Severe myopia

I’ve got plenty of remedies on hand, just in case the weather starts acting up. 😁

Thanks! 😉

Terry Gray60 said:So, I’m highly myopic. 😢
My prescription sits at -9.5 and -10.5. Honestly, it hasn't been a massive issue for me up until now. My routine is pretty standard: contacts in the morning, out at night. When I'm without lenses or glasses, I basically just stumble from the bathroom to my bed. My vision started declining when I started school back when I was seven, and it’s just steadily worsened over the years. It actually stayed stable for about three years, but lately, things have started sliding again. I really thought it had finally leveled off—I'm 23, after all; it should have stabilized by now, right? To make matters worse, my contacts are starting to irritate my eyes; they feel drier than usual...
I'll admit, I'm a little spooked.

I've decided I need to do whatever is possible to finally stop this progression. However, cutting back on reading or screen time isn't an option since that's literally my job.
I remember hearing about those eye exercises that were supposedly popular for a while—the ones that claimed to actually reduce your prescription. Does anyone have actual information on whether that works? Or perhaps some other way to protect my poor eyes?
Laser surgery is off the table for now because my vision isn't stable yet. Besides, the idea of something going wrong terrifies me. I rely heavily on my sight, and I am not willing to take even a one percent risk unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

Try to minimize your screen time and reading whenever possible, even if it is your livelihood, because that constant focus causes the eye to adapt specifically to near distances. Also, do use some lubricating drops if your eyes feel dry. You don't need to do it constantly, but if you feel that dryness creeping in, feel free to use them. 🙂

Please, give the idea of laser surgery some serious thought. Based on what you've said, you seem like a prime candidate, and if your prescription continues to drift, eventually even the laser won't be able to help you anymore.

I’ve had somewhat similar experiences myself, and I actually went through laser surgery twice, which worked wonders for me. In fact, I even wrote a seminar paper regarding the procedure, even though it isn't my specific field of expertise. If you're interested, feel free to send me a private message and I can pass it along to you. I gathered quite a bit of data from various reputable websites and synthesized everything about the whole process in that paper.

As for laser surgery, I’m really not sure—at least not anytime soon, since my bank account is looking pretty pathetic right now.
Anyway, I’ve been wearing soft contact lenses from the very beginning.
But lately, I’ve been low-key freaking out because for the last month, I’ve been seeing these little tiny spots drifting around in my left eye (the one with the higher prescription). I’m thinking I’ll have to schedule an eye exam again, and honestly? I’m terrified it might be that retinal scarring stuff that leads to vision loss. I never had this before, and now it’s driving me crazy, especially when I’m trying to read... I really hope it’s nothing serious, because I know a ton of people deal with this, but of course, I immediately spiral and convince myself it's the absolute worst-case scenario. I don't even know what to think anymore... 🤷

To be honest, I don't actually know anyone else with such a massive prescription, but it still weighs on me knowing there are people out there dealing with numbers like mine.
I used to wear glasses, and I would constantly scare myself thinking about how thick the lenses were—even though they cost me a fortune and weren't even the basic kind! But I've been wearing contacts for the last four years, and man, my life has been so much better since I made the switch.

But isn't it true that your prescription needs to be stable before you can go in for laser surgery?
I wouldn't know, but even my doctor suggested I might be better off skipping it altogether...

Zachary James84 said:As for laser surgery, I’m really not sure—at least not anytime soon, since my bank account is looking pretty pathetic right now.
Anyway, I’ve been wearing soft contact lenses from the very beginning.
But lately, I’ve been low-key freaking out because for the last month, I’ve been seeing these little tiny spots drifting around in my left eye (the one with the higher prescription). I’m thinking I’ll have to schedule an eye exam again, and honestly? I’m terrified it might be that retinal scarring stuff that leads to vision loss. I never had this before, and now it’s driving me crazy, especially when I’m trying to read... I really hope it’s nothing serious, because I know a ton of people deal with this, but of course, I immediately spiral and convince myself it's the absolute worst-case scenario. I don't even know what to think anymore... 🤷

To be honest, I don't actually know anyone else with such a massive prescription, but it still weighs on me knowing there are people out there dealing with numbers like mine.
I used to wear glasses, and I would constantly scare myself thinking about how thick the lenses were—even though they cost me a fortune and weren't even the basic kind! But I've been wearing contacts for the last four years, and man, my life has been so much better since I made the switch.

