Surgery Day 1, 2 + follow-up
RIGHT EYE (Surgery Day 1):
Woke up freaking out at 6am. Ate a protein bar - didn't want to be hungry, but also not too full. Arrived at 7am and signed away my life (i.e. consent form). Found out that "Lifetime Commitment" to your eyes as advertised has caveats: touch-up correction is only free within the first year - it's $500 if you want or need it after that. After a short while, I was called into a back room with two other patients. I was happy to learn that they were both undergoing ICL as well. It sounded like they had higher prescriptions than me (in terms of diopters: one had hyperopia the other was only getting Toric in one eye - I was getting Torics in both), but it was a nice heading in to the operating table to have a team of people who were going through the same thing as me in succession. We were all fed a steady stream of 8-15 drops in the eye being operated on by a very nice nurse. We also got a pill to help us "relax" (it did not work on me at all).
My surgery was second out of the three of us. Brief eye check up in a separate room with the Doc, followed by a marking of my corneas for the proper alignment of the Toric lenses. No big deal - just a slit lamp and a marker!
The Operating Room was the scariest part. Lots of doctors and nurses running around. Everything was sterile and everyone was in full gown except me. Lots of beeping machines. I lay down and received another whopping round of drops, followed by a sticky face sheet, where the part exposing the eye was eventually removed. Specula/eye clamps applied to keep my eyes open (something I thought looked horrifying, but actually didn't feel like much). Lots of liquid, drops and bright lights throughout the surgery. Light above me was removed while they prepared the cartridge. Super bright lights again. I could not feel the incision though i knew when it was happening since i watched so many youtube videos in advance that i pretty much memorized the steps. When they insert the cartridge/lense, your vision goes completely black (a scary moment when you think to yourself: "so this is what it's like to be completely blind!"), but after it started unfurling, I could already see the light bulbs in the surgical lamp above me more clearly. Then more drops, more adjustments, nudging, producing pressure - but no real pain. There were so many drops I could begin to taste them! Yuck. Then he said "almost done" and after more pressure and liquid, everything - sheets, specula, etc. all came off in a flash and I was done in what felt like 5 (probably 10 in reality) minutes! I was so nervous i had to stop myself from shaking through most of the whole thing. The table was cold, but I layered, so I didn't need the blanket they offered. I was just shaking from nervousness! But glad it was over ... at least until my other eye tomorrow. There was definitely no "wow" moment. Very hazy and blurry. Could barely read the first two lines of the chart during the immediate check-up after getting off the surgical table. Doc said it went "very well." I guess that remains to be seen. Everything was green/orange tinged from staring into a bright light.
After waiting in the waiting room and being served cookies and juice - and chatting with the guy who went in before me, plus some cataract patients going in later, I took my pouch of goodies (eye shields, drops, etc.) and said good luck and goodbye. Met my mom outside and picked up my receipt. Unlike other blogs, there was no follow up check up other than the one immediately after surgery. (slit lamp, eye chart).
Vision in operated eye has remained the same after arriving home and taking a 2 hour nap. First maxidex drop stung... vigamox was next. I have to say that my vision is very blurry and cannot read anything up close, whereas I can still see clearly up close with my unoperated left eye. However, I have fairly clear distance vision in my operated right eye - while obviously no vision in my unoperated left. for distance. I hope this gets better - it has only been a few hours... back to resting my eyes.
Right now, it feels like there's something in my eye - like a contact or a piece of hair. They say this is normal. My eyes are super red from the surgical and corneal irritation..
Everything is kinda blurry -- though distance is ok in one eye, but reading screens is hard. Reading printed paper on text is clear though! Back to bed + podcasts!
LEFT EYE (Surgery Day 2):
Same as yesterday. Up at 6am. Arrived just after 7. Less scared, but still nervous since I knew what to expect. Another consent form, another whopping amount charged to my credit card, another mini group counselling session with my ICL cohort of three (exchanged contact info for future comparing of notes) and another litany of eyedrops. Was seeing 20/40 after the surgery + pressure check was good. Very green tinged (from staring at the operating light again) and blurry. But could generally see!
Went home, took a nap, woke up. Again, no sudden wow moment, but definitely moments of elation and happiness/excitement being able to see with out glasses at certain things. By "see" I do not mean the HD vision Visian claims, but in general. The fine stuff is still blurry - especially close up. I will have to continue testing out my eyes. I have to say my left eye vision clarity happened much quicker than my right eye - probably because of the proper balance between the two (vs. having only one corrected & one uncorrected eye simultaneously - very wonky).
