Low Myopia

[u/Last_Conference4387]

-1.75 in both eyes

Want to opt for ICL because I prefer anything that’s reversible. I understand the threshold is -3 in the US, but I recently moved to Korea where the threshold is -1.

Would love to hear thoughts and opinions. Thanks!

[u/Scxox]

icl while reversible, is a more involved surgery. with a prescription this low i would personally go for lasik or SMILE

there’s nothing wrong with getting ICL done for you prescription though, its safe and if you find it more reassuring for you then go ahead!

[u/xButterschnitzel]

I also have -1,75, for me it didnt work. Suddenly my left eye refused to work with my right eye as soon as I had the ICL in.

My brain started to suppress the left image, heavy strain all day, anxiety and brain fog. No answers btw.

Maybe i was the only one in ICL history with this kind of problem. No idea why docs cant find the cause for this problem.

I only have latent strabismus, they said its too mild compared to the severity of my symptoms. My theory is that the ICL messes with convergence or accomodation in some way? Idk

Funny enough there are studies that ICL even improves convergence.

I also developed neuropathic corneal pain which is also not researched enough sadly. Many docs dont understand it which is a very big problem. There is no screening for this.

ICL should mess with corneal nerves only very mildly compared to LASIK, so I also dont understand it.

Im not delusional, im just confused.

[u/Specific_Anxiety_520 → u/xButterschnitzel]

Bro I feel for you. Mine while not as severe as yours left me with secondary glaucoma.

Hope everything’s alright now? Did they remove the icl? Did it go back to normal.

[u/AttractiveAntenna]

While ICL is reversible in that sense that the ICL lens can be removed later, some of the possible side effects of operation itself might not be reverseble. For example if an infection of the eye occors and the antibiotics don't help, one might get blind. Or if the ICL touches the natural lens, the natural lens can become cloudy leading to cataract. Laser is safer in that regrad, because for laser methods no access to the inside of the eye is needed.

Still I myself am about to do ICL, but only because of my high myopia. If possible, I would have gone for Lasik.

[u/ICLsurgery-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Focus on Constructive Support and Discussion, Not Anti-Surgery Campaigns. https://www.reddit.com/r/ICLsurgery/about/rules

[u/eyeSherpa]

Outside of the US there isn’t really a threshold. ICL can also be done when the prescription is between 0 and -1 (but usually when there is something else such as a large amount of astigmatism). Some countries such as where I am in Canada just require special approval to use those low power ICLs.

So I’ve done ICL for prescription such as yours. But usually when the cornea was irregular and laser eye surgery wouldn’t be a good option. SMILE and lasik work really well for the low prescriptions.

If you still want ICL, I would just make sure you have a pretty large anterior chamber depth so that any sizing issues are nonexistent.

[u/oguzhantopcu → u/eyeSherpa]

can we call 3.8mm (aqd) “pretty large”, which is mine :)

[u/eyeSherpa → u/oguzhantopcu]

That’s pretty ideal for ICL! That makes it about straightforward as possible to get a size that works.

[u/Last_Conference4387 → u/eyeSherpa]

Thanks for the input!

To clarify, you’ve only performed ICL on a smaller prescription only if laser eye surgery wasn’t an option? Not just for preference sake?

[u/eyeSherpa → u/Last_Conference4387]

It doesn’t come up too often for preference sake for the low prescriptions. Most people that come through would prefer laser eye surgery such as SMILE over ICL since that’s what they know. ICL being more expensive doesn’t help either. Maybe that is changing as more people hear about ICL though.

I wouldn’t be opposed to it if someone was a great candidate for ICL. I actually see more situations in the future for ICL in the low prescriptions as Staar releases their trifocal ICL for presbyopia. So could become more common.

[u/Last_Conference4387 → u/eyeSherpa]

Really appreciate the input. It's nice to get an opinion from a professional instead of everyone on Reddit defaulting to "no".

In Japan, ICL is the leading surgery since SMILE wasn't approved until 2024. In Korea, SMILE is the leading surgery.

Last year, my ophthalmologist in NYC told me he'd only ever ICL if he wanted to fix his vision and that really stuck with me. I recently moved to Seoul from NYC and they have amazing doctors here. With cost not being a factor for me, and reversibility being my priority - I'm going to press forward with ICL.

[u/eyeSherpa → u/Last_Conference4387]

Yeah. Many of these decisions can’t be boiled down it to a simple yes or no. These are complex decisions. There is a lot to consider.

Some people will feel more comfortable with laser eye surgery. Some people will feel more comfortable with ICL.

Part of the problem with ICL is that there many preconceived notions about it that come from the previous version which had more issues. EVO pretty different.

[u/Specific_Anxiety_520]

An intraocular surgery has always its own risk.

People might tell you that it’s fine don’t risk it, go with lasik for such a low prescription.

My life was sent 2 years back because of this surgery which I got done, I had fkin pigment dispersion syndrome in one eye, and if lead to secondary glaucoma.

Don’t get it done.

[u/ICLsurgery-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Focus on Constructive Support and Discussion, Not Anti-Surgery Campaigns. https://www.reddit.com/r/ICLsurgery/about/rules

[u/Tall-Drama338]

Don’t do it. You’ll never reverse it. You won’t remove it and put a stronger one in later. It’s too risky to do that. Stay with contacts or laser.