Lasik laser vision correction
I'm chicken. I'd love to be able to be without my glasses, but I'm deathly afraid of less than perfect results from the LASIK or any other procedure. What are the risks? How common are they? How well do you see afterwards? Do you still need reading glasses if you are "of a certain age"? Do they do a single eye for some people? What exactly are they doing? Is it reversible? Is it OK for diabetics? Does it have anything to do with cataracts? Thanks! |
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Ron wrote: OK,
I'm chicken. I'd love to be able to be without my glasses, but I'm deathly afraid of less than perfect results from the LASIK or any other procedure. What are the risks? How common are they? How well do you see afterwards? Do you still need reading glasses if you are "of a certain age"? Do they do a single eye for some people? What exactly are they doing? Is it reversible? Is it OK for diabetics? Does it have anything to do with cataracts? Thanks! I had Lasik done 10 years ago and the results have been wonderful. I was at 20/20 within a weeks time. I was near sited- with an astigmatism. The eye is lasered to form the right "shape" for 20/20 vision. The risks are like any "surgery" - small percentage will have issues, with the most common being " haze" or seeing double at night when looking straight ahead at car lights etc. They may do single eyes- depending on the need. In my case- my doctor did one eye slightly near sighted , so the need for reading glasses wouldn't be an issue for awhile. I thougth it would be awful to get used to- but- it was really never a problem. My eyes adjusted, and now , at 49, I still see fine , and don't have a need for reading glasses. As far as diabetes, I am not certain. I am sure there are precautions taken if you are a candidiate for the surgery. And I guess I never asked about it being reversable 
The recovery time is short- a few days and you are back to normal. Minimal pain...etc. Of course that was 10 years ago. I am sure they have perfected the procedure even more by now! 
All in all- I would say it is one of the best things I have ever done! No more contacts- no more fumbling around in the middle of the night for glasses- LOVE the results. |
| My mom and dad did the surgery before it was even named Lasik! lol
They had wonderful results! My mom was diabetic and I don't remember it being an issue. She was in her early 70's at the time. She healed at the "normal" rate. She did use reading glasses years later....I think it was more habit (years and years of wearing glasses) than out of any real necessity. No, it has nothing to do with cataracts. Reversible...that's not one I've ever heard.....after watching my mom's (yes,they took a video and gave it to her and I've watched medical shows on tv about it)...I'd have to say NO but if your results were less than perfect....wouldn't they be able to correct those with another prescription (back to glasses again!) The what exactly are they doing question....I bet there's a video online....  
I've thought of it...but I don't see (pun intended) being awake and still while someone does something to my eyes. I don't do well confined! lol Maybe I'll get brave soon. I've gone 3 years without new glasses and these are driving me batty. |
| I have done lots of research into Lasik, and over the years they have gotten better and better. Now you can get Lasik plus, which is specifically designed for each eye, to get the best results for each eye. They also do gaurantees, some for a year, some for life! Costs a little bit more, but I think it would be worth a couple hundred more to get the better surgery and a better gaurantee. As for being awake, I don't think it will be an issue, as the procedure only takes a couple of minutes, and the actual cutting takes mere seconds. My biggest problem is making sure I have someone to drive me home, as my hubby is always gone, lol. I think the weirdest part of the whole deal will be smelling my own flesh burn as they are cutting, but what a small price to pay to be able to see! And yes, some people eventually need reading glasses, as the need for those is caused by the muscles of your eye wearing out, instead of the shape of the eye being wrong. I will be sure to share my experience with everyone when I do get this procedure done. My biggest fear is being told I'm not a candidate for some reason. Then I will simply sit down and cry! |
| Yep, I'm not a good candidate for the procedure. I have a few things going against me...astigmatism, dry eyes, abnormal shape of cornea... |
| My sister had it and now she can't drive at night due to halos from the lights. Probably a good thing since she is not a very good driver even during the day. |
Ron wrote: I'd love to be able to be without my glasses, but I'm deathly afraid of less than perfect results from the LASIK or any other procedure.
