Surprised that I haven’t seen anyone recommend or even mention implantable lens technology, for long-term vision correction (maybe I missed the mention). AFAIK, it’s reversible, and safer than laser surgery (LASIK, PRK, etc.)—-nota bene: I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice.
Anecdotal, but I got lenses implanted in both eyes recently, after living with astigmatism, nearsightedness, and Rx glasses for many years. Very happy with the outcome—-now I can drive without any glasses at all! Well, I do wear sunglasses in the summer, as one does; but now I can wear whatever sunglasses strike my fancy—I’m no longer limited to using those annoying clip-on sunglasses, over my (former) Rx glasses.
I could have chosen a ‘progressive’ Rx for my implanted lenses. However, the surgeon would not provide, for my eyes, high assurance that I’d have crisp vision at both nearby and far distances. So, I chose to get implants that would let me drive legally without glasses; and also do most activities without glasses. For reading and computer use, I can use either: cheap ‘drugstore’ magnifying glasses, or Rx glasses for the same purposes. But definitely research those tradeoffs, and discuss with your doctor.
Is this statement backed by peer reviewed science? I could not find anything. When I Google for "safer than laser surgery", 100% of the results say that ICL (implantable contact lens) are riskier than laser (LASIK).
> I’m no longer limited to using those annoying clip-on sunglasses, over my (former) Rx glasses.
On the subject of clip-on sunglasses, nowadays some brands are offering prescription glasses that work with magnetic sunglasses covers. The sunglasses cover seats flush to the prescription glasses, and just make the package marginally thicker. They really look like you are using regular sunglasses when moutned on. I am also a contact lense user, specifically on days I might use cycling sunglasses, but those magnetic sunglasses are my goto solution for everyday use. Mine are from the Afflelou Magic collection.
The good thing with those magnetic sunglasses is they don't have arms so they take very little room in a pocket or a bag and they are inexpensive so you can keep spare everywhere: house, car, office, backpack...
The only downside I could find is when you are driving a motorbike you have to think about putting your helmet visor down before you reach a certain speed, around 55-60mph (might be lower on windy days) otherwise your sunglasses might fly away. The magnet is simply not strong enough. But my main helmet has its own internal sun visor
My surgeon was willing to do contact lens implants, but was very adamant that lasik was a more appropriate course of action. Despite being more than willing to pay the price premium. So I went with lasik, as recommended.
Unfortunately, that left me with all of the negative side effects (halos at night, dry eyes) I was hoping to avoid by choosing an implanted lens. While I don't regret getting lasik, hearing someone who had a successful ICL surgery makes me wish I had taken that route instead.
I did ICL a few years ago, had a good experience. I did a fair amount of research. One interesting thing to note is that the FDA is often several years behind for both ICL and Laser tech (eg, it looks like the EVO/EVO+ (V4c, V5) lenses finally got approved in 2022 but was originally introduced in 2008 and approved in many other parts of the world in 2011. For lasers, Canadian lasers/TransPRK procedures generally seemed a generation or two better than what was being offered in the US as well).
While TransPRK (or LASIK) was an option for me, I decided to go with ICL:
* No flap or corneal ablation (so is still an option in the future, I suppose), just a 3mm incision that completely heals
* no eye dryness risk (corneal nerves not damaged); in general less reported complications post-surgery from my research. generally proper placement, and also making sure you have a good first week of recovery/good followup are the big things
* V4c/V5 (w/ KS-Aquaport) does not have fluid flow issue older gens did, and had a larger exit pupil hole (although my left eye even years later still has some haloing in low light due to it opening a bit bigger)
* the ICL can be removed or replaced in the future for upgrades or prescription changes
* ICL is an actual outpatient surgical procedure, is more expensive than most modern laser options and you should use an experienced/good surgeon. I went w/ Dr Kimiya Shimizu, one of the most experienced in the field (and is the KS in the KS-Aquaport, invented the injector technique as well). There are other Dr's as well who have done thousands of procedures, it's probably worth going for more experience. With proper insertion, he was actually able to use a regular (non-Toric) implant to correct for my slight astigmatism in both eyes.
