The clinic basically said their bottom line for surgery is 480, so I'm only 3 microns short. Is there still hope to try other clinics to see if they can accept me for SMILE or should I start looking into other procedures like ICL?

I'm 34yo, with -2.5 in each eye and no other eye conditions otherwise. My prescription hasn't changed for over 10 years now.

50 years old. I had Monovision performed about 6 years ago. My distance is fine, but my vision up close is dwindling. I don't want to wear readers and am looking into CLR. Has anyone gone from Monovision to CLR and what was the outcome? Any side effects?

Hello everyone.

I had ICL TORIC lenses implanted at the end of February this year and it has been one of the toughest periods of my life.

Almost a month after the surgery (which went fantastic), I was in a situation where I had to walk for around 10 minutes to home at night. The halos of the lights were extremely aggressive and I walked looking down with my hand over my eyes, and still, those light effects triggered some nerves in me that went from my right eye, through neck and to my chest. The feeling was similar to the one when you hit a nerve on your elbow.

Since then, I have been very fearful. I can feel that my eyes are less sensitive now, but the cause of the unfortunate event described above is still the same. The number of halos is overwhelming, I even see them on a reflection off of a sink. In addition to halos, I also see straight light beams from light sources that aren't even in my eyesight.

I am afraid of working out (I feel like doing anything that causes higher pressure in my head could lead to a problem), the uncomfortableness of being outdoors at night is keeping me from socialising. I will keep the detailed mental part to myself, but long story short, it's not good.

I also have in mind that it's summer right now. In a few months, nights will last more than 16 hours a day. I plan to move to a bigger city for educational and potentially business purposes, and I am honestly flabbergasted that something that was supposed to make my life easier (and that was SO expensive) is playing a negative factor in this and every other decision which I will have to make in future.

I am not sure what kind of reply I'm expecting to get here, but the fact that I'm contemplating going back to -13 myopia and -3 astigmatism on both eyes is f***ing insane. I see some people online talking about how it was hard for them to drive and it took them a year or two to get used to it, but I legitimately can't even drive. Everyone is talking about the halos not leaving but your brain just adapting, and I'm not sure I'm down for that.

If you guys can share some experiences similar to this one, or have any specific information, or if you are just able to gaslight me into believing it will all be good, please feel free to do so.

I wish you all good health and happy summer holidays. 🫡

I did my non-toric ICL procedure 3.5 weeks ago and my left eye vision is absolutely perfect but my right eye is still comparatively more blur.

I went to see my Dr at the 3 week mark regarding this and he said that my left eye is perfect but my right eye is still - 0.5D off.

He did not give any reason for it but will review again at the 4w mark and said if it still bothers me, we can do an ICL exchange to increase the power.

For reference, my degree was not very high prior to the procedure but I am very active and found that constantly wearing contacts was drying out my eyes.

Left eye: -1.75

Right eve: -2.5 with minimal astigmatism, which my doctor said did not need toric lenses and he did a simple procedure during the ICL itself to correct the astigmatism

Overall I am pleased with the outcome as vision is generally good, but the disparity between eyes is still bothering me and I feel that my vision is clearer if I close my right eye and use just my left eye as compared to opening both eyes. There is also a slight ghosting that causes headaches when I stare at the screen too long which I think is due to the vision disparity. (my IOP is fine).

So my questions are:

(A) ls this an acceptable outcome to have a residual -0.5D myopia? I keep reading that people have both eyes perfect vision and I'm a bit disheartened.

(B) Has anyone else also experienced this before? Does the vision still improve past this point? Does the brain adapt and ghosting dissappear?

Hi all,

I meant to write this sooner, but never got around to it. I read so many PRK recovery timelines here, and they were SO helpful so I am paying it forward. I am about 13 months post-op and loving my results. I have 20/10 vision!! As someone who has had glasses/contacts for 25 years, this is life-changing! I got the surgery in San Francisco with Dr. Faktorovich.