I'm chicken too! My eyes are bad - nearsighted, astigmatism - but I try to avoid unnecessary medical procedures in fear of complications. Maybe someday... |
| Ooooh I would LOVE to have that done. I just got back from my contact lens check up and that orange stuff they put in was really stingy. He said I'm wearing my lenses too much but my glasses give me such a headache (I think thats because I have a big nose) and they are not the right prescription anymore either. It would be great not to have all the hassle and expense of lenses anymore, it would save so much money! Over here, it pays for itself in 3 years so it's definately worth it.
The thought of smelling my own skin burning, well, I've got tattoos so no probs there! I think you will wonder why you didn't have it done sooner. LOL I've just sold it to myself, why didn't I have it done sooner?  |
| Ron I had surgery on both my eyes earlier this year. It is great!!!!!!
I have 20/20 but need reading glasses. It was not painful at all and when they took the eye patch off I could not beleave the colors I was seeing and the distance. My insurance paid for it all. DO IT |
| I had it done about 8 years ago. A friend of mine worked for a eye Dr. in Florida (when I lived there).
We were avid racquetball players back then tournaments and all.( Boy, was I in shape then ) ......Anyway she would tell me if I could see the ball (ha-ha) I could play better.... 
The Dr. she worked for was going to do a article for a medical magazines on the differences of PRK and LASIX. LASIX was very new then so Guess who decided to be the guinea pig ! 
My left eye was done PRK and took 3 weeks to fully heal. I was soooo freaked out with how they did it. (Hold on to your lunch Ron  ) They scraped the top layer of my eye off( I don't know the technical name for it) but remember you are awake and watching (of course..yuck).
I had to wear the fly eye looking patch for weeks to stop anything from touching my eye lid since if it did, it could rub against my eye and damage it. It felt like sand was in my eye for the longest time but it healed great ! Now it was time to do the other eye with LASIX. What a difference. The Dr. just cut around the eye made a flap and fixed my eye.The flap was put back in place and WHAM I could see! As I was leaving I could already see! 
I did the article with the Dr. in the spring of 2000. Believe it or not the eye that was done PRK way had better vision in the long run! I don't think the difference was that much though to make me go through the shaving of my eye again..Yuck! But the LAZIX was easy and a God sent for me ! I can honestly say I would do it again in a second, it was soooo worth it. My eyes were very dry for the 1st year or so but drops at night worked great to help that. Now the only problem is 8 years later I need reading glasses.. (Shhhh don't tell anyone but I think that has to do with age.......) 
Antoinette |
| im a chicken too...you can cut me anywhere but dont mess with the eyes..... |
| I'm seriously thinking about it, too. At my last exam, my doctor told me I'm a very good candidate for Lasix and Lasix Plus. My prescription is pretty low - sometimes I don't even wear my contacts on the week-ends, just use my glasses if I want to read something.
She suggested I consider doing Lasix for the distance eye, and Lasix Plus for the reading eye. To make sure I could adjust to that, they would give me special contacts for a few weeks emulating the one eye close/one eye distance before determining if I can/want to do it. So i'm mulling it over in my brain. Thing is, I want to wait until January so I can put the extra money needed in my medical flexible spending account. Unfortunately, since this is considered elective surgery, my insurance won't pay for it. We'll "see" . . . |
| Do you think we all could get a group discount? lol Another perk of membership at oes.org. |
| Great for all of you.
I'm not a candidate at all. Dr. said they could insert a lens like they do after cataract surgery. (sometimes called reversible Lasix) I'll wait for cataracts to form up so insurance will pay, |
Stacy wrote: Yep, I'm not a good candidate for the procedure. I have a few things going against me...astigmatism, dry eyes, abnormal shape of cornea...
I thought I wasn't a candidate, far sighted, astigmatism, dry eyes. But I decided to go in for an evaluation anyway. The doctor said now worries. 
