Lasik questions, (It's non really Medical advice, I'm already diagnosed with poor eyes).

K-Dubbya-PowzX2 got a bonus this year, not much, but it looks like enough to get Lasiked.

Who knows what my eyes are at these days, since I revealed on another thread I wear the “cheeters” +2.50 every hour I need to see. I know my dominant eye needs a better magnification, but I can’t go higher and still use my other eye.

How much correction can I get? Can I say I want another +.50 added/corrected to? If I could convinvce them, I’d tell 'em to give me the eyes OF A HAWK! That’s a no-brainer.

A guy I know had it done, then had to have some tweaks/corrections made, but still swears that it beats wearing glasses.

Glasses suck. I haven’t worn sunglasses in 15 years, and now I got these FUCKING “SQUINT-WRINKLES” around my eyes that make me look years older. (Retin-A take that shit out?)…I didn’t want to wear the “clip-on-flip-up” deals that make me look 40.

What do they do to you? Shoot lazerbeams? Nice.
If there is a previous thread…'lil help…
Whatever.

I’m no expert but what you want to shoot for is a 0.0 diopter. Your actual visual acuity will depend on other factors such as anomalies in your cornea, lens and retina. If all of these are in good shape, you may end up with vision better than 20/20, but shooting for another 0.5 diopter will just leave you far sighted.

You should be evaluated by an eye doc - not everyone is a good risk for that surgery and you for sure don’t want to wind up worse off than you are now. When LASIK goes well it’s wonderful, but when it goes bad it’s very bad indeed. Likewise, don’t decide solely on price. Research the matter and the doc carefully for best results.

They lay you down on a table, clamp your eyes open and put in some pain killing eye drops. Then, depending on if you’re getting PRK laser surgery or LASIK surgery, they either dissolve the surface of your eye with a solvent or cut a flap in the surface of your cornea and fold it over. In the case of PRK, which is what I got, they then rinse your eye with uncomfortably cold water for a few seconds. Then they have you stare at a red dot and the lasering begins. It only takes a few seconds but you can smell your eye’s burning which is something they neglected to warn me about and was a little startling. Then they pop a contact in that you have to wear for 4 days to prevent infection, with PRK at least I don’t think they have to do that with LASIK but I’m not sure. Then they go do the other eye. The pain killing eyedrops must be really good cuz’ there was no pain at all.

I had no after surgery pain/discomfort at all but most of the people that have it done seem to be sensitive to light for a few days after.

After the surgery you have to take loads of eyedrops. I can’t remember exactly but it was something like 5 different types of drops that I had to take 4 times a day each. After the first few days I no longer needed one of the types of drops but had to continue taking the rest for 4 months decreasing the amount of times I had to take them by 1 per day every month. Although the optometrist did say most of the drops were probably not necessary for most people with the modern techniques that are less damaging than older techniques/technologies but they still prescribe them just in case.

They eyedrops were, by far, worse then the actual surgery. I’d never taken eyedrops before and found it really awkward. What I’m saying is if you’re comfortable with eyedrops don’t be afraid of the surgery.

I wouldn’t really recommend the surgery though, as I’ve had double vision ever since. They told me it would go away but it’s been almost two years and hasn’t yet. On the other hand no one else I know that’s had it has had any such problems.

Just got mine done last Friday!

My steps:

  • During regular eye Dr appt, asked about lasik and they did some pre evaluation
  • Went to surgeon, they run a battery of tests/scans/map your eye, etc
  • They felt I was a good candidate so we scheduled a surgery day, and a final pre-op visit with my regular eye doctor
  • Pre-op - Regular eye doctor does some final tests
  • Begin taking some drops before surgery, no contacts allowed for a few weeks.
  • Surgery - I had lasik with intra-lase. Clamp eye open, attach vacuum thing, cut flap with laser, repeat with other eye, then slide over to laser that shapes eye, which is staring at red dot for a few seconds; repeat with other eye.
  • There was no pain or discomfort at all during the surgery.
  • They sit you in a recliner in a dark room after, with your eyes closed for 30 minutes. At this point my eyes started burning and tearing. After 30 minutes, they gave me some drops which stopped the pain asap, and did a final check, and sent me home
  • Once home, I slept for a few hours, and tried to keep my eyes closed until the next morning
  • Next day, woke up, could see great, went to my regular eye Dr for post op, was at 20/20 with no problems.
  • I am on 4 different drops for a week, then 2 kinds for weeks/months.
    I personally have no issues with anything other then a little dryness - not light sensitive, no pain, no halos, starbursts, double or blurred vision - nothing.

