about lasik dry eyes

[zhousu]

I'm unlucky to have dry eyes after lasik. I know many here have got the same experiences. I'd really like to know how often does that happen that your dry eyes last more than a year. Has anyone knew a case in which a severe dry eye after lasik did recover?

[sanna]

when did you have lasik? I had very dry eyes for a week i had to use eyedrops every hour and for a mounth 4-5 times a day and now 8 mounths post lasek i only use eyedrops at night but a few times...

I think i will have this forever but i have heard it can take 5 years or so to go away but i do not know if it is true.The eyes will never be the same that is for sure. A friend of mine did her surgey 2 years ago and she is still using eyedrops, but she is happy.

Do you have other problems too? about your eyes i mean.

[zhousu]

lasik dry eyes

No, I don't think I have other problems, but the dry eyes are nearly unbearable. I'm still early, just two months, but I don't see any improvements yet. I'm really afraid, even thinking about dropping out of school or suiciding.
I still have a long way to go, but already lose heart. I don't know whether there'll be the day that recovery does happen.

[zhousu]

lasik dry eyes

I'm really sorry for my negative mind. Thanks a lot, Sanna, for posting a reply.
But how are your eyes during the day? Do you think they affect your life? Or are the dryness manageable. I guess I can bear a little bit dry, as lone as I don't feel burnt and painful when I'm reading or using computer in a air conditioned room.

[sanna]

Actually daytime is not a big problem for me anymore and i can sit infront of a computer all day if i want, but i do drink water, A LOT OF WATER

2 mounths is not long! after 3, i think you will see it is getting better. My eyes are a bit red and i hate that, so my social life is not so great right now. Did you have very bad vision before or not that bad? I have heard that it can take longer if you had really bad vision.

How often do you use eyedrops? Have you not seen any improvment at all?

[zhousu]

lasik dry eyes

Yes, I haven't seen any improvements yet. I'm really worried. But I think my sight before the lasik isn't too bad, about 3.50 and 4.30.
I use drops every one hour, and it doesn't make any sense. I really want to see improvements!

[sanna]

What does the doctor tell you?
I know how you feel when nobody understands. Maybe you should show your parents this website. Than they will see you are not the only one that has this problem and it is a real big problem. (i read the other post you wrote)

Eyedrops every hour is a nightmare i know. They say you have tears but maybe it is the oil you do not have than. Maybe you need to take some extra fishoil. Do you have inflamed eyelids? Do your eyes get red sometimes? if so, when?

What kind of eyedrops are you useing? Have you tried gels?

What do you think is wrong? I mean have you been "researching" about dry eyes? (As many of us hear) I think i know more about this than my doctor.

[zhousu]

Thank you Sanna

I've seen a lot of doctors. Now I'm in Hongkong. I'm studying business in the Chinese University. A doctor here gave me reflesh plus and arctec something. And I have tried tear naturale, bion tear and some others before. I tried warm compresses because the doctors thought my case was evaporate. The Hongkong doctor also gave me some medicines to take. I think it's vitamins. My parents were beginning to know how much pain I'm experiencing, because a friend of my father also experienced it. She recovered after 5 months and is very good now. But they always think that it will be better tomorrow.
Yes, I'm doing lots of research, having nearly seen all the documents available on google about lasik related dry eyes. I know that it's normal to get dry eyes and the majority will get better in six months, and the DE is most significant in the first three months. A lot of statistics I have seen tell me that the recovery may begin very late. I know that the surgery has cut the cornea so that the nerve hurt. That's the main reason for the DE. I think maybe I'll get better, but it seems a long time. I don't mind the living quality. What I really mind is the difficulty of studying and taking exams. My eyes are so easily tired that I can't read for long.

Sanna, I really appreciate your attention. I think you have got better but you still come to this website and help others. It's really kind of you.

[Rebecca Petris]

zhousu, welcome. I know lasik dry eye is very very hard for university students so I'm sorry for what you're going through. I hope things will start improving for you quickly. Meantime I'd try to do everything you can in the way of taking care of your eyes at night (compress, covering over the eyes at night, etc), and maybe see if there's some kind of moisture chamber you can get to help while you're studying?

