Eyesight and Medical School

[Redpancreas]

***Not seeking medical advice*** Just want to hear experiences.

So my eyesight is pretty bad (higher than -12 bilaterally) and it's like kind of hampered me pre-clinically because I feel like I'm slower on the uptake when being instructed visually on how to do something. I also have this terrible facial tilt that makes me look awkward because one of my eye muscles is weak. Also I feel like my eyesight's not really stabilizing to the point where my eye doctor wants me getting LASIK. Is there anyone else which terribly bad vision with similar experiences and how did you deal with it? My glasses are thick to the point where they stand out and I'm about to start clinicals and contacts don't work for me so I was open to hear other's experiences.

Inb4 #firstworldproblems, stop complaining, etc.
I get its not as bad as being diagnosed with a serious medical condition during medical school but this is definitely a nuisance and was wondering if anyone's in the same boat?

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[coffee-doc]

I am also curious about this. I am -8.5 in one eye and -8 in the other. I've been dreaming about lasik since kindergarten but i don't think i'm ready for it. my contacts make my eyes dry as hell, and if i don't get a lot of sleep, my eyes get incredibly irritated and red.

 

[Redpancreas]

I am also curious about this. I am -8.5 in one eye and -8 in the other. I've been dreaming about lasik since kindergarten but i don't think i'm ready for it. my contacts make my eyes dry as hell, and if i don't get a lot of sleep, my eyes get incredibly irritated and red.

This is the story of my life. My eyes are always red and people always ask me if I'm high. I've also had glasses since I was 3!


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[GonefromTX]

I am also curious about this. I am -8.5 in one eye and -8 in the other. I've been dreaming about lasik since kindergarten but i don't think i'm ready for it. my contacts make my eyes dry as hell, and if i don't get a lot of sleep, my eyes get incredibly irritated and red.

I used to have the exact same problem. A few things my opthalmologiest told me to do and the dry eyes are completely gone.
1) Get lots of sleep as u mentioned
2) Dont use regular contact lens solution, they contain lots of preservatives that dry out your eyes. Use only hydrogen peroxide solutions like Clearcare (they are also a lot less work because they clean your lens better without need to scrub)
3) use Oculid scrub in the morning to remove contaminants from lashes. They often prevent lipids and tears from reaching your eyes.
4) eat a decently oily breakfast (or take fish oil) and drink lots of water in the morning. This will improve tear quantity and quality.

Do all of these before putting on contacts and my eyes can last an entire day without distress.

 

[Taddy Mason]

Currently I'm -10 bilaterally and my vision gets consistently worse every year without stabilizing. I have high index lenses, which cost quite a bit more but are much thinner. I've given-up on contacts for daily use and only use them for running and swimming (I have to use different brands for each eye due to the curvature of my eyes and use underpowered ones because of my prescription). My astigmatism has gotten quite a bit worse in my left eye which made reading and studying a pain in the ass until I got new lenses a month ago. Other than the astigmatism the only significant issue I've had with my vision in med school has been when using an ophthalmoscope. It is what it is and I just deal with it; I really don't feel like it impairs my ability to study or function clinically in any meaningful way.

 

[giantswing]

I used to have the exact same problem. A few things my opthalmologiest told me to do and the dry eyes are completely gone.
1) Get lots of sleep as u mentioned
2) Dont use regular contact lens solution, they contain lots of preservatives that dry out your eyes. Use only hydrogen peroxide solutions like Clearcare (they are also a lot less work because they clean your lens better without need to scrub)
3) use Oculid scrub in the morning to remove contaminants from lashes. They often prevent lipids and tears from reaching your eyes.
4) eat a decently oily breakfast (or take fish oil) and drink lots of water in the morning. This will improve tear quantity and quality.

Do all of these before putting on contacts and my eyes can last an entire day without distress.

Depending on what you go into and on the more intense rotations you're going to be on, 1 and 4 may or may not be feasible.

Had PRK before starting med school. Best decision ever.

 

[Goro]

I've had visually impaired students (and yes, they made it into and through residency), so can you. Your school is obligated to find you accommodations.

