Haven't posted in over a year.....

[bean]

Hi All,
I haven't posted in a long time, so I thought I would re-introduce myself.
I am a 34 year old woman who has had fairly bad dry eyes, with a sudden onset just over 3 years ago. I have been to 4 different eye Drs and none has really given me an answer of why they think that this has happened. I was living in Colorado, but have recently moved to Chicago area. Last time I was at the eye Doc (in CO) for a checkup he mentioned to me that maybe I should think about laser correction (which he and his office do NOT do). He knows I am very unhappy in my glasses because I am active in outdoor sports as a job (skiing). His thought was to have the surgery while I was living somewhere more humid and then hopefully my eyes will be better when I get back to Colorado in a few years. What do you guys think about this? I am trying to find someone to see in Chicago, but have to get my health insurance figured out first.
Thanks for any input!
bean

[Lucy]

Bean, this whole website is because of dry eye which was caused by Lasik. Rebecca and many others, including me, had Lasik years ago and are very sorry we had Lasik. The dryness can stay with you forever.

Read through the posts a bit. I'm surprised you have been here before and didn't realize this was the wrong place to come to for good words on refractive surgery. If you have dry eye now, or in the past, it's likely to revisit with a vengeance after.

I don't doubt you can find a doctor who will do the surgery. You just need to have the right amount of cash and they'll fix you up. Many of the optometrists who "tell you about Lasik surgery and you should see someone" do get a healthy kickback from the surgeon. This has been a fact openly discussed for more than a decade. Please read some more in the open forum. Lucy

[Aaron77]

I had lasik surgery 2 years ago and have had non stop dry eye pain and headaches ever since, I can no longer work on computers and have a terrible time with my vision at night - it was the worst mistake of my life, I strongly recommend against the surgery!

[bean]

Thanks for the thoughts. I have read a lot of posts here and just wondered if anyone has had surgery and not gotten worse. I guess I know deep down that it may well make things worse, but I guess it just seems like if my dry eye stayed the same and my vision was corrected, I would have a lot less to deal with. I guess I just needed you guys to tell me what I already know. Thanks for your concern.

[Guest]

Hi Bean,

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents... prior to LASIK, my eyes were dry if I wore contacts... but as long as I did not wear contacts, I was fine, and could do anything. My surgeon believed that since I was merely "allergic" to contact lenses and did not have true dry eye that I was a great candidate for LASIK and would be just fine.

So, I had LASIK. It ruined life as I knew it. I'm now just trying to pick up as many pieces as I can, get on with my life and try to be happy despite the hell my eyes have put me through. At this time, I would not be capable of working full time, and I currently spend about $500+ per month on eye treatments - this totals $6000 per year on my eyes alone.

$120/mo for Restasis
$150/mo for pilocarpine tabs
$150/mo for Bion Tears (2 vials am and pm to flush out eyes after warm compresses/gland expression), and 2 vials overnight
$30/mo for doxycycline
$20-30/mo. on ointment for overnight
$23/mo for serum drops

Not to mention all of the miscellaneous expenses that pop up here and there: $650 for custom moisture chamber glasses in the summer, 6 IPL treatments at $250 each... etc.

And, to add salt to the wound, although my vision is now perfect, I wear glasses 24/7 anyways (in the form of moisture chambers). So much for LASIK freeing me from glasses.

Anyhow, you could be one of the lucky ones and come out of LASIK just fine... but from where I'm sitting, it's just not worth the risk. Keep your glasses... be happy... don't complicate your life with LASIK.

Take care!

[bean]

Thanks SAAG, good for me to look at it that way as well. I too spend a lot of $ and time a month to keep things under control with my dry eye. I do take for granted that I am able to work full-time in health care, and don't know what I would do if I couldn't do that anymore. No lasers for me! Bad to even consider-Thanks.

[Guest]

I can totally relate to wanting to believe you'd be ok... LASIK is SOOOO tempting!! But I think you're doing the right thing by not taking the plunge... especially since you already have eye issues going on!

[Lucy]

I had to quit working because of Lasik and go on disability because my vision was bad and I kept making mistakes. Also extreme dry eye. Lucy

[Rebecca Petris]

I think that for a lot of people with dry eye (who haven't spent much time on DEZ or D'Eyealogues) they hear that dry eye can be a side effect and since up to that point they think they know what dry eye IS, they figure, "Well, I've already got it, how much worse can it get? At least I'll be able to see!"

Of course in some cases it actually turns out like they expect. Not everyone has the same triggers. But then there are all the other cases. Most of them, considering the information provided in the practice where they got LASIK or even a second opinion, truly had no way of knowing how much worse dry eye really can get.

So I'm always really heartened when someone hears the warning and heeds it. I hate to see this happen to people needlessly.

[Guest]

I think that for a lot of people with dry eye (who haven't spent much time on DEZ or D'Eyealogues) they hear that dry eye can be a side effect and since up to that point they think they know what dry eye IS, they figure, "Well, I've already got it, how much worse can it get? At least I'll be able to see!"

... Most of them, considering the information provided in the practice where they got LASIK or even a second opinion, truly had no way of knowing how much worse dry eye really can get.

You've said it perfectly Rebecca! Most people (both docs and laypeople) just cannot fathom how much severe dry eyes can affect a person until they've experienced it. You think all you'd have to do is put in drops and you'd be fine... So it really does make it seem like LASIK and any possible dry eye wouldn't be all that big a deal. Hopefully the word will get out to more people that this just isn't so.

[bean]

I agree, I have thought recently that I already have dry eyes so how much worse can it get post-lasik? But I do remember before I got my dry eyes to the point they are at now how I was living with pain all the time, and that was leading to depression over the situation etc. I would hate to go back there, I need to focus on how much better I have gotten with hot compresses, gel, fish oil and exercise and try to embrace the glasses

[Guest]

It always gives me hope when someone ways they were in such pain all the time and now things are under control, and so much better. Not that I'm in pain all the time anymore, but I figure that since I still wear moisture chambers pretty much 24/7 to prevent that, and still have to be careful about where and how much I work to keep them that way, I'd like to think I can get to the point of no longer having to do that! /crossing fingers Plus, I'd really really like to be at the point where I can work as much as full time without worrying about whether or not my eyes can handle a particular location or workload... I'd so like to be FREEEEEEEEEE!!!!