LASIK surgery

PearlJam24

Has anyone here had or considered LASIK surgery? I'm thinking about having it done but am a little nervous about any complications or side effects. I'd like to hear other peoples experience or thoughts on it before making my final decision. I have a consultation next week with my eye doctor and already have a few questions lined up for him.

LikeAnOcean

I had it done 4 years ago.. It was THE best money I've ever spent. I was pretty much legally blind before and have had 20/20 vision ever since the procedure.

It was quick and painless.. in and out of the room in 10 minutes, about 40 seconds each eye.

I won't lie, I was scared shitless, but it was waaay more comfortable than going to the dentist.



You'll see starbursts from street lights at night for a few weeks, but other than that, the foginess you'll experience after the procedure goes away in a few hours. Your eyes will feel dry for a few months too.

KF283313

It is TOTALLY worth it. I just had it done in February and it's amazing. I think my Rx was 20/20,000 or something before, REALLY bad. After surgery (the next morning, literally) I had 20/15! You def. need to follow instructions for recovery. Worst part was when the meds for procedure wore off and before I went to sleep via Advil PM. If you get that Advil (or Tylenol?)PM in you right away, you just nap away the worst of it- about 4 hours. You wake up bugged out that it happened, but it's awesome. Make sure you do your homework, if you are in the NJ/PA area I can recommend a practice that's awesome.

Good luck!
Do it! You won't regret it at all!!

*(Dry eyes and starbursts diminish overtime and they are so not a big deal in the long run. And for sure you will need sunglasses as lights are sensitive in the first week)

LikeAnOcean

KF283313 wrote:

It is TOTALLY worth it. I just had it done in February and it's amazing. I think my Rx was 20/20,000 or something before, REALLY bad. After surgery (the next morning, literally) I had 20/15! You def. need to follow instructions for recovery. Worst part was when the meds for procedure wore off and before I went to sleep via Advil PM. If you get that Advil (or Tylenol?)PM in you right away, you just nap away the worst of it- about 4 hours. You wake up bugged out that it happened, but it's awesome. Make sure you do your homework, if you are in the NJ/PA area I can recommend a practice that's awesome.

Good luck!
Do it! You won't regret it at all!!

*(Dry eyes and starbursts diminish overtime and they are so not a big deal in the long run. And for sure you will need sunglasses as lights are sensitive in the first week)

Yeah, I had mine done early in the day, so there was no way I was going to sleep. Tylenol PM gives me insomnia anyways.. I just listened to the Pearl Jam catalog for a few hours with my eyes shut.

davidtrios

just got lasik almost a week ago and am very happy with it.
however, my right eye is almost completely red. dr said it's no big deal but it looks bad.
does anyone know how long that can last?

Indifference71

Davidtrios wrote:

just got lasik almost a week ago and am very happy with it.
however, my right eye is almost completely red. dr said it's no big deal but it looks bad.
does anyone know how long that can last?

A guy that I work with had it done recently and his eyes were pretty red/bloodshot for a couple weeks. It gradually faded away after that...

davidtrios

Indifference71 wrote:

Davidtrios wrote:

just got lasik almost a week ago and am very happy with it.
however, my right eye is almost completely red. dr said it's no big deal but it looks bad.
does anyone know how long that can last?

A guy that I work with had it done recently and his eyes were pretty red/bloodshot for a couple weeks. It gradually faded away after that...

okay, that makes me feel better thanks

Indifference71

Davidtrios wrote:

okay, that makes me feel better thanks

Good luck w/ everything! I'm pretty damn blind myself. I'm hoping to get lasik sometime in 2013.

The Rock

I had the Wave-Front LASIK surgery in July 2009. I agree with others, it's the BEST money I've ever spent.

I had glasses since I was 10 years old, and gradually my eyes just got worse and worse until I couldn't see a damn thing. The optician told me I had utterly terrible vision and that laser eye surgery wouldn't do me any favours (I'm pretty sure he was trying to merely keep my custom and continue getting my money).

I decided to go for a consultation, and then chose the newest treatment available, the "state of the art" treatment, because the other basic stuff wouldn't have been beneficial due to my unusually shaped corneas. I wanted to have the best vision possible, so I had to go for the more expensive one.

They put two drops of anasthesia in each eye and within 5 minutes my eyes were sleepy.
They popped some rubber cap type things in my eyes to keep them open, and they told me to just focus on the bright colours that I could see. They zapped each eye three times and that was that.

