Vision Flaxseed For Dry

Flaxseed For Dry Eyes

By Maurice E. John, MD

Published on August 09, 2007

With LASIK we now know that eyes are going to be a little dry for one to three months after having the procedure performed. When I started performing the procedure in January 1995 we didn't know this, but over time we have figured out that it affects almost all patients to varying degrees. Therefore, as part of the initial examination, most ophthalmologists are now checking their patients for dry eye.

A lot of the people who had LASIK in the first few years it was available were contact lens wearers who, because of dry eyes, were forced to start wearing glasses. The majority of these people, despite their dry eyes, experienced very successful LASIK. In some patients, however, the dryness contributed to slower healing and postoperative irritation, with a gritty sandy feeling for days, occasionally weeks, and in rare instances, for months.

Having learned this the hard way, many ophthalmologists are now proactive and aggressively address postoperative dryness with all of their LASIK patients. The first step is educating them on how they can reduce the risk of postoperative dryness. A lot of patients simply do not drink enough water. Even worse, they may drink coffee, which acts as a diuretic and dehydrates them even further. Therefore, I ask my patients to drink at least five to six glasses of water per day starting at least one day before surgery and for several weeks thereafter. In addition, I ask all of my LASIK patients to begin using a special artificial tear one to two days before their procedure and for a few weeks following their procedure. Because some people sleep with their eyes partially open, I also recommend that all of my patients put a little bead of soothing gel in their eye before they go to bed starting the night before their procedure. Gels designed for this purpose are more patient friendly these days and, unlike some earlier gels or ointments, do not cause blurry vision.

My most successful discovery has been the use of the Omega-3 fatty acids found in flaxseed oil capsules. These fatty acids are also found in fish oil but the flaxseed is a little more pleasant and probably doesn't have the contaminants in it that fish oil might. Omega-3 fatty acids, otherwise known as ‘essential fatty acids,' are not made by the body, but every cell in the body uses them. I can very honestly tell my patients that this medication is good not only for dry eye but also for the heart, for lowering bad cholesterol, for treating menopause, breast and prostate cancer, the skin, hair, and even for assisting in the brain development of their children. In addition, I have personally used it to treat my bad knee. Most of the doctors and staff I work with take flaxseed on an ongoing basis.

Flaxseed can be purchased in capsules, oil, or seed form at most health food stores. We start our patients on 2000 mg of flaxseed a few days before their LASIK procedure, and encourage them to take it for several weeks afterwards. It is important to grind the seeds (in a coffee grinder) before digesting them. In terms of complications, some people have looser than normal stools after taking flaxseed. Overall, however, flaxseed/Omega-3s have been pretty fantastic for my dry eye and LASIK patients.

Never forget LASIK is not minor surgery; it's real surgery on your eyes. Taking the time to gather little bits of insight (such as the ones we've just discussed) from your doctor is key to the success of your LASIK procedure. LASIK should not be treated as a commodity. You don't want a fly-in, fly-out doctor working for a ‘business first' corporation performing your surgery. What you want is an ophthalmologist who is willing to teach you what he or she has learned along the way. It's not the arrow or the laser that makes you happy, but the archer that is shooting it.

Maurice E. John, M.D., is Founder and Medical Director of the John-Kenyon Eye Center. For additional information on dry eyes or other eye conditions we encourage you to visit his website or contact Dr. Maurice John directly at mjohn@johnkenyon.net.

For more information on the author, please visit www.johnkenyon.com

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Keyword Tags: lasik, dry eyes, contact lenses, eyeglasses

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Comments

1

I have been suffering from dry, red, sore, gritty, swollen eyes for many years. Can some one please recommend eye drops I can use for relief, as the inflammed eyes makes me look soo
tired.

Kate
over 1 year ago

2

I had Lasik 16 years ago & PRK 6 M0 ago. I have never experienced dry eyes, but I am experiencing sunburn to my eyes after 15 min exposure in my car, with tinted window. I do use Optic & Restasus. I have PORPYRIA VP & CT and believe my symptoms are related. Anyone familiar with Porphyria?

