Lasik Surgery

[DC COBRA]

Thinking about having it done, any personal pros and cons stories? Also what was cost running to do both eyes?
Thanks Don

[kenny c]

Get it done. Wore glasses for 20+ years. Took a day or two to get adjusted and probably a month or two for my eyes to fully adjust.
Pros - get to wear sunglasses, can see better than 20/20, no squinting
Con - had it done 2 years ago and almost need reading glasses for stuff within 1 foot of my face. Example: I was putting a hook on fishing line this weekend, and had to hold the line and hook 2 foot away from my face to do it. Doctor told me this would happen over time.

[kingjason]

Had it done in 02, my close op vision just started deteriorating a few years ago. No regrets.

[juiceweezl]

Had it done in 02, my close op vision just started deteriorating a few years ago. No regrets.

My wife's story is like this. She'll be 46 this year and wore glasses or contacts until she had lasik. Funniest part of her deal/recovery. The first night she slept without gauze, she woke me up just after 2am ecstatic. I'm coming awake and scrambling for my piece thinking something's going down. She wanted to tell me she could read the alarm clock. She had never been able to do it that she could remember unless she slept with contacts in...

[93LXHORSE]

My wife's story is like this. She'll be 46 this year and wore glasses or contacts until she had lasik. Funniest part of her deal/recovery. The first night she slept without gauze, she woke me up just after 2am ecstatic. I'm coming awake and scrambling for my piece thinking something's going down. She wanted to tell me she could read the alarm clock. She had never been able to do it that she could remember unless she slept with contacts in...

Me too! I had mine done in 2005 and when I woke up the following morning and could see the alarm clock clearly.... I ran outside and took in the whole world in bewilderment... LOL. Best thing I ever did and vision is still perfect except for nearsightedness that comes with old age....

[beefed88]

Get it done. Fund your fsa then use that at least you get $2500 of it tax free. Mine was $3300 at key Whitman. I don't think I would pay for the 2 years free adjustments again.

[BP]

Same as others, had it 15+ years ago. My manager at the time had his done 6 months after me.

So my experience isn't as nice as others. I saw the normal fog right after surgery which was on a Thursday morning. Friday I took off work which was a good call because my vision didn't improve and then by Friday night I couldn't see anything but bright LEDs from my alarm clock and cable box. Just red and green colors, no shapes. Then my eyes started to burn and I called the clinic's emergency number that of course they didn't answer. Later that weekend my vision started to improve and the pain subsided.

If I remember right I ended up taking a couple of more days off work and didn't drive again until Wednesday but had to leave early for a follow up appointment. I worked half days that week since I didn't want to deal with traffic or driving into the sun after work.

So it was about two weeks before my vision stabilized and my left eye wasn't perfect but I never had it adjusted. Now I wear glasses when I drive but I'm completely functional without them other than I can't read street signs as well as I used to.

As for my manager he had lasik but ended up having to get one eye corrected with PRK afterward. No pain or anything but the second surgery was fairly expensive.

As for money I don't think it's gone up much. I paid $3600 for both eyes at Kleiman. The surgery itself wasn't too bad. I think they started cutting a little too soon as I did feel it and it's weird smelling your eyes burning.

I'd probably do it again though since my vision was pretty poor to start with. I needed glasses to read chalkboards in school for example and couldn't watch a movie without them. Now I literally just wear them when driving and really don't have to. I have a driver's license without the glasses requirement. I certainly wouldn't have had it before surgery.

[SS Junk]

Con - had it done 2 years ago and almost need reading glasses for stuff within 1 foot of my face. Example: I was putting a hook on fishing line this weekend, and had to hold the line and hook 2 foot away from my face to do it. Doctor told me this would happen over time.

Yeah lasik doesn't fix normal nearsightedness with age. They do have some procedure to make one eye near and the other far sighted so reading glasses aren't needed, and now they're coming out with synthetic cornea replacements which can be adjusted an infinite amount of times if needed.

[kingjason]

Yeah lasik doesn't fix normal nearsightedness with age. They do have some procedure to make one eye near and the other far sighted so reading glasses aren't needed, and now they're coming out with synthetic cornea replacements which can be adjusted an infinite amount of times if needed.

Mine was set up that way. First time I went to the movies I was like WTF one is is obviously stronger than the other.

Also I walked out of the room that day seeing well. Had super human eyesight for months then just great eyesight after that. All they are doing is cutting the eye and anticipating scar tissue growth that reshapes the eye. I think the Russians started experimenting first by making straight down slits in your eye with a scalpel!

[BP]

I think the Russians started experimenting first by making straight down slits in your eye with a scalpel!

That's Radial Keratotomy. There is also LASEK instead of LASIK where they don't actually cut a corneal flap. LASIK is by far the most popular surgery today though.

[Craizie]

I used to work with a guy that had cat eyes. He claimed he did so much acid in 'nam that it made them that way.

[JC316]

I've thought about it, but the risks are just too great for me. I have no power issues, but a gnarly astigmatism, which makes my vision weird. I can see fine, but the fine details are missing, best way I can describe it is VHS to Blu Ray.

The thought of halos, dry eyes, and that one in a million chance of blindness just isn't worth it to me. I can deal with glasses or contacts, or even just my normal vision. My aunt had it done, and she still needs glasses to pass the eye test for drivers license.

My dad had the lens implant with no issues, but he had cataracts from chemo, so it was a no choice type of deal.

[The King]

Yeah lasik doesn't fix normal nearsightedness with age. They do have some procedure to make one eye near and the other far sighted so reading glasses aren't needed, and now they're coming out with synthetic cornea replacements which can be adjusted an infinite amount of times if needed.

Monovision is what the Rx is called for contacts with one lens set for close up vision correction and the other for distance. I tried it and never liked it much, so instead I simply have both eyes corrected for distance and use readers for up close when wearing contacts, which is most of the day. Never really looked into having lasik, as I've always been able to tolerate contacts well and they do an excellent job of vision correction in my case.

[Venix]

Just got it done 2 weeks ago. It is super weird to not wear glasses. I would say the strangest part is waking up able to see and my eyes never getting to rest because they are always going.

[Sgt Beavis]

I had LASIK done back in 2004. I’ve been VERY happy with it. I went from 20/400 vision to just better than 20/20 and it stayed like that until about 3 years ago. Today I wear glasses again but my vision is still good enough that I can pass the vision test for driving.

Glasses always had a negative impact on my personality. I was constantly made fun of since the 3rd grade and many mistakenly thought I could be bullied, so I ended up in a lot of fights all the way through high school. Getting LASIK kinda got me out of my shell. I don’t think I would have had the confidence to work in a technical sales role, presenting in front of corp execs if I still originally had glasses..

Nice thing now, after more than a decade without glasses, having them again doesn’t bother me at all. I’m probably going to get another procedure done when I turn 50, next year, but I’m not in any rush. At this point having glasses is just a minor annoyance.

Thanks Dr Boothe