That’s what usually happens. But NO surgery is EVER “risk-free”. Don’t they have laws about false advertising in Holland?
If you do look into this shop VERY carefully for your surgeon. It must be done right the first time.
The surgery will not affect the vision change associated with aging… so if you get this done at 20, you may still need reading glasses at 50.
It does not work on all types of vision problems.
Although it works fine for the vast majority of people, it doesn’t always work. For a description of worst-case outcomes, please see www.SurgicalEyes.com
It’s amazing. I had it done about three years ago, my right eye was -9.5 and my left was -7.5, at the outside of what they can fix. I now don’t need glasses at -all-. It’s fantastic. I had been wearing contacts for years, so eye things didn’t much bother me, but the surgery -was-, in person, kind of alarming - major stale adrenaline issue afterwards. They gave me anesthetic drops, suctioned my eyes to the thingey, told me to watch the light, sliced a little flap in my eye (!!!), reshaped it a bit, laid the flap back down, and did the same thing on the other. Maybe ten minutes in the operating room at -maximum-. Amazing. They told me “Your vision may be a little blurry, don’t be alarmed” when they let me open my eyes; “a little blurry” was better than I ever remembered seeing. I did have to get the pain pill prescription filled, although I didn’t plan on it, because although they said it would be “like having a dry contact lens” it was like having a dry contact lens for hours. Once that was over, however, I was very happy with it. I did have halos around lights at night, and some headaches as my eye muscles adjusted. I still see my worst at twilight, but I do see 20/20 and am profoundly happy with the results. I had mine done at the Emory Vision Center and wouldn’t go anywhere else, though. I was very happy with the experience and would totally do it all over again, although it was quite expensive at Emory (about $5000 total) and not at all covered by insurance.
I’ve been blind as a proverbial bat (myopia) since 5 yrs. old; wore contacts for decades until my eyes wouldn’t tolerate 'em any more, then reluctantly switched to glasses. Unfortunately my eyes were slowly worsening. I literally couldn’t remember, ever, just opening my eyes and being able to SEE.
For me, LASIK worked a near** miracle. My vision isn’t perfect but it’s unbelievably, wonderfully better.
Details:
Shop around for the best doctor, not the cheapest. Go for the best training as well as number of procedures performed. Eyes are delicate things and ya want someone who knows the most about 'em, not just “slash and burn” techniques. Bargain hunt on something less crucial.
There are always risks. You can minimize 'em through your decisions but it’s still surgery. Again, seek out an excellent doc, be honest w/ him/her and then decide.
Pain’s variable. I had none. The worst felt like typical nights of too much reading and too little sleep. The eye protectors and habit changes for washing my hair (no eye rubbing!) were the greatest inconveniences.
The entire procedure took about 10 minutes. A good doc will inform you thoroughly on what to expect; it really helps reduce anxiety. Mine prescribed 1 valium a few hours before. I’d never had it before and frankly he coulda removed my spleen and a few other spare organs. Whooo. (Crooned torch songs in the taxi ride home, then conked out for 6 hours.)
**You may be given choices on solutions available. Given my situation, I chose “monovision”, where one eye is corrected for distance and the other for close up. Most people’s brains adapt w/in a few days/weeks. I haven’t, completely. (The statistical odd-ball.) The only time it’s even a slight concern is driving at night. I got a pair of glasses, corrected for my “close” eye, mostly for a security blanket. Wearing them, I have the vision of a jet pilot.
It isn’t for everyone, or something to be undertaken lightly. Weigh your own situation carefully, and only then seek out the most skilled, hard-minded doctor available. If you aren’t a good candidate, medically or by expectations, you have a fine expert in your corner.
I’m thrilled–honestly thrilled–with LASIK but everybody’s mileage may vary widely.
Not everyone is a candidate. My crappy eyesight is due to exposure to sun lamps as a newborn (treatment for jaundice). My eyes did not form properly and never will according to all doctors that I have consulted.