Developed a slight headache in the late afternoon. Instructions were to call immediately if you get one. I freaked out and went back to the clinic for an eye pressure check. Came in at 11 (normal is up to 21?). So everything was fine. I think maybe the stress and anxiousness over the past few days maybe led or built up to a mega headache! :(
Watched a movie, read more news, texted friends and family. YAY! More naps. More drops. Must. Be. Vigilant. Good night!
FIRST "DAY-AFTER" CHECK-UP:
Woke up at 5:58am since my internal clock was getting used to waking up for early surgery. My eyes hurt. Not a sharp or excruciating pain, but they feel sore - a dull-ish pain. I have super dry eyes with lids that do not close 100% when I sleep (they close about 90-95%) leaving a gap that dries out overnight - probably not helpful. lol. Put in Bion Tears. Felt better, but sore again after they dried up. Stayed up testing my eyes again on the iPad Mini - New York Times, Globe & Mail, Al Jazeera, etc. Text requires me to keep probably 6-8 inches distance for it to be clear on an iPhone or iPad. The closer I get, the blurrier - I've lost my super clear HD near sight (pre-op, without glasses) in exchange for far-sight. Tested my far sight text reading ability on my microwave, olive oil and tassimo machine labels from about 8-10 feet away. Text/logos are definitely not crisp, though overall/general vision is good/ok. Hope this clears up over the week - it is only day one afterall! Still -- I have been pretty stoked being able to see my alarm clock in the middle of the night. The gray, cold and cloudy skyline outside my window this morning was brilliant (might be the last time you'll ever hear me say that! haha). Getting ready to head to my first check up!
Even though I haven't left the house in 2-3 days, other than being driven to surgery: I still can't wait to finally shower - YUCK! I also can't wait to get rid of the eye shields while sleeping. Sleeping is not an issue, but the tape is so sticky that it left tape residue on my face after that is very hard to remove. Ugh.
POST-CHECK UP:
Just got back: measuring 20/30 with 10 for pressure in both eyes. Doc says there's some swelling that needs to subside (my eyes, at times, LOOK slightly bulging, but going down). I'm afraid that I won't get the 20/20 I hoped for. Fingers are crossed super hard for the next 6 days as I continue to heal. 1 week until my next check-up - so we'll see. Put in a request for corneal tattooing to get rid of my iridotomy white line glare side effect, but that will have to wait a while.
Few more days with the eye shields and another week with the ginormous sunglasses and I'll be left with 1 more week of eye drops! Got some Liposic (Bausch & Lomb) for the dryness. Right now, I'm just excited to SHOWER! :)
Woke up freaking out at 6am. Ate a protein bar - didn't want to be hungry, but also not too full. Arrived at 7am and signed away my life (i.e. consent form). Found out that "Lifetime Commitment" to your eyes as advertised has caveats: touch-up correction is only free within the first year - it's $500 if you want or need it after that. After a short while, I was called into a back room with two other patients. I was happy to learn that they were both undergoing ICL as well. It sounded like they had higher prescriptions than me (in terms of diopters: one had hyperopia the other was only getting Toric in one eye - I was getting Torics in both), but it was a nice heading in to the operating table to have a team of people who were going through the same thing as me in succession. We were all fed a steady stream of 8-15 drops in the eye being operated on by a very nice nurse. We also got a pill to help us "relax" (it did not work on me at all).
My surgery was second out of the three of us. Brief eye check up in a separate room with the Doc, followed by a marking of my corneas for the proper alignment of the Toric lenses. No big deal - just a slit lamp and a marker!
