8.5 years
Annual check-up went well again in my 8th year -- vault distance remains a cataract risk, but not an issue (and may never become an issue) -- pressure, eye health, etc. is otherwise all good, normal, and healthy!
3+ year update: narrowing vault/space in left eye :(
I went to see my Opthalmologist for my annual check up last week. 20/20 both eyes, which was great to hear, but unfortunately they told me the vault between my natural lens and my ICL on my left eye has narrowed. He said it's natural for the space to narrow as one ages, but that it is not a good thing obviously. However, there's still space -- so nothing to worry about. Just need to monitor annually. Not the greatest news, but nothing I can do right now to worry... Will provide another update next year. Hopefully it won't be worse!
Just got done reading your posts from 2013 to present. Thank you for sharing your experience over the years. I'm scheduled to have toric ICLs implanted in January but am also suffering the "white line" effect from the iridotomy, along with increased light sensitivity and headaches. It is difficult to decide whether I want to postpone my surgery or go ahead with it. I do wish ICL surgery wasn't so nonchalantly marketed as "reversible" when there's actually a permanent hole made in your iris as part of the process, but here we are. I am optimistic about the prospect of a corneal tattoo at some point in the future, but yours is the first case I've read of someone who didn't get relief from it. Regardless of what happens, it's nice to know that others have had similar experiences, so thanks again for the blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got something out of it -- it's the reason I keep this up since there isn't much information out there. Again, it's ultimately a personal decision whether to start, stop or proceed, but if you've already done the iridotomy, then might as well complete the procedure and get the benefit of the lenses -- whether or not the side effects can be addressed. For me, they did offer to re-do the tattoos to re-attempt to make it more effective, but for me, the iridotomy side effects do not bother me as I really have to contort my eyes to an extreme in order to see the white lines. I do agree the marketing doesn't highlight enough the real side effects that people experience, but that's probably to be expected of a product. I hope your procedure goes well if you choose to proceed -- and that the tattoos work for you (ask for additional procedures if the first one doesn't work!).
DeleteI'm glad you got something out of it -- it's the reason I keep this up since there isn't much information out there. Again, it's ultimately a personal decision whether to start, stop or proceed, but if you've already done the iridotomy, then might as well complete the procedure and get the benefit of the lenses -- whether or not the side effects can be addressed. For me, they did offer to re-do the tattoos to re-attempt to make it more effective, but for me, the iridotomy side effects do not bother me as I really have to contort my eyes to an extreme in order to see the white lines. I do agree the marketing doesn't highlight enough the real side effects that people experience, but that's probably to be expected of a product. I hope your procedure goes well if you choose to proceed -- and that the tattoos work for you (ask for additional procedures if the first one doesn't work!).
DeleteI'm glad you got something out of it -- it's the reason I keep this up since there isn't much information out there. Again, it's ultimately a personal decision whether to start, stop or proceed, but if you've already done the iridotomy, then might as well complete the procedure and get the benefit of the lenses -- whether or not the side effects can be addressed. For me, they did offer to re-do the tattoos to re-attempt to make it more effective, but for me, the iridotomy side effects do not bother me as I really have to contort my eyes to an extreme in order to see the white lines. I do agree the marketing doesn't highlight enough the real side effects that people experience, but that's probably to be expected of a product. I hope your procedure goes well if you choose to proceed -- and that the tattoos work for you (ask for additional procedures if the first one doesn't work!).
DeleteI'm glad you got something out of it -- it's the reason I keep this up since there isn't much information out there. Again, it's ultimately a personal decision whether to start, stop or proceed, but if you've already done the iridotomy, then might as well complete the procedure and get the benefit of the lenses -- whether or not the side effects can be addressed. For me, they did offer to re-do the tattoos to re-attempt to make it more effective, but for me, the iridotomy side effects do not bother me as I really have to contort my eyes to an extreme in order to see the white lines. I do agree the marketing doesn't highlight enough the real side effects that people experience, but that's probably to be expected of a product. I hope your procedure goes well if you choose to proceed -- and that the tattoos work for you (ask for additional procedures if the first one doesn't work!).
