Hello my fellow dry eye sufferers. I just wanted to let you know that, a year, one month and 3 weeks after my surgery, I may be kicking the dry eye issue. I still have really, almost painfully dry eyes first thing in the AM when I get out of bed. But, here is how great it is during the day. I decided to throw caution to the wind this past weekend. About 3 months (more but probably less) ago, I decreased my usage of my drops from every 2 hours to every 4 hours. Last week and the week before I started noticing that, after I would put drops in at my noon time dosage, my left eye would get gritty, sore...just really uncomfortable for about an hour or more. I started thinking that, maybe if I didn't put the drop in my eye until I felt like I needed it, since my eyes would feel decent before each drop time, maybe...just maybe...my eye would be ok. So, Friday, I skipped my noon time drop. So, Saturday, I slacked...all day. I only put drops in when I woke up and, I think I remember putting a drop or two in throughout the day because, I think I remember having a scratchy feeling. But, it could just be that that was something I had been dealing with over the past year, so much, that I think I remember it but it might have been another day. Anyway, I dropped my eyes before I went to bed, then again Sunday AM when I got up. And, for the rest of the day Sunday, I ignored my eye drops. Dropped my eyes before bed Sunday night, and, other than the drops I put in first thing in the AM yesterday morning and the 3 or so I put in once I got to work until about 10 AM yesterday morning, I didn't put any drops in my eyes all day yesterday until after I took my shower and as I was crawling into bed. I dropped this AM when I got up, they are fine now and, I don't intend to drop them again until bed time tonight...unless I feel that I need to.

Dare I say it? Was I actually dropping them into annoyance once I decreased my drop times from every 2 hours to every 4 hours? I think I am on the way to a nearly full recovery.

THERE IS HOPE! DON'T GET DISCOURAGED! YOU WILL GET BETTER!

Take care and I hope I was instrumental in providing you a little bit of further hope this AM!

Hating Glasses,
Good for you!!!! How exciting, you are proof that patience pays off!! I am this Thursday one month post op,,,thats when they told me I could use different drops,,,I guess from the way I understand it is I don't have to use the individual little vials anymore. BUt still stay pres. free,,,,,does that sound right to you? What kind do you recommend? I have been spending $15 a box on 70 little vials of Refresh, and frankly I don't think I should be spending that much. BUT what do ya do it you need it?! I am hoping to save a little $ if possible. Have a great day!
jkm

Thank you jkm,
As far as what brand I use, Systane is my preferred drop. It does come in the vials and the little cap goes back on them so, you can use them for 24 hours instead of the other vials which say you are supposed to toss in the garbage after you open them. But, just from my point of view...I don't really see why you should have to toss them after you open them. As long as you don't have any eye infections, don't share the vial with anyone else, and don't drop it on dirt, it should be fine. I have never just opened, used some and tossed any of the brands I used before. But, maybe I am slightly more brave or stupid than the average person! Heheheh! Anyway, I don't know if there is a brand that is non-preserved/preservative-free that doesn't come in a vial. It would be nice. But, being a girl with frequently smaller pockets, I like the little vials that fit into smaller pockets. Anyway, Systane is what I prefer. There may be other brands that work better for others. But, after I messed up and started using preserved drops, my regular eye doc suggested I get Systane (maybe in August or September if memory serves) and that is what I have been using ever sense. I know it is tempting to get the brands that say that they stay on the lens of your eye longer than something like Systane which leans toward the runnier side of drops. But, as far as I am concerned, if something sticks to your eye, couldn't that mean that any dust or airborne anything you are around could get stuck to the sticky substance that keeps the other thicker liquids on your eye? Wouldn't that irritate your eye more? That is my opinion of the thicker drops. Also, Systane comes in packs of about 36 vials, they are slightly bigger than some of the others which means slightly more lubricant, and, as I mentioned before...their bottles reseal so, the box even says (I think) you can use it for up to 24 hours. The price is high for drops (all drops) but, lower than some. And, if you are only using them every 2 hours, the box should last you about 2 weeks, give or take.

I hope this helped. Take care!

Hi Cortney!!!

So glad to hear about your recent progress!!! I do think that overusing drops can cause more problems. Apparently it rinses away your natural tear film, and if you tear film is slightly unstable to begin with (like ours is!) it will be uncomfortable for a while. I have had the same reaction as you where my eye feels good, I put in the drops, and wham...painful again.

