Episode 54 - Lasik, Latisse and Lashes: May Eye Care Shares the Facts
Do you wear granny glasses and want to get rid of them cuz you are too young or young at heart? Dr. Carl May of May Eye Care tells us how Lasik can restore your youthful eyes to when they were young. If you are near sighted or far sighted and wondered if Lasik is right for you then listen to this weeks Beauty Now podcast on all you ever wanted to know about Lasik. Plus, we have Leslie O'Dell O.D,. sharing all she knows about the latest craze in lashes. Yes we mean your own lashes, not extensions. Latisse is the new drug that has been FDA approved to restore and grow your lashes like crazy. How does it work and can we use it with mascara and extensions.? Get the straight talk from the Latisse Dr. Dr. May shares with us what is myth and what is fact. A must hear show for anyone considering Lasik. Get movie star lashes with the new drug Latisse. It really works.
Transcript
Transcript
This program is brought to you by personallifemedia.com.
Hi I'm Teri Hausman host on Duty Now, a weekly Podcast on keeping ourselves beautiful. Duty Now has interviewed top Docs specialists on Laser, Lasik, Tucks, Breast tucks and Brazilian [butlers] your skin your hair inner beauty but today I'm going to interview Dr Carl May on your eyes. We need to keep our eyes looking young and here is a Lasik Laser eye specialist and up to modest we don’t want to have any granny glasses so we have got Dr. May to help us out. Welcome Dr. May.
Dr. Carl May: Hello? How are you?
Teri Hausman: Great. Thanks for talking with us for I have a little bit of cold listeners so hopefully let Dr. May do the talking. There is so much confusing data out there on Lasik eye surgery so what is in?
Dr. Carl May: Lasik is a procedure that has been shown to be safe and effective for a wide range of patients today and it is the most studied surgical procedure performed in the United States so there is more data about safety on Lasik than any other surgical procedure that is done.
Teri Hausman: Well there are so many people, there are so many rumors that Cathy Griffin for one came out and said that she had a Halos and I've known people is this the old days or when Lasik first came out, tell us you know some of the myths and some of the facts.
Dr. Carl May: When Lasik first started the biggest side effect of this surgery was glare and Halos around lights at night when you are driving today with modern laser and with what we call wave front or wave skin systems where we take a fingerprint of the surfaces of the eye, and then curve away any imperfections that would be like in your fingerprints and on your thumb, we can curve those right out of the eye and that has greatly reduced the side effects as Halos and glare. In fact very few patients if any complain about that anymore. There are patients that have it but it to such a minimal degree that it doesn't affect their lifestyle or their driving.
Teri Hausman: So walk us through consultation. Let us just say for one I hear if you need reading glasses that people say that ooh you can't have it is that a myth?
Dr. Carl May: That is partially a myth and partially not. We have been working a long time to try to perfect the laser to have what we call Multifocality where you can see far and near in both eyes and not worry about readers or distance, that is not available yet but what we do have is something called multi-vision where we can make distance vision in one eye and reading vision in the other eye. And the two eyes together when they both open you can see both far and near. Multivision is very successful for the large majority of patients and for more than 80% of people that have Multivision function very well with it. There are some people that can't ever get used to having the two eyes at different focal points and in those cases they can have Multivision taken away.
Teri Hausman: So you can actually reverse the surgery?
Dr. Carl May: We can make the eye that we made for reading, we can change that to distance and then they’d have to wear glasses for reading.
Teri Hausman: So that is actually kind of putting it back where it was then?
Dr. Carl May: Right unless the patient came in needing glasses for far and near then we would get rid of their distance glasses and they don't really need readers.
Teri Hausman: I was reading about the Laser equipment that different doctors’ use is it true that there are other laser equipments that are better than others?
Dr. Carl May: Yes there are different technologies, they all have their own advantages and disadvantages but in the Unites States the Laser system with the widest range of treatment available and that is approved by the FDA as the VISIC system, we can do higher amounts of [Neurocide] and there is higher amounts of stigmatism and higher amounts of foracide in this with that system. It also has something that is called the wave skin system where we can actually get a wave front measurement and a very accurate measurement of your prescription so that we can curve a more accurate lens right on to your eye. It is kind of like the shoe sizes the older systems would measure like a shoe size, size 10 and to a size 11 to a size 12 and the newer systems can measure at 10.1, at 10.2, at 10.3, so there is much more accurate that we can do much more custom setting to a patient's eye with the VISICS Laser system.
Teri Hausman: How do you do that though? So you come in for consultation, then what happens?
