Need name of nearby (or faraway) dry eye experts in US please, name and city/state

[Ccoughlin]

Hi all,

I'm almost 11 months out from LASIK, and I swear things are getting worse, not better. It's very frustrating, and I wonder if I'll ever feel normal again. I have both blurry vision and pain from dry eye - and both combined are very difficult.

I'd like to see one of the best specialists in the country. But first, I'm self-insured and need to be reasonable about costs/spending, so I'd like to see who is "in-network" on my plan. Please let me know who is really good at dry eye - in Minnesota, in the Midwest, and in the country in general.

I'm doing all of these steps (Restasis, plugs, doxy, drops, warm compress, you name it), and it doesn't appear to be helping at all.

Thanks for your help on doctor recommendations - chandra in Minnesota

[Rebecca Petris]

If I could pinpoint one of the very worst periods in the life of a dry eye patient, I would say between 10 and 18 months for certain of the LASIK folks is at the top of the list. The ones who really feel worse during that period despite doing virtually 'everything right' as well as visiting all the reputed dry eye top dogs. It is really hard to maintain hope during the particular period in time when you MOST expected to start feeling better. Feels like the reasons to believe that it is what it is and it won't get better from here just keep stacking up around you. I don't want to use too broad a brush because certainly for many, finding the 'right' treatment really will make a difference, but I have come to believe personally that time, with everything it implies, is really the primary missing factor for a lot of people in these specific circumstances.

But I'm not answering the question am I. I'm no good with dr recommendations for midwest unfortunately but I'm sure others here will have good drs to recommend. I like William Faulkner at Cincinnati Eye, but if you're going to go that far, perhaps you might as well go further to someone who's really more of a 'dry eye specialist'. I mention him though because he's been dr. for several longtime DEZ members with LASIK or other dry eye.