Dry eye and anxiety after ICL surgery

[Chris92]

I am a 30 year old research scientist and I had been contemplating refractive surgery for several years but always refrained from it as I had read horrible stories about peoples lives being ruined by LASIK surgery. When I heard an read about the alternative to LASIK of ICL surgery, I was initially thrilled as it finally promised a live without the hassle of contacts or glasses, while not inducing dry eye syndrome. As a former wearer of soft contact lenses I knew the feeling of dry eyes after wearing contacts for a long day. That was something I did not want to take my chances on to permanently endure. While wearing glasses I never had any problems with dry eye whatsoever. My ICL surgery had complications leaving me with a deformed and damaged iris in my left eye causing me significant distress, anger and fear since the first days after the surgery. Over the following weeks I noticed that my eyes were constantly dry and in pain and while first hoping this would be short-lived and transient, it has been getting worse over time. I really felt brushed off at the surgery center with my problems and concerns as for them everything is fine, as on paper the refractive outcome was achieved. This made me quite desperate and furious as I just felt like being treated as an annoying liability for them. After a having consultation with a deeply caring local ophthalmologist (thank you!) , who would actually listened to my concerns, I am currently waiting for a transfer to a large university clinic. A Schirmer test with 4 and 5 mm confirmed, that I am indeed suffering of dry eye syndrome. I was prescribed Ikervis and got a recommendation for punctum plugs. I noticed that my eyes don't tear anymore while cutting onions or being exposed to wind, they just burn very painfully. I fear that I have acquired irreparable damage to the nerves in my cornea due to the large, deep surgical incisions which are very similar to cataract surgery. This endeavour is taking a huge psychological and financial toll on me. At the moment I am consumed by deep feelings of guilt and regret of having carelessly sacrificed the health of my eyes by putting to much trust in the promises of the refractive industry. I should have independently informed myself better and more diligently. Apart of constant dry eye, I am now suffering of debilitating, glare, halos and floaters (PVD after surgery), which makes me think about my eyes constantly every minute. I now have to take lubricating eye drops every 30 minutes. Only few friends know about the extend of my pain and suffering as I mostly try to hide it. I have not disclosed what happened to me to my family yet, as I don't want to put this burden onto them and honestly I am horribly ashamed of my stupid decision to have refractive surgery. They nevertheless feel that something is seriously wrong with me as I barley find the strength to call them on the phone or meet up with them any more. I lost most of my productivity and joy at work and in my private live as I am thinking about my eyes every minute, constantly researching for information about what I can do about it. While I used to be an very positive, active and and outgoing person doing a lot of outdoor-sports, I am not any more and my live is a real mess. I am really thankful to have found this forum, as It made me learn that I am not completely in for myself in my suffering. For weeks I truly felt like the living dead. At the moment I am dreading at the prospect about having to have surgery on my eyes again to get my iris fixed and possibly my ICLs explanted, in order to get at least rid of some of my debilitating symptoms. Reading the dry eye stories here has restored some hope in me, that I might be able to live a more or less normal live again in the future. I will probably look into getting fit sclearal lenses. Thank you all for writing down your inspiring experiences as well as tips and tricks and that helped you,

[Hopeinthedark]

Hi Chris. I am sorry to hear that you are suffering with dry eyes and other eye related issues. I feel your pain. I am also in the same boat. I regret the decision of undergoing Lasik in 2018. It is very difficult to let go the guilt. I am trying to work on my mind to keep my focus away from my eyes as much as possible. Regarding the dryness, I still am struggling but I am hopeful that I will find relief one day. it is just my faith that I have achieved over the course of last 4 years. It is good that you will be seeing an eye specialist. Until you see an eye doctor, keep your eyes well lubricated at all times. Avoid any warm compress because they can exacerbate the inflammation. You can do cold compress if you feel like doing it. Eat healthy. Drink a lot of water everyday. Clean your eye lids with pure Hypochlorous acid everyday. I use BIHOCL daily morning and night. My eye doctor said I can use it whenever I want during the day. Please have faith that YOU WILL GET BETTER. You just have to find a good eye doctor who understands dry eye and the causes of dry eyes. I wish you all the best. Let us know when you have an update about your eyes.

[Chris92]

Hello Hopeinthedark,
thanks for your recommendations and words of encouragement. I have been on Ikervis 2x/day for about four weeks now and it has brought some relief with the worst dryness. After consulting a large university clinic eye hospital, I am now scheduled for explantation of the ICL in November, as the lenses that have been implanted are too large and I am at high risk of an angle-block glaucoma. In January I am planning to visit a specialist for scleral lenses after my vision has stabilized. Perhaps I will have to get a scleral lens with an iris print to deal with the iris defect in my left eye, as suturing of my iris at ICL explantation was deemed to risky by the clinic. I wonder if serum eye drops might be of help in my case of dryness as they might encourage the restoration of some of the nerves cut during the surgeries. While I still think about my eyes quite constantly, at least I have a path forward now and I sincerely hope that I will be spared even more damage to my vision.

[jmxmj]

Hi Chris92, any update? Hope you are doing better.