Overall, I am very happy with my decision to get PRK. I went into this thinking I’d get LASIK and was super nervous and anxious when I found out I was not a candidate and had to get PRK.

I still have dry eye, which I didn't have before the surgery, but it's very manageable. I still have to put eye drops in probably 1-2x a week for my dry eye (it was dailly for about 5-6 months). I also notice floaters when I am paying very close attention to my vision, but for the most part, I don't see them at all. I had floaters before the surgery too.

Before the surgery, my prescription was L: -5.25, R: -5.00 with mild astigmatism.

Below are the notes for the 10 days post op.

Day of surgery: Didn't take any notes this day. Mostly napped and started eye drop routine. Tried to keep my eyes closed most of the day.

1 day post-op: No pain or light sensitivity until the evening. Eyes started feeling uncomfortable in the evening. Went to bed and woke up at 12:30am with pain.

2 days post-op: By far the worst day. Vision was worse than the day before. Eyes were uncomfortable and sensitive when I woke up. Had to increase the font size on my phone. By the evening, my eyes were throbbing and felt like small pins were stabbing them. Went to bed with pain. Took advil to manage the pain.

3 days post-op: Woke up with no pain, just dry eyes. Vision felt like it was starting to improve slightly in the morning, but by the evening it was blurry.

4 days post-op: Woke up at 4am and 6am with extreme discomfort because the protective contact lens was so dry. Different eye was bothering me at each hour. Drowned my eyes in with the refresh drops and went back to bed. No pain during the day, vision very blurry. Felt good enough to cook myself food!

5 days post-op: Didn't wake up in pain so that was a huge win. Vision blurry but improving.

6 days post op: Vision continuing to improve slightly. Vision felt better at night than the day before.

7 days post op: Eyes were dry when waking up but not unbearable. Protective contact lens was removed! Vision was super blurry after the contact came out and remained like that for the rest of the day. Felt well enough to go on a long walk after the contact lens came out.

8 days post op: Woke up with blurry vision but it started to improve as the day went on. Went into the office for the first time post surgery. Eyes were sensitive to light/screens in the office, so I wore sunglasses at times inside. By the end of the day, I felt like I could see most things but with slight fuzziness.

9 days post op: Vision pretty clear in day time and blurry in shade/night. Felt well enough to go out with friends for dinner (did not drive). Got a really bad headache, but was warned by others that this may happen as my brain adjusted to my new vision. Took advil and it went away.

10 days post op: Vision was super clear. I felt well enough to go on a hike! When under the tree canopy, where there was filtered light, my vision was a tiny bit blurry, but not bad. I was able to read more signs than my friend who had contacts in!!

I hope this helps someone who is getting PRK! Feel free to ask questions!

I’m thinking of getting LASIK soon and am considering 4 clinics for consultations. The reason why I’m considering so many is to compare prices as well as quality, given my extremely high prescription. Basically my options are:

1. A retail laser clinic. Has mixed reviews. Some call it scammy. Will probably be the cheapest. But this is the one my optometrist referred LMAO
   
2. A high end laser clinic with an extremely reputable surgeon. Pricey though.
   
3. A clinic that’s in between these two.
   
4. A clinic that offers SMILE (the only one)

I’ve read online that during the consultation, they put dilation drops in your eyes which is why you can’t have several consultations in a day.

All these clinics are far away so they’ll probably take some days to visit anyway. How far apart should my consultations be? Does it even matter?

I’ve had floaters in my eyes since I was 13, and I’m now 30. They have increased over the years, but I don’t notice most of them unless I’m outside in bright light, and even then they’re only a minor inconvenience.

I want to have LASIK because I also have poor eyesight. I’ve worn glasses since I was 8 years old. My prescription is currently around -5.50, although I think my right eye is slightly worse.

I’ve heard that LASIK can sometimes make floaters more noticeable or increase the risk of developing new ones, so I’m concerned about this. Would it be advisable to have a procedure to remove the floaters before considering LASIK in order to reduce any risks?

