If you have eyesight worse than -10 please come and talk to me about contact lenses!

[foxessocks]

I'm at my wits end! I'll try and keep this brief, my eyesight is terrible, I think -12 one eye and -14 in the other. I used to where GP lenses but then I got dry eyes and switched back to glasses full-time. I don't mind wearing glasses but I really need another option for the summer because I want to wear sunglasses and I can't get pescription ones. The optician I saw gave me these options-

1. get eye surgery - lens replacement (which I have looked into and am pretty sure I will do at some point but I have to save up!)
2. get disposable contact lenses and then get precription sunglasses to go over the top to make up the prescription iyswim
3. go back to GP lenses and try them again (they got very uncomfortable but that was over a year ago)

He originally was very optimistic and ordered me some monthly lenses in my correct prescription which I was very excited about as I didn't think such a thing existed - well, then they didn't bother to call me back for 3 weeks so I chased them and they said, "Oh, they don't do those any more you'll have to come back in". So here I am, going to another appointment later today and I'm feeling fed up and don't really want to even go.

If anyone has any advice, ideas, success stories...I'm only in my early 30s and this has been my situation since I was about 10 years old! I've had enough of opticians I've tried lots and they all seem really unhelpful. I even tried a super expensive private one and they were also unhelpful and charged me £85 for the appointment.

I have only - 6.50 on both eyes in cl but I know that Specsavers Vitrea soft disposables go up to - 15. I personally recommend them for contact lenses I wear disposables every day and find them great, I wear them with sunglasses and use cheap magnifiers for reading as I sew and I get better close up vision than if I wore varifocal glasses or cl.

Good luck

Trisha

Yep, I wear soft disposables and my vision is over -10. Im in the us though.

And mine are toric for astigmatism as well

What brand is that Ifeel?

Even elective lens surgery has high complication rates!

Again please please do your own research.

My beautiful eyes foundation supports many many victims of all forms of unregulated elective eye surgery, including laser and lens replacement.

Visit the group on Facebook.

Only have lenses replacement when your vision is at risk and performed by the NHS.

Never trust a surgeon who wants to remove healthy lenses and replace just too correct vision.

The only safe correction is glasses, to be fair. Contact lens wear can have significant complications especially if you get lazy with them (which, long term, lots of people do). And FWIW you can get phakic IOLs (which leave your own lens in place).

Not sure what you mean by "unregulated" — surely all eye surgery provision is heavily regulated?

*Only have lenses replacement when your vision is at risk and performed by the NHS.

Never trust a surgeon who wants to remove healthy lenses and replace just too correct vision.*

To put it bluntly, what a ridiculous post! Do you not know that most private practice surgeons also perform surgery for the NHS?
Replacement lens surgery is a simple procedure, takes a few minutes, and is done under local anaesthetic, it is very different from laser treatment and gives a much better result.
All surgical procedures carry a risk of course, but this is silly scaremongering.

No there is no regulation in the UK.

In the US it's regulated by the FDA. But there is a campaign being run to get FDA approval removed because if the risk profile and number of victims.

Again don't take my word for this, the information is out there.

Ironically one of the leading campaigners is Morris Waxler who now actively campaigns for FDA approval to be removed was the chairman of the team who originally approved the procedure for the FDA!!!!!

In the UK Sasha Rodoy is campaigning for regulation. Again don't not take my word for it it all out there too be researched.

I'm a victim of this industry which ruined my eyes.

The victim support groups are full of people who had lens replacement who now deeply regret their decision.

Please please please do your research.

I don't doubt you've had a bad experience and had your eyes damaged (which is why, even if I had the money, I'd be really wary of having it done — my sight is perfectly acceptable right now when it's corrected, I'm just inconvenienced by glasses/lenses), but how do you mean, unregulated? Surely medical devices like IOLs can't be used unless they've been approved by the relevant agency, and people can't operate unless they're qualified surgeons with the appropriate insurance?

I once thought like you. Why else would I have allowed this too happen? I trusted the doctor and the system. It's one of the hardest things too come too terms with.

Regulation is a high area but an example would be complication reporting so you could see the real complication rates for the procedures. Nothing exists in the UK.

In terms of IOL scandals around wrong lenses being used. Lenses being imported from China and rebranded/boxed.
Insurance won't save your eyes or vision when it goes wrong.
My solicitor who is handling 40 cases herself against the industry has moved into too this line of legal work because she's had lense replacement leaving her eye damaged and extremely uncomfortable. Lucky she only had one eye done.
It's profit before patient welfare praying on people like us who fed up with glasses and contacts.

A link too my story in the press
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6666953/Thinking-laser-eye-surgery-results-devastating-leave-regrets.html

No, I understand what you're saying about the risks (and I think you're being a little patronising with "I once thought like you" — I mean, obviously you didn't, because you went ahead and had the surgery, whereas I haven't even though I could have reallocated some savings for it or asked a family member who'd be happy to oblige — if I really wanted it, I could've had it by now). What's listed as the things-going-wrong rate bothers me, because it doesn't include many people who have permanent side effects at a level that would be unacceptable to me. I mean, just the fact that the guidelines suggest that people with characteristics that lead them to be unable to tolerate imperfect results is a red flag to me.

