almost 4 years of severe dry eyes since Lasik...

[Guest]

Hi Magda, Depending on the humidity and what I'm doing on my laptop, I may not need Refresh at all during my waking hours, or every hour (proofreading my writing and video editing bug my eyes more than writing the first draft of a piece, for example). Most days, I'd say I probably use it maybe once every few hours, sometimes less (humidity in the air is anywhere from 60-80%). But now that we're in Costa Rica where the humidity is around 50%, I'm using it maybe once every hour on average.

re: halo/starbursts - same as what I had pre-LASIK
re: other complications - none - just dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction
re: cornea thickness - don't remember, other than the fact that it's at the point where even if I wanted to, I can't get a re-do of LASIK.
re: HOA - I'm pretty sure I don't have that.

Hey farmgirl

Yes, still in the tropics because my eyes feel much better here. Doing everything I can to work my butt off to be able to continue on this way - it's soooo much better for my eyes in high humidity, warm climates, even when I take into account that I practically live on my laptop now lolz


(I'm not around the forums often anymore, so if anyone reading this has followup questions, I may not see if for weeks - so sorry! Anyhow, I've posted a lot on here, so if you do a search for my username you'll find what I know.)

[farmgirl]

Hi Saag: I am going to PM you so check....F/G

I tried but you are not set up to receive PM's so please PM me with some contact information....thanks...F/G

[Magna]

Thanks SAAG and farm girl, I almost read all your post since i have severe dry eyes post LASIK ,burning and eye pain all the time.and you know SAAG your post also make me still alive until right know because you such inspiring me. i have suicidal thought and severe depression and i dont want to continue my life anymore , i bump my head to the wall many times.I almost not sleep at all 1 months after lasik because panick attack, distortion vision, blurry and hazzy, halo and starburst during the day and night.severe photofobia, light sensitive, floater, loss contrass.i took depression drug ativan, valdoxan and abilify which was make me in the worst condition fainting out many times a day. I quit all the anti depression coldturkey and have problems with sleep until right now. I also criying many times a day till a week ago i try to not. And because sleeping problem i think i destroy my brain , difficult concentrate, easy to forget. I also have many health issued hypotension, severe migrain and headache . I was luckiest person in the world with very good husband and cute1 year old daughter, i had very good job and almost no problem in my life till i ruined everything with LASIK. My surgeon always avoid me since he knew i have all the lasik complications. I came to almost 10 different ophtalmologist in this 5 months , i did 4 punctual plug,many OTC eye drops, autologus serum, restasis, FML, antibiotic oinment, doxyciclin 100 mg, flaxed oil, multivitamin B,C, magnesium, moisture chamber. And all of those seem no result. Make me more more depress. After surgery the others opthalmologist said i was'nt good candidate for LASIK because i have dry eyes before ( that's why i can not wearing contact lense). And thin cornea ( my cornea thickness after lasik just 270 something) . Everyday is just fearness and nightmare to me, Will I get ulcus cornea later because of severe dry eyes? ( i already have cornea erotion) . Will i get post lasik ectasia because of thin cornea? Will i get cataract or glaucoma because of steroid? Will i get retinal detechment because i have floater?will i get blind ? Will all the complications with stay with me forever? I just dont know how to continue my life, I'm disable, I can't become good wife and mother anymore. And i dont have any future life anymore . Sorry for my sad story.and thank you for all the respon

Ps. Sorry for my poor english

[Ednajess]

Hi Magna,

Sorry to hear your severe dry eyes problem. I understand you have your operation done in Singapore. Are you staying in Singapore?
Plese be stronge, there are hope only if you believe in it.

PS I m from Singapore and had my lasik done 17 years ago.

[Guest]

i have suicidal thought and severe depression and i dont want to continue my life anymore , i bump my head to the wall many times.

In my opinion, being depressed for a time after a LASIK disaster is normal - our eyes are such an integral part of our day to day functioning, that to NOT react with enormous sadness would be pretty much impossible.

But.

As you go through this difficult phase of life (and it's just that... a phase, not a permanent thing), take care of yourself. Do lots of little things to take care of yourself, whatever those may be. Some people need medication to cope, and there's no shame in that if you do. And if you can get through this without that, then so be it. But do make yourself a priority. Nurture your relationships with those you love and who love you back, you'll need their support in the time ahead.

