Thinking about having Lasik surgery done....

[luvmylittleboy2003]

Anyone had it done, are you glad you did? Pro/cons???

 

[Kim&Chris]

My husband is considering it.

However, I just saw this on ABC News' website:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/EyeHea...ition-criticizing-procedure/story?id=11689793

 

[WDWorBUST]

I had it done 10 years ago and have been thrilled with the results. I just went to the optometrist a couple of months ago and my vision is still great and she said that there was no visible scarring still. As far as cons go....I can't think of one.

 

[Hoodie]

Had it done 3 years ago. Wish I had done it sooner. Can't think of a single con.

I would research where you go. My doctor was actually the same doctor who did Tiger Woods' eyes. There's another doctor in the area who does huge ad blitzes. One of my co-workers went to him and his vision ended up worse. He had eye issues though. Still, the cheap way is not necessarily the best way to go when dealing with your eyes!

 

[bumbershoot]

I had it done several years ago and wish I had NOT.

Dry eyes continue, big huge bloodshot vein coming from where they do the cutting for the "flap". [By the way, don't be fooled by "scalpel free lasik". Makes it sound like they don't cut. They do. They just do it with a laser.] Extreme sensitivity to light.

Which means that you go from wearing glasses (or contacts, but I'd been out of contacts for years, after having a bout of conjunctivitis that made even new contacts very uncomfortable) all the time to wearing SUNglasses all the time. I had to wear them in my apartment sometimes, and please note I live in Western WA, it's not THAT sunny here most of the year.

I also have very difficult times going from dark to light and light to dark. I basically end up closing my eyes when making that transition especially from dark to light, because otherwise I'm nearly blind AND it hurts to come into the light... If you currently enjoy riding dark rides, like POTC, know that if someone decides to take pictures with their flash, you might be seriously impacted if your eyes react like mine do.

When I had it done they couldn't correct for astigmatism, but somehow the astigmatism didn't bother me. Around 6 months ago my eyes felt like they changed a lot, and I went for an eye exam...I'd only gone to 20/30 (this is after more than 7 years), but the astigmatism is what was causing my problems.

I chose to go with glasses instead of finding a machine that will help the surgeon take care of the astigmatism.

I figured I'd either be perfect or go blind after the surgery, and was fine with the chances. This middle of the road stuff, however, is beastly and not fun. To still NEED my Genteal eyedrops after this long gets expensive and is annoying, and the big vein (the only answer for it is steroid drops to try, and I don't much like steroids for just about anything) is ugly and hurts when it gets even more inflamed.



The other side...my sis in law has had it done and re-done (twice). She had far worse vision than I did, and I don't think she's even gotten to 20/20. She didn't have the intense stinging that I did for DAYS after the surgery, and what she remembers from the next morning is waking up and being able to *see* her husband. She couldn't even focus on him even that close before. So it was really miraculous for her.

I will say that she paid a heck of a lot more for her surgery than I did...and her followups have been by eye doctors at Duke (alma mater for her and my brother, so they are there for bball games often) so that's probably even more money.

I had an eye doctor tell me that you get what you pay for with Lasik, and I scoffed at him...but it's possible it's true. Doesn't make much sense to me, as the earliest eye surgeries were perfected in "assembly line" style, but that's one of the differences between the two of us.

It's also very likely that a private eye doc will NOT take you if you're not a good candidate. I don't think I was. I'd been told by a previous eye doc that he wouldn't even prescribe hard contact lenses for me...so I probably wasn't ever a good candidate for lasik, but the place I went to said I was...it's possible taht my sis in law's docs would have denied me.


So that's my experience (and sis in law's as well to balance it out).


Oh, my friend went to the SAME place that I did, a month later, and she never had even ONE complaint about it. Guess you don't know if you'll do well until it's too late!

 

[jolly holiday]

I had it done 3 years ago and am very happy with it! I love not messing with contacts or glasses anymore. My son also had it done and had some trouble with dry eyes but after several months is doing well and glad he did it.

 

[mhsjax]

I had it done several years ago and wish I had NOT.

Dry eyes continue, big huge bloodshot vein coming from where they do the cutting for the "flap". [By the way, don't be fooled by "scalpel free lasik". Makes it sound like they don't cut. They do. They just do it with a laser.] Extreme sensitivity to light.

Which means that you go from wearing glasses (or contacts, but I'd been out of contacts for years, after having a bout of conjunctivitis that made even new contacts very uncomfortable) all the time to wearing SUNglasses all the time. I had to wear them in my apartment sometimes, and please note I live in Western WA, it's not THAT sunny here most of the year.

I also have very difficult times going from dark to light and light to dark. I basically end up closing my eyes when making that transition especially from dark to light, because otherwise I'm nearly blind AND it hurts to come into the light... If you currently enjoy riding dark rides, like POTC, know that if someone decides to take pictures with their flash, you might be seriously impacted if your eyes react like mine do.

When I had it done they couldn't correct for astigmatism, but somehow the astigmatism didn't bother me. Around 6 months ago my eyes felt like they changed a lot, and I went for an eye exam...I'd only gone to 20/30 (this is after more than 7 years), but the astigmatism is what was causing my problems.

I chose to go with glasses instead of finding a machine that will help the surgeon take care of the astigmatism.

I figured I'd either be perfect or go blind after the surgery, and was fine with the chances. This middle of the road stuff, however, is beastly and not fun. To still NEED my Genteal eyedrops after this long gets expensive and is annoying, and the big vein (the only answer for it is steroid drops to try, and I don't much like steroids for just about anything) is ugly and hurts when it gets even more inflamed.



