“Upper and Lower Lids”

I got a perscription for Restasis (sp?) for the dry eye condition. It is a very expensive perscription but my insurance paid for it. It really helped with the dry eye and the irritation. It seems strange you are still swollen after over a month. It sounds like your surgeon may have taken too much skin from your uppers but don't get too worried until you give it time. I know it is hard to do, but things level off and change. I had swelling for a while but it was minimal. Didn't really bother me. Good luck!

Maybe you should ask another doctor about ectropian. It sounds like that is what you are describing when you say your lower lids protrude from your eyeballs. It is not normal, it is caused by a surgical mistake. I think maybe you should seek a second opinion as your current doctor seems to be giving you the brush off. Good luck!

My apologies - correct spelling is ECTROPION. Google it. Apparently it is a common complication after lower blepharoplasty if too much skin is taken.

i had upper and lower on oct 19,2009 and it takes much longer than a month or two to heal. i am four and a half months post and am finally seeing the result. i had to do massage for the lower lids and had some residual swelling up to about a month ago. the real key is patience and i don't think the surgeons prepare their patients for the long recovery time. when they say 2 weeks to a month recovery i think that is rare.

I have been through a lot with dry eye after my lower bleph back in aug 2008. I use gen-teal gel at night and Systane (the preservative-free vials) during the day, also keep them in the fridge, it really feels good when they are cold. I like the vials because you can contaminate a bottle pretty easily and the preservatives they put in them can worsen your dry eye if you are allergic to it. I recently found out that castor oil (cold pressed) feels REALLY good in the eye (you can get it at any vitamin shop really cheap). I bought a dropper with a bottle for my eye. There are a ton of uses for castor oil too, google it. It has been used for years for eye irritants. It is also an ingredient in Restasis. I have used Restasis but it burned bad and I gave up (after three months and trying it a 2nd time). Also use warm compresses as often as you can, they help a LOT (as well as massaging the upper and lower lid). I just had a revisionlower bleph (two weeks ago) and I haven't used the castor oil since the revision. I forgot to ask my doctor if it was safe to use it yet when I saw him tuesday but I did ask my Opthamologist before my bleph revision (who I see for my dry eye) and he said it was fine to use it. He also gave me a sample of Smoothe XP lubricating drops but to be honest, castor oil feels the best. I got to the point that I only used it at night and I didn't need anything during the day.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that there is a site I went to that has a message board for dry eye. It is full of information about dry eye. What works for one person might not work for the next. The site is Dry Eye Zone Talk. I don't know if they let us post links to other sites but I will post the link for you and take my chances. If they delete it just google the name.

Edited by Sharon: We deleted it. Please share links privately. :)

Also something I forgot to tell you is that using too many steroid drops can cause cataracts and glaucoma. Some people are "steroid responders" and the pressure in their eyes can really shoot up fast (glaucoma). To get cataracts though you have to use it for a long time. I know this because I have had bouts of UVeitis and have used a lot of steroid drops (even had steroid shots in my eye three times). Although the steroid drops I used(pred forte) is probably a lot stronger than the steroid drop your doctor has you on. I am not a steroid responder but you never know if you are until it happens.