Ot - Laser Eye Surgery

[dennise]

Has anyone ever had laser eye surgery? Good or bad results? I am considering it, but I will still have to wear reading glasses, but to be able to see otherwise would be fantastic. Price is quite high.

Thanks

 

[missymagic]

My ex-brother-in-law had his done last week and my best friend had it done over the summer. One paid 3,200. the other pais 3,100. Both hadve perfect vision now. No complications very simple procedure.

I am very jealous because my vision isn't bad enough to be a candidate or I would have done it in a heart beat!!!

 

[threeboysmom]

Hi! I've been thinking of having this done too. The only thing though is I heard it doesn't last forever? Anyone else know if your eyes gradually go back to their "pre-laser" condition?

 

[Jetstorm]

I had laser surgery on my eyes almost three years ago. I am now 41 yrs. old and I highly recomend it as long as you get a surgeon with alot of experience. My insurance only paid a couple hundred dollars so I had to pay $3100. but it was the best money I 've ever spent. Also, at my surgical center any follow up surgeries needed are free for life as long as I go have an eye exam at an affiliated doctor's office once a year. It does not have to be at the center that performed my surgery.
Again, the most important advice I can give is to get a great (not good) GREAT surgeon. Find out how many operations like yours he/she has performed.
By the way, my surgery was totally painless and I could see clearly immediately after surgery. They do have you rest for a day or two to let your eyes recover. If anyone has any other questions I might be able to answer, please PM me.

 

[sorcerermick]

I had it done 2 years ago. I had the Lasik procedure done, which is where they cut your cornea with a laser, not a blade. That is a huge advantage because there is less room for error. My eyesight was so bad, I could not read the large "E" at the top of the chart. Because of that, I had the procedure done one time, and had great improvement but not %100. I had to go back and get my dominant eye done a second time to make it see 20/20. Now my dominant eye is 20/20 and me other eye is 20/40. As the doctor explained to me, he wanted to leave the other eye slightly nearsighted to help stave off the need for reading glasses in the future. During normal daily life, I see perfectly clear. Having worn glasses for 20+ years, I would definitley do this again. It is such a feeling of freedom to not need glasses the moment I wake up.

As for price, it cost me $3,200 for the first surgery, and $400 for the "custom" lasik to perfect it. I did have alot of discomfort after the first surgery because it was so dramatic, but not really pain. It subsided in a day or so.

Also remember that not everybody is a candidate. If you have chronic dry eyes, or if your corneas are too thin, you may be turned down. I agree with the previous poster on thoroughly checking your surgeon and his experience too.

Whatever you decide...good luck!

 

[blessedby3]

I had custom lasik done this past August. I just love it. I paid $3000 for the custom and could have done the more general lasik for $2400. I figured if I was going to do it I wanted it as customized for me as possible. I was told that it would not have to be done again down the road. I now have 20/20 vision and it is wonderful. I would recommend it to anyone who is a candidate. The eye center where I had it done also had a payment plan you could go on if you couldnt pay for it all at once. I really wanted this because I can now ride the coasters at Disney without holding my glasses on during the ride. It is also great for the water- beach and pool. I was not a candidate for contacts, my eyes were too dry, but lasik is GREAT! Good luck!

 

[PlaneJoy1]

I had Lasid 8 years ago. It has been wonderful! In the past couple of years I have had to wear reading glasses but can go without them if I need to or forget to bring them.

My enhancements are free, so I'm thinking I may go back and have the proceedure again if my eye regress much further.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

When I saw this topic, I cringed. Being on the Budget Board, I was afraid it would be "What's the cheapest rate you've found for LASIK?" Thank goodness it's not! My husband is an optometrist. He does not perform vision correction surgery (that's an opthomolgist), but he does co-manage to give follow up care with a very reputable group in our area. Please, please, please, if you consider this surgery, only go with a very experience, reputable group. I know the costs are high, but you only have one set of eyes. Would you bargain shop for open heart surgery?

Now, I'm not the one who went to medical school, but here's what I've gathered from listening to my DH:
1. Although outcomes can vary person to person, if you use an experience, reputable surgeon, you have an excellent chance of 20/20 vision.

2. Your vision shouldn't go back to "pre surgery" levels. However, LASIK correct myopia (near sightedness). As we age, we tend to become more presbyopic (far sighted). So, eventually, you may have to wear glasses again, but for far sightedness.

3. There is a chance for some problems with glare, especially while driving at night. There again, my husband has seen this the most with patients who've chosen to have their eyes operated on by a doc-in-a-box. Not to knock Canadian health care, as I know there are many Canadians on this board. But DH has had some patient who go to Canada for this procedure, because it's so much cheaper. According to him, their eyes look like road maps.

I'm not the expert, but I hope I've gleaned enough info from DH to be helpful here!

