I had Custom Lasik in May 05 and have suffered dry eyes ever since. Recently they have become so red I look like a monster. My eye dr. prescribed Restasis, which I have been taking without success for about 6 weeks. I use the lubricating drops frequently. Even when my eyes don't feel dry (as they often still do), they are always very red. Also, from day one I have had green fuzzy spots in my vision, to the point where I can't see in the dark. My doctor isn't really doing much else. Can they fix this surgically? Dry eyes are common, but I don't know of anyone else who has had this problem. I spent a ton of money in part to look better and now I'm embarrassed to be seen.

I have that Linda Blair from the exorcist look too. It goes away while taking steroids [pred forte} but then comes right back as soon as I get off it. When I'm on pred forte, i don't need near the dry eye drops. I suspect that lasik has made my eyes much more sensitive to allergies.

A lot of flaxseed oil (like 3 TBSP per day), Omega 3 (1200 mg 3 x per day), a lot of water, a lot of celery juice, and Bilberry 4 times per day.

After only 3 days, i didnt need drops anymore.

I've done all but the celery juice. I haven't done the quantity of the others that you did though. Out of curiosity, did you do blade or Intralase?

Hi Kathy did you have the red eye before you started using restasis? when i started using restasis it didn't work for me my eyes got very red and itchy once i stoped using restasis it all went away i started drinking alot of water an dont need to use any drops if i do i use drops preservative free.

>I had Custom Lasik in May 05
>and have suffered dry eyes ever
>since. Recently they have become
>so red I look like a
>monster. My eye dr. prescribed
>Restasis, which I have been taking
>without success for about 6 weeks.
> I use the lubricating drops
>frequently. Even when my eyes
>don't feel dry (as they often
>still do), they are always very
>red. Also, from day one
>I have had green fuzzy spots
>in my vision, to the point
>where I can't see in the
>dark. My doctor isn't really
>doing much else. Can they
>fix this surgically? Dry eyes
>are common, but I don't know
>of anyone else who has had
>this problem. I spent a
>ton of money in part to
>look better and now I'm embarrassed
>to be seen.

Yes, I did have red, irritated eyes before using restasis. It has have gotten worse, though. I thought restasis was supposed to help that? They are preservative free.

Restasis doesn't work well for everyone. it didn't work for me it actully made my eyes worse so i stopped using them.

Yes, I did have red, irritated eyes
>before using restasis. It has have
>gotten worse, though. I thought
>restasis was supposed to help that?
> They are preservative free.

Hi, I had lasik done back in April of 2005. Basically, I used Systane religiously for about 5 to 6 months post op. My eyes "felt dry" without it. Then I just stopped cold turkey because I remembered a similar experience I had when I wore contacts. I recalled my perception of their being an addictive nature to lubricating eye drops. My "theory" (and experience for that matter) is that when the eye doesn't need to lubricate itself, it doesn't. Once I stopped the systane, my eyes were dry for a period of time (maybe a week or two), but then they felt great. To this day, my eyes are white like a fresh teenager who never wore contacts! Note, I did put systane in a couple of times since and my eyes turned beet red too.

So what am I saying? If your eyes healed well after lasik, then you may want to take the plunge and stop putting crap in them and let your body take care of itself. See what happens. I'd give it a couple of weeks too.

According to the manufacturer, Restasis does not become fully effective until about 90 days after initiating use. It is way too early for you to measure the success or failure of Restasis.

It appears that the problem is directly related to dry eye and/or the methods used to manage the dry eye. Preservatives are found in all artificial tears that do not come in one-use vials. Preservatives are essentially toxins used to keep things from growing in the artificial tears while they are being stored. Those toxins are often (but not always) problematic when applied to the eyes. Be sure that you use ONLY preservative-free artificial tears.

There are several brands of artificial tears that claim to be “preservative-free at the eye”, but they too use a preservative. It is best to use only preservative-free drops.

Allergies and illness can be exacerbated by dry eyes or can exacerbate dry eyes. You need to verify with your primary care physician that all is well on this front. Of course, many medications used to combat allergies cause dry eyes.

We have a detailed article on dry eye treatment at http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/subjects/dry_eyes.htm with a link to ideas on dry eye treatment. You may find some answers there.

Glenn Hagele
CRSQA
http://www.USAEyes.org

I am not a doctor.