Go get checked out—seriously. Have you actually had your eye pressure tested yet? I know a girl who didn't even have a prescription, but she started seeing those black spots, and I think it was due to her blood pressure. She ended up being fine, though. I’m hoping everything turns out okay for you. 🙂

Zachary James84 said:As for laser surgery, I’m really not sure—at least not anytime soon, since my bank account is looking pretty pathetic right now.
Anyway, I’ve been wearing soft contact lenses from the very beginning.
But lately, I’ve been low-key freaking out because for the last month, I’ve been seeing these little tiny spots drifting around in my left eye (the one with the higher prescription). I’m thinking I’ll have to schedule an eye exam again, and honestly? I’m terrified it might be that retinal scarring stuff that leads to vision loss. I never had this before, and now it’s driving me crazy, especially when I’m trying to read... I really hope it’s nothing serious, because I know a ton of people deal with this, but of course, I immediately spiral and convince myself it's the absolute worst-case scenario. I don't even know what to think anymore... 🤷

To be honest, I don't actually know anyone else with such a massive prescription, but it still weighs on me knowing there are people out there dealing with numbers like mine.
I used to wear glasses, and I would constantly scare myself thinking about how thick the lenses were—even though they cost me a fortune and weren't even the basic kind! But I've been wearing contacts for the last four years, and man, my life has been so much better since I made the switch.

I know the feeling—I have those glasses too, though I only pull them out at home when I can't be bothered to deal with contacts. I haven't been used to wearing frames since I started wearing lenses back in elementary school. By the way, have you seen those cheap social security glasses? They look exactly like an ashtray. 😁
The last time I had my prescription updated—about a year ago—they were offering these new lenses that were significantly better than what I have now. They actually stay much thinner, which is a plus, but man, they aren't cheap. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised you weren't offered those higher-quality lenses sooner, especially given how high your prescription is.

Does Medicare cover contact lenses or glasses if my prescription exceeds a certain threshold? Mine is currently at -8 (including astigmatism and cylinder), and I’ve just been referred to an eye care specialist. I was wondering if there is any coverage available through Medicare?

Yeah, it’s above -5, sitting right around 80%. I’m pretty sure that only applies to hard lenses, though—definitely doesn't work for soft ones.

I used to work in the eye clinic at a public hospital, and they just mail the lenses straight to your house; you don't even get a say in which brand you get or where you buy them, so I guess it feels like one big monopoly unless you go to a private practice where you actually have some choices.
Anyway, I felt like $167 having to pay for soft contact lenses—three packs for each eye.
I suppose that should last about a year since they were the three-month supply kind.
The prescription they gave me was -5, which seems totally wrong because my glasses are -3.50, and I don't think there could possibly be that much of a difference.
Naturally, I can't see a thing with them and my eyes just end up hurting.

Ever since I was a kid seeing an ophthalmologist, the routine was always the same: leave the doctor's office and head straight to the specific optical shop they recommended. I expect this time will follow that exact same pattern—once I finish my exam at the lens clinic, I'll probably just go where they tell me to. 🤷
As for whether the coverage through Medicare is actually that bad—I’ve been buying my lenses at an optical center based on their prescriptions for a few years now, and frankly, I don't think they got it right. My prescription seems to have increased, which is precisely why I’m heading to the specialist to see what they have to say about it.
For context, my soft contact lenses are $400 and come in packs of six. They’ve been great up until recently, when I started noticing my vision slipping. I’ve heard that with semi-rigid or hard lenses, your prescription doesn't tend to drift as much, so I’ll see what they suggest. If they try to push me back toward hard lenses, I'm going to have a hard time agreeing; I remember how much they used to irritate my eyes, causing dryness and discomfort. I could never wear them for more than eight hours a day. These soft ones, however, I can wear from sunrise to sunset and barely feel them.