Obviously, having work on your eyes is a serious thing, so I'd recommend everyone do their own research, but ICL for me was a big QoL improvement.
ICL is relatively new and is surprisingly little known. I learned about it by chance from friend, did it, and it worked out great, beyond any expectations. I see way better than with any glasses or contacts.
I went with “mono vision”, i.e. my eyes are preset for different distances - one for close, one for far. This takes some time to get use for, but I consider it more convenient for me as I get older. I wouldn’t recommend this setup for a younger person, obviously.
Lennon was wearing the best shape for high prescriptions.
Small, and round. Both will make the highest prescriptions very thin since the flaring out of the lens doesn't happen. Most of the mainstream optometrists don't specialize in frames like these.
Lenses are also available in 1.7+ high index in plastic lenses or even higher if you don't mind glass. Glass lenses while brittle at high index, can be additionally hardened as well.
It's helpful to find a frame manufacturer that can hide higher prescriptions in the thickness of the frame.
Companies like OGI, Anne Et Valentin have suitable frames for high prescriptions, which include adjustable nosepads to get the lenses right, and also a hybrid frame where the lenses might be wrapped in a combination of metal and plastic.
I wear soft contacts and one of my eyes has astigmatism. I've never understood how a symmetrical lens can correct an asymmetrical eyeball. Another strange thing I've seen is that after having put these things in my eyes about 2000 times at this point, I think I can tell that they vary in thickness, sometimes even in the same pack, but it doesn't seem to affect their performance. It all seems a little magical, so I guess I should find some time and go down the youtube rabbit hole that probably exists.
I have astigmatism, and have worn rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses starting over 40 years ago. I have tried various types of soft lenses a few times but could never see as well with them.
I think it's funny how many people really don't want to just wear glasses. I love that I can completely change my look just by getting some new glasses, though I'm admittedly fortunate to have a low rx such that I can get away without wearing them sometimes when I misplace them.
Another random comment: I just love that his contacts apparently only fit because of ptosis from using weed.
I have an extremely strong prescription (and have been wearing bifocals since I was 16), so I basically need to wear them at all times other than in the shower and in bed. I really don't like not being able to see things without them if I want to look at something while in bed (or worse, when I accidentally drop them when trying to grab them after I wake up and then can't find them easily due to not being able to see without them), but contacts seem like they'd just make that worse by increasing the effort needed to put them on. The eye doctor I saw from when I was a kid until college apparently had laser surgery and suggested that I should get it whenever my vision stopped getting worse (which happened throughout my childhood but would be expected to stabilize in adulthood). For me, the motivation wouldn't be cosmetic, but quality of life; being able to see without an external tool is just inherently easier.
If you don't need astigmatism correction, spherical contact lenses give much better image quality than glasses. You don't get the image minification/magnification that you get with glasses, and the off-axis optical aberrations are much reduced because the lens moves with your eyeball, meaning it's always correctly aligned.
Astigmatism correction in contact lenses sacrifices some image quality (sharpness is reduced), but it might still be better than glasses depending on how much correction is needed.
It's possible to combine spherical contact lenses with cylindrical glasses, which might give the best overall image quality depending on the exact correction needed.
Related to this, different glasses lens materials cause different levels of chromatic aberration, measured by Abbe number. The cheapest (PADC, e.g. CR-39) is one of the best you can get.
>I think it's funny how many people really don't want to just wear glasses.
I paid for college working in the glasses business. Glasses are just not comfortable to wear all day. You can have them adjusted up the wazoo, but after a few hours, they're just annoying. Then the lenses are easily smudged. Or they're easy to bump. The reasons are long.
Waring contacts opened me up to soo many activities that I just couldn’t do as a child (or would be far too uncomfortable) - swimming, social dancing (slasa), contact sports (taekwondo) or most sports for that matter.
Eventually I did LASIK because of an eye infection scare though, figured it was better to take the risk once and fix your eyesight, than go about life constantly at risk of getting blind.
But it was never a _go back to glasses_ situation, I couldn’t even imagine my life without being able to do all the activities I enjoyed doing.
