High Myopia - Is there anybody out there?

[sophia35]

Hi everyone.

I'm 35,with  really high myopia ( -17 in left eye and -22 in right eye)astigmatism  and cataract in right eye not impairing sight. Use rigid gas permeable contacts and get along "fine".

Have had gas bubble in left eye and laser in both for retinal tears/holes.
The only procedure I'm considering is IOL when absolutely necessary.

I've never heard of anyone with myopia this high. i'm really worried about future prospects.

I know people with similar conditions can have different outcomes but can anyone with high myopia ( even if not like mine) please give any input or useful information?

Many thanks.

Wishing you all the best,
Sophia

[Ashley12016]

I' was never given a reason. Over the years I had old glasses rx just to get me by around the house when I got home. This year cutting down my contact use I updated them. With contacts I can see 20/20 but the glasses rx I have not been able to. I told the guy that when I wore them a few days and he told me I would not have as sharp vision with glasses as I do contacts. I've been doing this 14 years and I realize that but my vision is way worse in these glasses. He "fixed" them and it did not resolve the problem so I decided not to go back to that office this year.

[Ashley12016]

Thank you Dr. I've only seen one surgeon, but he told me not to let anyone laser my eyes bc I would not have clear vision afterwards. He did not go into any other detail besides that. At this point I would love to just have it improved evenif it doesn't conpketeky correct. I would continue to wear contacts as long as it was healthy for my eyes. I know one day I will have cataracts and will be having the clear lens procedure anyway, but I wondered if he was not willing to do it bc aside from my myopia my lens is ok and it would risk a detachment at a young age. Trying to balance quality of life with my vision with what the true likelihood of a detachment would be. Is Emory the best of the best? I've only ever seen a retina specialist from my pvd 3 years ago and a regular eye dr yearly, so my knowledge of specialties is low. Thank you

[JohnHaganMD]

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[SoftwareDeveloper]

You say you still have blurry vision even up close. Does that mean even with correction your vision isn't 20/20, if so do you know what your "best corrected" vision is? Has the doctor given you a reason for this, have you got some other eye health issue that might impact what treatment you get for your myopia?  I'm wondering if it might be as simple as having some astigmatism and wearing contact lenses that don't correct for it (I don't know if toric astigmatism correcting lenses are available off the shelf for someone that myopic).

The comment about oxygen deprivation from long term contact use is odd with modern soft contacts. Although the doctor mentioned daily disposable contacts, I'm not sure if they come in such a high power (I don't recall seeing the option a couple of years ago when I temporarily had one eye that was -19D, a drastic -10D shift due to a cataract before surgery). However if your eye were partly corrected via laser, as the doctor suggested as one option, that would leave your eyes well within the power of many off the shelf contact lens brands including daily disposables. I don't know how their oxygen permeability compares to  lenses that are designed for extended wear (though you don't need to wear them them as extended wear) that presumably focus on providing more oxygen. (I'd read about the topic a few years ago, but it escapes me offhand).

I'll add that one important side effect of a "refractive lens exchange" that the doctor suggested is that although it is possible it might  provide you with great distance vision, your near&intermediate vision would be impacted. Its usually an option more commonly suggested for those who are a couple of decades older than you who already have presbyopia. Given your high level of myopia and limited other options,  it may be something you'd wish to consider, but I just figured I'd mention that there are tradeoffs to considering it in someone as young as you are.

  Most cataract patients are old enough that they are familiar with the issue since they have some degree of presbyopia,   the reduction in your near vision that starts to  become apparent among those in their early-mid 40s or so which leaves older people needing reading glasses more and more (or progressive glasses or multifocal contacts or monovision contacts).  There are approaches to "refractive lens exchange" that try to provide better intermediate&near vision, such as monovision or premium lenses, but no option is yet perfect and surgeons differ in what the best approach to dealing with the loss of near vision is. In my case with the Symfony lens (not available yet in the US) I can even read my smartphone without a problem, but I definitely don't have the level of near vision I had at 28, e.g. I'd need readers to thread a needle (not that the situation arises much, for most things except very near tasks my visual acuity is good enough).

[JohnHaganMD]

I would suggest you get a consultation at Emory U Dept of ophthalmology with one of the cornea/refractive surgeons.  The Eye MD there could confirm you are not a candidate for ICL.  With your thick cornea the surgeon could estimate how much of your myopia might be corrected with surface LASIK perhaps 8 or 9 diopters. That would make your glasses RX -7 or -6    You could ask about GP CTL but they let less oxygen through than soft and likely you could not wear them.  You can ask about daily disposable soft contacts. That might allow you to wear them longer than 6 hours.  Lastly you could ask about "refractive lens exchange" or "clear lens extraction"  Its basically doing an cataract operation and putting in an intraocular lens in a lens that doesn't have a cataract. The primary risk is that in everyone that increases the risk of a retinal detachment. In the general population the risk is low maybe one in 3-5,000  In your case the risk even with an uncomplicated case might be as high as 5-8%. Be sure your children are checked regularly as high myopia is frequently hereditary.

[Ashley12016]

I am 28 yrs old, f. I started wearing glasses in 2nd grade. Wore soft contacts from 7th grade to today. I'm -15d and this week I was turned down for icl bc there is not enough space in my eye for the lens bc I have a thick cornea. The surgeon said not to get laser surgery bc my vision would not be clear afterwards. I have oxygen deprivation  from long term contact use and the last year I've cut down my wear time to average 6 hours a day and I try to break that up. I've never tried gas perm lenses, I don't know what else is out there. Last year I had my glasses updated, but I still habe blurry vision even up close. I'm very frustrated and looking for support. I'm a busy mom with 2 kids and I want to see!

[ronney352]

hello.i am from india and also suffering from high myopia.i wish i have friends with whom i can share and talk about this.well noone can help but atleast talking to someone suffering from same thing,makes you feel better.