I got stoned 5 days after surgery my left eye has gone wrong

[Ripley]

Please, i dont want any replies saying what an idiot i've been. its all i've thought about for the last few days. I knew I shouldn't have done it instantly the moment I had.
I am a cannibis smoker I specially dried out before my wavefront corrective surgery. It was my birthday 5 days after the surgery and i had 3 beers. then after that i had a really big hit from a bong. I was so stupid to have done that. I just lost myself momentarily and had it. As soon as I had it I remebered the surgeons saying that you shouldn't have anything like that for at least 2 weeks before surgery and 2 weeks after. when the stoned buzz came on it was not how it normally felt. I could see rings in my eyes and they started to throb just like they did straight after the surgery.
For the first 5 days after my surgery my vision was hazy but there was no imbalance between my eyes. straight after my smoke my left eye went really blurry. i was really worried as for the rest of the night as i had a two tone vision effect. In the end i had to shut my left eye to concentrate. when i woke the next morning I could see a definite imbalance in my eyes with my right eye being much clearer than my left. Now it has been 10 days since the surgery and 5 days since the smoke and my eyes are still the same. its like i have two seperate visions going on.
My question is this; Is this part of the healing process? will my eyes even themselves out? or have I damaged my eyes ? Will i need to have more surgery to fix this? is it fixiable ? I'm so worried, I've just spent thousands on this treatment and i feel like i've put the whole thing in jeopardy. I feel such a "*!?^$.

[vj]

I got my zyoptix tissue saving laser treatment 10 days back. After 3 days of surgery my left eye was much sharper than the right eye and its been more or less same since, the doctor says my left eye is the dominant eye. So vision in my right will not be as good as the left. However it will improve and its just the healing stage and too early to conclude anything. However, today I have noticed a definite improvement in my right eye. I guess you should not panic and give ur eyes some time to adjust and just forget about the thing for at least a month.
But just to be on the safer side, I would advise you talk to the doctor of ur stoned story, just to make sure everything is alright. I firmly believe that healing time for both the eyes is different, because its happening with me too. I was like -7.5 both eyes before treatment. Doc says high myops usually take long to recover.

[LasikExpert]

An imbalance in the healing process is actualy quite common after Lasik, however it would be nearly impossible to know what, if anything, your cannabis experiences contributed or exacerbated your vision problems. It is possible that there has been a reaction to some of the Lasik medications you are using. It may aslo be that the cannabis relaxed the muscles associated with vision focus and eye alignment.

We have an article on Lasik and marijuana that you may find interesting. I also found a thead at another bulletin board that discusses the individual experiences of others who have smoked weed shortly after Lasik. See Lasik and marijuana experiences.

Certainly, you must notify your doctor about these events. They may have nothing to do with you smoking pot and indicate a seperate issue.

[Ripley]

Thanks for your replies i hope its nothing to worry about and i will make an appointment to see the doctor.
The reason i'm worried is that the imbalance was not there before the smoke but it was after.
i was -7.00 in both eyes.

[vj]

hi ripley,
for the first 3 days after surgery I had balanced vision, but then imbalance stepped in and my vision is going through fluctuations everyday. I am just hanging on, in the hope that its still very early for anything and its still a healing stage. Things should probably ease out. Just hang in there and talk to the doc.

[Ripley]

ok thanks. my vision isnt fluctuating. its just stayed the same since i had the smoke. one eye clear one eye blurry. not got better not got worse just the same. thought this is how it may of set.
reading the replies i hope this is just part of the healing process. thanks

[Ripley]

Hello again. I have been to my doctor who is not sure if i have done this to myself because this is not his field of expertise and i have been for a follow up at the eye laser clinic and I have not told them the full story as I'm worried it might invalidate my lifetime guarantee. I know thats not the way i should look at it but there you go. I had my eye test and i'm 0.00 in my right eye and 0.50 in my left. so i gotta be happy right ? well why am i not ? am i being too greedy to want ultimate perfect vision. i mean thats what i paid the extra money for. i paid top dollar for the wavefront technology the best they can offer so why is one eye 0.50 off ? have i really smoked 0.50 off my eye ?? is this possible ? most people i guess would be happy and not moan but i'm a glass is half empty sort of guy and i can't help thinking have i done this to myself. the annoying thing is i will never know for the rest of my life. i shut my left eye and my right eye is well good and i shut my right eye and my left eye is good but not as clear as my right, have i done this to myself?

