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

[diydry]

Thanks for the info. Can you provide a link to the eye drop you use? Is it an American product or what? I will have to ask my doctor about allergies to see what her experience is with that. I looked for the quote from your post above (“I developed starbursts...”) but I couldn’t find it in the link you provided.

[Rebecca Petris]

MI would never do Lasik twice (not even once with what I know now) but PRK seems fine. PRK is simply not used as much as Lasik since it cannot provide correction for people with big prescriptions.

They all seem fine till you become one of the minority with problems. Statistically, for sure it's better. But it's all relative, and for sure, if I know someone is clearly hellbent on laser surgery, my first concern will be to direct them to the lesser of two evils.

[ebi1368]

The visual symptoms I am experiencing is kind of astigmatism that can not be corrected with glasses (irregular astigmatism). Unfortunately, my doctor is not that knowledgeable in dry eye.

Also, the second link I shared is from the lady who posted in this forum (second link) had all the symptoms I have. She had lasik 5 years before this happened. I am not sure if CAC is my problem but I started using Hylo Allergy lubricant eye drop instead of typical eye drop. I will see how it goes before trying Scleral lens.

"I developed starburst, glare etc. about six months ago when my dry eye symptoms began. It was quite terrifying because I noticed them getting bigger and bigger by the week. My doctor suggested it is due to unstable/poor tearfilm. I'm also quite convinced this is due to DE symptoms.

I can very much relate to the white/black problem. Subtitles in tv for example are very bad. Unfortunately I think there is not much to do with it. I have read that RGP öenses might be helpful, but due to my dry eye it is not possible for me to even try them."

[diydry]

Just to reiterate what others have said, I would definitely at least look into a good scleral lens before even thinking about PRK or another refractive surgery. They are really not that bad. Dr. G in Texas has all kinds of testimonials of LASIK/PRK patients with screwed up vision who even get 20/15 vision and no distortions with the lens. I have not used his lens technology personally but I'm mentioning it because others on the forum have recommended him as a great option and his website has many stories of people similar to you: https://laserfitlens.com/patient-stories/

As for CAC, thanks for sharing that article and the link from the forum. I really don't know anything about that unfortunately! Has your doctor mentioned CAC or allergies to you? I'm not sure the visual aberrations (blurriness/ghosting) you're experiencing are "astigmatism," remember normal astigmatism can be corrected with glasses/contacts.

Anyway, no doctor has mentioned allergies to me as a factor in my dry eye personally. I've asked about allergy drops in the past since I know some people on these forums use them, but doctors tell me it's not allergies since my eyes aren't that itchy. Although it is strange since my symptoms also got bad shortly after moving into a crummy old apartment (although I also had LASIK a few weeks before so too much happening). Years ago I had a pinprick allergy test on my arm and found I was mildly allergic to dust, but I do not know what if any clinical significance that has.

[ebi1368]

diydry
@phenix1
I just came across this article today.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22827184

"Astigmatism, heterophoria and photosensitization may also be triggering agents for the appearance of symptoms of an authentic CAC in an atopic patient."

I remember the day my dry eye appears when I just moved to this new old apartment. Actually, when I was signing the contract, my eyelid gets red and then the next day it all started.

"In most cases it indicates an allergy to house dust and/or mites."

I remember it did not respond to anything and then after a month and in one night, visual symptoms started. I also consider myself atopic because whenever a bee bites me, my body gets inflamed for weeks. All vision problem we have is related to astigmatism and it does not make sense to me to have all these visual symptoms when wave front and corneal topography does not show anything. My vision is so bad that it should definitely be recognized by all these fancy device.

It could be all coincident but I would love to hear from you guys as I think we have the same symptoms.

Here is the post link of one person with this problem in this forum
http://forum.dryeyezone.com/forum/dr...-eyes-my-story

[dede29]

Honestly: It seems to be a really poor idea of doing PRK. You may entirely screw up your eyes. I do not recommend it, since I remember reading about similar problems regarding PRK. It's plastic surgery. This means the outcome is unpredictable regardless of what the advertisements say.

I would also rather try to fix your issue with Sclerals.

Yeah, I don't ike the position I'm in but my vision is really bad... I wish I could go back in time and undo lasik.

I would just suggest trying a lens first. If it doesn’t work out, then have the surgery. It’s your life, you know what’s best for you. Id just hate for this to complicate your life further.

Your issue may not be related to lasik. I had a corneal abrasion, then this all started. So I’m thinking, my problem is this damage, like a prk patient. As I’m coming to learn more about my eyes, it seems I have floppy eyelid syndrome and the damage just exposed this issue with my lids. A debridement will not fix this, because the issue isn’t with the cornea.

You may have a similar issue. You could have a lid issue and the surgery exposed the problem. Let’s just assume this is correct for a moment. Because it’s totally plausible. Then PRK isn’t going to fix this. It will make it worse.

I could also be wrong and you could be right. That’s why I can’t give you much advise other than to tread lightly until you have a diagnosis.

