Is meibomian gland dropout and atrophy the same thing? Is it completely irreversible?
Dry Eye Patient
Is meibomian gland dropout and atrophy the same thing? Is it completely irreversible?
Dry Eye Patient
I was also wondering.....How long does it take for dropout (or atrophy) to occur.....days of inflammation....weeks...months...or years???
Dry Eye Patient
What does this mean?Originally Posted by marykate
Moderator
The published data and those who speak on this issue report that after 36 months of inflammation your meibomian and lacrimal glands show signs of atrophy. Typically once atrophy takes place it is not considered reversible.
Dry Eye Patient
Indrep......am I right in assuming Sjogrens would/could be a primary cause of atrophy? Lucy
Don't trust any refractive surgeon with YOUR eyes.
The Dry Eye Queen
Dry Eye Patient
I'm not sure if they mean the exact same thing (can anyone clarify?), but in general, it means that inflammation basically destroys your meibomian glands so that they no longer secrete oil anymore.
Thanks Indrep for the info. I'm glad that it takes up to a few years for signs of atrophy to occur, instead of a few months. But at the same, its not a lot of time because we can have inflammation w/o feeling symptoms for a while and then when we do feel bad, it takes a long time to find a doc who can actually pinpoint the problem and then even more time to get the inflammation under control.
Oh woe is the dry eye sufferer...
Moderator
Lucy
Yes Sjogrens, RA, etc cause inflammation in the body. Its not the Sjogrens that causes the atrophy, its the inflammation that actually closes the ducts that secrete the aqueous and lipids. When the glands can't secrete what they are producing they stop producing. Also over time scar tissue forms over the ducts.
These patients will sometimes have all four puncta occluded and still need many artificial tears/lubricants because their lacrimal glands do not secrete aqueous and/or the meibomian glands are secreting so few lipids that what little aqueous is around evaporates very quickly.
Dry Eye Patient
Thanks, Indrep.
Don't trust any refractive surgeon with YOUR eyes.
The Dry Eye Queen
Dry Eye Patient
Hi All-
I asked my eye doc about this and he looked at mine and said that "maybe a few- two or three total- have dropped out" but that it is nothing to worry about because the rest are still there- now just focus on getting better flow from them. I asked him if other people with "normal eyes" would have a few glands that were gone and he said "probably" if someone examined them.....the amount I have he said is enough....
I am so confused
Moderator
autumnn
At any given time n the "normal" eye as amny as half of your meibomian glands will not be secreting oil.
Dry Eye Patient
indrep- Wow, I did not know that....and here I am freaking out over one or two...this forum is sure a wealth of information.
Administrator
There is a scale somewhere... I forget the link... that shows, on average, how many glands are functioning by age in healthy subjects. Seems like only kids have a full row of fully productive MGs.
Rebecca Petris
The Dry Eye Zone
Dry Eye Patient
Hi Autum,
Yeah, my eye doc says the same thing -- everyone has some glands not pumping. And some ethnicities are more prone to it. Namely Irish decent folks -- he probably noted that b/c he used to work in Boston.
You had lasik right? Me too -- I think with lower acqueous flow we're just suseptible to any difference. We needed lots of both -- and now we're having problems with both.
How you feeling these days? How far out are you again??
Dry Eye Patient
Hi Lboogie-
I did have lasik- about 11 years ago and am not sure what role that is playing in this....my Shimmer is good but my TBUT is the problem. Usually my right eye is pretty good often "normal" but,my left eye hurts....it secretes less oil- that I know for sure. I just started scrubs and lid hygine (religiously) two weeks ago and am seeing some positive changes....my doc put me on Restasis again and so far so good with that as well. I am just hanging in there and resufe to accept that this is how the rest of my life will be. I have had times of no symptoms- just trying to get back there.
Are you doing well? I hope so
Dry Eye Patient
I didn't know this either - interesting
Dry Eye Patient
Hmm, i Have non-inflammatory mgd and it seems like my mg's arent producing, or they are VERY clogged up.
Is there a way to determine whether or not the glands are atrohpied or jusst clogged?
Current Diagnosis: MGD due to Ocular Rosacea , TBUT of 5 seconds
With meibography (transillumination of the meibomian glands) an opthalmologist can tell the difference.
Dry Eye Patient
This issue of partial dropout as we age or due to external factors (i.e. LASIK) is especially interesting, in light of the resistance some really good eye docs have to newer procedures, like intraductal probing.
The main comment I hear from docs who don't advise the procedure is that it comes with a risk of scarring - a legit fear, indeed. But it also begs the question, if you happen to "scar" or otherwise damage 2 or 3 glands, is that a fair trade-off if you unclog or somehow open 4 or 5?
R.
According to two of the top German dry experts, both gland atrophy and gland dropout are reversible.
One of them told me that meibomian glands are [some technical term I forgot] glands and are therefore capable of renewing themselves.
This makes sense to me as I have frequently read about people who experienced strong symptomatic relieve after years of suffering.
The one expert above also told me he has patients who have the disease for 20+ years and are doing equally well or better than let's say 15 years ago (due to advances in treatment).
Dry Eye Patient
Thanks for the input, WetEyes -- keeps me optimistic that I (and everyone here) can get to a better place.
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