I think it depends a lot on your myopia level. For instance I have low level so my face is looking normally behind my glasses. In my partner's case however it is very different. She needs very high level of corrections which means that her prescription glasses lenses are still super thick despite the technology advancements:
1. she is limited by the kind of frames she can wear because of weight.
2. her face look way different with or without glasses, like she is behind a magnifier so she doesn't like it.
I can manage without correction but still remember the first time I walked in the rain after switching from glasses to contacts, 20 some years ago. I'd only put up with the glasses for a little while at that point.
Nowadays I don't wear a contact in my better eye, so that I can focus to read, just one in the worse eye for distance vision.
I consider glasses to be purely functional, not a matter of style. In fact I think glasses are ugly. The only reason I don't use contacts is because I would never be able to suppress my blink reflex to get them in.
I've worn glasses since I was 5. On three occasions, they have prevented something from damaging my eye. Tried contacts for about a year - gave them up after 3 incidents of being blinded by grit getting in them while driving.
It seems that there is a generational divide between glasses acceptance. When I was a kid in the 90s, having glasses was seen as cool and desirable. I remember being puzzled by all the 80s movies which mocked characters with glasses, when having glasses was seen as a positive trait among my peers.
I can't recall which episode it is exactly, but there's a Seinfeld episode where he's doing a standup bit in the opening sequence where he's talking about how glasses are a thing that are associated with intelligence and style while hearing aids are not.
Coincidentally I was thinking about this but yesterday and how it relates to Bluetooth earbuds. Somehow Apple managed to make hearing aids cool.
It crossed my mind when I was thinking about a coworkers hearing aids and if they were ever picked on as a child for wearing them. I bet that the rise of earbuds has made life a lot easier for children who are hard of hearing.
It always startles me a little given how iconic the “John Lennon” glasses are that he started wearing them so late in his career. I’m guessing that the sunglasses he wore on stage at times when the Beatles were still performing live were prescription lenses.
Never made the connection until reading this, but I suspect Steve Jobs' choice of spectacle was a nod to or was influenced by Lennon's 'granny' glasses.
when I just read this FTA, i was shocked, thinking "how did I never know this till now?"
>In 1973, he stopped wearing the ‘wire rimmed Lennon glasses’2 and expanded to slightly non-round styles. His blood spattered spectacles even featured on the cover of Yoko Ono's 1981 album ‘Season of Glass’ following his murder in 1980.
I am short-sighted for 40 years and think from time to time to switch to contact lenses (mostly for the comfort in winter).
I am however getting older and have near-vison decreasing (you know, thise people who hand stuff at arm length to read). I find myself getting off my glasses often to see from a close distance (I hate the hybrid glasses).
I guess that contact lenses are not possible for me in that context.
Was LASIK surgery experimental back then? Would have alleviated the issues John experienced on a frequent basis with those pesky rigid contact lens.
I think I had similar diagnosis of myopia and astigmatism as John and its worked wonderfully for me. Fortunately this was completely recently where the techniques have been perfected/improved with technology.
No. The first Laser did not even exist until mid-1960, so they were definitely not in surgical use in 1963-1966. Even the Soviets did not develop Radial Kertotomy surgery until 1974. RK uses a physical scalpel to make small radial incisions around the iris, and the scarring that occurs during healing causes the eyeball to shrink and warp the lens.
LASIK hadn't even made it to the conceptual stage then. Early trials for vision correction via radial keratotomy were ongoing at the time of his death.
[+] [-] hn_ltl-ftc|1 year ago|reply
Anecdotal, but I got lenses implanted in both eyes recently, after living with astigmatism, nearsightedness, and Rx glasses for many years. Very happy with the outcome—-now I can drive without any glasses at all! Well, I do wear sunglasses in the summer, as one does; but now I can wear whatever sunglasses strike my fancy—I’m no longer limited to using those annoying clip-on sunglasses, over my (former) Rx glasses.
I could have chosen a ‘progressive’ Rx for my implanted lenses. However, the surgeon would not provide, for my eyes, high assurance that I’d have crisp vision at both nearby and far distances. So, I chose to get implants that would let me drive legally without glasses; and also do most activities without glasses. For reading and computer use, I can use either: cheap ‘drugstore’ magnifying glasses, or Rx glasses for the same purposes. But definitely research those tradeoffs, and discuss with your doctor.
