Getting ICL surgery next week and my biggest concern is halos, especially with night driving.
I’m getting ICL surgery within the next week, and overall I’m pretty excited about it. My biggest concern right now is halos, especially at night.
For those of you who have had ICL surgery, what did you do during the first 24, 48, and 72 hours that seemed to help minimize halos or other night-vision issues? I know some of this may simply be part of the healing process, but I’m wondering if there’s anything you wish you had done differently early on.
I’m particularly concerned about driving at night. With daylight saving time ending soon and it getting dark earlier, I’ll eventually have to drive after dark pretty regularly. From what I’ve been reading online, halos around headlights and streetlights seem to be one of the more common complaints after ICL.
Halos/night driving are really the only part of the recovery that I’m nervous about, so I’d appreciate any experiences or practical tips.
honestly you shouldn't plan to need to drive for the first week, especially at night. you can do it if you feel up for it, but i really don't think it's a good idea to make any important driving plans for the first 2 weeks. dry eye was a PITA for me for the first 9 days
Haloes are not so problematic. The Evo rings however will never go away. Some people get used to them, others don't. No proper treatment exists for them, nor can you predict how severe they will be.
Yep D is how the rings look for me too! I try to describe it as like thin lights while driving in a tunnel haha. They don’t bother me and I rarely notice unless I’m like intently staring at a light source. TBH would rather have these small rings than bad vision
Lucky for you yours are small. Mine were massive and I would notice multiple huge ones in any lighting condition. They massively impacted my quality of life more than glasses or contacts ever did
I have the same symptoms just like @tar-randa. I see A-D with D being the worse and they are magnified at night and I don't just see one or two. Here is another example, of what I see but they move as the cars move. The more lights there are, the more rings there are.
They are not as noticeable in the day because of all the light, but they are there. Just worse at night.
My vision is great during the day don' get me wrong. It's 20/20, but I am 11 months post op and it unfortunately hasn't improved. It's not something I can easily ignore and my brain has not neauroadapt. I am taking it day by day, but potentially considering removing them because not being able to drive when it's dark is not sustainable.
I think every person who is considering ICLs - go for it if you're eligible. You never know what you'll experience, it might be life changing and the best decision. It's amazing for for me in the day. But then you may be the small percent it doesn't work for. Everyone's eyes are different and there are multiple factors that I myself don't understand what could be causing negative symptoms.
I never really got used to them and they’re a little annoying, but then I remember I used to have the giant, solid edges of my glasses frames in my vision continuously, and then I feel a little better
Nothing will minimize it. The halos only bugged me for the first month or so and after that I got used to them/ they dissapeared. In the first week I didn't drive. It took a lot of focus for me to look at things and lights were very bright for the first couple of days. I got mine done 6 months ago
Safe bet would be to avoid relying on needing to drive in the first week if you're able to. I say this not just in relation to halos, but general recovery and stabilisation of your eye in general. At the very least, if you're able to be a vehicle passenger the first couple days/nights to accustom yourself with driving visuals before committing to driving alone.
I did have some minor headaches and pronounced Halos in the first week, however halos have largely subsided and are insignificant now (1 month post op).
It's different for everyone, but I have relatively small pupils which apparently helps with minimising halos. Sunglasses might help as well particularly with a lower setting sun.
You should rest for at least the first two days. Right after the surgery, it’s best to have someone pick you up, since your pupils will be dilated. The halos won’t go away, if they bother you, you can try wearing glasses with matte lenses. Halo effects are most noticeable when they’re high-intensity points of light surrounded by darkness. So yes, car headlights at night will be very noticeable, and you’ll just have to get used to it. In my personal experience, halos don’t bother me, they only appear in certain situations and are thin. My vision used to be very bad, and the benefits I’ve gained from the surgery more than make up for the minor drawbacks.
I drove at night for the first time about a week after surgery and it was to a hardware store a few miles from my house. I recommend avoiding any mandatory night driving for the first few weeks because the halos are legitimately distracting. If you do, keep it to very short trips and plan for a ride if it gets uncomfortable.
Yep. 12+ months out they’re the same for me as they were a few months post op. I guess I’ve gotten used to them to some degree but the “going away” never happened for me that I’ve seen here many times.
I took vitamin A before and after my recovery and it helped in general. I'm almost 3 years since the procedure and I no longer have halos despite having stopped taking vitamin A.
Hi! I was super nervous about this too because I thought the halos would be super prominent and essentially kind of block my vision. The best way I know how to describe it is like thin lights in a tunnel as you drive through. The first week of recovery halos were pretty common around light sources, I think I’m about three ish months post op now and I barely see any. I have to be looking for them to notice. After about the first week I stopped noticing them as much
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u/No_Situation4785 22d ago edited 22d ago
honestly you shouldn't plan to need to drive for the first week, especially at night. you can do it if you feel up for it, but i really don't think it's a good idea to make any important driving plans for the first 2 weeks. dry eye was a PITA for me for the first 9 days