Fifteen year anniversary

So, been awhile since I updated. Cannot believe that fifteen years have passed since I had my ICL surgeries. 

All things considered, nothing much has changed since the surgeries, except for maybe the usual vision changes one experiences once they get into their 40's and 50's. I wear reading glasses for extended smartphone use - note that I said 'wear' and not 'need'. I can read my phone without them but it involves a little squinting if I'm honest. ;) Same for TV watching - I can see the screen fine but I do have TV watching glasses if I really want it sharp. Distance vision still remains great - no need for glasses there. 

Dry eye continues to be a problem but as I've reported previously this was a problem prior to surgery and in fact was one of the main reasons I chose to get my vision corrected. 

Halos continue to be an issue. I think the halo intensity is as strong as it ever was but I've learned to live with them. I am able to drive at night without a problem. The time they bother me the most is in movie theaters. I wear my TV watching glasses for theaters.

So, I guess 'stable' is the best way to describe my vision state. Glad to report it. Happy Anniversary to me. :)

9 year update

At the end of March I marked 9 years since my ICL surgery. For the most part, everything is stable. My vision isn't quite as sharp as it was right after surgery, but the degree to which it has deteriorated is minimal and likely due to the aging process. I have abandoned glasses once again due to the intense burning I experience when I look away from the computer after staring at it for long periods. I have the burning without the glasses, too, but not as much as I do with glasses. I am trying to make it a habit to blink slowly and look away more frequently throughout the workday. Hard habit to get into. Distance vision still seems to be pretty sharp. I still have halos even after 9 years. They don't impact my lifestyle, though, and I gave up on drops years ago. So, basically, nothing major to report on this anniversary. Which is good news, I suppose. :)

ok, yes, glasses

Current state of my eyes

As I was informed when I was considering surgery back in 2008, I knew that it was likely that I'd need reading glasses at some point just like anyone in their mid-40's might.  Up close vision has degraded a little bit - how much is hard to say because the instant you have ICLs inserted your distance vision becomes something totally different.  For the majority of my life up I was used to always bringing things closer to me to see them clearly and 8 years later I still struck by the fact that I now bring things in too close at first and then have to adjust outward for focusing.  I just haven't gotten that exact distance figured out.  Hard habit to break.

Anyway, I do wear computer glasses every day now because I am on the computer for both work and play for too many hours each day.  I wear these same glasses in the movie theater, too.  But I don't need them to drive and I don't usually have to wear them to watch tv, but I do sometimes wear them to watch tv depending on the distance and lighting conditions.

Oddly, the glasses I wear aren't the most recent ones my optometrist prescribed. Since 2008 I've had three sets of glasses made, and the ones I find work best are the first ones he prescribed. The most recent ones are the worst. I've tried explaining to him that the lighting conditions he does his tests in are the worst for the ICL halos, especially in the right eye.

My main eye complaints these days don't have anything to do with ICL.

Dry Eye

The dry eye I had prior to surgery continues to be an issue (and not helped by all the computer work, I know).  

Horizontal Bands

When I look at a website with a dark background, I will see horizontal bands that interfere with my ability to see.  When I tilt my head, those bands tilt, so it's not a problem with the monitor.  I noticed this prior to surgery, so I know it's not ICL related.  My optometrist has never been able to explain this.

Excessive Tearing/Burning

Again, I'm sure this is due to excessive computer use, but I often find that when I have to look away from the computer and focus at a distance closer or farther, one of my eyes will burn and tear very badly.  Both eyes do it, but rarely at the same time.  I'm trying to do better about taking time throughout the day to do little eye exercises to vary focus.  Many years ago (pre-ICL) I actually had to go through some vision therapy because of "loss of binocular vision" that was blamed on the computer use.  The prescribed therapy basically involved me staring at shapes and crossing my eyes at varying degrees.  So much for the "old wives'  tale" of crossing your eyes being bad for you.

Anyway, as far as the ICL's go, I think they're stable.  I don't think I'm 20/20 anymore, but still fairly close in most conditions.  It's probably worse in lower light. No change in halo intensity or frequency.

Glasses or no glasses

I knew when I had my ICL surgeries 7+ years ago that there would probably come a time when I'd need reading glasses, just like anyone else in their 40's.  Sometimes I do feel like I could use some when I've spent way too long on the computer, as my eyes feel the strain and occasionally trying to read the text on my smartphone is difficult (I've since enlarged the font).  I'm a graphic designer so my workday is filled with computer time, and then I'm on my home computer a lot.  Plus, my home office chair is a recliner so it sits farther back from the monitor (great for those Netflix binges).

Since the surgeries I've had 3 different pairs of 'computer glasses' and while they do help improve the clarity of what I see, I can still read the computer just fine without them most of the time.  The main problem I'm having now is that when I do wear the glasses, if I have to look away to a farther distance, or if I take the glasses off, one or both of my eyes burn very intensely.  It's so intense that my eardrum vibrates and my eyes turn bright red as they run with tears.

So now I have once again abandoned the glasses altogether, which has reduced the burning instances to next to never.

I think part of the problem is my optometrist (who is not my ICL surgeon) doesn't understand the impact the halos have on my vision tests when I'm in his dimly lit exam room during those eye tests.  That's the worst lighting situation you can be in when you have a halo problem.  He insisted last time that the right eye "wouldn't pass a driving test", and yet I know in normal daylight driving my right eye is remarkably sharp in its vision and the left eye is pretty close.

6 years later

Well, my six year anniversary since my ICL surgeries came and went, and there's still nothing new to report, so that's good, I guess.  I do find that I'm using the very thin reading glasses my optometrist prescribed after my surgery more often, but only when reading for long periods.  I don't need them at all, most of the time.  Plus, my office chair is a recliner, so most of the time I'm sitting much farther back from the computer than most people would, so I am probably straining them a bit more than necessary.

The only thing notable, really, is that a couple of days ago I had a migraine aura occur, and I haven't had one of those in at least 15 years.  I've got some job stress going on right now, and for me, aura is never accompanied with pain, so after it completed its usual C shape, it was over after about 30 minutes.

I do sometimes have migraines without aura, and they always are painful, but the aura-types are always pain-free.  Just really weird!