Lasik - do it / don't do it?

BellySoonGone
BellySoonGone Posts: 150
edited September 25 in Chit-Chat
Hey, all legally blind or formerly blind out there - I'm thinking about it - having the eye vision correction lasik (or prk) - considering it for years now, but never had the guts..any thoughts? Any good/bad experiences?
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Replies

  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
    if I had the cash I would do it in a heartbeat.
  • rgfor40
    rgfor40 Posts: 79 Member
    i did it a few years a go and loved it. it was painless. the only thing for me is my sight blurred again but that's age...
    i have 2 other (younger) friends that did it and loved it
  • Enchantica
    Enchantica Posts: 117
    Make sure you do your research very thoroughly - my husband had laser eye surgery 2 years ago and is still having problems. :(
  • kblue2007
    kblue2007 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Had Lasik done alittle over three weeks ago and it is amazing......although immediately after the procedure I told my husband I wouldn't recommend it, and that was just silliness on my part. I was just thrown off by all the drops they put in while doing the procedure, I was caught off guard. I had the procedure done in the morning, by 5pm I could see. I drove myself to post-op the next day and my vision continues to improve. If oyu can afford it its definitely worth it, most places offer 0% financing too!!!
  • hclayton46
    hclayton46 Posts: 38 Member
    I had Lasik done 1/21/11. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. I was in contacts since the 6th grade and glasses since the 4th grade. Seriously, the worst thing of it all, was having to wearing glasses (no contacts) for the two week period before Lasik. That totally sucked because after wearing contacts for so long, it was so hard getting used to glasses. BUT, it is seriously NO PAIN and pretty much zero recovery. It was the best decision of my life and I'm looking forward to spending my first summer with no contacts or glasses!!! WOOHOO! Send me a message if you want anymore details:) oh, and I'm seeing better than 20/20 2 months out! I love my lasik!!!!!
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    i did it a few years a go and loved it. it was painless. the only thing for me is my sight blurred again but that's age...
    i have 2 other (younger) friends that did it and loved it

    Thanks - I assume if you were to wear glasses now for that - they would at least be thin lenses though.. Do you know - can you still wear contacts after?
  • jenfunfur
    jenfunfur Posts: 263 Member
    make sure you do plenty of research and go with a company that you feel comfortable with.
    I've just booked my surgery for May, kinda excited and just a little bit scared
  • hamiltonba
    hamiltonba Posts: 474 Member
    I had it done about 10 years ago and LOVE it. I would do it again in a heart beat. They do a lot of tests to make sure that you are a good candidate (at least my dr did).
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    Also another question please: if you have a job that requires mostly reading stuff from a computer screen...did you need reading glasses after?
  • raidloq
    raidloq Posts: 3
    I havent had it done, so I'm not speaking for experience - but I've thought about it. To me it is a risk vs reward thing. Right now my vision isnt THAT bad, I need to wear glasses when driving or watching TV, but not just around the house or working.

    So personally that slight improvement isnt worth the risk of something going wrong and completely losing sight in a eye. If I was currently suffering daily due to poor vision I would probably consider it, but it just isnt worth the chance yet.
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    make sure you do plenty of research and go with a company that you feel comfortable with.
    I've just booked my surgery for May, kinda excited and just a little bit scared

    I hear you - that alone scares me sh--less...:-) What if the guy had one too many the night before?? LOL

    Anyone in Seattle area?
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    I've known 2 people have it done. The first had blurry vision for a few weeks but nothing but praise for it since it calmed down. The second was singing its praises the same day. Both are about 5 years down the line with no problems. Do your homework, choose wisely, listen out for recommendations.
  • ArchyJill
    ArchyJill Posts: 548 Member
    I did it last year and I LOVE it. I was so blind I had to remember where I set my glasses down at night and God help me if I forgot or they got nudged off the table. I actually got PRK done...very similar procedure but it takes longer to heal BUT they impact less of your cornea so in theory you'd have better chances of doing it again down the road when you got older.

    As for cost, think of it this way: new frames and lenses (for batty old me anyway) were running me $500 a pop every year (I work outside, so they get beat up pretty fast). My PRK only cost me $2,000 total, so in four years I have paid the same as I would have with glasses. I went to a University eye clinic where they were doing research and participated in a project (very simple, room temperature saline vs refrigerated saline) so I got top of the line at half the price.

    Oh yeah, Lasik and PRK are now allowable medical expenses for those of us with an HSA (that's what triggered me to go for it).

    Later down the line you will probably need reading glasses (or still need them if you use them now) but that is a muscular thing in the eye and not an eye thing per se.

    Hope this helped!
  • kianaik
    kianaik Posts: 48 Member
    As long as your Dr says you're a good candidate.....go for it! I am very pleased with mine. I love the freedom of not have to deal with glasses and contacts anymore.
  • ladydevil33
    ladydevil33 Posts: 1 Member
    I had monovision done almost three years ago. I love it. Now have one far eye and one near eye. That's really the only way to go as far as I am concerned. In regular lasik, you get all near vision or all far vision. That means you might still need glasses. They were talking about doing all far vision for me. That meant wearing glasses for close up. That was stupid because I have always been able to read without glasses. Why wear them to read now? I am 45 and love it! My provider offered a plan with lifetime touchups for free. That's the way to go because your eyes will continue to change as you get older. My eyes are drier now, but it's worth it. I have saved over a $1000 just by not having to get new no-line bifocals every year since.

