Eyes

Today begins my journey to being able to see like other people – well, except for the bit about depth perception. I had an appointment with my eye doctor this morning to begin the process of corneal reshaping. Yup... he measured me for custom contact lenses that you wear while you sleep, allowing you to see well for up to 72 hours after removal, with nothing coming between you and the bright, beautiful world. It's a technology that's been around for about six years.

They are supposed to feel about the same as the hard lenses I’ve sported for the last 20 years – a little bigger but no more uncomfortable, and of course you’re asleep most the time they are on. The idea is that they flatten out your eyeballs. They only work if you have kinda pointy eyeballs to start with, which I do.

I have a pretty significant astigmatism, but the doc thinks it’s almost entirely due to the shape of my eyeballs. Because of that astigmatism, though, it’s going to be a bit trickier and more expensive to correct my vision. $1700 instead of $1500. Some people do it for more like $1000 but ha, only the best for me. Apparently. I have been saving up.

The price tag makes me wonder, shouldn’t I just go for Lasik surgery? No, apparently: I’m not a good candidate for that and the good deals out there are too good to be true anyway. A decent doctor would charge $2k/eye for someone like me, and chances are good with the astigmatism, after a year or two I’d start having problems again.

Plus, if the corneal reshaping isn’t satisfactory, it’s entirely reversible. And there's a money-back guarantee. I can get all but $500 back, and go back to the hard-contact-lenses route.

I should be able to pick up my new lenses Sept. 5. I will let you know how it goes.

Apparently this process is popular for children (in families with good optical coverage on their insurance, I reckon). It reduces the progress of nearsightedness considerably. And for me, with middle age lurking on the horizon, that may mean I can hold off reading glasses a few years longer than I might otherwise.