Laser caused dry eye syndrome?

[Sidney2011]

Nearly 4 yrs ago I had an Erbium/YAG laser skin treatment. I left the surgical center at 8:30 p.m.. The next morning @ 5:30 a.m. I awoke with my eyelids stuck to my eyeballs. Had never had dry eyes before nor had I ever heard of it or used eye drops. Have now taken Restasis (3 months), Polysporin, Lotomax, Azacite, topical antibiotics and a bunch of over-the-counter products, plus lots of Omega 3, black currant and ground Flax Seeds and around-the-clock humidifier. The first year was horrible; now 3 years later it's somewhat short of horrible but getting worse in other areas. Initially the discomfort was only at night, then it started spreading out to the day, now pretty much 24 hours and becoming notably worse during the day (reading, computer use, airplanes, though I'm very careful about blinking).

I wondered if you might have any theories as to what happened. How could a laser treatment like this cause Severe Dry Eye syndrome? I'm concerned that without knowing what happened and what was damaged I might injure my eyes further with the wrong treatment. Any further suggestions?

Thank you!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Good luck JCH MD

[Sidney2011]

So glad to hear that your wife is doing well! My confusion about all this is with the onset immediately following the skin procedure. Makes me certain that this is not a normal dry eye situation, and fearful that the normal remedies will not be effective. Still, I will reconsider the Restasis and give it more than 3 months. Perhaps a generic Restasis comes along. 110/mo for years will be quite an investment. I do hope that your wife continues to have relief from this horrible condition, and thank you again. There is a website dryeyezone.com. Perhaps this advise and your blog would be of benefit there. I'll include it in my next post. All the best.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

My wife has been on restasis for over 3 years. She did not experience benefit until 6-7 months. Now she is completely assymptomatic from the really bad tears dysfunction she had before. She had the type where her eyes watered all the time and artifical tears helped for only about 30 minutes.

JCH MD

[Sidney2011]

Dear Dr. Hagan: Thank you for the thoughtful (and hopeful!) comment and the referral to your blog. It sounds like I went off the Restasis too soon. I tried one temporary plug which did not benefit but will look into longer term use based on your suggestion. Best regards.