    Do your research and be prepared to pay cash or take their financing plans. It's not cheap.
  • __flexylexi
    __flexylexi Posts: 154 Member
    I used to work for an eye doctor and yes you can still wear contacts after lasik. Also, PLEASE do your research. There are a LOT of horrible places that will do it for cheap. The only thing i can think of with PRK vs Lasik is that you can't be a jet pilot in the air force if you had lasik :) lol
  • Chrissy_Michelle
    Chrissy_Michelle Posts: 176 Member
    Do it!!! I did and would do it all over again! I went to The Cole Eye Institute at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation...The Best place to go for Lasik if you ever go to Cleveland lol!
  • fasttrack27
    fasttrack27 Posts: 324
    My wife had coke-bottle thick glasses and very strong contacts. Decided to do the surgery several years ago. She is SO glad she did! Had minor complications that they took care of, otherwise it was well worth it.
  • kianaik
    kianaik Posts: 48 Member
    Also another question please: if you have a job that requires mostly reading stuff from a computer screen...did you need reading glasses after?

    I work at a computer all day and do not need reading glasses.
  • healthyeyes
    healthyeyes Posts: 4
    I am an optometrist and I do recommened it for my patients that do want to free themselves from glasses and contact lenses. It is a surgery and like surgery does come with risks involved. If you dont mind wearing contacts/glasses then its not worht the risks.

    If you are a type a personality, perfectionist type of personality I do not recommend it. There are many factors involved in how the eye heals for your final vison post surgery. You are going to see better then you did before without glasses post surgery. But depending how your eyes heal you may end up one or two steps off from your "ideal" or "perfect' set of glasses. 90% of people do not notice or arent affected by this, but in my experience the only people who regret or arent happy with the surgery are the other 10%.

    Here are some things that can help determinine if you are a good candidate. If your optometrists told you that your prescription only changed a small amount but when you get new glasses that is a big difference to you and you were having a hard time with the old glasses then dont get lasik. You may end up perfect post surgery or you may end up those one or two small steps from perfect that is considered a perfect lasik surgery. Can you wear old glasses from years ago and still happy with how you see? Your eyes need to be stable for lasik/prk but in addition odds are those old glasses may be different then your ideal prescrption which is a slight possibility of refractive surgery.

    There are many factors that determine if your candidate (corneal thickness, dry eyes, night glare, pupil size, prescription etc) but those I mentioned above are just from personal experience that you should figure our for yourself to determine if you are an ideal candidate.

    Lastly, the majority of patients who do get it done, the first thing they say post surgery is usually " I wish I would have got it done years earlier" which shows how happy they results usually are. i just posted my small little rant so you dont end up in the small 10% (probably less) who is unhappy with the results after spending all that money.
  • aneajo
    aneajo Posts: 287 Member
    . Seriously, the worst thing of it all, was having to wearing glasses (no contacts) for the two week period before Lasik. That totally sucked because after wearing contacts for so long, it was so hard getting used to glasses.

    This is the part I wouldn't like, but I would so love to be able to do this procedure. I hate messing with contacts
  • kblue2007
    kblue2007 Posts: 2,564 Member
    . Seriously, the worst thing of it all, was having to wearing glasses (no contacts) for the two week period before Lasik. That totally sucked because after wearing contacts for so long, it was so hard getting used to glasses.

    This is the part I wouldn't like, but I would so love to be able to do this procedure. I hate messing with contacts

    I didn't have to do that...I went for a consult on a tuesday and had the procedure done that thursday, and had no problems. I would make sure that that's a mandatory prerequiste??!!
  • 12skipafew99100
    12skipafew99100 Posts: 1,669 Member
    I had lasik 8 or 9 years ago. I still wear no glasses but need readers if the print is really small. I'm mid 40's and was told needing readers has nothing to do with the lasik. Presbyopioa happens to nearly everyone in their 40's resulting in the need for reading glasses.

    I love it. While my site is no longer better than 20/20, I still don't require glasses at all. That may change at my next visit but if I got glasses it would be purely for distance like movies and such. I would do it all again in a heart beat. Don't be scared, its quick and painless.
    At the beginning I would get dry eyes occasionally, especially at night if I was sleeping on the side of my face but a quick couple drops would always fix me right up. At this point I only get dry eyes once a month or so.

    I was told if I did not need glasses completely, it would reduce my need for glasses significantly. If your site is very very bad, this may be the case for you. I was told near sited patients are better candidates for this surgery than far sited ones.

