RFI: Current state of vision correction

[fatdog]

Multi-focal soft contacts solved a similar set of problems for me where several of the other options you mentioned failed. It is a weird thing because your brain has to adjust and that took me a month. When the prescription changes, it sets me off a bit, not seriously or in a debilitating way, for a couple of weeks then the brain catches up.

Sometimes I catch myself with a slight unconscious head turn to distant things and sometimes my conscious brain has to say "see this close thing" to get my focus on small print, but it works for me. Sometimes late in the day it is easier to put on a set of reading glasses than the concentration that makes the close things clear.

We have all heard this mantra that the eye can only focus on one thing at a time, turns out not to be true at all, the brain can adapt to having two different focal planes landing on your retina and automatically sort through it, after some time training itself to do so.

[BillSWPA]

After 30 years of wearing contact lenses to correct for nearsightedness, changes in my astigmatism and presbyopia caused a switch to glasses. After years of wearing multi-focal lenses with distance in the upper part of the lens and a gradual transition to near vision at the bottom of the lens, I switched to Varilux X a few weeks ago. These lenses are divided into a hexagonal pattern, with each hexagon providing either distance, near, or some transition in between. The result is near, mid range, and distance vision across the entire lens. I required a few days to adjust, but they are really nice, particularly for computer use and shooting. A thread in the support gear section describes the experiences of others with these lenses.

I strongly discourage any non-mandatory eye surgery. My wife had Lasik. It went well for several years, until our then 18 month old son accidentally poked her in the eye, removing some layers of cornea. The cornea healed to the point where she regained almost all of her prior acuity, but she now wears glasses to drive at night. For several years after the injury, layers of cornea would occasionally stick to her eyelid at night and separate.

Your cornea does not heal to 100% after Lasik. If your eye dr. says otherwise, I will call that doctor either misinformed or a liar.

My understanding is that PRK results in a more durable cornea, but I would still hesitate to take that chance. If/when my prescription changes, I solve that problem with a new set of glasses. If it changes after surgery, then your options become glasses or more surgery.

Although my information is now several years old and this may have changed, the last time I heard, the FBI would not accept a candidate for a special agent position if they had vision correction surgery.

[RoyGBiv]

The last time I tried that, they didn't work for me. The astigmatism lenses are directional. which requires them to be weighted at one edge to keep the correct orientation. For me, whenever I would blink, the contact would rotate ever so slightly and it was very disorienting and caused headaches. When I got my current prescription and my current doc said he wasn't including astigmatism correction, he said this was still a concern that hadn't been addressed with any new tech.

You may want to try a different brand of lenses. Or several. Hopefully your practitioner has already done this with you and I'm just being redundant.

IIRC, the brand I'm using is made in increments of 10 or 15 degrees for astigmatism correction. One of my eyes is "in between" and I had to try both lenses on either side to find the one that worked best for me. I still get that lens out of focus occasionally. Seems to be less as the lenses get more use and also less when I've had them in for a while. New lenses and early in the day seem to be the most trouble.

Also, some brands may offer correction angles that align better with the direction of your astigmatism.

https://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/torics.htm

Because every eye with astigmatism is unique, it can take more than one pair of soft toric contact lenses to find the brand and design that provides the best fit, comfort and visual acuity.

Also, fitting toric contact lenses for astigmatism takes more expertise than fitting regular soft lenses. For these reasons, getting fitted with toric contact lenses typically costs more than a regular contact lens exam and fitting.

[RoyGBiv]

Multi-focal soft contacts solved a similar set of problems for me where several of the other options you mentioned failed. It is a weird thing because your brain has to adjust and that took me a month. When the prescription changes, it sets me off a bit, not seriously or in a debilitating way, for a couple of weeks then the brain catches up.

Sometimes I catch myself with a slight unconscious head turn to distant things and sometimes my conscious brain has to say "see this close thing" to get my focus on small print, but it works for me. Sometimes late in the day it is easier to put on a set of reading glasses than the concentration that makes the close things clear.

We have all heard this mantra that the eye can only focus on one thing at a time, turns out not to be true at all, the brain can adapt to having two different focal planes landing on your retina and automatically sort through it, after some time training itself to do so.

WifeGBiv wears one contact for near and the other for far. Works well for her but as you say, it took a few weeks for her to calibrate.

[fatdog]

WifeGBiv wears one contact for near and the other for far. Works well for her but as you say, it took a few weeks for her to calibrate.