[LasikExpert]

Let's put things in perspective.

There is nothing in the medical literature that would indicate smoking pot soon after Lasik would have any long-term consequence. You probably didn't "smoke your eyes".

Refractive error of 0.50 is very low. Normal human vision fluctuation is 0.25 diopers. If you are under age 40 you will probably be able to adjust to this and "focus around" this small error. If you are over age 40 this small amount of myopia will actually delay the need for reading glasses.

To effect vision correction, the excimer laser removes tissue from the cornea. The amount of tissue removed to make 1.00 diopter of change is about 12 microns. So your 0.50 undercorrection is about 6 microns off target.

A human hair is about 60 microns thick. The largest cell of the epithelium (outermost layer of of the cornea) is about 5 microns wide. So your surgeon missed the target by about the width of one corneal cell or about 1/10th the width of a human hair.

[vj]

hi ripley, remember that you were -7 before the surgery. To remove that kind of prescription, a substantial tissue region is to be removed.
I was -7.5 both eyes pre-op. Doctor clearly told me that you will be able to read 20/20 both eyes open, and not necessarily one eye, and the depedency on galsses will be completely removed. She told me even if .50 is left in any of the eye, its probably nothing to worry about. Since my prescription was too high, I cannot expect super vision or ultimate high definition vision, which is a possibilty with wavefront technology for people having a much lower proscription. I guess should have told you clearly of these things.
What they did to your eyes or mine is most probably tissue saving technique, to burn as less corneal tissues to possible to get the best results and remove glasses. After this no room is left for contrast enhancement.
If you are able to do all your day to day activities without those thick glasses, then consider your op a success.
People tend exacerbate that post op results have been too good, and they are seeing things in hi-def. but then I belive their prescription was too low, and that gave doc an opportunity to work on contrast enhancement on that person.
Even with me, the vision in my left eye is definitely sharper than my right.
But when I see things with both eyes, its pretty much alright and I am able to see or read 20/20. The difference is only visible when we watch through one eye closed, and to be practicle, who watches with just one eye, when both are working, no. Usually the vision is dominant eye is visibly better than the lazy one. I am supposing the eye in which you have -.5 left might be your lazy eye.
But it is still very early for any conclusion. We who had very high prescription usually take long for the recovery. Just hang in there and be patient.

[Ripley]

Hello, thanks for your replies. i hope i will get used to it and i know -0.50 doesnt sound like much its just the imbalance is giving me really nasty headaches. if i was -0.50 in both eyes they're would be no problem. i've got constant banging headaches and i'm always aware of the imbalance. I suppose I've gotta train myself to get used to it, i will be patient but its annoying.

[LasikExpert]

It is unusual for such a small imbalance to cause your headaches. I highly recommend you use a corrective lens such as a soft contact lens for the undercorrected eye. Ask your doctor about this. If you continue to have headaches even with correction, then the source may be something other than the imbalance. There are may possible sources of headaches after Lasik that range from dry eye to allergic response. Discuss the possible contributors with your doctor.

