It's nothing short of a man-made miracle but I have to say it's also very umconfortable and stressful for the patient.
The second operation was easier as I told the surgeon about my reaction to the subtenon block and he put some topical in the right place making it much easier. However the residual anxiety from the first operation remained. All that said, I've had rougher times at the dentist.
I opted for optimal vision at arm's length with a monofocal lens. We spend most of our days around the house. Bifocals with plano below work fine for outdoors, driving and flying (check with your aviation doctor before lens selection as aviation authorities are strict in what lens options are allowed). The depth of field has turned out better than I expected, but I use 1.25 diopter drug store readers when I'm using my tablet at home and put it at arm's length in the coffee shop.
The results are absolutely wonderful and I feel gratitude every time I step outside.
I wanted something simple and didn't want to mess with multifocal lens inside my eye, so opted for monofocal and high myopia correction like around -12 diopters, so after a couple of weeks my far vision felt like I was Superman and my near vision remains poor with zero accommodation.
5 years down the line, it seems the myopia is keeping its course and I need some small correction for far, middle, and reading distances so my drawers are a mess of glasses.
But I keep being grateful for this, I can walk the streets without anything in my eyes and this is something I don't have any memories I can recall. So it's a wonder.
I would gladly go again for that surgery even through the discomfort!
> It's nothing short of a man-made miracle but I have to say it's also very umconfortable and stressful for the patient.
I think I must be strange, either in my reaction to the stress or the way I chose to manage it during my surgery.
I explicitly wanted to be somewhat awake during the procedure to see what was going on (how many chances do you get to see your lens emulsified from the inside)... and I remember having short conversations with the surgeon during the procedure. (She'd been concerned about zonular laxity, and we discussed during the procedure that she didn't see evidence.)
This is not something I'd want to reproduce if I didn't have to, nor would I suggest it as a general approach, but given that it was necessary for me, it was amazing to see it first hand.
My second procedure (second eye) was a little more stressful than the first, but for me all the material stress (which was significant) was in the run up and anticipation.
This is what concerns me. If someone took a blade to my eye, I would be screaming, vomiting, and thrashing until I lose consciousness even though my rational brain knows the surgeons are helping. Are there options for the irrationally mutilation-averse people such as myself (like general anesthesia) or are my options just go blind or re-enact a Saw movie?
I can't even tolerate a glaucoma test and cut the optometrist off mid-sentence when he starts to suggests it.
But that's me. I think my wife would do her own eye surgery with just a mirror and some kitchen knives. Ugh, I wish I hadn't thought of that. Excuse me while I go try to stop the panic.
My mother is going to have 8th shot this year and 13th total since doctor decides to test her. She describes the injection as "potent hard pop". All patients gets the anesthetics and some moisturising-softening agent so needle could get in easier.
Seeing the queues many times I can tell this problem concerns senior women, less frequently men and people of both sexes below 60. Tho, I once saw a guy who was around mid 40.
It's surely not fun to get a needle into your eye month by month but mum and all the other people in the clinic are beyond that already.