Recently we had two things happen in the office:
1.) A patient hugged us, ecstatic that they could see clearly for the first time in years and
2.) A patient who we recently ordered lenses, called us, telling us their mental health was deteriorating because of all their eye issues.
The first story makes me extremely happy and the second story makes me extremely sad.
Unfortunately I do hear this sentiment every few months from my patients who have been through it all: diagnosed with multiple eye problems, worsening vision, halos around lights, difficulty driving and reading, multiple eye surgeries, you name it.
My message to these patients is to please not give up! There are new treatments coming out every single month for our patients that can help them feel and see better.
Most recently I have been seeing an improvement in my patients with a proper dry eye treatment regimen, starting them on new topical medications, re-fitting them with specialty contact lenses with better optics, better comfort levels, newer materials, different coatings... the list goes on and on.
And my own eyes were the same! I became an eye doctor because my childhood eye doctor said that I would "never wear contact lenses again". This was at a time when glasses were certainly not stylish and very uncool to wear. I was afraid I would always be "that girl in thick glasses".
Thankfully I didn't listen to this Doctor. I tried many different kinds of contact lenses and found one that I can wear all day comfortably (thank you scleral lenses!)
You can too! There is hope for your eyes.