Dr. Carl May: You get a test on the surface of the eye called the Topography, and that Topography system is measuring the shape of the cornea to make sure it is safe to have the surgery, it also measures the thickness of the cornea to make sure there is enough thickness in order to curve your prescription on to the surface. Some people have thin corneas so we are not able to do Lasik on those patients, or some people have an irregular shape at their cornea and we are not able to safely do surgery on those patients either. After they get that measurement they get what's called the wave skin measurement that it shines a bunch of light in to your eye, laser light in to your eye and they bounce off the back of your eye and that gives us that really fine prescription of very accurate prescription of the eye and that is the data that we use in the laser to get your prescription right on to the surface of your eye.
Teri Hausman: So how long does it take?
Dr. Carl May: The surgery itself takes about 20 minutes of the two eyes; the actual laser part of the surgery may only be a minute per eye.
Teri Hausman: And then when you leave your office after surgery, do you have your eyes covered by bandages or how does that work?
Dr. Carl May: You have a shield a clear shield over the eye so you don't bump it or rub it and your vision is similar to being under water in a swimming pool for the first few hours as the flap heals in and the inflammation from the surgery starts to go down then your vision starts to get pretty sharp even on the same day that we do it.
Teri Hausman: So would you recommend staying in for the first day and resting?
Dr. Carl May: Yes. Most people we tell to go home close their eyes rest, take it easy, and usually by the next morning when they wake up their vision are nice and sharp.
Teri Hausman: So their vision is sharp and so they know the next day pretty much if there is going to be a complication.
Dr. Carl May: They know if their vision is not as good as or better than it was with their glasses or contacts. Sometimes people that are very near set it like above a minus 10 and have thick coat [banner] glasses they may take several weeks for them to get to their final vision. But there aren't too many complications that would happen in the first night after surgery other than if the patient somehow moved the flap. We have them sleep in their shields first night so they don't rub their eye in their sleep but if they did happen to rub their eye or move the flap they would have very poor vision in the morning and then we'd have to do something to fix that.
Teri Hausman: So is it really a [cheater] first day or what does it feel like? I mean is it, do people complain or they think it is finer?
Dr. Carl May: Most people say that they feel like an eye lash in their eye.
Teri Hausman: Ooh okay.
Dr. Carl May: And then by the next morning that is gone.
Teri Hausman: And what about that, is it like a contact, the shield?
Dr. Carl May: The shield is like a big plastic patch that goes across the bridge of your nose; it is almost like sunglasses for each eye individually.
Teri Hausman: And so what about if you can read but you can't see far?
Dr. Carl May: If you can read and you can't see far away that is Myopia [Neurocide] as in you can see across but you can't see far if you are less than 45 then you haven't developed Presbyopia, and Presbyopia is when the muscles in the eye can't focus to read. So if we fix your [Neurocide] and that is in your 20 years old and we make both eyes for far, then you can see near and far until you get to your mid 40's.
Teri Hausman: So would you, what is that age that you recommend Lasik?
Dr. Carl May: Anybody be 21 years and older.
Teri Hausman: 21 years and older.
Dr. Carl May: And there is not really any upper age limit.
Teri Hausman: And until age 80?
Dr. Carl May: Even up to age 80 yeah.
Teri Hausman: Really?
Dr. Carl May: Yeah.
Teri Hausman: So what about Macular Degeneration, will that, I'm going to ask that question when we come back we going to have to take a quick commercial break, thank our great sponsors like ice.com one of my favorites and we'll be right back.
Teri Hausman: Welcome back, we are talking with Dr. Carl May about how to get rid of our granny glasses, Lasik eye surgery, welcome back Dr. May.
Dr. Carl May: Welcome.
Teri Hausman: So we just, last I was talking about after care. So you have got your Lasik surgery, you are on your way home and you are wearing those shields and we were also talking about who is the good candidate.
Dr. Carl May: Good candidates are anybody over age 21 and there is not really any upper age limit.
Teri Hausman: So my [Nanny] friend has macular degeneration is that completely different you can not help her?
Dr. Carl May: Yes. Eye is like a camera and we are operating with Lasik on the front of the eye, the lens system and Macular Degeneration is the degeneration of the film that takes the photograph, so it would be like a camera having a damaged lens we can fix with Lasik but that would not affect the film of the camera. So if you film is damaged no matter what we do to the lens system it is not going to improve your vision.
Teri Hausman: So when people get older and they get cataract what do you do for them?
Dr. Carl May: Cataract is the lens of the eye getting cloudy that happens to everybody if you live long enough. We can make a small hole in the eye and take the cataract out and then we inject a new lens, inside your eye, that lens now we can put your glasses prescription in that lens those lenses can have stigmatism correction and they can also give you vision for near and far without glasses.
Teri Hausman: But how do you know the difference between if you are getting bad cataract or you are, or you need Lasik?
