POSTED UNDER Eyelid Surgery Reviews
Chronic dry eyes five months after
UPDATED FROM Calm439998
6 months post
My eyes are getting better!
$2,734
I'm very pleased to report that my dry eyes are improving. It's almost six months now and although my eyes are still dry, I can feel them progressively getting better. Dr. Alejandro said that there is swelling that is not visible but can cause your eyes to have issues. I am just so happy to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I think in another month, I may not even need to use drops. My prayers have been answered.
Calm439998's provider
ORIGINAL POST
Feeling Miserable with Chronic Dry Eyes Five Months Later
I'm sorry to say that getting upper and lower eye surgery with Dr. Alejandro in Mexico was a big mistake. It's been five months and I still have chronic dry eyes which is causing me an increasing amount of stress and discomfort. Imagine feeling like you have scotch tape or glue on your eyeballs. Plus, my near vision is deteriorating.
Eye drops and warm compresses offer temporary relief but my eyes quickly get dry again because the tears evaporate too quickly. Consider that natural treatments can only work so much when there's been a surgical intervention. And there doesn't seem to be a revision surgery available for this issue because maybe too much skin was removed? I'm still trying to understand it.
Apparently, I was pre-disposed to dry eyes but Dr. Alejandro did not advise me of this risk. After suffering for a couple of months with no response from Dr. Alejandro's office, I saw a specialist in Canada who told me this condition will be for life. Imagine my despair. She told me that she tells all her eyelid surgery candidates that if they have had dry eyes before the operation, it will be twice as bad afterwards. If you've had Lasik or PRK, or have had any history of dry eyes such as when wearing contacts, you are pre-disposed to developing dry eye syndrome from this operation. Being menopausal also contributes to dryness.
When I arrived in Mexico, I met with a friend who also had upper and lower eyelid surgery along with a nose job with another doctor in Mexico and suffered terribly with excessive bleeding. This made me so anxious that I almost cancelled the operation but there was no chance of a refund at that point as it was less than two weeks before the date. Also, Dr. Alejandro was convincing and reassuring. He has a way of talking that made me trust him and ignore my own intuition which was warning me through anxiety and nightmares before the surgery.
"Oh yes, of course, everyone is nervous before the surgery but you will be fine. I've done this surgery five days per week for fifteen years."
"Does anything ever go terribly wrong?"
"Only if you don't follow my instructions."
At first, it seemed like the instructions were simple and life would be back to normal after ten days. But then, I was told no exercise, or sunshine for two months after the operation. That alone was challenging and depressing.
Thankfully, my job does not require being on the computer all the time as that would be very hard. Yes, I had bags under my eyes before the operation but they weren't that bad and at least my eyes worked properly. I would give anything to have my old eyes back.
My situation was complicated by the fact that I was bitten by an insect in the right eye two days before my surgery. My eye was totally swollen. Surely, this was a message from God trying to stop me from undergoing this surgery and how I wish I had listened. The doctor just told me to take a strong anti-inflammatory injection and went ahead with the scheduled surgery anyway.
How many times do you think he's had a patient who was bitten in the eye two days before the surgery? You'd think he would err on the side of caution. But no. His schedule was clearly more important. This is the thing -- when you go to Mexico, you have hotels and flights booked. You have all the staff booked. If you pay in full in advance, you'll need to give them two weeks notice if you want to cancel and get most of your money refunded. With less than two weeks, it's basically no refund. But if you pay them the $500 deposit only, you can complete payment the day before. I would recommend that option. I paid in advance and there was no chance to get my money back. I thought I'll just get this done because I paid and I'd made all the arrangements and there was no offer of rescheduling because of the bug bite.
The follow up care with this office is distinctly lacking. I was told we would have regular video calls to follow up. They did not reach out to me. I texted with my questions and they answered at first but then stopped responding. When I was struggling and texting with my questions, there was no response from Dr. Alejandro's for two months. Finally, Dr. Alejandro video called me after I wrote him a negative review on google. He assured me that it is just a matter of time and that my eyes will heal. While it was wonderful to be reassured, I am not convinced. He said that my eyes are just swollen. The doctor here said they are not swollen. Swelling does not last for a year. At the most, dry eyes should last three months after the operation. Also, where the bug bite was, the eye does not look great. There is a strange bump. The doctor here isn't sure that will improve. Dr. Alejandro is optimistic and thinks it will all get better. I hope and pray that he is right.
When researching a procedure and its side effects, we can think "Oh, it's only a small percentage of people who will suffer side effects" and we just hope we won't be one of them. Plastic surgery is big business and they downplay the risks in their marketing. Also, you sign away your life when getting it done in Mexico. There is no insurance if anything goes wrong.
If you are considering this surgery, ask yourself if you are willing to risk feeling like you have scotch tape on your eyes for the rest of your life. It's so not worth it. I've had to cancel summer camping plans because I need to be near my compresses and creature comforts. Apparently, there is less risk of this happening if you have just upper or just lower. But getting both done causes more complications.
Next, I will be seeing another specialist in Vancouver who specializes in more advanced therapies like IPL for dry eyes. It is expensive but also improves your complexion. The savings I made by getting this done in Mexico have been cancelled out by the costs of doctors visits, drops, supplements, not to mention the flight down and the fancy air conditioned hotel that I had to book for the ten days of staying inside after the operation.
Pray for me, okay? I've always been a healthy and active woman so this is a real set back for me. I am writing this review in the hope that it will save others suffering the same fate. Also, perhaps Dr. Alejandro will read the review and consider advising his patients of the risk of developing dry eye syndrome as well as offering to reschedule patients when they have any complications to the eye like my bug bite.