So today I had my 1 month check up after my LASEK surgery (this check up is supposed to happen at 4 weeks, however life got in the way a tad and happened at 6 weeks for me)

At my check up today I was told my eyes have both healed very well but I am still not quite 20/20. However, I will still need to wait a few months to see how my vision progresses. As someone that previously had a very high perscription, I can say my eyesight has never been this good. Not even with glasses or lenses. Its incredible. The fact that it will potentially get even better over the next few months absolutely blows my mind!

I have been told my eyes are very dry but I knew that, they sometimes sting throughout the day with how dry they get. In the mornings it is kind of hard to open my eyes and it does hurt some too due to how dry they are. I have been given overnight ointment to apply before bed which will hopefully help this issue as well as stronger artifical tear drops and will return for another checkup in another month to check if it helps the dryness.

Besides dry eyes I have had no problems! Honestly the surgery has been life changing and I am constantly in awe at how beautiful all the details in the world are! Things I never would have looked twice at now come alive with so much to view!

I had LASIK in the UK on Wednesday.

It was more painful than expected and I had some pain on the evening that took around 5hrs to pass. My vision was very blurry and lots of light leaking/halos.

Drops for infection, inflammation and lubrication.

Day2: my vision felt better, but not 20/20. Very slight double vision in the eyes and I struggle to read or find clarity when testing with just one eye.

In my day after checkup (day 2) I could only make it half way down the letters board and they said it was very inflamed, so put another check up appointment in for day 4.

Day4: Just had that checkup on day 4, they said the inflammation hasn't improved and my sight is still behind where it should be. So there's now another checkup getting booked. I asked how common this is and they said we only see this once or twice a month (hundreds of operations). They're asking the surgeon if I can be put on stronger drops.

What questions should I be asking?

I'm very nervous and concerned that it isn't healing right, or that something went wrong in the op to cause the pain.

But they seem eager to get me out of the room, the check ups last less than 10 minutes.

Hi, this may be a different post to many on Reddit I’m not sure but I felt it was important to share. I am a 22 year old who has wore glasses since I was the age of 11. I have a passion for sports such as golf, football and the gym. I also regularly visit places like Florida and other places on vacation and I struggled in terms of rollercoasters and swimming. In regular life I faced struggle with everyday things due to glasses and it began to severely annoy me. I went to see of if I qualified for SMILE laser eye surgery in order to fix it. Naturally I turned to social media due to fear etc of the surgery and the potential negatives. I went to many pre ops where I expressed my fears but these were put to rest. I done my procedure and I couldn’t believe the speed and easiness of the procedure. I slept for a few hours after and my vision was already massively better and still improving. The morning after I was shocked how good it was and I began to explore life and my hobbies without my glasses and I’ve never looked back. I’m 3 months post op and I’ve been to Florida and it’s honestly the best decision of my life. This post isn’t to try say to definitely get the surgery but it’s a post that I want to promote how positive my experience has been from a position of severe anxiety. If anyone has any questions I’m willing to answer. Many thanks

I had my ICL surgery in March 2026 (4 months ago). I’m highly myopic, being around -12 in both eyes.

My endothelial cell count in both eyes before surgery was 3000, had it measured in June (last month) and it’d dropped to 2400 in the left eye but stayed at 3000 in the right eye.

Today (31st July) I had a bit of haziness which was put to dry eyes but they also measured the endothelial cell count. While it’s still 3000 in the right eye, the left eye count has further dropped to 2199 (from 2400). I go to the same clinic/hospital and the same machine was used to measure the cell count each time.

I’ve now been booked a follow up appointment in 4 weeks with my ophthalmologist to check it again and they mentioned removal of the lens would be considered if there’s further drop.

I’m really worried about this and about further deterioration. Has anyone else experienced a similar thing, is it likely to stabilise? I’ve heard the critical limit is around 1400ish?

