SummaryPre-OpOperation......June 12 - Had to drive into Edmonton to get my eyes checked; first long distance driving stint with new eyes. The LASIK eye is fine with the cornea flap secure with no wrinkles. I think it's still a little far sighted but when checked is reading 20/20. The left eye continues to heal. It's now at 20/30 - an amazing thing considering that I can't see any letters clearly enough to read after around 20/50. The left eye had to be dilated and that seems to have brought back some halos for a couple days.
July 3 - Managed to fit in an eye appointment in Calgary again. This is taking less and less time. My LASIK eye is completely healed now. The vision has settled at 20/15 which is pretty well 0 diopters. My left eye was dry so it measured 20/50 again but the diopter measurement was still -1.0 so I think it's pretty stable as well.
I've found that when I get tired by vision just takes a dive. I can still see close up no problem but driving is pretty uncomfortable. I see prisms and haloing from my left eye when there are bright light sources but it is really noticable when it's dark out )or in a theater. The doctor has said that a corrective lens may fix the problem but so could eye drops. I think I'll just wait and see how things continue.
September 3 After getting tangled in construction traffic then walking past the clinic a couple of times, I made it in for my 3 month check up. Hard to believe that's it's only been that long! My eyes have definitely settled with my right eye at 20/20 and my left at 20/50 (-1 diopters; -0.5 astigmatism). The check ups drive me crazy because I see the tech right away then end up waiting for 90 minutes for the doctor to look into my eyes for 5 minutes. The good news is that the ICL is placed really well. It's floating in the space it's supposed to and the debris has finally gone.
I got some very nice Guess sunglasses and my brother put plastic lenses in my old frames to correct my left eye. My eyesight is different but not better when I wear them. I will keep them in the 4Runner so I can wear them if I am driving at night while I am tired. The doctor in Vancouver had said not to spend much money on them and I didn't spend ANY which is great since they don't help anything. I guess I am still adjusting to the monovision thang. My brother's eyes took 6 months to settle but he's happy with them now.
November 27 I have a tip about preparing for an eye test. Don't put any drops in less than an hour before your tests. I put some in and got a -.25 diopter measurement for my right eye. I could see my vision clearing as time in the examination room passed.
My eyes are pretty well stable now and I am getting used to the distortions. I'm getting better vision under low lighting conditions although I still find high contrast situations, for example looking at x-ray film on a light box, to be a less clear.
Now that it's winter I am really getting the benefits of having had the surgery. I can walk outside in the cold then come insidde and still see! This is a novelty as before I have foggy glasses or no glasses to see through. This is definitely a no regrets procedure although I wonder whether I will ever be able to see the stars like I used to. I am now free to get my left eye laser corrected for the astigmatism but will pass.
December 2000 - it is now 2 and a half years after surgery I have had all the check ups I'm scheduled to have in Calgary but Dr. Gimbel has asked me to come in every year because I still need to be checked for detaching retina and high eye pressure because of the shape of my eyes. I have 20/20 vision in my right eye and 20/50 in my left eye. I opted not to have further corrective surgery on that eye. I still have some distortion in my left eye under certain lighting conditions and the vision in the right eye is grainier at night. I do not seem to have night vision problems, I drive in the dark but I do wear those glasses I got all those years ago. I am just more relaxed when I have glasses on my face and I think the 20/20 in the left eye makes a difference at night. So far the monovision is working and I don't have to wear reading glasses. Verdict - I would do it again in a heartbeat.
October 2003 - Wow I can't believe that over 5 years have flown by! I had my vision checked recently because I had tried on the glasses I got made a year after surgery and got an instant headache. Fear struck deep in my heart - was it time to get glasses again? NO! I went for a check up and together my eyes are 20/20. My right eye is 20/20 and my left eye is 20/40. What was the change? My left eye (with the ICL) went from a -1 to a +1 diopter but with the astigmatism is still nearsighted so I put those glasses away - I hadn't been wearing them anyway. My eye pressure is good as well so there is no worries about glaucoma. I may need reading glasses yet and the Dr said they would most likely be prescription because of the astigmatism. I find now that I don't notice the distortions any more. We looked through the telescope at Mars this summer and I had no problems. Also changing light levels in cinemas don't bother me like they used to (now it's just the volume). So it's the same as in 2000. I would do it again in heartbeat.
March 2009 - Age is catching up with me. Last time I had my eyes checked, I think in 2006, my left eye had gotten more far sighted and the right eye had deteriorated. The Optometrist told me the next time I get my eyes checked I will need to wear glasses for driving again - that would be this year's check up. I did get a pair of glasses (actually 2 pairs)and use them when I'm driving in a different city or highway driving at night. I don't know my prescription or have it written down so I'm not too worried about it. I would rather be near sighted because I do a lot of close up work. Still happy with the eye surgery.
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