Let's talk Lasik

GraySaturday

So a while back on my plastic surgery thread, we got to the topic of Lasik surgery. LikeAnOcean and Releaselauren both recommended Dr. Horn in Oak Brook IL, and he also works out of the Office in the city that is very close to me. I have an appointment to price it out, and make sure I am a candidate blah blah on march 22nd. My insurance also has a discount plan that takes 30% off Lasik at this location.

So anyways!.... Who's gotten it? Do you love it? Have you had Problems? Was it horribly expensive? How was the recovery? Did you take time off for it?

Please share your experiences!

eyedclaar

Best money I ever spent. I could not, would not put those torture devices known as contacts in my eyes so I had to wear glasses. I live a very physically active life style so my glasses were always getting broke. Anyhoo, spent $3,500 out of pocket as insurance wouldn't cover it. How is getting your most important sense repaired at is is seriously disabled considered cosmetic??? Fuckers! As I was saying, great stuff. I walked away as one of their best success stories with 20/10 vision in both eyes. Within two days of the procedure I could see perfectly. In the 5 years since I had it, I may have experienced a 1% quality loss - no big deal.

The best part was the strong valium and the stench of my eyes cooking during the procedure. Smelt like burnt hair. Mmmm Mmmm good!

GraySaturday

eyedclaar wrote:

Best money I ever spent. I could not, would not put those torture devices known as contacts in my eyes so I had to wear glasses. I live a very physically active life style so my glasses were always getting broke. Anyhoo, spent $3,500 out of pocket as insurance wouldn't cover it. How is getting your most important sense repaired at is is seriously disabled considered cosmetic??? Fuckers! As I was saying, great stuff. I walked away as one of their best success stories with 20/10 vision in both eyes. Within two days of the procedure I could see perfectly. In the 5 years since I had it, I may have experienced a 1% quality loss - no big deal.

The best part was the strong valium and the stench of my eyes cooking during the procedure. Smelt like burnt hair. Mmmm Mmmm good!

3500 wow.. was that based on your prescription? My eyes have stopped tolerating contacts. They get so dried out the contacts feel like egg shells in my eyes. I am not a fan of glasses, and in the summer I am blinded by the sun, and with my glasses I can't wear my sunglasses..

I have 1000 so far towards it. I know they offer financing..

eyedclaar

GraySaturday wrote:

3500 wow.. was that based on your prescription? My eyes have stopped tolerating contacts. They get so dried out the contacts feel like egg shells in my eyes. I am not a fan of glasses, and in the summer I am blinded by the sun, and with my glasses I can't wear my sunglasses..

I have 1000 so far towards it. I know they offer financing..

Is $3,500 high or low? I think that is what it was, but I bet things would be cheaper now. Also, I live in Idaho where the cost of living, especially back then, is much lower than other places. I could be remembering wrong as my brain is more swiss-cheese than gray matter.

Drop The Leash 10

what!? sick of the "stripper glasses"?

my aunt had it done. worked like a charm

the wolf

Man i want to have this done, but i made the mistake of watchin on tv how they do it, and the poor fucker was awake!! not sure i could go through with it.

but hell, when i have the cash, im sure i would go through midevil surg. if i thought it would help.

know1

I wear contacts, and here's what keeps me from getting Lasik:

I see the eye doctor once a year and I can not remember the last time that my prescription did NOT change at least some.

So if you get the Lasik, won't you just end up needing corrective lenses again in a couple of years?

the wolf

know1 wrote:

I wear contacts, and here's what keeps me from getting Lasik:

I see the eye doctor once a year and I can not remember the last time that my prescription did NOT change at least some.

So if you get the Lasik, won't you just end up needing corrective lenses again in a couple of years?

good point, the only thing i can think of is that the lasik will actually correct what is wrong with you eye, so it wont need any help , at least for a while.

pjtradeking

My boss had it back in 2000 and he just had to get glasses and contacts again this past month. A pretty strong prescription as well. I am sure it is different for everyone, but I cant put drops in my eyes, let alone have someone do surgery on them. The ONLY way I could is if I was out during the procedure. I have just in the past couple of years had to start wearing glasses for reading and now pretty much all the time and I am 38.

mookie9999

pjtradeking wrote:

My boss had it back in 2000 and he just had to get glasses and contacts again this past month. A pretty strong prescription as well. I am sure it is different for everyone, but I cant put drops in my eyes, let alone have someone do surgery on them. The ONLY way I could is if I was out during the procedure. I have just in the past couple of years had to start wearing glasses for reading and now pretty much all the time and I am 38.

