I need advice from all of YOU (please)

[Margaret]

Hi there! I have introduced myself before but it's been some time. I had Lasik about three months ago and I had moderate dry eye for the first 2.5 months and didn't realize it could get worse. It has. It used to feel like I had a stick in my right eye and sticky eyes, like they were coated well just waiting for the tears to start up. Around two-three weeks ago I started Restasis and found no problems with it for a week and then after that my eyes started to get bone dry, so dry that now I can't hardly write this on the computer, can't drive, etc. i stopped using Restasis and it seemed to get a tiny bit better and at least stabilize. I also think my vision is going. I can't see clearly all the time or seemingly focus on things and it sort of goes in and out of clarity, but mostly out lately so I feel sort of dizzy all the time. I also have small little floaters in my left eye.

A couple of questions:

1. my main issue is sleep. My eyes seem to be "electric" or static or seem to not be able to settle in place at night. I use Muro gel and Azasite at night. Tried to not use them, doesn't seem to help the situation. Anyone have that problem, I don't see it anywhere on the boards.

2. mental. How do you get used to this when it's always changing?! i would like to at least feel like myself again mentally if I can't beat this physically. I've been having anxiety issues and sleep issues and I've never had either before.

3. have you all felt the loss of your tear film like this before, like you had something and then lost it? It's scary to feel like you thought it was bad but now it's worse (how much worse can it get)! i would say my left eye used to be mildly to moderately dry and my right eye moderate to severe. Now I would say both are severe.

4. Am I damaging my eyes at this point by doing any treatments (I'm on Lotemax 4 x a day and Azasite off and on). I go crazy over what I should be doing or not doing or can I do anything at all?!

Thanks for any support you can give me. Like I said right now my main concern is not being able to sleep because my eyes can't settle in well. i would love to hear from someone who has that issue too and what if anything we can do about it.

[dlrstudio]

need advice

Are you using a gel or ointment? That helps me get through most of the night. I get up and put drops in at 3, but that's all.

My vision also goes in and out, my optometrist said it's from the dryness. It makes it really hard to get a good exam. My eye health and vision exam Friday took an hour. But she's very thorough and compassionate. I'm fine with it taking any amount of time, as long as we end up with a decent RX.

[Margaret]

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I use Azasite and Murogel at night. Once I fall asleep I can stay asleep usually, but getting to sleep takes hours at times. It is so blurry right now and I can't focus which scares the bejeezus out of me today, which only increases my anxiety!

Thanks again, and also thanks to Rebecca who has spent time on the phone with me and my husband reassuring us. I just wish i could come to grips with this quickly and move on, but the ever changing symptoms really makes it hard. It's like I calm down and then something taps me on my shoulder, "oh no you don't, not yet" and hits me with something new!

[Shogan]

Hey Margaret,

My symptoms share some similarities with yours. I had lasik in early March of this year and seemed to be alright until the beginning of June. Thats when I started the fight with dry eyes and the changing symptoms and pains.

It first started out as a menthol sensation, then grew into scratchy and gritty feelings accompanied by constant burning. The symptoms changed frequently and still do. Sometimes it'll burn, sometimes it'll be an ache behind my eyes, then scratchy etc.

The best advice I can reiterate from reading this board and reading accounts of others is to:

1) See an opthamologist specializing in dry eye or the cornea.

2) Continue to fight the symptoms with artificial tears, gels and rest.

3) and I think this one really is the key...see how it responds with time; and not time as in days/weeks, but as in months. Yeah I know it sucks to hear "give it time", I really know this, but I've learned the eyes are extremely delicate and have undergone incredible damage with Lasik.

I read somewhere that corneal sensitivity (feeling) comes back quicker than corneal nerve function. Meaning your cornea and eyes start feeling pain earlier than the return of normal functioning corneal nerves. It's hell but you must go to an opthamologist that specializes in corneas or dry eyes. Your Lasik surgeon or lasik doc won't do.

[hopingforacure]

Warm compresses?

Have you tried warm compresses and the home eye spa as recommended by Dr. Latkany? When my eyes are bad I use a compress 2x a day.
I put rice in a knee high, nuke it for 30 seconds then wrap it in a warm,wet cloth diaper (Toys R Us). Hang in there!!!!

[Margaret]

Thanks so much to all of you and your warm replies. Yes, time is all we have anymore isn't it?! I am such a type A personality I keep finding reasons to fight with that and want results NOW! I just went to my doc and they prescribed me Lorazepam for anxiety, Ambien for sleep, and Ultram for any pain. Haven't used any of them yet (actually tried half a pill of Lorazepam and that worked), but will soon I'm sure! I do the warm compress at night and don't know if it works but makes me relax! i also use a meditation ap on my IPod that I'm getting addicted to as well.

My eye surgeon (not my Lasik surgeon) said i might be having muscle spasms in my focusing so he is going to dilate my eyes strongly (temporarily for up to two days). If that is my problem, it will fix it immediately, but he will also be able to see what my floaters are about and what my refraction is (if I'll need glasses again - don't care, give me glasses i'll trade them for my dry eye).

I'm apprehensive because it's one more intervention, but the reasoning sounds good behind it all...
wish me luck!

and thanks again to everyone. We will save each other if no one else will

M

[msienkiewicz]

Be careful with the azasite. That was the most drying thing I ever used. Perhaps it was the azasite and not the restasis. I believe the azasite enhanced my problems.