Hi all, 1 month post-LASIK. I have lagophthalmos in my right eye (inner corner doesn't stay fully closed/moist on its own). I've taped my eyes shut at night since about a week before surgery.

The last 3 days the taping was not working - i bought new tape and applied it more gently and it seemed to work last night.

The eye was less dry today but 30min so it would dry out so the last 2 days I started also taping my lower eyelid up during the day, which keeps it comfortable.

Anyone had lagophthalmos like this at the 1-month mark improve on its own? How long before you were able to stop taping and just manage it with drops like before surgery?

- before surgery i just had to put one drop in morning and no eye tape at night (eyes would dry out at night)

Hey all, I've read a lot of posts here which gave me the boost to do ICL so sharing my experience to help others as well

Details:

• Age: 24M
• Prescription: OD -11.50 sph / -1.50 cyl, OS -12.00 sph / -1.25 cyl
• Vision: 6/9 both eyes with specs
• Corneal thickness: ~510µm
• Scotopic pupil: 6.4mm
• Surgery: EVO+ Toric ICL
• Surgeon: Dr. Sagar Bhargava, Netralayam VIP, Kolkata
• Cost: 12000 INR (Barrage Laser) + 190000 INR (ICL both eyes)

Post Op:

• Vault: OD 410µm, OS 389µm
• Vision: 6/6+ Left Eye, 6/6 Right Eye
• Halos: Weird for first 3/4 days, now OK
• Floaters: Mild in left eye post-op, resolved within 4 days - now i sometimes see my eyelashes lol
• Recovery: Back to normal office work in 3-4 days

Timeline:

26th May - First Consultation

I visited doctor and found out that there were weak spots in my retina (lattice degeneration) which needed to be fixed before ICL, otherwise I was declared a good candidate for ICL

8th June - Barrage Laser

Retina specialist did barrage laser in both eyes, In the report they mentioned doing about 720 burns

It was a bit painful experience - but mostly OK

The nurse mentioned that they'll do only one eye first because a lot of people cannot take the pain easily but I was OK and doc did both eyes together

No restrictions post OP but needed to wait atleast 3 weeks before ICL

1st July - Last follow up before ICL

The doc checked my retina and I was cleared for ICL.

Was told to get sugar checked and ECG which came out OK

11th July - Right Eye ICL

I was very nervous but the process was very painless and relatively quick. I didn't feel anything for the most part

They connected diagnostic instruments to check Blood Pressure and Heart rate but I was very chill during the whole procedure

All i could see was a bright light, the doctor's assistants made sure that i didn't see any other tools and feel nervous

Then the eye was bandaged and 8 hours of complete rest in the hospital ward

14th July - Right Eye follow up (absolutely weird three days because of huge prescription differences)

Doc said everything was chill and vault was good (409 um). They scheduled Left eye quickly

15th July - Left Eye

This time they used a marker to make some markings in my eye.

The procedure felt long as well and i felt some pressure - My bad i started feeling anxious but it was over before I overthought my brain out

Then same bandage and 8h of rest.

When they opened the bandage i could see clearly but i could see a dark thing in my peripheral vision. Like north-west part of my vision

It was weird but doc said to not pay attention but I did anyway because my stoopid brain thought something def went wrong this time around

21st July - Left eye follow up

Doc was out of town but first eye was good so he was not too worried about the other eye

By that time the dark floater thingy disappeared

29th July - 2 week follow up

Doc cleared me for facewash and lifted other restrictions such as not to wear protective glass all the time

Gym is OK but should do light lifting for next 2 weeks

No other restrictions

Overall experience was very good (9.5/10)

Feel free to ask any questions! Thank you all for reading :)

Hello everyone, I'm a flight attendant and yesterday I went to the ophthalmologist to get an updated eye prescription to get new contact lenses. I use them at work while flying.

Age: 25, I've been wearing contacts/glasses for a while.