I almost not sleep at all 1 months after lasik because panick attack, distortion vision, blurry and hazzy, halo and starburst during the day and night.severe photofobia, light sensitive, floater, loss contrass...because sleeping problem i think i destroy my brain , difficult concentrate, easy to forget.

Try to fix what you can, and force yourself to tolerate what you can't fix... for now.

Have you tried meditation? I'm not a new-agey person at all - and to be honest, meditation requires more sitting still than my typical degree of patience can tolerate lol

But, it's been a HUGE help for me to sleep at night. The trick is finding a meditation recording that has a background sound that relaxes you, a voice that relaxes you, and words that you find relaxing. I recently downloaded a free app called Insight Timer for my iPhone (if you have android, check if it's available for that... or something similar) - anyhow, gives me lots of options and I fall asleep so much more easily if I listen to that compared to nothing.

re: panic attacks - see if you can get your hands on some audiobooks that detail possible ways to manage those attacks - libraries often have audiobooks that can be borrowed digitally... check if that's an option where you live also. And if you can't find non-drug ways of coping, then talk to your doctor about other options. But even if you do try medication again, keep on searching for other non-drug ways to help in addition to that... eventually you may find something that works nicely for you.

I also criying many times a day till a week ago i try to not. A

It's good that you try not to - crying too much will only further inflame your eyes and make them feel even worse. With time, it gets easier to stop yourself from crying, so keep at it!!!

I was luckiest person in the world with very good husband and cute1 year old daughter, i had very good job and almost no problem in my life till i ruined everything with LASIK. My surgeon always avoid me since he knew i have all the lasik complications.

Sounds almost exactly how I was - great life and then I went and ruined it by having LASIK.

However, keep in mind that ruining your life due to LASIK does NOT mean it'll stay ruined.

In reality, this is only a temporary phase - a phase that royally sucks, but not a permanent thing. Even if you suffer for weeks or months of this, compared to the DECADES of good life that will follow, this is a blink... it's nothing. So please remind yourself of that often - you only have to get through the next second... the next minute... each minute you get through adds up to hours... before you know it days have gone by... all good things. It's about baby steps. And learning to be patient with waiting for things to get better (because they WILL get better).

I came to almost 10 different ophtalmologist in this 5 months , i did 4 punctual plug,many OTC eye drops, autologus serum, restasis, FML, antibiotic oinment, doxyciclin 100 mg, flaxed oil, multivitamin B,C, magnesium, moisture chamber. And all of those seem no result.

Keep in mind that you tried those things during the worst of it and although they weren't powerful enough to fix you then, it doesn't mean they can't fix you in future.

Think in terms of inflammation. Every itty bitty little thing you can do that has even the tiniest benefit in reducing inflammation is a benefit. Look for those teeny tiny glimmers that something might be helping, even if only a little bit. And all those teeny tiny effects on lowering inflammation can snowball over the longterm - they are NOT a waste of time, so keep at it.

Also, keep in mind that medical science doesn't see or know everything - even if the doctor can't tell an obvious difference from a treatment in terms of what he/she can see when they examine your eyes, if you notice a benefit in terms of your eyes feeling a tiny bit better, then trust that. I know that's not scientific of me to say that, but sometimes we need to trust ourselves and trust that no, we aren't imagining that things actually got a bit better... even though in the beginning, those changes may be very small.

Make me more more depress. After surgery the others opthalmologist said i was'nt good candidate for LASIK because i have dry eyes before ( that's why i can not wearing contact lense). And thin cornea ( my cornea thickness after lasik just 270 something) .

Sounds like me - couldn't tolerate contacts. Also, my corneal thickness post LASIK is such that I can never have another procedure like that again (it's at the minimum acceptable limit).

Everyday is just fearness and nightmare to me, Will I get ulcus cornea later because of severe dry eyes? ( i already have cornea erotion) . Will i get post lasik ectasia because of thin cornea? Will i get cataract or glaucoma because of steroid? Will i get retinal detechment because i have floater?will i get blind ? Will all the complications with stay with me forever?

Your reaction is perfectly normal - it's natural to have those worries and many of us (including me) go through that.