Wish I’d done it sooner!
More info here: https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/what-to-know-icl-surgery
[+] [-] throwaway2037|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] prmoustache|1 year ago|reply
On the subject of clip-on sunglasses, nowadays some brands are offering prescription glasses that work with magnetic sunglasses covers. The sunglasses cover seats flush to the prescription glasses, and just make the package marginally thicker. They really look like you are using regular sunglasses when moutned on. I am also a contact lense user, specifically on days I might use cycling sunglasses, but those magnetic sunglasses are my goto solution for everyday use. Mine are from the Afflelou Magic collection.
Here is an ad showing how it looks and works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa-80ezvni4
The good thing with those magnetic sunglasses is they don't have arms so they take very little room in a pocket or a bag and they are inexpensive so you can keep spare everywhere: house, car, office, backpack...
The only downside I could find is when you are driving a motorbike you have to think about putting your helmet visor down before you reach a certain speed, around 55-60mph (might be lower on windy days) otherwise your sunglasses might fly away. The magnet is simply not strong enough. But my main helmet has its own internal sun visor
[+] [-] mywittyname|1 year ago|reply
Unfortunately, that left me with all of the negative side effects (halos at night, dry eyes) I was hoping to avoid by choosing an implanted lens. While I don't regret getting lasik, hearing someone who had a successful ICL surgery makes me wish I had taken that route instead.
[+] [-] lhl|1 year ago|reply
While TransPRK (or LASIK) was an option for me, I decided to go with ICL:
* No flap or corneal ablation (so is still an option in the future, I suppose), just a 3mm incision that completely heals
* no eye dryness risk (corneal nerves not damaged); in general less reported complications post-surgery from my research. generally proper placement, and also making sure you have a good first week of recovery/good followup are the big things
* V4c/V5 (w/ KS-Aquaport) does not have fluid flow issue older gens did, and had a larger exit pupil hole (although my left eye even years later still has some haloing in low light due to it opening a bit bigger)
* the ICL can be removed or replaced in the future for upgrades or prescription changes
* ICL is an actual outpatient surgical procedure, is more expensive than most modern laser options and you should use an experienced/good surgeon. I went w/ Dr Kimiya Shimizu, one of the most experienced in the field (and is the KS in the KS-Aquaport, invented the injector technique as well). There are other Dr's as well who have done thousands of procedures, it's probably worth going for more experience. With proper insertion, he was actually able to use a regular (non-Toric) implant to correct for my slight astigmatism in both eyes.
Obviously, having work on your eyes is a serious thing, so I'd recommend everyone do their own research, but ICL for me was a big QoL improvement.
[+] [-] vl|1 year ago|reply
I went with “mono vision”, i.e. my eyes are preset for different distances - one for close, one for far. This takes some time to get use for, but I consider it more convenient for me as I get older. I wouldn’t recommend this setup for a younger person, obviously.
[+] [-] swader999|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] sschueller|1 year ago|reply
In comparison the glasses I have even with the most advanced glass is extremely thick and only a small area doesn't cause color shifting.
[+] [-] j45|1 year ago|reply
Small, and round. Both will make the highest prescriptions very thin since the flaring out of the lens doesn't happen. Most of the mainstream optometrists don't specialize in frames like these.
Lenses are also available in 1.7+ high index in plastic lenses or even higher if you don't mind glass. Glass lenses while brittle at high index, can be additionally hardened as well.
It's helpful to find a frame manufacturer that can hide higher prescriptions in the thickness of the frame.
Companies like OGI, Anne Et Valentin have suitable frames for high prescriptions, which include adjustable nosepads to get the lenses right, and also a hybrid frame where the lenses might be wrapped in a combination of metal and plastic.
[+] [-] 13of40|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] SoftTalker|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] tehlike|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] slaymaker1907|1 year ago|reply
Another random comment: I just love that his contacts apparently only fit because of ptosis from using weed.
[+] [-] saghm|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] tomcam|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] raincole|1 year ago|reply
Yes, this sentence. Right here. This is why you can't get why many people really don't want to just wear glasses.