DeleteThe tattoo didn't work for me either, See my reply below. If you want to contact me, I can leave a link to a photo of my email (so I can delete it right after). There are specialists who can suture an iridotomy but you need to choose wisely as it is a difficult surgery when you are trying to preserve your natural lens. Namely, Dr. Shakeel Shareef is one doctor who wrote a publication about it this year:
Deletehttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33826601/
I like seeing your updates from time to time. Glad to hear you're doing well. I re-did the tattoo and it helped reduce the glare but it definitely did not eliminate it. You would need to make a really dark tattoo to do that, but I want definitive treatment which is suturing of the iridotomy (pupilloplasty) - in the future so we left it relatively small so this task could be accomplished in the future.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it but I developed a cataract too. It manifests similar symptoms to the iridotomy in that it also causes "glare." In the beginning, I assumed this was all from the iridotomy but that wasn't the case. After a few years, the vision began to noticeably blur and the glare kept getting worse. Ultimately, I was diagnosed with a small cataract when I went to the university. Eye doctors at private clinics kept telling me my lens was clear, which was nerve-racking as my vision is much more blurrier than before.
All in all, there's worse fates to be had (it's not like it's cancer) but it wasn't a pleasant experience for me. Cataract lenses today do not offer near/far vision. You must pick and the eye doesn't focus without "reading" glasses or "progressives" depending on what you choose. Accommodating lenses are still new technology and none that work are FDA approved. One just recently got FDA IDE approval, but it's probably 2-3 years away.
Suturing sounds painful - yikes! I guess you're not considering it if the tattoo re-do worked?
DeleteSorry to hear about the cataract - honestly that is my #1 fear related to my ICLs. I just feel like it's inevitable. So far, I'm okay after 9 years -- I thought it'd hit around 7 which is what I read is the average. How was the surgery? What lens did you choose? I think it's helpful almost to start thinking & planning for it so when it happens I won't be surprised... sigh. I'm really surprised cataract lens technology isn't better than it is :(
Hi again,
DeleteI'll definitely have them suture the iridotomy at the same sitting as it is still a bit bothersome. It's not painful fortunately but it does require an experienced surgeon as iris surgery is advanced. But then again, I would want an advanced surgeon for my cataract operation too (right?). The cataract is way way worse than the iridotomy glare though. It makes focusing difficult and it's just tough but I manage for now.
In case anyone is going through unexplained vision changes. When I first began developing a cataract, my first symptom was diplopia when looking at the traffic light at night. My vision slowly got worse over the years, but doctors kept telling me my lens was "clear" which wasn't correct. I visited a University eye hospital and the cornea doctor there warned me that I was showing "signs of early cataract" but didnt know what that meant (maybe it was pre-cataract). I was just glad there was an explanation for once. 2 years after that explanation, my doctor diagnosed me with a cataract as well.
There is a machine called the iTrace (And also another one called the HD analyzer). Both can detect a cataract before you even have symptoms. They have metrics. For the iTrace it's called the DLI (dysfunctional lens index) and tells the doctor how much the light is distorted by your natural lens. The HD analyzer has a similar metric.
I loved the ICL vision for the first 2 years or so but unfortunately it didnt last in my case. As of today, there's no accommodating IOLs that work (crystalens is trash). That leaves me with a good, glistening-free monofocal lens OR compromising with an EDOF lens (which has reduced contrast sensitivity). There is talks about the Juvene IOL which might begin clinical trials this year. I am trying my best to wait for that to see how it plays out. A little sacrifice on my part will go a long ways for hopefully, a lifetime of good vision.
I'm sorry to hear what you've had to go through -- but thank you for sharing your experience as it may benefit others with similar questions!
DeleteCould you please tell me more about your experience with tattoos. Were there any side effects after the treatment? Has visual acuity changed? I'm after an iridotomy. When I asked the doctor if I would see the same after the surgery, he told me yes. Now, just like you, I have stripes and general eye problems. The problem is, my eyelids are high and I see it most of the time. Several months have passed and nothing has changed. I will be grateful for information about the tattoo. So far, this is probably the only safe way to reduce this symptom. I will add that I saw the use of a Morcher implant instead of suturing an iridotomy. I am also thinking about whether or not to simply perform the lens replacement procedure. The worst thing, however, is that, as you know, we have to wait for a new generation of lenses, because current lenses are not accomodating.
ReplyDeleteI've written about my experience with corneal tattooing earlier in this blog if you want to scroll down and check it out: high level, it didn't do anything for me but they did offer to re-do it and 'darken' it more and said that might work. But as mentioned before, my vision is actually good and the lines/glare aren't visible to me unless I try really hard to 'see' them by contorting my eye lids extra wide open. As a result, I chose not to have a second tattoo procedure. Others have commented on their tattoo experiences as well if you want to scroll through some of the older comments!
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