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I too longed for the day that I could have laser surgery. My eyes didn't particularly enjoy soft contacts, and I did not like wearing (even fashionable) glasses
by DCKing 10y ago
I too longed for the day that I could have laser surgery. My eyes didn't particularly enjoy soft contacts, and I did not like wearing (even fashionable) glasses.
But I held it off because of the downsides, such as relapses in eye prescription strength, the constant need to water your eyes and permanent visual artifacts. That and the not inconsiderable price.
Very glad that I basically chickened out, because instead I discovered overnight vision correction contacts [1]. They are hard contact lenses you wear during the night, and they reshape your cornea during the night so that your my/hyperopia just dissappears during the day. During the day, it allows you to function with normal vision without any aid whatsoever.
It's really quite amazing for me. Downsides are a halo effect (but one that actually diminishes to the point that I don't notice), and the fact that you have to wear contacts during the night, but I much prefer that to wearing any during the day. I can happily recommend trying this before considering more permanent solutions such as eye surgery if you fit in the eye prescription range that it works for.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthokeratology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthokeratology / apparently marketed as "Ortho-K" in NA?
- antisthenes 10y agoYour post is the first downvote I'm giving on HN. I'm pretty sure Ortho-K gave me astigmatism. It does not work for higher ranges of myopia and touting it as better alternative is disingenuous at best. Night driving was downright impossible and the halo effects were so strong that I would be a menace for anyone on the road. I strongly urge people to consider it very carefully, because the impact can be as significant as a surgery.
- DCKing 10y agoSorry to hear it. I've updated my post to make some of the wording more subjective. The halo effects are indeed quite strong in the first weeks (took my eyes about 6 weeks to fully adjust), but they have practically disappeared for me and I feel very comfortable night driving now. I appreciate that different eyes and different care can cause wildly different results and experience.
- ryuker16 10y agoEven better.... they have 1 month sleeping contacts. No need for everyday removal. Just switch out once a month.
- chillacy 10y agoI switched from ortho-k to soft lenses. So much more comfortable. Hard lenses were painful, and I found that after 6PM or so my vision would have noticeably deteriorate again with the hard lenses.
- MrBuddyCasino 10y agoI tried those too, but found them to be very uncomfortable to wear, and the effect didn't last long enough. My eyesight was noticeably worse in the evening, and taking the contacts with you and keeping them clean was a challenge. You have be very very careful when cleaning and handling them, otherwise the eyes will get infected.