Argon laser therapy

Hi

I'm going to do this laser intervention on friday, and a few doubts are
burning on my mind.

It may be useful to describe my history first:
In the beginning of 2004 I started to feel very unconfortable and tired
in front of the computer. Around that time developed floaters in both my
eyes. Immediately went to an eye doctor and learned that eye floaters are
irreversible and was also told not to worry about it. I was flabbergasted
to know that I would have to live all my life with this pesky things
polluting my vision. After the initial fears and stress (will they grow
more, etc) and after seeing a couple of different doctors to hear pretty
much the same thing, I became conformed with the situation. The floaters
are very annoying - particularly when reading or driving - but with time
one gets used to it.

In the meatime I started to have several eczemas in my skin. The
dermatologist said it was probably due to stress (oh well). It's
interesting to notice the contrast between the concern and attention of
the dermatologist about the eczemas, and the dismissive remarks about the
floaters being unimportant and so forth from the ophthalmologists. For me
it was much easier to live with marks on the skin and a lot of itching,
than with floaters and unconfortable eyes.

Then blepharitis and dry eye came. My favorite activities like reading,
going to the movies and riding my motorbike became a torture. Thinking
that this condition can go away, but without much success doing so, I've
been changing doctors when I see that the course of treatment isn't
bringing any noticeable improvement to my hurting eyes. The last doctor
besides prescribing the common multivitamin supplement, cleaning pads and
artificial tears, scheduled an appointment for dilating my pupils after I
mentioned the floaters.

At the exam he saw a flap or tear in the vitreous or retina (I'm not sure
anymore) of my right eye. From what I understood going through the laser
precedure wasn't a matter of extreme urgency, yet he also said not to
play any action sports or shake my head violently.

All this brings many questions to me:

- I'm 24 years old, don't have diabetes, didn't have any myopia in 2004.
Is there any logical reason for this to happen?

- Do the creams and lotions I used in my skin and scalp, some of which
contain steroids, had any negative impact in my eyes?

- Is it possible to go through a post vitreous detachment without
noticing any new floaters or any flashes of light?

- Will the argon laser make my dry eye condition worst?

- Is there any possible side effects (short mid or long term) to the eye
with argon laser therapy?

- Can this be the first of many laser interventions?

- I'm in my twenties and would like to hear from people with more
experience. Am I going to have healthy eyes again or this is only the
beginning?

Thanks for reading.

Ricardo

Ricardo wrote:

>
> - I'm 24 years old, don't have diabetes, didn't have any myopia in 2004.
> Is there any logical reason for this to happen?

You mentioned riding a motorbike. Does this include motocross in which
case your body is subjected to extreme forces?
>
> - Do the creams and lotions I used in my skin and scalp, some of which
> contain steroids, had any negative impact in my eyes?

Prolonged use of steroids in the eyes or taken systemically have been
linked to cataracts and glaucoma. Also, patients who are on inhaled
steroids for asthma can experience mild increases in intraocular
pressure. This is a dosage over time phenomenon. I wouldn't worry
about it.
>
> - Is it possible to go through a post vitreous detachment without
> noticing any new floaters or any flashes of light?

Yes.
>
> - Will the argon laser make my dry eye condition worst?

No.
>
> - Is there any possible side effects (short mid or long term) to the eye
> with argon laser therapy?

Not that I am aware of.
>
> - Can this be the first of many laser interventions?

One treatment almost always fixes the problem. It will not prevent
another tear occuring somewhere else.
>
> - I'm in my twenties and would like to hear from people with more
> experience. Am I going to have healthy eyes again or this is only the
> beginning?

Is there something in your lifestyle that is contributory to the eczema
and dry eye, or is it genetic?

"Dr. Leukoma" wrote:

>
> Ricardo wrote:
>
>>
>> - I'm 24 years old, don't have diabetes, didn't have any myopia in
>> 2004. Is there any logical reason for this to happen?
>
> You mentioned riding a motorbike. Does this include motocross in
> which case your body is subjected to extreme forces?

