Why are people committing suicide after laser eye surgery?

nivek

As Above So Below
This report says 11 people have committed suicide after laser eye surgery, what is going on with this?...

Married TV meteorologist mother-of-two who hanged herself is among 'at least 11 people' who have committed suicide after laser eye surgery
  • Jessica Starr, 35, committed suicide on Wednesday in Detroit, Michigan
  • In October Canadian father-of-two Paul Fitzpatrick, 56, killed himself and blamed 20 years of agonizing post-Lasik pain in his suicide note
  • Paula Cofer, the founder of a support group called Lasik Complications, claims at least 10 others in the US have committed suicide amid post-surgery pain
  • It remains unclear if Starr's suicide was directly related to her surgery
  • She told fans she was struggling and that her she had to use eye drops in November

Jessica Starr, 35, was found dead on Wednesday night. She was married with two young children and had a successful television career.

Questions remain over why she killed herself but her final public remarks were to tell fans that she was still struggling to recover from Lasik SMILE eye surgery.

She underwent the widely performed procedure in October to correct her nearsightedness so that she could stop wearing contact lenses.

Ordinarily, patients take a few days to regain their sight but Starr complained on November 13, a month after her procedure, that she was still having trouble.

On Friday, the Oakland County Medical Examiner confirmed her manner of death.

A spokesman told Radar Online the coroner found a 'gruesome scene'. It is not yet known what time she was found, where she died or who found her.

An alarming number of Lasik patients suffer from agonizing, chronic pain following the surgery, according to Paula Cofer, the founder of a support group called Lasik Complications, which strives to educate potential patients about the risks of the surgery.

In October, Canadian father-of-two Paul Fitzpatrick killed himself and blamed 20 years of post-Lasik pain in his suicide note.

Fitzpatrick was unequivocally clear when he died. He wrote a suicide note where he said he had been suffering excruciating pain for two decades years.

Paula Cofer, who underwent Lasik in 2000 and has suffered from severe dry eyes as a result, told CTV that at least nine others she knew of had committed suicide after having the procedure.

Other doctors have specifically warned against the procedure.

Among them is Dr. Edward Boshnick of the Global Vision Rehabilitation Center who writes on his website: 'Over the years I’ve had the misfortune of examining hundreds of patients who have lost quality vision and suffered severe depression as a result of lasik surgery.

'Two of these patients were so depressed by their post-surgical vision loss that they attempted suicide. In fact, there are several documented cases of post-lasik suicides.

'My feeling is that lasik surgery and other refractive surgical procedures exist solely to enrich doctors and the corporations that manufacture the laser equipment and not to benefit mankind.'

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Toroid

Founding Member
Yeah, I read this story yesterday and thought there has to be another component to the suicide aspect. Are they installing pain chips into people's eyes?
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Yeah, I read this story yesterday and thought there has to be another component to the suicide aspect. Are they installing pain chips into people's eyes?

I wondered if the frequency of the laser light was having some sort of psychotic effect on the brain over time because the eyes are still capturing this light and sending signals to the brain...But then I wonder if there is technology being used to send information into the brain of that individual getting laser surgery, planting data into the brain using the laser light as a carrier...

...
 
Guys - the answer to the question is in the article. I guess it's true that people only read the headline nowadays.

These people were suffering the alarming and agonizing pain associated with eye surgery failures and complications. You know how miserable it is when you get a speck of dirt in your eye? Imagine dealing with that 24/7 for a few weeks, with no hope that it's going away anytime soon. Plus a new level of vision loss that can't be corrected.

No wonder they chose to check out instead.
 

nivek

As Above So Below
Guys - the answer to the question is in the article. I guess it's true that people only read the headline nowadays.

Hello Thomas, I read much more than just the headline, and much more than merely that article in the OP and the answer is unequivocally not in the article, nor has the answer found to my satisfaction as of yet...You see the reasons you mentioned do not warrant such an extreme measure in my opinion and in my reasoning, it is appalling to carry out such an extreme action which is also an extremely selfish action at that...That 'way out' is never an option to me so I guess I will never understand the thinking, reasoning, nor rational behind it...

...
 

Shadowprophet

Truthiness
Guys - the answer to the question is in the article. I guess it's true that people only read the headline nowadays.

These people were suffering the alarming and agonizing pain associated with eye surgery failures and complications. You know how miserable it is when you get a speck of dirt in your eye? Imagine dealing with that 24/7 for a few weeks, with no hope that it's going away anytime soon. Plus a new level of vision loss that can't be corrected.

No wonder they chose to check out instead.

OMG, I've thought about getting Lasik so many times I never even considered How it could feel if something damaged the nerves in the eyes, What A waking nightmare that could be, When I was Younger, I somehow Got a piece Of Fiber Glass in my eye, when a nerve in the eye gets scratched and irritated, There are no words for the pain, I wanted to crawl out of my body just to get away from the searing pain. Of your post, I appreciate this I never even considered, "What if the surgery went wrong" I'll never get Lasic ever after this article. Considering the possible painful side effects, Being Blind and accepting what cards one was delt would the wisest option.

This Article and your input have opened my eyes, "Which carries a small amount of Irony in a Lasic thread"


Hello Thomas, I read much more than just the headline, and much more than merely that article in the OP and the answer is unequivocally not in the article, nor has the answer found to my satisfaction as of yet...You see the reasons you mentioned do not warrant such an extreme measure in my opinion and in my reasoning, it is appalling to carry out such an extreme action which is also an extremely selfish action at that...That 'way out' is never an option to me so I guess I will never understand the thinking, reasoning, nor rationale behind it...

...
I did As I always do, When faced with a question, I tie all the facts together and examine for an angel that isn't represented in the data, My first thought was Surgery usually requires medicine, And I reasoned, Medicine has side effects, and sometimes those side effects are suicidal. A Search Revealed side effects of steroids - Google Search

That Steroids and Antibiotics and Artificial Tears are the common After Lasic Surgery. As Usual, this wasn't enough information, So I looked up Suicide rates for steroid use. Medscape: Medscape Access I bring these up, Not because it's the Answer, It's just one of many possibilities, Keep in mind Lasic Surgery is more affordable and possibly one of the most common Outpatient surgeries around.

I'm not Saying for Certain The Steroids Did it, But, WIth Suicide being linked to the Aggressive mood swings steroids are known to cause in some people. I look at the Numbers and assume, Maybe these people Roided out while Healing from surgery on the Steroids and Made a fateful if Rage induced Decision. I don't know, I'm not a Doctor, I'm not An anything, If I am a something, I'm Probable More Like Carebear. I'm Self-confident enough to rock a Carebear as a spirit Animal anyway.
 
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SOUL-DRIFTER

Life Long Researcher
Geeze I had laser surgery done on my eyes some 15 years ago. Glad I had it done.
My vision has slipped back a bit though.
 

pigfarmer

tall, thin, irritable
There are a bazillion others who have done this without the need to off themselves - and add cataract surgery to the pile. Admittedly this sounds horrible but when you look at how many people have had this procedure it seems more like a disturbing statistical aberration. Of course, if it were one of my loved ones then putting it that way wouldn't be too cool.

I had a much more involved surgery years ago and they used an epidural on me. Turns out I am one of those people that you just can't do that to. You know when you eat something too cold and get brain freeze? Make it last two weeks. I never got to the point where suicide was ever an option but I was getting more than a little desperate and crazy before I got any relief.
 

SOUL-DRIFTER

Life Long Researcher
Back in 1983 I got severe eye infection in my right eye, from a contaminated contact. I moved so aggressively they immediately prescribed 3 different antibiotic eye drops that had to be administered from one every 30 minutes.
Long story short...I had to have the eye doc insert a hypodermic needle into my eye to get a sample of the infection. I was in the ICU for 4 days.
Even the thought of one eye didn't get me down.
Though my docs never told me but I was very close to having the infection go into my brain. That might have spelled curtains.
 

Dejan Corovic

As above, so bellow
I read somewhere that official statistics for lasic eye surgery is 5% failure rate.

That's 1 in 20. That's HUGE failure rate. Chances that it will happen to you are enormous.

There is a whole forum on the web where people on whom lasic surgery failed tell their horror stories. Like there was a lady who was a graphic designer, who was not just in a constant pain and constant headaches, but her vision was totally blurred and she was practically left blind. Obviously, her being a graphic designer she wasn't able to continue with her carrier and was made bankrupt on a top.

And now penniless and blind she was facing legal battle with huge company with constant cash flow and an army of lawyers. Good luck to her.

Just google "laser eye surgery problems" before you take risk with your eyes.

Or at least, do one eye at a time :).
 
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