I scheduled the procedure the following day. The entire process took 45 minutes from arrival to departure. Most of the time is spent waiting for the Valum to kick in. Less than 10 minutes under the laser. I didn't have any pain during the procedure, just a weird pressure. It is a little freaky when the pressure changes and everything goes black , but it's just a couple seconds. There was a tiny smell when the laser was on, but it was more like ozone instead of flesh. On my way home we stopped at Home Depot. Even with the protective plastic eye covers, I could read a label on a jar:!: 
I have mono vision, right eye near, left eye far, that way I don't have to wear glasses at all. I don't have night time halos. Within a month, I was accustom to the mono and my depth perception is 100%(I didn't back the car into the garage that entire month  )
My three month check up was last week. My far distance is 20/15, near 20/20. The only thing you must remember is be faithful about using eye drops and keeping the eye moist while healing. It was expensive, $2500, but WELL WORTH every cent, especially since new glasses were running around $350 every 18 months. Most of the doctors are offering no interest 24 month financing. Kind of takes the up front sting out. Stacy, ask your doctor to prescribe restasis. 4-6 month treatment and the dry eye problem will disappear. Before using it, I couldn’t walk the dog in cold weather without taking several tissues. The neighbors thought I walked the dog just so I could get out of the house and cry.  |
| What are these ads I'm seeing for $400 per eye? |
Ron wrote: What are these ads I'm seeing for $400 per eye?
Wish I knew, maybe they use the machine that's due for a tune up. I know astigmatism adds to the bottom line. |
| Ron,
I had Lasik done six years ago. Unfortunately, I am the one bad outcome. The surgery started to fail about three years ago, and now I am back to glasses. I had every side effect going, though, so I think I was a bad candidate, and ended up with all the side effects. I had halos around objects, dry eyes, and night driving is still horrible. The only plus when we drive down to a Red Sox game now, no one ever wants me to drive home
I am a fool enough to have gone and been re-evaluated, and they say they can re-do my eyes. The time without the glasses was wonderful side effects and all, that I am considering it. I'd say check it out, just don't go to a $400/eye place- who is the person that needs only one eye done? |
Ron wrote: What are these ads I'm seeing for $400 per eye?
I believe Dr. Nick from The Simpsons performs the procedure. |
| One of our local optomtrists had it done by someone he refers his patients to, so the guy did it for free. And the three re-dos. He loves it.
My s-i-l had it done last Fall. It didn't go well and she can no longer wear contacts. She hates her glasses. Even after the surgery, your eyes will go through normal changes due to aging, so the inital correction will need touch ups through the years. |
im sticking with my contacts, especially after hearing that Dr. Nick does the surgery....he's a ''specialist'' right  |
| I think I'll stick with the glasses
My optometrist is one of the guys who refers patients for the procedure and does many of the followups. He says, "maybe one day" His wife has similar "eye" issues that I have and she hasn't had the best outcome. Due to the dryness and itchy eyes, she was on Prednisone for several months and is really bad during hay fever time (which seems like every season here in Chicago). |
| I've been wanting to do this too but have just been a big chicken.
I was told a few years ago that the cheaper places reuse something in the procedure. Not sure if that is correct. The person had said they reused I think it was a blade? But I thought it was a laser so I'm not sure what she meant. All I know is make sure you find the best dr in town. Someone I know had cataracts removed and then AK at the same time and said it was the best thing he ever did. He had a normal complication a few years later, went in for a little zap and is in perfect condition. Apparently with the surgery he had I think they put in some kind of lense and it is common for a certain complication a few years out that is easily remedied. |
| Today I booked myself in for Lasik surgery. Greg has always said he would pay for it for me, I went for a consultation day before yesterday and they said I am suitable so I decided to take the plunge. It's in 6 weeks time. |
| I am waiting for my surgeon to have it done on himself. |
| I had the RK surgery done on both of my eyes about 16 years ago. I now have to have my left eye "tweeked." I went to the eye dr the other day and he told me there are many new changes for people like me. I was so excited. He did say my left eye, which is the worse is starting to have a catarac forming...the good news is he advise me to have the catarac removed and it would take care of the vision problem and should be covered by insurance. woo hoo!