[rosye]

Hey, Zhousu! I have post-lasik dry eye for more than a year now. My problem really began a month after the surgery when I noticed an erosion on my left eye, and the burning, stinging, etc, began. In my case, it did not improve in six months, on the contrary, because six months later I started working at an office with no less than 2 air conditioners on (one of then right in my face). It was hell working under those conditions, but as it was a temporary job, I was out of there 3 months later. I found out that humidity levels have a huge impact on my pain, as if I'm in a humid environment, my eyes almost don't bother me at all, but as drier the environment becomes, the pain increases up to almost umberable. So I started to have humidifiers around my work/studying places (specially when I'm at the computer), using protective goggles (Onion Goggles are unexpensive and work great), using protective contact lenses (doing great on Acuvue Oasys), and, ultimately, using pain-reducing medication (Gabapentin, single-dose at night). All of that reduced my need for eye drops, but I still use them whenever I feel my eyes dry. I also take flaxseed oil, Restasis and other vitamins, but I don't think they help me that much, because I take them for more than six months and still got relentless pain until I started using the goggles. I don't think I'll ever have normal eyes again, but thank God, with all of this care now, the pain has reduced a lot. So, in your case, since you did your surgery not so long ago, I'd try humidifiers and protective goggles to help you with the pain right now. I DO hope you do get better over time and have no need for any of this in the future!

[zhousu]

Strange

I have seen a lot of cases in this website where dry eyes lasted for more than a year. But why do the doctors always say 99 percent of the dry eyes will go away. Are they lying?

[Rebecca Petris]

I have seen a lot of cases in this website where dry eyes lasted for more than a year. But why do the doctors always say 99 percent of the dry eyes will go away. Are they lying?

Dry eye severe enough to seriously affect activities/lifestyle etc is not common after LASIK. Obviously a lot of us here have it, but... there are many, many millions who have had LASIK. So if the 1% that the doctor's talking about is the really severe kind, they're probably right.

But the idea of dry eye going away altogether in 99% of patients is simply incorrect and there are tons of medical studies to prove it. The true incidence is far higher. I just browsed through a few studies on medline and came across phrases like "Dry eye is a common complication after LASIK." I don't think 1% could be described as common.

[zhousu]

lasik, oh god

So what's the chance of the post lasik dry eyes that can cause real trouble recover? I mean if one gets trouble with the dry eyes, will he probably return to normal after 6 to 12 months, and what's the chance? If not, what's the sense of the so called 6 months recovery?
By the way, I have seen a study in which the schirmer and BUT were tested before and after the lasik. It seems that the schirmer falls from an average of 15 to 10 in three months, but back to 15 in 6 months. And BUT falls from 13 to 7 at 3 months and back to 13 at 6 months. Due to the study, I really hope there is still chance for recovery. But more than 2 months have passed and I think there is no improvement.

[rosye]

I'd say that most people get dry eyes after lasik, as the flap cuts the tear enervation on the cornea. But as Rebecca stated, few of then are really disabled by it, most just get a drier eye sensation and that's all. Of course those people won't feel the need to join a dry eye forum... every person is different, so I can't tell you why some people recover and some don't. In my case, I think I wasn't a good candidate for the surgery in the first place, because I always suffered from a condition called nocturnal lagophthalmos (my eyelids don't close properly at night), and my eyes were already mildly dry before the surgery (so mild that I didn't suffer any problems at all, I used contact lenses and worked under computer and air conditioner normally, so I didn't mention it to my surgeon and he didn't ask either). Probably the fact that I continued not closing my eyes properly after the surgery, with already damaged nerves, triggered it all, I don't know. I also have 3 times more pain in my left than in my right eye, I also don't know why. My current doctor says I suffer from "neuropathic pain", as my eyes don't seem that dry for the amount of pain I suffer.

[sanna]

?
By the way, I have seen a study in which the schirmer and BUT were tested before and after the lasik. It seems that the schirmer falls from an average of 15 to 10 in three months, but back to 15 in 6 months. And BUT falls from 13 to 7 at 3 months and back to 13 at 6 months. Due to the study, I really hope there is still chance for recovery. .

Do you mean that a TBUT at 13 is normal? and that shimmers at 15 is normal? I have heard that a shimmers test at 30 is normal and about TBUT should be around 20-30. My tbut is a lot better for sure now but my tears i do not know...