Any eye specialists or someone who has done refractive lens exchange

[njshep]

Curious if anyone has had refractive lens exchange for being longsighted? I don't mean presbyopia (where we naturally lose our ability to focus with age).
Since I was a kid I have been longsighted, I wore very thick glasses as a kid. Through my teens up until almost 40 I got away without wearing my glasses (bc I could compensate with my own flexible lens). Throughout my 40s I have lost my own built in power to compensate and now am in glasses full time. I can no longer see any distance without it being totally blurry. Currently I am a +3.50 in the left eye and +4.75 in the right eye with a +1.75 add. I get massive eye strain bc progressives don't allow for a great reading function. Every couple years my prescription gets worse and I am paying a fortune on new glasses and sunglasses.
I went through the consultation for refractive lens exchange and am told that I would be so pleased, but I am terrified of messing with the only two eyes I have! Curious to hear any outcomes with a similar situation or input.

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Hmm. No reason why progressive lenses wouldn’t give you good reading vision. That doesn’t really depend on prescription. Do you go to an optician who offers lenses from a range of manufacturers? (a good independent optician will be able to source various different lens options)
A key consideration for lens exchange is managing expectations - it’s unlikely your vision would be perfect for distance and near afterwards if you go for multifocal implants.
Do both your eyes see equally well with both eyes in glasses? How old are you?
I’m generally quite pro lens exchange but would make sure you have exhausted all glasses options first.

Yes, I had this done around 6 years ago and it has been life changing. I had an astigmatism and my long sightedness was +6 in both eyes making regular laser impossible. Having had glasses/patches as a small child I started with contact lenses at the age of 10 but after 30 plus years they weren't working for me anymore. So I did a lot of research, chose my surgeon and had refractive lens exchange done. I really cannot express in words how it has changed my life. Happy to answer any questions you have, but my advice is if you can afford it, research well and go for it!

Alocasia, I have some amblyopia in my right eye so no amount of correction will take care of that entirely whether in glasses or not. I am willing to still have to wear glasses for reading afterwards but really, really want my distance vision back. I want to swim and see, get dressed up without having to wear heavy lenses. I am actually not expecting perfection at every distance but think anything has got to be better than what where my vision is right now.

Turnedacorner-
thank you so much for your reply. It is hard to find someone who has a significant long sighted problem! I am assuming that without correction you had difficulty seeing at any distance- near, far and in between?
do you still need glasses for any particular distance.
thank you again for sharing!

And to answer the question, I am 50 years old.

The risks of the lens exchange are much greater than normal refractive surgery as you’re actually cutting into the eye, removing a structure and then putting something else in.
The risks are even greater if you have an amblyopic eye, if something were to happen to the good eye, you may end up with poor vision for life.

However, having said that, the majority of the population end up having to have the surgery anyway when they develop cataracts and there are benefits to having it younger when your healing and immune response is naturally better.

I spent many years working in refractive surgery, yet, I’m not sure I’d have that done without investigating other options first, especially if I was amblyopic.
have you tried contact lenses? You could easily start wearing distance lenses and just put some reading glasses over the top. Although there are varifocal contact lenses too.
or just have a completely separate pair of glasses for reading?

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