***Not seeking medical advice*** Just want to hear experiences.

So my eyesight is pretty bad (higher than -12 bilaterally) and it's like kind of hampered me pre-clinically because I feel like I'm slower on the uptake when being instructed visually on how to do something. I also have this terrible facial tilt that makes me look awkward because one of my eye muscles is weak. Also I feel like my eyesight's not really stabilizing to the point where my eye doctor wants me getting LASIK. Is there anyone else which terribly bad vision with similar experiences and how did you deal with it? My glasses are thick to the point where they stand out and I'm about to start clinicals and contacts don't work for me so I was open to hear other's experiences.

Inb4 #firstworldproblems, stop complaining, etc.
I get its not as bad as being diagnosed with a serious medical condition during medical school but this is definitely a nuisance and was wondering if anyone's in the same boat?

 

[stepone2015]

Pro tip: always wear the facemask with the face shield. I wear those every day in the ORs because they keep my glasses from falling off. You can tape glasses to your face, but I've had bad results with that. If your glasses fall into the sterile field, you're going to be in deep ****. Other than that, you'll be fine.

 

[coffee-doc]

I used to have the exact same problem. A few things my opthalmologiest told me to do and the dry eyes are completely gone.
1) Get lots of sleep as u mentioned
2) Dont use regular contact lens solution, they contain lots of preservatives that dry out your eyes. Use only hydrogen peroxide solutions like Clearcare (they are also a lot less work because they clean your lens better without need to scrub)
3) use Oculid scrub in the morning to remove contaminants from lashes. They often prevent lipids and tears from reaching your eyes.
4) eat a decently oily breakfast (or take fish oil) and drink lots of water in the morning. This will improve tear quantity and quality.

Do all of these before putting on contacts and my eyes can last an entire day without distress.

i tried the hydrogen peroxide solution once and it made my eyes ****ing burn like crazy so i never tried it again. i also don't eat breakfast, i just drink a big ass cup of joe. but i can work on the drinking more water issue.

i always bought the generic solution because it says 'disinfectant' and the other ones are so much more expensive. but i'll give them a shot

 

[GonefromTX]

i tried the hydrogen peroxide solution once and it made my eyes ****ing burn like crazy so i never tried it again. i also don't eat breakfast, i just drink a big ass cup of joe. but i can work on the drinking more water issue.

i always bought the generic solution because it says 'disinfectant' and the other ones are so much more expensive. but i'll give them a shot

The generic non-h2O2 one is SO bad once i tried hydrogen peroxide. Did u wait long enough for the catalyst to convert it to water? It shouldnt sting at all once the catalyst has done its job (it just becomes water and NaCl, with zero need for added preservatives)

 

[HelpPleaseMD]

***Not seeking medical advice*** Just want to hear experiences.

So my eyesight is pretty bad (higher than -12 bilaterally) and it's like kind of hampered me pre-clinically because I feel like I'm slower on the uptake when being instructed visually on how to do something. I also have this terrible facial tilt that makes me look awkward because one of my eye muscles is weak. Also I feel like my eyesight's not really stabilizing to the point where my eye doctor wants me getting LASIK. Is there anyone else which terribly bad vision with similar experiences and how did you deal with it? My glasses are thick to the point where they stand out and I'm about to start clinicals and contacts don't work for me so I was open to hear other's experiences.

Inb4 #firstworldproblems, stop complaining, etc.
I get its not as bad as being diagnosed with a serious medical condition during medical school but this is definitely a nuisance and was wondering if anyone's in the same boat?

does lasik work for people with eye sights that bad? other than ultrathin lenses im not sure there is much more you can try. It shouldn't affect your clinicals in anyway though.

 

[hmockingbird]

I don't have good depth perception b/c I had a bad lazy eye... when I say this it sounds really terrible but really in my every day life the only issue is that I can't see 3-D effects so I don't go to 3-D movies lol. I'm assuming my vision just adapted b/c it happened young.

Anyway I had a lot of trouble with the microscope seeing double when looking with both eyes and finally I gave up and only used it with one eye. I have worse vision in the former lazy eye but decent, so at first I didn't use the opthalmoscope with that eye except for OSCEs, but I've pretty much gotten to the point that I'm okay using it and just adjust it so it matches my prescription in that eye. In both of these cases I initially worked on it with the instructor, but didn't need any official accommodations from my school/residency. I just give attendings a heads up when I use a microscope so they don't yell at me for bad technique lol. I suture "awkwardly" too b/c I have wrist problems and I do the same thing with giving people a heads up. However if you do end up needing an accommodation I don't think this would be too big of an issue.

 

[Foot Fetish]

-4.0 in both eyes here. I just wear glasses.