No, it's just a normal road sportsbike. With the floaters and dry eyes I
haven't been riding much lately. The floaters are distracting, then one
also blinks less often when riding so it becomes really painful after a
short time.

>> - Do the creams and lotions I used in my skin and scalp, some of
>> which contain steroids, had any negative impact in my eyes?
>
> Prolonged use of steroids in the eyes or taken systemically have been
> linked to cataracts and glaucoma. Also, patients who are on inhaled
> steroids for asthma can experience mild increases in intraocular
> pressure. This is a dosage over time phenomenon. I wouldn't worry
> about it.

I've used them for about 15 days at a time, normally when the eczemas
were worst. That gives about 6 weeks usage in a period of one year. By
the way, that puff when one looks at that light in the chair measures
the intraocular pressure, right? I did that recently.

>> - Will the argon laser make my dry eye condition worst?
>
> No.

That's a good thing to read.

>> - Can this be the first of many laser interventions?
>
> One treatment almost always fixes the problem. It will not prevent
> another tear occuring somewhere else.

Let's hope for the best.

>> - I'm in my twenties and would like to hear from people with more
>> experience. Am I going to have healthy eyes again or this is only the
>> beginning?
>
> Is there something in your lifestyle that is contributory to the
> eczema and dry eye, or is it genetic?

Not sure. I guess dry eye (or at least eye fatigue) may have started a
couple of years ago, when I was spending a lot of time in front of
computers, reading and going to the movies without resting my eyes
properly. Nothing unusual in my age though. I did change my lifestyle
after the floaters came: resting more, eating more fish, things like
that. The eczemas derive from seborrheic dermatitis which is an
inflammatory disease which I guess also resulted in blepharitis. The dry
eyes became worst after this.

Also ask your doctor about other dry eye treatment options. Some
include punctal plugs, which slow/eliminate the drainage of tears. Also
there is a drug called Restasis, it has been proven to improve symptoms
of dry eye. Also lid scrubs are a great option that cost very little.
Esentially you just use a mild soap or baby shampoo and when you are in
the shower rub the soap where your eye lashes come out of your lids
(back and forth) and it will help improve the meibomian glad function
by unclogging them and mechanically stimulating them to improve the oil
they secrete.

Hope the Argon treatment goes well. Let us know.
ODTOBE


Ricardo wrote:
> "Dr. Leukoma" wrote:
>
> >
> > Ricardo wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> - I'm 24 years old, don't have diabetes, didn't have any myopia in
> >> 2004. Is there any logical reason for this to happen?
> >
> > You mentioned riding a motorbike. Does this include motocross in
> > which case your body is subjected to extreme forces?
>
> No, it's just a normal road sportsbike. With the floaters and dry eyes I
> haven't been riding much lately. The floaters are distracting, then one
> also blinks less often when riding so it becomes really painful after a
> short time.
>
> >> - Do the creams and lotions I used in my skin and scalp, some of
> >> which contain steroids, had any negative impact in my eyes?
> >
> > Prolonged use of steroids in the eyes or taken systemically have been
> > linked to cataracts and glaucoma. Also, patients who are on inhaled
> > steroids for asthma can experience mild increases in intraocular
> > pressure. This is a dosage over time phenomenon. I wouldn't worry
> > about it.
>
> I've used them for about 15 days at a time, normally when the eczemas
> were worst. That gives about 6 weeks usage in a period of one year. By
> the way, that puff when one looks at that light in the chair measures
> the intraocular pressure, right? I did that recently.
>
> >> - Will the argon laser make my dry eye condition worst?
> >
> > No.
>
> That's a good thing to read.
>
> >> - Can this be the first of many laser interventions?
> >
> > One treatment almost always fixes the problem. It will not prevent
> > another tear occuring somewhere else.
>
> Let's hope for the best.
>
> >> - I'm in my twenties and would like to hear from people with more
> >> experience. Am I going to have healthy eyes again or this is only the
> >> beginning?
> >
> > Is there something in your lifestyle that is contributory to the
> > eczema and dry eye, or is it genetic?
>
> Not sure. I guess dry eye (or at least eye fatigue) may have started a
> couple of years ago, when I was spending a lot of time in front of
> computers, reading and going to the movies without resting my eyes
> properly. Nothing unusual in my age though. I did change my lifestyle
> after the floaters came: resting more, eating more fish, things like
> that. The eczemas derive from seborrheic dermatitis which is an
> inflammatory disease which I guess also resulted in blepharitis. The dry
> eyes became worst after this.

