I just really want to vent about my recent Lasik experience and dry eye. Can’t find anyone to relate to. (Denver: buying, allergy)

[ShipwreckSiren]

Originally Posted by sleeket

I'm sorry this happened to you, and I can relate! I had Lasik 2 years ago and have had a very similar experience. I developed dry eye afterward, which I still deal with, though it's improved from how bad it was initially. Interesting to note that I had also had (still have...) astigmatism in my left eye. That eye was never clear after the surgery, even though my eye doctor told me it would get clear eventually (it didn't). And I eventually got glasses again because my eyes are just blurry enough that it's hard to clearly see my computer screen. I don't absolutely need them, but they help, and I find I like wearing glasses anyway, so at least there's that. Mentally my outlook has improved, as I've gotten used to the idea that my eyes are now like this, though things were depressing for a while, simply because it's such a big change.

I'm also perplexed and aggravated by all the people I've talked to who have had Lasik and who say how great it is, and how they immediately had clear vision, and apparently haven't had any problems.

Like other people are saying, it's very possible your vision will continue to stabilize. I had a "soft glow" around everything for about a year that finally went away, which was attributed to a poor quality tear film. But I still have issues with glare from headlights while driving at night. I'm thinking of getting night-driving glasses for that, which I've heard can help but I'm not entirely sure.

Get a humidifier, especially since you live in a dry climate. That will help. Also, look up "blinking exercises" and do them once an hour, especially while using a computer. These will force your eyes to make some tears.

Something you might want to look into is called autologous serum eye drops. These are eye drops made out of your own blood serum (weird, right?) and they are most beneficial right now while your corneal nerves are still healing and regenerating. If you wait longer, say a year after the procedure, you will pass your "window" so to speak. Most doctors will not even suggest these eye drops and you'll learn you need to be adamant and demand what you need. Do lots of research on those eye drops I just mentioned, and dry eye in general. Educate yourself.

There are a variety of treatments for your symptoms, many of which you can do at home. Warm compresses twice a day help, as they get your meibomian glands flowing. Preservative-free eye drops are good. I eventually weaned myself off of them because I didn't want to feel like I was becoming dependent on them. I use pure saline drops instead, maybe once a day.

I recommend checking out this website, which is a great resource for dry eye and related conditions: Forums - Dry Eye Zone Forums

Anyway, just thought I'd share, to let you know you're not the only one! Sucks that Lasik doesn't live up to the hype. It makes me angry, honestly. Everyone's recovery is different, so things could always change for you.

Yes!!! It makes me disappointed that I didn’t get the amazing outcome everyone raves about but I’m trying to remind myself to be grateful that something worse didn’t happen. Did you ever consider an enhancement? My doctor said we can consider that after many months if I’m still not happy. He said some people don’t get to right place the first time and have to. I’m tryinf to be positive and say well maybe he took less cornea just in case rather than overcorrect me. Who knows. A coworker said he needed two surgeries because when his eyes healed the first time he became blurry because his eye was under where it should have been. He said he had the second touch up and has been fine ever since

Haven’t heard of those drops but will research! They sound expensive though

[ShipwreckSiren]

Originally Posted by sleeket

Lasik is a huge money-making industry, and doctors will avoid saying anything bad about it. I've had the same experience, where eye doctors either downplay the symptoms I'm telling them about or flat out lie to me! Makes me so mad.

I would recommend looking for a cornea specialist, or even a dry-eye specialist if you can find one. Someone who doesn't have a vested interest in Lasik.

I remember they were trying to sell me on a procedure called LipiFlow while I was doing my free consultation. Like they knew in advance I was going to have issues with dry eye after the procedure. It's all about making money.

The surgeon that performed my surgery was a corneal specialist in private practice. He mostly does cataract surgeries but also does PRK, Lasik, Implantable Contact lens, cornea replacement etc. he’s performed surgeries on several famous people and athletes and has pictures with them that are signed thanking him for the outcome around his office etc. I tried to definitely go to a qualified person so idk why mine is different. I don’t think the doctor is a charlatan but idk why mine is different

[daprara]

Wife had Lasic and I had PRK, all done ~1999. Did the research at the time and we flew up to British Columbia where we determined the best care was to be had:
-I had PRK and it was painful. Took MUCH longer to heal than Lasic and lots more medications. Insufficient cornea thickness for Lasic.
-My wife had Lasic tho and her procedure was healed in a few days.