At the time I had the RK surgery done, my vision was on the fence. One dr refused to do it and I found another that did a great job. I love not wearing glasses. I wear reading glasses, but that is because of age. Soooo soon I will be looking into "tweeking" my eyes. lol PS. The dr told me I have very beautiful eyes..lol...that my eye color is the most asked about color for contacts. I thought that was kinda funny.... Good luck Ron! |
| I had PRK surgery. I planned to get Lasik although I found out on the day of surgery that PRK would work out better (it was cheaper than Lasik too). I found a couple of things to keep in mind....
1. If you have dry eyes DO NOT get Lasik. Typicaly Lasik does cause some sort of dry eyes after the surgery although it usually goes away. If you have dry eyes to start, don't get Lasik. PRK is more forgiving although it still isn't great for dry eyes. I never realized that I have dry eyes until I visited with my current doctor. He has been treating my dry eyes and things got better although it is something that will always need work and never get cured. 2. Lasik is good except you have to be very careful because if you get hit in the eye, your cornea is quite a bit more sensitive. The cornea is actually cut to create a flap. Imagine like a door opening into a room. It is connected partly (like where the hinges of a door are located) then has to heal back to the eye when it is placed back down (like when the door is closed). THe cornea does heal although it only heals around the edges of the "flap." It never heals under the flap, only around the edges. This can be a problem if you ever get hit in the eye because the cornea flap can move and detach and cause extreme pain and of course more medical procedures in the future. PRK does not create a flap. The "etching" is done to the outside of the cornea and does take longer to heal although the results in the end are the same. The cornea isn't indestructible although not nearly as fragile as if Lasik was done. If you do get Lasik, be sure that it is a totally bladeless procedure. In the "good ol days" doctors used an acutal blade to create the flap. Today is should be done with a laser. Some docs still use blades although lasers of course are more exact and reduce the chance of error. Remember it's your eyes. If you aren't willing to go the the absolute best doctor and pay for the best, you shouldn't get the procedure. Money isn't always everything although you have to keep in mind that you pay for the quality that you receive. The doctor I go to in Jacksonville, FL is probably one of the best around. He is amazing. He truly wants you to get the best vision possible. He also does all of the surgery for the Jax Jaguars! I went to a Lasik Plus location and I didn't get the surgery there because I learned that they will do surgery on anything with eyeballs! They don't care about the patients or the quality of their services. I know that may not be all locations but the one I went to (before I actually got my surgery was horrible). PRK no longer required you to wear eye patches although you do have to wear a "contact lens bandage" for about 2 weeks. The bandage doesn't come out. I feel like I am rambling although I have quite a bit of information about laser surgery. I don't see 20/20 but that is because I have very dry eyes. I knew my vision wouldn't be exactly perfect although it is so much better than what I have. I am currently at about 20/25. Do you homework and do your research on doctors. Be sure that you consider PRK and Lasik. Remember PRK is the original surgery and Lasik is the later one. Lasik still has some questionable points that have been smoothed out with PRK. |
| I had my first lasik, both eyes March 2007. In August 2007, I had my right eye done alittle more. I was shooting for distance vision in my right and reading vision in my left *mono vision*. I had my right eye touched up again the past March 2008. Perfect for me now. And with MonoVision, you don't need reading glasses |
| Thank you ARTabone, your'e not rambling The information they have given me is quite substantial and I can choose form 5 procedures, from Lasik upwards in terms of latest technology and of course expense. I am a little concerned about this flap, but feel it is a small price to pay to be able to see again.
Mony and Laci's Mommy did you have to pay for the subsequent procedures? This place say if it needs doing again it is covered with the initial cost. To be honest, there is so much info and alot of post op check-ups I wish I had all this when I had my rhinoplasty! Obviously that was under general anasthetic and I stayed overnight, but they didn't give me any info and there was only 1 post op check up to remove the bandaging and I was dismayed with the results but they wouldn't do anything.
