Bummer. I would definitely let the doc/clinic that was supposed to inform me of this know that they failed to do so, so they can amend their ways. They really should be handing people checklists of what to do in preparation for exam or surgery or they are wasting everyone else’s time.
Yes, I am going to let them know! I don’t see it listed on the papers they gave me after my appointment, either. Much is made of the instructions for right before and after the procedure, but I totally didn’t know that wearing contacts could change the shape of your cornea at all, never mind enough to make a difference in the measurements. No idea at all. Just regular plebeian soft lenses.
I went for my pre-surgery consult today, and after a lot of deliberation decided on just replacing the lens in one eye, using a standard lens. I really did go back-and-forth on this, but at the end of the day my right eye is in good shape still, and it just feels weird to have surgery on it. I do expect that to change over time, and of course I can always get a second eye done whenever.
I also plan to keep glasses for distance viewing.
My surgery is March 29, I’m really looking forward to getting this done, and getting new glasses etc, and having this blur in my left eye just go the hell away.
Best of luck to you @Maserschmidt .
Last year, I was told my eyes were stable and I didn’t need the surgery yet. This year, my Graves Disease is acting up so I’m a candidate for thyroid eye issues. We’ll see what the doc says in May.
I go in for the right eye on March 22. Happy to get it done but kind of nervous.
Best wishes to both of you
Question for those of you who had the surgery. I’m having my eye done around noon tomorrow, very excited to get this done, and I’m supposed to run a committee meeting Wednesday evening. Should be fine, right? I’m just imagining I’ll have an eyepatch or something.
Thanks!
I’m having my right eye done March 30 and the left on April 13. I’ve never had surgery before so I’m a little apprehensive, but I have to get my driver’s license renewed in November with the goal of not having to wear glasses to pass the eye test! My husband had both eyes done in 2013 and he says all you see is a red dot.
You should be fine to run that meeting - though you might have a little trouble reading the agenda, depending on what they’re doing with that eye! When I first read your message, I thought the surgery and the meeting were on the same day, and I’d have recommended NOT making the attempt.
Mrs_Ducky: you may be able to get a letter from your opthalmologist, after your post-op visits, telling the DMV that your vision is now corrected to such-and-such and you no longer need glasses to drive. That’s what I (eventually) did. You don’t want to be driving without glasses for too terribly long, in case you get pulled over and the cop tries to cite you for not having them. I let that go too long myself - though I did luck out, and never got pulled over for anything.
Oh, and any updates from Maser, Ducky, Skypist et all who have had it done recently?
It’s very kind of you to comment and ask. With respect to the meeting, I was really tired (not sure if that was 10 minutes of anesthesia or just general overload), and it was hard to focus on the agenda, but otherwise good.
The procedure went great. The prep was longer than the surgery, and the surgery wasn’t particularly onerous (I remember most of it though they said I wouldn’t, but meh, there was nothing exciting other than him demanding “BSS” (saline solution) like a million times…though the moment when the new lens slid in was amazing).
The vision from the new lens is just absurdly amazing. I had no idea that I had a glaze of sepia, urinic-toned grime over my lenses, and so my left eye sees everything bright and maybe a bit bluish now. I know that might fade a bit, so we’ll see, but while I originally said I was only doing one lens, now I’m rethinking that. Also, my eyes are now at different depths, which glasses can correct, but I’m not sure I want this forever.
The aftercare is a pain in the ass - a Niagara of eyedrops for weeks-to-a-month, but a small price to pay.
Yeah - the eye drops were a bit of a chore, but well worth it.
I didn’t notice a dramatic improvement in my vision after my surgery, but then my right eye didn’t have much of a cataract, and had been compensating for the left eye for well over a year at the time the left eye was done. Then presumably the left eye compensated for the right for the intervening 2 weeks :D. I definitely saw an improvement in my night vision - I had gotten to the point of actively avoiding night driving: not that I was necessarily unsafe, but I did not feel I could see as well. This led to a couple of times where I stopped at a hotel on long trips when I would have pushed on, otherwise.
The eye difference, during those 2 weeks, was kind of a pain. I had the left lens taken out of my glasses but it was still tough to adjust to - especially since I really needed reading glasses for the left eye, so using the computer was kind of a problem. I’m sure I could have gotten prescription glasses to handle it, had the right eye not been next in line. I absolutely had trouble before the surgery - as my left eye needed something like -5.5 and the right was -1.5, and the difference in strength led to some eyestrain when driving. For computer work, I just used my old glasses and let the right eye shoulder the burden.
Wheni was in high school, my optometrist talked me into glasses that darkened in bright sunlight. And he suggested brown, as that would look good with the frames and my coloring.
Oh my God, i hated them. I spent a year seeing everything look dirty. (And i had enough vision around and without my glasses to be keenly aware of it.)
Glad it worked well. What kind of lens did you get?
I got the most basic lens available, one that kept me nearsighted but allows me to see very well at medium to short distances. So no multifocal, or vivity or anything like that. Once I have the other lens done, I’ll have some sort of lightweight glasses for seeing a distance, and for things like driving.
I thought about those glasses that dark and with sunlight, do you think they’re universally a problem, or just the pair you had?
Here’s a pair of articles that discuss the various sunglass color tints.
My photochromic (darken with ambient brightness) are grey. I like them a lot and have zero problems with them.
Interesting, thanks!
In my experience they are not a good option. Automobile glass somehow filters sunlight so if you are driving with them they do not darken and function as sunglasses for driving. But they do always have a slight off tinge of yellow to them everywhere that is very unflattering to one’s face as well as distorting colors
I think this is generally very true (and can be generally very annoying).
But I got a pair of glasses primarily for driving, using these lenses:
They work really well (for me) in the car, and still lighten up to almost clear in many/most indoor (or low light) settings.
I’d say this graphic is pretty close to my experience:
I did wear yellow goggles when i used to ski. They were pretty good for visibility. But i took them off to enjoy the view.
When mine were done, I was given a card with the intra-occular lens specifications. The driver’s license says “corrective lens”, so in-your-body corrective lens should be OK. If nothing else, challenge the cop to a vision test - my new vision was better than 20-20.
Yeah - I have those cards as well; it likely would not have occurred to me to produce them if pulled over.
I wouldn’t trust a cop to do a vision test in any case - a) not qualified, and b) might opt to “misinterpret” the results if s/he was in a bad move. And even so, the cop could follow the letter of the law, see that your license said corrective lenses required, and ticket you for not having them (since, unlike a contact lens, it’s not like you could pop that puppy out and prove it!).