OT - Lasik?

[jackie101]

I just had my consultation today . I have my eye exam in 2 weeks to see if am eligible It is $3900 for both eyes in MA/RI area

 

[Chaoster]

Had mine done in 2002. My eye sight was pretty bad. There was actually a burning smell. This normal. They don't tell you before hand. My vision was noticeably better but still not completely clear. Like I said I had bad vision. From the curb I could not read the house number. But I was legally able to drive. Scary isn't it? This is not good for a letter carrier. So I had to wait 3 months for the vision to stabilize to get a touch-up. They only did one eye. That is so I wont need reading glasses. We'll see so far so good. After a few months of blurry vision everything is great now. But during the first 3 months I regretted getting it done.

As for cost if you have flexible spending you can save some money that way.

 

[mom2threecuties]

Getting Lasik is one of the best things I've ever done! DH and I did it together 11 years ago. We both still have perfect vision. The springs they use to hold your eyes open was pretty freaky, but it was over so fast, I didn't really have time to think about it.

 

[Marymom]

Funny...I have LASIK scheduled for next Friday. I am in my 40's so I am having my eyes corrected differently. It is called monovision. One eye for up close reading and one eye for distance. I do think I will have to have the up close eye "tweeked" on occasion but it should postpone the need for reading glasses. I am paying 3800.00. It includes all follow-ups. My first appointment was lengthy. 3 hours of tests to see if I was a candidate. Good Luck!

Mary

 

[lroger01]

I had Lasik in January. One eye had a "wrinkle" in the cornea. I had that fixed (another surgery - 3 day painful recovery). After 2 months of healing, that eye still wasn't right. Turns out I still had some astigmatism. I had that fixed yesterday.

Would I do it again? In a heart beat!

I need reading glasses, but 90% of my life is eyeglass free. But not only that the vision I got is wonderful. It's almost like seeing in HD and I'm still not 100% healed yet.

My advice is not to expect miracle vision the next day. Some people see great right away, but it may take you longer.

If you need bifocals afterward it's no problem really, but there will be a period of adjustment if you were near sighted before. It takes time for your brain to "forget" that it can no longer see best up close. I panicked a little when my near and middle distance vision didn't improve right away. A month later- even with the bad eye - my body had adjusted to the new way of seeing and a slightly blurry middle distance view became "normal". Now with the astigmatism fixed, middle distance should clear up.

It costs about the same as a 5 to 7 days at Disney (value resort). Well worth it in my opinion!

I know everyone else in this post had positive - issue free Lasik. I don't want to scare you, but wanted you to see the experience of someone who the fine print on the contract was written for.:

 

[Cindy B]

My DH had it done 2 years ago after thinking about it for a long time. He didn't have the picture perfect recovery as well. He also had to get one of the eyes redone as well.

Even with a challenging recovery and a re-do surgery he still is happy he did it.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

I loved my Lasik

 

[phred52]

Yep, best money I ever spent, too. I do have 'halos' with night-time vision now, and prefer not to drive at night anymore.... but you know what? I'd STILL do it all over again!!

 

[Fryer5]

Put me down for "best money ever spent"

I had mine done a little over 2 years ago. I paid the money for "custom waveform .blah blah blah....."

I couldn't be happier, I wish I had done it sooner. I will say this though, make sure you follow the post operation instructions. Put the drops in on schedule, wash your hands before putting drops in. I have a co-worker who is known for not listening to instructions who is always complaining about how his lasik procedure was bad. When I questioned him about, he admitted to me that maybe he didn't put the drops in like he was supposed too, and maybe he had an infection in one eye from not following the post operation instructions. I don't post this to scare anyone, I said it before and I will say it again "BEST MONEY EVER" but it is your eyes, so take care of them post op!

 

[Disneyvirg]

What about if you wear bifocals? Are you still a Lasik (or similar) candidate? Does it just improve the distance vision, or...?

Apparently they can correct one eye for nearsighted and one for farsighted, but they said it can take a few weeks to adjust.