But you can also control it with practice - when you catch yourself playing the "what if" game (thinking about all the possible bad things that might happen), either use that to come up with a good plan for how you'll live happily despite the fact that having a fear come true sucks, (it can sometimes be a comfort and calming to have a plan for how to handle our personal worst-case scenarios) or, if doing that doesn't help, then your only alternative for now is to banish the "what if" thoughts from your mind altogether. This gets easier with practice. Start doing whichever of those options gives you greater peace of mind, and work on making it a habit.

I just dont know how to continue my life, I'm disable

You'll figure it out. Just because you don't have the solution now doesn't mean you won't have it later. Keep looking for it - I'm telling you, this is a temporary state of affairs, don't forget that. You have decades of amazing life ahead of you that you're going to get a lot of joy out of, so hang on for that - it'll be worth the wait.

I can't become good wife and mother anymore. And i dont have any future life anymore .

Not true. You can be a good wife and mother as long as you don't become one of those people who lashes out at people for no reason hehe As long as you treat them with kindness (aside from those times when we all mess up once in a while... no-one is perfect!), you're a good wife and mother.

And yes, you do have a future. Last I checked, the earth and those you love will be around a good long time. So will you. All you have to do is get through this crappy phase and eventually you get to the good part again.

And avoid smoke - if the outdoor air quality isn't good, stay indoors - smoke, for me, is one of the WORST things because it really irritates the hell out of my eyes.

And your English is great... no need to apologize!!!!

Hang in there... things will get better and you can return to being happy again... but it takes time to get through this phase... your eyes need time to recover and so do your emotions.

(I'm not around the forums often anymore, so if anyone reading this has followup questions, I may not see if for weeks - so sorry! Anyhow, I've posted a lot on here, so if you do a search for my username you'll find what I know.)

[Neerav1989]

Saag,

It is great to know that you eyes have improved so much. We really need this inspirational stories. Please keep posting and helping fellow sufferers.

Meanwhile I had my Lasik done in December 2014 and have been suffering from Post Lasik Corneal Neuralgia/Dysaesthesia ever since. For me the schirmer score has always been normal and TBUT has been more than 12 seconds. My eyes does not have any noticeable dryness. I too see floaters, halos and have light sensitivity (but i am fine with it ). I have gone through extreme suicidal pain/burning and dryness (my damaged corneal nerves keep sending wrong signals to my brain making my brain feel that my eyes are extremely dry even when they are completely wet). Almost everyday I have unbearable dryness sensations in my eyes that does not even let me sit in office. I was on leave for 2 months. I have tried putting artificial tear drops every 5 minutes (I am not kidding every 5 minutes). But they just do not help at all. Long story short. my eyes are killing me and I too have suicidal thoughts. and I may never be able to get married. It is actually difficult for me to sit in front of a computer screen and type but I have recently logged on to this wonderful website so that I may get some help from fellow sufferers. I am somehow holding on to my job as I work in a govt bank and they have given me comfort level (I only have to make phone calls and just 1 hour of computer work. That is also very difficult for me). I have tried all possible treatments. I am currently on 100% autologous serum. I am yet to try scleral lenses but the doctors feel they will not help as mine is not a dry eye issue.

Magna,

I have done a lot of research on post lasik dryness/neuralgia and I know more than a lot of doctors here in India

Firstly, I would advise you to try boston scleral lenses. They will definitely work if yours is a pure dry eye issue and not corneal nerve regeneration problem like mine.

secondly, You need to keep using restasis for a couple of months. it is a very slow acting drug. Autologous serum also needs to be used for at least a year (as mentioned by Dr Pedram Hamrah) before thinking whether it is helping or not.

Thirdly, I don't know which country you are in. But you need to try Tacrolimous ointment. After using it for 1-2 months you will start feeling better. Doctors in India have stopped prescribing cyclosporine ever since Tacrolimous has arrived. It is also pretty cheap and does not cause any side effects. I believe the ointment will help you.

Lastly, Please tell me about your schimer score, TBUT, Vitamin D3 level and whether you have MGD ? Are your mebomian gland clogged ?

[Magna]

Thank You SAAG and Neerav1989 for your reply, support, and advice. I am very appreciated.
I still looking best regimen and find other treatments to improve my vision.

