Based on my situation, should I get LASIK?

[LisaC]

my fave contacts

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I've last posted but I wanted to let you guys know what caused my dry eye to begin with. I have very bad allergies to pollen, etc. It usually affects my nose. I was using a nasal spray, which somehow caused dry eyes and irritated my eyes. Once I stopped using the spray, my eyes started getting better. I'm back to wearing contacts and everything is just the way it was before.

I know the cause is the nasal spray because I randomly tried using the spray one day, and my eyes were immediately dry again.

Hey Apham,

Your story sounds like mine. I wore contacts for 15+ years until my eyes were terribly dry. Now I wear glasses 90% of the time, but it's tough because my prescription is so high, my glasses are very heavy. BUT... after treating my dry eye with a routine that works for me, and working with my eye doctor, I found a contact lens that I love. I know you mentioned your spray was the cause of the dryness, but in case you need to use it again (my pollen allergies are horrible too), you might want to look into Acuvue TruEye. These are daily disposables. I liked these much better than Oasys, since I can have a fresh pair on the days I need to wear contacts. The best thing to do is wear glasses of course, but I love that I have the option to wear contacts again. I love running/biking/exercising, and my glasses tend to get foggy in those instances. Def check out daily disposables if you can!

Lisa

P.S. I also went for LASIK consultations a while back. I was denied because I don't blink all the way down in my left eye, which leaves so many dry areas on my cornea. It's great to know that some doctors are not afraid to reject patients. I am waiting to see new research on implantable contact lenses in case this is a potential option for those with dry eye and severe myopia.

[LindaT]

If you have dry eye, NEVER get lasik. I wish someone would have warned me instead of collecting the money for lasik surgery from me. I had lasik. Had good vision for about 10 years. Although my eyes were very uncomfortable. After about 10 years my vision went back to being very near sided. Then at 52 I needed catarac surgery because of so much steroid use for dry eye problems.
Then I chose chrystallens for my new lens and they are horrible. Spent $6000.00 and I can't read road signs or watch TV.
Still need glasses. I could have had that vision with the cheap lens.

[apham]

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I've last posted but I wanted to let you guys know what caused my dry eye to begin with. I have very bad allergies to pollen, etc. It usually affects my nose. I was using a nasal spray, which somehow caused dry eyes and irritated my eyes. Once I stopped using the spray, my eyes started getting better. I'm back to wearing contacts and everything is just the way it was before.

I know the cause is the nasal spray because I randomly tried using the spray one day, and my eyes were immediately dry again.

[apham]

Hello everyone,

I went to the ophthalmologist today, and she said that she wouldn't recommend lasik because I already need plugs + restasis NOW. That means that if I get dry eye after lasik, I wont' really have any options left to cure the dry eye. Anyway, I got plugs put in today (the non-dissolvable kind), and it's really irritating my eyes when I move my eyes a certain way. If i look far to the right or left, I feel like it's poking my eye. Is this normal? Should I have them taken out?

Another interesting thing I discovered today was that there were signs of dryness on my right eye, based on the dye they instill into my eyes. It's funny how the last lasik doctor I visited said that my eyes are in perfect condition...

[Rebecca Petris]

GREAT tip from Bianca. Strikes a chord. I am convinced (from the problems I still have with my left eye wearing scleral lenses) that I had undiagnosed GPC back in my soft-lens wearing days. I wasn't savvy enough to really push for better diagnosis - I just kind of ignored it and lived with it.

Apham, regarding better lenses: Best is always relative when it comes to contacts. Some have properties or features that are superior to others and it's natural for doctors to develop favorites based on what the majority of their patients are doing well in. But at the end of the day, patients who are not precise averages need optometrists who keep going till they get the lenses that are performing best for them as individuals. So getting a better contact lens experience might even mean some significant legwork to find a doctor who is really motivated to troubleshoot and hunt down the right solution. It is not acceptable for a doctor to simply be satisfied that he's given you the "best" soft lenses based on prevailing opinion/practice when they are so clearly not the best for you personally. I say this because I wish, I wish, I wish I had known it 12 years ago. Keep in mind that soft contacts are not the only solution either. There are hybrids (Synergeyes) and even some of the large diameter gas permeables can sometimes be the right thing.

[apham]

Hi apham,

You said that your contacts always sit slightly higher on your eyeball. Has your doctors checked under your lids. I was recently diagnosed with giant papilary conjunctivitis which normally affect contact lense wearers, so I do not understand how I got it since I have not worn contacts in over five months. Anyway, during my research of it I read that one symptom is contacts riding up on the eyeball along with irritation and the contact intolerance. I hope this helps and sorry if this is something that has been checked.
Bianca

Hi Bianca,

I've had my eyes checked by optometrists and ophthalmologists and they never said anything about that. I'll try asking my ophthalmologist again tomorrow. I used to have ocular allergies, but I don't have them anymore ever since I used Zaditor. When I flip my lid inside out, I don't see any bumps (indicators of ocular allergies). What does giant papilary conjuctivitis look like under the lid??

[jax8it]

Hi apham,

You said that your contacts always sit slightly higher on your eyeball. Has your doctors checked under your lids. I was recently diagnosed with giant papilary conjunctivitis which normally affect contact lense wearers, so I do not understand how I got it since I have not worn contacts in over five months. Anyway, during my research of it I read that one symptom is contacts riding up on the eyeball along with irritation and the contact intolerance. I hope this helps and sorry if this is something that has been checked.
Bianca

[sazy123]

Just wear glasses.... I would do anything to have my eyes how they were and i would never wear contacts agian.. I would wear glasses and be happy that my life wasnt ruined!!!!

wEARING CONTACTS WITH DRY EYE IS NOT A GOOD IDEA EITHER.. I CAN MAKE DRY EYE WORSE. THERES RESEARCH OUT THERE.