 

[WDWorBUST]

Me and DH had lasik done the same day 6 years ago. It was wonderful. DH did have some minor dry eye uncomfort after the surgery but he drove us to the follow up appointment the next day. My vision was so awful that I couldn't see the big E and DH asked the opthamologist how big would the chart have to be for me to see it and he told him that the wall wasn't big enough. I don't know if he was exagerating any or not - my eyes were bad. But I have had excellent vision ever since. There was another girl I worked with who tried to have the surgery and had a complication with the first eye and had to have several follow up surgeries to correct her vision back to the pre-lasik attempt on that eye. And she did choose a highly reputable opthamologist with a LOT of surgeries under his belt. In fact I used the same doctor and she had hers attempted right before mine. But that is so rare. Our insurance covered the procedure for a while and I think everyone here who was a candidate had it done. So that's one complication out of 10 to 15 people that I personally know...and the odds are much lower than that even. I would do it again in a heartbeat - as to cost I really don't know since I had it done 6 years ago and I'm sure it's come down since then and since insurance covered it I only ended up paying less than $1000 for both of our surgeries. And some of the folks here got it for a $10 office visit if the doctor had the equipment in his office versus a surgical facility.

 

[MayMom]

My Lasik was $3200.00 and it was the BEST money that I have ever spent. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I had terrible vision and had been tied to glasses and contacts since I was in the 3rd grade. When I had my first child, I was unable to see his sweet face after he was born because I couldn't wear my contacts in the operating room. When my DD was born 4 years later, I saw everything that was happening in the operating room. Good luck!

 

[NJBlackBerry]

A repeat of a few excellent points already made. I had Lasik done 6 years ago and it was the smartest thing I've done for myself. No irritation, no dry eye, no nothing. By far the most painful part was paying for it.

1) Get an excellent eye surgeon/cornea specialist to do this procedure. The guy who did mine also did Tiger Woods' eyes

2) Make sure you are a good candidate. There are a few reasons why people should NOT get Lasik, and make sure you don't fall into those categories.

3) Your vision should NOT revert. That was with the 30 year old technology. Not with the precision lasers of today. My vision was 20/20 then and it is 20/20 now. Fantastic.

I need reading glasses too; and I'll take that over 24X7 glasses any day of the week.

 

[gottaluvdis]

It's good to hear all the positive results for LASIK. I've been considering it, although I'm fine with contacts. I've worn them for 20 years for nearsightedness without any trouble (I even swim in them). DD just started wearing glasses last year for nearsightedness (in 2nd grade!) and we're thinking of going to contacts for her at her next appointment in May. I have thinning on my retinas however, so I don't know if I'm a candidate (I'll ask my DO next appt.). My main reason for not doing it is that I don't want to spend the $$. I'm hoping the cost will come down and the technology will only get better so that I can do it in the future should my eyes get even worse long-distance, or should I end up needing bifocals if I develop far-sightedness. I believe my DD will probably end up with this surgery in her 20's as it becomes more common and less expensive. Maybe we'll end up doing it together!

 

[AMaloy314]

I had it done 4 years ago. It was absolutely some of the best money I have ever spent. It is true that not everyone is a candidate, but many places offer a free evaluation. It doesn't hurt to get checked out. If you don't feel comfortable with that place, try another. I completely agree with other posters about making sure you get an experienced surgeon. There is no substitute.

When I had it done, someone else had to drive me in and home. I wasn't allowed to wear any make-up to the surgery or wear contacts for (I believe) 1 week before hand. I was instructed to make sure that I did not rub my eyes for at least 2 weeks after...and they said that it is never a good idea to rub eyes anyway. Surgery, literally, took minutes. They told me to keep my eyes closed as much as possible to the next few hours and taped plastic guards to my eyes after having me take a couple Tylenol PM so that I would sleep. I had to wear the plastic guards at night for awhile to make sure that I didn't rub my eyes while I was sleeping. I had to use an antibiotic eye drop as well as a steroid eye drop to prevent inflammation. I also was told to use preservative free individual dose size saline solution every couple hours (or more) to keep eyes moist and help healing. I had temporary tear duct plugs put in to help prevent dryness. Something in the surgery affects a nerve that stimulates tear production so that you don't make as much. There is a permanent duct plug, but I was too chicken to do that. The worst part, I felt, was not being able to wear eye makeup for 2 weeks after surgery.

4 years later, the only negative that I can remember is thinking I might be seeing starbursts when I drove at night. I think that I was just really aware of things like that because I was watching for it as a side effect. I don't notice anything like that now. I do think that my eyes are more sensitive to the sun, now. I must wear sunglasses even on some cloudy days when outside. It isn't much of a problem.

I would do it again and recommend it to anyone.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I haven't had mine done, although one of the top Lasik surgeons in the area would do it for free if I wanted it (it pays to have connections). I'm also blind-as-a-bat and completely dependent on my contacts and glasses.

