I got news for ya, kid. It’s not like needing reading glasses at 45 is that unusual.
I am nearsided, and I can focus in on things really close. I like that, and I’m not giving it up. I also don’t want pointy things near my eyes like that.
My sister has bad vision (legally blind) and the only way that she can really see anything decently is to get up really close to it (looks like she’s smelling it). Lasik would screw that up.
No thanks. I know it works for some people, but I don’t have a huge problems with glasses or contacts, so I’ll stick with those.
My only concern: My ophthalmologist has told me that I’m an excellent candidate for lasik. However,both him and his friend (who does the Lasik procedure) BOTH wear glasses!
Something to give one pause.
Did LASIK 3 years ago. Went from 20/300 to 20/20. No problems except minor eye dryness. Glad to be free of contacts and glasses as I enjoy swimming and other active, outdoor sports.
Do NOT do LASIK without proper due diligence with regard to the clinic, physician, equpment, and method.
I think the point is that you pay several thousand dollars and risk blindness or other vision problems, just to end up in reading glasses in your late 40s, same as if you’d never had LASIK in the first place.
Me too! Which is actually the prime reason I wouldn’t want to get Lasik. I don’t really need it!
Stop looking at us! 
Yeah, but you only need them for reading then. I need glasses to avoid being run over by a truck, which I’d have trouble distinguishing from the background without glasses. I squint at the big “E” on the top of the stereotypical eye chart. I have progressive bifocals in my glasses not because I need them to read, it’s to reduce the prescription in that part of the glasses to ease up the eye strain when I read.
It’s very important to note that no, it’s not gonna prevent the good old age-related aging and reading glasses later in life. Happens to the best of us.
I haven’t had Lasik done, btw. My prescription keeps changing, and I’m in my mid-30s, worn glasses since before age 10. Maybe it’ll stop worsening, eventually.
Oh yeah, and eyewitness does seem to be posting the boilerplate when these Lasik threads come around. Good to have a range of info on this important issue, but it’s also important to know that complications tend to be rare and minor when done by a reputable doctor. I fully sympathize with not wanting to screw with something surgically if you can avoid it.
Finally, my disclaimer so no one jumps on me - I do work for an ophthalmology department in a large medical center. We do offer Lasik here. I am not in any way associated with that section, and my pay in no way, shape, or form is related to the income they bring into this department. IANAD/N.
It’s quite possible that they’re not excellent candidates for Lasik, you know.
Okay, but the implication was that LASIK was somehow causing late adult onset farsightedness (I forget the technical term). This is not, typically, a function of the curvature of the cornea, but is rather a function of the lens’ inability to continue to focus. The lens is inside of the eyeball, not the surface. There is actually lens replacement surgery that one can get as well. These are for the most part two entirely separate issues. (Sorry to pick nits, fighting ignorance and all that)
That said, reading glasses and glasses for myopia/astigmatism, are in my mind two entirely separate issues. To me, at least, it was still well worth it.
You mean you’re AWAKE while they do it? Oh my god, that’s…aaahhh!!!
That’s what the valium is for. My understanding is that there are a number of surgeries/medical procedures that require the patient to be at least somewhat concious throughout. This is one of them. It’s really not that unpleasant, just a little weird.
I definitely couldn’t handle that. I have enough trouble holding still for the glaucoma test at the eye doctor’s… I flinch, and hard, if anything comes near my eyes.
That’s eerie. I could have written your post.
A couple of years ago (sorry, this will make everyone flinch), my cat stuck his claw in my eye. So I’m at the emergency room and the tech or nurse stands me twenty feet away from the eye chart and tells me to read it. I open my eyes (very difficult) and say, “There’s an E at the top. I remember that.” The tech gets really really annoyed and tells me that I’m not looking right at the chart.
I reply that I can’t even see the damned chart. My husband handed the tech my glasses. He took one look and says, “Oh,” and walks away.
