NO, NO, NO! Have it done by a professional!
I had it done quite some time ago (turn of the century) and posted my experience on a web page, writing in pure HTML as it was in the days before blogging–at least to me. The host is long gone, but thanks to Wayback-ish…
I was actually in a study. Things didn’t go that great.
But I’m glad I did it. Now, almost 20 years later, I need readers smetimes and I lost that same super power Dobbs did, but it was a fair trade, in my estimation.
I suspect your abnormality was in NOT having an allergic reaction under those circumstances. The problem is that cats clean their fur with their tongue. Cat spit is a known irritant and it’s rather common for people to have respiratory problems around them or get a rash after touching the cat and then themselves – particularly a moist area that re-liquifies the acid (base?).
My wife had it done a few years ago. She had a contract that said she’d get free tune-ups so long as she visited an optometrist at least every 6 months. She followed up with two years of regular visits to the optometrist, then stopped. When I asked why, she said she had no intention of ever going through that experience again; it was too frightening, even with the valium.
My poor experience was not with the surgery itself but with the candidacy visits. Dr. Kawesh’s San Diego office was beautifully decorated and I watched a slick half-hour video in a miniature theater that explained the benefits and the procedure. Then, after a ten-minute check of my eyes, a representative told me, “Your test results show you’re a perfect candidate. It costs $X but if you sign up now I’ll give you a 20% discount.”
Suddenly I felt like I was buying a junker from a slick used car dealer.
I hesitated and the lady said, “The offer is good for twenty more minutes.”
That didn’t make me feel any better.
I decided to pass on the offer and said I’d consider the full-priced deal, then left. On my way home, I happened to pass by another place that offered LASIK and decided to stop in. They spent a full hour testing my eyes and the surgeon eventually said my keratoconus was a disqualifying condition – so bad that she wouldn’t touch my eyes unless I and my lawyer* both signed a waiver drafted by her lawyer.
I ended up being contacted by lawyers and joining a class action suit complaining that Dr. Kawesh was using high-pressure sales techniques and failing to deliver on his promises. The AMA reviewed the case and determined that his failure percentage was just slightly within the industry’s acceptable limits, but suspended his license for two years because it was clear he was putting the profit motive ahead of the medical benevolence ideal# and I received a letter from the AMA with details of the case, all the allegations (including mine) and their resolution.
A year later, he was running TV commercials, advertising himself as the LASIK Surgeon to the Stars with offices in Beverly Hills and San Diego. Really? What happened to that two-year suspension?
Bottom Line: No matter what your initial tests say, get a second opinion. You only have one set of eyes and you don’t want to be just another of those failures within acceptable limits.
–G!
*Lawyer? What lawyer? Oh, I’d have to hire one just to get the countersignature?
#Yeah, you know, however that legal/medical jargon flows.
I mean sure, but I only started having the reaction after the Lasik. I had him with no issues for 3 years before the procedure, and the next 15 years I have to be very careful about washing my hands after I touch him. Guarantee I could make you throw up with a picture of my eyeball in the middle of a reaction, it’s pretty disturbing.
This is a low-quality anecdote because it happened to a friend of mine and not me. He had Lasik and after the procedure he said he started getting terrible headaches. He attributes them to the Lasik although to be fair I’ve never heard of anyone else who reported this. He told me he would give everything he owns to undo the procedure.
Thanks everyone for the comments - they are much appreciated -
The Wind of My soul - sorry you had such a bad experience, while I want everything to be simple and easy - hearing those things help me be more prepared.
I have NOT has Lasik. Never interested in it whatsoever. Yet a few years back, I let my optometrist talk me into going to an info session with the group they work with, and then they talked me into going through all the screening (all free).
Evidently, I was a very good candidate - “corneas of steel” (quite thick) seems to be something they like working with.
Not having 5K to drop on something that “frivolous”, it went no further.
Recently (as noted in enipla’s cataract thread), my ophthalmologist insisted I do a consult with another doc who could do a bundled deal involving Lasik and cararact surgery.
W.T.F.??? (I did not go for that followup and am seeing another doctor for the cataract work, also; that ophtho is F.I.R.E.D. Fired).
OK - more to the topic: The closest I have to “direct” experience is my older brother. He had flex spending money to use up and so he got laser eyes. He was pretty unhappy: see, he was over 50 at the time, and NOBODY TOLD HIM that he’d have issues with near vision even after the surgery. This was something even I knew at the time. I think he was ultimately pleased, but he found it an unpleasant surprise.
And the tech has definitely improved. Back when it was a fairly new thing, a co-worker wanted it done. Only… her eyes weren’t a good candidate for what was approved in the US at the time. I don’t remember what the deal was. But they had equipment / procedures in Canada that would work for her… so she flew to Canada to get it done.
Nowadays, I suspect she’d have been able to get it done here.
I had it done about 16 years ago. Most of the horror stories were pre-that time, the procedure now is faster and even more seamless than then, and mine went really well.
My recovery time was about two days, one day of sleep, one day of resolving some watery blurs, then crystal sharpness for years. It’s only in the last three years or so, as I near 50, that I’ve noticed some troubles again, but it’s vastly better than from before, so I haven’t done anything to address it. I believe it’s not uncommon for a second refresher surgery to happen for some.
The only side-effect I noticed, and it’s hard to know if I had it before, is that in dim light, such as late twilight, or say the hazy darkness of a trip to the bathroom after midnight, I can’t make out details as well as I used to. It’s like a much thicker fog instead of a gradiated fade to darkness. But this is rarely a problem, just a slight inconvenience.
Same here, it’s harder to read in dim light and such, and small print is a problem, but I figure that’s more due to age than a side-effect of the lasik (I’m 45). I’ve resigned to using reading glasses and reading lamps when necessary, and bumping my computer display text to a slightly larger size.
One of the best things I’ve done for myself.
It took about an hour total in the office and 24 hours recovery. Easy Peasy. I have monovision. My procedure was done in 2007 and I’ve had to start using readers (sometimes) for the past three years. Also, I need eyedrops after sleeping a few hours.
I needed glasses since teenagerhood - being able to get rid of all the hassle of glasses was life changing.
I’ve personally heard of only one bad experience and that was third hand so…
Well - I had the procedure earlier today - that has to rank as one of the wierdest experiences ever.
I know this is way early in the recovery process - but I can see a definitie improvement in my vision and other than some mild discomfert - I’m very satisified with the results - even computer use seems sharper than it was (and I fully expect to still need readers).
time for more eye drops.
There’s been a tiny handful of expensive “optional” things that I’ve done to my body. Getting a replacement spinal disk in my neck instead of a fusion is one, and the other is LASIK.
I had it done at apparently the dawn of the age of good results - 2002, I think. I had both eyes done together and left the facility wearing sunglasses. When I got home, I took a nap and when I woke up and went to pee, I was like “WOW! It’s all turbulent and little drops along the way! FAR OUT, Man! :eek: