I went in for my follow up visit today. It appears that my eyeballs are doing well. They're slowly healing and my vision is better than my last visit. It's gotta be around 20/20 at this point. There seems to be no need for Lasik, which is nice. My pressure is still a little high, but I guess it's within the normal range. I'm supposed to continue with the one drop per day thing till the next visit.
From my perspective, my vision seems to be the same as last time, but all the fancy machines say otherwise. I guess I must be used to it or the correction is so slight that mentally I can't perceive it. When testing my eyes individually, my left eye seems to see clearer. However, this has always been the case because I think the astigmatism in my right eye is worse.
Overall, I'm totally happy with the results of the Visian ICL surgery despite all the prolonged issues I've been having. I'm still amazed that I can wake up in the middle of the night and look over and see my clock. It's like whoa. I don't even remember when I was able to do this last without squinting. Technology is pretty darn cool.
Showing posts with label Lasik. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lasik. Show all posts
February 10, 2010
January 26, 2010
Visian ICL Follow Up - Again
Today I went in for a two-week follow up visit after my second procedure. I heard the doc and his assistant say the procedure's name today, but I've forgotten it already. They used some acronym for it anyway, so it wasn't really the real name.
Anyhow, my vision seems to have improved quite a bit. But the pressure in my left eye is still messed up a bit. It's high again. The right eye is a-okay from a pressure standpoint but it's a bit blurrier than the left one (when tested separately). I may need to do a quick Lasik operation even after all of this to get it right.
This quickie procedure is dragging on and on. I've just gotta be the special one, right? Still, I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm basically an anomaly and the doc has no real medical reason as to why the pressure is messed up. He said it's probably genetic and so I'm having a reaction. There are no plans to remove the lenses at this point though (which is very good to hear). Again, we play the waiting game.
I forgot to ask about any precautions regarding diving under water. However, since I'm going in again in two weeks I can ask at that point. It's probably not a good idea at this point to do the shark dive with JC. I might need to tell her that I can't go and that she should find another friend. Damn it! I really wanted to do that.
Anyhow, my vision seems to have improved quite a bit. But the pressure in my left eye is still messed up a bit. It's high again. The right eye is a-okay from a pressure standpoint but it's a bit blurrier than the left one (when tested separately). I may need to do a quick Lasik operation even after all of this to get it right.
This quickie procedure is dragging on and on. I've just gotta be the special one, right? Still, I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm basically an anomaly and the doc has no real medical reason as to why the pressure is messed up. He said it's probably genetic and so I'm having a reaction. There are no plans to remove the lenses at this point though (which is very good to hear). Again, we play the waiting game.
I forgot to ask about any precautions regarding diving under water. However, since I'm going in again in two weeks I can ask at that point. It's probably not a good idea at this point to do the shark dive with JC. I might need to tell her that I can't go and that she should find another friend. Damn it! I really wanted to do that.
December 20, 2009
Vision Update
I went for a follow up last Tuesday to check out the pressure in my left eye. Apparently it's finally about normal. After some testing and whatnot, the doc said that my vision is off by only one diopter for each eye. They both are also plagued with slight astigmatism.
The good news is that this will not require Lasik to fix and can be done in the office. He said for me to come back in a month and re-check my eyes. If everything is stable and consistent, we'll go ahead and do the procedure that same day. Upon healing, it should clear up the last bit of nearsightedness that I have. I can't wait.
This is great news! However, I suppose this means that I'll have to put off the shark dive I was planning to do with a friend in January. Hopefully she understands. Maybe we'll go sometime in the spring? My eyes should've healed by then, right?
The good news is that this will not require Lasik to fix and can be done in the office. He said for me to come back in a month and re-check my eyes. If everything is stable and consistent, we'll go ahead and do the procedure that same day. Upon healing, it should clear up the last bit of nearsightedness that I have. I can't wait.
This is great news! However, I suppose this means that I'll have to put off the shark dive I was planning to do with a friend in January. Hopefully she understands. Maybe we'll go sometime in the spring? My eyes should've healed by then, right?
August 29, 2009
Visian ICL - Pre-Comprehensive Exam
Back in June I went in for some consultations on corrective eye surgery. I was able to watch both procedures live, which was pretty cool. The Lasik surgery was extremely fast and looked painless. The Visian seemed a little longer, although it was definitely less than 15 minutes.
I decided on the Visian ICL procedure over the Lasik because I feel more comfortable that it isn't permanent. Hopefully I'll never need to undo the surgery, but I like knowing that it can be done. With Lasik, once they blast your eye with the laser, the cells don't grow back. I mean, on the off chance that there's an eff up, you'd be screwed. With Visian, they can remove the implant and you can go back to how you were pre-op.
Anyway, my comprehensive eye exam is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. This is when they will do all the elaborate measurings and readings of my eyes. If I remember right, they said it'll take two hours. Once this is done, they can order the lenses. The surgeries are scheduled for the following two Wednesdays (only one eye at a time).
Because of the exam on Tuesday, I have to wear glasses from now till then. This is supposed to allow your eyes to return to their normal shape. I guess contacts of any kind reshape the surface of your eyes if you wear them for too long. I've had contacts since the fifth grade so I guess that's sufficiently long enough. On a positive note, I wear soft lenses so I only need to remove my lenses a few days prior to the exam. If you wear hard lenses, you have to take out your contacts for a couple weeks, I think.
If you're like me and never wear your glasses outside of your house, wearing them now is like a slow torture. I keep telling myself that I'll never have to wear glasses again, but the next four days will be a killer. Since I'm not used to wearing glasses more than a couple hours at a time, this should be a painful experience for me. Even now, after wearing them for only a couple hours, they feel extremely heavy. At least I only have to wear them for two days at work though.
I decided on the Visian ICL procedure over the Lasik because I feel more comfortable that it isn't permanent. Hopefully I'll never need to undo the surgery, but I like knowing that it can be done. With Lasik, once they blast your eye with the laser, the cells don't grow back. I mean, on the off chance that there's an eff up, you'd be screwed. With Visian, they can remove the implant and you can go back to how you were pre-op.
Anyway, my comprehensive eye exam is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. This is when they will do all the elaborate measurings and readings of my eyes. If I remember right, they said it'll take two hours. Once this is done, they can order the lenses. The surgeries are scheduled for the following two Wednesdays (only one eye at a time).
Because of the exam on Tuesday, I have to wear glasses from now till then. This is supposed to allow your eyes to return to their normal shape. I guess contacts of any kind reshape the surface of your eyes if you wear them for too long. I've had contacts since the fifth grade so I guess that's sufficiently long enough. On a positive note, I wear soft lenses so I only need to remove my lenses a few days prior to the exam. If you wear hard lenses, you have to take out your contacts for a couple weeks, I think.
If you're like me and never wear your glasses outside of your house, wearing them now is like a slow torture. I keep telling myself that I'll never have to wear glasses again, but the next four days will be a killer. Since I'm not used to wearing glasses more than a couple hours at a time, this should be a painful experience for me. Even now, after wearing them for only a couple hours, they feel extremely heavy. At least I only have to wear them for two days at work though.
June 18, 2009
Scrubbing On Up To The East Side
Actually, no. I'm not scrubbing in on a surgery, but I am getting to watch a real live Visian ICL get implanted into someone's eye.
Let me back up. In researching this LASIK and Visian ICL thing, I asked the patient coordinator if I'd be able to watch a procedure be done. Luckily, while I was in the office last Thursday I got to see a LASIK procedure. I stood outside the operating room (if you can even call it that) and looked through the window. (It was very Grey's-like if you ask me). Everything went well and it was so quick. This technology nowadays is amazing.
Today I got word that I'll be able to watch a Visian procedure be done. Apparently there's no window to peek through, but I'll be able to watch a monitor showing an up-close look at the eye. This should be good enought to see how the lens is inserted into the eye. I think it'll look very CSI.
I've already watched a bunch of ICL procedures on YouTube, but it's not the same when it's live. I also think it's good to see it being done by your own personal surgeon, ya know? I want to watch the patient go in blind and watch them come out going, "Hot diggity dog, I can see!!!" That would be the best outcome. It's suck if the hobbled out still blind in immense pain . . . or maybe not walk out at all.
Still, I think I'm just overanalyzing this and letting my imagination run wild. Sure there are risks with every surgery. The only way not to take risks is to stop living. Risks are unavoidable. If I take this risk and get either the LASIK or ICL done and leave the office without the need for corrective lenses, I think it'll be worth it.
Let me back up. In researching this LASIK and Visian ICL thing, I asked the patient coordinator if I'd be able to watch a procedure be done. Luckily, while I was in the office last Thursday I got to see a LASIK procedure. I stood outside the operating room (if you can even call it that) and looked through the window. (It was very Grey's-like if you ask me). Everything went well and it was so quick. This technology nowadays is amazing.
Today I got word that I'll be able to watch a Visian procedure be done. Apparently there's no window to peek through, but I'll be able to watch a monitor showing an up-close look at the eye. This should be good enought to see how the lens is inserted into the eye. I think it'll look very CSI.
I've already watched a bunch of ICL procedures on YouTube, but it's not the same when it's live. I also think it's good to see it being done by your own personal surgeon, ya know? I want to watch the patient go in blind and watch them come out going, "Hot diggity dog, I can see!!!" That would be the best outcome. It's suck if the hobbled out still blind in immense pain . . . or maybe not walk out at all.