I feel quite well looked after with these people at the moment. |
| The office visists are a huge part of the procedure. Also check into your insurance's coverage or agreements with other eye companies. I have BCBS and with my plan they work with TruVision. I did get a discount from the Dr's office fro the procedure because it was with TruVision. As a part of the package I got 6 months of office visits included in the original price. I don't know if all Dr's do that but it was included in mine. The girl at the desk said that all Dr's are different and some of the packages are different. IF you ahve a copay each time you visit the office for your check ups and they aren't covered under the procedure, it can get quite costly.
I also paid using a flexible spending account. If you have one, it might be worth it to dump the money in and pay because the money isn't taxed. I had about $4000 total taken out of my checks through the following year(pre-tax, so it also reduces your taxible income at the end of the year). If you have the cash to pay out of pocket, of course this wouldn't apply although you may still want to for the tax purpose. But anyways, my school district (I'm a teacher) puts all of the money into my FSA right away and I was able to get the surgery and I never even noticed the money missing from my pay check over the next year. Actually, I mentioned that was going to get Lasik and I changed to PRK so the price dropped by about $1200. I then had $1200 to spend on medical expenses. THe problem was that I never (rarely) get sick. Heck, if I bought $1200 of cough medicine to use up the money, I would probably get arrested because the police would think I have a meth lab going. Anyways, I actually hurt my knee from running quite some time ago. I went to an orthopedic surgeon and mentioned that he could write a prescription for an elliptical machine for me. I tool the Rx and bought a commerical grade Precor elliptical (with my leftover eye-surgery money). It actually worked out quite well for me. I know you probably don't care about the elliptical part of the story but seriously, look into using an FSA if your employer offers one. IT has quite a few benefits for eye surgery. OH and I forgot to tell you...seriously think about the procedure. I have dry eyes and I am fighting it right now. My day consists of 1. Restasis in the morning 2. Light steroid (temporary) 3. Thera Tear Nutrition (Omega pill by mouth) 4. Refresh Plus drops - about 4-10 times a day 5. Optive drops - 2-3 times a day 6. Systane - only if I want to replace the drops for #4 or #5 7. Washing my eyes (around them) with Ocu-Soft 8. Light steriod - in the evening 9. Restasis - in the evening 10. Warm compresses with a moist washcloth It's a process right now but my Dr. has been doing all that he can and wants me to get the best vision possible. I wouldn't say that my situation is routine by any means but if you have dry eyes at all (be very careful) |
| I know alot of people have had it done with good results but I have also seen alot of patients with bad results. I would NEVER have it done purely for cosmetic reasons. There are cases in which eye sight is deteriorating so badly that it really does save your sight but simply to get out of wearing glasses is not a risk I would be willing to take.
I have a good friend who has completely lost the sight in one eye and has very poor sight in the other as a result of complications, an aunt who went through all kinds of difficulties post op and still has to wear glasses and have heard some real horror stories about the procedure. The hospital I work at stopped oding the procedure because of the frequency of compoication, and we have a "world class" eye surgeon there. To me it just isn't worth risking your eye sight for the sake of vanity. I do understand that there are some vision problems for which the suregery is first line treatment but not many. The person with diabetes also runs the added risk of impaired healing. Just my opinion... |
| ARTabone when did you have your surgery? I'm worried about the dry eyes thing. I have been prescribed moisture eye drops by my doc because dry eyes is a part of Sjogrens' (and I made a huge fuss about having all the meds I could possibly get at the time) but I only use them about once every couple of weeks. I did tell the laser eye people I am using these but they didn't even ask how often. I think I might go back for a re-evaluation |
| I got my surgery in October, 2007. (7 months ago) If they aren't too concerned about your dry eyes and you are on drops for it, I would consider getting a second opinion. Like I listed above, it seems that my life revolves around drops, drops, then more drops. |
| Ron,
Check into the situation with diabetics. One of our local radio ads about the procedure (I think it's the lasik) warns that since the proceedure needs an eye that will heal well, someone with diabetes is not a good candidate. |
| Definitely get a few opinions about diabetics. I do know that my husband's grandfather got Lasik and he was a diabetic although I don't know if he had any complications due to the diabetes. |
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