Anyone ever have laser vison correction?

[Clugnut]

I'd love to hear about anyone's experience with laser vision correction. Cost? Pain? How's it holding? For the price of my wife's contacts, and being able to pay for it with our HSA, I think in the long term it would be worth it.

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by Clugnut

I'd love to hear about anyone's experience with laser vision correction. Cost? Pain? How's it holding? For the price of my wife's contacts, and being able to pay for it with our HSA, I think in the long term it would be worth it.

I have never had it done. A guy I work with had it done about 2 yrs ago and is very happy he had it done. I was curious about it so I asked him about the same questions as you have. He said there was very little pain if any, he did have to make frequent use of eyedrops for awhile and his eyes were very sensitive to light for a few weeks (basically had to wear sunglasses whenever he went out regardless of how sunny it was) but other than that he said it was worth it. They basically did it on his lunch break too, very fast and easy considering what they are doing.

One thing to keep in mind and you probably know this already, they won't do it if your wife's eyes change regularly. My wife's eyes change almost yearly. Each time she goes in for a check up they need to strengthen her prescription, so we wait.

[JEFF4i]

We can rebuild him...

[Wi-Golfer]

Not to mention it may need to be redone at some future point and or it may not eliminate glasses entirely. I don't want anyone screwing with my eyes, how horrible would it be if during the procedure you hear the Dr utter "oops".

[farscape7]

i had it done in 2002. i live in portland or, and had it done in vancouver BC as i was sold on the fact that canadian lasik was more advanced than US approved machines. the type i had in 2002 was custom wave something which i have seen being advertised here in the us for about 2 years.

pain. yes there was a lot of pain as i did not take enough drugs. i soon corrected that problem.

results. i feel my eyes have just been getting better. in my opinion it takes at least 6 months for your eyes to heal and adjust from the operation. i mean that yes you may have 20.20 vision a day after the operation but your eyes just feel different to me at least they did

price. is very competitive all over. what i would of done different is find a person who had lasik at the place i plan as they offer great referral programs. ask around so maybe you can split that referral money.

price also depends on what machine you are on the $500 an eye is old tech vs the $1000 an eye. but both may provide the same results. there are alot of different machines and every doctor will tell you that their machine offers the best results so you really have to research what machine they got. many dr. have multiple machines

the intial consultation to see if you qualify is either free or reimbursed and it does not have to be done by the clinic that performs the lasik but it is double checked at the time of the operation.

i now understand they have machines that don't need to cut the eye open to make a flap.

good luck hope that helps. but your results may vary as they say.

ps stars or halo's. i had stars from bright objects at night but nothing i notice now and as a truck driver who drives nights for over 2 years it was a concern before i got the surgery.

[MCDavis]

Had it done in 1999, don't remember the cost now. I know insurance didn't cover it. On the day I had it done, my vision was the worst of all the patients that day (my contacts were in the 10 range if I remember correctly). No pain. I did take the drugs offered prior to the surgery due to nerves. My wife (the ex now) said I was in the room for literally 8 minutes to get both eyes done. She took me home and I went to bed with eye patches on both eyes...this was on a Friday afternoon. I did exactly what I was told in regard to how long to wear the patches, eye drops, etc. Got up around 9:00 the first night to eat and kiss my kids good night. The next morning we went for a follow up at the surgeon's office and he was very happy with the initial results (I drove). On Monday I drove to my regular eye doctor's office and had 20/20 and 20/15 vision. I then drove to the local Ford dealer and picked up a 99 Mustang GT convertible I'd ordered and drove it to the beach, with the top down, to spend a few days down there. I never had any light sensitivity, no pain, nothing. I did get the halo's and stars mentioned above, but I didn't notice them after a month or so.

Now, 10 years later, my vision has gotten worse. I was told up front that if I'm pre-disposed to wear lenses, the surgery wouldn't stop that. I'm in front of a computer screen a lot, and I work on blue prints a lot, so my eyes get a lot of strain. I got my license renewed the other day and although I passed, I had trouble with the eye test. When I play golf, sometimes I'll lose the ball as I'm watching it. But, overall I'm still about 20/25 and 20/30 according to my last eye checkup.

I'll probably have the surgery done again instead of going back to glasses or contacts.

