Lasik eye surgery anyone?

[DubbalinGirl]

I just tried to find it, but I vaguely recall a news item in the last year or so that one of the people involved in "inventing" Lasik is now back-pedalling on how good it actually is. I did a Google news search and couldn't find it though. Does anyone remember what I'm talking about? I think this may have been it.

I know three people personally and one famous person (Adam Clayton, bassist for U2) who have had it done. All of them now have nightblindness and cannot drive at night. I believe Kathy Griffin has also had a really bad experience with it. That's plenty of anecdotal evidence for me to stay happy with my glasses and contacts. Despite the number of positives I hear, any chance that it'll leave me worse off isn't worth it to me.

[Choupette]

I find these responses interesting. My ophthalmologist still tells me there is not enough long term data and that if a family member were to ask him he would not recommend it in general. I have slight astigmatism and am severely myopic, (natural focus about 1 inch from my eyeball), and have always been told I am a very poor candidate for the procedure and would likely always need corrective lenses regardless. so I figure, what is the point of fooling around with irreversible surgery with unknown long-term results? I have very dry eyes and have not been successful at wearing contacts for much of anything but outdoor, non-driving activities.

If you don't mind me asking, why are you a poor candidate? Is it because of dry eyes alone?

I have dry eyes too and I am in the same situation regarding contacts. It took several years, 4 optometrists and two ophtalmologists before I could understand why I had so much eye strain and pain. It was "only" because of dryness. I had already decided that I was not a good candidate. If it is so hard to feel right and get the prescription right, I would never get operated on my eyes even if I was paid to do so.

[Carolla5501]

I did it... I had a very good expereince. My MD did warn me "when you turn 45 you will need reading glasses" He NAILED that. So now I am back to one contact.

I still have no regrets

I never had a "halo" effect.

That said I would NOT go to a "Lasik" center. Find a good doctor with a practice who does a lot of these.

[professordeb]

I spoke with my eye doctor and he told me that I am not a good candidate for getting my vision corrected via laser for the same reason I can no longer wear contacts - my eyes are just too dry and I'd have to be adding drops often. In addition I'd probably still have to wear some sort of corrective glasses for close/middle distance. Regardless, it would seem that I'm not getting it done ever. BTW, my eyes began to seriously dry out around the age of 40 - less than five years after I had my children. My eye doctor did suggest that my lack of eye moisture was a combination of age and childbearing. I really miss wearing my contacts. {{{sigh}}}

[Meredith]

I have dry eyes too . . . I had already decided that I was not a good candidate. If it is so hard to feel right and get the prescription right, I would never get operated on my eyes even if I was paid to do so.

I would not have the surgery for the same reason. Those who do not have dry eyes have no idea how difficult it is to obtain a good prescription. :nightmare:

As I aged, my near vision seems to have improved, something that would not have happened if I had decided on the surgery, my ophthalmologist notes smugly.

[flyingsit]

I had LASIK 12 years ago and it was the best $$$ I ever spent. I have had no problems whatsoever of any sort. My husband had it 6 months later; he had a follow-up procedure about two years ago because he was getting a little bit of blurriness in one eye.

When I was thinking of having it done, I happened to meet three people who'd been to the same surgeon, so I went to him for the initial consultation (and he did both of our procedures). It turned out that he, at that time, had done more than 10,000 procedures, the most of any surgeon on the East Coast. The year after we had ours done, our surgeon did Tiger Woods' eyes, and has worked on quite a lot of professional athletes over the years.

I wanted a doctor with tons of experience so that if something did happen to go wrong, it would probably be something he'd seen and dealt with before. I didn't want to be a guinea pig!

[mashenka82]

I had LASIK done on May 1, 2009 (yes I remember the date ), and I'm completely happy with the experience. Make sure you find a good doctor though - ie one that you trust. I went to a LASIK center and a doctor with a private practice, and ended up going with the private practice doctor because I felt like he was more attentive and aware of 'my case'. When I went to the LASIK center, and asked about complications and stuff (since we're talking about my eyes here!!), he told me not to worry because "I've done thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands..." (I'm not exagerating here). And this did not make me feel better because even with all his experience he was essentially dismissing my worries and telling me I was part of a conveyor belt. The other doctor, on the other hand, mentioned that he'd done thousands of surgeries but understood that wouldn't make me feel any better, and given MY eyes and MY history, I was unlikely to have complications and walked me through the entire process.

I would try and get a referral through friends for a trustworthy doctor, but also go see a few and see if they have something to say about your eyes and your history specifically. Find one you are comfortable with and who looks at your eyes and talks about what your measurements and your history mean in terms of the results you can expect!

As for my experience, I was really really nervous, but the procedure was super quick! My eyes were no longer dry after about a week or two, and I had to actually remind myself to use the drops! The only thing that I have now is a slight case of halos. It's nothing big and nothing that gets in the way, and quite honestly I didn't even know I had it or that it was a side-effect until another friend of mine told me that she had it and explained what it was. So in another words, if I had it all to do again, I'd get LASIK in a heartbeat!! Best $$ I ever spent!

[Choupette]

I would not have the surgery for the same reason. Those who do not have dry eyes have no idea how difficult it is to obtain a good prescription. :nightmare:

Wow, and I had never met anyone else with this problem (and seemingly none of the profesionnals I saw either except for the last one!). I suppose those who have dry eyes but a prescription that isn't strong aren't as affected.

Thanks to all who shared their problems with dry eyes. I wouldn't have gone for the operation since I had a feeling it wouldn't be a good idea, but at least now I understand why a little better.

[Mozart]

I wish I could have this but my eye doctor says my vision is too bad (not as bad as yours PDilemma but still severe: R:-7.50, L: -10.75.. coke bottle glasses for sure, especially on the left side) In general, how much can they fix your vision?