[+] [-] bobbylarrybobby|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mrob|1 year ago|reply
Astigmatism correction in contact lenses sacrifices some image quality (sharpness is reduced), but it might still be better than glasses depending on how much correction is needed.
It's possible to combine spherical contact lenses with cylindrical glasses, which might give the best overall image quality depending on the exact correction needed.
Related to this, different glasses lens materials cause different levels of chromatic aberration, measured by Abbe number. The cheapest (PADC, e.g. CR-39) is one of the best you can get.
[+] [-] anthomtb|1 year ago|reply
> I can get away without wearing them
There's a fallacy of some sort here but I do not know enough rhetoric to determine which one.
[+] [-] simlevesque|1 year ago|reply
In many situations they're not practical. Sports and sex to name a few.
[+] [-] lysace|1 year ago|reply
(Like 120 degrees vs 170, or something along the lines of that.)
[+] [-] HumblyTossed|1 year ago|reply
I paid for college working in the glasses business. Glasses are just not comfortable to wear all day. You can have them adjusted up the wazoo, but after a few hours, they're just annoying. Then the lenses are easily smudged. Or they're easy to bump. The reasons are long.
[+] [-] seer|1 year ago|reply
Eventually I did LASIK because of an eye infection scare though, figured it was better to take the risk once and fix your eyesight, than go about life constantly at risk of getting blind.
But it was never a _go back to glasses_ situation, I couldn’t even imagine my life without being able to do all the activities I enjoyed doing.
LASIK was soo cool and transformative that I recommend it to anyone now, and honestly the operation itself was a fun adventure in and off itself - even blogged about it at the time https://medium.com/@ivankerin/a-humble-mans-account-of-the-l...
[+] [-] prmoustache|1 year ago|reply
1. she is limited by the kind of frames she can wear because of weight. 2. her face look way different with or without glasses, like she is behind a magnifier so she doesn't like it.
[+] [-] maxerickson|1 year ago|reply
Nowadays I don't wear a contact in my better eye, so that I can focus to read, just one in the worse eye for distance vision.
[+] [-] bigstrat2003|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] dangsux|1 year ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] WalterBright|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] supertofu|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Teever|1 year ago|reply
Coincidentally I was thinking about this but yesterday and how it relates to Bluetooth earbuds. Somehow Apple managed to make hearing aids cool.
It crossed my mind when I was thinking about a coworkers hearing aids and if they were ever picked on as a child for wearing them. I bet that the rise of earbuds has made life a lot easier for children who are hard of hearing.
[+] [-] dhosek|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] andrewpennachio|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] divbzero|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] franksvalli|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] melling|1 year ago|reply
https://www.today.com/video/paul-mccartney-says-john-lennon-...
[+] [-] pimlottc|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] fsckboy|1 year ago|reply
>In 1973, he stopped wearing the ‘wire rimmed Lennon glasses’2 and expanded to slightly non-round styles. His blood spattered spectacles even featured on the cover of Yoko Ono's 1981 album ‘Season of Glass’ following his murder in 1980.
https://images.artbrokerage.com/artthumb/onoyoko_129502_12/1...
but then i realized, "ok, that's really grotesque, but at least I have done a great job of ignoring Yoko Ono!"
[+] [-] seancork|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] 77pt77|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] BrandoElFollito|1 year ago|reply
I am however getting older and have near-vison decreasing (you know, thise people who hand stuff at arm length to read). I find myself getting off my glasses often to see from a close distance (I hate the hybrid glasses).
I guess that contact lenses are not possible for me in that context.
[+] [-] xyst|1 year ago|reply
I think I had similar diagnosis of myopia and astigmatism as John and its worked wonderfully for me. Fortunately this was completely recently where the techniques have been perfected/improved with technology.
[+] [-] deelowe|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] buildsjets|1 year ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radial_keratotomy
[+] [-] TeaBrain|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] pmarreck|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] jrimbault|1 year ago|reply
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#History
[+] [-] astura|1 year ago|reply
It's like asking why JFK didn't use the Internet.
[+] [-] unknown|1 year ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] pmarreck|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] ianbooker|1 year ago|reply