’This would drive me insane’: Woman gets LASIK surgery. She didn’t expect this little-known side effect for the rest of her life

LASIK surgery can be life-changing, but for this one TikToker, it became life-changing in all the wrong ways.

In a TikTok, which has amassed 620,700 views, user Dulce (@ursweetmadness) dejectedly ate a snack while an on-screen caption read, "Got LASIK and now my right eye always feels like I have a piece of hair and dust in my eyes at all times."

In response, commenters shared their skepticism over LASIK. "Why is LASIK surgery even allowed at this point?" one asked. "The amount of issues I’ve heard about LASIK and the amount of eye doctors that will never get it done is quite alarming," another added. A third admitted, "This is my fear after getting LASIK."

"This would drive me insane," a fourth added. While a fifth described it as "the physical eye version of tinnitus."

Several commenters also shared that they had a similar experience to Dulce after LASIK. The majority of them said the symptoms settled down 5-6 months after the procedure, with one commenter also advising Dulce to use artificial tears.

Despite all this, Dulce said in a follow-up video that she still believes the surgery was worth it.

However, other TikTokers don't necessarily agree. Fellow LASIK patient and TikToker Maggie Hamill (@maggie_hamill44) says she was left with chronic eye pain after LASIK that "completely altered the course of [her] life." Nine years on, she says that getting LASIK “destroyed many aspects of [her] day-to-day life.”

@ursweetmadness #lasik #dryeyes ♬ sad SpongeBob music - michael

Is dry eyes a common side effect of LASIK?

According to WebMD, dry eyes are the "most common complication for LASIK," with 95 percent of people reporting dry eyes after the procedure. The site claims that dry eyes related to LASIK usually get better over time, but that there are "rare cases" where this side effect doesn't go away.

WebMD says that there are three leading causes of dry eyes after LASIK. The first is inflammation from the surgery, while the second is that the new shape of your cornea might alter the way your eyelids interact with the eye's surface.

Thirdly and finally, the surgery might cause temporary nerve damage to your corneas, which could lead to a breakdown in communication between your cornea and tear glands.

Dulce didn't immediately respond to the Daily Dot's request for comment via TikTok comment and Instagram direct message.

Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.

The post ’This would drive me insane’: Woman gets LASIK surgery. She didn’t expect this little-known side effect for the rest of her life appeared first on The Daily Dot.