My vision is close to 20/20 first thing in the morning, but by midday, my vision becomes blurred and my eyes become dry. I also have terrible night vision and experience the halo effect and see a lot of glaring. My doctor said I am having a slow recovery. I used numerous preservative free eye drop brands before settling on Thera Tears. I take flax seed/fish oil. I also had punctual plugs put in three months back. These drops and plugs make my eyes comfortable, but my vision is still blurred in the afternoons and my vision at night is terrible. Most of my eye appointments have been scheduled in the mornings when my vision is 20/20 or very close to it. My next appointment is in January in the afternoon so my Doc can see the vision difference.

Has anyone experienced anything like this before? Do you think it is part of the healing process or just another case of dry eye syndrome? I think I will probably have to wear glasses to drive at night, but would like some insight on why my vision may flucuate in the afternoons into the night. Thanks in advance. D

David
I am 2 1/2 months post op Lasik.I have a similar situation in that my right eye has very good vision in the AM but starts to blur mid morning.I have the luxury to rest(nap) early or midafternoon several days a week.Usually 20 minutes or so.When I awake,good vision again for a while.I have a slight ghost or double image that causes the blur.I use several visual landmarks ie. license plate across the street,white sign with black solid circles,etc.to judge the degree of double image.Early in my post op period I was able to see that the second faint image was separated from the main bolder image by a good distance and learned to compensate.Now the 2 images are much closer and overlap.This makes it harder to ignore the second image.I take it as a sign that my eye is steadily healing and believe that the second faint image will meld into the stronger image as the healing completes itself.I don't have any advice for you,that is your Dr.s responsibility.Just wanted you to know that you aren't the only one having a slow recovery.

Charles: thanks. I do take a little relief in knowing that I am not the only one who is having a longer healing process.

Hi David,

I'm almost 6 months post-op and still have dry eye as well. It does make my vision fluctuate, but not to the extremes that you describe. One other thing I am trying now is Restasis. It is a perscription eye drop that is supposed to help your eyes produce more tears. Maybe this would be another option for you to help treat the dry eye? Good luck!

Michelle

Thanks Michelle, I will ask my eye Dr about Restasis at my next appointment.

Just had my Doc put plugs in all tear ducts. I had one in my right(lost the one in my left eye)for about 3 mos. Didn't really notice the difference. With upper and lower ducts plugged I am tearing up a lot. My eyes are comfortable and my vision is just about clear as it was pre-lasik with contacts. Hopefully this lasts and it gives my eyes a better chance to heal. The crying is a little bit of a pain, but worth it so for(it has been 1 day). Another thing my Doc is not the one who performed the surgery, but provided the screening and post op care the last 6 mos. After he put the plugs in he informed me that he would have to submit this to my insurance. He has provided free post op for the prior 6 mos. I am sure my insurance will not cover the $130/ea plug and service. I am little upset by this. For all you docs out there, Is this normal? thanks.

by the way he said to wait to see how the plugs affect the eye before trying restasis. If I do it all at once he won't know what made them better.

Insurance should cover punctal plugs for the treatment of dry eyes.

As for Restasis - I highly recommend Restasis for treatment of dry eyes after LASIK. Why would it matter if you do both - and you get better? You can always stop the Restasis.

In my experience - Restasis plus plugs works better than plugs alone.

Again - I am not your doctor, so I am just talking about generalities.

I hope this helps

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

thanks, I appreciate the info.

Hi David,

I was also told by my lasik doctors to go elsewhere for plugs because they planned on charging me. I found another doctor who took my insurance, and the plugs were covered completely. I hope this is your experience as well.

One doctor I saw, also recommended not trying plugs until I had been on Restasis for a while because they wanted to be able to tell if the Restasis is helping. My answer to that - they are not the ones that have to deal with miserable dry eye while waiting for something to start working! I got plugs about a month after starting Restasis. Try everything that you think may help you, you can always adjust stuff once you are comfortable to see what is really working, and what isn't. Good luck with the insurance!

Michelle