JKM - As already mentioned, most of the preservative free drops are in the individual droppers. Systane is actually one of the lesser pricy of the drops. There are some bottled products that are said to be "preservative free in the eye". They contain some sort of dissolving preservative that is not supposed to irritate your eye, so you might want to give these a shot. I believe that all of the GenTeal products (mild, moderate, moderate/severe, as well as the severe gel) are preservative free in the eye and they all come in a bottle, except the gel, which comes in a tube. Also, Systane has a new liquid gel product out called Systane free (you might want to look into this too Cortney) which comes in a bottle and is preservative free in the eye. I have used this, and I like it alot. It is not as thick as the other gels, but is nice and soothing.

-Michelle

Michelle,
Thank you for the Systane suggestion. I just worry about the stuff that goes from preserved to non-preserved inside the eye. I think the stuff I was using before my doc told me to use the Systane said that it does the same thing. I can't remember for sure though so, just to be safe...and to keep myself from regressing from my progress, I'll stick with what is working!

I can't believe that I was doing more harm than good by over lubricating! What a fool I feel like. But, in my defense, I was going by what I had been experiencing as little as a couple months ago. I only lubricated 3 times yesterday. When I first woke up, after my shower around 10 pm, and then just before I laid my head on my pillow. My eyes feel pretty good. I have a little bit of irritation in my left eye right now but, nothing unbareable and, just before I left for work this AM, I had a poking something that may or may not have been an eyelash since it happened as I was finishing putting on my makeup and it went away just like that. So, I am sure that this irritation will pass soon enough. I am loving the fact that I haven't had to stick to a rigid dropping schedule since Saturday.

Have you backed off on your drops schedule at all? If not, you should try it too. I know it is scary but, I am glad I decided to brave it out and go for it!

Take care and chat later!

I had dry eyes for the first 2-3 months after my op. I just decided to stop using drops and noticed a huge improvement. I no longer use drops and only get dry eye in the morning if I have the window open or turn on the fan. But this is not unbearable. I just blink a few times and I am good.

I hope that you continue to improve so that you don't have to use any drops at all.

Hey Missy,
Since I started this thread back in March, I would say that my eyes have gotten less painful in the mornings. I still need to drop them and I try to do it when my alarm clock goes off for the first time so, in between my snooze buttons and the time I actually get out of bed, they have a chance to straighten out. What is weird is that, on the weekends, when I can sleep in, I sometimes don't even have to put drops in when I first wake up. So, I don't know what that is about. I also notice that my eyes are great on the weekend. Then, when I get to work, they are irritated. Problem solved...I just won't work for the comfort of my eyes! Heheheh! Just kidding! I am still using the Systane. I am curious about other drops but, since I have had mostly success with the Systane, I hesitate to try something new. But, I wonder if another drop in the AM would make it easier for my eyes in the AM. It takes them about 5 minutes once I get out of bed (if not 10 minutes) to stop feeling like egg shells.

Anyway, to answer your question about my night vision, it has always been better since I had my surgery. The thing about my night vision is that, before my surgery, I had halos or sunbursts before so, I don't really know anything different. I would say that my night vision has been better since the surgery. I am not sure if that includes the glare, halos or starbursts because, since I have never known anything different, I never really noticed them before my surgery so, I don't know if that is better, worse or the same as it was before. But, what little I have is nothing bad enough that I even notice it now. I do notice it more when my eye (usually my left one) is dry. It is kind of the same effect with digital clocks. They are either blurry or look double when my eye is dry.

I hope that answered that...somewhat! It is hard for me to know how much of that has changed since it was all I ever knew before the surgery. Overall, my night vision improved after the surgery. That I do know for sure.

I hope things improve for you! I think my turn around was at about 12 or 13 months post op. I am still healing and I wonder if I will have to use drops for the rest of my life. I guess if I do, it wouldn't be much different if I were in contacts for the rest of my life. But, it sure would be nice if I didn't have to use them.

Take care and keep in touch! It was nice to hear from you!

