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As some of you already know, I'm another LASIK dry victim, after having LASIK November 2017 at one of the large high street providers here in the UK.
It appears I was already starting my dry eye journey before LASIK!
Currently receiving some good care here in the UK on the NHS. Finished steroids, 3 months into Ikervis and plugs. Making some solid progress.
In an attempt to keep pushing to understand my condition better and move to "healed" and "better", I saw a new consultant/doc Mr. Simon Walker at his private practice https://www.thebestsense.com/.
Mr. Walker has the best attitude and approach I've come across in my journey so far. His bed side manner is excellent, talking to me, not at me and he listens! He's also got nothing to do with LASIK, LASEK, PRK etc, in fact, believes it to be a fundamentally bad idea.
He apologised to me on behalf of his profession for the pain and suffering I've experienced since LASIK.
So what did I learn?
- Definitely got mild anterior blepharitis
- Neurotrophic keratitis left eye not so bad, with only the top right quadrant showing reduced sensitivity. The right eye he could poke all day long with the sharp corner of a tissue, without me reacting! My NHS consultant told me there was nothing wrong with my nerves!
- Oily tear film.
Positives:
- Few dry spots noticed on my eyes.
- Lids a little loose and baggy but not causing issues.
- Close my eye properly, so no issues when asleep.
- Decent observed tear lake.
Tests not done:
- TBUT already told him my numbers, but he feels it's a very subjective measure, which seems a common theme.
- Schirmer test, same opinion.
He was interested in my hormone results from Forth and encouraged me to see my GP for my NHS blood results and pursue the hormone side.
Finally, I'm down to three plugs, having lost the upper one in my right eye. We agreed not to replace it as this eye was causing a little over tearing.
So treatment wise:
- Get on top of blepharitis using Ocusoft scrubs and tea tree facial scrub recommending these in the UK https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/sh...5?skuid=092515 and https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/sh...3?skuid=083623. He also feels controlling Demodex is important!
- Investigate the availability of Oxervat in the UK http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-rel...637622853.html, to treat the neurotrophic keratitis.
- Try and get off the anti depressions, not going to help the dryness, he's the only one who understands the eyes are the issue, my mental health is a symptom of my eye issues.
More interesting opinions:
- Not a fan of serum-based drops or AMT! Told me if he thought that was the answer he'd advise me to use the finger prick method!
- Don't waste your time with a confocal microscopy, it's the surface nerves that are the problem, confocal microscopy won't show those.
Of course, I appreciate all your thoughts and opinions on the above.
It appears I was already starting my dry eye journey before LASIK!
Currently receiving some good care here in the UK on the NHS. Finished steroids, 3 months into Ikervis and plugs. Making some solid progress.
In an attempt to keep pushing to understand my condition better and move to "healed" and "better", I saw a new consultant/doc Mr. Simon Walker at his private practice https://www.thebestsense.com/.
Mr. Walker has the best attitude and approach I've come across in my journey so far. His bed side manner is excellent, talking to me, not at me and he listens! He's also got nothing to do with LASIK, LASEK, PRK etc, in fact, believes it to be a fundamentally bad idea.
He apologised to me on behalf of his profession for the pain and suffering I've experienced since LASIK.
So what did I learn?
- Definitely got mild anterior blepharitis
- Neurotrophic keratitis left eye not so bad, with only the top right quadrant showing reduced sensitivity. The right eye he could poke all day long with the sharp corner of a tissue, without me reacting! My NHS consultant told me there was nothing wrong with my nerves!
- Oily tear film.
Positives:
- Few dry spots noticed on my eyes.
- Lids a little loose and baggy but not causing issues.
- Close my eye properly, so no issues when asleep.
- Decent observed tear lake.
Tests not done:
- TBUT already told him my numbers, but he feels it's a very subjective measure, which seems a common theme.
- Schirmer test, same opinion.
He was interested in my hormone results from Forth and encouraged me to see my GP for my NHS blood results and pursue the hormone side.
Finally, I'm down to three plugs, having lost the upper one in my right eye. We agreed not to replace it as this eye was causing a little over tearing.
So treatment wise:
- Get on top of blepharitis using Ocusoft scrubs and tea tree facial scrub recommending these in the UK https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/sh...5?skuid=092515 and https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/sh...3?skuid=083623. He also feels controlling Demodex is important!
- Investigate the availability of Oxervat in the UK http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-rel...637622853.html, to treat the neurotrophic keratitis.
- Try and get off the anti depressions, not going to help the dryness, he's the only one who understands the eyes are the issue, my mental health is a symptom of my eye issues.
More interesting opinions:
- Not a fan of serum-based drops or AMT! Told me if he thought that was the answer he'd advise me to use the finger prick method!
- Don't waste your time with a confocal microscopy, it's the surface nerves that are the problem, confocal microscopy won't show those.
Of course, I appreciate all your thoughts and opinions on the above.