1.17.2009

LASIK anyone?

I've been having eye issues for the past 4 or so months. I have been wearing contacts since I was a junior in high school and LOVE them. I never really had a good pair of glasses for the first couple of years, but then I bought some Versace ones about 2 1/2 years ago and have been wearing them more often. Still, I didn't like wearing glasses and definitely wore my contacts too much. I would sleep in them often and didn't throw them away for months. I realize, now, that I should have listened to the doctors when they said to take proper care of them...but they are so darn expensive that I didn't want to just throw them away after 2 weeks!

One morning in October I woke up and noticed a red ring around my iris (where the contact sits) and the rest of my eye was bloodshot as well. Obviously, I didn't wear my contacts for a few days and things seemed to get better. The next time I put my contacts in the same thing happened. So I visited my eye doctor and he said to give my eyes a week to breathe then try my contacts again. Didn't work. I got drops and stopped wearing them for 6 weeks. Things were better. I could wear them for a few hours with minimal irritation and redness. I have kind of worked my way up to wearing them for longer periods but I still have redness, a swollen feeling and general discomfort after a day of wearing my contacts. I have been to my doctor multiple times but he seems to have no solution for me.

So my mom got the name of a different doctor and I plan on making an appointment with him ASAP. I have heard before that you can get to the point where you just aren't able to wear contacts anymore. I hope I am not there, but if I am I want to explore LASIK eye surgery as my graduation present. I've done some preliminary research on the internet and talked to one friend who had it done, but I don't have that much to go on. Have any of you had experience with it or known someone with a story to tell?
Posted by Sarah Elizabeth at 9:00 AM
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4 comments:

Dana said...

Both of Brians cousins have gotten lasik and them seem to love it.. But I will say that one of them had to get it redone on both of her eyes because she was having problems again even after the surgery!! I will say that my eye doctor told me that he doesn't recommend it and wouldn't do it on his own kids because it hasn't really been out long enough to show long term effects!!! But i am still interested since I am a contact wearer as well!! let me know what you do!!

January 19, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Tasha said...

My mom did lasik and she loves not having to fight with her contacts anymore. It took her several months to recover though. She had blurry vision and headaches after the surgery, could not see to drive at night, and she was worried that something had gone wrong. Now she is fine but it was a long recovery time for her.

January 21, 2009 at 4:19 PM
The Avid Reader said...

Hi! I'm new to your blog, but I had the EXACT SAME problem with my contacts recently so I thought I'd share. After lots of trial and error, it turns out that after 10 years of wearing contacts (omg that makes me sound old but I'm not, I'm 25) I have become allergic - but to my contact SOLUTION, not the contacts themselves.

I used to use Opti-Free, had NO issues with it for ten years and then one day woke up to the same thing as you did, a red ring around my iris and bloodshot/redness overall. I also tend to wear my contacts way too long and too often so I was quick to agree when my doctor initially suggested that I was probably becoming allergic to my lenses. In the end I switched over to a solution called Clear Care. It's a bit of a pain in the ass if you're used to the other stuff - there's this obnoxious little contraption you have to finagle your lenses in to every night, and they HAVE TO stay in the solution at least 6 hours before you can wear them again. But it's way better than saying goodbye to contacts!!

If you decide to give it a try I'd give your eyes at least a few days of no contacts first to let them calm down until there is NO redness. Then put your contacts in the new solution/container overnight and try them out the next morning. For me it was total night and day. My eyes are even less red overall, and I think some of the redness that I'd been writing off as "dry eyes" was really me developing the allergy.

Please for the love of god though READ ALL DIRECTIONS on the Clear Care. My doctor told me to give the lenses a quick rinse after taking them out of the case - but neglected to tell me to rinse them with saline, NOT the solution they rest in. DO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE. Trust me.

Sorry this is so long! One final thought - even if you are allergic to the lenses - that doesn't mean you're allergic to ALL lenses. Some are made of different materials so just ask your doctor for a suggestion of different ones to try.

Good luck!

February 24, 2009 at 2:50 PM
Youreyesite said...

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The second most important factor determining your candidacy for a refractive surgical procedure is the stability of your prescription. Why second? Almost everyone has one refractive surgical option or another. If you can accept the risks and know what to expect, you most likely can find a refractive surgical procedure that will meet your prescriptive needs. Whether your vision changes regularly or not, your vision is likely to change in the years following the procedure. If your vision changes regularly, you are more likely to notice a change in your vision after a vision correction procedure than someone who’s vision does not change regularly. Refractive procedures correct most of your refractive error very effectively; they do not fix nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism forever. While enhancement is an option for most laser surgery patients who change down the road, the amount of times an enhancement procedure can be attempted is limited. Every time a procedure is enhanced, the cornea gets thinner and if too thin, enhancement could lead to problems discussed later in the site. Another important factor is determining which refractive procedure is best for you. The prescriptions and physical characteristics of your eye determine the best procedure, and you need the advice of a doctor to decide which procedure is right for you. Refractive surgical correction procedures include Laser procedures (PRK, LASIK), Intrastromal Corneal Ring Segments (Intacs Corneal Rings), clear lens extraction, intra-ocular lens implantation, Radial Keratotomy, Astigmatic Keratotomy and in the future, Gel Injection Adjusted Keratoplasty.

Contraindications for LASIK surgery include Keratoconus, a corneal condition that involves thining of the cornea, rheumatoid conditions including some of autoimmune conditions, recurrent uveitis, glaucoma or patients who have irregular corneas or corneal epithelium.

May 7, 2009 at 12:08 PM

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