Do it, you'll never regret it. But, do exactly what your surgeon tells you...Follow every instruction.

Good luck!

[SiberianDVM]

I'm still trying to work up the nerve. Every time I play in the summer with sweat rolling off my face onto my glasses, I say I'm gonna do it.

[limpalong]

"Legally blind" most of my life. 10.5 diopters of myopia and 4 cylinders of astigmytism. Work "coke bottle" glasses and could not find them if I took them off.

1998 had Lasik. Found an opthamologist who would do, what at that time, was on the edge of "experimental". Lasik on a Wednesday. No pain!!! Back for a quick checkup on Thursday. Drove 250 miles on Friday. Played golf on Saturday. And, have never looked back!!!

I'm now 62 years old. Find myself getting upset when I have to find my reading glasses for fine print. Then, I stop and understand how luckey I am to not be wearing the thick glasses for the past 11 years.

My wife is an optometrist assistant. Their office does Lasik follow up for a local opthamologist. Wife says less than 10% require enhancements.

Cost vs. payback depends on age. I don't know what the going rate is. When I had mine done, I could have bought a new pair of glasses each year for something like 15 years before breaking even. I did it more for the quality of life... not having to put up with the thick lenses. Now, writing this, I guess I'm getting close to seeing the breakeven time. If you're younger, the chance of return on investment is much greater.

Good luck!!!!

[N.V.M.]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

I'm still trying to work up the nerve. Every time I play in the summer with sweat rolling off my face onto my glasses, I say I'm gonna do it.

same, 'cept for me it's the rain i play in. my fix is a Greg Norman hat.

[xamilo]

I think its one of the most wonderful things someone has ever invented. Quality of life after surgery is absolutely amazing. Cost-Benefit I think its the best way to go. I haven't had it done, but I have had a lot of patients which have had it done who are happy like if they had been born again.

[DaveE]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

I'm still trying to work up the nerve. Every time I play in the summer with sweat rolling off my face onto my glasses, I say I'm gonna do it.

Can you switch to contacts? I finally tried them and they're so much better than glasses. Besides the lack of sweat on the glasses, contacts seem to bring everything into focus better.

I'm still working on my nerves regarding lasik.

[SiberianDVM]

Originally Posted by DaveE

Can you switch to contacts? I finally tried them and they're so much better than glasses. Besides the lack of sweat on the glasses, contacts seem to bring everything into focus better.

I'm still working on my nerves regarding lasik.

The only thing worse than the thought of Lasik is the thought of putting a hunk of plastic in my eye every day.

[SCGolfer]

I am considering it. I have pretty bad vision and have only been wearing contacts for a year or so. I don't see as well with contacts as I do with glasses but it is so much easier to play sports and stuff with them. I work on a computer and look at house blueprints all day so my eyes are ever changing. My doc wants me to wait until my vision settles but unless I change jobs I don't think it will. I am thinking I will have it done around 30.


Jason

[MCDavis]

Originally Posted by SCGolfer

I am considering it. I have pretty bad vision and have only been wearing contacts for a year or so. I don't see as well with contacts as I do with glasses but it is so much easier to play sports and stuff with them. I work on a computer and look at house blueprints all day so my eyes are ever changing. My doc wants me to wait until my vision settles but unless I change jobs I don't think it will. I am thinking I will have it done around 30.


Jason

Unless you quit your job and stop looking at porn...ah, Shot Talk, this is never going to change. Don't wait, do it while you're young. You'll probably get more years out of it that way.

I wish I'd done it earlier.

[zaphod]

Had it done 2 years ago. I was 20/80 with some astigmatism. Contacts were a pain with dirt , wind etc bothering me. Now I am 20/15 and LOVING IT. peripheral vision is great. Detail vision is very good. The recovery time is minimal. I had the process where the flap cut was also laser generated which leaves a very compact clean incision. Absolutely painless.

Would recommend if you are interested get a free consult to check the feasibility of the procedure. Do research.

For me there is ABSOLUTELY NO REGRETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be forewarned. The surgery does not address the close vision issues we 50 and over are burdened with. At 20/10 I still need reading glasses. 1.5 mag. The key is I do not need those pesky bifocals. A very uneasy compromise in my case. I just buy a mess of $2.99 cheapo reading glasses and spread them about my living space. HAPPY I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!