Dr. Carl May: The only way to really tell is to have an eye exam. But cataracts normally start in people in the age group of 50 and above and their vision has been clear with their glasses or if they have been wearing glasses all of a sudden things start to get blurry especially they get Halos and glares at night when they are driving or they start having trouble reading.
Teri Hausman: Then you better get yourself to the doctor because you don't want to be having a car accident I think it is good to have, how often should we have eye check-ups?
Dr. Carl May: Most people over age 50 should have an eye check up once a year.
Teri Hausman: Once a year. Well that is good advice and thank you so much for being with us today. We are going to switch over to the Latisse doctor because not only do we want to have good sight, we want to have long thick lashes. So thank you Dr. May for being with us, actually have my moms cousin with the May family Bill May I don't know if you know him but anyway, thank you very much for being with us today and we are going to talk to the Latisse doc to see how we can get long lashes. Alright hello, hi?
Leslie O’Dell: Hi?
Teri Hausman: This is the Latisse doctor, yes?
Leslie O’Dell: Yes.
Teri Hausman: Hi, we are going to ask you a few questions cause we want to know how we can get long lash lashes without surgery, they do have implantation surgery I did a show on that, that looks a little extreme, I think that there is just this, it looks like a mascara right that you can put on your eye lashes and they grow?
Leslie O’Dell: Right it is like an eye lash conditioner in a way that you apply to the top lashes each day before you go to bed and it helps to grow your lashes longer and fuller and darker.
Teri Hausman: And for how long do you have to use it?
Leslie O’Dell: Well the studies were done and they follow people for 16 weeks and by 16 weeks they were getting the ideal results which some are as early as 4 weeks and then I know, I think there is a little known about how often after that you are going to keep reapplying.
Teri Hausman: That is the question.
Leslie O’Dell: Yeah.
Teri Hausman: So how often do you wait, do you know?
Leslie O’Dell: A typical lash would last you about five months so there, I'm sure as we are using the medicine more we will figure out the you know if it is once a week or if it is every other night that people have to keep reapplying to keep their results once they get them.
Teri Hausman: What about the safety of your eyes?
Leslie O’Dell: The safety profile with Latisse is very good because only about 5% absorbing in to the eye whereas the medication that we had which was called Lumigan to treat glaucoma there are more side effects to that medicine because it is absorbed in to the eye at a higher volume. So the safety profile is great with Latisse and many studies that were done for the FDA approval, the big side effects were red and itchy eyes but that was only in about 4% of people.
Teri Hausman: So you buy this, and how much does it cost. It is pretty expensive, isn't it?
Leslie O’Dell: Yeah I think it is typically running about $120 now from what I was reading and what we are seeing that can last up to two months.
Teri Hausman: For one box?
Leslie O’Dell: Mmh.
Teri Hausman: So comes in it and is it like mascara?
Leslie O’Dell: It is actually more like an eye liner I would say than a mascara because you don't apply it directly to your lashes like you do mascara, there is a little warrant so they give you 60 applicators with a bottle of Latisse and the way that the FDA approved the medicine was to use a separate applicator per eye for each treatment so that you will need 60 applicators to last you one month. But with an applicator it sort of looks more like an eye liner a disposable eye liner brush, you put a drop on an then you apply it to the base of your lashes like you would put on an eye liner.
Teri Hausman: And so what happens when you stop using Latisse?
Leslie O’Dell: If you stop using Latisse, you lashes just naturally go back to normal.
Teri Hausman: So do you pretty much have to keep up?
Leslie O’Dell: Right
Teri Hausman: There when you eye lashes are really long do you disuse at last?
Leslie O’Dell: Right that is why I think there is just going to be a maintenance dose that is needed, because you are not losing all of your eye lashes at one time, they are falling at different rates so it is just a matter of keeping enough of the medicine on the lid to keep stimulating the growth of the lashes.
Teri Hausman: And what if somebody gets the Latisse in to their eye, what should they do?
Leslie O’Dell: Well it is safe to use in the eye because it is a derived from an eye drop that we used to treat glaucoma safely for years, so it is nothing that you need to panic about it is safe to you know go in to your eye but you don't really want it going in to your eye because this increases the chances of any of the side effects. So not to panic because it is made for your eye but I would try to be careful you know to keep it on your lid.
Teri Hausman: Some people have asked me if Latisse could change the color of their eye, could that be true.
Leslie O’Dell: Latisse has not been proven to change the color of your eyes with the glaucoma medicines that are available that has been indicated in a very small population of people but then again it is a much higher concentration of medicine absorbing in to the eye but that is a risk factor because it is the same type of medicine.
Teri Hausman: Mmhh.
