Lasik Surgery

[Erik]

I am getting tired of wearing glasses, not a vanity thing, but I've depended on these things to help me see for nearly 30 years.
Getting tired of paying $500 a year for new glasses/eye doctor...etc.

Has anyone had Lasik surgery??? It seems affordable, and supposedly the technology is fantastic. Recovery time of 1 day, seems pretty simple.

Good, bad...???

Thanks for the advice, in advance!!!

 

[corazon]

I'm in the same boat Erik. I have horrible eyes and would love to get lasik. Wouldn't it be so amazing to wake up in the morning and be able to see? Like you, I wonder about the pros and cons, I'm interested to see the response you get on this thread.

 

[Barbara L]

Someone at work had it done. She was happy with it. You will definitely want to check it out first, and choose a doctor based on success rates and not coupon deals.

Barbara

 

[ronjohn55]

I don't say this to swing anyone one way or the other, since it isn't really a valid sample of all eye centers, but when I go by the Henry Ford eye center around here (one of the places around town that does the Lasik) I can't help but notice that most of the staff is still wearing GLASSES....


John

 

[In the Kitchen]

observant

I don't say this to swing anyone one way or the other, since it isn't really a valid sample of all eye centers, but when I go by the Henry Ford eye center around here (one of the places around town that does the Lasik) I can't help but notice that most of the staff is still wearing GLASSES....


John

Ditto, John.

 

[Piccolina]

An aunt and a friend both had it done, and they're very happy with the results. Beyond that, sorry Erik, I don't have much insight to offer you here - best of luck if you go for it

 

[middie]

i know several people who've had it done and were very happy. it's something i'm thinking about doing myself.

 

[urmaniac13]

This is an idea I have been tossing around for a long time. Does anyone know if it fixes astigmatism as well though? Besides I am hopelessly near sighted, I also have bad astigmatism...

 

[corazon]

This is an idea I have been tossing around for a long time. Does anyone know if it fixes astigmatism as well though? Besides I am hopelessly near sighted, I also have bad astigmatism...

I'm that way too but I qualify as a good canidate for lasik.

 

[urmaniac13]

I'm that way too but I qualify as a good canidate for lasik.

that is good to know!! Maybe I will seriously look into this. I have been wearing contacts for 20 years but they can be such a pain in the you know what... especially when you have to go out on a windy day, or accidentally fall asleep, or during the hay fever season, or accidentally drop it when you are alone (imagine as it is already out of your eye so you are semi-blind, then you have to crawl all over the place for that tiny transparent almost invisible object!!)...
It would be so nice to be free of all these hassles for good!!

 

[corazon]

I know how you feel urmaniac! Those dusty, windy days are the worst! It sounds like your eyes are just as bad as mine! As my dad used to say, "I'm blind in one eye and can't see out the other."

 

[pdswife]

I've know a few people who've had it done...
but
for me... I'd never be brave enough. What if something went wrong?
I'd rather be a lot blurry than blind.

 

[kyles]

I have heard it can fix astigmatism, or at least additional laser surgery can. I think though that for my liking the risks are a little too high, and you only have one set of peepers. I'm sticking with my sexy spectacles!!! My optometrist is trying to convince me to go with contacts, but I am too dappy for contacts, I'd lose em, or forget they were in and go into the pool and lose em etc etc.

 

[purrfectlydevine]

My sister had it done several years ago. She went to someone based on qualification, not price. Her recovery was several days, but she is very happy with the results. If I had the money I would see if I would be a good candidate. I do have some astigmatism and because of my age I would still need reading glasses. I do have contacts, but haven't worn them in awhile because of the reading glasses thing and laziness. and I have a pair of glasses I really like. I have the kind of no-frame frame. The nose piece and temples are drilled into the lenses and there are no hinges and (a biggie for me, they weigh almost nothing) My glasses are no-line bifocals so have the advantage of being able to see at all distances. Like some of you, I would be considered legally blind with the vision I have before correction.

 

[Chopstix]

My opthalmologist wears eyeglasses. When I asked him why not have lasik, he said that this technology has not been around that long to rule out long term side effects. Also, he said that with lasik, your near-sightedness will get corrected but you'll end up needing reading glasses (whereas you didn't need them before). Seems that lasik will make you totally far-sighted. (Can anyone verify this?)

 

[purrfectlydevine]

I think it depends on the skill of the surgeon. My sister's surgeon undercorrected one eye to push back the time she would need reading glasses. She is 44 and still does not need reading glasses.

 

[BlueCat]

I haven't been here in a few days, so I missed this topic. I had lasik surgery in October of 2002. I was fairly highly myopic and had a good amount of astigmatism. I was at the higher end of what they felt they could correct at that time. I worked for ophthalmologists for several years prior to this and so trusted the doctor to do a good job, and he did. I won't say that there weren't side effects for awhile, like dry eyes and somewhat variable vision. I was barely 20/400 without correction and now I'm 20/20. I was 20/20 within days of the surgery. I'm 47 years old, and because of my age, I need drug store readers for close work, although with good light, I can read the paper with no trouble uncorrected. If you want to talk in more detail about it - like how much astigmatism they can correct or other details like how it feels to have the surgery, feel free to send me a private message. I'm very happy with the results, but I had a good doctor and reasonable expectations.

BC

 

[BlueCat]

My opthalmologist wears eyeglasses. When I asked him why not have lasik, he said that this technology has not been around that long to rule out long term side effects. Also, he said that with lasik, your near-sightedness will get corrected but you'll end up needing reading glasses (whereas you didn't need them before). Seems that lasik will make you totally far-sighted. (Can anyone verify this?)

To answer your question, when you get to a certain age, the lens in your eye, just like the rest of your body, just isn't as flexible as it used to be. When you're young, you can go from reading to distance vision easily, because your lens is flexible enough to accomodate. As you age, the lens can't do that anymore and you need readers if you never wore glasses, and bifocals (which is a reader built into your glasses) if you need glasses. So it's not lasik that makes you farsighted; it's age that makes you farsighted.

BC

 

[Chopstix]

BC,

I'm sure my opthalmologist knows about the effects of age on the eyes, as do most people. Maybe he meant that lasik will accelerate the need for reading glasses -- which is new info to me.

Chopstix

 

[BlueCat]

BC,

I'm sure my opthalmologist knows about the effects of age on the eyes, as do most people. Maybe he meant that lasik will accelerate the need for reading glasses -- which is new info to me.

Chopstix

That would be new info to me too. I've never heard anything like that. The closest thing to that news, as far as I know, is that generally nearsighted people need readers later in life than farsighted people, and also later in life than people who need no correction. Taking away their nearsightedness by doing lasik would put them into that second category, which may make them need their readers earlier. Maybe that's what he was saying??

BC