Lasik?

BEST MONEY I EVER SPENT!! I had mine six or seven years ago and I am still grateful every single day I did it. I wore glasses from the age of two, lenses constantly getting thicker and thicker as I got older. I could wear contacts for a little while but they bothered my eyes (I'm sure I tried every brand out there). I took the leap and would do it again in a heart beat if I ever needed to.

Best thing ever..I had stigmatisms..fixed my sight 20/15...got it done 6 years or so ago...

I had LASIK done just over ten years ago, and it's a life-changer. How much of a life-changer? All I can say is that my life has been lived since that point as if I have never had an eyesight problem. It's true, however, that there are certain limitations: nighttime vision is marred a bit by excessive glare, and there is an increased sensitivity to onions. Quite tolerable sacrifices, if you ask me.

Not everyone is a candidate for the surgery, however. If you are, and you have the funds, go for it. You won't regret it.

I had mine done about 8 months ago and love it! Best decision ever. One friend did describe it as the most terrifying 15 minutes of her life, and I will agree, but I would totally do it again. I haven't had any side effects and my vision is 20/15 now.

I want lasik so bad, but my vision gets worse every year. So, I'm assuming if I had the surgery would I still need glasses again in a year? Any one have a similar situation? :sad:

It might depend on how old you are. I wanted to get mine at 22 and the doctor told me to wait because my eyesight could keep changing for a couple of years since our eyes continue to develop until we are around 27.

I'm getting LASIK tomorrow. I'm not THAT nervous, but my Dr. asked if I wanted to go with the laser instead of the blade (microkeratome) procedure for $900 more! I am going to get the standard microkeratome procedure for financial reasons. Anyone haver any issue with the blade procedure? From the research I've done, it's just as effective and safe as the "laser-cut" procedure.

I got it done last year. I only needed one eye and it was the best decision I have ever made. I freed up five pounds in my luggage just by getting a $2,500 procedure done LOL!

You will need to go for an evaluation to make sure you're actually a candidate because not everyone is. If your prescription is constantly changing you might not be a candidate.

However. . . if you ARE a candidate then I highly recommend getting it done. Like I said, it was the best decision I have ever made.

I don't know where you're from but if you have a TLC Lasik Center around you go there. That's where I got mine done and as long as I keep up with my yearly eye exams (which why wouldn't I?!) if anything happens and I need a 'touch up' the price will be significantly less because it's a life time guarantee.

If you don't have TLC Center make sure you do your research and don't go to someone based on price because you WILL get what you pay for. There's a place where I live that advertises on the radio all the time (TLC has NO ads. My eye dr. recommended them) and all the radio personalities have gotten their eyes done there, they video taped it etc. and I worked with people who went there to get it done and had to go back for follow up touch ups.

Any way, the short answer is if you're a candidate DO IT.

I have extremely bad eyesight (I can't find my glasses if they get moved while they're off because I wont see them)... I've been switching between glasses and contacts for years and have been considering lasik.

Has anyone here done it? What was your experience?

DO IT! I got it done and now only need glasses for reading signs when I drive. Wish I would have done it years ago.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I had it done round 10-12 years ago and my vision is still 20-20 (or darn near close to it)...BEST THING I EVER DID!!!

I was like you, couldn't see 6 inches in front of my face without my glasses or contacts in. I was generally successful with contacts but they were a pain-- I recommend you do it ASAP!!....also I have 4 siblings who also got it done....only one had a complication with the flap healing incorrectly and needing to have a follow up surgery to correct...she is fine now.

It is a freaky thing--you need to focus your gaze on a spot. You see the machine come over your eye and then it does the slice--you lose your vision in that eye for a little bit (at least that is what happened to me...cant remember if I could see while the zapping was goign on or not...may have been just when the slice was made). Smell like burning hair while they do it. The worse your vision is the longer it take/more zaps to correct...but we are talking seconds....I did feel pressure/an uncomfortable sensation when they did my first eye but nothing when they did my second. Some doctors prescribe valium before the procedure...mine would give it as an option---I did not take one. Could be that the process has changed a bit but I would think it is still somewhat as I described above...Good luck!!


as mentioned above, I am a little light sensitive still, and still have some "halos" around lights at night...they warned me I may experience this because apparently I have large pupils and that makes you more likely to experience this (so they told me)...a reputable place will run you through a lot of tests and let you know what the best options are for your vision

I had Lasik (PRK to be more exact) in 2003. I wore glasses and contacts my entire life and they never seemed to be great. I had bad migraines and my eyes would be irritated b/c of allergies. When I signed up to have the surgery, they also told me about Punctal Plugs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctal_plug). I was nervous at first b/c there were so many people coming back for a 2nd surgery. What they told me was basically the $199 special you see in the news paper is a baseline surgery with a cheap laser (for lack of a more technical description). There were better options available as well as a lifetime warranty. I opted to spend more now, instead of coming back later. But the good news is if I ever have any problems with site for the rest of my life, I can go back in and get it corrected for free. The surgery lasted 3 minutes. I also got permanent punctal plugs installed too. Today I can see crystal clear (far better than when I wore contacts) and b/c of the plugs, I still have allergies, but my eyes never get irritated!