Regarding the difference between contact lens and glasses prescriptions—for me, glasses always seem weaker than contacts, which I suppose is normal. That’s the main reason I avoid glasses; my vision is just never as sharp with them.

Henry Brown2 said:Ever since I was a kid seeing an ophthalmologist, the routine was always the same: leave the doctor's office and head straight to the specific optical shop they recommended. I expect this time will follow that exact same pattern—once I finish my exam at the lens clinic, I'll probably just go where they tell me to. 🤷
As for whether the coverage through Medicare is actually that bad—I’ve been buying my lenses at an optical center based on their prescriptions for a few years now, and frankly, I don't think they got it right. My prescription seems to have increased, which is precisely why I’m heading to the specialist to see what they have to say about it.
For context, my soft contact lenses are $400 and come in packs of six. They’ve been great up until recently, when I started noticing my vision slipping. I’ve heard that with semi-rigid or hard lenses, your prescription doesn't tend to drift as much, so I’ll see what they suggest. If they try to push me back toward hard lenses, I'm going to have a hard time agreeing; I remember how much they used to irritate my eyes, causing dryness and discomfort. I could never wear them for more than eight hours a day. These soft ones, however, I can wear from sunrise to sunset and barely feel them.

Regarding the difference between contact lens and glasses prescriptions—for me, glasses always seem weaker than contacts, which I suppose is normal. That’s the main reason I avoid glasses; my vision is just never as sharp with them.

I don't get why you'd feel forced to go back to gas permeable lenses if you weren't having trouble with soft ones. Look, you decide, not the ophthalmologist. If you don't want to, you don't have to. When mine diagnosed me with a silicone hydrogel allergy, he told me I could only wear annual soft lenses. I shot that down immediately. It's healthier to just wear glasses than to deal with the pain and redness of contacts... it ain't worth it. So I went back to glasses, and I'm sticking with them until I get laser surgery. You can order lenses at any optical shop once you have a prescription or a report. He gave me a business card for one specific place where I could order if I wanted, but I just went somewhere else.
The prescription gap between glasses and lenses: they can be identical or totally different, depends on how you actually see with the correction. With nearsightedness, usually the lens prescription is slightly lower than the glasses, but with farsightedness, it's the opposite. Though for me, when I wore lenses, they were the exact same power (-4.5) as my glasses.

Medicare doesn't actually manufacture the lenses; they just provide a small reimbursement that basically only covers gas permeable or hard lenses. It doesn't cover soft ones because those are treated like cosmetic aids. There's Boston and Permacon gas permeable lenses out there; Boston is okay, but higher quality lenses are the ones with better oxygen permeability (100 Dk).

I suspect she’ll suggest those semi-rigid lenses. She already made it quite clear that soft contacts can only do so much to slow down my prescription changes, whereas semi-rigids actually have a chance. Since my vision is slipping even with the soft ones, I suppose I'm just bracing myself for that familiar feeling of having sand in my eyes again...

Henry Brown2 said:Does Medicare cover contact lenses or glasses if my prescription exceeds a certain threshold? Mine is currently at -8 (including astigmatism and cylinder), and I’ve just been referred to an eye care specialist. I was wondering if there is any coverage available through Medicare?

Medicare will fully cover—as in 100%—those semi-rigid contacts of yours, but only if you're paying for supplemental insurance. And regarding the whole glasses versus contacts situation based on your prescription... you really have to make sure the prescription is lower, otherwise those glasses aren't even going to work for you.

Ryan Carter52 can't seem to see straight without his glasses, but they work just fine for me..
It looks like I’ll need to start paying for supplemental insurance after all. Thanks for the heads-up.

Actually, my glasses work just fine, it’s more like the contacts aren't quite doing the trick since my prescription is actually a bit stronger than what's in my frames. But I guess it doesn't really matter much anyway, because I can't stand wearing contact lenses.