Would I do it again? In a heart beat!

I need reading glasses, but 90% of my life is eyeglass free. But not only that the vision I got is wonderful. It's almost like seeing in HD and I'm still not 100% healed yet.

My advice is not to expect miracle vision the next day. Some people see great right away, but it may take you longer.

If you need bifocals afterward it's no problem really, but there will be a period of adjustment if you were near sighted before. It takes time for your brain to "forget" that it can no longer see best up close. I panicked a little when my near and middle distance vision didn't improve right away. A month later- even with the bad eye - my body had adjusted to the new way of seeing and a slightly blurry middle distance view became "normal". Now with the astigmatism fixed, middle distance should clear up.

It costs about the same as a 5 to 7 days at Disney (value resort). Well worth it in my opinion!

I know everyone else in this post had positive - issue free Lasik. I don't want to scare you, but wanted you to see the experience of someone who the fine print on the contract was written for.:

I agree. I had Lasik in December. The doctors keep talking about how I had a "High level of correction" - which I have interpreted to mean that my vision was horrible. I wasn't able to drive to my appt the next morning because I didn't see well enough. My right eye still has some astigmatism in it. My doc said the surgeons won't even do an enhancement until 9 months out, so I'm just waiting for that. The doc at my first followup said they want to make sure they don't overcorrect because there is nothing they can do at that point, so if you have bad vision, they may not be able to get it quite right the first go round. I have lots of friends and family that were the poster children of the procedure...no pain, perfect vision soon afterwards.

All of this said, I don't regret the surgery at all! I was no longer able to wear my hard contacts that had held my vision in place for nearly 15 years. Switching to soft contacts was uncomfortable and I couldn't see too well. Glasses were really tough, too. I may not see as well as when I had my hard contacts, but I can see better than I could with soft contacts or glasses.

I echo the advice to follow the doctor's directions to a T. They know what they're talking about!

Good luck!

Ps - it's awesome to actually be able to see the time on the alarm clock without slipping on a pair of glasses!

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

I want to get Lasik done so bad but I don't even know where to begin to start looking to see where I should go. I hear advertisement for laser centers but am not sure if they are good to go there and have no idea where to look for a doctor. Also every year my prescription keeps changing and I read online that you are not a good candidate until your prescription remains the same for one year, does anyone know if this is true?

 

[Cruise]

I want to get Lasik done so bad but I don't even know where to begin to start looking to see where I should go. I hear advertisement for laser centers but am not sure if they are good to go there and have no idea where to look for a doctor. Also every year my prescription keeps changing and I read online that you are not a good candidate until your prescription remains the same for one year, does anyone know if this is true?

It's true that your eyes should stay the same for quite a while before having it done. The reason is that they correct for what your vision is now. If your vision changes again next year, well, it's still going to change even if you have Lasik. So you'd either be back in glasses or need more Lasik. If the change is more than you could live with, of course.

The best place to start is to go to your regular eye doctor, get his opinion, and ask for a recommendation of who to do the procedure. I personally, wouldn't go to one of the "$299 per eye" places but I'm sure plenty of people have and been pleased with the results. However, if I were to have it done, I would go with the doctor my regular eye doctor recommended who was more in the $5k range when I checked into it a couple of years ago (this is in LA, though).

 

[bucket o' butter]

By this time, you have already had your surgery! I am confident that you will love the results! It was so worth the money for me. I had mine done in 2003 and have had ZERO complications. I had a very strong eyeglass prescription (-10) so they weren't even sure if they would be able to do a full correction. I told them I would happy to just wear normal looking glasses instead of "coke bottle" ones. Seven years later I have 20/20 vision in one eye and 20/25 in the other. I have not had to wear daily wear glasses at all. I do occasionally have to break out the reading glasses if my eyes are tired, but that has nothing to do with the surgery. That is just my "advanced" age! (44) I hope all goes well for you. Use the normal precautions (eyedrops, eye protection at night) and I am sure you will have no problems. Good luck!