How old is your boss? I have to consider if it's worth it for a few years of not hassling with contacts. Hmm.

Fighting Hellfish

I had it in 2000. I went to a top notch Dr, Dr. Filatov* in NYC. He was one of the pioneers when it came to LASIK. It cost me $5000, but it has come down considerably. A few years ago, I heard an ad for his practice doing it for $500 per eye, only catch was that the surgery was not performed by the Dr. who did mine. When I went for the screening, I insisted Dr. Filatov perform my surgery, as I didn't want some rookie doing my eye surgery. Anyway, even though it cost $5000, I'm still very happy I had it done. My vision was 20/575 in my left eye, and 20/700 in my right eye. I couldn't read my alarm clock when it was 1 foot from my head. One of the good things about going to a reputable Dr., I was told at the screening that the best they could possibly get my right eye was 20/25, and may even need a 2nd procedure to get it right. Many Dr's would not have bothered to tell me that. The results were amazing. It took my right eye a full week to come around. I couldn't recommend the procedure more highly. One thing though, research the Dr. as much as you can. Ask him how long the procedure will take. Ask him how many procedures he does in an hour, and in a day. My procedure took about 15-20 minutes, beginning to end, and Dr. Filatov only did 2 per hour. Some Dr's are like mills. They see dozens of people a day, and make more mistakes.There's a guy in the NY area who used to advertise incessantly, Dr. Joseph Dello Russo. A quick search revealed that he had the most malpractice cases brought against him in the State of NY


*So, I wanted to get Dr. Filatov's name right, so i googled it, and found out that he died in 2003 at the age of 39. Sad

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9902E6DF1639F936A35752C1A9659C8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

AmentsChick

Oh man!! If I could have any surgery in the world...it would be this.

Drop The Leash 10

would you guys think of me different if i got breast implants????


why would i ask that?!?!

PJ_ROCKS

Drop The Leash 10 wrote:

would you guys think of me different is i got breast implants????


why would i ask that?!?!

hahahahahahaha

Ledbetterus

I've been thinking about Lasik for years now. I've worn glasses since 10th grade (I'm 26 now). I have really sensitive eyes, to light, air, and especially contacts. I was never able to get the damn things in my eyes, and when I did they would fall out.

My Aunt and Uncle got it about two years ago and so far they love the decision they made.. I recently got a new pair of specs though (because like someone said, I too have seen the procedure and I really need to psych myself up to get it done), so by the next time I need to get a check up or feel the need to, I might just opt for the surgery.

I've been thinking about getting one eye done at a time.. at least if something messes up I'll have one good eye.. and then I could wear a patch, like a pirate.. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH

Anyway it's like $500 / eye last I checked.

Wobbie

Love it!! I was damn near legally blind. Since I was so blind and had thin corneas, they used a laser rather than a scapel. They did one eye for near and one for far. You get used to it . I had it done 5-6 years ago. Maybe the scapel is not even an option anymore.

Didn't hurt that bad; recovery was basically the remainder of operation day and the next day.

THIS freaked me out....about a month later, I wasn't totally happy. I thought my eyes were healed. I was rubbing them and everything. Anyway, a month later they didn't use a scalpel or anything. They just grabbed the flap with tweezers, lifted it right up, blasted me a few more times with the laser and I was on my way.

Like someone else said...."best money I ever spent"

Wobbie

know1 wrote:

I wear contacts, and here's what keeps me from getting Lasik:

I see the eye doctor once a year and I can not remember the last time that my prescription did NOT change at least some.

So if you get the Lasik, won't you just end up needing corrective lenses again in a couple of years?

Hmmmm.... you would think so, but I've been fine for 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 years. Can't even remember how long it's been, but no problems.

Indian Summer

I'm going for a Lasik eye exam on March 21st. My mom, and sister had it done from the same doctor, and had only positive experiences. So I'm leaning towards having it done soon after that exam.

spat

dude do it! but like fighting hellfish said, make sure you research the doctor and make sure you're comfortable in the facility before you sign onto anything. i got it done about a year and a half ago, spent $5500. i know thats high, and i did see advertisements for less. but the reasons i chose to go to the doctor i did was, he has LOTS of experience, it was a brand new high tech facility and they made me feel very comfortable, plus when it comes to your eyes, i'd rather pay a little more and be sure i'm getting something good. they offered a two year interest free financing plan which was good also.

my perscription was like -675 in both eyes, and went to 20/20 in a matter of minutes! the whole procedure took like 15 minutes, and when he finished, everything was a little foggy, but CLEAR! he asked me what time it was and pointed to the clock, and without missing a beat i said 3:20 without even realizing i could see! i took the next day off work just to be on the safe side but really could have gone in. good luck to you and keep us updated! oh, and by the way... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/pjspat/Misc/Carlson-LASIK-Photo.jpg

Wobbie

Fighting Hellfish wrote:

Some Dr's are like mills. They see dozens of people a day, and make more mistakes.

