Over a year after Lasik - eyes still dry

patientpatrick

I had Lasik eye surgery over a year ago. Like many, I expected it to be the miracle everyone says it is. I’ve had friends and collegues speaks wonders of the procedure and that it was the best money they ever spent. I can honestly look in the mirror now and say it was the worst money I ever spent.

I’m a teacher at a Design school, and I’m extremely dependent on my eyes for my profession. I thought Lasik was going to be the biggest and most promising investment I could ever make, the opportunity to live a life not dependent on glasses. What I found instead is that I traded that dependency for eye drops. I used to stare at my class and see the promise in their eyes, now I can barely stare at them for any longer than a few secs.

What bothers me the most is that I didn’t go to a Lasik mill as they say. I went to a highly rated institute and a very experienced surgeon. I kept reassuring myself that it’s a safe procedure and that 95% of patients are satisfied with their results. Tiger Woods had Lasik, Lindsey Vonn had Lasik, a lot of eye doctors get Lasik. In fact my surgeon was one of the few Lasik surgeons who performs Lasik on eye doctors, so I felt I was in the good hands.

After my 1 year check-up I noticed I was still in pain and discomfort. I still see halos and starbursts though not as extreme as they were a year ago. Perhaps the most interesting of events is how I feel after throwing out my glasses. I was the artsy professor with the thick black rimmed glasses. I feel as though I lost a big part of who I am. I find myself constantly reading all the terrible stories on the internet.

I was hoping that I would be healed after a year but fear my pain is now permanent. I guess I’m looking for some encouragement and hope out there. I keep hearing that the pain and dryness heals after 6months. I'm well over double that and I'm still in pain. Anyone eventually recover years later?