I paid a higher price then most people I know, but went with a well known excellent surgon and was more concerned with results then price.

PRK has many more side affect and discomfort from what I’ve heard (friends who have had it). Lasik with intralase gets few complaints.

Well we know it works for what, the ten or so years we have had it common. Even so there is issues with night vision, halos around lights, hard to use a telescope and things like that. Not too bad, but who knows about 40 years later?

These cuts in eye could come open or discolor or get infected or many things. Blindness may be a big growth industry. Remember with age stuff falls apart, seen old faces? Old teeth? People with too much plastic surgery who once looked good? Now imagine your eyes falling apart like that too? We won’t know for a long time, but look at what aging does to the rest of you for a hint. You are entering into an experiment.

It may seem like it’s new, but the early versions of these procedures actually started in the 1950s.

I am sure there were early studies, but notice even the late ones they are already saying something newer is so much better, already.

I remember being told x-ray treatments would cure acne, now they say are you crazy, that will just get you a brain tumor.

Well same here, after all is known in 50 years and the procedure standardized, it will be fine probably. Meanwhile the tap tap of white canes may be the future you never expected. I remember a cartoon with a blind guy with cane in distant future, a little tag on him explained it all. “I had lasik way back when, and you know the claims were right, I never needed my glasses again”.

I see a 62-year-old face every time I look into a mirror. One with white hair, wrinkly skin, and eyes that underwent LASIK surgery about fifteen years ago.

My eyes are one of the few areas of my body that still work well. :slight_smile:

Seriously, when I imagine anything concerning my eyes it’s what a shame it would have been spending the last fifteen years with the 20-400 eyesight I used to have rather than the 20-25 I’ve been enjoying.

Now there is a downside to my vision after LASIK surgery. My contrast detection isn’t what it used to be, an apparently well-known side-effect from the substantial trimming they had to do to them to get someone as nearsighted as I was into the 20-25 range. Everything looks fine to me (there’s no musing “hmm, I just don’t seem to get the contrast I used to”), but my night vision isn’t as good as it used to be and I find that I can’t track my golf balls after about 150 yards or so (they disappear into a gray sky). Still, I wouldn’t go back and do without the surgery for the world.

A cartoon caption is not a proper substitute for an informed opinion. Do you have an informed opinion on this subject?

The FDA is beginning a study to investigate poor outcomes associated with LASIK.

There was just a story about this on NPR: For Some, Lasik Brings More Problems Than Solutions : NPR

Conway, thanks, maybe 2010 is indeed the arrival of the future when we begin to see these effects of the earlier methods used. There is no “informed opinion” on effects way longer than the procedure has been done, unless a time machine is available.

But one can look at the other external parts of people like skin and see that it goes downhill faster after plastic surgery. So Michael Jacksons nose may be an idea, and the aging star who finally stops botox. The area of the eye cut is indeed its “skin” you know.

I had LASIK about 2 years ago and I’m loving it. Fat Chance summed the procedure up well enough. I used eye drops about 4 times a day for about 6 months afterwards, but nothing at all now.

Most doctors that will perform the procedure will do the assessment for free. Or at least free with a regular exam which you will have to have in any case.

I think the point is less that there’s something inherently wrong with LASIK (95% of people are happy with the results), but rather that there are people getting it who aren’t good candidates. The profit margin for ophthalmologists is pretty attractive.

LASIK is not something you want to go budget on either.

Make sure they measure the thickness of your corneas. If your Dr. is worth his salt, they will do this to determine if you have enough thickness to make corrections/adjustments if they make mistakes. If your corneas are too thin, you should not have lasik done, but another option maybe inter-ocular implants (essentially what they do for cataract patients). Talk to your opthamologist.