How to predict dry eye after Lasik?

[Natalie06]

Thank you Lucy

My problem now is that since he went for monovision my distance/nearsightedness is all screwed up. It's my dominant eye that is undercorrected so now I can't really read the computer with my glasses but can't see about 10 feet beyond that. So, I am now constantly pulling off my glasses then putting them back on. I see the surgeon on Monday and I hope he has suggestions for either glasses or contacts that can correct this.

I am just so angry and disillusioned right now that I know it's affecting my judgement. To be told that I'd be glasses free, back to work, driving, etc and to have it be so terrible right now has me really depressed.

I find it unacceptable that 6-12 months of chronic pain is considered an acceptable side effect of this surgery. Mostly though, I blame myself. Once again I did not listen to my instincts but chose to put my faith in a physician and once again, ended up worse off.

Thanks so much for being here. Just being able to have people who know what I am talking about helps.

Natalie

[Rebecca Petris]

Natalie,

I'm sorry to hear about what you're going through! A failed monovision correction is a challenge, even without the dry eye. I would like to encourage you about the prospects for improvement of your dry eyes though.

I see the surgeon on Monday and I hope he has suggestions for either glasses or contacts that can correct this.

I'd be prepared for the possibility of some opposition to this... I've never fully understood it personally but from what I can tell they usually are reluctant to prescribe glasses or contacts so early after surgery. However, if that's what you need to be able to function, especially at work, I'd stick to your guns and insist on getting some lenses.

I am just so angry and disillusioned right now that I know it's affecting my judgement.

I know it's really hard. That's also why it's really important not to make any decisions about further surgery prematurely. It's not necessarily a good idea to put yourself through the added physiological and emotional stress (and risk) of further surgery. If you do it at all it should not be until the dry eye is fully under control. Re-treatment is often a big set-back in terms of dry eye.

Just being able to have people who know what I am talking about helps.

Yes - it's important to be in touch with people who have been there and done that and come out the other side! Hang in there. Things will get better. Keep us posted.

[Lucy]

Natalie, I don't think I realized you had mono-vision when I first read your post and did not have that knowledge when I answered.

As Rebecca says, by all means, do insist on your doctor giving you "temporary" glasses to help you through your transition. This was included in the price of my lasik. I did not have mono-vision per se', but had regression in one eye especially from -.25 to -2.50 and this was over the course of a couple of years. It fluctuated back and forth. I think I had about 6 temporary glasses in the first year alone. This was covered in my cost and I did not have to pay extra for it. THIS COULD BE THE CASE WITH YOUR DOC AND YOU WON'T KNOW UNTIL YOU TRY. I was in my doc's office all the time because of pain and bad vision. This is typically covered by a global fee for the lasik. Don't be shy about your needs.

You might mention you know someone who WAS accommodated with "temporary" glasses within the first year of their lasik. I also during the time of flux bought a myriad of different strength reading glasses. I usually had 3 or 4 pair lying around my desk at work all at the same time. Do what you need to do to help yourself through this tough time. You are too early to consider an enhancement now, but time will tell how you'll end up and with what refraction. Good luck and have lots of patience with yourself and venting is very good for what ails us.

[Natalie06]

Thanks everyone!

They did give me temporary glasses because of the undercorrection. I have since had new lenses made for my old ones because the glasses they gave me were definitley the "no fills variety" and once it occurred to me that I'd be wearing "temporary glasses" for months, not weeks, I needed something better quality and that actually fit my face.

I think the problem is that they are predominently for distance and now that I am partially corrected for monovision they don't make very good work glasses. I will ask him about that on Monday.

Today at work was like torture. I have taken tomorrow off to try and give my eyes a rest form the computer work and the air conditioning.

The burning and itching are bad but it's the steady, constant ache at the top of my eyeballs that is really getting to me. And by 4 pm my eyes just start tearing up to the point that reading anything is impossible. The surgeon's only advice over the phone was to try presevative free eye drops.

Thanks again for all the support. Have any of you used the Dwelle and Dakrina? They haven't arrived yet. I keep running to the mailbox when I get home like a kid waiting for a Christmas present!

Natalie

[Rebecca Petris]

Like Lucy I had handfuls of glasses for work during that first year - they weren't fancy but they helped.

Today at work was like torture. I have taken tomorrow off to try and give my eyes a rest form the computer work and the air conditioning.

The burning and itching are bad but it's the steady, constant ache at the top of my eyeballs that is really getting to me. And by 4 pm my eyes just start tearing up to the point that reading anything is impossible. The surgeon's only advice over the phone was to try presevative free eye drops.

Sigh. This is really hard. No guaranteed solutions, but if you browse the posts and the FAQ pages you'll find lots of helpful hints including...
- ice gelpacks to take the edge off the pain
- warm compresses morning and night to get the oil flowing
- BLINK MORE while on the computer
- DRINK lots of water, and DON'T drink very much caffeine or sodas
- Experiment with artificial tears till you find the ones that give you the longest relief.

And here's a tip about artificial tears: The one that feels best the instant it hits your eye is not always the one that will give you the longest relief. I remember during my first year, the ones I liked the best were Refresh Plus and also Refresh Celluvisc. They 'felt' the best. But for me personally, neither lasted long enough to be useful. (Didn't stop me from using them all the time, just because they felt good.) About a year later when I first tried Dakrina & Dwelle, I actually really disliked them at first - just didn't like the 'feel' at all. But when I persisted, it turned out they were the only ones that could get me through the night without waking up. Not to say they'll definitely help you - everyone's different - but I sure hope they give you some relief

[Natalie06]

Rebecca, thank you!

