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Nothing has helped my dry eye which started after blepharoplasty

Posted by oregonjan @oregonjan, Mar 18 6:23pm

I am an 86-year old female. Two years ago I had cataract surgery with vivity EDOF lens. At first my distance vision was excellent but I had quite a bit of trouble with floaters and vitreous detachment "blobs' which were treated with laser. I also had frequent halos and flashes which pretty much subsided. But since I was still raising my eyebrows to see well, my optometrist ( and optho. surgeon as well) suggested upper eye blepharoplasty to alleviate having to raise eyebrows, and it was performed in Oct. '25 .
HOWEVER, it had been unrecognized that I had dry eyes under certain wind or bright light conditions and since the blepharoplasty I have constant blurry distance vision, usually for anything further than about 30 feet but sometimes anything past the dash of my car!
My eye doctors have repeatedly had me try 2 weeks of warm compresses 4 times a day and various eyedrops every 2 hrs, then cut back to compresses twice a day and drops 3 times/day. This has gone on for the past 2 months with NO improvement in vision.
Two months ago my surgeon started my on Restasis drops in hopes of helping but so far they have not improved the dry eye symptoms which include frequent "tight" sensation and scratchy eyes in addition to the constant blurriness.
I cannot read most street signs until I am right on top of them and absolutely CANNOT drive on dark roads at night with oncoming headlights--cannot keep my eyes open with those lights. I have taken to wearing wrap-around glasses at all times and tinted ones in all but dim light in order to function and it's fairly OK in my house but not outside at a distance.
Additionally I use Latanaprost eyedrops (which make dry eyes worse) for glaucoma. Now my opthalmological surgeon wants to perform SLT surgery to at least eliminate the need for the Latanaprost, feeling it will help the dry eye situation but at this point I am totally frustrated with all we've tried and no improvement and hesitate to try another procedure. It just seems hopeless......
Has anyone had similar problems and found a solution?

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oregonjan | @oregonjan | Mar 20 2:36pm
In reply to @celia16 "I haven’t had cataract surgery but have had surgery on my left cornea, due to Salzmann’s..." + (show)
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I haven’t had cataract surgery but have had surgery on my left cornea, due to Salzmann’s nodule. I also have had 2 blepharoplasties. I also have had severe dry eye, though thankfully my vision has remained good. I recall after my surgeries my eyes were particularly uncomfortable. I was distraught and sought advice from my ophthalmologist who is a cornea specialist at Duke. I can just say what helped me though it took months. I consistently practice eye care. Also, I sought treatment from a very experienced acupuncturist. He developed a treatment plan and after 2 weeks the improvement was incredible. I continued to go for several months. It wasn’t covered by insurance or I would still be going. It was the biggest thing that helped me. I also,

Use daily warm compresses, use preservative free ointment every night, apply moisturizing drops during the day as needed, avoid fans, always wear sunglasses outside, etc. I would get a second opinion on any eye surgery.

Good luck. I was very down when my eyes were at their worst. It ‘s hard to believe things got so much better. I hope that happens for you. Have they checked the lens from the cataract surgery?

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@celia16 Yes -- doing warm compresses, P.F. ointment at nite, P.F> drops as needed, wraparound glasses to avoid air movement, etc. Lenses are said to be just fine. Also had punctal plugs inserted a few months ago.

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celia16 | @celia16 | Mar 22 9:42am

Some people use plasma eyedrops. It’s by prescription The lab takes your blood and converts it into eye drops. I haven’t tried it because my insurance didn’t cover it. Also, not many patients say it helps.

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