4 months after lasik

[ipsissimus]

I've been lurking on this site since about a week after lasik, but never really had the courage to post. But I have to say, even for us lurkers this site is really a wonderful support! I am four months post-lasik and yesterday my doctor gave up any pretense that it was a success. Which is both a relief (when your eyes are THAT painful you want someone to recognize it) and a disappointment. I am now farsighted in my left eye and slightly nearsighted with strong astigmatism in my right eye (double images). And, of course, have dry eyes - the assistant said I was neurotrophic and it could be up to two years before the nerves regrow themselves. I put refresh plus drops in just about every hour and never get a full night's sleep because of my eyes.

It is strange - I researched every aspect of lasik, all the statistics on everything that could go wrong. Except dry eye. I picked out the most respected retinal surgeon in the area (he is known nationally for his expertise in eye surgery and care), with the best support package I could find - yet did not find out that I would have to go off antihistamines until right before the surgery. I have severe allergies year round, and had mentioned that in prescreening. That morning was the first time "dry eye" was ever mentioned to me - though it was in the long list of "possibilities" in the form I had to sign off on. And for last month's visit I had to practically sit on my doctor to get him to prescribe something other than fish oil. He said "Well, your eyes go into a 12 month dry eye period following lasik" in a tone that said I should have known that. How could I know if there was nothing in the literature he sent out telling me that? I wish I'd found this site before I'd ever done this to myself. I am not a risk taker - but everything I'd read made it seem less than a 1/2 percent chance or less that something could go wrong.

Now I get headaches because the brain can't deal with an eye that is farsighted and one that is near - and my eyes are never comfortable because of the dry eye - never. And my doctor wants to do enhancements at 6 months, but I don't know if I can go through with it (though I don't think I can stay the way I am due to headaches). I am terrified that at the least it will set my dry eye back another 6 months, at the worst I could end up even less able to see than I am now.
I'm now on Restasis, (one month)
Lovaza (pharmaceutical-grade fish oil)
refresh plus eyedrops
refresh endura eyedrops
Have tried just about all drops on the market. If it has any sort of preservative, even one that is supposed to disappear before it gets in the eye, my eyes react badly to it.
I do warm and cold compresses and eyelid scrubs

I have been shocked, after paying so much for the lasik, how terribly expensive it has been to care for my eyes because of the Lasik. I am spending over a hundred dollars a month on regular eyedrops, plus another hundred for prescriptions, and just had to purchase eyeglasses to get me through the next couple months without headaches. Not to mention the fact that I am in the middle of starting to freelance my graphic design and can't work even a half day without headaches and painfully dry eyes, so you have time lost on jobs.

Anyway, thanks for reading my story and thank goodness for this site! You have no idea how many nights I've spent unable to sleep and needing some comfort - only to come here and feel like I'm not totally alone out.

Kelley

[Terri]

Kelley: Sorry to hear about your struggles, but this is certainly the right site for information and support. You can cut the cost of using single-use vials if you store them in the refrigerator (a shot glass will keep them upright). You can also place them in a small cooler with ice (a wide-mouth, 10-oz. Thermos works well), if you need to carry them to work.

When I was on Restasis, I would use a drop in each eye in the morning and store the opened vial in the shot glass in the refrigerator (my opthalmologist is the one who recommended this method). I would then store an open vial of PF eye drops in the same glass. When I went to work, I would take the eye drop vial in a thermos (I used to use two different kinds of eye drops during the day, so I would typically have two opened vials in the Thermos). In the evening, I would use the second dose of Restasis. Before bed, I would discard the remaining Restasis and opened eye drop vials and start all over the next day.

This method slashed the cost of both Restasis and eye drops for me. Also, Dr. Latkany recommends the use of chilled drops, based on studies that show they work better chilled than they do at room-temperature.

[ipsissimus]

What an excellent idea Terri - thanks. I'd been putting my restasis in a ziplock to use again, but never thought to do so with the regular eyedrops.

[Jody]

Do NOT have enhancement surgery

You will just end up worse than you are now. Do NOT believe them when they tell you the nerves will grow back--they probably won't. I am 6 years post-lasik and still in severe pain.

Jody

[Rebecca Petris]

Hi Kelley,

I'm glad you found the site, and sorry for what you're going through!

I can understand the dilemma about an "enhancement" especially in a case like yours with - if I understand right - opposite refractive error in the two eyes. You mentioned headaches... I hope that the new glasses effectively eliminate them. If not please post more details as there may be some more options to suggest about this. I would certainly follow our instincts and stay away from retreatment at this point especially if you are fully correctable with glasses. There is even more than dry eye setbacks to be considered. Retreatment poses additional risks, for example, epithelial ingrowth occurs much more frequently from a flap lift than from an original lasik surgery. Best to give yourself lots of time to heal, and to consider all the options, before taking any surgery leaps.