[phenix01]

It’s your life, your eyes...but I would NEVER get another surgery unless medically necessary. If I could direct my issue with glasses or a lens, I would do that.

Yeah, I don't ike the position I'm in but my vision is really bad... I wish I could go back in time and undo lasik.

[phenix01]

PRK cuts the nerves too but they grow faster than lasik.

Since you have better film, have you noticed slightest change in ghosting and etc. ?

no change at all

My understanding is thet PRK is actually much less risky than Lasik, it doesn't cut nerves since it doesn't create a flap. I would never do Lasik twice (not even once with what I know now) but PRK seems fine. PRK is simply not used as much as Lasik since it cannot provide correction for people with big prescriptions.

It’s your life, your eyes...but I would NEVER get another surgery unless medically necessary. If I could direct my issue with glasses or a lens, I would do that.

[ebi1368]

PRK cuts the nerves too but they grow faster than lasik.

Since you have better film, have you noticed slightest change in ghosting and etc. ?

[phenix01]

My understanding is thet PRK is actually much less risky than Lasik, it doesn't cut nerves since it doesn't create a flap. I would never do Lasik twice (not even once with what I know now) but PRK seems fine. PRK is simply not used as much as Lasik since it cannot provide correction for people with big prescriptions.

[quattroboy]

For me glands were blocked and the oil that I produce was good (olive-oil like). Apparently fish oil can help to make your oil smoother.

Not sure how long you need to wait for PRK to be done after Lasik. I'm also not sure what causes these irregularities. For me my view was perfect right after lasik and irregularities showe up 3-4 months after. What I get from this is it takes time before it is all settled down, and intuitively I'd want it to stop moving before I get PRK. With that in mind, waiting one year may be safe imo.

Under no circumstances have any further laser eye surgery of any description!!!!

The risks of complications are much higher the second time around.

The Facebook group LASIK complications is full of people who had second procedures (LASIK,LASEK,PRK etc), who are now in a very bad place!!!!

[diydry]

Agree, useful info here.

Are you sure it’s a good idea to do prk after lasik? Prk can also cause horrible dry eyes and other eye problems. I think PRK is risky just like lasik is. Many people on this site come here after PRK. Instead you might considering looking into a good scleral lens from someone like Dr. G who states on his website that visual distortions can be improved by using the lens.

I will definitely ask my doctor about probing because we sound incredibly similar! No problems until 2 months after lasik and thin oils but blocked glands. Unfortunately of multiple doctors (6+? 10+?) not one has so much as mentioned it to me so I will have to see what my doctors think...

Blinking: I'm not sure, lipiview said I blink ok, but to be faire when I'm asked to blink, of course I'll pay more attention to my blinking so I feel like the test is flawed. It does not catch me blinking in front of my computer for instance.

Compress: Yes, he says once a day for life. I might end up doing it once every other day.. To be fair when it comes to warm compress every Dr says something different. Some say to massage after, some say not to. Some say do blinking exercises, some say those are useless. I've heard about everything. I don't feel oil flowing when I do the compress but it feels good for sure.

GLA: what is it?

Clogging: doctor only did examination, he did not seem to worried about scarring or fibrosis.

I now need to solve my ghosting problem, so much trouble thanks to Lasik. I can't believe the FDA allows this non-sense.

I think hot compress recommendations vary for a reason. Honestly, the hot compress is such an art form to master. Before doxy and steroids, my oil was so thick I had to heat my compress to 45-47C and do it a minimum 15-25 mins. Now being on doxy and methylpred for a month, I can tell my oil is thinner for a lot of reasons. So I had to adjust my compress because 45C is way too hot now. So now, I’m at 40-42C for 10-15 mins max. It doesn’t seem like a big difference, but it is. AND lowering the temp on my mask has allowed my cornea to heal better. So overall things are moving in a good direction. My point is...what’s good for me a month ago isn’t good for me now. The same, I assume, would apply to other patients. What’s good for me isn’t good for you.

Which brings up a huge point...these doctors can direct you, but you have to hone in and find what specifically works for you. For example, i was told I sleep eyes open, I need eye shields and ointment at night. So I started there...but I was allergic to most ointment, until I found that almost all brands contain lanolin. The only one I can use that doesn’t have lanolin is soothe pm. The shields the doc gave me had holes in them. So I started looking for sealed bubble bandages...went through three brands before I found one that keeps the eye shut and doesn’t bother my skin. Had I not been persistent...I would have just grown frustrated because nothing seemed to work. Same with drops..I have used literally every single drop known to man. I settled on theratears because it seemed to be the best. But it was far from perfect. Felt great on my cornea, but my lids would burn a bit. So I tried one more brand, oasis tears plus. Finally I found a drop I’m not allergic to in any way, it’s comfortable and really hydrated the ocular surface if I apply the drop and close my eyes a few minutes. It’s not just a surface lubricant, it hydrated. i hope you find some more answers and I hope the probing worked out!