Still, I think I'm just overanalyzing this and letting my imagination run wild. Sure there are risks with every surgery. The only way not to take risks is to stop living. Risks are unavoidable. If I take this risk and get either the LASIK or ICL done and leave the office without the need for corrective lenses, I think it'll be worth it.
June 12, 2009
Lasik vs. Visian ICL
Yesterday I went to two consultations to see if I might be a candidate for doing refractive eye surgery. I had already gone to a separate informational meeting to learn about it, but this was a full-on screening where they check your eyes and get your prescription.
It turns out I'm a candidate for both Lasik and Visian ICL because of the structure of my eyes and my prescription. From what I can tell, there's a limit to how myopic your eyes can be for Lasik to be effective. If your eyes are too bad, then Lasik doesn't work well (and I think is not approved above a certain diopter). Once you get up into the higher diopters, Visian is more effective. In my situation, I'm stuck between the two options so it's my personal choice which procedure I do.
So what's the difference between the two procedures?
Most people are familiar with Lasik. In this procedure, they use a laser to cut a flap with a hinge in your eye. The use another laser to shape your cornea, which enables you to see better. Then they close the flap and allow the eye to heal.
The Visian ICL (implantable collamer lens) is a lens that is inserted into your eye in front of your natural lens. Together they allow you to see better. Because the lens is within the eye, you can't feel it like a regular contact lens. It's supposed to be permanent, like Lasik, and requires no care at all.
Both procedures cost a pretty penny. Visian ICL costs about 1G per eye more than Lasik. But, Visian ICL is also reversable - the lens can be removed from your eye if a problem occurs. Lasik is permanent - once they laser off those cells, those cells are goners.
Lasik is the more popular option as it has been in the U.S. for a longer period of time. It seems like Visian ICL is the newer technology and will, at some point in time, replace Lasik. It was just FDA approved a couple years ago (although it has been done in Europe for many years).
I'm not sure which surgery option I'm more comfortable with. I'm also not sure how much I want to spend on this. I could always continue to wear contacts. Oh, but the hassle of it all just sucks. Once I pick a procedure, I'll also have to select a surgeon. There are a couple other refractive eye surgeons in town, but I don't think they offer Visian ICL.
I'm also concerned about the side effects and potential complications that may arise due to one of these surgeries. The worst case scenario is that I could go blind because of some kind of infection. Now that would truly suck. However, people with contacts may also get eye infections from bacteria that could lead to vision loss too, I suppose.
Guess I just need to do more research on the two options to see which is a better fit for me. Anyone have any experience getting Lasik or ICLs? The more information I have, the more comfortable I will probably be to make a decision.
It turns out I'm a candidate for both Lasik and Visian ICL because of the structure of my eyes and my prescription. From what I can tell, there's a limit to how myopic your eyes can be for Lasik to be effective. If your eyes are too bad, then Lasik doesn't work well (and I think is not approved above a certain diopter). Once you get up into the higher diopters, Visian is more effective. In my situation, I'm stuck between the two options so it's my personal choice which procedure I do.
So what's the difference between the two procedures?
Most people are familiar with Lasik. In this procedure, they use a laser to cut a flap with a hinge in your eye. The use another laser to shape your cornea, which enables you to see better. Then they close the flap and allow the eye to heal.
The Visian ICL (implantable collamer lens) is a lens that is inserted into your eye in front of your natural lens. Together they allow you to see better. Because the lens is within the eye, you can't feel it like a regular contact lens. It's supposed to be permanent, like Lasik, and requires no care at all.
Both procedures cost a pretty penny. Visian ICL costs about 1G per eye more than Lasik. But, Visian ICL is also reversable - the lens can be removed from your eye if a problem occurs. Lasik is permanent - once they laser off those cells, those cells are goners.
Lasik is the more popular option as it has been in the U.S. for a longer period of time. It seems like Visian ICL is the newer technology and will, at some point in time, replace Lasik. It was just FDA approved a couple years ago (although it has been done in Europe for many years).
I'm not sure which surgery option I'm more comfortable with. I'm also not sure how much I want to spend on this. I could always continue to wear contacts. Oh, but the hassle of it all just sucks. Once I pick a procedure, I'll also have to select a surgeon. There are a couple other refractive eye surgeons in town, but I don't think they offer Visian ICL.
I'm also concerned about the side effects and potential complications that may arise due to one of these surgeries. The worst case scenario is that I could go blind because of some kind of infection. Now that would truly suck. However, people with contacts may also get eye infections from bacteria that could lead to vision loss too, I suppose.
Guess I just need to do more research on the two options to see which is a better fit for me. Anyone have any experience getting Lasik or ICLs? The more information I have, the more comfortable I will probably be to make a decision.
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