You clearly were not told what you needed to know about dry eye before surgery and for that I am very sorry. Persistent dry eye is indeed the most frequently occurring complication and this is very well documented in the medical literature but, far too commonly, its severity and frequency are not conveyed in any effective manner to customers (patients) before surgery. Unfortunately it often is not really counted in the "complications" statistics or thought of when doctors talk about complications because they usually save that term for intra or postoperative complications (flap mishaps, infections and the like). Sigh.

Can you tell us more about your warm compresses and scrubs. The devil's in the details... often you can get more mileage out of this kind of treatment by changing the details. Also, moisture retaining eyewear is often a really vital tool for people who depend on computer use for their livelihood. There are several good products on the market right now and a couple of new ones coming in early 2008 that can be used with prescription glasses.

[Natalie06]

Kelley

I truly feel your pain. I too am a Lasik dry eye statistic and not the only one here. It can and will get better but I would recommend spending the money and time seeing another Ophthalmologist who does not perform Lasik or does not have a vested interest in you.

I developed severe dry eye within 3 days of the surgery. And I still have it. It has gotten slightly better now that some of the underlying causes are finally being addressed. But I still am not producing enough tears due to the severing of my corneal nerves.

I have had two different Lasik surgeons tell me to NOT have any enhancements (undercorrected and regression on top of that so I am wearing glasses) due to the severe dry eye.

Everyone is different and you need to make sure that any/all underlying disease processes/medications are being addressed. In 6 months, you can re-evaluate the potential risks of an enhancement when you see how your eyes recover.

I have been in your shoes and am still spending $70.00 a month (it would be over a hundred but I can't tolerate restasis) for the "luxury" of Lasik plus the cost of glasses/presciption sunglasses that wrap around to protect my eyes.

I am so sorry for what you are going through.

Natalie

[Filazafer]

3 years after Lasik

I had Lasik about 3 years ago and all I can say is it might get better, it might get worse. About a year or more after Lasik my eyes started feeling pretty good. I still wear glasses for one eye and considered a touch up. But, over the last 6 months I think a higher power may be telling me to not even think about it. I have been in a lot of pain and tried Restasis again. The touch up is now out of the question.

For me only unpreserved drops can be used and even those bother my eye if I use too much. For me using as little drops as possible is best. Humidifiers also make a big difference and staying away from a computer as much as possible (I work on one all day). Restasis seems to make my eyes worse, but I am sure 2 years from now I will be deseperate and want to try it again.

I will say that yesterday I did try putting olive oil around my eyes (someone mentioned it and I will try about anything). I didn't expect it to do much, but my eyes have felt better though it causes slightly blurry visison. It makes me realize I should never put anything like lotion on my face because it will make it into the eyes. It also tells me that some doctor should seriously look into making more lubricants that go around the eyes instead of directly in them.

It wasn't perfect, I still experienced some burning, but it was better. When I got home a washed around my eyes, did a short warm compress, and my eyes didn't hurt for the rest of the night. That hasn't happened in awhile. I'll we let you know how things go over more time.

If anyone has any ideas about how to get more public attention to the problems of Lasik, let me know.

[Cindy]

by Kelley:

It is strange - I researched every aspect of lasik, all the statistics on everything that could go wrong. Except dry eye. I picked out the most respected retinal surgeon in the area (he is known nationally for his expertise in eye surgery and care), with the best support package I could find

Hi Kelley. I had LASIK May 10, 2001. I didn't research a thing before having my LASIK surgery. Back then I didn't know how to even turn on our computer much less log onto the internet. I'm just saying that you can do the research but in the end, the physical response to LASIK is individual and cannot be certain.

I was scheduled for an "enhancement" three months after my LASIK. "Enhancement" surgery has the same risks as the original surgery. I backed out of it. My eyes felt so crummy and my vision was so unreliable that I decided to not endure surgery again. I've never been sorry for that decision. I've learned to deal with my vision (very well corrected with glasses) and my very bad dry eye problems have, over the years, become manageable. Give yourself a whole lot of time to heal. I spent a lot of time working with my LASIK surgeon, to "fix" my LASIK results. In retrospect, that time would have been better spent learning how to make my dry eyes comfortable and spending time with my optometrist being fitted for glasses. A good optometrist is worth their weight in gold. They can work wonders with your vision.

I see well with glasses now. Dry eye is mostly under control.

[ipsissimus]

Thanks

Thanks for all the support, everyone. It helps. I went to my parents for five days over Christmas and my dry eye felt better, to the point I was barely putting drops in. Now I'm back at our house and it is drops every hour again. I'm trying to figure out why. It could be allergies, or it could be I need to get a couple more humidifiers to off-set the crackling dry heat our oil furnace puts out. The glasses also give me headaches - but I can at least see mid-distance with them, so it feels worth the price. I've discovered that what I thought was "shadowing" in my right eye is actually severe astigmatism that causes that eye to see double (who knew? I'd never had much astigmatism before). At least that is correctable with glasses - I was worried my best-corrected vision was lost.

I am doing warm compresses with a rice baggie twice a day and gentle lid scrubs using distilled water at night before bed. I tried three varieties of lid cleaners, but each left my eyes more pained than before. I do need to buy sleep goggles - I wake three to four times a night to put drops in and it would be nice to get a good nights sleep.

