My Eyes…

I’m very, very near-sighted. Most folks don’t realize how bad my vision is because I’ve worn glasses since second grade and contacts since I was 15. (Yup, I was one of the first people to get contacts in Midland, MI. I went to the only doctor offering them and I was his third patient.)

Over the years, my eyes went through the normal aging process. Back about 2000, it became necessary for me to wear reading glasses in addition to my contacts in order to clearly see my computer screen at work. It was a bother and I wasn’t satisfied. I found a solution, bi-focal contacts, giving me 20/20 vision whenever I wear my contacts. It has worked.

Several years ago, my Saginaw eye doctor said I have cataracts. My vision was last checked a year and a half ago. At that time, he said he didn’t feel the progression of the cataracts was severe enough for surgery. But recently I’ve felt that my vision has gotten considerably worse. I no longer drive at night, and when I have to get up in the night, my vision is so bad that I have a rough time not running into things (like walls). I made an appointment with the most experienced cataract eye surgeon I could find (and he’s in Sun City Center). I went to see him yesterday and he feels the cataracts are large and there’s no reason to wait.

There is a problem. I’ve worn contacts for so long and now my eyes need to adjust to a state which won’t change once I stop wearing them. If my eyes were to reshape, the inserted lenses wouldn’t work as intended. Will my eyes re-shape?

Only going without them for a period will tell the surgeon if I can have the surgery or must wait until they have stabilized. During the appointment I had my eyes scanned so for the next three weeks, I can’t wear my contacts at all which means I can’t see very well. I’m getting by, but it’s tough. My glasses are ugly and uncomfortable. It’s only three weeks… or maybe six. I don’t have my hopes up that the earlier deadline will work, but there’s a chance. If my eye measurements don’t change, I’ll have the surgery on the 7th of November. The second eye will then be done a couple of weeks later (about the 21st or 28th). But if they aren’t stable when I go back to his office on November 1st, it’s very possible that the whole schedule be at least three weeks later making the second eye surgery in mid-December (or it’s possible that it’ll take even longer). The earlier the better!!!

The lenses I’m going to have inserted are called a Crystalens. They’re the most advanced and expensive, but they are my eyes and it’s important that I see!! They should last my lifetime.

Crystalens

How Crystalens Works

The Crystalens® is attached to the ciliary muscle, a circular muscle that surrounds the lens in the eye. When the ciliary muscle contracts it bulges backwards and increases pressure behind the lens, thus forcing the optic forward. Relaxation of the muscle increases the pressure in front of the lens to move the optic backwards, thus enabling the lens to focus naturally at all distances.

In general, patients who choose to have monofocal lens implants will be dependent on glasses either some or most of the time in about 95% of cases. The best results are with the Crystalens. They are multifocal and their unique system of using the muscle, allows eyes to act like normal eyes. Most people don’t need extra glasses. That’s what I want!

So I’m hoping that I can have the surgery on the first eye on November 7th. What will it be like to be able to wake up in the middle of the night and see to walk through the house. And I haven’t viewed stars for years and years. I am eager!

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