Oprah show..

[homes]

i was wondering the other day whether anyone thought about contacting the oprah show concerning lasik induced dry eye?

i think a prominent figure like oprah can really bring the issue to the pulic interest. perhaps an american dry eye patient could volunteer to email her? i know kathy griffin is suffering from lasik complications and could be invited as a celebrity guest. it's just a crazy idea since i really think the huge risks of lasik need to be addressed since lasik procedures are increasing by phenomenal percentages every year and the surgery is glorified in american advertising as a fool proof procedure.

if you're smirking while reading this, nevermind a whacko like me and ignore this thread.

[dianat]

Nobody is smirking at you. Your idea about going national or international to warn others against LASIK is something we've all wanted to do. I don't know if anyone has contacted Oprah Winfrey. She just might have the biggest audience for stories of this nature. It's a great idea.

[Lucy]

It's already been done. However, with the Kathy Griffin publicity, it may have taken on a whole new meaning. I don't think the Oprah show tapes in the summer. Not positive.

[Kyle]

Actually I have!

Great minds think alike! I actually have e-mailed Oprah and her producers about 4-5 times already. I immediately used the Kathy Griffin connection and also tried the fact that I'm a former TV reporter/anchor (now a struggling LA actress) as an angle too. I haven't heard back from the show but that doesn't mean each and every one of us shouldn't try to reach her. Her e-mail is www.oprah.com and you can just go under "show ideas". I totally agree that she could open the door for more research and call attention to the problem. She is the number 1 talk show host in the world and, I believe, was just named Forbes #1 richest entertainment person (or something like that).
I have also e-mailed Kathy Griffin, her website and the Laugh Factory (where she performs) out here. I know Kathy and Oprah know each other and I was trying to see if she would talk to Oprah about doing a show on our problem too. Ironically enough, Kathy's eye surgery was actually done by one of the doctors who is helping me out (Dr. Maloney in LA).
I know one guy Oprah just had on her show e-mailed her every single day for months before she had him on her show. Hey, if we all band together maybe she will help. It's worth a shot!

[dianat]

Okay, so if Oprah takes the bait, who volunteers to go on the show?!

[homes]

Okay, so if Oprah takes the bait, who volunteers to go on the show?!

i will if she's willing to fly me free of charge to the states. lol

im suprised that other people actually thought about this.. maybe some day if she gets enough emails she'll do a show on it. her show is very powerful in a sense that its watched globally and people respect her and she's a very good manipulator (in the positive way).

[Gaye]

Oprah show

I'd go! I actually had a chance to go on the show about a year ago. She was doing a show on people who had horrible results from TMJ implants and whose lives had been ruined by surgery that they probably didn't need. Well, I had a titanium implant put into my left jaw to replace my disc that had shredded, but I had wonderful results, so they weren't interested in me at that point. I still thought a show about the success stories too would have been nice, but they weren't interested in that.

Maybe they WOULD be interested in the lasik problems/dry eye syndrome situation if enough of us contacted them.

[mary kenny badami]

If at first we didn't succeed . . .

Believe it or not, back in Fall of 2000 a number of us tried to get Oprah to dedicate a segment or a show to the topic of disclosing the negative outcomes of Lasik eye surgery. We wrote e-mails, sent show ideas to her website, and nominated an activist to be considered as one of "Oprah's Angels." We also tried to get Dr. Phil's attention, and Rosie O'Donnell's as well. We didn't succeed at that time < sigh > but it can't hurt to try again.

In February 2003, Oprah did a feature on the Boston Foundation for Sight, but if I recall correctly, the emphasis was on their specialty lenses and rehabilitation successes, rather than the fact that one or more of their clients had been injured by Lasik eye surgery.

I said at the time that if I wasn't chosen to be on the panel, and if my finances allowed, I'd fly to the midwest just to be in the audience, cheer everybody along, and go to dinner together afterwards. I'm still willing!

[Lucy]

Sign me up. I'm not too far away. I remember trying to get Oprah tickets in the summer and I don't think they are filming now.

[jcorbett]

oprah

Count me in. I'm just a short drive away. I'll start doing some e-mail sending. Are we going to come up with an e-mail format (modifiable, of course) or just send whatever we want in?

[Rebecca Petris]

If you want The Zone to get involved as such, just lemme know... Quite happy to help or just stand by and cheer you guys on!

I noticed there are some discussion boards on the oprah.com website. Hint, hint!

Couple of suggested points for thought/discussion: In any endeavour of this sort, having a focused and well articulated position is valuable.

I hope that the time IS ripe to get some more serious publicity for the LASIK/dry eye problems. If so, you might want to give some thought to the most effective message. For example, is it focusing on LASIK-induced dry eye risks as a deterrent to getting the procedure at all, or conveying which types people are at the highest risk and why?

An alternative approach that may bear thinking about, if it happens that sufficient interest in the LASIK/dry eye problem cannot yet be raised, would be to get some attention devoted to dry eye in general, and have LASIK simply be one of the causes that are discussed in detail. I think that sort of thing can be powerful because it can get the very same point across while avoiding the kind of overt attack that prompts defensive (and usually well articulated) statements from the industry.

And don't forget to all tell Oprah that it's Res... (Oops! Slap! Down, evil twin!) Dry Eye Awareness Month!!!!

[Kyle]

My advice would be for all of us to send her our own heart-felt message. I had the opportunity to meet Oprah at the People's Choice Awards last year and she is a very warm and sincere woman. I think pleas from our heart would touch her (and her producers...the folks that actually read the e-mails) the most.
In all of the prior e-mails I have sent to her show I have directed them to this website. I asked them to read the discussions we had on it so they could truly understand the pain and agony we each endure on a daily basis. I also mentioned that more and more people are getting lasik every day without realizing the life-long problems that could occur.
Remember Oprah hates pain! She freaked out on camera when she had her ears pierced, so I did try to really enlighten her on the burning, stabbing sensations we live with because of this "simple" surgery.
Needless to say, I would go on the show as well. I truly believe if Oprah does the show we could create awareness of this situation and possible even find a solution!

[Amy09]

I Completely Agree!!! Contact Oprah- but about more than just LASIK dry eye!!!

How ironic!!! I actually went on the Oprah website a couple days ago and emailed the show that they should do a topic on dry eye. I am completely behind y'all on letting the public know about lasik induced dry eye, but I actually think Oprah should focus on more than just that... Being an eighteen year old girl with severe dry eye which is NOT lasik induced, I am constantly struggling with the same chronic pain and embaressing appearance of my eyes as people with lasik induced dry eye. When I've had to try and explain my problem to someone before it is incredible how little the American population knows about dry eye, whether it is lasik induced, contact lens induced, or caused by an autoimmune disorder, etc. I also think y'all should let Oprah know that not just adults experience dry eye- kids do, too! I've been dealing with dry eye since I was only 14 years old, and I know that although it is really rare, I'm not the only one who must deal with it at a young age. I don't think most people understand how much strength it takes for severe dry eye patients to just get through the day because many of them think- What's the big deal??? It's just your eyes!

I think everyone should do as Homes is suggesting, and try to get Oprah to introduce the public to this growing problem. It would be nice though if y'all would let Oprah know that there are more causes of dry eye besides lasik surgery, although I realize lasik is a major cause of it.

When I emailed the Oprah producers, they sent me a general email letting me know that although they try to read many emails, they cannot guarantee that they will read all of them, so the more people email Oprah about dry eye syndrome, the more likely it will catch the attention of producers. In the email I sent a couple days ago, I actually mentioned that they should check out THIS website because it really gives people an idea of not only the physical pain dry eye patients experience daily, but the emotional pain, too. I think Homes brought up a VERY good topic idea for this website and I'm glad that I'm obviously not the only person who has considered it. You can go here to email the show:
http://www2.oprah.com/email/reach/email_showideas.jhtml

I completely agree- please, please, everyone- email or contact Oprah, but on more than just lasik dry eye!

[Rebecca Petris]

I think it's a terrific idea. Good going Homes & everybody, and good luck.

Certainly seems reasonable to suppose that a health problem affecting many millions of people in the US alone - and the majority of them post-menopausal women! - ought to generate some interest there.

[Lucy]

I think---------

if we are talking Oprah and Kathy Griffin, that LASIK needs to be the focus. LASIK leads/causes dry eye. Period. You can also have dry eye just for the heck of it. Meaning you came across it some other way. Most people with dry eye who have not had lasik are in need of help as the rest of us.

BUT, I think this should be pointed out.......we PAID FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING LASIK-INDUCED DRY EYES. AND KEEP PAYING AND PAYING. Doctors have not been forthcoming with patients about that fact.

In other words, if a tooth falls out because it got loose and wiggly and eventually it fell out, I don't think you would see it in the same light as if your dentist was doing a procedure that you paid lots of $ for and happened to knock a tooth out. Then denies he had anything to do with your missing tooth.

People will always have dry eyes due to health conditions, age related, menopause, etc. etc. But people need to know they can "CATCH" dry eyes from their lasik docs. This does not reduce the seriousness of those with non-lasik dry eye.

Certainly seems reasonable to suppose that a health problem affecting many millions of people in the US alone - and the majority of them post-menopausal women! - ought to generate some interest there.

I do not think a problem affecting mostly post-menopausal women will be as much of a "grab" than that occurring in mainstream population. I also resent it when people say "well, you know at a certain age, things can dry up." This minimizes the gravity of those of us, men and women, young and old, with surgically caused dry eyes. Mine just "happened" to correspond with the lasik.