Hi everyone, I've had eye surgeons tell me for years that because of lupus &
anti-phospholipid syndrome, they're very hesitant to do lasik because of
possible scarring (my eyes are really bad). I recently learned of a new
procedure, ortho-K, sometimes called CRT.Unlike Lasik, it's NOT permanent &
it's non-surgical. They're rigid gas permeable lenses that you only wear at
nite for 2 weeks; the inside of the lenses' contour reshape (flatten) your
corner while you sleep. After 2 weeks, you wear them once a week at nite
while you sleep to retain that shape. Kinda like braces. You remove the
lenses when you wake up & go the whole day without any other vision
correction - like glasses or contacts - you can SEE! It doesn't work very
well if your vision is over -4.00 & I'm right at that borderline. I just got
my 1st set today & I'll sleep in them tonite (they're not really comfy like
soft contacts but you get used to them) then tomorrow morning I have to go
get checked again to see if everything's OK. If you stop sleeping in the
'retainers' once a week, your vision returns to what it was. I am SOOO
excited! To be able to wake up without groping for glasses or contacts is a
miracle to me. So I'll be your guinea pig, kay? My family is going to be
watching with baited breath too. Has anyone heard of this procedure or had
it done? It's $1,000 (& you have to pay upfront because most of the eye
place's cost is for the lenses) for the 1st year & includes all exams & lens
replacements as your cornea flattens, & some insurances cover part of the
cost. Unfortunately, I don't have insurance, but I do have a very generous
husband. They said after the 1st night, you will be able to see nearly
20/20, which will gradually diminish during the 1st to the 3rd day & you'll
have to yank out the glasses for a few hours. It takes 2 weeks of sleeping
in them to have the correction last the entire day. I read that the ancient
Chinese used to sleep with sand bags on their eyes, which is basically the
same principle of flattening the corner. I'll keep you posted, if anyone's
interested. I'm so excited!
Candi