[PDilemma]

I wish I could have this but my eye doctor says my vision is too bad (not as bad as yours PDilemma but still severe: R:-7.50, L: -10.75.. coke bottle glasses for sure, especially on the left side) In general, how much can they fix your vision?

I was told five to six diopters. And there is some speculation that side effects might be more likely with higher correction. It is only speculation as there is not enough data about it all.

Then there is the question of what happens with cataracts and other age-related eye problems after Lasik.

My vision could be corrected, at best, 3 or 4 diopters by Lasik as my nearsightedness is caused in part by retinal degeneration. And Lasik, contrary to what a post implied here, does not treat the retina. It reshapes the cornea. My mother has had two laser surgeries on her retinas. It is much more complicated and requires much more preparation, skill on the doctor's part, and recovery time for your sight. And it is not done for vision correction.

[Anita18]

I wish I could have this but my eye doctor says my vision is too bad (not as bad as yours PDilemma but still severe: R:-7.50, L: -10.75.. coke bottle glasses for sure, especially on the left side) In general, how much can they fix your vision?

That's about how bad my vision is. I considered Lasik for a while but I never had the money for it. Or rather, I have the money for it but my savings would take a beating! My eyes are dry too, couldn't wear contacts.

My glasses don't bother me much, and if I take up skiing regularly (or surfing) I'd consider Lasik again, because having glasses for those activities is a serious pain. But I'm boring so glasses aren't a bother for me. High-index lenses are $$$ but they're actually quite thin. But I buy glasses once every 5 years so splurging on them isn't a huge deal.

[Evilynn]

I wish I could have this but my eye doctor says my vision is too bad (not as bad as yours PDilemma but still severe: R:-7.50, L: -10.75.. coke bottle glasses for sure, especially on the left side) In general, how much can they fix your vision?

I had ICL surgery 2 years ago, because I was considered severely myopic (-7D and -1.25 astigmatism in one eye and -3.75D and -2.25 astigmatism in the other), LASIK wasn't an option, since too much of my cornea would be shaved off for the doctors to be completely comfortable with the idea. LASEK/ELSA was a possibility, but the -2.25 astigmatism meant I wasn't really a candidate for that either. ICL surgery is more expensive and while the side effects are usually a lot fewer some of them are also more severe. I almost wasn't myopic enough in my right eye to qualify (I think they do -3D and down with the type of lens I got), so ICL is definitely geared towards us coke bottle lens-types.

My ophthalmologist opted for inserting a normal (not toric) lens in my left eye and an a toric lens in my right, while placing the incision in a way that would still alleviate the astigmatism in my left eye (making cuts in your cornea is one way of surgically dealing with astigmatism, if a bit old school). I now have 20/15 vision in my left eye and 20/20 in my right. It was expensive, but totally worth it for me. I couldn't really wear contact lenses anymore and my glasses cost a mint anyway because of the astigmatism and degree of myopia, and the idea of having to get reading glasses as I get older doesn't bother me much.

[aliceanne]

I thought I read in several places that the effects of Lasik only last for 15 years. So if you are young you can reconsider when you get to the point where you need reading glasses.

Like the other commenters I know several people both young and middle-aged who have had it done and they are all happy with it.

I wore contacts until my late forties then the proverbial problem with reading set in. I tried monovision (one eye corrected for near-sightedness, the other for far-sightedness) but it never worked for me. I then switched to the gradual lense glasses (same as bifocals but you can't see it).
I've been fine with that since.

An older co-worker had monovision Lasik done and he was happy with it, but I didn't want to risk monvision Lasik after my experience with contacts.

[Veronika]

I'm not eligible for Lasik either, as both of my eyes are in the -12 range (I was told at one point that it's not advise for anyone beyond a -10). Even if I were able to get it, I would not because it hasn't been around that long and I'd worry about the long term effects of the surgery.

I have considered the introocular lens option, but I'm just going wait until I'm older to get that done. I may have to get cataract surgery at some point, and they can just fix things while they are in there.

[Skate Talker]

I am -12.5 in my good eye.... 'nuff said.

[Veronika]

My condolences!!!

[PDilemma]

I am -12.5 in my good eye.... 'nuff said.

And that, my friends, is horrible eyesight.

Do you have any underlying cause or just general myopia?

[Ozzisk8tr]

From what I'v e been reading you can only get lasik done once. What about different costs around the world? I know in Oz it's $7000 for both eyes and in Thailand it's $2000 for both eyes. (I know there's that whole thing about the hospitals in a lesser developed country but I've seen them there and they are amazing). What is the cost like in the States, what about Europe?

[mashenka82]

I don't know about whether you can do it once or more, though I know that there are people who get it done and then if their eyes falter again, they get it redone after a couple of years, so I guess you can do mild corrections?

As for cost, it varies. I paid $4000 for both my eyes in Chicago. It varies a bit by geography in the US, though the range is about $3K-$5K from what I've heard from friends.

[restful urchin]

I looked into having it done about 2 years ago and was turned down at two different places. I am severly myoptic. My correction, like a poster a couple above me, is -10 and -11. Both laser centers after exam said, that there is not enough corneal thickness to operate on. It would be unsafe. I asked about having my vision even partially restored, down to a -6 or so. ( Hey to me -6 sounds wonderful!!!) Alas, no can do. Again too dangerous to mess with my cornea.
It was suggested that I look into lens implants. I did briefly as this is what is done for very high corrections. Well at that time it was about $5000.00 per eye! Ack!!! And a much longer recovery time etc. I figured I have no issues with my contacts which are easy to wear. I have glasses for when I'm around home or whatever.
I figure I'll check back into the laser eye stuff in another 5 or so years to see what, if any, improvemnts have been made for extremely thin corneas and high corrections.