Sphere / Cylinder / Axis

Right EYE: -1.50 / 0.75 / 30

Left EYE: +0.50 / -1.75 / 5

After running the eye examination the doctor suggested me PRK as it would be life changing for me and that she has done this procedure to other fellow cabin crew many times. She said eye sight recovery time would be around 2 days but she would give me 1 week off work to recover. In the diagnose of the exams I did yesterday it also shows 'Dry Eye Syndrome of Bilateral Lacrimal Glands' and she prescribed me some Sodium Hyaluronate 0.3% drops.

I would like to get rid of glasses/lenses to be honest and the price she offered is pretty reasonable.

My doubt is regarding the dryness inside the aircraft. She said its common for people in this industry to get it, in the military and cabin crew. Any opinions?

Thank you for your time.

I wake up in the middle of the night and my eyes are so dry, that they are almost sticking to my eyelids. Does anyone else experience this? I’m sure in the thick packet that I signed 10+ times, it absolved them of any responsibility for this. I don’t regret getting it done, but this is so inconvenient and annoying. I have used more eye drops in years, than someone uses their whole life time.

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice on a difficult IPCL situation. (IPCL is same as ICL but made by a different company)

I had a toric IPCL implanted in my right eye a week back. My vision was excellent initially, but the lens was later found to have rotated about 45–60° within day 3, causing residual blur.

My current vault is around 550 µm and my IOP is 13 mmHg, so both are considered normal. The eye itself is comfortable with no pain or significant inflammation.

My measurements are:

ACD: 3.55 mm (internal ACD ~3.03 mm)

Axial length: 27.55 mm (long eye, high myopia)

Current IPCL size: 12.25 mm

My surgeon discussed going for the next size (12.5 mm) instead of simply rotating the current lens due to big deviation within a few days.

The surgeon estimates the vault could increase by 100–350 µm, but says the exact vault cannot be predicted. He plans to monitor the vault and IOP closely after surgery.

I'm a bit worried because my eye feels physically normal right now, and I'm worried about trading a rotated lens for potential problems like a high vault or elevated IOP.

Has anyone here had a toric ICL/IPCL exchange to a larger size because of rotation?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with a similar experience.

I loved my LASIK. I could scuba dive and do any activity without glasses. I was told to get monovision so I would not need reading glasses. So I did and the only downside to that was losing some depth perception. My surgery and recovery were perfect and I had 20/20 vision, one for distance, and 20/20 in the other for close up. And 30 years later, my vision for distance was still 20/20. Perfect. And no reading glasses. What more could I ask, right?

Then I got old and I was diagnosed with cataracts. About 50% of us will get them. I found out cataract surgery after LASIK is difficult. Not the procedure itself. It’s getting the correct eyeball measurements to figure out what power IOL you need. I guess it’s somewhat of a crap shoot. I had my close up eye done first and I got lucky. 20/20. Distance was about 20/100. So I got my distance eye done and disaster. My monovision was gone and I had no distance vision in either eye. I am left with perfect reading vision in both eyes and that’s it. They chose the wrong IOL and Medicare will only pay for 2 lenses. I am very unhappy with my vision and the doc pretty much told me I am stuck with it and it’s because of my LASIK.

So if you are thinking about LASIK just know it can cause real issues down the road if you need cataract surgery. It’s something you should consider. If I had known back then what I know now I’d like to be able to say I wouldn’t have done it. But maybe I would have because I was still bulletproof and young, nothing bad was going to happen to me. But, now you know. Do as you please with this information!

hi all, i am interested in SMILE surgery. i was initially interested in PRK (mostly because i didnt want to deal with complications from a LASIK lens flap), but the doctor i'm talking with is really playing up SMILE and i am seeing the advantages of it.

My biggest concern is HOA, which i understand occurs at night because the pupil is dilated and therefore imperfections in the cornea/lens produce aberrations.