Hi, I was wondering if you are now glad that you did the lasik. I am 4 months into it and suffering from dry eye. Other sites don't give much encouragement, but this seems to have some people that have some good outcomes. How bad do you think that your eyes were. I'm a little down today and a bit mad at myself as I'm sure you were at times. What helped you the most and did you feel that you scheduled around your eyes. Thanks Goba

Goba,
I can't say that I have ever really regretted getting my surgery. Even at their worst, I was still so happy to be out of glasses. I am still healing. I still have fairly bad days and, the weekends are almost always great. So, I would have to assume that some of my issues with my dry eyes has to do with my enviroment. In the very few times that doubt starts to creep into my thoughts, I just push them away. I do have doubts now and then. I wonder if I will always have to use eye drops for the rest of my life. But, I just keep positive and hope for the best. But, I am not as bad off as some on this board. They were pretty bad for the first 11 months +/-. But, I tend to think that my eyes were, at their worst, better than others.
One thing I was using was Systane for drops. They were great. They actually helped me improve because, I was mistakenly using drops that would cause irritation. Recently I switched to Visine Pure Tears. I worry that they aren't Preservative Free since it doesn't specify on the bottle or the box the drops came in. But, I will be vigilant and try to pay attention to any changes if there are any for the worse, that might indicate that they are preserved. But, I life that they don't leave my eyes feeling sticky, dry and blurry for about 5 (sometimes more) minutes after I put them in when I wake up in the AM.

Try not to over lubricate your eyes. Try dropping them only every 2 hours. Make sure that you are using a preservative free drop. I would stay away from the stuff that is supposed to "stick to the eye" because I was using a brand that did that and it ended up causing irritation. Go see your regular eye doctor. He or she will be more up front with you and may have other suggestions. Plus, they have nothing to lose by telling you if they see something that needs to be taken care of. My lasik doc didn't tell me that I had some epitheleals under the flap in my left eye. My regular doc told me about that. It can be a bad thing. In my case, it wasn't because they didn't multiply. But, it was info that my lasik doc should have shared with me. That is why I am a firm believer in post-op visits with your regular eye doc.

Try to be patient. I know it is easier said than done but, I think I remember having a little bit of improvement around my 4-6 month anniversary. I am still healing. I can see improvement about ever 2 months or so.

Take care!

Hi, Thanks for replying so quickly. I should have told you that I also had corneal erosion that was very painful for about 2 months. That seems to be better. I finally stopped using the muro 128 drops and that seems to have helped the buening, but my eyes feel drier. My doctor was 3 hours away so I had to find one closer. I really like him and he seems to be very compassionate. He did the tear test on me and said that it was normal(18), he also said that my eyes don't look dry, no patches or anything. I guess that you have that if you have really dry eyes. So, I'm hoping that things will be better, I'm using refresh celluvisc right now, I just tried it today. I'm not using anything at night because it seemed to irritate my eyelids underneath. Did you have prickly eyelids that is sooo annoying. Anyway that gives a little more info, I'm glad that you are doing well, hopefully I will be able to say that too. Goba

I'm glad that you have found some drops that are working well for you. Just be careful with the Visine. I've read that the kind that is "get the red out" is not good for you to use for too long. I don't think that's what you are using though.

Hi, Yes an erosion is when a spot in your eye hurts really bad and then it lets up. What happens is the skin tears away and then it seals itself back up and starts feeling better. An eye doctor can tell if it has happened recently because they can see them. I guess I just need to hang tough. I feel like a big baby compared to you guys. Your an inspiration. Thanks Goba

I know that it is really hard to think about anything else when your eyes are bothering you. I think that it is much better to talk about things with others.

Missy, It really has been a help for me. What tears do you use during the day? These refresh do ok, but are really thick. I feel like I have spent a fortune trying to get the right one. Thanks Goba

Oops!! I double posted.

I use BION Tears (by Alcon?) during the day and I like them MUCH better than any other drops I tried and I have tried a lot of different kinds. The worst drops for me were Refresh Plus, which made my eyes irritated. I use Genteal Gel at night.

Hi girls!

Goba...you are totally NOT a baby! Dry eye really sucks, we all know that. And it is really hard to deal with. That is why it is so nice to have these other girls around for support! Missy talked me into using the Bion Tears too! I use either them, or the Systane Free liquid gel. I also use the Genteal gel at night, and I like that alot. The thing with the ointment is that since it doesn't mix with your tears well, it might make your tear film unstable. I did notice that my eyes were worse when I was using the ointment. Since you had erosions, it makes sense that you needed to use it, but now that the erosions are gone and you are not using the Muro, hopefully things will improve for you! :bouncing:

Goba,
I kind of want to warn you against the Refresh Celluvisc. I used that and the Endura for a while and went in to see my regular eye doc. He noticed that I had a lot of irritation and told me to stop using the Refresh Endura and Celluvisc because, due to the thickness of those drops, it was causing the irritation. He suggested Systane. He told me to try the Systane for 1 or 2 weeks every 2 hours to see if my issues cleared up any. He saved me! My eyes got better within about 4-7 days. They weren't perfect but, much better. This may not be the problem for you but, I just thought I would give you my experience. I thought the drops were doing wonders for me but, when I told my doc how much I was having to use them, he figured it out. I was using them about every 15 minutes to a half hour. This was about 7 months or so post-op for me, if memory serves. Anyway, I can't say for sure that it will cause you more problems like it did me. But, once you are done with that box, you might give the Systane a shot.