The Operating Room was the scariest part. Lots of doctors and nurses running around. Everything was sterile and everyone was in full gown except me. Lots of beeping machines. I lay down and received another whopping round of drops, followed by a sticky face sheet, where the part exposing the eye was eventually removed. Specula/eye clamps applied to keep my eyes open (something I thought looked horrifying, but actually didn't feel like much). Lots of liquid, drops and bright lights throughout the surgery. Light above me was removed while they prepared the cartridge. Super bright lights again. I could not feel the incision though i knew when it was happening since i watched so many youtube videos in advance that i pretty much memorized the steps. When they insert the cartridge/lense, your vision goes completely black (a scary moment when you think to yourself: "so this is what it's like to be completely blind!"), but after it started unfurling, I could already see the light bulbs in the surgical lamp above me more clearly. Then more drops, more adjustments, nudging, producing pressure - but no real pain. There were so many drops I could begin to taste them! Yuck. Then he said "almost done" and after more pressure and liquid, everything - sheets, specula, etc. all came off in a flash and I was done in what felt like 5 (probably 10 in reality) minutes! I was so nervous i had to stop myself from shaking through most of the whole thing. The table was cold, but I layered, so I didn't need the blanket they offered. I was just shaking from nervousness! But glad it was over ... at least until my other eye tomorrow. There was definitely no "wow" moment. Very hazy and blurry. Could barely read the first two lines of the chart during the immediate check-up after getting off the surgical table. Doc said it went "very well." I guess that remains to be seen. Everything was green/orange tinged from staring into a bright light.
After waiting in the waiting room and being served cookies and juice - and chatting with the guy who went in before me, plus some cataract patients going in later, I took my pouch of goodies (eye shields, drops, etc.) and said good luck and goodbye. Met my mom outside and picked up my receipt. Unlike other blogs, there was no follow up check up other than the one immediately after surgery. (slit lamp, eye chart).
Vision in operated eye has remained the same after arriving home and taking a 2 hour nap. First maxidex drop stung... vigamox was next. I have to say that my vision is very blurry and cannot read anything up close, whereas I can still see clearly up close with my unoperated left eye. However, I have fairly clear distance vision in my operated right eye - while obviously no vision in my unoperated left. for distance. I hope this gets better - it has only been a few hours... back to resting my eyes.
Right now, it feels like there's something in my eye - like a contact or a piece of hair. They say this is normal. My eyes are super red from the surgical and corneal irritation..
Everything is kinda blurry -- though distance is ok in one eye, but reading screens is hard. Reading printed paper on text is clear though! Back to bed + podcasts!
LEFT EYE (Surgery Day 2):
Same as yesterday. Up at 6am. Arrived just after 7. Less scared, but still nervous since I knew what to expect. Another consent form, another whopping amount charged to my credit card, another mini group counselling session with my ICL cohort of three (exchanged contact info for future comparing of notes) and another litany of eyedrops. Was seeing 20/40 after the surgery + pressure check was good. Very green tinged (from staring at the operating light again) and blurry. But could generally see!
Went home, took a nap, woke up. Again, no sudden wow moment, but definitely moments of elation and happiness/excitement being able to see with out glasses at certain things. By "see" I do not mean the HD vision Visian claims, but in general. The fine stuff is still blurry - especially close up. I will have to continue testing out my eyes. I have to say my left eye vision clarity happened much quicker than my right eye - probably because of the proper balance between the two (vs. having only one corrected & one uncorrected eye simultaneously - very wonky).
Developed a slight headache in the late afternoon. Instructions were to call immediately if you get one. I freaked out and went back to the clinic for an eye pressure check. Came in at 11 (normal is up to 21?). So everything was fine. I think maybe the stress and anxiousness over the past few days maybe led or built up to a mega headache! :(
Watched a movie, read more news, texted friends and family. YAY! More naps. More drops. Must. Be. Vigilant. Good night!
FIRST "DAY-AFTER" CHECK-UP:
Woke up at 5:58am since my internal clock was getting used to waking up for early surgery. My eyes hurt. Not a sharp or excruciating pain, but they feel sore - a dull-ish pain. I have super dry eyes with lids that do not close 100% when I sleep (they close about 90-95%) leaving a gap that dries out overnight - probably not helpful. lol. Put in Bion Tears. Felt better, but sore again after they dried up. Stayed up testing my eyes again on the iPad Mini - New York Times, Globe & Mail, Al Jazeera, etc. Text requires me to keep probably 6-8 inches distance for it to be clear on an iPhone or iPad. The closer I get, the blurrier - I've lost my super clear HD near sight (pre-op, without glasses) in exchange for far-sight. Tested my far sight text reading ability on my microwave, olive oil and tassimo machine labels from about 8-10 feet away. Text/logos are definitely not crisp, though overall/general vision is good/ok. Hope this clears up over the week - it is only day one afterall! Still -- I have been pretty stoked being able to see my alarm clock in the middle of the night. The gray, cold and cloudy skyline outside my window this morning was brilliant (might be the last time you'll ever hear me say that! haha). Getting ready to head to my first check up!