[nori2015]

Hi there SAAG
im not sure if you've come across my story here. I had lasik in 2009 with no issues, I had a top up via PRK in 2015 and all issues stemmed from there. I have dry eyes, mgd, and corneal erosions. My eyes are very red. I started treatment for this straight away so I'm two years into doing the whole eye drops and compresses thing. I was put on restasis by the laser clinic but a more knowledgeable professor took me off the restasis only 2 months in. I wonder if I should have stuck with it? I see you've had improvement and you certainly sound like you were worse than me. I'm just wondering if your improvement has come from treatment or the preventative measures like avoiding AC and living in the tropics? I would like to be able to live a normal life and not have to wear special glasses or live in Bali etc! Do you think if you still lived in Canada that you would have felt any improvement? So far I can deal with the pain side of things but it's the veins and redness that's getting to me. SAAG I tried to pm this to you but it wouldn't go through

[Guest]

Hi there SAAG
im not sure if you've come across my story here. I had lasik in 2009 with no issues, I had a top up via PRK in 2015 and all issues stemmed from there. I have dry eyes, mgd, and corneal erosions. My eyes are very red. I started treatment for this straight away so I'm two years into doing the whole eye drops and compresses thing. I was put on restasis by the laser clinic but a more knowledgeable professor took me off the restasis only 2 months in. I wonder if I should have stuck with it? I see you've had improvement and you certainly sound like you were worse than me. I'm just wondering if your improvement has come from treatment or the preventative measures like avoiding AC and living in the tropics? I would like to be able to live a normal life and not have to wear special glasses or live in Bali etc! Do you think if you still lived in Canada that you would have felt any improvement? So far I can deal with the pain side of things but it's the veins and redness that's getting to me. SAAG I tried to pm this to you but it wouldn't go through

Hi, sorry about the PM - I disabled them ages ago because I was getting too many messages and I couldn't answer them all properly. So sorry!

This way is better though since everyone can read the reply and maybe it has a chance to help more people that way.

re: "I would like to be able to live a normal life and not have to wear special glasses or live in Bali etc!"

Well, crazy as it sounds, living abroad could turn into the greatest adventure of your life. But I know not everyone is okay with leaving home for prolonged periods.

Besides, you don't have to live in Bali... try out Mexico... or Costa Rica... or Malaysia... or Thailand The Canary Islands (part of Spain) have a decent climate too - not exactly tropical, but not dry either... and some of the cleanest air in the world (sounds great for sensitive eyes).

re: "Do you think if you still lived in Canada that you would have felt any improvement?"

Honestly, I believe that bathing my eyes in tropical humidity (with very little air-conditioning) for years has helped. That doesn't mean they wouldn't have improved if I'd stayed home, but I suspect my improvements would have been slower, and perhaps remained at a plateau. I was always fighting against regression over the dry winter... I'd improve a bit over the spring/summer/fall, then my eyes would suffer over the dry winter and get worse. I felt like I was always taking 2 steps forward in the summer and 1 or 2 or even 3 steps back in the winter.

Next fall, we're going to head to Europe. That will be the first time in 4 years that I'll be living in non-tropical humidity levels. I'll be avoiding dry winter-like weather like the plague, but nonetheless, in many places I'll be dealing with 40-60% humidity instead of 60-80%+ humidity. It'll be interesting to see how my eyes do. One pain in the butt that I know I'll have to deal with in lower humidity levels will be buying a humidifier to run in the bedroom where I do my online work (I do this whenever we go home to Canada over the summer to visit since the air isn't humid enough to allow me to work online comfortably). Without that humidifier, my eyes will burn and be irritated - after several years without that non-stop, low-level burning sensation (which sometimes would flare up to enormously noticeable and uncomfortable), I can't stand the idea of going back to burning eyes. I'd do it if I HAD to, but hopefully it never comes to that.

re: "I'm just wondering if your improvement has come from treatment or the preventative measures like avoiding AC and living in the tropics?"

