| d a n i e l m c k i n n o n . c o m | |
| Thursday January 19, 2006 Two days removed from my phakic IOL surgery and I continue to see improvement. There were no doctors visits today, just a chance to keep trying my new eyes out for a spin, getting used to the new me. I'm still not even at the 3 day point when my eyes should begin to really settle into their new vision (it will be weeks or possibly months before my eyes completely settle down) and I am continually amazed at the results thus far. Jumping ahead to the end of the day, I got my first taste of the halo/starburst effect that I had read so much about online and was warned about by Dr. Boxer Wachler. Is it present/apparent for me? The answer is YES. Is it a major problem thus far? Definitely NOT. It's simply a matter of pros and cons. I would much rather be born with perfect vision like others that I know, but I was not given that gift. Because of my high myopia I have always been limited in the options that I have available to me and I knew going into this that expecting perfection would be unrealistic and unattainable. So what exactly is the "halo effect" that I speak of? Putting it simply, when it gets dark outside, everyone's pupils expand to let in more light. When my pupils expand beyond the circumference of my IOLs, any bright lights (like from car headlights) emit an outer edge of light that makes them look bigger/odder than they actually are. It's a little different from the halos I have been used to my entire life when looking at car headlights, but if it doesn't get much worse from how they are today (it might get worse), it's something that I can TOTALLY live with. I still will need to talk to Dr. Boxer Wachler about the drops he spoke of before or possible glasses for driving at night, but as far as I am concerned it's a minor inconvenience (and I do mean MINOR). Would I do it again? At this point the answer is an easy YES. Without contacts my glasses had to be positioned PERFECTLY on my face in order to achieve optimum vision. The higher the myopia the more important that it is one's glasses are aligned correctly or squinting, headaches, and poor vision will be the result. It is in my opinion thus far that for people with -10 myopia or higher that this surgery not be a CHOICE but a REQUIREMENT for better living. Not just the social phobias that relate to wearing "coke bottle" glasses, it's the problem that as scripts get higher and higher, it's so hard to perfectly position a pair of glasses on one's face. I have had to live this life the past 6 months or so and it wasn't until recently I understood how frustrating it could be versus someone with a very light prescription. Tomorrow is my 3 day anniversary since my surgery and I continue to get used to my new IOLs, which CAN be easily see in my eyes if you know to look (and I think is really cool to notice myself). 2 days since my stinging is no longer present when I put my eye drops in, and I am ecstatic at the results thus far and where I chose to have the operation performed. I have no doubt that all the well wishes, good lucks and prayers pointed my way have been a major reason why things are going so well thus far. I also would like to extend a major thank you to my parents for watching Isabella and my wife who has been nursing me back to health (and it wasn't fun on day 1). Without her support and love I wouldn't be doing so well and I just wanted to let her know I appreciate her support and care throughout this whole process. On to day 3… |