The other side...my sis in law has had it done and re-done (twice). She had far worse vision than I did, and I don't think she's even gotten to 20/20. She didn't have the intense stinging that I did for DAYS after the surgery, and what she remembers from the next morning is waking up and being able to *see* her husband. She couldn't even focus on him even that close before. So it was really miraculous for her.

I will say that she paid a heck of a lot more for her surgery than I did...and her followups have been by eye doctors at Duke (alma mater for her and my brother, so they are there for bball games often) so that's probably even more money.

I had an eye doctor tell me that you get what you pay for with Lasik, and I scoffed at him...but it's possible it's true. Doesn't make much sense to me, as the earliest eye surgeries were perfected in "assembly line" style, but that's one of the differences between the two of us.

It's also very likely that a private eye doc will NOT take you if you're not a good candidate. I don't think I was. I'd been told by a previous eye doc that he wouldn't even prescribe hard contact lenses for me...so I probably wasn't ever a good candidate for lasik, but the place I went to said I was...it's possible taht my sis in law's docs would have denied me.


So that's my experience (and sis in law's as well to balance it out).


Oh, my friend went to the SAME place that I did, a month later, and she never had even ONE complaint about it. Guess you don't know if you'll do well until it's too late!

Did you have Lasik or PRK. The reason I ask is I had PRK. Lasic couldn't be done for me and basically I had to have PRK done. I had a lot os scar tissue on my retina and they don't have any idea where it came from.

My Dr was fantastic, half of the instruments in the B&L eye surgical catalogue, he invented. He also has patients travel from around the world and he fixes other screw ups. Even with all of this, I experience the same symptoms that you do. You can't explain the pain involved with being that light sensitive, until you experience it, you don't understand.I also had to wear sun glasses in my house at night with the lights off just the glare from the TV would send my eyes into a rage. That has passed, but still sensitive. I also have the dry eyes, but we knew this going into the procedure.

I do have near perfect vision and for that am thankful, I was almost legally blind without my contacts. He said I was an extremely difficult case and in fact has used my case in his teaching around the world. He told me that there is only about 200 people world wide that had my problem that had been corrected to 20/20 vision, which I was at the time. I have slipped very little.

All I can say is that I am glad and very hopeful that I will never have to do it again.

OP, Lasick is much easier than PRk just be sure you have a very reputable physician. Dont' go with the one that is cheaper and seems ok, if you know for a fact that a particular Dr is better but costs more, then pay more. You only have one set of eyes. I would never go to one that did assembly line style, they will tell anyone that they can have Lasik, I paid way more than some people, but he came highly recommended and he told me to research him and to come back with a list of questions. He told me that no one should operate on your eyes without a whole lot of questions being answered and a lot of research being done and with that he sent me away, I also had 5 visits for him to check and recheck my eyes and also had 4 follow up visits, all where included in the price. I have since recommended him to other people and they love him.

 

[LuvOrlando]

My husband was legally blind without glasses or contacts. He had Lasik done about 8 years ago and while it isn't perfect he still says he'd do it again. His only complaint is that he sees an aura around things at night when he drives. The Dr said this can be corrected but since DH hasn't gone in for it yet I suppose it must be tolerable. Weird thing is when he described the effect to me it turns out I've had the aura my entire life, and so has his Mom who doesn't need glasses at all. I just never knew that's not how everyone sees things.

FYI, when DH first complained about this effect the Eye Dr prescribed a Glaucoma medicine for it. Well, the stuff worked with the aura but it made my DH terribly dizzy and nauseous. I tried to tell him he should consider only using the stuff when he knows he has to drive at night but he can be so stubborn that he canned the whole idea. That reminds me, time to get him in for another visit.

BTW, we did do a great deal of research on the Dr before choosing one. My husband knew about 6 people personally who had the procedure done at this particular office and he waited for them to heal before going himself. He was told he was a good candidate from the beginning and his regular Eye Dr agreed, so we had 2 opinions before he had it done.

 

[blanq]

I had it done three years ago to correct my nearsightedness and astigmatism It was the best money I ever spent (well, maybe it's a tie between Lasik and my Sleep Number bed). I had dry eye before my surgery, and still experience it but drops help significantly and I used Restasis for an entire year after my surgery. I do experience halos during night driving if my eyes are tired and/or dry. The only real negative is that I am now in my late 40's and needing glasses for reading and computer work, so I am not off glasses completely.

 

[kimisabella]

I had it done a year and a half ago. I am 20/15 - best money I ever spent. I would have paid double for it.

 

[tlbwriter]

It's a miracle for some people and a nightmare for others. If you have dry eyes or large irises you are not a good candidate. One thing to keep in mind is that "success rates" are based on the vision chart. That's all. You could be forced to wear sunglasses during the day, you could be unable to drive at night, you could have to have plugs surgically inserted into your tear ducts in an attempt to relieve your dry eyes, but you're still considered a "success story." Here's an example from the Vision Surgery Rehab Network. Your vision could look like this, but statistically, you'd be counted as a success because you can see 20/20:

Don't go into it blindly (no pun intended). Do some research and see what the possible side effects are, and decide if the risk is worth the benefit.

 

[elgerber]

I had it done 10 years ago and have been thrilled with the results. I just went to the optometrist a couple of months ago and my vision is still great and she said that there was no visible scarring still. As far as cons go....I can't think of one.

Yep, me too. June of 2000, never looked back!
But, as others have said, make sure you go to a really good dr. Do not go to the one who advertises the super cheap rates, do some homework. My surgeon happens to be family, but he is also one of the top surgeons in the world, so I felt perfectly safe.

 

[dislaney]

I had Lasik last year and it's the best thing I've ever done. I love not having to wear glasses or contacts and just being able to see! I did go and talk to 3 doctors before I decided who I was going to have do the surgery. The one I chose was not the cheapest, but I felt the most comfortable with the doctor, staff and the before and aftercare.