What I'm asking is what you mean by unregulated, since there is no way that, for example, an ear piercer would be allowed to insert a homemade lens into your eye. So obviously there is some regulation. I think it's probably not enough; the adverts always seem so glossy and make it look like it's as simple as getting a filling. Personally I'd be unwilling to get "bargain" surgery from a high street provider; I'd want to research a specific surgeon and clinic, and if I couldn't afford one who I could be sure was the lowest risk I could find, I wouldn't do it. If you're Sohaib, then you did the same thing and still had complications; looking at Sohaib's story, I'm not convinced better regulation would've prevented that. If you're Ian, it might have, I guess; there are always people who don't read what they're signing especially when they feel under pressure, and who trust that the surgeon wouldn't let them do anything where the risks were too high. It looks like Martin didn't do his research on focal lengths and really should've been given clearer information about what he'd lose. And yes, compulsory complication reporting would be handy here — I think you're right and that that should be required at all levels (surgeon, team, clinic, company). But a low complication rate alone wouldn't be enough for me. I'm no blasé enthusiast who'd wander into Optimax and let whichever random surgeon they picked slice up my eyes or implant anything without telling me exactly what it was so I could research the specific make and model. If there's such lax regulation that they can get away with implanting a different thing to what they told me they'd implant, and those imported lenses you refer to are bad but it's not illegal to substitute the one I'm told I'm getting with a replacement, then obviously that wouldn't protect me, so I was asking what you meant when you said it was unregulated. If the imported lenses scandal you refer to is already illegal, then that's the kind of thing more regulation wouldn't fix.

I was minus 13 and wore GPs and very heavy glasses for years. At the age of 50 I was lucky to have cataract surgery on the NHS in Scotland. I was referred by my GP because I really wasn’t seeing well and my confidence was badly affected.
I had to travel for work and remember going for dinner at 3pm because I wasn’t confident I could see street signs after dark.
That was 10 years ago and I am hugely grateful every single day for near perfect vision.
I was worried about the operation but it was completely painless and I had a fantastic consultant.

Like any operation things can go wrong with laser surgery and IOL replacement.
Happy - have you seen anyone recently regarding the RCE? There are now treatment options available that were not there before (and that aren’t surgical). I would ask your GP for referral to Moorfields. The treatment options are too long to mention on here, but if you PM me i’d be happy to send you a list. Although it does sound like you just have a poor adherence Issue.

IOL replacement is basically as safe as cataract surgery. High myopes usually get cataracts much earlier than other eyes, So you’ll probably have a cataract op anyway at some point. High myopes also have a higher risk of retinal detachments and the IOL replacement makes you lose your near vision, unless you have a varifocal implant (and they sometimes don’t work).

I’d still be tempted to try the slightly lower powered lens in one eye first to see if you like soft lenses and then go from there.

You don't lose your near vision if it's a phakic IOL, which is the one I'd consider if I were to have refractive surgery right now.

Phakic IOLs carry their own risks tho.

I have a -27 eye. There is a bespoke contact which corrects it fully at -30, but it's an arm and a leg. Plus I doubt my brain could handle it to be honest! I'm trying a -15 correction next week to test the comfort. Have never worn contacts, but have my specs and want a bit more freedom.

Fuck me, -27? Are you able to get any useful vision out of it?

Mine are -10.5 and -9. Last year I was getting really dry eyes and headaches so my optician switched me to Acuvue lenses which are much better (albeit more expensive). I'd also say it's well worth going to an independent optician rather than a chain brand like specsavers ionce you are at that prescription, if you can afford it - more expensive but much more thorough and generally better care.

Our family have had amazing care from our specsavers, and it really wasnt as good the times we've tried the local independents. (Usually due to wanting a sooner appointment.) I think it depends on area as not all SS are the same. In our area Ss was far more thorough with testing and have been fantastic with my high prescription (double level figures) and daughter with additional needs.

I used to have contacts until over 10 years ago as I was told as well as dry eye there was a little bit of damage, which completely freaked me at the time!

I now pay the squillions to have my every day pair of glasses thinned as can be and have reaction lenses. Not the same as sunglasses but was the way I dealt with it. Too riska averse for surgery. I also get help choosing lenses - for example the thin wire frames or half frames that used to be fashionable are a complete no.

I'm on Coopervision Biofinity Toric and I think they're great; last time I tried torics I just couldn't tolerate them despite having worn various types of contacts since I was 11, so was surprised that the Biofinity ones weren't noticeably different from normal lenses (except they don't work well when I lie on my side 😆). Main problem is that three of the medications I take list dry eyes as a side effect, so I essentially can't open my eyes in a light breeze… 😂

And they were much better once I switched to my usual peroxide solution, after the trial period, during which the optometrist and the sales assistant insisted I use multipurpose solution because they hadn't "trained" me in peroxide solutions, and multipurpose is "just how we do things". (I'd had a break from lens wear so they insisted on treating me like a newbie, and exclaimed in surprise when I popped the lenses in and out without problems several times in the fitting appointment, despite them knowing I'd used lenses for years )

OMG - that is true with the Phakic IOLs but if you’re already in your late 30’s and you’re a high myope you’d need to have them removed probably within a few years anyway for cataract surgery. High myopes develop cataracts earlier and the phakic IOLs cause cataracts to develop earlier too. You then have the added issue of often needing a larger incision in the eye to remove the IOL.

And a lot of high myopes don't really start to stabilise until their twenties making the window for appropriate use of PIOLs quite narrow. But it's good for people to be aware it's an option alongside laser surgery and RLE.

High myopes might develop cataracts early but there are still plenty of us poddling along in our sixties with our own lenses… when you say PIOLs cause cataracts to develop earlier, I was under impression there was a risk of damage directly from the procedure, causing cataract formation, so more short- to medium-term, rather than a generalised increase in rapidity of deterioration? Which would mean a few people getting them much earlier than they otherwise would, with the rest getting them when they would've done anyway. But I'm just a myope, not an eye expert, and I'm not up to date. I'm interested, what's your knowledge on this (and from what perspective)?

Personally, my options at this time would be laser surgery slicing out huge chunks without much room for correction, PIOLs, RLE (no thanks; I treasure my close vision), contacts, or glasses (no ortho-k at my prescription). I don't really like any of them much 😅