My Dr. referred to that arrangement as "monovision" correction, and it works for many people. I tried it for two years and it made me more functional. My Dr. suggested I try these new multi-focal contacts, for me they have worked out just a little better, especially for the intermediate activities like shooting and getting a 1m focal distance.

[JRB]

(Excellent post)...

...And also (again?) for a long, long time (think decades) PRK was allowable for many military jobs with considerable medical and eyesight restrictions (some pilot, SF, etc). Lasik was a disqualifier until recently, after a period of time where DOD was giving free Lasik to anyone who wanted it and qualified. I would argue that those providing Lasik to DOD folks got very good, very quickly due to the volume they were doing on large posts.


pat

PRK that's stabilized for 1yr is admissible for an Army flight packet as a Warrant Officer, last I checked. I missed the age cutoff for that by 1yr, and I'm still pretty crestfallen about it.
Having a few fobbit MOS's like 92F gave me a glimpse of the glory during this last rotation in theater. I was doing a fuel site visit, and some birds came in and the NCOIC asked if I wanted to walk the walk instead of talk the talk. Lo and behold it was four fully armed Apaches headed for spicy places. So I got to hot fuel a fully armed Apache. The pilot grinned and high-fived me through the canopy when we got done. I felt like I was 15 years old again, and grinning like I'd just gotten the prom queen's number.
Late one sleepless night some time later, I realized that was the closest I'd ever be in my life to the pilot seat of an armed combat aircraft. I cried like a bitch. Childhood dreams die hard.

The last time I tried that, they didn't work for me. The astigmatism lenses are directional. which requires them to be weighted at one edge to keep the correct orientation. For me, whenever I would blink, the contact would rotate ever so slightly and it was very disorienting and caused headaches. When I got my current prescription and my current doc said he wasn't including astigmatism correction, he said this was still a concern that hadn't been addressed with any new tech.

Try a lot of different brands before you give up on them. I was struggling with Acuvue Torics for years and resenting them, only to get fitted with Bausch & Lombs that are 10,000% better in every way and provide 20/15 vision that I can wear 16+ hours a day without issue.

[Duelist]

PRK that's stabilized for 1yr is admissible for an Army flight packet as a Warrant Officer, last I checked. I missed the age cutoff for that by 1yr, and I'm still pretty crestfallen about it.
Having a few fobbit MOS's like 92F gave me a glimpse of the glory during this last rotation in theater. I was doing a fuel site visit, and some birds came in and the NCOIC asked if I wanted to walk the walk instead of talk the talk. Lo and behold it was four fully armed Apaches headed for spicy places. So I got to hot fuel a fully armed Apache. The pilot grinned and high-fived me through the canopy when we got done. I felt like I was 15 years old again, and grinning like I'd just gotten the prom queen's number.
Late one sleepless night some time later, I realized that was the closest I'd ever be in my life to the pilot seat of an armed combat aircraft. I cried like a bitch. Childhood dreams die hard.




Try a lot of different brands before you give up on them. I was struggling with Acuvue Torics for years and resenting them, only to get fitted with Bausch & Lombs that are 10,000% better in every way and provide 20/15 vision that I can wear 16+ hours a day without issue.

I had that dream for about 15 minutes. The National Guard landed a couple of Apaches on our high school football field and let us sit in the cockpits and play with the helmets and run our hands over the gun and the whole bird. I got out and handed them back the helmet and said, okay, sign me up, I want to fly this thing.

You have glasses, you can’t fly it, but you can be a mechanic, they said.

Screw that. They lost me right there. I did join up years later, but nothing to do with flight.

[MGW]

Went to the eye doctor this week and I’m ready for my third prescription in three years. Getting old sucks. Setting at a computer most days doesn’t help. Contacts aren’t an option for me because of allergies and frequent dry eye issues. I don’t think contacts are a good choice for someone that does Jits multiple times a week either. Hopefully my prescription will stabilize soon because this is getting expensive.

[Caballoflaco]

Try a lot of different brands before you give up on them. I was struggling with Acuvue Torics for years and resenting them, only to get fitted with Bausch & Lombs that are 10,000% better in every way and provide 20/15 vision that I can wear 16+ hours a day without issue.

A good optometrist should have sample packs of various brands they let you try for free.

[orionz06]

For me, PRK is still the way to go. I do too much where things are a risk, even if only in my head. I'll be three years post-surgery in March and would do it again in a heartbeat. LASIK is probably fine, but the durability is real. If I have to have a touch-up, I'll do that too.