Lasik DES - Pregnancy possible?

[adele]

Hi everybody,

I had lasik 7 months ago and have been suffering from DES ever since. I am 31 years old and was just planning my future with my boyfriend.

I was wondering if anyone has gotten pregnant and had children while already suffering from DES. I read that pregnancy can cause dry eye and the idea that my eyes could get worse seems that having a baby would be out of the question.

I am not emotionally ready to have a baby yet. I am still dealing (or more accurately - not dealing) with the severe depression and anxiety that seems to follow lasik victims. I am also still trying to find treatments for my eyes that will make them more comfortable and will hopefully allow me to have some quality of life.

But i want to have a baby...or atleast i wanted to before all this. And i am very sad that this may just be one more thing that lasik has taken from my life.

So, have any of you had preganancies when you were already a dry eye sufferer? what was your experience and did you ever speak with doctors regarding a risk that your eyes may get worse?

[Guest]

I had my LASIK in September 2005, and an enhancement in January 1006. My LASIK surgeon said it was fine to go ahead with getting pregnant 3 months after the enhancement, so I did. I've had 2 kids since then, had the crazy bad dry eyes all along and it was fine... the pregnancies didn't make any difference to my eyes as far as I could tell (if anything, they might have felt a bit better... but maybe I was too distracted by the nausea so it just made my eyes seem to be better haha )

Anyhow, no way would I let dry eyes stop me from having a family... if you want kids, then go for it... but for sure, it's not a bad idea to get the depression under control first - come to terms with your eye troubles, accept them and figure out a way to live with it for as long as it lasts (you're still early on post-lasik, so there's every chance in the world that you'll get much better!!), keep your eyes open for treatments that might help you, and figure out how to be happy despite your eye troubles... THEN, by all means start a family!

Aside from the sleep deprivation part, having a baby to focus on was a good distraction from my eye issues - it made it easier to NOT focus on my eye troubles since I was so busy with other things.

[adele]

saag,
Thank you so much for replying. During this difficult time it is so encouraging and supportive to have someone reply. I did spend more time researching and found other posts on DEZ regarding dry eye and pregnancy.

Yes i want to have children. Before (my life is now defined in before and after lasik), we were planning on settling down in the next year or so. I still find it unbelievable how much this dry eye has affected every single aspect of my life. I cannot have a baby right now. I cannot even care for myself right now. But it is inspiring and encouraging to hear you have done it.

[Guest]

Before (my life is now defined in before and after lasik), we were planning on settling down in the next year or so. I still find it unbelievable how much this dry eye has affected every single aspect of my life. I cannot have a baby right now. I cannot even care for myself right now. But it is inspiring and encouraging to hear you have done it.

You'll do it too, you'll see! Just keep fighting, don't quit, and you'll figure out a way to live with this and manage it so you can be happy anyways.

[Lucy]

Please look up some older posts of DianaT. She had two children post Lasik while suffering DES, plus already had two small kids before. I'm not sure how she managed with 4 youngsters, but she did a good job of it. She had a very bad case of DES. She is much better now, but I believe she still takes care to wear goggles etc.

[Jenn1]

Hi adele,

So glad you posted this as I also wonder how others manage babies and kids with dry eyes and during flare ups. Glad to hear so many positive stories of being a mother and coping with eye issues. Children are definitely worth it!

[PotatoCakes]

I've had dry eye since at least age 26. I had my baby at 35. I won't lie to you, there are days when it's tough but most of the time, it's not a big deal. I put drops in a lot and I've even had to take her to a blood draw for my serum drops (sometimes you don't have any other option). She's used to me putting drops in and even comes to tell me when I'm overdue. For the blood draw, I explained to her what was going to happen, gave her my iphone and she barely looked up. If I'm having a really bad eye day, I tell her and she understands.

There are things that are hard on me. She's learning to ski and I've missed her first 2 years on the mountain. I've been able to be there a few times but it's just too hard on my eyes to ski because I can't put drops in as often as I need them when I'm up there (I need them more, even with goggles, on the mountain than I do regularly for some reason). I want to be there for that but, I sit in the lodge and get to share hot chocolate with her, warm up her toes and give her a good snuggle when she's gotten too cold. I can comfort her like no one else and so even though there are certain things I can't do (only a very few, honestly), I make up for it in other ways, both to her and for myself.

She's 5 now. As she got older, I worried that my eyes might take from her or limit her because I can't do everything and / or I'm constantly managing my eyes. I don't believe that anymore. She knows I have to take various supplements, sleep with plastic wrap over my eyes, etc and it's no big deal. When we see someone with a disability or problem and she asks, I tell her, "You know mama's eyes and how I have problems with them? Their (issue) is sort of like my eyes." It helps her empathize with other people.

Gotta go ... my daughter just came down for breakfast and she's "making" me chocolate tea for an impromptu tea party!