I've been poking around reading other posts and forums. I have already been tryng ice packs and warm, moist heat and they do help. Also taking a warm wash cloth and rubbing my lash lines. I did this because they itched so bad but realized I felt better after I did it. And I always feel better after a loooong, hot shower. So I just need to be more disciplined about it.

I also had an epiphany last night. I had finally got my eyes comfortable after ice and moist compresses. Then about 9pm I used my Restastsis and it was downhill all the way. Went to bed with my eyeballs on fire. SO I went to the Restastis board this morning and lo and behold, pretty common experience. I really want to stop taking the Restasis for a few days and see what happens. I also just need a break from the pain.

They also mentioned using steriod drops with Restasis to avoid the eye pain and burning. I have used the ones I had for the 5 days post op when my eyes were bad and I was desperate and it did help, other than all the icky white "goo" it creates at the corners of my eye.

So, I will ask him about that too.

I am so sorry to be going on and on and on and on!

Thank you sooooo much.

So I am now going to be a good Lenscrafters customer??

Natalie

[fernellen]

restasis sting

Natalie - you may want to try using artificial tears a half-hour or so before you use the restasis.

[Natalie06]

interesting articlae about treating dry eye BEFORE Lasik

http://www.eyeworld.org/article.php?sid=2541

[Sammy]

Eye doc = $$$

It gets me angry how these doctors are so irresponsible. They don't ask enough questions & don't test the patient properly. I went to my eye doc and was diagnose with "dry eyes" (painful), he just told me to put some "Artifical tears" in them and wear my contact lense and joked something about me being a "drama queen". Lastly he added "why not try Lasik, this way you won't have to tolerate contact lenses". He just wanted $$$$, shame on him!

[Lucy]

Sammy, I'll do lasik personally on your physician. I am the post-lasik dry eye Queen and know quite a bit about the "drama" of dry eyes.

[Lucy]

Thanks again for all the support. Have any of you used the Dwelle and Dakrina? They haven't arrived yet. I keep running to the mailbox when I get home like a kid waiting for a Christmas present!

Yes, I use both Dwelle, Dakrina and also NutraTear. I wear hard contact lens too sometimes and I use TheraTears mostly with those. I "discovered" the Holly drops when so many others post-op lasik did.......about Feb 2004, I think. I was NOT the first to use them. I was sick of trying things and just waited to hear from others first. I could not wait, though, more than two weeks and had to get some. They are still my best drops and my favorite of the 3 changes from time to time, like Rebecca notes. No cureall, but hopefully, you'll notice improvement. Fingers crossed.

BTW, for my main "temporary glasses" my doc just kept putting lens in my old frames. In addition, I bought reading glasses of different sorts over a period of time. Hoping things settle down for you.

[Natalie06]

I really like the Dakrina!!

I started using them last Friday and could feel the difference right away. I needed a few days to get used to it and one of the things I do is use Tears Naturale first, then the Dakrina. I went to the surgeon yesterday and he says my right eye has healed tremendously in the last week. Considering how bad my eyes were most of last week, that healing could only have started happening over the weekend. I just ordered a new bottle of Dakrina and a trial of Dwelle for nighttime.

Regardless of the final outcome of the Lasik (and if I decide to have the "enhancement"), I will continue to use the Dakrina or NutraTear. My eyes have bothered me for so long that anything I can do for them is worth it.

I finally put my finger on what is really wrong with the approach eye surgeons take to Lasik. I've had many other surgeries due to endometriosis and was given a laundry list of ALL the possible things that can go wrong, even if they are really unlikely. But with Lasik, I think MD's don't do that because it will increase the likelihood of patients NOT electing to have the surgery. Then when something goes wrong, they quote the "well, it is still surgery" line at you. For all I know, all of this was spelled out in the release form I signed, but since I signed it the day the dilated my eyes to the point I could only read a billboard, I realize I have NO CLUE to what is in it. The nurse had to point to the line where I needed to sign.

So to anyone considering Lasik, take a copy of the release form home and read it before you sign it and make your surgeon tell you anything that might/could/has gone wrong. Then you can truly make an informed decision the way you would with any other type of elective surgery.

Natalie

[Nika]

So to anyone considering Lasik, take a copy of the release form home and read it before you sign it and make your surgeon tell you anything that might/could/has gone wrong. Then you can truly make an informed decision the way you would with any other type of elective surgery.

Natalie

Hi Natalie! I'm in the same boat as most everyone here: "excellent candidate" for Lasik, now suffering from painful dry eye, eyesight degenerating from 20/20 the week after surgery to -1.0 two months after surgery.

The funny thing is, I did exactly the thing quoted above - I pondered for a long time and went over and over all the consent/release forms until I decided to cancel the surgery about two days prior to it being performed. The surgeon urged me to meet with him and go over all my concerns, at which time he blatantly dismissed the dry eye as being an issue with me. I ended up doing the surgery (for many reasons), and lo and behold, here I am two months later with a glasses prescription, and several thousand dollars poorer.

So you can read all the disclaimers and warnings, and the surgeons will still tell you what they want you to hear. I join you in encouraging anyone considering Lasik to study the fine print, but also add to keep your guard up even after the surgeon says, "Oh, that's a very rare after-effect, you shouldn't have to worry about that."

Personally, I'm really unhappy with LASIK and completely regret that I did it, and actively encourage anyone who asks me about my experience to never go through the surgery...or at the very least avoid the reknowned surgeon that performed it.

Thanks for letting me vent here!

[Lucy]

Nika, if you are two months post-op, this is not long depending on your pre-op RX. If you had a high correction, it takes longer to heal and longer for your vision to settle. Dry eyes can add misery time. I just want to add that two months is not a long time, so it's not necessarily the way things will be. That means either worse or better, possibly the same. It is a hard thing to "wait for infinity" when you're in this anxious state. Good luck to you and keep your eyes moist.