So, why don't I have it done? Because I'm getting progressively far-sighted on top of my near-sightedness. Right now, I can wear bifocal contact lenses and my near- and distance-vision is perfect. I have no need for reading glasses, which I find to be exceedingly annoying. If I were to have the Lasik surgery, I would probably need to use reading glasses for up-close work. I would not be able to wear a contact lens to correct my near-vision. Once the Lasik surgery is done, the shape of the cornea is changed. It becomes very difficult to fit a contact lens to the reshaped cornea. Many times, it's just plain impossible. And even if it were possible to fit me with a far-sighted contact lens, how would that differ from what I'm dealing with now (bifocal contacts)? So, those of us on the downhill side of 40 end up using reading glasses if we have the Lasik done.

I'm not knocking the procedure. There are a lot of happy Lasik patients out there. If I were 30-something, I'd jump on the chance. But when I was 30-something, they were still doing radial keratotomy with a surgical blade. And no surgeon that I knew was willing to risk his own eyes for that procedure.

 

[m&m's mom]

I had Custom Vue Wavefront IntraLasik exactly a week ago.
I went to the MD that has done more than anyone else in the world.
To be honest, it is more of a pain that I thought it would be. I am pouring drops in my eyes constantly it seems. I have to wear goggles every time I so much as step a foot outside for the 1st week. I cannot even TOUCH my face for the 1st week. Not even TOUCH. Giant pain and I look a mess.
This guy is very strict and he does get the best results but I was not expecting to look dreadful for a week. You have to put this gel like stuff in your eyes at night and then tape shields over your eyes to sleep. Well, the next day you can't touch your face and it is all over your eyes. I had to go to my professional office looking very unprofessional. The funny thing was people came from all over the building to see how I looked - I have been the office entertainment all week.
My vision was 20/20 on Monday morning and they do expect it to get better to 20/16 when they "stabilized".
I paid $3500.00.

I do not mean to sound negative, there were just a lot of after-care kind of stuff I was not prepared for. I am sure the memory will fade and I will be ecstatic I did it.

 

[dennise]

Thanks for all the input. I think I have pretty mcuh made up my mind now. I feel confident in the clinic that I chose, we have three in Halifax that I know of, two of them were in the same price range, but the third offered an unbelievable price, but on checking, it wouyld be almost double what they adevertise, because of a charge for meds, follow-ups, etc.

My cost her in Canada is $3500.00. It seems like a lot, but your dealing with your eyes and want the best care possible.

Maybe when we got to Orlando in April, it will be with sunglasses only!

 

[mapmakerj]

I had mine done 3 yrs ago and love it. My recovery was quick and pretty painless. I only had some stinging for a couple hrs after in surgery. I wore, what DH calls racquet ball goggles for the 1st 24 hrs and then just at night for a week . Had to use drops a couple times a day for a week, but then nothing. I couldn't see the big E without my glasses before the surgery, and the next day I was seeing 20/20 without them. It is so nice to go swimming with my DS and actually see him. I also went on my second trip to DW a year after surgery and it was great not to have to worry about losing my glasses on the faster rides. No regrets here. Paid 2,800 total

 

[NYPOOH]

I had the Lasik done 4 years ago (this Valentine's Day) and I love it. I only had to wear plastic shields over my eyes for the first day/night and then sunglasses for 2 days I believe when I went out after that. I paid $3000 (amazing doctor in Long Island if anyone needs his info) and all pre/post appointments were covered. I also had chronic dry eye before this but I took the eye drops that are now restasis and they worked great, so don't give up hope if you have dry eyes, it is still possible. I had 20-20 vision immediately, very little pain and I can still see perfectly. I will probably have to wear reading glasses when I am older but I got it done when I was 21 so it was worth it! The best part was going for Disney for the first time and being able to see when I was in the pool lol.

 

[CarolA]

I had laser several years ago... At the time my MD said "you will need reading glasses when you turn 45" I started using reading glasses (a very low power) on an occasional basis in August.. I turned 45 in Sept...

That said, I am still happy I had it done...
My surgery and aftercare were a breeze and I went to a very well respected MD. (I looked perfectly normal so I am surprised that someone posted they looked bad?)

My one STRONG suggestion... this is not a "price shopper" opportunity. Those adds you see and hear on TV...BE CAREFUL! In some cases they import MDs to do the surgery. You want an experienced Doctor who will be around for a while.

My MD told me about one person who "shopped". Basically he and a few other doctors told her that with her eye issues she was NOT a canidate. She found one of these places who does anyone and they did her... Now she has MAJOR MAJOR issues that are going to cost THOUSANDS to attempt to correct and of course the "quickie" place is long gone and her insurance won't cover a penny!

 

[amburger]

Awesome information. I'm really thinking about getting this done when I'm a little older. 18 now and hope to get it done when I'm like 21. So I should have enough money saved up by then. Great to hear everyones input though.