My eyes are much better

[Dotanne]

My 4 year anniversary for my Lasik comes up in October and at long last my eyes are almost back to normal. I don't think they will ever be totally right but I rarely use drops during the day, just gel at bedtime and when I wake up at night. My face pain has gone thanks to clonazapam. I have now weaned myself off that with no return of that awful pain. I am sure it was caused by my dry eyes. I also have to thank Prof McGhee who gave me understanding and a diagnosis of MGD and mild roseacea and prescribed me doxy. I still wear my glasses with clear shields on the side and do compresses twice a day but my eyes are soooooo much better. I did not have dry eye symptoms before my Lasik but Prof M says I probably had MGD before the Lasik. The op just tipped me over. To think that the Lasik surgeon wanted to cauterise my tear ducts when he found my Schimers test was so low. I am so glad that I refused. He obviously didn't know about MGD and roseacea and my new Dr is one of his collegues at the Eye Clinic where I had the Lasik.
I am so thankful for this website and grateful to Rebecca and you all for getting me out of this hole. Now I just need to find a website to help me through the pain of having haemorrhoids banded!!! 3 weeks post op and it soo reminds me of my Lasik problem - just tell you to go home and take pain relief - have to get on top of the pain!!!! I feel a real nuisance when I ring up and say the pain is still real bad!! I am sure I am hooked on Tramadol. Thank goodness my eyes are much better now.
Cheers
Dot

[Lucy]

Dotanne, glad to see you are doing well. Nice to see you again. Lucy

[bernmee]

I am glad to hear you are doing so much better. I am only 11 weeks post Lasik in one eye and suffering dry eye. But in the dry eye hell a day can feel like a month!

My question to you is about roseacea. I am Irish just moved to the US. My mother and her brothers have always suffered very bad facial roseacea, and while growing up her eyes were always very sentstive to smoke, air conditions etc. but being an Irish mom she would never have gone to a doctor for her eyes, though she did get antibiotics both oral and topical for her facial roseacea and it was very bad to look at.

I have mild facial roseacea, and now have severe dry eye in my one Lasik eye. I keep seeing references to ocular roseacea, but I never suffered from dry eye before my Lasik surgery, though to be honest I never even heard of it until I was given my lasik consent form, and by default had no idea now severe it could be.

I'm wondering if facial roseacea minus the ocular roseacea would have made me a bad candidate for Lasik to start with? I understaand you are not a doctor but after 4 years of getting a handle on this you might have some answers for me. My Lasik surgeon hasn't been able to get beyond systane pres. free drops for the treatment of dry eye. I am so thankful to have foudn this site for all questions. Piecing things together helps in dealing with this problem.

B.

[shells]

Hi Dot!!!

Oh my gosh, this is awesome! I'm so glad to hear you are doing so much better. To hear you say you barely use drops during the day is amazing! I'm so happy for you! I hope your recovery from your other surgery goes well, and you are back to 100% soon!

-Shells

[Dotanne]

Thanks all for your responses! I always read your posts with interest Lucy - You were 5 years on when I joined up as a newbie!
Bermee: I never knew I had roseacea until Prof McGhee noticed redness around my nose so he prescribed doxy 50 for 6 months. I also had little blind pimple things on my scalp and when I took the doxy they went away too.
It took nearly 3 years to find the right Dr for a proper diagnosis though a good optician got me doing eye massage in March last year. She recognised that my eyes were bad and that is where I got the moisture shields done. It was such a relief to have someone say what a mess my eyes were. She was a great believer in no preservatives too.
I think the doxy plus the massage and the moisture shields and night protection all contributed to the relief. I do not take doxy now - It started to give me reflux. My eyes have continued to stay OK. The Prof keeps an eye on the MGD - gives a progress report on the open glands!! 6 mth visits now. He agrees I was not a good candidate for Lasik!
Hang in there Bermee - find a good Dr - Get Dr Latkany's book too. The info on this site is soooo good and the support is great. I feel I could have felt better much sooner if I had known what I know now. When in pain it is so easy to think things will never get better but slowly and surely it does.
I use Alcon poly gel at night and Theratears when needed during the day. I have used DEZ drops with success but now things are so good it is much easier to use what is obtainable in NZ.
Shells:YES!!!!It is soooo good to be much better. I am getting braver all the time! BUT it will take me a long time to give up my moisture chamber glasses - if ever!
We are going to New Caledonia for 2 weeks holiday soon - be interesting to see how the flight goes. It is only 2 1/2 hours though. It will be great to snorkel and swim in the warm climate!! It is mid-winter here!
Cheers
Dot

