Hi I am new to this forum, need some advice.

[Cecilia]

Hi , this is my first post here. Very nice to meet you all!
I have been browsing this forum for weeks and have learned so much about this condition.
I believe I have LASIK induced dry eyes, I had LASIK done 4 years ago, my eyes have been fine , I did have occasional dryness but nothing major ,until about 8 months ago I started to notice a weird feeling after having my eyelash extensions done, I have them removed the next day. But the weird feeling didn't go away. That's when this nightmare started.
I been to 3 specialists, have tried almost everything, plugs, all kinds of artificial tear I can get my hands on, fml, lotemax, honey, clinitas ultra3 (freshkote), none of them give me noticeable improvement. My eyes still have this raw feeling like there's wind blowing in. the only things that helps is day offs from work.

I feel like I am at the end of the rope here. I am so sick of going to expensive doctor appointments only to have them tell me there's not much I can do about my dry eyes. I am considering to travel to japan to try boston sclerals but I am scared it won't work. Because I am very much contact lens intolerant, that's th reason I did LASIK in the first place. I tried Jupiter and synergeyes last week. Didn't work.
I feel so lost. Any advice would be appreciated, I want to know what else I can try.

[Scout]

Hi Cecelia,

Did you see this new study that I posted in the Medical literature forum?

Apparently, the glue that is used in eyelash extensions is highly toxic.

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ash-extensions

Eyelash extension procedures may cause ocular disorders, such as keratoconjunctivitis and allergic blepharitis; indeed, all glues for eyelash extensions analyzed in the present study contained formaldehyde, which can cause keratoconjunctivitis.

Many of us have discovered that when your eyes have a particularly bad reaction to something (allergic reaction, toxic exposure, injury, infection, etc.), the resultant inflammatory reaction may cause your eyes to become highly reactive and highly sensitive and easily irritated for some time after.

In your case, once your eyes had that initial severe reaction (probably to the glue), your eyes may have become sensitive and irritated by substances that you would not normally be sensitive to.

Once the inflammatory cycle begins (for me, it was triggered by a post-surgical infection after LASIK) many things can keep that cycle going—even eye drops and medication that are prescribed to help can be irritating and cause more inflammation.

I like to use the example of a severe sunburn. The sunburn causes your skin to become highly sensitive and reactive. Lotions burn when you apply them and even water from your shower can hurt because the skin is so inflamed and sensitive.

Try using cold compresses in the morning and at night. Then try to discover which drops actually help and which drops cause more irritation.

Then start looking around you. Try to find out which cosmetics, shampoos, fragrances, soaps, lotions, etc., could be making things worse. I found out that a lotion that I had been using for years with no problems now caused irritation that made my eyes red, burning and painful.

It does get better, but for me, removing the substances that kept the inflammatory cycle going was the answer. Changing eye drops, stopping some of the topical medications that contained preservatives and changing most of my cosmetics was also quite helpful.

I hope this helps.

Scout

[bakunin]

I had Lasik done in june 2005 and never had dry eye feeling after (neither before), til 4 monhs ago. It's hard to believe that my case is dry eye induced by Lasik (all cases i have read about are people who had dry eyes immediatly after Lasik). Like mine, i guess your dry eyes were caused by other thing (eyelash for example).

[Cecilia]

Scout,

thanks for your reply!
what a costly mistake it was to do the lash extension
i like your sunburn example, now it makes sense to me why many drops actually make my eyes worst...
in your case how long does it take for your eyes to get better from cold compresses?(i mean after you removed all substances that might have caused inflammation) i have actually tried cold compresses before, i did it for a few days and gave up cause i didn't see much effect. i decided to try it again now, this time i will stop using eyedrops, hopefully it will make a difference.
does your eyes go back to normal condition(or do you still have bad eye days)? i am very worried my eyes would never go back to normal again...
and did topical steriods (fml, lotemax, restasis) do anything to help to calm the inflammation?


Leo, so what caused your dry eye? and what do you do in attempt to make things better?

its nice to talk to people who understand what i am going through.

Cecilia

[bakunin]

Leo, so what caused your dry eye? and what do you do in attempt to make things better?

its nice to talk to people who understand what i am going through.

