Starbursts and ghosting, dry eye sensation without actual dryness.. HELP

[phenix01]

Hello

Had lasik a year ago. 3 months post lasik, starbursts appeared and never left since.
Starbursts appeared while I started to sense discomfort, although my docs tell me (lasik doc + second opinion doc) that my eyes aren't dry.
But I do feel discomfort. My eyes hurt when I used the computer.
Visual symptoms: starbursts shooting downwards mostly, present at night but also during the day with very bright lights. I also have ghosting.

My doc made me do some tests and says there is no HOA, and cannot tell me why I have the visual symptoms.
Doc also told me that my tears evaporate in 6 seconds which is a bit low. Could my problems be due to tear film issue?
I have been on restasis for 4 months, not much improvement to my situation. Another weird thing is my eyes feel dry when I wake up, after a long night sleep..

HELP! The visual symptoms are making my life sad.

[dede29]

As I told you before, well fitted "lasik" RGPs may mask your symptoms.

[phenix01]

I appreciate the input and will be looking into that but before I'm hoping for advice on a solution to the problem instead of a fix to the problem.
I've read about ghosting and it is usually tied to dryness. My tear breakup time being 6 seconds, I am wondering if this could be the problem (although docs say my eyes aren't dry yet it feels dry), and if something can be done about it or if lasik impaired my tear production forever.
I'm curious to know if lipiflow is worth a shot?

[dede29]

I myself ended up with Star Bursts (pointing downwards) and lots of ghosting. This happened more or less when I got dry eyes (was not symptomatic at this point in time, 2-3 months later I have developed severe dry eyes). I never had any Lasik done. RGPs did not fix my problem. On one hand this is indicative that the tear film itself is not the main issue, but on the other hand it just must be related...

Solution? There is none for me. Fix only? There is none for me, as well. Did LipiFlow fix my issues? No.
Will it be a fix for you? No one including yourself will be able to answer this before you actually try. But if you say eye drops do not fix your visual symptoms, then it is unlikely that LipiFlow (just my opinion, can be of course wrong) will fix your HOA, but of course it can improve your dryness.

[phenix01]

What you are describing is very similar to what happened to me.
It is annoying that there seem to be no solution.. my docs can't even tell me what cause this.

[sophie0416]

I recommend a meibography. And to consult a dry eye specialist; I visited more than 6 doctors myself and they all told me me glands were fine and they didn't know why I had dry eyes. I visited an specialist, did a meibography and my glands are suuuper atrophied.

[dede29]

sophie0416 : Do you also experience Star Bursts or Ghosting with your dry eyes? Does actually someone else have this problem?

[phenix01]

sophie0416, in addition to dede29's question, what did the specialist tell you to do? Was there any solution to the problem?

Is there a name for such specialist?

[dede29]

phenix01 do you have some examples how it looks like for you?

[phenix01]

The visual symptoms? Big stars which are longer on the bottom side. I see those even when my pupils aren't dilated. For example when I drive, I can see in my mirror that my pupil isn't dilated because of oncoming traffic lights, yet I do see starbursts to some extent. If there is no oncoming traffic lights, the bursts become huge.

I also notice that the farther away the light is, the worst it is.

With regards to ghosting, anytime there is a non-luminous pale object (white or grey mainly) on top of a dark background, I will see this object double itself towards the bottom. This is also true for white letters on a black background on TV.

I also feel like **** on most days because my eyes feel dry. Very annoying thanks to Lasik!

[dede29]

have exactly the same symptoms. have you dome some corneal topography?

[phenix01]

I've been to one doctor which did a wavefront test which noted strong anomalies. I have afterwards been to lasik which did a test for HOA and according to them everything was normal. I'm just confused at this point, but the symptoms started 3 months after lasik when I started to feel dry eyes.

I'll try to find a dry eyes expert.

[dede29]

I suggest that you
get a corneal topography (pentacam or orbscan)
your Lasik doc will of course never ever admit to you that something is wrong

[sophie0416]

phenix01 and dede29 :

I do see starbusts but I mean this was even before my dry eye, I think it's because of my astigmatism.

And just google: dry eye specialist near me

I used this website: https://dryeyeandmgd.com/find-a-doctor/

And btw, he told me I have MGD, which can't be cured, YUP, I cried like a baby that week.

[phenix01]

dede29,

Our symptoms look like some form of corneal neuropathy. Look it up..

https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/a...eal-neuropathy