Just a thought,
Melissa

[Margaret]

Thanks for that thought. Azasite was the first thing my doc gave me and it reduced some of the inflammation over night. After that, it doesn't seem to do much. I don't have MGD (mildly like everyone else in the world is what they all say to me), but they thought it would help the MG's anyway and offer anti-inflammatory properties as well. I still had major inflammation so my doc now has me on Lotemax 4x a day plus the Azasite. That seemed to work for two months and then we decided to try Restasis instead of Lotemaz. So, I added Restasis with the hope of tapering off the Lotemax and within a week everything started going downhill. I don't know if it's any of the drugs or just my eyes changing or a little of both. But, it's scary!

Thanks,
M

[thomps1]

I saw Dr L in June and the one thing he did say was "how about you stop putting all this stuff in your eye and see how it feels" and I have to say....it helped. I was on Alrex, Restasis and they both burned and dried my eyes out further. Stopped both, and things got better. At the same time I had lower AND upper plugs put in. However, you may need a few tries at the plugs before you get the right size that will hold in enough tears. The ones I had put in litterally made my eyes overflow with tears, and still do (small price to pay for now until the healing is done). I think these have finally helped my eyes heal, to the point where my dr yesterday said I no longer have any dry spots in my right eye and only trace amounts in my left (I'm 4 months out of lasik, for the first little while, my eyes were covered in dry spots: ranked 2 out of 4 on the "dry spot" scale that they use).

Anyway, feel free to send me a private message or call if you want to discuss. Knock on wood, I think I'm on the right path. In fact, my dr yesterday said my upper left plug fell out 2 weeks ago and although I noticed my eye was a little drier, it wasn't debilitating.

[Margaret]

I'm seeing Dr. L on Thursday this next week. We'll see what he has to say about my situation. Wish me luck!

Thanks for the tips Thompson1 as well. I tried plugs twice and they just didn't seem to help. What is strange to me is in the beginning I showed no signs of dry eye (as far as spots on my eyes), now I do. they feel much drier now as well. I'm hoping I'll get some more "water" back and then the plugs would help more...

M

[DG65]

....."how about you stop putting all this stuff in your eye and see how it feels".....

I live by this quote as much as I possibly can.

There is a lot of good advice here, Margaret, and let me tell you, you are NOT alone in this! I had Lasik one year ago and not only do I have dry eye but I also suffer from double vision, halos and starbursts but I am also over corrected in the left eye which requires me to wear a contact lens to balance my vision (I am currently being fitted for Sclerals).

I am a bit short on time but I wanted to address a couple issues;


Sleep issues - At first, and still a little to this day from time to time, my eyes feel as though they are trying to focus on something while they are closed. I often have to open my eyes to stop the sensation. Your "settling in place" sensation is how I could describe my sensation. Almost like restless leg disorder for the eyes! This has calmed down and is almost non-existent for me today. Give it time.

Vision changes - You are still fresh from surgery. My vision continued to change for several months. You may see this as a bad thing but keep in mind it can change for the better, also. Let your eyes settle down. My Ophthalmologist (not my surgeon) said, "There will be plenty of time to worry later if need be, give it time".
A completely unprofessional opinion is that you are putting so many things in your eyes, any one of them (or a combination) could be playing with your vision.
As far as not seeing clearly all the time, you didn't say how old you are and age is a player when it comes to how the eye can adjust. My surgery really magnified some age related eye conditions I had that my glasses were ******g. And as far as wearing glasses, I sure wish I could - I have so many problems that glasses can't fix.

Dizzy - I had that quite a bit after my surgery. You didn't say if you had good results following surgery, but I had dizzy spells and still do today if I turn quickly. That will get better, also.

I was about 8 months post-Lasik when my DE really kicked in and I had been on Restasis for a couple months. Since then I have changed my diet and take Omega 3's daily. I don't know if that is what is helping, but life is better. I don't see how you can accurately know what is working for you when you are taking several meds. I ad one change to my routine and give it 2 to 4 weeks to see if it helps or hurts. It's a somewhat slow process but it's the only way I know to tell what is good for "me".

Keep you head up. I was so depressed 1 month post surgery that I missed 2 weeks work and was at the point of taking my own life. God placed strangers in my life that helped walk me through and my family was always there for me. Don't let yourself get so far down that you can't or won't ask for help.

Regards,
Kyle

[Margaret]

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, Kyle. I am scared and I envision two "buckets", one bucket is full of physical issues and the other bucket is full of emotional issues. I have never had emotional issues before so this is very new and scary for me! I'm really, really trying to deal with the emotional. I don't want to add any more "pain" than is needed! It's hard though, isn't it? Anyway, again, thanks very much. I have a friend who is an eye surgeon and he dilated my eyes for two days and that seemed to reset the funny focusing that was going on. Whew for now. I wish I could just move on a bit and not concentrate so much on my eyes every minute. Every three hours would be a big improvement

Thanks again,
Margaret

[DG65]

I believe our emotional condition is every bit as important as our physical condition. I also believe our emotional condition effects our physical condition.

Like I said earlier, don't let this get you so far down that you don't seek support. An understanding family can make a big difference. Sadly, people who I thought were good friends distanced themselves from me. I guess because they didn't know what to do, shoot... maybe they really didn't care, I don't know - to this day they keep their distance....? But it's important to have people you can count on to keep your emotional state steady. It's still a roller coaster ride for me and, yes, I still think about my eyes almost constantly. The only time I really don't think about my eyes is when I'm exercising or working hard in the yard – for some reason that seems to help my eyes enough that the pain level subsides enough that I can keep my mind on what I’m doing.

Sadly, I noticed many posts here have gone unanswered because people don’t have an answer when many times, I feel, the poster just wants some confirmation. Just to know they aren’t going it alone.

Hang in there Margaret, and keep us posted on how you’re doing – there’s also a thread here for that.