Today was my three month post-Lasik procedure follow up appointment with my eye doctor. My eyes are doing ok. Over the last few weeks my eyes have been very dry. I even moved this appointment up a few days, as I was scheduled to see the doctor next week.
My eyes are still seeing at 20/20. This is a good thing. Dr. Midson said that if my eyes were going to need a “touch up” it would have occurred in these first few months.
She was curious about the dry eyes I have been experiencing. It has been so bad that I have gone back to the preservative-free eye drops and am using them about every 30 minutes. At times my eyes have felt like they are burning.
When I went in for my 30-day follow up visit, my eyes were doing great. So, she was surprised that my eyes have been dry. When I explained to her what I wrote about in my post on Women’s Hormones and Lasik, she understood what was going on.
Her thoughts are that the procedure quickened my moving into dry eye caused by perimenopause.
There were a few options we discussed to address the dry eyes:
- Temporary Punctal Plugs
- Permanent Punctal Plugs
- Restasis
Since we are hoping this is a temporary issue, we decided to go with the temporary, dissolvable Punctal Plugs.
Dissolvable, made of materials such as collagen that the body eventually absorbs.
To insert the plugs, Dr. Midson put numbing drops in my eyes. These stung a bit but not anymore than my dry eye burning feeling. It took affect with a minute. She then massaged the tear duct muscles a little bit and then inserted the plug. There was absolutely no pain during this procedure.
If these work, she will either put in another set of temporary ones at my 90-follow up or permanent ones. If the plugs do not work, we’ll try the Restasis.
If you search for Punctal Plugs on Bing Images, there are quite a few photos that show the styles of plugs.
As for shades to protect my eyes, I am still using Choppers, but I read about Duo-Shades, and they have a specific style that is recommended for after Lasik. I am considering purchasing a pair.
Daily Observations
- Dry eyes with feeling of burning (similar to leaving in contacts too long).
- Using preservative free drops again due to frequent use of drops.
- Wearing protective goggles often.
- Light sensitivity still around but not as bad. Definitely wearing sunglasses outside rain or shine.
- Still protecting eyes when doing anything dusty (like cleaning) or outdoors.
- Using water bottle / mister to spritz eyelids to get moisture that way as well as drops.
- Current Lasik total cost: Visits + Products = $4141.00 (+ $19 every two weeks for more drops)
Post-Lasik: 1 ½ Months After – Dry Eyes (For Women Only….Really!)