[apham]

Boy do I ever hear you on that one! Exactly what happened to me. Actually I just had an intermittent problem with contacts in my left eye. I actually liked glasses, but I couldn't see as well with glasses as contacts. That's where I was back in 2001 before I got LASIK.

The good news though is that there really are more and better contact lens options these days and there are more optometrists pursuing them... Wish you the best of luck whatever paths you pursue! Here's to healthy eyeballs

I tried asking my optometrist about better contact lenses. He was pretty adamant about how I already have the best ones (acuvue oasys), and didn't suggest anything else. Maybe I'll try browsing around this forum for any suggestions on better contacts. I was also thinking that maybe acuvue oasys was causing discomfort because it simply wasn't for me.. my contacts seem to always sit slightly higher on my eyeball - or is this just a symptom of dry eye?

[Rebecca Petris]

I just wish I could wear contact lenses without discomfort, then I wouldn't even consider getting lasik done.

Boy do I ever hear you on that one! Exactly what happened to me. Actually I just had an intermittent problem with contacts in my left eye. I actually liked glasses, but I couldn't see as well with glasses as contacts. That's where I was back in 2001 before I got LASIK.

The good news though is that there really are more and better contact lens options these days and there are more optometrists pursuing them... Wish you the best of luck whatever paths you pursue! Here's to healthy eyeballs

Totally understand the temptation for Lasik... it's powerful! But remember that experience where you were so miserable with a Schirmer's of 2 and imagine being like that forever... odds of that happening to you are higher than the average person because you've already been there I think. Trouble is, no-one can tell you precisely how high your risk of that kind of thing being permenent after LASIK really is... if you do it, just be sure you can live with the worst case scenario... people have done themselves in due to post-lasik complications and you don't want to end up being one of them.

Good luck with the contacts... hopefully you'll be lucky and find a way to wear them... if not, use the money you would have spent on lasik and splurge on a kick-a$$ pair of glasses.

[apham]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your responses. I'm going to my regular ophthalmologist today to get some plugs - hopefully after the plugs I can wear contact lenses again. I just wish I could wear contact lenses without discomfort, then I wouldn't even consider getting lasik done. I think the restasis reached a point where I haven't been seeing much improvement for weeks now.

A big part of me tells myself NOT to get lasik due to all the horror stories of severe dry eye syndrome, but a small part of me is itching to get it done from coworkers and friends' experiences (even the ones who had pre-existing dry eye). I keep telling myself, 'maybe i won't be unlucky,' but I know it's still not worth the risk. I really need to convince myself not to do it, as I've been at the point (4+ months ago) where I had severe dry eye, with a Schrimer's test of 2.. and it was so miserable.

Agree with the others... I couldn't tolerate contacts because they made my eyes too dry... multiple docs told me I was "allergic" to the contacts or the solutions. Eyes felt normal as can be if I kept my contacts out. Told all this to the lasik surgeon, he insisted I was a perfect candidate, and all hell broke loose with my eyes once I had lasik.

I wonder if pre-lasik I did not have an "allergy" to the contacts, but maybe some meibomian gland dysfunction or mild dry eye that never got diagnosed.

I think any kind of eye discomfort increases the likelihood that Lasik or other refractive surgury will mess up your eyes and cause lasting symptoms like I, and so many others here, have to deal with. Believe me, Lasik can open up a whole world of hurt eye-wise that you never imagined was possible. And a lot of lasik docs seem in such a hurry to make more money that they ignore this possibility. Don't forget - although a lasik doc may be a doctor who should have your best interests at heart, there is also a lot of temptation to just do more surgeries because it is so lucrative. Not saying they are all evil people, but I think the temptation to make such good money and the numerous happy patients maybe make it easy to delude themselves that people like me don't exist.

[jax8it]

Do not do it! I had lasik on Jan 21 and I have regretted it everyday since then. Like robster, I did not think I had dry eye. I remember I would have to take my contacts out as soon as I came home from work and put my glasses on. I wrote all this on my lasik paper work and I was still the perfect candidate. That stupid surgery has caused pain, depression, and anxiety everyday. I would not wish this on my worst enemy.

[robster]

If you are already experiencing dry eye then steer clear of getting LASIK done. I had no dry eye problems(so I thought) and had LASIK and have had dry eye problems ever since. I too went for LASIK due to contact lens intolerance(which is one of the main reasons people give for wanting LASIK), little did I know that my contact lens intolerance was likely due to pre-existing dry eye issues. My eyes never felt dry when I wasn't wearing my lenses they sure as heck do now!

If you have pre-existing dry eye you are only increasing your chances of having post LASIK dry eye issues. My advice to anyone who has dry eye issues is too NOT have LASIK as your chances of having severe dry eye issues afterwords will be increased.

As for the LASIK clinics saying your a "good" candidate that is pretty much what they say to anyone who does not have severe dry eye already(and even some that do). As far as them saying you would have blurred vision if your eyes were really dry that is complete nonsense as many people have severe dry eye without having blurred vision though blurred vision can be caused by dry eye.

Sorry for the rant but if you have LASIK with dry eyes you could be OK but you could also be opening yourself up for a world of hurt. I personally think that dry eye should preclude people from having LASIK but that will never happen as the LASIK companies would lose too much money. As I said earlier dry eye issues(contact lens intolerance) is one of the main factors for many people getting LASIK not knowing that the reason behind there contact lens intolerance is most likely underlying MGD.