Lasik Anyone?

[Albertan mom]

I had Lasik 7 monthes ago.
Like most posters here, it was the best thing I have done!!!

I love it for many reasons, but here are the best:

1. I can sleep in the car, or in the middle of the afternoon. I couldn't before with contacts, because my eyes would be itchy and dry and sore after if I even slept with them in for 5 minutes. Love that!

2. I can dye my hair and see! Before, I had to wear my glasses, because you aren't supposed to wear contacts while dying your hair. Of course, the dye got all over my glasses, arms of my glasses, lenses etc.. Love that!

3. I can see the clock in the middle of the night, or my children if they come in my room.

4. Speeds up my morning and nightly routine. No wash hands, dry hands, take out lense, clean lense, put in case. Repeat with other eye. Love that!

5. This Christmas morning, I was on or family video without my ugly glasses on!

6. Swimming it soo much better!!

There is more, but really, it is just awesome.
In all honesty, there is one thing I don't like, and that is that you can't rub your eyes! If you have water in them in the shower, no rubbing. Or at the end of the night when your eyes are tired, no rubbing! Because you might dislodge the flap. So I miss rubbing my eyes!! (but rubbing your eyes gives you wrinkles, so maybe I can avoid that!)

The first week is not great either. My eyes also had red dots on them. They did go away, but looked gross. The goggles you have to wear at night are kind of a pain too. And you can't get water in your eyes, so I wore goggles in the shower for a week too. And no make-up for a week, so don't make big plans!!

Mine was only $2000, and we figure that is about a 3-4 year payout, not having to buy contacts, solution, glasses, etc..

I had the dissolvable tear ducts plugs put in too. You can't feel them at all, and I don't even know when they dissolved. I used drops about 4-6 times a day for the first month, now I use them about 1 time a day, and usually before bed.

Enjoy it, you will be glad you did it!

 

[RUDisney]

To find a reputable place in your area, ask around. There tends to be a "preferred spot" for people to have it done. It also depends on the age of the equipment... newer is better.

I selected my place 1. based on friends' referrals and 2. because DH's uncle owns the facility and I would get a good deal on it there. If there weren't the good referrals, I'd have paid more to go somewhere else. As of right now, I'm still not sure how much this is going to cost. I know that it will be less than the original $2,000 quote, but I don't know by how much. I guess I'll know soon.

I'm 39 and don't need reading glasses yet. I couldn't care less about having to put them on and off. Nothing could be worse than having to wear these stupid glasses all the time.

Albertan mom, you mean that I can't rub my eyes forever? I thought it would only be for a matter of time. I like to rub my tired eyes, too.

 

[airplane]

Best thing I ever done in my life. I am greatful every day that I had LASIK.
I had it done in March 2002.
Each eye took about 5 minutes. The most amazing feeling is sitting up immediately after the procedure and being able to see!!!

I used the liquid drops for a month afterwards and then I stopped, I never had a problem w/ dry eyes. I can even see better at night when I am driving now, no more glare.

Good luck. You made the right choice!

 

[Albertan mom]

Albertan mom, you mean that I can't rub my eyes forever? I thought it would only be for a matter of time. I like to rub my tired eyes, too.

I was told that it is 5 years before your eyes are completely back to 'normal' (meaning that you can't see any sign of the flap being lifted ever)

And the flap can become dislodged up to a few years after the procedure I was told!!! (the eye dr. also said nobody should ever rub their eyes, because it can scratch your cornea, lens etc...)
So I don't know if you can never, ever rub them, but I don't want to take the chance yet!!

 

[NJBlackBerry]

I was told that it is 5 years before your eyes are completely back to 'normal' (meaning that you can't see any sign of the flap being lifted ever)

And the flap can become dislodged up to a few years after the procedure I was told!!! (the eye dr. also said nobody should ever rub their eyes, because it can scratch your cornea, lens etc...)
So I don't know if you can never, ever rub them, but I don't want to take the chance yet!!

Everything you heard directly contradicts what I was told.
There is a natural vacuum in the eye and the flap begins to seal immediately.

 

[Albertan mom]

Everything you heard directly contradicts what I was told.
There is a natural vacuum in the eye and the flap begins to seal immediately.

Yes, the Doctor did say that it does start to seal right away, and the eye has amazing abilities to heal itself. But he also said that you can dislodge the flap, and that is not a chance I want to take!

 

[RUDisney]

Yes, the Doctor did say that it does start to seal right away, and the eye has amazing abilities to heal itself. But he also said that you can dislodge the flap, and that is not a chance I want to take!

Amen to that! I'd prefer to be safe instead of sorry when it comes to my sight!

 

[agnes!]

I have bad eyesight & it ain't getting better! I'm near-sighted and have astigmatism in one eye, plus I am...ummm40-something.... *But*...my eyes work. Not well, but they work...when I think about getting any of the various eye procedures done, the complications are one of my considerations. *sigh*...I probably should just go ahead and get an appointment to figure out if I am actually a candidate.

I am glad that so many DIS-ers have had good experiences with Lasik. That is good news!

agnes!

 

[missypie]

I charged mine on my Disney Visa, so I even accumulated $ for my Disney trip with the procedure!

I was 45 when I had it done. I have one eye for reading and one eye for distance. It's pretty amazing.

 

[imsorry]

I was 45 when I had it done. I have one eye for reading and one eye for distance. It's pretty amazing.