Arlene Sediqzad
almost 2 years ago

3

My daughter, 24, had lasic surgery 2 years ago. She spent the last year on a Marine air base in Iraq - dusty, sandy. There she had a lot of dry eye and some pain. Now, back in US, more pain. Low on sleep. Bright red eyes, no pink eye.

What conclusions have others come to with this problem?

Larry Felker
about 3 years ago

4

First of all, hello everyone! Nice to see you. I had mild dry eye before the surgery (10 mm on the Schirmer test, if that means anything to you) and pretty severe dry eye now. I don't feel any pain or burning. It's more of a tenderness. The main reason I'm writing is because of this comment by Maurice John: "In some patients, however, the dryness contributed to slower healing and postoperative irritation, with a gritty sandy feeling for days, occasionally weeks, and in rare instances, for months."

This implies that there are no cases where the dry eye persists beyond months. Oh, wait, he's referring specifically to a gritty sandy feeling. My bad. Still, he doesn't address the problem of long-term dry eyes. Why do some of us experience them even though we didn't have dry eyes before the procedure and did everything we were asked to do? Why? Well?

Wendell Gee
over 3 years ago

5

I had lasik about 10 years ago. My main reason for having it was because i had dry eyes and could not wear contacts. I must say i am very happy with surgery and although i still have dry eyes i have learned to live with it by using drops and now i am going to try flaxeed oil to see if it improves it. My dr. recomended restesis but after a few months i did not see much benefit. I guess in addition to leaving it in gods hand i will try this flaxeed omega 3 and see how it works. Good news is after 10 years my vision is still 20/20 and if i could deal with the dry eyes i would even be happier. thx.

paublo
over 4 years ago

6

Glen,
I am very sorry to hear of your issues. I am unfortunately learning this is a much more common problem than I was lead to believe. I can still hear the Dr say after asking about the issues with dry eyes "Don't worry, your test looked very good and if you have dry eyes it will go away after a few months". I didn't have dry eyes for the first 6 weeks but now I have serious eye pain and dry eyes. The more I read the more scared I get that this serious (although the Dr's don't say it is) problem will not go away.

Was this surgery done by the military?

- R
over 4 years ago

7

I am sorry that your vision has been worse after surgery. I too had the lasik surgery and now am experiencing dry eyes. I never had dry eyes before the surgery and I too experience the same which you mentioned about the rewetting drops I see clearly as soon as I put them but that does not last.I found that a humidifier has worked for me also my eye doctor recommended flax seed oil. As far as your anxiety, you should not let dry eyes affect you so much just leave it in the hands of God and he can heal you. See the Bible says, "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7. Give everything to God all your worries, all your problems, everything that is stressing you out, in prayer tell Him, "Lord I give you everything, all my worries, pain....list what is stressing you" and in exchange he will give you his peace and his joy. He will work out his master plan for your life. All you have to do is trust in Him.

Z
almost 5 years ago

8

Hello Folks,

I had lasik in Dec 06 and enhanced in May 07. I am sorry I did. I was wearing glasses for almost 40 years. I went to Iraq in 2003 and decided to have my eyes corrected because the thought of becoming a P.O.W. without sight terrified me. My previous Prescriptions were as follows;

Before Lasik, May 06, OD-4.25 -.25x75 OS-3.25-.50x35 +1.25
After Lasik, Mar 07, OD+.75-50x163 OS+.75-50x114 +1.75
After Enhancement, Oct 07, OD pl -75x165 Os pl.50x110 +1.25
Present Rx Jan 08, pl-75 115 pl-75 105 +2.25

But now I need a prescription to fine tune distance and another to read the menu. I miss just wanting to raise my old glasses. The progressive glasses I wear now are for distance and close up but for the medium vision I see things better with them off. When I put refresh tears in , I see very clearly but that only lasts for less than a minute. I would be happy if I saw that well all the time. Also, I have Dry Eyes and have been on Restasis for 5 weeks without any improvement. I am 47 years old and never had DryEyes before. I am really stressing and am experiencing high anxiety for which I have been prescribed Anti-Depressants. Now the military wants to medically discharge me for the medication. How IRONIC! As I said, the reason I did it was to be a better soldier and now I risk separation.

I am eager for your response and will answer any other questions you may have.

Any advice you can give would be immensely appreciated.

Glenn Poe
almost 5 years ago







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