Dr. Alejandro said he had another patient who had the same problem and the Canadian doctors told her it wasn't curable but after a year she was better. Let's hope he's right. I'll be sure to update this review in a year to let you know. Good luck and stop caring so much about how you look. Be grateful your eyes work. Don't mess with God's creation.
Eye drops and warm compresses offer temporary relief but my eyes quickly get dry again because the tears evaporate too quickly. Consider that natural treatments can only work so much when there's been a surgical intervention. And there doesn't seem to be a revision surgery available for this issue because maybe too much skin was removed? I'm still trying to understand it.
Apparently, I was pre-disposed to dry eyes but Dr. Alejandro did not advise me of this risk. After suffering for a couple of months with no response from Dr. Alejandro's office, I saw a specialist in Canada who told me this condition will be for life. Imagine my despair. She told me that she tells all her eyelid surgery candidates that if they have had dry eyes before the operation, it will be twice as bad afterwards. If you've had Lasik or PRK, or have had any history of dry eyes such as when wearing contacts, you are pre-disposed to developing dry eye syndrome from this operation. Being menopausal also contributes to dryness.
When I arrived in Mexico, I met with a friend who also had upper and lower eyelid surgery along with a nose job with another doctor in Mexico and suffered terribly with excessive bleeding. This made me so anxious that I almost cancelled the operation but there was no chance of a refund at that point as it was less than two weeks before the date. Also, Dr. Alejandro was convincing and reassuring. He has a way of talking that made me trust him and ignore my own intuition which was warning me through anxiety and nightmares before the surgery.
"Oh yes, of course, everyone is nervous before the surgery but you will be fine. I've done this surgery five days per week for fifteen years."
"Does anything ever go terribly wrong?"
"Only if you don't follow my instructions."
At first, it seemed like the instructions were simple and life would be back to normal after ten days. But then, I was told no exercise, or sunshine for two months after the operation. That alone was challenging and depressing.
Thankfully, my job does not require being on the computer all the time as that would be very hard. Yes, I had bags under my eyes before the operation but they weren't that bad and at least my eyes worked properly. I would give anything to have my old eyes back.
My situation was complicated by the fact that I was bitten by an insect in the right eye two days before my surgery. My eye was totally swollen. Surely, this was a message from God trying to stop me from undergoing this surgery and how I wish I had listened. The doctor just told me to take a strong anti-inflammatory injection and went ahead with the scheduled surgery anyway.
How many times do you think he's had a patient who was bitten in the eye two days before the surgery? You'd think he would err on the side of caution. But no. His schedule was clearly more important. This is the thing -- when you go to Mexico, you have hotels and flights booked. You have all the staff booked. If you pay in full in advance, you'll need to give them two weeks notice if you want to cancel and get most of your money refunded. With less than two weeks, it's basically no refund. But if you pay them the $500 deposit only, you can complete payment the day before. I would recommend that option. I paid in advance and there was no chance to get my money back. I thought I'll just get this done because I paid and I'd made all the arrangements and there was no offer of rescheduling because of the bug bite.
The follow up care with this office is distinctly lacking. I was told we would have regular video calls to follow up. They did not reach out to me. I texted with my questions and they answered at first but then stopped responding. When I was struggling and texting with my questions, there was no response from Dr. Alejandro's for two months. Finally, Dr. Alejandro video called me after I wrote him a negative review on google. He assured me that it is just a matter of time and that my eyes will heal. While it was wonderful to be reassured, I am not convinced. He said that my eyes are just swollen. The doctor here said they are not swollen. Swelling does not last for a year. At the most, dry eyes should last three months after the operation. Also, where the bug bite was, the eye does not look great. There is a strange bump. The doctor here isn't sure that will improve. Dr. Alejandro is optimistic and thinks it will all get better. I hope and pray that he is right.
When researching a procedure and its side effects, we can think "Oh, it's only a small percentage of people who will suffer side effects" and we just hope we won't be one of them. Plastic surgery is big business and they downplay the risks in their marketing. Also, you sign away your life when getting it done in Mexico. There is no insurance if anything goes wrong.
If you are considering this surgery, ask yourself if you are willing to risk feeling like you have scotch tape on your eyes for the rest of your life. It's so not worth it. I've had to cancel summer camping plans because I need to be near my compresses and creature comforts. Apparently, there is less risk of this happening if you have just upper or just lower. But getting both done causes more complications.
Next, I will be seeing another specialist in Vancouver who specializes in more advanced therapies like IPL for dry eyes. It is expensive but also improves your complexion. The savings I made by getting this done in Mexico have been cancelled out by the costs of doctors visits, drops, supplements, not to mention the flight down and the fancy air conditioned hotel that I had to book for the ten days of staying inside after the operation.
Pray for me, okay? I've always been a healthy and active woman so this is a real set back for me. I am writing this review in the hope that it will save others suffering the same fate. Also, perhaps Dr. Alejandro will read the review and consider advising his patients of the risk of developing dry eye syndrome as well as offering to reschedule patients when they have any complications to the eye like my bug bite.
Dr. Alejandro said he had another patient who had the same problem and the Canadian doctors told her it wasn't curable but after a year she was better. Let's hope he's right. I'll be sure to update this review in a year to let you know. Good luck and stop caring so much about how you look. Be grateful your eyes work. Don't mess with God's creation.
Replies (1)
Update: I'm very pleased to report that my dry eyes are improving. It's almost six months now and although my eyes are still dry, I can feel them progressively getting better. Dr. Alejandro said that there is swelling that is not visible but can cause your eyes to have issues. I am just so happy to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I think in another month, I may not even need to use drops. My prayers have been answered.
Replies (0)