    Good luck. I hope you get good results. Keep us posted
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    I did it last year and I LOVE it. I was so blind I had to remember where I set my glasses down at night and God help me if I forgot or they got nudged off the table. I actually got PRK done...very similar procedure but it takes longer to heal BUT they impact less of your cornea so in theory you'd have better chances of doing it again down the road when you got older.

    As for cost, think of it this way: new frames and lenses (for batty old me anyway) were running me $500 a pop every year (I work outside, so they get beat up pretty fast). My PRK only cost me $2,000 total, so in four years I have paid the same as I would have with glasses. I went to a University eye clinic where they were doing research and participated in a project (very simple, room temperature saline vs refrigerated saline) so I got top of the line at half the price.

    Oh yeah, Lasik and PRK are now allowable medical expenses for those of us with an HSA (that's what triggered me to go for it).

    Later down the line you will probably need reading glasses (or still need them if you use them now) but that is a muscular thing in the eye and not an eye thing per se.

    Hope this helped!

    Thanks, this definitely helped! I lean towards the PRK too - although takes longer I feel that in the long run there is no flap that can detach..that's one less thing to worry.
  • hofdog
    hofdog Posts: 269 Member
    Great posts, I have been thinking about getting it done too. Guess I will start my research!
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    I am an optometrist and I do recommened it for my patients that do want to free themselves from glasses and contact lenses. It is a surgery and like surgery does come with risks involved. If you dont mind wearing contacts/glasses then its not worht the risks.

    If you are a type a personality, perfectionist type of personality I do not recommend it. There are many factors involved in how the eye heals for your final vison post surgery. You are going to see better then you did before without glasses post surgery. But depending how your eyes heal you may end up one or two steps off from your "ideal" or "perfect' set of glasses. 90% of people do not notice or arent affected by this, but in my experience the only people who regret or arent happy with the surgery are the other 10%.

    Here are some things that can help determinine if you are a good candidate. If your optometrists told you that your prescription only changed a small amount but when you get new glasses that is a big difference to you and you were having a hard time with the old glasses then dont get lasik. You may end up perfect post surgery or you may end up those one or two small steps from perfect that is considered a perfect lasik surgery. Can you wear old glasses from years ago and still happy with how you see? Your eyes need to be stable for lasik/prk but in addition odds are those old glasses may be different then your ideal prescrption which is a slight possibility of refractive surgery.

    There are many factors that determine if your candidate (corneal thickness, dry eyes, night glare, pupil size, prescription etc) but those I mentioned above are just from personal experience that you should figure our for yourself to determine if you are an ideal candidate.

    Lastly, the majority of patients who do get it done, the first thing they say post surgery is usually " I wish I would have got it done years earlier" which shows how happy they results usually are. i just posted my small little rant so you dont end up in the small 10% (probably less) who is unhappy with the results after spending all that money.

    Thanks doc!! this really helps - I mean it sounds encouraging.
    I am a good candidate - at least that is what I was told at my last visit, but I need to hear from many people still and from what I mostly read here makes me think that I need to worry less about being in the 10%. So far I am very much (at least more than ever before) inclined to go for it.
  • Dawn111567
    Dawn111567 Posts: 46
    After putting aside $3,000 in our FSA last year to finally be able to have it done, I was rejected because my cornea's were too thin! :ohwell: So I am stuck wearing contacts & glasses. :ohwell:
  • HeatherShrinking
    HeatherShrinking Posts: 776 Member
    Do it! I had Lasik 2 years ago and it was the best decision ever! I had custom wave front Lasik because I had astigmatism. I wish I would have done it much earlier. I always wore contacts and my eyes were very sensitive to any solution or saline.

    I was freaking myself out about having surgery. It was all in my head. I had been in the chair for about a minute and was just about to tell them I was too scared and changed my mind, when they told me they were done making the flap for the first eye. (I thought they were still setting up!) After that I relaxed and enjoyed the blurry laser light show. It took maybe 5 minutes total.

    They corrected my vision to 15/20 (or is it 20/15? Which ever one means you can see a bit better than normal). The place I went has life time touch ups. :-) They did tell me that as I aged, eventually I'd need reading glasses. Really worth it. Before you do it, invest in a good pair of polorized sunglasses. Everything seemed extra bright for a few weeks.
  • ElleJay221
    ElleJay221 Posts: 104 Member
    I had it done last July - and I love it! I had to wear glasses all the time, and have done so for the last 20 years. Lasik was painless, and easy. I have had no problems.

    My Dr did mention that as I grow older (I was 40 when I had it done), I may need reading glasses as my eyes age. But reading glasses, I could handle. Not being able to walk to the bathroom through the night without glasses - sucked!
  • BellySoonGone
    BellySoonGone Posts: 150
    I had it done last July - and I love it! I had to wear glasses all the time, and have done so for the last 20 years. Lasik was painless, and easy. I have had no problems.

    My Dr did mention that as I grow older (I was 40 when I had it done), I may need reading glasses as my eyes age. But reading glasses, I could handle. Not being able to walk to the bathroom through the night without glasses - sucked!

    Oh funny - yeah - the going to the bathroom at night - it would be very funny if it weren't so true..
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