odtobe wrote:
> Also ask your doctor about other dry eye treatment options. Some
> include punctal plugs, which slow/eliminate the drainage of tears. Also
> there is a drug called Restasis, it has been proven to improve symptoms
> of dry eye. Also lid scrubs are a great option that cost very little.
> Esentially you just use a mild soap or baby shampoo and when you are in
> the shower rub the soap where your eye lashes come out of your lids
> (back and forth) and it will help improve the meibomian glad function
> by unclogging them and mechanically stimulating them to improve the oil
> they secrete.
>
> Hope the Argon treatment goes well. Let us know.
> ODTOBE

Good suggestions.

If the dry eye is an issue for you, you may want to drop by this site:

http://www.dryeyezone.com

Between the "encyclopedia" and the user forum, there's lots of good
information and quite a few kind and helpful people.

Best of luck with the laser.

Neil
Who--maybe more than anything else--misses riding his BMW K100RT:

Here's me reporting back (a week later) from the laser experience --

The specialist wasn't the most communicative person (or was just in a bad
mood), but I'm assuming it all went according to plan.

First thing I noticed was that everyone in the waiting room was over 50.
The procedure lasted around 15 minutes. Most of that time was spent
looking for the spot, the laser itself was only a few minutes. It was
painless as expected, though there was kind of a remote impression. And
an abundance of light.

Saturday morning the blurred vision was gone. The floaters were virtually
the same. The only problem I noticed was that the right lid was more
swollen than usual. I think it was because of that big lens. It came back
to normal monday afternoon. That's about it.

Ricardo

"Neil Brooks" wrote:

>
> odtobe wrote:
>> Also ask your doctor about other dry eye treatment options. Some
>> include punctal plugs, which slow/eliminate the drainage of tears.
>> Also there is a drug called Restasis, it has been proven to improve
>> symptoms of dry eye. Also lid scrubs are a great option that cost
>> very little. Esentially you just use a mild soap or baby shampoo and
>> when you are in the shower rub the soap where your eye lashes come
>> out of your lids (back and forth) and it will help improve the
>> meibomian glad function by unclogging them and mechanically
>> stimulating them to improve the oil they secrete.

I've tried a number of things by now. Baby shampoo, lid scrubs, an
ointment to apply on the lids, and a couple of other things. It should
be mentioned that I don't have any scales in the lashes even if they are
always falling to my eyes. What I have is a persistent greasy layer on
the lids. I'm not sure if Restasis is for sale here. I'll search for it.

>
> Good suggestions.
>
> If the dry eye is an issue for you, you may want to drop by this site:
>
> http://www.dryeyezone.com
>
> Between the "encyclopedia" and the user forum, there's lots of good
> information and quite a few kind and helpful people.

I'm trying to keep computer usage at a minimum but I will take a look.
Thanks.

In article <Xns988C9EB20857Dnospamcom@213.228.128.15>,
Ricardo <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:


> First thing I noticed was that everyone in the waiting room was over 50.


Pretty common. A lot of the eye diseases requiring the services of an
OMD are age-related.

--
Dan Abel
(E-Mail Removed)
Petaluma, California, USA

Mike Tyner wrote:
> "Dan Abel" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
>
> > Pretty common. A lot of the eye diseases requiring the services of an
> > OMD are age-related.
>
> And what a drag it was in the cardiologist's office this morning. Everyone
> seemed to be 70+.

Wait 'til you get to your urologist.....