The 20-Year Backstory…

I’ve already posted about me and why I started this blog, but as the experience has already started, I wanted to post a bit more about where I am in the process and how I got to this point.

15-20 years ago…

I’ve been aware of vision correction surgeries for about 20 years.  From RK in the late 80s, which I wasn’t a candidate for, to LASIK, which isn’t a good choice for me either.

Whenever I’d have my yearly exam with my ophthalmologist, I would always ask about vision correction options.  About 15 years ago, he told me “the future” would be something involving a corrected lens being inserted into the eye.

He told me about one of his patients, about my age, that was even more nearsighted than I was.   They had never been able to correct him to greater than 20/200.

This guy had cataracts, which I’m sure were part of the problem, so when his natural lenses were removed, they were replaced with some that took care of his myopic.  The correction wasn’t perfect, but it was enough for him to see 20/40 and get a license to drive.  Needless to say, it was life-changing for him.

I was sold!  The problem, if you want to call it that, was that I didn’t have cataracts.  Other than myopia with astigmatism, my eyes are in great shape.  In other words, my vision was too good to do such a procedure.

1999…

Somehow got word about an FDA trial on implantable lenses.    I don’t remember the exact details, but after an initial examination, it didn’t happen.  Seems like, once again, my myopia wasn’t severe enough.  Or maybe it was that I didn’t really care for the doctor… Or both.

A few years later, saw a newspaper ad requesting people with “extreme myopia” for another FDA trial.  Called them up only to find that, once again, I wasn’t extreme enough.

2010…

Implantable lenses have been approved by the FDA for a few years, so I’ve decided at the end of March that it was time to go for it…  As I’ve been asking about this procedure for years and years, I already had a recommendation for a good surgeon from my ophthalmologist, so I made the call to set up the “free consultation.”

The “Free Consultation”

Got to the doctor’s office at 8am and checked in.  After waiting a few minutes, 20-something woman from his staff called my name and lead me to the exam room.

Checked my vision with contacts in.  It was a basic exam, consisting of reading letters off the wall chart with each eye, checking dominant eye, etc.  Same exam you’ve done a million times…

Took my contacts out and was lead to a machine, that I think checked refraction.  You put your face up to a machine, she aligns it to each of your eyes, and it takes measurements…

Next was a similar machine, but it had a weird design where you put your face, kind of like a swirl.  Reminded me of the intro for The Twilight Zone.  When I told the lady this she said, “Just wait until I turn it on.”

Experience was more or less the same thing as the first machine.  “Open your eyes wide and don’t blink.  Ok, you can blink.  Open your eyes wide.  Ok, blink.”

After that, was lead to another examination room where she put on a video about the various procedures offered (that I couldn’t see, by the way!) while I wanted on the doctor.  It’s worth nothing that ICL wasn’t mentioned in the video.

Doctor comes in and says, “Hello, I’m the doctor!  You’ve got quite a bit of myopia!”

I’m thinking, “Please, God.  Let this happen for me!!”

“You’re not a good candidate for LASIK,” he says.

“That’s ok, because I’m here for ICL,” was my response.

So we talked about ICL… I’ve got plenty of “chamber depth” (where they’ll place the lens), so that’s good.  Pupils are on the edge, around 6-7mm, but still doable, so that’s ok.

Then he started getting into the details.  And by details, I mean that ICL might not be exact, because of the astigmatism or whatever else, so there might have to be a followup PRK.

And that’s when I started to get a bit sick…

It was early for me, I’d already had a few tests on my eyes, I’d been through the very descriptive video (at least the audio part of it) about cutting flaps and lasers, and I was in an unknown place with a big blurry blob talking to me about the risks of what I was considering.  A bit overwhelming!

Put my head down, took a few deep breaths, and explained why I was there.  I’m a guy who was born nearsighted and has never seen clearly without corrective lenses, not some 40-year-old trophy wife bitching about having to wear reading glasses for a few minutes per day for the last couple of months.  My myopia is more than an inconvenience; it’s a safety issue.  If my house is burning down, I want to get out of there, not have to look for my glasses so I can find the door.  If I’m traveling in a foreign country (or even in this country), it’s a big risk to be so dependent on corrective lenses.

He answered my questions and, after that, I was taken by the “surgery coordinator” to talk more about pricing and scheduling the next step.  She also answered any questions I had.

Cost for this is about $8000, by the way.  This includes the doctor’s fee, anesthesia fee, and surgery center fee.  Any followup procedures are extra.  To me, it’s a bargain.  If I could have it done right now and not have to worry about what’s to come, I’d pay twice that much…or more.

Preparation

The next step for me, since I was wearing RGP lenses, was to get out of them for a month, because they change the shape of your cornea.  Due to the strength of my prescription, I decided to switch to soft contacts rather than glasses.

As luck would have it, I had my annual visit with my ophthalmologist just three days later.  Had mentioned this to the ICL surgeon, so the two had already talked by the time I got there.  Was able to get into soft lenses with no problem, thanks to a very understanding COA that helped me figure out how to get them in and out.  As somebody that has worn RGP lenses for the last 25 years, that was a concern for me.  By the second day though, I was able to get them in and out with no problem.

Right now, I’m waiting for my corneas to normalize.  The soft lenses are ok, although I don’t see as well with them as I do the RGPs.  Driving at night is a bit scary, so I’m avoiding it.  I definitely prefer RGPs and would switch back to them in a second, if I wasn’t preparing for ICLs.

Mental/Emotional Issues (So Far)

I’ve read every testimonial/experience about ICL that I can find about.  Many of them make it seem so easy, and it may very well be that easy, but as somebody who hasn’t been through it, I can tell you that the experience so far hasn’t been as simple or easy as some people are making it look, at least as far as the mental/emotional preparation goes.  Because of this, I’ve decided to add a bit about how I’m feeling about everything so far.

I think the “unknown” is my biggest fear.  That is also my biggest motivation for writing this blog.  If you’re reading this and thinking about ICL for yourself, I hope this information helps you to deal with the unknown.

As I have to spend a month out of my RGP lenses before I can go through with this procedure, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my decision to go through with this.  Is it worth the risk?

I’ve done my best to find people who aren’t happy with the results.  So far, I’ve found a few people who haven’t had “perfect” results, but only one that says he wouldn’t do it again.  Most people are happy with the outcome and I’ve found dozens that are extremely happy.

But this is a relatively new procedure…  Is it possible I’m just missing all unhappy people?  What about the long-term effects?  Has enough research been done?

That’s where trust comes in.  It’s like getting married.  How long do you need to date before you decide to get married?  At some point, you’ve got to trust, because you’ll never truly know if marriage is actually for you without jumping in.

And it doesn’t matter if everybody else in town in happily married either, because they’re not you and your situation is unique.  Same with this.

I’ve done what I can do.  I’ve researched it, I’ve read about it, I’ve seen videos of it being performed, and I’ve talked to people that have had it.  I’ve checked up on the surgeon and I’ve asked him questions.  I’ve asked my ophthalmologist questions.

So now it’s time to make it happen!

The Next Step

In a couple of days, I’ll have my “Pre-Operative Exam.”  From what I understand, this is a fully-dilated exam with more tests and measurements.  The consent form will be reviewed.  Further visits, including the iridotomy and actual surgery dates will be scheduled. Not sure what else…