Oprah show..

[Jessica Adams]

I will get into the site

I had been away form the forum soooo long I never read this thread. I will write Oprah. I think it would be very useful. Personally I think the aproach should be about LASIK (although dry eye is induced by many other conditions!!). I believe this because if you have dry eyes because of a disease it is something that you nor somebody else cuased directly (if you know what I mean), although I can totally relate to your pain because regardelss of what caused your dryness the suffering is the same. Unfortunatelly for us LASIK casualties, we were caused to be this way by the procedure. Additionally there are other terrible side effects with the LASIK that are discussed in other forums like www.lasikmyeye.org and that are very disturbing and painful for the sufferers.

The bottom line, people that are planning on having LASIK performed should be warned about the potential risks they are taking and make a more well taught decission.

Best,

[halfmoonbaygal]

Can you imagine...

Remember the trouble Oprah got into when she said she wouldn't eat beef for awhile? Because of that, we've now got Dr. Phil 24/7. Are you guys sure about this? I'm thinking that the whole weight of the pro-Lasik practitioner commumity would come down on her like a ton of bricks.

[dianat]

HMBG,

I think you are correct. Wouldn't it be nice though if someone out there were willing to take a little heat?! Dr. Phil can make himself useful and advise Oprah how to handle the "ton of bricks".

[Lucy]

I'm thinking that the whole weight of the pro-Lasik practitioner commumity would come down on her like a ton of bricks.

What can they do to her? Make her wear glasses? Kidnap her and give her lasik against her will?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[shells]

Yes, I guess you guys are right...maybe it wouldn't work. It certainly can't hurt to try though. It just seems so unfair. The lasik industry goes to great lengths in advertising and sucking people in, but except for some websites, I feel like there is no where for us to educate people. Most of the people that I know that had lasik aren't even aware of the complications like the people on this site and LME suffer from. This leads me to believe that they never came across sites like this, or other sites with bad lasik outcomes before their surgery.

Sorry, I'm just in a bad mood tonight...after thanking my insurance company above for covering Restasis, I just went to pick up my next batch, and the price doubled...Happy New Year to me.

[Lucy]

Michelle.........when I had to change insurance companies in 2005, my co-pay went from $5 or $10 for Restasis to $50.00. I had used it for 6 months and was not sure if it helped or not. The jump in cost was enough for me to make a decision. I stopped taking it.

[kitty]

I agree with Amy09. While I have not had Lasik, I sure as heck am suffering with this disease just like those who had Lasik are. I think the focus should be on Dry Eye Syndrome as a whole, not just on Lasik induced dry eye. At any rate, I found a study that shows how dry eye impacts our daily lives. It may be helpful to establish the seriousness of the disorder.
Here is the link Impact of Dry Eyes on Daily Life

[Lucy]

Kitty, I think you have a valid point. Boomers are coming "of age" at a rapid rate and from what we know, age is/can be a contributing factor. Dry eye hurts like h*** whether you are 25 or 60, male or female, short or tall, had lasik or not, etc.

It's comforting (not the right word) to know that "after lasik dry eye" is being acknowledged now. 5-6 years ago, it was denied. Now, I see it on all the new eye drops. In other words, it's turned into a sales pitch for the drug companies. I think we'll be hearing more about dry eye(s) in the future. Lasik related or not.

[Rebecca Petris]

I think the focus should be on Dry Eye Syndrome as a whole, not just on Lasik induced dry eye.

I agree. Among other reasons, it's a far easier sell as a story. LASIK's been around for ten years. Dry eye has just barely started making it into the general press. it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out which story has a better chance of coverage.

The fact is that any serious public discussion of dry eye today is inevitably going to have to involve a discussion of dry eye and LASIK, simply because so many people are getting LASIK and dry eye is known to be the most common side effect.

[kitty]

"Acknowledged". That is what I would really like to see. I'm tired of people not understanding how much pain and disability Dry Eye causes. I guess it's like any other silent disability, what you can't see does not exist, unless of course you are a drug company or plug manufacturer! I find it amazing that while over 8 million people suffer with this right now, there is a serious lack of "effective" treatment options (at least for more serious cases) and online support sites such as this one. This is especially true for those of us who do not have R.A. or Sjogrens. It's time to educate!

[shells]

Good point Kitty. I know that just since my problems started, absolutely NO ONE except you guys understands dry eye. Also, as Rebecca mentioned, dry eye awareness would certainly make people realize the risks of lasik. I think most people considering lasik understand that they may experience atleast temporary dry eye, but since they don't really understand dry eye, they don't think twice about it. I know for me, I never even realized that dry eye was a problem for people, lasik or not. I'm still shocked by all the people on this site who just got hit with it out of the blue or due to hormone changes and stuff.