Even though I haven't left the house in 2-3 days, other than being driven to surgery: I still can't wait to finally shower - YUCK! I also can't wait to get rid of the eye shields while sleeping. Sleeping is not an issue, but the tape is so sticky that it left tape residue on my face after that is very hard to remove. Ugh.
POST-CHECK UP:
Just got back: measuring 20/30 with 10 for pressure in both eyes. Doc says there's some swelling that needs to subside (my eyes, at times, LOOK slightly bulging, but going down). I'm afraid that I won't get the 20/20 I hoped for. Fingers are crossed super hard for the next 6 days as I continue to heal. 1 week until my next check-up - so we'll see. Put in a request for corneal tattooing to get rid of my iridotomy white line glare side effect, but that will have to wait a while.
Few more days with the eye shields and another week with the ginormous sunglasses and I'll be left with 1 more week of eye drops! Got some Liposic (Bausch & Lomb) for the dryness. Right now, I'm just excited to SHOWER! :)
I'm enjoying your blog and you are going through th e same process as me at the same time. I had my iridotomy done Jan 23rd with my right eye ICL implanted on the 30th. I have my left eye scheduled to be done on the 13th. I have the same white line as you and it it more pronounced in my left eye. Aside from the white line, my daytime vision is excellent (was seeing 20/20 less than 24 hours after surgery). Night and dim light viewing is pretty annoying so far (ghosting and distinct halos....perfect rings of light). I had some aberrations in my vision with contacts, but they were more subtle than what I am currently experiencing. For now, I'm enjoying life without contacts (almost) and glasses and time will tell as far as if the aberrations disappear as I'm being told. I will be following your blog to see how your healing goes. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response Dan - and I'm glad you're enjoying the blog. Are you in Toronto too? Consider asking your doctor about corneal tattooing if the white line glare is bothering you. I will be asking for more details about that at my 1 week follow-up (tomorrow). That's too bad regarding your night vision: though I experienced those things before my surgery, so all I can say is: welcome to my world! :( That's really interesting that your next eye is going to be done 1 week later - I'm curious as to the reasons behind why some doctors wait longer than others. Certainly a good thing to wait if there is a risk you won't react well to the first one: but I was thoroughly annoyed even with my short 24 hour wait given the disproportionate vision between my two eyes! Hope your next surgery goes well and good luck with your healing!
ReplyDeleteI am actually near Akron, OH. I have discussed the white line glare with the Dr's I am working with and their first suggestion was the corneal tattoo. However, they would like me to wait 4-6 months before making any decision. They state it is very rare to have this side effect (called me an "acute observer") and, when one does, it almost always goes away in time. I have always had poor night and dim light vision as well but, to me, it seemed more subtle with contacts. That being said, I wore contacts for 20 years so it may have seemed subtle because my brain had already adjusted to it. I understand the concept of neuroadaptation so I am surely not making any decisions or judgments until I have given sufficient time to heal and allow my brain to adjust and catch up with science. I too find it interesting how different Dr's are with the wait time between procedures but I suppose it depends on their comfort and how conservative they are. I had my left eye implanted two days ago and, so far, it is the same experiences as my right. Please continue to let me know how your healing goes and, especially, if you do anything with the white line glare. I hope the one week follow up went well and good luck!
ReplyDeleteMy doctor also said it was rare, but it actually seems to be more common based on my (very unscientific) exploration of blogs and also anecdotal patient experiences. For me, it felt like they were trying to downplay what is actually a common side effect (here's a whole forum on it from ICL & glaucoma patients: http://198.170.234.66/discus/messages/39/42449.html?1283361438). In any case, I have it, so I want to deal with it if I can. I agree with you though: I want to wait until my brain and body adjust and heal completely before introducing potential further trauma to my eyes. I wish you all the best in the new healing of your left eye!
ReplyDeleteThis blog has been so helpful to me. I had my iridotomies done four days ago and the ICL implants done 3 days ago. I too have some white haziness to my lower left field of vision. I was wondering what your final outcomes were as these posts were about a year ago.
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ReplyDeleteRenee: check out the rest of the blog. I updated it throughout the past year! Good luck!
ReplyDelete