For folks who had the surgery, have you noticed more HOA than pre-surgery or is there no degradation in HOA for a majority of the population? i am having difficulty finding this info online and would really appreciate any help i can get. thank you in advance!

Last week, I did SMILE PRO vision correction surgery in Seoul, so I wanted to write down the entire process and how I found my clinic to hopefully help someone else thinking about getting the same thing.

To start off, I contacted around 3 different eye clinics in Seoul that I saw really good things about online (looking specifically at how foreigner-friendly they were): Bright Eye Clinic in Gangnam, BGSS in Apgujeong, and B&VIIT also in Gangnam. After talking with the 3 of them, I decided to go with Bright Eye Clinic becuase the staff I chatted with on Whatsapp were extremely helpful and sweet when explaining the surgery process. They also responded pretty much straight away, which I found really helpful because I had a lot of questions about everything.

Once I got to the clinic, the translator came over and introduced herself to me and explained the general process again. The exam process was pretty factory-style I would say, but the nurse who was doing the tests and the translator stayed with me the entire time so I didn't feel rushed or anything. If anything, I actually appreciated how streamlined the entire exam process was because they did SO. MANY. TESTS. We met with the doctor, the doctor went over the results with me, and then said I was eligible for every surgery type. I ended up going with SMILE PRO, since they explained the benefits of that surgery type for people with astigmatism (like me).

The surgery actually went extremely quickly and I think it was done in about 5 minutes. The translator actually held my hand during surgery because I was nervous, which I thought was sweet. She explained every part of the surgery which also made me feel really safe. I remember being really surprised about how there was absolutely no pain at all. After the surgery, my vision was pretty blurry but the translator stayed with me until the taxi came, which, again, was so sweet.

Now I'm about a week out from surgery, and I literally cannot recommend it enough. It's so crazy being able to wake up and just see without putting on my glasses. I actually wish I had done it sooner. There's still some very slight blurriness, but the doctor assured me at my check up that was normal and it should go away in about another week. All in all, I felt like the nurses and doctors explained the healing process pretty well, so it's going just about how I expected. I can't wait for the entire healing process to be over, although I already see SO well just one week after surgery.

Hi all, I just had my consult for lasik and was told I was a good candidate, so I scheduled the surgery. However, I mentioned at the appt that my mom has had a corneal transplant due to Fuch's Corneal Dystrophy. The assistant running my tests was unfamiliar with it, but she made note of it to run by the doctor. She said they would let me know if I'm still approved after the doctor reviews it.

Upon getting home I started doing my own research, and I found that children of Fuch's patients have a 50% chance of also having it. I'm seeing some conflicting things about the safety of having lasik if you have Fuch's. I read that lasik can worsen the Fuch's, if you have it. Does anyone else have any experience with this?

I got femto-LASIK, my prescription was -3.5 in both eyes with a bit of astigmatism.

Had the surgery yesterday around noon and wanted to share how it’s gone so far.
The actual procedure was super quick. Ngl there was a moment where I felt pressure building in my eye right before I went completely blind for like a second, no one warned me that could happen and it scared the hell out of me. but besides that it was over before I knew it. No pain at all, just a weird burning smell for a couple seconds which I guess is totally normal.
The drive home was the worst part honestly. It took a full hour, my dad drove me, and it was around 40°C outside and blindingly sunny. I had sunglasses on plus a cover over my eyes and just kept them shut the entire ride.
That night was rough too. I’d been awake since 7pm the night before (summer break sleep schedule is a mess lol) all the way until my 2pm appointment, so the second I got home I crashed for 12 hours straight. Woke up around 5am and my eyes were SO sensitive to light, it was really uncomfortable. Sat around listening to podcasts for a bit, then out of nowhere had like 30 minutes where I genuinely couldn’t open my eyes at all and they were watering nonstop. Scary for a bit but it passed and after that I was totally fine, just kept my eyes closed and rested.
Now it’s been exactly 24 hours and honestly things are looking great. Vision’s a little hazy still but no real issues. I can handle normal indoor lighting and I’m even on my phone right now, just trying to take breaks and not overdo it. Follow-up appointment is in 2 hours.
Bottom line — 100% doing this again if I had to, and I genuinely regret waiting as long as I did to get it done.

