update - 4 weeks out -I was wrong

[Lucy]

Chickenlittle - anyone with a moniker like that cannot not succeed at this healing business!

Rebecca gave you very good advice. Things will get better. It takes time. When it's fresh, it seems like a day is a week and a week is a month. I agree it would be good to talk with your GP about meds to take the edge off while you work your way through this. And, YOU WILL work your way through.

If you're not stressing as much, you can concentrate more on what you need to do. Work, care for your family, get enough rest etc. The lasik docs always make things seem like your fault, so you're not special in that way. :-)

Try resting your eyes when taking a break at work. I used to take small gel-ice packs and keep in the frig at work. I'd grab one on my break and lunch and head somewhere with a little privacy and close my eyes with the chilled gel-pack on my eyes. It helped me a lot and made it possible for me to make it through the day. On the weekends, take as much time to keep your eyes closed as you can. You're thinking, yeah with two little kids, I can't do that. It might be hard! Try a game of listening to music (kids choice) with your eyes shut. You can vent here and we usually know what you're talking about.
Lucy

[chickenlittle]

flap displacement

It was displaced when I woke up after sleeping for 4 hours - after the lasik was done. Surgeon asked "what did you do?" I have no idea. I had patches on and sunglasses in the bed. I may have rolled around on my face and somehow squished it out of place. I love how he makes it my fault. So by the time I woke up, the office was closed and I called the OT on call. He looked at me and said flap was displaced and put a bandage contact on it. Surgeon smoothed out the next morning.

[chickenlittle]

Thanks for encouragement

Thanks so much Rebecca, I really appreciate your feedback. I am definitely going to get in touch with my GP for some anxiety meds. I asked for a glasses prescription today, but surgeon said to wait. It is so incredibly frustrating to not be able to see with clarityI

[Rebecca Petris]

Please don't panic

I'm sorry you had a discouraging appointment today. To put things in perspective, though, I want you know that there are a great many people who go through a lot of bumps and worries in the weeks after their surgery that cause a lot of anxiety at the time but who turn out absolutely fine within weeks or months. So hang tight, chin up, and try not to let it get you down.

Said my vision right now is 20/25 in each eye. I am so confused since I SEE better and sharper out of my right(dominant eye) plus, I still have blurriness all the time and discomfort.

There's a very important distinction between visual acuity and vision quality, and it's a good idea to learn about it because communication about this is one of the top causes of tension between lasik patients and their surgeon or whoever is caring for them post-operatively. Whatever you see on the chart is acuity, and you can have great acuity but still feel like you see lousy. The best doctors will understand when you're upset about lousy vision quality, but less understanding doctors may expect you to be excited about your acuity even when your quality is not there. Both quality and acuity can change a lot in the weeks after surgery.

He said I should be happy since I was -6.75 and -6.00.

Typical appallingly bad bedside manners from a lasik surgeon.

Also said I have slight epithelial ingrowth on my left from having to smooth the flap out - since it got displaced the day of surgery. Said the growth was slight and on the outer edge of flap and that it shouldn't cause any problems with vision, but it needed to be watched for growth???

If you have confidence in your surgeon's overall experience, credentials and reputation, I wouldn't stress about the ingrowth. I had a little of this after a flap relift and it subsided - we just monitored it for awhile. It's a common problem if a flap needs to be lifted. But why was the flap displaced? - At any rate, Dr. Foulks will be a very good second opinion on the epi.

I am filled with anxiety - BUT I'm afraid to go on an anxiety medication because it might dry my eyes even more.

Personally, my opinion about this is that if anxiety or depression are severe, the tradeoff is a no-brainer: The limited possibility of a slight increase in dryness vs. the benefit of helping get more stable feeling so that you can cope with the short-term stress.

I did schedule an appointment with Dr Foulks in Louisville, KY - he's the only dr I found on your site close to where I live in TN.

Glad to hear it. Dr. Foulks is a very nice man and very competent.

I feel like I'm headed to a really dark place with no return

Anything so totally unexpected affecting your eyes can cause intense stress. Cut yourself some slack, try and pamper yourself as much as you can, and try to just be patient for awhile. You're going to be OK. Keep us posted on how things go and just know that there are lots of people here who understand what you're going through.

[chickenlittle]

I went to see my surgeon today - hoping that my dry eyes were better. He said they were very dry - Schrimer test 1 in right, 4 in left. He put in plugs on bottom - said they were permanent but could come out. - Also gave me Optima drops and told me to use a humidifier. Said my vision right now is 20/25 in each eye. I am so confused since I SEE better and sharper out of my right(dominant eye) plus, I still have blurriness all the time and discomfort. He said I should be happy since I was -6.75 and -6.00. Also said I have slight epithelial ingrowth on my left from having to smooth the flap out - since it got displaced the day of surgery. Said the growth was slight and on the outer edge of flap and that it shouldn't cause any problems with vision, but it needed to be watched for growth??? I am so depressed and I cried all day today. I have two small children 7 and 5, and I haven't been able to really focus or work since I had lasik done on 12/28/07. I thougth the homeopathic drops (Similasian) were helping since they didn't irritate me at all. All the other drops - Systane, Bion Tears, Refresh Tears, seem to irritate me after I use them all day - every 30 minutes. I am using the tranquil eyes at night and it seems to help some. I've been doing a total omega - 3's and 6's, plus I just added BioTears. I am filled with anxiety - BUT I'm afraid to go on an anxiety medication because it might dry my eyes even more. I did schedule an appointment with Dr Foulks in Louisville, KY - he's the only dr I found on your site close to where I live in TN. I so need encouragement because I waited so long to do this, 10 people from work had it done at same place with great results. I feel like I'm headed to a really dark place with no return