Night blindness...any cures?

[Kyle]

Okay, it's been about 4 months since my surgery (relatively new considering some of you) and little-by-little I am seeing some improvements. I still have good days and bad days for no real reasons at all and I still start to hyper-ventilate when I think my eyes may be this way forever, but, considering how dsyfunctional I was right after the surgery, I am starting to accept all of this a little better.
My biggest question now is this....I have severe night blindness. In fact, it is so bad I can not drive at night AT ALL. Will this eventually go away? Have you all seen any improvement over time? Are there any solutions to improve my sight at night? Any thing out there that minimizes the halos and glares? Any suggestions at this point would help. Thanks!

[Jeff]

Kyle,

I am 3 years post LASIK. In the Early stages I also did not see well at night as a matter of fact I did not go many places after dark (not my level of comfort). I made sure that I took care of business on the weekends if possible. I was feeling much like you are scared and worried, I think thats to be expected. I used to look forward to going to sleep, so I could shut my eyes. Being self-employed I had to get up and carry on ready or not. The thought that I was going to be like this forever and I did this to myself (with thorough research) was more than I could handle. As time went on I decided that I was not going to let this run my life. My friends and family know me as a strong person, I decided to be that person. I now drive in the evening wearing a pair of glasses which helps considerably, things are much better. I have seen over time small incrimental changes as I look back, (would not have believed it then and I still hope for more). I still have dry eyes which makes things blurry but tolerable.
Hang in there it is a matter of time, Jeff

[Rebecca Petris]

Will this eventually go away? Have you all seen any improvement over time? Are there any solutions to improve my sight at night?

It depends to some extent on the causes. If it's corneal irregularities, there can be a certain amount of smoothing over the months that may reduce starbursts/haloes. If it's prescription, it usually stabilises within months. If it's pupil size related, it may be less likely to show large improvement. Another factor is if there is much reduction of contrast sensitivity, that is not likely to show improvement.

Any thing out there that minimizes the halos and glares?

As Jeff mentioned glasses specifically for night can help in some cases. The other most popular solutions - depending on the causes - are:

1) Miotics (pupil constricting eyedrops) such as Alphagan or Pilocarpine, which temporarily reduce pupil size. They are not a fixall as they can have side effects and if used frequently they can become less effective, but for periodic use they can be very helpful.

2) Gas permeable contact lenses: These can provide an artificially smooth, large optical zone which usually dramatically reduces or eliminates haloes and starbursts. They can be hard to fit. However many patients who literally cannot drive because of the symptoms are motivated to go through the process.

For more information you might want to post or have a look through the bulletin board archives of D'Eyealogues or SurgicalEyes/VSRN.

[Kyle]

Thanks Rebecca and Jeff.
Rebecca, I'm actually going to print out your reply and bring it to my eye doctor. I'm not sure exactly what the reason is as to why I have such major problems at night. I've always had really big pupils, so maybe that's it. Honestly, I don't know how you define the other things you listed so maybe my eye dr. can help out. I do know that contacts won't help. My left eye wasn't properly corrected as far as vision goes, but my docs told me wearing a contact would just aggravate my dry eye condition more, so I doubt they would prescribe one for night driving either.
Jeff, I do agree with you. I have always been a really, really strong and driven woman (even though I seem to be more of a whiner on this website). This has truly tasted that strength. I tell all my friends my new motto is "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". I know there are worse things that can go wrong, but the fact it is our eyes makes it a truly horrible situation if you ask me.
Thanks for the advice from both of you.