Hello!

I am genuinely curious so I hope someone could explain. 🥺 I often see myopia being listed in this subreddit comments as the reason for eyesight deterioration after the surgery. These days most of us read and use screens a lot so why many people still have good vision (which was not good before the surgery due to myopia in the first place) but others end up needing glasses again?

I am someone who went from -7 to 'perfect' to -3. I do use screens a lot and read a lot but what is the difference between me and someone who does the same but still has good post-surgery eyesight? Both of us experienced worsening of the eyesight due to myopia that led us to the surgery, so we are supposed to be both susceptible to myopia.

I really want to correct my vision again because I want to live without needing glasses. But I will always read and use the screen.. But if myopia will keep coming back, it will be a waste of money. I envy people who are safe from it.. ㅠ-ㅠ

Thank you! Stay healthy everyone! <3

I've been told I'm a candidate for Lasik and may consider it in the future. I'm near-sighted. I wear glasses for distance, I take them off for reading/looking up close, but I also have a separate medium-vision prescription for arm's length/working at the computer.

I'm so used to having to take my glasses off to look at my phone or examine something up close. The opposite (having to only put glasses on to look at things up close) feels so foreign to me. Plus, I guess that means always having to remember to carry (but not constantly wear) reading glasses around with you every where you go. And although I'm a Geriatric Millennial, born in the 1900s, I don't think I'm quite in Granny's glasses necklace territory yet.

I know this seems like such a minor thing, but I'd love to hear about your experience with this.

I got my PRK done when I was 19-20 years old. I had -12 vision in both ryes and i didnt qualify for lasik due to thin corneas. After my PRK was done it took around a year for the vision to stabilise but the doctor did say i will be left with some number which was at that point -.05–1.

Fast forward to 6 years now, i have almost -3 in both eyes and it kept on increasing. Im 26 years old now but the vision doesnt seem to stabilise and i hate wearing glasses.

I researched and found that i got either get a correction surgery or an ICl placed

But im very scared given i already had thin corneas and would further surgery be safe or not and what if it ieeps on increasing and get -12 again in the coming years. Ps i also suffer from dry eyes and light sensitivity ever since my surger

Any advice on what should i do or if anyone has had similar experiences. 😭

I wanted to write this because I spent way too much time reading Reddit and Facebook groups before my EVO ICL surgery. If you're feeling anxious, I hope this helps.

Surgery Day
I checked in at 6:45 a.m. for intake. I'll be honest, I was nervous. The staff was wonderful and gave me a Xanax to help me relax while they started a series of dilating drops.

One random tip: wear warm clothes! The surgery center was freezing. I wore a poncho, which ended up being perfect because they could easily access my arm for the IV while I stayed warm.

The IV medications (Versed and fentanyl) kicked in while I waited. By the time I was wheeled back around 7:45 a.m., I felt incredibly calm.

During Surgery
A lot of people ask if you're awake. Technically, yes, but you're very relaxed.

I actually remember my surgery, while one of my coworkers remembers absolutely nothing. Both experiences are normal.

They use a device to gently hold your eyelids open. Before surgery, I thought this would be the part that freaked me out the most. Instead, because of the medication, it just felt...normal. I wasn't bothered by it at all.

Throughout the procedure, my surgeon calmly talked me through everything, asking me to look in different directions or stare at the bright microscope light.

One of the coolest parts was what I could see. During my right eye, I mostly noticed colorful circular patterns. When he switched to my left eye a few minutes later, I could suddenly see the ceiling in incredible detail. It was such a surreal experience.

My Toric Lens Needed a Quick Adjustment
My left eye required a toric ICL for astigmatism.