[Ripley]

hello i have been given contradicting information as the lady in the clinic said that i should get used to the imbalance but the -0.50 will not get better. then when i spoke to another clinic they said that it could get better. at the moment i just feel like i want a pair of glasses with my right eye just plain and my left eye to deal with the -0.50. i know its early but my left eye just doesn't sit right. even when i shut my eyes in bed i'm aware of the imbalance, its really annoying me and i cannot get rid of this permanent headache i have. paracetemol and neurofen do nothing. my face and head just aches all the time. also there is a slight bag under my left eye. sorry if you think i'm just a moaner but i thought this operation would make me happy.
thanks for the suggestion of wearing a lens in my eye but over the years my eyes started to reject lenses and at the end i could barely keep them in for more than an hour so i would not want to pursue that.
i was reading other comments and other people had have similar headaches but with much more of an imbalance. why can't i seem to deal with this small imbalance, its doing my head in.

[vj]

hi ripley,
i am sorry to hear of ur headaches and imbalance which is bothering u.
Even I am having some imbalane and headaches, but its not something which is bothering me a lot.
Its just a guess, since you are not smoking weed these days, could it somehow be a reaction to that, i mean ur headaches. Consider it like this, when ur body is addicted to something and u dont give it that, for sometime the body may react, since it was used to getting stoned.
I am not sure if this is true in ur case, just a probable explanation.
Hope you see more improvement in coming days.

[Ripley]

Hello no i don't think its that, i've tried to give up a few times this problem is not from that.
This is really having a negative effect on me, i haven't once smiled since i noticed there is a difference between my eye vision. my right eye is crystal clear now and i can see everything really sharply but my left eye still remains a blur. before the operation if something was out of focus u just moved closer to it and it became clear. it doesn't matter whatever distance away i am from something with my left eye it never gets into focus just got a constant blur it may only be -0.50 but its the whole blurry effect that i dont like and cant seem to handle as my right eye is so clear now, the clarity of vision in my right eye is simply superb and thats why i'm getting these headaches, this imbalance is so offputting. Maybe i need a pirate patch. will they consider retreatment for an undercorrection of -0.50 ? from what i've read they wont do it for under a -1.00 undercorrection. if i kept on at them would they do it? if not will i have to wear glasses again? i just feel miserable all the time from this operation wot am i gonna do ? i gotta pay 4000 pound for it yet, thats nice. my head can't get round it. my left eye feels weak all over not just in terms of vision but also when my eyes are shut. I don't like this at all and all everybody at the clinic is telling me is too wait. well nothing has changed at all in 2 weeks my left eye has been like this for 2 weeks today right since i had that smoke. so going back to my first point maybe i did do this to myself with that smoke. i'd probably be alright to get stoned now, it was just the recovery period that i shouldn't have done it. don't worry i'm not going to get stoned now. but i just remember my left eye feeling terrible after that smoke it was way too early after such invasive treatment to have such a big bong. it was like the tips of my eyes were gonna fall off i thought right from that minute that i have damaged my eye permantly. maybe i fuzzied my left eye up when the eyes were still healing and thats how it has set. i know previous replies have said this is unlikely but i'm sure i've only got myself to blame. so it comes down to it was me who did this to myself or was it the surgeon who was slightly off target ? but ultimately want i want to know is can i fix this with more surgery ? or is that too risky now. i just want even eyes !
p.s. i really am trying to get used to it but it feels like my head is caving in at times, just can't seem to merge my visions together, can't see how i'm supposed to do that.
Thanks to anyone taking the time to read this i know you've all probably got better things to do than to listen to my worries

[vj]

hi ripley,
i am sorry to hear all the trouble you are facing. I think only time can tell whether this is done by ur mistake or surgeon was off target.
But one thing is there, right how ur vision in one eye is out of focus. If it really had been the problem of nearsighteness, u should see near things clearly from the eye which has -.5 power. But since near things are also blur, i believe its just your flap and cornea which is taking time to heal, and causing double vision no matter where you see.
I have been facing the same thing in my left eye, which has a double vision. Doc says its because of flap and will eventually resolve by itself.
As of now, I can only say that just try to bear with it, because there is practically nothing you can do right now, apart from whatever the doc says.
As for re-treatment, that is only advisable after 6 months post op, even if its required then.
All you can do is play waiting game. I know its very hard, but no other option.