I did finally have a year without vision deterioration, though. My last exam showed even a tiny improvement for the first time since I was six. Yay!
I had LASIK done exactly a year ago today. I’m ecstatic. I was seeing 20/400 in both eyes (if you can call that “seeing”) and now am 20/20.
Of course there’s a risk, as with any and all sugical procedures. But the risks are minimal and if you find a reputable surgeon and follow the post-op instructions, the odds of a complication becomes extrememly slim.
Now, the statistical fact sheet I was given before surgery stated that people have gone blind from LASIK gone awry (causing blindness) but none of those surgeries occured in the United States. I was told that by law (aka FDA regs) they have to alert you to the blindness risk even if only one person had gone blind.
Overall it is a safe procedure. But I can certainly understand your trepidation. It’s your eyes! I was reluctant at first, myself. But some words of advice to anyone considering getting it done, Do your research! Find a GOOD eye surgeon and follow all of the pre-op and post-op instructions.
Oh yeah, regarding the “haloing” described in the FDA site, I do have some haloing at night around lights. It’s barely noticable, I was used to it after the 3 week and for me, it’s a small price to pay for my 20/20 vision. I was told that people who have naturally large pupils (large when light is shone on them) have more haloing than small pupiled folk,.
Apparenly LASIK has not repaired my inability to hit “preview” before submitting error-laden posts. :smack:
They only really disconcerting thing to me about the operation was the puff of smoke and ensuing smell. Very brief, though.
Another bonus, you can deduct the cost off your income tax!
But needing reading glasses is almost normal for people 45 and older. A successful LASIK procedure saves you from needing bifocals, or, in my case, needing Coke-bottle glasses even to read, because I was so nearsighted that I literally couldn’t see past the tip of my nose without them.
I had my LASIK done about four years ago and have never regretted it. While I don’t have the halo/night vision problem, I do have a slight “ghost” image issue in my right eye. I barely notice it 99% of the time, and, in any case, it’s a small price to pay for not having to wear the glasses that were literally a half-inch thick. It’s nice to be able to navigate to the bathroom in the morning without groping for my glasses.
When I first recovered from the operation, I found I needed reading glasses for a few days, but was able to dispense with them later. I’m now pushing 47, BTW, so I don’t know how long that situation will last, but right now I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
Just a few weeks ago I dug out my last pair of glasses, and had them made into sunglasses. 
TheLadyLion had Lasik and she’s a textbook case of how well it can go. I’ve considered it but for a lot of reasons already stated I have decided the odds don’t appeal to me. My correction is mild enough I don’t wear glasses most of the time, even for some shooting, where I of course wear non-prescription protective glasses. I’m just now getting into reading glasses and was suprised at my last exam when my nearsightedness actually decreased slightly. I’ll consider the Intac option when it is approved.
Yes, it does tend to adversely impact your depth perception. It doesn’t entirely destroy it, but it won’t be as good as before. If you do any type of throwing/target practice type sport you might want to think twice before getting such “monovision”, as it is called.
Also - and this is very important - not everyone can adapt to monovision. Also important - if you are male you are at higher risk of having problems with it than a woman is.
Now for the good news - there IS a reversible way to try out monovision before you make it permanent. You can be fitted with either contacts or glasses that adjust one eye for near and one for far and try it for a couple months. If you can adjust, fine. If you can’t adjust, then at least you can reverse it.
I have a pilot friend who uses contacts to get monovision instead of wearing bifocals. He’s very happy with it, and the FAA was OK with it in his case. (He lost his medical after a heart attack, which had nothing to do with his eyes) So, again, for some people this is very, very good just as for some people the same thing is very, very bad. That’s why we’re called individuals.
I would not be a good candidate. My eyes continue to get worse and I was told you have to have some degree of stability in your prescription for x amount of time. I am also one of the big-pupiled folk. Or, to quote one of my optometrists, “You’ve got the biggest pupils I’ve ever seen!”
I get minor haloing now. Or could that mean I just need to get a new prescription?