[bernmee]

Dotanne,

Thanks for the reply. I joined this site around the same time I had my last cornea erosions. Within a couple of days I believe I have read every post and bought just about everything from the store. I am on top of this regarding diet, lifestyle change...in other words I eat like a whole grain quenn and no longer have a social life. A small sacrifice to make in oder to avoid pain.

I am so glad that even 4 years post Lasik there is hope. I know I am a newbie, I am giving myself a year, but I need to have a plan B, and I am willing to extend that time if needbe.

I am going to visit my primary care physican about my dry eye and rosecea. Is there a test for meibomian gland dysfunction, that I understand you have now...did you have it pre Lasik? Or maybe you had it but it never bothered you or you never noticed.

My eye looks perfect to look at. With MGD can you say the same. (I read the article your daughter in law wrote and it said they were inflamed). They are not swollen, red or anything. My bad Lasik eye looks the same as my good non Lasik eye, just more tired. Though now that I think about it the eye crease is droppy, which makes it look tired, could this be a sign of something?But I have no redness, and nothing on my eyelid margin.

I have only being living in the States for 6 years and will be making my second only visit to my primary care doctor, and want to go in a little prepared incase I get blinded my science, as I did by my Lasik surgeon before finding this site, and before I knew the correct questions to ask.

Thanks for your time...I would be still in my black hole of despair if it wasn't for the help I have got from this web site.

B.

[Dotanne]

Hi Bernmee
Unfortunately they did not look for MGD before I had Lasik. They did not test for dry eye either. They seem to have this theory that they know all about your eye just by looking at it!!! They did lots of other tests using their machines and I remember having awful trouble trying not to blink when they wanted me to stare at the picture!! I just had to keep blinking!!! I feel that was a sign that I had dry eye.
I found out that I had MGD when the Prof looked at my meibomium glands on the edge of my lids through the slit lamp they use. Dr Latkany describes it well in his book. My Doc said that quite a large number were blocked and that some could be permanently that way but that I should be able to get back nearly to preLasik times with doxy and lid massage. He feels that the glands were blocked before Lasik and the op just tipped me over into DES.
I have bought a magnifying mirror which shows them up as a line of little 'bumps'.
When my eyes were bad they were red in the inside corners - but not bloodshot. It was not noticable but everyone remembers me as always putting in drops and very uncomfortable!!!
I am sure you will get comfort sooner that I did. There is so much info on this site! Get a good diagnosis. Do get Dr Latkany's book too. (Amazon sent it to NZ very quickly!)
Take care
Dot

[mary kenny badami]

Hello again, Dotanne; after all you've been through, that is fabulous news. Congratulations on finding a knowledgeable medical expert who gave you a proper diagnosis and supervised needed treatments and meds. And on persisting in your own daily maintenance routine with such positive results that you're now ready to enjoy your upcoming vacation. Thanks for posting, Dot; your story is a true "dry eye triumph" to inspire us all!

[bernmee]

Thanks again for the post. I too received no dry eye tests pre lasik.

I will demand that my surgeon to confirm that my glands look ok, and get that in my report, that way I will know for sure that I don't have MGD. Last time I asked him about this his response was "oh we all have that to some extent or another". I am being persistant with this surgeon as I paid him $3,000 for Lasik for one eye. I buy my own insurance and my insurance won't cover any treatment with another eye surgeon, so I want to exhaust this surgeon before I move on to another.

On the other hand I will go see a primary care Dr. (that my insurance will cover) and see if I can get help on that end for both MGD and/or Rosecea.

I bought Dr. L's book, along with all the drops and the night goggles the day I found this site. Great and easy read.

Once again thanks. Your experience and sharing your knowledge is priceless for us newbies.

B.