All of it helped - every little bit adds up. There's no question that Restasis is helping to reduce inflammation and keep my eyes more moist. And there's no doubt in my mind that having all 4 puncta cauterized shut has made a MASSIVE difference too. My gut feeling is that if I returned to Canada to live, with cold -40 winters, my eyes would go back to exactly the way they were before we left the country for more humid climates. Mind you, I spend a crap ton of time on the computer these days... I'm hell-bent on building up more passive income sources that I can leave on auto-pilot when I feel like taking a break (or if I'm forced to because of my crazy eyes).

For me, the bright side of all this is that I'm having one hell of an adventure due to my need to be in humid climates, so I'm able to accept the way things are. Sure, if someone finds a time machine and I can go back to undo my LASIK, I'd do that in a heartbeat - what I wouldn't give to have my normal eyes back! But since I can't, I'll make the best of things and continue my adventuring.

re: "it's the veins and redness that's getting to me"

Yeah, that's tough. There's hope though... once upon a time my eyes looked horribly red all the time. Nowadays, people think they look normal.

[nori2015]

SAAG
thanks for your reply. Emigration isn’t an option I’m afraid. I’m not single so I can’t uproot my partner also, and I have elderly family members so I’ll be staying where I am. A lot of people tell me their eyes felt better while on holiday in warmer climates but that hasn’t been the case for me. If anything I felt worse in the heat, but maybe the humidity was the issue, or lack of.
It will be interesting to see how you get on in Europe. Normal eyes are all over want, they don’t have to sparkle, they just have to not look hideous!

[nori2015]

SAAG also can you advise me on lubrucating drops? How many a day? Should I aim for a certain amount or is it a case of less is more?

[Guest]

SAAG also can you advise me on lubrucating drops? How many a day? Should I aim for a certain amount or is it a case of less is more?

I think the answer to this is very individual. You just have to experiment and see what works for you. I've gone through many years where the only way I could function was to use them every 15 minutes... years where 3-4 times a day was fine... and then there's everything in between. There are lots of ups and downs.

The main restriction though is if you use preserved drops, no more than 4 times a day as the preservative can be irritating. But for preservative-free drops, there are no official limits - talk to your doc and see what they say.

[KaylaR]

Hi SAAG, are you still on here? I wanted to see if Restasis helps you since our stories are similar.

I take restasis and xiidra.. just started a month ago on restasis and xiidra about a week ago. I also use a usb heating eye pad 1-2x per day as I listen to my alexa play relaxing music! and take lots of vitamins. Oh and also use Avenova on my eyelids, it actually seems to help with bacteria I guess. Feels a little soothing for me.

I had my lasik in 2006. I was 18 years old, now 29 and somehow managed to marry a man who loves me and have a little 3 year old son named Landon. It has been and still is very hard for me, mostly because the pain of dry eyes is so terrible.

I love your stories.

Take care!

Kayla

[MGD1701]

Hi KaylaR
Thanks for sharing.

USB heating eye pad sounds interestin. Could you tell us
brand name, is it dry heat?
temperature, 42C? or higher?
how long have you been using it?

Omega 3, do you also take omega 3? new studies show combined with GLA works even better - They helped thin my oil.
They also help with inflammation etc.

restasis and xiidra.
You only started restasis one month ago, did doctor say why to take both - for better results? Some doctors say they work differently.

Thank you!

[KaylaR]

Hi, Here is the mask I use below. I got from amazon. It heats up to 50c (I do 50). I also ordered from heatedeyepad.com so we will see how that works. Dry heat. I have been using it for a few weeks. It may help a little but nothing dramatic yet. I did notice it helped with the eyelid swelling and I can see a little oil after a good 20-30 min.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My doctor wanted me to try both. I may be a guinea pig, but that's ok as long as its safe, I am desperate. Hopefully restasis will create more tears and xiidra treats signs and symptoms. I also watched a video of Shire (the company that created xiidra) is conducting testing for another medicine for dry eye. something to do with controlling sodium levels on the eye to help??? I didn't understand but I am going to try and find more info. I hope there will soon be MORE options for dry eye because its such an awful thing and underdiagnosed, undertreated, and misunderstood (unless you suffer with it)!!!

I take omega 3, may need to try one like you. Mind sharing brand/dosage.

Also if you have MGD I really find avenova does help, I used a q tip and spread directly on my eyelids to hopefully help with inflammation and cleaning. Its safe (our bodies create hypochlorous acid naturally)