Leslie O’Dell: In the FDA studies there were 278 patients and that was not reported at all as a side effect.
Teri Hausman: Now are you just going to be able to replace your mascara or do people use mascara as well?
Leslie O’Dell: I think both ways people feel more comfortable to kind of get up and go without having to put makeup on but it also enhances, you know mascara enhances your eye lashes. So I seem people go both ways.
Teri Hausman: How does this compare to the other lash products that have been on the market lately? Are you going to provide the lash and other couple of things?
Leslie O’Dell: Well, Latisse is the only FDA approved prescription treatment for inadequate eye lashes so it is actually been studied in clinical trials so the safety and effectiveness is just better known.
Teri Hausman: So you are safer to use it because it is FDA approved because I did hear of some sort of recalling I don't think it was a vital aspect to another product, because it was not approved yet or something.
Leslie O’Dell: Yeah I think if there is anything that you know the FDA approval process for any medication is pretty rigorous so the safety profile for something that is FDA approved versus something that's just over the counter something like that is better.
Teri Hausman: So tell us about the growth of your eye lashes. So I put it on and how long do you think it is going to take for me to see results?
Leslie O’Dell: I actually myself I've been experimenting and have been using the product for about two weeks and I do think that I have started to see a little bit of the change in the length but not so much to the fullest yet or the darkness, so I think between two to four weeks you start noticing something but to get the fuller darker lashes that is going to take a little longer eight to 16 weeks. It is something that you have to you know sort of be patient for, it is good to get yourself in the routine to leave the product by your toothbrush or something at night so you remember to do it every night.
Teri Hausman: Well, let me ask this, there are listeners I know we did the show on the lash extensions; can you use it over lash extension?
Leslie O’Dell: I don't know, I actually I'm not that familiar with how eye lash extension work but I would think the you can still use it because an eye lash does an eyelash extension go on to the end of the lash?
Teri Hausman: Yeah it goes on top [coiners] and it kind of blends in.
Leslie O’Dell: Right.
Teri Hausman: But I don't think that is healthy for you I think they kind of rip out some of your own lashes, so that is why I would say, hopefully we could use Latisse over them whether they naturally fall off.
Leslie O’Dell: Absolutely, yeah absolutely. Because the lash was growing the lash would grow but kind of behind the eye lash extension I guess.
Teri Hausman: Right it will be really good replacement, because I'm pretty sure the lash extension are bad, for your eye.
Leslie O’Dell: Yeah. Even for the forced eye lashes with the glue.
Teri Hausman: Oh that is really bad. Yeah that really rips out your lashes. So hopefully you can you know use this and grow your lashes yourself.
Leslie O’Dell: Absolutely.
Teri Hausman: That would be the best. I know myself this was a tatty move the other day I used an eyelash color and it did not have one of those rubber things and I totally cut my lashes by accident and it was painful. I discovered my first case with Latisse today, so happy that I'm doing the show today so I'm getting all the info on how to use it.
Leslie O’Dell: Yeah absolutely. And the other thing is through our website mayeyecare.com we have our link to our twitter site which is latissetalk so any questions that people have across the country as they are using it I’m more than happy to answer or try to find an answer for them.
Teri Hausman: That would be great and also on personallifemedia.com we are going to have all your links to all twitter sites and so they can get a hold of you and they can twitter and tweet.
Leslie O’Dell: Yeah.
Teri Hausman: About our lashes cause that is going to be really great.
Leslie O’Dell: Thanks.
Teri Hausman: So we thank you for being with us today, one last question, is it dangerous at all?
Leslie O’Dell: No I mean it is definitely a safe product if you are using it under the guidance of a doctor; some people should not use Latisse that is if they are pregnant or nursing.
Teri Hausman: That was a stupid question I wanted to ask you.
Leslie O’Dell: Yeah and the other thing as far as who is a good candidate would be somebody who has glaucoma you can still use Latisse but it is something that you eye doctor would want to know because they could affect the way that your medicine or your treatment is working so those are things that are important to know you know for whoever is prescribing the Latisse.
Teri Hausman: And you can't just get Latisse anywhere, not your normal [suburban], would not have it, you have to have a prescription, right?
Leslie O’Dell: Right. It is available by prescription only.
Teri Hausman: By prescription so you can go to our website personallifemedia.com and get hooked up to the latissetalk so you can get your Latisse and start right away. Thanks so much for being with us today we are going to look forward to having you back and I will check in with you on twitter to tell you how my lashes are doing in four weeks cause I’m starting today yeah.
Leslie O’Dell: Alright, sounds good.
Teri Hausman: Okay dear listeners, if you want Lasik or if you want lashes just go to our personallifemedia.com and we are going to hook you up with the latissetalk. Thanks for being with us today.
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