Cecilia

Hi Cecilia,

I think my dry eyes were caused by a strong and high speed stream of air conditioner which i was exposed for about six months in my workplace. Tomorrow i have an appointment with the fourth ophthalmologist and with my homeopath doctor (which i really trust and keep expectations that will find a solution to my problem).
My dry eyes got worse since the symptoms began in last september. Now-a-days I can't stand wind, fans, air conditioner. The photophobia bothers me either, but compared with the burning feeling, it is a minor problem.
The doctors have prescribe me drops (the usuals, Systane etc., with preservatives). One of them prescribed me 2000mg of flaxseed oil/day.
I really don't know if the drops makes good or harm to me. The relief they give is really questionable. Sometimes i think i'm just droping chemicals im my eyes.
I tried by myself a homeopathic drop made in Brazil called Euphrasia Officinalis, but it didn't work.
I'm using the flaxseed oil since december 9, and 900mg of beta-caroten (i don't know how to spell it in english, sorry). In january 13 i added 2000mg of fish oil. I don't know if those omega-3 supplements are working. I think at least i'm not getting worse in the last weeks.
Since january 6 i'm wearing Wiley-X Airrage to work, and sometimes outdoors. And it alleviates the burning feeling much more than anything i used so far, mainly in the first week i wear it.
I think my symptoms are much worse than my clinical signs. For what i have read and for what i'm experiencing, i think that air conditioner have dryed my eyes, the eyes got inflammed and i went to the vicious circle of inflammations and tear film instability that makes my condition chronicle. I hope i can get out of it as soon as possible, as well as you.

bests

Leo

[Cecilia]

Leo,

I hope your appointment went well. I have the same concern, the effect of all the eye drops i have used are really questionable. most people feel at least a tiny bit better after artificial tears, even if its just for just a few minute. but i dont even get that. drops have zero effect on me. so now a days i thought i might as well not use any drops at all.
I have been taking fish oils for months. cant tell any difference so far. all these trial and error in different things is getting really exhausting.
I have yet to try moisture glasses, they seem to improve comfort for many people. i am thinking about getting a pair, but i work indoor so i cant exactly wear a pair of wiley-x at work. and the clear moisture chambers just look freaky. I am now in search of a pair of normal looking glasses that can cover the entire eye area, i have no luck yet. so does your eyes feel at least close to normal when you're wearing your wiley-X?
hope your new ophthalmologist and homeotherapy helps!

best,

cecilia

[spmcc]

Here's some info on custom moisture chambers made from ordinary glasses.

1) SAAG's posts on her experience and helpful instructions for making custom moisture chambers: SAAG's thread

2) SAAG's blog with links to pictures: SAAG's blog

3) another picture

4) How your optician can make custom moisture chamber glasses: http://www.dryeyepain.com/GG2-MiscGo...o.htm#optician

I have heard that custom moisture chambers made from ordinary glasses don't work as well as WileyXs or 7Eyes with foam seals. However, if you had both and switched between them when at work versus at home, you might have good pain relief (esp from the raw feeling).

[bakunin]

Hi Cecilia,

The first week i wear the wiley-x, my eyes felt close to normal. I keep wearing it at work because i feel much better wearing it where there is air conditioner. It's freaky with the clear lenses, i avoid looking at the mirror when i'm wearing it, but in my case it's worth despite all this. (my wiley-x came from Hong Kong!.. i think they are made in HK).

I had the appointment with a new ophthalmologist last friday (the homeopath was postponed to tomorrow). I like him, and i think he is the one i was looking for. He said drops doesn't work for some people, or in some cases. I was in a good day friday, and my TBUT test was 13 seconds (normal) so he didin't prescribe me any medicine or drop or treatment, and ask me to return when i am in a bad day, so he can do other exams and investigate what is going on. (i think i had good days last week because i was sick, with inflammantion in the throat, but he couldn't think in any correlation with it).

He clearly said that Lasik is a factor in my drye eyes, and that can happens years after Lasik. But he said there is something more than Lasik. From what i have concluded, in my case, Lasik was a necessary but not sufficient factor.

bests

[forrest]

Hi Cecilia,

Would you mind sharing that how big is the Jupiter lens you are tried please? 15 or 18.2mm?

The size of scleral may affect the effect of shielding effect because of area being covered.

Best,
Forrest

[Joseph]

My eyelashes feel sticky and itchy all of the time. I believe this is blepharitis because during flareups the eyelash stuff gets worst for me.. I had lasik in 1999 and my eyes thankfully turned out fine but I do notice that every time I have any eye problems I always think " Oh my God this is do to lasik." lasik can make you hypersensitive to any eye problems..