That is what they did for me because I work on a computer all day; he said if he corrected both for distance I would need reading glasses right away. Does it bother you that you don't have "perfect" distance vision? For some reason it bugs me!

 

[klmall]

My DH has had Lasik done three times now but he is very fussy and his plastic lenses were as one of you wrote, very expensive and thick also! He may have one eye done another time yet but is overall thrilled to avoid contacts and glasses. He had been wearing one or the other for forty years so he is a very happy person.

I on the other hand did have "monovision" Lasik; one eye for distance and one eye for reading and probably will have the reading eye redone to match the distance eye. If I stay on the computer too long my eyes don't readjust at all and I have blurry vision for at least an hour and this is 13 months after surgery. I'm at that age where monovision was probably iffy at best though. I had only worn glasses for about 15 years but hated them and could not wear contacts at all. Glasses greatly aggravated my headaches and fogged up when I camped and went canoeing etc. so rafting this summer for five days without them was a dream come true!

My husband's vision settled down pretty quickly but he uses drops constantly. My vision is still changing dramatically which is why they don't know if I will need "an enhancement" yet or not but I never need drops. We are practically opposites!

We paid for our surgeries out of our savings and it was worth every penny!
Now our insurance plan actually has discounts with the major surgery center provider in our area and don't forget that most flex plans will cover this surgery also.

We chose our surgeons through our opthamologist and reading online and checking with others. In the Washington, D.C. area near us there are 3 major LASIK/ eye practices with great reputations and all are affiliated with a major LASIK surgery center which also has its' own surgeons. We knew we couldn't go wrong with any of these surgeons and have been very happy overall with their care.

FYI - DH said I would never make it through this surgery since I hated to even put drops in my eyes and doctors would have to sneak up on me to "dilate" them but I had no problems at all with this surgery, the drops needed afterwards or pain etc. This surgery was a breeze compared to others I have endured elsewhere on my body!!!

And it's great to wear sunglasses again!

 

[DisneyJen0504]

I had it done in 2003-best thing ever!
I have perfect vision-just wore those goggles for the first week-use eye drops in the mornings.

 

[RUDisney]

I have never taken an illegal drug in my life. But, after the high-does Xanax they gave me yesterday, I can see why some people do. I felt like I was in the LSD scene from the movie "Hair." Not a care in the world, although my DH and my kids had to help me manuever around the house because I was pretty wobbly.

So, this morning, my eyesight is 20/20. I didn't realize that when you got off the table, you could see better than with glasses, but more like you are under water. I left the eye doctor's around 6:00 and my DS woke me at 10:00 to put drops in my eyes. I couldn't believe that I could see the TV, the clock, everything! I called my mother who was worried that something had happened since I never call her unless there is a problem that late, but I told her, "I can see! I can see!" Then I went back to bed and could see even better this morning. I saw the doctor already. That's why I know that through both eyes together, I'm seeing 20/20.

This is positively the BEST thing I've ever done for myself! Sure, it was great to marry my DH and to adopt our two kids, but that wasn't just about me. This is, and it feels great to do something selfish instead of for everyone else!

I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Thanks for all of your encouraging stories! They really helped alleviate my fears!

 

[klmall]

Congrats on the results RUDisney! My vision changes weren't so dramatic but my DH went through the same "awakening" you did the second day.

He loves being able to see the clock by the bed, the trees across the street from our bedroom window, and shaving without glasses!

It can only get better for you too!

 

[NJBlackBerry]

And you can read the shampoo bottle - I never knew there were directions on them

5 1/2 years later and I am still 20/20. Congratulations!

 

[Albertan mom]

Glad it went good for you!!

Remember, you are supposed to limit your time on the computer, so as not to strain your eyes!!!

 

[staceyfe]

Well, as you can tell from my signature, I had LASIK on 1/12/06. All in all, I am happy. I am hoping my left eye improves, as I can see better from my right (but tested 20/20 1 day and more recently, 1 week post-LASIK from both eyes together). The halo around headlights, street lamps, etc. at night is a bother, but I'm hoping it will improve. I also have a "rainbow" star shape around bright lights. It's a bother, too, but pretty It takes my eyes about 2-3 hours in the morning for me to be able to see really good. A couple of times I've woken up at night and been in pain from the dryness.

My post-op instructions say to wait 1 month before swimming. And I never got any instructions about avoiding eye strain, but I guess maybe that's a given. I got my opthomologist/surgeon recommendation from my optomotrist, who is also a friend. I had custom IntraLase, which is the bladeless form of LASIK (they use laser instead of a blade, or microkeratome, to create the cornea flap).

 

[NJBlackBerry]

I spend 8-12 hours a day in front of my PC (job related; not DIS related) and no one has ever suggested that this causes a strain...

I guess different Drs. give different instructions.

 

[Albertan mom]

I spend 8-12 hours a day in front of my PC (job related; not DIS related) and no one has ever suggested that this causes a strain...

I guess different Drs. give different instructions.

After my surgery, the Dr. said to wait 24 hours before I go on the computer, or watch tv. Just because you don't 'blink' enough, and it strains your eyes. Also not to read for long periods of time. Just for the first 24 hours.
But I still find that late at night, my eyes get sore if I spend too much time on the Dis. Could just be the screen on our laptop, maybe it isn't as 'eye friendly' as some.
I know if my eyes are hurting, it is time to shut er down!!