No more lurking....

[Teri]

Hello everybody!

I've been lurking on this site for some time and feel like I already know some of you. I decided it was time to join the community for real.

I can't thank you all enough for the encouragement, information, anger, pain, despair that you have so honestly shared here. It has been an enourmous help to me.

The short story: I had PRK in January 2007. I had never had the slightest problem with my eyes before the surgery, and, like many of you, I feel I was not well informed of the risks beforehand. I've had dry eyes ever since (insufficient tears, meibomian gland dysfunction, blepharitis, RCEs). I left my job a few months ago because working on a computer all day in a dry, dry office was too hard. I am clinically depressed but getting help (early on, my psychologist told me, "You need an anti-depressant as much as anyone I've ever met.")

I spent a long time feeling alone, went through doctor after doctor, endured tactless and clueless comments from friends and family and coworkers, and, of course, there is the pain.

The good news is that I did find a great ophthalmologist, and he directed my husband and me to this site. He is a big fan of the work Rebecca is doing and wants his patients to be well-informed. I've been seeing him for five months, and my eyes are slowly improving.

Thanks again to all of you for the help you've already given me!
Teri

[tseekid]

Tseekid

Hi Teri,

I had Lasik in April 2007. I did very, very well. I could not get used to the monovision so had my left eye enhanced in October 2007. Downhill ever since with a lot of dry eye syndrome. Very depressing. What has your doctor been advising you to do for your dry eyes??? I'm still hoping that this is not a permanent situation.

Priscille

[Teri]

A wealth of info on this site

Hi Priscille,

I'd recommend reading as much on this site as your eyes will allow.

Also, this checklist is great place to start.

Teri

[Guest]

Teri

I am so pleased that you decided to join us. You will gain so much more from asking questions and joining in than sitting on the sidelines. You will never score a goal if you don't kick the ball.

I assume from another post that you are suffering RCE's after your PRK surgery in January.

Whilst it may be no comfort to you now, January 2007 may seem a world away from where you are now, but it it realatively a short period in respect to your healing. I say that because I have been where you are.

RCE's are an absolute nightmare to deal with, I still deal with them on a regular basis nearly 2.5 years from my surgery but I can assure you that they are not as severe as they once were. Whilst uncomfortable and downright annoying, they are not debiliating these days as they were in the early days.

I guess I am trying to encourage you to hang in there, ask some questions and have a read around the various posts as there may just be somethihng that can help you get to the next step.

Warm regards

Ian (prattstar)

[MyDryEyes]

Hi Terri,

I had PRK in July of 2007 and am suffering from a severe case of chronic dry eyes since. I feel that I was misinformed, like you, of the risks of dry eye. I suspect that I had mild, undiagnosed dry eyes going into the surgery.

It gives me hope to hear that you have had some improvement! I have seen no improvement, so I am feeling a bit scared about my situation.

When did you start seeing your improvement and do you think it has to do with the treatment your are getting from your doctor?

Welcome!!

MDE

[Teri]

Thanks!

Ian and MDE,

Thanks so much for the welcome messages. I've enjoyed reading your posts elsewhere on this site.

Ian, if you'd told me last year that I'd still be feeling this bad in a year or two years, I would've wanted to die. Now, from reading here and doing my own research, I've accepted that I have to hang in there for the long haul and that healing is going to be very slow and not at all linear. I'm sorry that you are still having erosions but glad that they are not as bad. It is difficult to explain the pain to someone who has not had one.

MDE, yes, I think my improvements are a result of the treatments I'm getting. I've assembled a team of five doctors: ophthalmologist, psychologist, psychiatrist, acupuncturist, and family doctor, and they're all tackling parts of this problem. I've experienced a sharp improvement in the last six weeks, and it seems to be holding. I think this improvement is because
1. I've been religiously following my doctor's instructions as to my daily regimen (warm compresses, Lotemax, Restasis, autologous serum (rocks!), Azasite (periodically: one month on, one month off), Genteal Gel, whole-house humidifier, onion goggles at home, Panoptx outside.
2. I switched from fish oil pills to Lovaza one week before my improvement started.
3. I started seeing the acupuncturist right when the improvement started. She's helping my eyes indirectly by addressing anxiety and insomnia, which have plagued me (when you wake up in the middle of the night with erosions often enough, you stop wanting to sleep). For about 15 months, I was averaging <5 hours of sleep per night, and it wasn't continual sleep.
4. Getting my depression under control. My eyes feel worse when I'm stressed, sleep-deprived, and depressed. I started taking Wellbutrin about two weeks before the improvement started.

I think is was an accidental aligning of all of these things that has helped me. I have no idea if it was one more than the others, although, for me, getting a decent night's sleep has made a huge difference. (I'm still not sleeping consistently, but it's improving, too.)

I'm sorry you're suffering. That was one of the more encouraging things (I'm not alone!) and the most distressing things (so many other people are suffering!) about finding this site. As Ian pointed out to me, you are early in your healing. I was told it takes at least 1 year for your nerves to heal after PRK, so hang in there.

Teri

[MyDryEyes]

Teri,

Wow! You are really doing a lot to help yourself. That is great. I am still slowly working on assembling my team of doctors and treatment options. I have discovered that it takes baby steps to treat this horrible, horrible side effect.

I am very interested in autologous drops, so if you have any information for me that would be very helpful.

I know that the healing process is slow. I have seen no improvement, however and it is scary being so close to one year. I have read that corneal nerve healing after PRK can actually take up to two years. Everybody is different, so who really knows how long it can take?!

I am glad to hear that you are sleeping a bit better - the sleep issue is difficult for us dry folks out there.

I am so sorry for all of your suffering!

MDE

[Teri]

autologous serum and healing optimism

MDE,

I have also heard the 2-year comment, but all of the doctors (except my surgeon who kept telling me I'd be "fully healed" in 10 weeks) told me the 1-year thing. I figure there's no reason why I'm in the center of the healing bell curve, so there's no reason why I can't be one of the 2-year or 3-year people.

I don't know if this will make you feel better, but at my 1-year mark, my eyes felt terrible. I mean, that was the worst they've felt so far, except maybe the weeks immediately following the surgery. There is still improvement out there for you!

Autologous serum: I'm sure a lot has been written on this forum already about these drops. You have to find an eye doc to prescribe them, and he or she will know how to get them prepared.

Here is my procedure: About once a month I get blood drawn at the outpatient lab at a hospital. I go to lunch/shopping for a few hours while they spin the blood (to separate out the serum) and take it down to the outpatient pharmacist. He prepares the drops by filtering the serum and diluting it with sterile saline (I think). He pipes the drops into small bottles that I have to keep in my freezer until I need them. The bottle that I'm currently using has to be kept refrigerated and only lasts about 5 days (after that, he says, the cells in the serum begin to break down and they won't be effective).

I started using them in January. At that time, I was using about 2-4 vials of artificial tears per day. Now, I only use the serum four times a day. I don't use any other artificial tears (except Genteal gel at bedtime). My eyes still hurt and feel dry throughout the day, but not so much that I resort to more drops. I just use a warm compress and sit with my eyes closed until they feel better. Or I think of something incredibly sad and cry.

Teri