I have an acquaintance named Dan who is an expert in Lasik surgery. In fact, he’s the guy people go to when their first surgeon screws up. About two years ago he offered to do both my eyes for $500 Canadian.
The actual surgery has been around for decades, although using lasers is fairly new (and a lot less risky than scalpels).
But accidents do happen. Some can be corrected, but some people are permanently stuck with halos or starburst patterns.
I’m still not going to do it until someone figures out how to transplant eyes. I’ve had glasses for nearly 25 years, and they’re not that bad…
After 26+ years of wearing glasses, I had the procedure done in May 2002. the day after the procedure i went blind and my eyeballs fell out.
:DJust kidding. It was the best 2 grand I ever spent. My vision responded very well to the operation. the very next day I tested 20/20 in my right eye, 20/25 nin my left. 2 weeks later i tested 20/20 in both eyes. For the first 2 weeks I did suffer from very dry, itchy eyes, but the tear drops relieve that very well. Also, for the first 2 weeks I did see large “halos” around lights, and “star bursts” from headlights. They totally disappeared after 10 days.
My night vision is perfect!
Also, I do not need reading glasses and I’m 42. Like I said, best 2k I ever spent. I considered having to wear glasses a handicap. part of my body did not work the way it was supposed to, and needed a crutch. that’s how I considered wearing glasses to be.
She’s at work now and can’t post but TheLadyLion was a textbook case of just how good Lasik can be. She opted for monovision and I’m considering the same thing for myself so I don’t have to wear prescription shooting glasses. Still there can be complications. One of the people I regularly shoot with has chronic dry eye syndrome after his lasik surgery and has to frequenly apply drops.
I had it done around 3 and a half years ago (at a cost of $4500!!!) and just recently had to get glasses again. Not sorry I did it though because as previously mentioned the years without glasses were entirely worth it, and seeing as how I was near-blind before the glasses I have now are nowhere near the hassle my old ones were. So even with glasses, it’s still a 99% improvement over how it was before. I believe the price of my procedure included lifetime “touch ups” but I’ll probably wait until it gets much worse before I consider going through the actual surgery again.
Re: the Valium. Take it if you can get it, and see if you can trick them into giving you more. I was so nervous it would’ve taken about 3 valiums and a grande margarita to even slightly calm me down.
Re: doing it while you’re awake - it has to be done that way because a) obviously, your eyes have to be OPEN and b) you actually have to participate to some extent in the procedure. You have to direct your eye to a certain spot before they can begin cutting with the laser.
Grossest part: either when they slice the front of your eye with the “plane-like” device, or when they lift up the flap – you actually see them pinch one part of it with the big tweezer thing and as the tweezer thing moves from one side of your eye to the other you go from seeing to not seeing, like a wipe effect on a tv sitcom. Somewhat disturbing as you lie there thinking: “There’s a hole in my eye and it’s wide open to the world!”
I had the Lasik procedure done three months ago . . My eyesight used to be -4.00 and -4.50 diopters (is that 20/400 and 20/450 or 20/800 and 20/900?)
Well, I have a three month checkup next week, but at my one week checkup I had 20/20 and 20/25.
Night glare increased, but not enough to make it difficult to drive at night or anything. This has mostly returned to normal (what little heightened sensitivity to night lights may remain, I’m used to it and don’t notice.)
And the price was very good . . . ~$1700 pre-tax USD (used a flex-plan account through my company, along with a discounted rate offered by my Medical Insurance CO to their subscribers.
Oh, and the actual procedure was HORRIBLE!!! Well, maybe horrible is too strong a word . . . no physical pain, but I think that because I had made sure to eat a really big breakfast before the surgery, the benefit of the Valium was not as great as it would have been had I not stuffed my face beforehand (I figured I would have to sleep after the surgery and not have time to eat until I woke up and, because I get migraines if I don’t eat, I made sure to go into surgery well fed.) And the nurse barking “You Need to Calm Down!!!” at me didn’t help much.