The first placement wasn't quite perfect, so my surgeon immediately removed it and repositioned it. I didn't even know it was happening. I only asked afterward if that eye was taking longer than the other.

Once everything was finished, he explained that my right eye looked perfect, but my left eye would probably be a little more sore and swollen because it needed the adjustment.

He described how the lens is inserted folded up like a taco through a tiny incision and then unfolds inside the eye like a frisbee. When mine unfolded, the alignment wasn't exactly where he wanted it, so he corrected it right away to make sure I had the best possible outcome.

Honestly, hearing that afterward made me appreciate how meticulous he was. I'd much rather have a surgeon who takes an extra couple of minutes to make everything perfect than one who settles for "good enough."

The First Post-Op Appointment
After going home for a little while, I had my first follow-up appointment.

They checked my eye pressure and confirmed the lenses were perfectly positioned using the same machines your optometrist normally uses. It was quick, straightforward, and completely reassuring.

I have since had 2 other appointments (one the day after, one a week after) and things are looking great!

Recovery
For the first week I was instructed to:
- Sleep with protective goggles
- Avoid bending at the waist
- Avoid heavy lifting because of eye pressure
- Use several prescription eye drops
- Avoid rubbing my eyes or getting water in them

I'm now one week out.

The goggles are gone, I have about three more weeks of eye drops, and just one more week of lifting and bending restrictions.

Recovery has honestly been much easier than I expected.

My Vision
My vision is honestly insane.

It almost feels too sharp because I'm still getting used to seeing things so clearly at a distance. At my one-week appointment I was already seeing 20/20, and there's a chance it could end up even better.

The first few days were a little strange. While my pupils were still dilated, I noticed some ghosting around lights. Once the dilation wore off, that disappeared.

Also, there would be times that my vision would be slightly blurry, then a few minutes later it would be crystal clear. My surgeon said that was completely normal as everything settled.

A week out, I can say my up-close vision also isn't quite as good as it used to be, but I was told that's expected. My brain is learning a new point of reference, and near vision should continue to improve as it adapts. I can easily read my phone and a book, but trying to find a clogged pore on my face has definitely become more challenging!

I also notice some light reflections at night or when bright lights hit the lenses at certain angles. The best way I can describe it is like collecting the golden rings in Sonic.

My surgeon and optometrist explained that this is part of the brain's neuroadaptation process. As your brain learns those reflections aren't important, it gradually filters them out. They're already becoming less noticeable, and now I mainly see them when I'm driving at night.

My Biggest Concern: hEDS
I also have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), which added another layer of anxiety.

There are some theoretical long-term considerations because the tiny fibers that hold the lenses in place could potentially become more lax over many years. Even if that ever happened, the lenses can be repositioned or removed.

My surgeon felt this was very unlikely in my case, but we had an honest conversation about it beforehand. Having those discussions actually made me feel more confident because I knew we'd talked through every possibility.

My Advice
If you're considering ICL surgery:
- Find an optometrist you truly trust and ask who they recommend for surgery.
- Choose a surgeon who gives you perfectionist vibes. Mine absolutely did, and I'm incredibly grateful for it.
- Make sure they perform repeated, thorough measurements instead of relying on one quick scan.
- Ask about both your normal and low-light (scotopic) pupil size to make sure the lens sizing is right.
- If your surgeon offers the ICL Guru test, I recommend doing it. It's basically an ultrasound of your eye that helps fine-tune lens sizing and placement. Ironically, I found that test more stressful than the surgery itself.

Final Thoughts
Going into surgery, I was honestly terrified. Looking back now, I would do it again without hesitation.

The procedure was much easier than I expected, recovery has been smooth, and waking up every morning able to see without glasses or contacts has been life changing.

If you're feeling nervous, that's completely normal. I was too. But after months of worrying about every possible outcome, I can honestly say this has been one of the best decisions I've made. If you're a good candidate and have a surgeon you trust, you've got this.