During that time in my life i was into mountain hiking. I was impressed how sharp images became and the colors were much more vivid.

through the course of years our eyesight remained consistent.

[sleeket]

Originally Posted by ShipwreckSiren

Yes!!! It makes me disappointed that I didn’t get the amazing outcome everyone raves about but I’m trying to remind myself to be grateful that something worse didn’t happen.

I know! I guess we're the "lucky" ones. Lol I've heard that people with a poor Lasik outcome had a previously unknown eye condition that didn't reveal itself until after the procedure. I had gotten to the point where I couldn't tolerate contact lenses anymore, which should have been a big clue something was up with my eyes. Yet I was deemed a good candidate.

Originally Posted by ShipwreckSiren

YDid you ever consider an enhancement? My doctor said we can consider that after many months if I’m still not happy.

Definitely not, unfortunately. It's very risky because it involves moving the flap again, and the flap is what causes the majority of problems with Lasik. That's why PRK is a much safer route than Lasik, because they don't cut a flap. Oh, the things I wish I had known beforehand! I would much rather live with blurry vision, which is a correctable problem, than risk having even worse things happen to my eyes that are not correctable.

Originally Posted by ShipwreckSiren

Haven’t heard of those drops but will research! They sound expensive though

They are, and they're not covered by insurance. I tried them a year ago and they cost me $300. They helped a little I think? When they made the drops they used a low ratio of serum, only 20% serum to 80% saline. In hindsight I would have wanted a higher percentage of serum. However, apparently too high a concentration of serum can actually be damaging to your eyes. Why the serum is beneficial is because it contains nerve growth factor.

[Phil P]

I had lasik in October of 2017 here in Denver. The first week really sucks, no way around it. The first month afterwards I still didn't see very clearly and had to put in drops every couple hours. By the end of the 3 month period, I only used drops occasionally and I could basically return to normal. By the end of 6 months, I stopped using them.

The dry air does make it worse. Make sure you have a humidifier since that will make waking up in the morning so much nicer. Thankfully with the moisture, this summer should have a higher humidity than normal.

After 1 year, you will be so glad you did it. My eyes are just as good as they were before the surgery, except I always have clear vision. It took about a year for the halos and starbursts at night to finally go away. Lasik is expensive, but you save on not buying glasses or contacts. The biggest investment to me was the recovery time... This thread brought back memories of the pain :\, but it was definitely worth it, and probably better for your eyes in the long run than touching them all the time with contacts.

[gus2]

I had mine about 10 years ago and felt like you did. Immediately after the surgery, the doctor told me to look out the window, but everything was crazy blurry. I was terrified that I had just ruined my vision permanently. As others said, it took a while to heal completely, and I wasn't super impressed with night vision improvements. I still use saline eye drops every morning because my eyes are very dry after sleeping.

Even with the initial difficulties and the long-term dryness, it has been awesome! Huge quality of life improvement.

[NorthDenverGirl]

I had Lasik and ended up with dry eye. I was so scared that I had screwed my eyes up for good. I ended up getting off all of my allergy meds for a while and it took about a month but it improved greatly. I still get vision that is a little blurry here and there when I am on Zyrtec or spend too much time looking at a screen but overall it has been 8 years and my eyes are much better then they were prior to surgery. Use lots of very heavy eye drops and rest them whenever you can.

[Westerner92]

I'm wondering if your experience is related to allergies at all. They seem much worse this spring than they usually are. I'm planning on getting LASIK in the next couple months, but given how much allergies have been bothering my eyes, I'm thinking it was a good idea to hold off.

[orbiter]

Originally Posted by daprara

Wife had Lasic and I had PRK, all done ~1999. Did the research at the time and we flew up to British Columbia where we determined the best care was to be had:
-I had PRK and it was painful. Took MUCH longer to heal than Lasic and lots more medications. Insufficient cornea thickness for Lasic.
-My wife had Lasic tho and her procedure was healed in a few days.

During that time in my life i was into mountain hiking. I was impressed how sharp images became and the colors were much more vivid.

through the course of years our eyesight remained consistent.

That was nearly 20 years ago! And you never had to do a retouch!
Is that clinic still around today?

[Timmyy]

I am sorry for your experience and I hope it gets better. I had LASIK almost 5 years ago and it has exceeded my expectations.