My brother went to pick up some painkillers and eyedrops while I was getting zapped, but he assumed it would take longer than what it actually did. So he decided to take a detour and GO TO THE MALL!!! Meanwhile, I am sitting at an eye exam chair, the burning in my teary eyes getting worse and worse and worse as the anesthesia from the drops begins to wear off. He finally showed up and after a couple of pills I was asleep on the way home.
Very happy with it, however. My parents are now even looking into it for themselves . .
I had it done 3 years ago. It cost a lot, especially compared to some of the prices you see today - $4,800. A flex-plan saved me forty some percent of that. I just chose the best name I could find - who wants to mess about with their eyesight to save a few bucks? Anyway, what was good enough for Greg Maddux was good enough for me.
I was -5.5, -6 with heavy astigmatism. I don’t need glasses at all now. I get a bit of glare at night and occasionally get dry eyes, but otherwise no problem.
The procedure was peculiar, but not painful. I didn’t take any medicines to calm me down, although they were offered.
I had a correction done after 6 months. The procedure is one way only, so they err on the side of underdoing it as they can always do a bit more later. I was surprised to find that the second time, they did not need to cut the flap again - they could still lift it from the first cut.
I had nothing more than a little discomfort the first time. I had some pain for a few hours after the second time. Otherwise, fine.
If my prescription changes, I will definitely go back and have it done again.
Laser surgery is very dangerous, I knew someone who went blind after having it done. How it works, is that it burns.scars the tissue in the cental cornrea. It cannot be changed as you get older, nor can it be corrected.
Get Intacs, they are clear half moon plastic implants, that are placed on the very edge of the colored part of the eye, they can be easily removed if there is a problem, they can be changed as you get older and need stronger correction, and they are not harmful in any way.
True damage can’t be repaired, but if your eyesight changes, it most certainly can be done again, as many posters above stated.
Interesting, I can’t say I’ve ever heard of these. Googling on Intacs, I see some disclaimers that they’re only approved for mild myopia and little or no astigmatism, so obviously they’re not for everyone - nor are they for most people who are thinking about LASIK, I assume, since most of them seem to be people who have had thick glasses for years and are sick of it.
Intacs are not an option for many people. I believe they are only good for people who’s eyesight was at -4 or better (I was at -6)
Lasik, according to my doctor, works for people who are at -12 and better. The majority of people who opt for Laser have vision which is worse than -4, so Intacs are not an option. (I had looked into them before i opted for Lasik)
I had it done a couple years ago. However, my eye-sight wasn’t terribly bad… -1.5 dioptors in both eyes, so they were only “cutting away” a little bit, as they say. I had it done because glasses constantly gave me a headache and contacts were too much a pain in the butt.
It was quick, and painless. They do offer you a tranquilizer. I wasn’t nervous at all, but I elected to take to the sub-lingual Valium they offered anyway. The neatest thing for me was the brief glimpse of the world with your lens lifted.
No complications at all… in fact, my vision improved beyond 20/20. They only gaurentee 20/40 but mine actually improved to 20/10. After two years I think its back at 20/20 but I haven’t had a check-up recently.
The only major irritation was directly after the surgery on the train-ride home. It was stinging and eyes watering from the bright sunlight. It was due to the fact I removed the sunglasses they tell you to wear. Only, they weren’t sunglasses, they were those huge space-age goggles you see Senior-Citizens with glaucoma wearing and I felt a little subconcious. I put them back on afterward.
If you fit the “good candidate” parameters they lay out for the surgery, I highly recommend it to anyone. I got it done in Toronto and paid $1400 Canadian for both eyes… and this was 2-3 years ago.
Some friends of mine who needed bifocals before the surgery went the one-of-each route. That is, one eye is tuned to distance vision, and the other is tuned to close vision. It seems to me that would play hob with depth perception. Does it?