I must admit, I'm feeling the pressure of the "one year free" enhancements and service of the eye doctor. I will never let him touch my left eye - it is farsighted, but healing quickly and clearly and has less dry eye. It is tempting to see if the right eye can be corrected enough I don't have double vision. But I've lost my trust and I don't know that I could go through this again. Plus my Seasonal Affective Disorder has kicked in for the winter and with all these problems it is bad this year. Using my light box for the amount of time I need dries my eyes out even more and some days my eyes are too sensitive to light to sit under 10,000 lux for a half hour. We've had four deaths in our family this year, and I did lasik to give something good to my life. Some days it is really hard to get out of bed.

[Rebecca Petris]

Now I'm back at our house and it is drops every hour again. I'm trying to figure out why. It could be allergies, or it could be I need to get a couple more humidifiers to off-set the crackling dry heat our oil furnace puts out.

Suggestion... invest in a hygrometer if you don't have one. Honeywell makes a nice big print one (with temperature and humidity) for about $25 and there are plenty of cheaper ones too.

[Jade9923]

As far as the dry eye part of things there is still a lot of things that you can try including punctal plugs. They can make the difference between total pain and feeling almost normal. They did this for me. I'm not a lasik patient so I can't comment on the other complications. Don't give up hope. Try another doctor, get opinions from the folks here. Someone here may even be able to recommend a doc. Hang in there. You are not alone.

[Natalie06]

Kelley

I too had Lasik as a way to do something good and positive for myself after a devastating loss of a close family member.  And to have it turn out so bad and add more to your emotional plate rather than less is awful.  I know how you feel and all the things you are trying to cope with.  Depression after a Lasik complication is common and on top of everything else you've been dealing with, it's really, really hard.  There's an excellent article on this website about depression.  But that's another good reason to tread cautiously about an enhancement.  In the early days after my procedure, before I realized the severity of the dry eye I was dealing with, my emotions wanted me to to leap right in and have more surgery to make it "successful".  Like you, my vision was terrible, I struggled with multiple pairs of glasses, etc.  I am so glad now that I didn't listen to my Lasik surgeon, thanks in great part to the people on this board.

Try to be as good to yourself as you can and do not blame yourself in any way.  You did nothing wrong so focus on what's best for your eyes and your physical/emotional health and try and take it one day at a time.I don't have any great words of advice, just my total understanding and empathy for your situation.

This is an amazing community of people and there were many days coming here was what lifted my spirits again as no one else understands the affects of dry eye like those who suffer from it.

Take care and hang in there.

Natalie Lasik 7/14/06

[Guest]

Kelley

I was saddened to read your story. I too had refractive surgery (lasek) and have had dry eyes ever since.

There is little I can add to the comments others have made only I would like to encourage you to hold in there as it can and will get easier to manage.

Whilst I still have my difficult days, I have some better ones as well. it is now 2 years since my surgery and have had a very difficult time of it on my bad days.

Just hang in there, try and find a drop/gel/potion that works for you, find a way to relax (my ipod and an ice pack are worth their weight in gold) and pop back with questions and encouragement when you need it.

Take care and I wish you well

Ian

[Stanza]

Kelley, sorry to hear your story. Eye goggles at night should help you some way, use a mask until you get them, so you protect your eyes from some air drying.

Also, one thing I'm not good at but have been doing is giving each thing I try a good go, so not quitting when it doesn't work straight away, from what I've read on here, patience is required, so try something for some weeks before giving up. You probably are, and that might be silly advice, I'm also only newly out of the lurker cupboard. There are folks on here that know so much it's hard to feel I can really add a lot. That you're still suffering constantly with nothing providing a relief means you'll have to keep trying, but something will help a bit at some point.

Also retreatment sounds like a really bad plan for you. Maybe at some point forward you should consider implantable contact lenses rather than lasers again. Might be less damaging if you end up forced to try something. From what I can tell they're not as high risk on the dry eye front.
wish you luck finding some relief.

[Peggy]

Kelley,
Your story sounds so familiar and its wonderful that you have found this site for support ! I had my lasik surgery on March 7th,2005 I will never forget that date because it has changed my life. I was overcorrected in both eyes and as a result in my opinion developed horrific headaches which lasted for a very long time, I also developed dry eye. I am happy to say that the headaches have eased up and my dry eye has gotten better. I will never have the comfort I had before surgery but I am finally adjusting. Heres the best advice I can give you do not rush into anything and give yourself lots of time to heal and by lots of time I mean at least a year or more...the amazing thing I found was that people were healing faster than me that had life threatening illness' I found a great eye dr. who said time is about the best prescription for getting out of the mess I was in. I was in so much pain though I had a permanent plug installed by another dr. and it was not a good decision. So try and grin and bear it for as long as you can with the aid of eyedrops and all the helpful hints from the experts on this site. I hope your days become easier and be good to yourself and rest your eyes when you can. I am also in the art field it has been a struggle at times but I am coming around and I know you will too. Peggy