I wonder why optical insurances don’t offer it. If a lot of companies started offering it ,it might drop in price. Them the cost of glasses every year or so would be gone. That quickly eats up the cost of Lasek.
Looks like I should definitely check a few other places. Thanks for the info. I know there are lots of other doctors in Columbus who specialize in Lasik.
Oh, and my health insurance doesn’t cover any of it, which I think is stupid.
I spent about $4,000. Best. Money. Spent. Ever!
I tried to be too much of a tough guy and didn’t take a sedative. Boy, do I wish I had. After the surgery, it was like being in bright sunlight and unable to look away. But that only lasted an hour or so. After my nap, I got up and went to work like normal. I was never in any pain after that. None whatsoever.
I took the drops religiously and slept with the goggles for longer than they recommended, which forced the SO to tease me relentlessly. But that was all paranoia, not actual risk.
The worst part of the procedure was the slicing of the epithelium. They use suction to hold your eye still, and if you fight it, you’ll just strain your eye muscles. It’d be like trying to stop someone from uncurling your arm…safer to just let them do it than to tear your bicep. It’s not painful, it’s just really freaky. My second eye was much better because I relaxed that time. The actual laser part was undetectable. I just heard a clicking noise and smelled something burning. I couldn’t feel it at all.
Unlike most people, I hear, my vision didn’t improve immediately. It took 12-24 hours before I could really see well. I don’t know why, but it worked out eventually.
Clarity question about the close vision results - I currently can read and see close without any lenses, I only need correction for distance. If I were to get lasik-ek for distance, would that have any affect on my close vision?
I got my eyes zapped back in 2007. I was in a similar situation regarding pupil size–evidently, mine are freakishly large, and were right on the edge of what they’d consider for surgery. I do have some slight halo effects at night, but less than I had wearing contact lenses; I have no trouble driving at night or anything.
I didn’t take a sedative for the procedure, and I didn’t take any pain medication afterward, except for normal analgesics. My eyes were very sore the afternoon and night after the surgery, but the pain was mostly gone the next day. I was very light-sensitive for a few days, and everything looked weirdly luminescent (an effect of the light sensitivity combined with the milky residue from the steroid drops, I think).
I posted a very detailed account of the whole affair not long afterward; you might find it encouraging, since I consider it a very positive experience, overall.
I didn’t have any problems. YMMV, of course. Ask your doctor. Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
BTW, I think I paid ~$5000 for both eyes, but that was several years ago and I chose the best doctor I could find rather than the cheapest.
Do you do both eyes at one go? Or do you do one, and come back another day to do the other?
You can do it either way. I did both at once.
Hope things went well for the OP. I’m totally nearsighted, but I still can’t see my way clear to doing it.
http://www.locateadoc.com/articles/lasek-basics-1279.html This says 1700-1800 dollars for surgery. How come you guys spend so much.
We have a surgeon near us that advertises 200 an eye. Nobody’s vision qualifies for that price. It costs 2 to 4 K for everyone lured in by the price…
Some things you just don’t want to trust to the lowest bidder. 
It’s a wonderful, life-changing experince, and you’ll kick yourself for not doing it earlier.
Yes, there is some starring and halos at nite.
You folks who had LASIK done several years ago - are you maintaining 20/20 vision?
It’s been almost 10 years since my LASIK procedure. It worked great for me, and I got about 8 years of “perfect” vision. Then a couple of years ago my vision started to slip. I’m having to wear glasses to drive at night now, and the nearsightedness is slowly getting worse. My optometrist seems to think that it’s common for some nearsightedness to return after about 8 years.
I’m hoping my vision will never get as bad as it was before the surgery, though. I’m approaching the age where I will begin to need reading glasses, and I hear that mild myopia will actually help with that.
My worst side effect from the LASIK is slightly fuzzy vision in low light conditions.
They said that generally the average for the procedure is that the good eyesight lasts about 5 years. They also said they do not promise that the aging process would cease. My eyes didn’t need any glasses until about a year ago, and then only for reading. I am still very happy about my eyes and the Lasik.
Now, if they could just do something about that damned aging process…
No, no return to nearsightedness, but I had mine done right before my next script would have been bi-focals, so yes, now I need those cheap “cheaters” you buy at the drugstore.
I had it done in 2001. In my case, my nearsightedness was so bad that I had to wear my prescription glasses for reading; I couldn’t focus on text eight inches away from my face.
After the operation I had trouble focusing on text or a computer screen for a few days, and I went out and bought some readers; but this subsided after a few days. I still use reading glasses for very small things I need to look at close up, but almost never for actual reading. With ordinary stuff like books, newspapers, or the computer screen I’m fine without it.
I did have to go back to glasses eventually, but they’re no longer the coke-bottle/fish-eye lenses I was wearing before. Now it’s just a light prescription that almost looks like what they put on the eyeglass models’ faces for the commercials and other ads. I don’t look as good as the models, but that’s not the glasses’ fault. 
Husband had it done about 10 years ago as well and we bought him glasses this year for the first time since then. It’s an incredibly mild prescription but he’s still been back to the LASIK centre for an evaluation already - they’ve told him his eyes aren’t bad enough to operate on again yet.
Well, it’s been two days. Should we prepare for the eulogy just in case, a la the NY Times?
“kombatminipig was a well-respected Doper, though he was a bit dim sighted.”
Do note, if the lazers are attached to friggen sharks, be concerned.
I’ve had consistent 20/10 vision since I had it done. The doctor pointed out that the surgery does nothing to address the natural hardening of the lens that occurs in middle age - that’s why most people start to need reading glasses as they get older.