I've run into a few people considering lasik, and when I tell them I have not had a good experience due to dry eye, they say "So, you just need to use drops, right? Atleast you don't have to wear glasses anymore". Aggghhh! I think if dry eye was exposed for what it really is (not always easily treatable, and very painful), people would understand it better and think twice about increasing their chances of it!

[kitty]

Good point Kitty. I know that just since my problems started, absolutely NO ONE except you guys understands dry eye. Also, as Rebecca mentioned, dry eye awareness would certainly make people realize the risks of lasik. I think most people considering lasik understand that they may experience atleast temporary dry eye, but since they don't really understand dry eye, they don't think twice about it. I know for me, I never even realized that dry eye was a problem for people, lasik or not. I'm still shocked by all the people on this site who just got hit with it out of the blue or due to hormone changes and stuff.

I've run into a few people considering lasik, and when I tell them I have not had a good experience due to dry eye, they say "So, you just need to use drops, right? Atleast you don't have to wear glasses anymore". Aggghhh! I think if dry eye was exposed for what it really is (not always easily treatable, and very painful), people would understand it better and think twice about increasing their chances of it!

Very well said, Shells!

[Lovely Eyes]

Unfortunatelly for us LASIK casualties, we were caused to be this way by the procedure. The bottom line, people that are planning on having LASIK performed should be warned about the potential risks they are taking and make a more well taught decission.

Best,

If I knew then (2 weeks ago post-op Lasik) what I know now...I would not have had it done. My husband had only one eye done and the day his procedure was scheduled -- the machine was "mis-firing". Nothing was said until AFTER his surgery was completed the next day. I should have run instead of proceeding with my surgery. The day my surgery was done the Alcon rep was in the shop "watching" and doing training on the new machine. I wonder whether he was really training or making sure there were no more mis-fires!

Whether it is Oprah or taking it through a higher power...people deserve to know ALL risks before making the decision. If the amount of eye damage people are experiencing continues with the increased popularity of Lasik -- what will this generation and future generations be faced with in terms of quality of life and ability to be financially self supporting. It is more than "dry eye" -- we are faced with millions of people risking their eye sight to a procedure that has not been thoroughly explained in order to allow them to make a "sane" and educated decision. I thought there was supposed to be power in numbers?

Look at what happened to the Vioxx situation. I'm game to step on the bandwagon and speak out. Maybe we need a powerful, fearless attorney to represent the cause??

[kitty]

Not just surgical complications...

Like Vioxx, I stress daily about what they will find wrong with Restasis a few years down the road. I so feel like a guinea pig and I must say I don't really trust the FDA's approval processes. I sometimes think the studies are not done over a long enough period of time. I know, I am paranoid.

[Lucy]

Very interesting thread!

I've scanned through this thread a couple of times. You are all correct, the public needs to know about dry eye(s) and also that lasik can produce dry eye(s). From this bb, it's apparent there are many others suffering from this condition other than those of us whom had the luck(!) to get there via lasik.
It all hurts the same.

Thanks to this bb in particular, the subject is being put forth in a responsible manner. It lets us vent, tell others what works and what doesn't.

I'd like to address some of the newer members. I see some of you are "in the know" as quickly as two weeks after your surgery that there is a problem. I know because you're on the boards talking about it. Some of us are 6 years post-op and even longer. When I had lasik in Jan 2000, no one even knew (or didn't admit) lasik caused dry eyes. Since then, there have been lots of new drops available. Of course, the pharmaceutical companies want to jump on the cash bandwagon. The members who are long-time in the dry eye stuff have been digging in the dirt from the beginning.

When you are "hit" with the glory of this pain after something "wonderful" it's a big slap in the face. Especially when your doctor "just doesn't know what's wrong." We've been the Oprah/Phil Donahue/20-20/60 Minutes route. We've had letter writing sessions. This still can, and should, be pursued, but we have been there, done that already. We need to keep it up.

Dry eye has been in the news recently. I know of a few stories. I was in one of them. I am going to try to attach a link to it. I know it seems we've been forgotten sometimes. Most people who frequent the boards come and then go (assuming they are better). I, for one, am glad we are able to crab and vent to others. Also, we give comfort. A lot of comfort. Some of it is on the board, but much of it is privately done via email and phone calls.