Tell us what's happened to you recently (that's interesting)

I haven’t worn my contacts in years at this point. I was going to do the PRK/Lasik combo last year but put it off because I was coding a lot. Seems like there is never a scretch of non busy time. I’m always at a screen.

I was also told that the PRK combo takes a few days to heal from with no sight. That’s a bit unnerving to me. My wife says I’m a big baby when I’m sick, I can t imagine the burden I’d be blind for a while.

Geezer that I am, I also have cataract lens replacements. I am spectacularly happy with them. For the first time since I was in the 5th grade, I have no need for glasses. The clarity of vision is amazing. The surgery was completely painless, the only downsides being a couple days of blurry vision after each eye was done and a weird couple of weeks between surgeries where the good eye was fighting with the bad eye.

BTW, the near vision focal point in my two implants is slightly different. One is optimized for close reading (books, magazines, etc) and one at a slightly longer distance for using the computer. The brain adjusts seamlessly between the two.

Wow, that’s kind of crazy. You don’t notice any difference between the two eyes?

I just had to upgrade to bifocals last year, and I guess I can say I’m used to it by this point. I’m doing that old man thing, tilt my head back to read things close to me, and peer upward at things farther away. My eye doctor has suggested to me a couple times about getting lasik, but I don’t think I want to. Partly just general surgery cowardice, and partly because I am certain my eyes will continue to get worse, and I don’t know that the surgery will really be “worth it” after a few years.

No, not at all. It’s just like adjusting between the different focal points in bifocals. The brain doesn’t distinguish whether it’s one eye or the other.

This is one of those things which makes you think, hang on, even without flying cars and jetpacks, we are living in the future.

Yeah but, they can do bionic eyes and shit, but they can’t do flying cars?
Well wait, I suppose they could do flying cars, but hell, people can’t even drive the ones we have now worth a shit.

I now have extra holes allowing light into my eyes besides the pupil. When my eyelids are in their normal position, the holes are covered, but if I open my eyes wide, the holes are exposed and light comes in. This creates a mild white-wash effect to whatever I’m looking at. I’ll need more time to learn when it happens, but it seems most noticeable when looking at a bright light in a dim room – like a TV or computer monitor. And again, only when I open my eyes wider than their normal resting position. It’s not noticeable at all in a dark or dim room or when outside during the day.

If this is the only side effect than I’m happy to live with it. Not that I really have a choice at this point.

The operation to insert the first ICL in the left eye is on 10/30, and the right eye is on 11/6. The place I’m going to is extra cautious about these things.

I gave up on the idea of lasik when I was told that with my vision I would still need reading glasses. I could get near or far vision but not both thru lasik, So why do it.

Oh yeah, especially when I think about it and realize that, when I was a kid, cataract surgery meant being assigned a pair of coke bottle-lens glasses.

At this point if I went in for eye surgery I’d be hoping to drastically reduce the amount of lens required to see well. I don’t want to ditch glasses entirely if I’m just going to have to get used to them again in a few decades (or worse, reading glasses - I’d much rather they just be effectively like part of my face than something I only use some of the time). But my lens thickness is out of control.

I’m on just a mild astigmatism prescription for reading glasses. When I’m not reading I’m ok with no glasses. I don’t mind the reading glasses but if I need to move to wearing glasses all the time I might explore the surgery options.

So Monday night after driving home from TN and going to a concert right afterwards, I experienced some really gnarly chest pain that hit my upper chest, neck, and jaw with pain and tight clenching for more than an hour. Being an idiot, I chalked it up to heartburn from all the bad fast food I’d been eating all day on the road, popped a ton of Tums and Advil, and went to bed.

I wrote my doctor’s office about it today along with another issue and a nurse immediately called, ran through my symptoms and experience, and told me to take my happy ass to the ER ASAP because I had all the classic symptoms of a cardiac episode. Terrified and heart pounding I drove in and was almost immediately brought back for an EKG, blood panel, urine sample, and bp test. Waiting in ER right now feeling like an absolute idiot.

Either I had a cardiac episode and sat on it for three days or I had heart burn and just spent a few thousand bucks most likely on nothing. Yay.

Bad Armando! No dying, doofus!

But… you’re the youngest of all of us T_T

I ended up in the ER with a similar story last year (though with less symptoms but enough to get worried). Everything was clear for me. All in all, I’m glad I went. I dreaded the bill but having the piece of mind was worth quite a lot.

Mind sharing what the bill was? I know I’m on the hook for a $250 copay just for coming, but I’m guessing I’ll be blowing through all of my deductible and then some, too :-(

Hang in there, Armando. Best case scenario? You didn’t die and maybe have to take some Tums. Worst case scenario, you didn’t die and have a bunch of other meds/whatever. Either way didn’t die … so really, it’s a win-win!!!

In high school, I once had a collapsed lung for a total of three days before I went to the doctor. They took an X-ray and rushed me right over to the ER.

The delay wasn’t out of any kind of “toughness” play. I just thought I was short of breath. At 17, I assumed it would resolve itself.

Wishing you good health and clear decision making from the other end of the country, Armando.

I had pretty good insurance with a $100 deductible. When all was said and done I think I paid close to $1000 (deductible included).

Doctors giving me the all clear so I’m leaving with my tail between my legs