Severe Myopia Feeling Hopeless

[Curious4793]

Hey, I'm a 21 year old female with -7.50 in one eye and -8.00 for the other. I have -2.25 astigmatism in both eyes, and has been wearing contacts for 4 years. Both eyes are in good health so far, but I'm not able to see very clearly in the distance even with correction.

Lately, I've been having a lot of anxiety issues because of this and future prospects. I'm getting really depressed when I think about the future. Just wondering what if I'll go blind or become visually impaired one day. Would surgery be worth looking at in my case for correction?

Thanks, I'm eager for a response.

[flossy93]

There are many high myopes in this forum; you are definitely not alone!

I know it's hard, but please don't 'borrow trouble' by dwelling on possible future health issues for your eyes many years down the road.

If it helps you at all, I was a higher myope than you at your age.  I'm much higher now but made it to age 50 with no symptoms at all except a lot of expensive contacts and glasses.  I did have a recent retina problem in one eye, but in almost a year it hasn't gotten any worse and I still see 20/30 or better most of the time in both eyes (corrected, of course).  

Luckily for you, decades down the road when you might have developed a problem, there will be even more amazing technology out there to help patients like you with anything that comes up related to your myopia.

Given your astigmatism level, it may be the reason you don't see as well as you would like with contacts.  How is your vision with eyeglasses that have a similarly recent prescription to your contacts?  The correction in glasses for astigmatism can sometimes be more precisely fine-tuned compared to what you get with a toric contact lens.  If you see better with the glasses, that could point to a contact problem.

[BTW if you don't have current glasses, you should get some.  High myopes who suddenly get an eye scratch or infection that prevents them from wearing contacts, and who have no glasses to fall back on, are in a tough spot.]

You might talk with your optometrist about trying a different toric lens to see if that helps.  My sister who is a -8.5 myope had to try 4 different toric soft lenses to get one that gave her decent distance vision in her left eye, which has a higher level of astigmatism.  Her right eye was an easy fix, by contrast.  So she uses two different brands of lenses now, which works best for her.

She also had to switch optometrists to find someone who was 'interested' in helping her find the right lens, rather than an OD who just kicked her to the curb with a rough solution.  You might try a different doctor or at least go back to your regular OD to ask about other contact options.

Lastly, please do see a retina specialist (an ophthalmologist who specializes in treating retina issues) for a baseline exam and images sometime soon.  You should see this doctor regularly or at whatever interval he/she suggests (2 years, 5 years, whatever) so that if you later develop any issue w/ the retina (the most common problem area for high myopes), you will have a record of images and exams to provide your doctor at that time.  And this doctor can add to Dr. Fazio's explanation of what to watch for that would indicate any retina problem.

Good luck!  

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

High myopia increases the risk of some serious eye problems such as glaucoma and retinal detachment, but these are not inevitable.  You need to be under the care of a good ophthalmologist, who will monitor you carefully.  Even if you have refractive surgery (LASIK), the risk of retinal detachment is still there because of the increased length of the eyeball in high myopia.  LASIK changes the corneal shape and decreases the myopia, but the axial length of your eye is the same.  Again, with alertness to symptoms such as flashes of light, sudden increased floaters, and distortion of vision, and with careful periodic exams, there is every reason to believe that you will maintain your vision.