I have terrible, terrible eyes. Truly. We’re talking legally blind in both eyes, can’t see my alarm clock without my glasses, terrible. Add to that some astigmatism, which means I don’t see perfectly even with my contacts. As I’ve gotten older, my eyes have become really dry, which adds its own nasty element to contact wearing. I’ve had white bumps form on the inner upper eyelid that have required weeks of drops to go away, probably from so many years of contact use. So I should just wear glasses, right? If only it were that simple. I don’t see well with glasses. My peripheral vision is non-existent, which hurts when exercising or driving. I get fairly intense headaches from wearing my glasses too long. I have blue eyes- light enough that the sun hurts when I don’t have sunglasses on, and I live in Southern Utah.

I’m not a candidate for LASIK because my corneas are not thick enough. My only options are to suffer through bouts of nasty with my eyes or to have ICL surgery. 

What is ICL?

ICL stands for implantable collamer lens.  This is a specially designed lens that is implanted in front of your existing natural lens- basically a permanent contact lens. The doctor will make a small incision on the side of my eye to slide the lens in.  If you look closely at the picture, there is a lens in the clear tube- that’s what will be implanted in my eye! It’s actually less invasive than LASIK and the recovery time should be fairly quick. I should be able to drive myself to my follow-up appointment the next day. This surgery is perfect for people who are extremely nearsighted or whose cornea is too thin for LASIK. It’s pretty much perfect for me. 

I’ve spent hours in my optometrist’s office having tests done on my eyes to make sure that everything checks out for this ICL surgery. I’ve had drops to make my pupils really big and drops to make my pupils really small. They’ve given me drops to numb my eyes so they could laser a small hole in my iris to make room for the lens they are going to implant. I’ve spent over two weeks wearing my glasses (a real sacrifice because of the side effects) so my eyes would reshape themselves from the twenty five years I’ve spent wearing contacts.  I’ve even had a physical to make sure I’m healthy enough for surgery! This really has been a process. And in a few days I’ll be done!

The truth about ICL surgery? 

I’ll be honest and tell you that as excited as I am about the outcome of this, I’m really nervous! We’re talking about my eyes- without your sight your life becomes a wholly different thing. And when you sign the paperwork for the surgery, it’s almost like signing your life away! Of course they have to talk to you about all the possibilities even if they’ve never seen it happen. But it makes you think- would I be better off dealing with my lousy vision and horrible eye problems than to take the chance on surgery? 

I’ve weighed the options. I’ve spent the greater portion of a year thinking about this. I had my first screening over a year ago when they told me I was not a candidate for LASIK. It was a total letdown, honestly. LASIK has been around for so much longer and that seems to make me feel better. This ICL surgery was first done in the early 1990’s and was only approved by the FDA in 2005. 

But, the bottom line is this: in the last few years, my life seems to have revolved around my eye problems. Every week there is something- some irritant or headache that affects my life in a bothersome way. And I’ve finally decided that this surgery will improve my quality of life in ways that are, at the moment, unfathomable. To wake up and be able to see the minute I open my eyes? I can’t even imagine the luxury. I have great confidence in my doctor, Sharon Richens. She’s skilled and seasoned in these surgeries and will do a wonderful job. And to be able to see after 27 years of poor vision… there just aren’t words for it. 

I’m anxious to share the rest of the story with you next week. My ICL surgery is next Tuesday!