As soon as I sat up, I could see better already but it was slightly grey and foggy. The nurses told me that once the eye drops wore off I'd feel some discomfort. I'll warn you, it hurt. And I mean HURT. I'd never felt discomfort like it, and for the whole trip home I wanted to pull my eyes out.

I had to lie in total darkness for about 10 hours and my dad came in every 4 hours and popped some drops in my eyes.

When I woke the next morning, I could pretty much see perfect and although there was a slight irritation in my eyes it wasn't painful. My eyes were dark red though and stayed that way for 2 weeks. It was frustrating because I started my new job two days after the surgery and everyone was looking at me weird because I looked kinda evil.

It's 2 and a half years later and I'm 26 and I can see perfectly. Best thing I ever did, my confidence level improved greatly and I can happily wear sunglasses too!

pineapplesandwaves.

Gob wrote:

I had it done 4 years ago.. It was THE best money I've ever spent. I was pretty much legally blind before and have had 20/20 vision ever since the procedure.

My sister-in-law, two aunts, and a friend have had it done and they all say the exact same thing - best money they've spent.

Idris

I had LASIK done a little over 10 years ago, I started wearing glasses at around 8/9 yrs old and started wearing contacts in my teens.

A year after Lasik I noticed a blur at times, from the side of my eyes. My Vision was good, but the blur on the side had me a bit worried. I saw a specialist who said it was an epithelial disruption, the corneal flap was not put back on correctly, kinda overlapped/not put on straight or whatever the case was.

He said an option was to have another surgery to put it back correctly. Or just live with the results. I chose to live with it as I only saw the blur at certain times with my eyes in certain directions. Like if I was a batter in baseball, right hand bat, my left eye to the pitcher, right at the bottom left of my left eye would be a weird blur.

Funny enough, the blur ended up going away in time. After it was gone I had my eyes checked again and they said everything looked perfect!

As far as my eyesight goes, it varies but I average 20/20.

I'm glad I had it done and happy with the results to this day.

AC41750

I had LASIK done about 4 years ago after a lifetime of wearing glasses and contacts and I wish I would have done it sooner!
The procedure was painless and relatively quick and I would do it again and recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat.
Good luck!

davidtrios

for the last few months, ive experienced bouts of migraines and blurriness just in my left eye. My lasik agreement allows me unlimited eye exams within a year of the procedure. so, i went a few weeks ago and the dr said everything looked good. he saw some dryness and recommended i use artificial tears 6-8 times a day for a week then slowly using less and less...

for the last few days, the blurriness has been back. im nervous. should i see an opthamologist?

ComeToTX

I had it done 7 years ago and I'm with the others here that it's the best money spent. My doc gave me some Valium for the nerves and I was golden. The worst part for me was all the eye drops afterward.

dcfaithful

Good thread - I became a wearer of glasses 3 years ago at the age of 21. A strange adjustment for sure.

I dont' mind glasses/contacts, but I sure do miss the days of not wearing either andd I have been thinking about lasik hard lately.

Davidtrios, I hope everything works out for you....

Snakeduck

As a lot of people have said, best $ I ever spent. Seriously. Within 48 hours I was totally healed and good to go. Wound up with 20/10 in both eyes, so my vision is incredible. Plus, you get to smell your eyeballs cooking... like burning hair. Mmmmm, mmmmm.

Black Diamond

As you get older, just realize you are still going to need reading glasses... doesn't fix that...

Snakeduck

Black Diamond wrote:

As you get older, just realize you are still going to need reading glasses... doesn't fix that...

There is an easier solution that most Americans have already figured out - just stop reading.

drmrkelley

I'm an optometrist and I say if your glasses/contacts are bothering you then go for it. Complications are incredibly minimal with the newer systems they use and even halos at night and dryness complaints have gone down drastically over the last few years. As someone said earlier, you will still need reading glasses in your 40s. Discuss things with your optometrist and/or surgeon and he will put your mind at ease. There are a few tests that will need to be done to determine if traditional Lasik is right for you. There is also Lasek and PRK which are similar procedures but they don't actually use a blade to lift a flap on your cornea like traditional Lasik does, usually resulting in less pain and dryness in the long run (but with longer recovery times).

hedonist

Snakeduck wrote:

Plus, you get to smell your eyeballs cooking... like burning hair. Mmmmm, mmmmm.

OK, I'm out! Eyeball stuff gives me the willies.

Plus I have this fear that RIGHT when they're about to get going, there's an earthquake.

(for the record - I am, by nature, not a paranoid person)

LloydXmas

My initial exam is december 1st. Hopefully I qualify