Missy,
I am glad to hear that you are doing better than you were. If I remember correctly, I would swear that one of my turn arounds was when I was 11 months post-op so, you might be do for a semi-drastic improvement! I'll think good thoughts and keep my fingers and toes crossed for you!
As for the Visine Pure Tears, it says it is for "Dry Eye Relief". I don't think this one has anything to do with getting the red out. I guess if push comes to shove, I'll only use it in the AM since I have a better result from it when I first wake up than I do with the Systane. I don't know what it is about the Systane that makes me so miserable and takes so long to lubricate my eyes after I wake up. But, I really am pretty much miserable for about 5-10 minutes when I first wake up while using the Systane. But, the Visine just lubricates my eyes right back into comfort as soon as the drop is in there. No more putting my drops in, going to the bathroom, brushing my teeth, picking out something to wear, getting dressed, doing my hair, rubbing my eyes for a while, and blinking over and over while trying to apply my makeup with some kind of sixth sense accuracey while I can't see and really don't want my eyes open anyway as they are so uncomfortable. Hehehehe! With the Visine, I put the drops in as I put my feet on the floor and by the time I take my first step, my eyes are moist and happy!

Take care all! Chat later!

Hi hating glasses, Thanks for the input. I really hate these thick gooey drops. I only put them in about every 2-3 hours so I might try the systane tomorrow. I have two spots on both eyes that bug me, which seems strange, I don't know if the muro did funky things to me, because I used it for three and a half months day and night for the erosion. That is better. Glad to know what you thought of the refresh. I didn't realize that it was soo thick. Thanks again. Goba

Any improvements now that you've been off the Muro for awhile?

Hi Missy, Well I would say things are better, but far from perfect. The burning is much better, but I still get prickly under my lids, and there are two spots on each of my eyes that get irritated. I went to the mall yesterday and the air in there drove me nuts. I went to the supermarket today and that wasn't bad. I do think that the muro was not good for me. I see my doctor tomorrow and Michelle suggested that I get that other test, H something too, which I'm going to ask for. My shirmers test was 18. Did your vision still fluctuate at 4 months. Some days I see great, others not so much. Also, I don't know if you saw that I'm a hairdresser. That is not helping me either. I'm glad you wrote, I'm having a guilty day that I ever did this. But, I do think that I will improve. I haven't really done anything but drops, and I use them about every three hours. I don't use ointment at night just the drops. So far that has been ok. Thanks again for checking on me, it really does help to know you guys are out there thinking the same things I am. Oh, one more question, do you use a humidifier at night. Thanks!!! Goba

Hey girls it's me again. Well I just got back from the doctor and he put me on some different drops. The thing that is kind of freaking me out is that they have preservatives. They are called soothe. Have any of you tried these. He still says my eyes don't look dry. He put a dye in and said the tears hold up pretty well. So, there you go. I really feel like I still don't have a clue. He mentioned that if I still was having problems in a month I should consider plugs. What a MESS!! Anyway I still am holding on to the fact that a lot of people get better. If these drops bother me, I'm going to go get some Bion. Have any of you tried Dr Hollys? So there is my story, kind of same old same old. Hope everyone is having a good day. Goba

I think that it is very normal to still have up and down days at four months. When your eyes are dry they can seem blurry because your tear film is messed up. I haven't tried the Soothe drops but I've read some things about them. I think that they have castor oil or some kind of oil in them which can help if you are lacking the oily layer of your tear film. You'll have to let me know if they help you. One thing that I remember about them is that I don't think you are supposed to use them to often.

Hi Missy, He didn't say to use other drops, but if I feel I need them I will. I started taking BioTears a month ago. I also take Omega 3 fish oil and vitamin c. So I'm good there. Thanks for all your info, I'll keep you posted. Goba