3 IPL sessions before seeing him and he suggested I stop for now and wait until we get the glands at least partially unclogged as he doesn't think the IPL does much for totally blocked glands.

Overall I feel better then I did when I first saw him but I'm hoping to continue to see improvement. It takes a lot of time and effort.

[Margaret]

I had someone express my lids in Dec, two weeks before Christmas and I paid the price. It took over three weeks to get back to a comfortable place. But if you are feeling pain as they are doing the expression it just seems like you need a different approach. Have you tried long term use of Doxy and Azasite and warm compresses? I'm definitely not big on the idea of throwing the kitchen sink at it, and I bet that's why the doc just wants you to use one type of drop to minimize the variables at play, but the exception I'm beginning to believe is when you have MGD. I just wonder sometimes if the combination of Doxy and Azasite (and fish oil and warm compresses) doesn't have a combination effect of lowering the melting point, keeping the oil more liquid, and keeping staff at bay...just a theory I've been tossing around in my head. I haven't tried Doxy yet since I'm 9 months out of Lasik and believe I should probably just give my eyes time to get to their baseline. But I have tried Azasite and it didn't do any harm. I've heard to use it as a drop but I've also heard to use it more like an ointment and just massage it on your eyelid. Regardless, if you put a drop of preservative free drops in your eyes first, it doesn't sting nearly as badly. How are you doing? I've read some of your previous posts and you sound depressed (rightfully so, I battle it everyday), but I'm worried about you!

[bp77]

thanks for posting guys, this is what i am on now, i have plugs on the bottom, 4 loveza fish oil, warm comp 2x, ocu soft twise 2x, azsite on the lids 2x,doxy 100mg 2x a day, flaxeseed oil, tear drops. i tried lotomax got worse and today i tried gland exp by doc and i almost died of pain.i tried upper plug, it rubs on my eye ball. i can not try restaises. what is left to try? with all these my glands are all blocked.why? my upper lid inflammed too.doc do not have anything to offer and today i went through hell with the expression. hopeless and helpless......

[Margaret]

You are in New York? Have you seen Dr. L?

[Rebecca Petris]

i tried gland exp by doc and i almost died of pain.i tried upper plug, it rubs on my eye ball. i can not try restaises.

Oh no - I am so sorry.

It sounds terrible. But what did the doctor say when it was done? Did s/he clear the glands? Was it so painful because there were hard caps? I am just wondering whether in spite of how hard it was to go through it, whether it might actually help and make you feel better once the lids have settled down back to 'normal'. I know that's no consolation right now though.

Have you tried eyewear to get some symptom relief in the meantime?