I think my doctor would qualify as a "mill." I voiced my concerns to him and he asked me, "would you rather have this done by someone who has done 25,000 procedures (him) or by a doc who does 1-2 a week?" I think he had a point. No doubt, my doc is trying to retire earlier. He's in his 30s and already drives Porshes and Mercedes and lives in a McMansion. On the flip side, he works all the time. Saturdays and Sundays. He did great by be and I say more power to him.

A "mill" might = shitty doc, but it also might not.

inmyrvm

i had it done almost a year ago for about 2800. it is worth every penny. the next day when i woke up and could see without glasses was probably the 2nd best day of my life (when the steelers won the super bowl would be #1). i went through lasik plus. i guess they are a mill but the guy was good. i was there maybe 45 minutes the day i got it done. u don't feel a thing when they do it. i can't recommend it enough if u qualify for it. the best advice i can give is do not read up on it on the internet. the procedure has pretty much been perfected and the only thing you will see is the few times it hasn't gone great and will probably freak out. the risk is extremely low overall.

pjtradeking

mookie9999 wrote:

How old is your boss? I have to consider if it's worth it for a few years of not hassling with contacts. Hmm.

He will be 51 next month.

ReleasH

I researched Lasix a few years ago. I don't mind wearing contacts but it would be really nice not to run into my bathroom door in the morning because I can't see the damn thing. My uncle is an opthamologist who has been doing Lasix forever. He told me a couple things you have to consider:

*What your current prescription is and if it's been stable for several years. If I remember correctly, my prescription (-4.0 right and -3.5 left) was on the borderline of what they could correct.

*Size of your pupils. Mine are naturally gigantic and because of that I would run the risk of having a constant glare from the side

*Any systemic diseases that can affect your eyes i.e. diabetes, high blood pressure. Or if macular degeneration runs in your family

I ended up not getting it because of the risk of a less than perfect outcome. My career literally depends on my sight, so I'm stuck with contacts and glasses.

PJPixie

My sister had it done about a year ago and she says the first thing she noticed (aside from the 20/20 vision) was that the pain in her upper back went away because she wasn't *wincing* any more to focus on things.

I'd love to have it done as I'm blind as a bat but I'm also diabetic and not a candidate. I'm told if I did it my eyes would never heal :(

Fighting Hellfish

imalive wrote:

I think my doctor would qualify as a "mill." I voiced my concerns to him and he asked me, "would you rather have this done by someone who has done 25,000 procedures (him) or by a doc who does 1-2 a week?" I think he had a point. No doubt, my doc is trying to retire earlier. He's in his 30s and already drives Porshes and Mercedes and lives in a McMansion. On the flip side, he works all the time. Saturdays and Sundays. He did great by be and I say more power to him.

A "mill" might = shitty doc, but it also might not.

Personally, I would rather have it done by someone who does 2 per hour, and 15-20 per day, as opposed to someone who does dozens per day. The more a Dr. does, the more chance of a mistake. You also have to consider the "fatigue factor". At least that's how I see it. Glad it worked out for you, though.

Allie

Oh God. I know people that have had it done successfully. My eye doctor is a surgeon and he told me I would be a candidate for it but then I got skeptical like he was just saying that to make $ off me! I'm terribly near sighted.
but I am too squeamish. I'm afraid I'd be the one person that something would happen to and that's my eyes, I wouldn't be able to see. but that's just me....

rockpants

My ears are slightly off (one is a bit higher on my head than the other), so my glasses are often crooked and tend to need tightening about every 4-5 months, otherwise they slide down my nose. Plus, I need to wear special prescription safety glasses at work that are "one size fits all" and of course, I don't fit into their one size - I'm too small. Thus, these safety glasses don't provide proper protection since they don't fit me right, and they're heavy on my nose, which will aid and abet any incoming headache.

So, yeah. I definitely want it done. My grandfather had it done a long time ago and the results were outstanding.

Wobbie

rockpants wrote:

My ears are slightly off (one is a bit higher on my head than the other), so my glasses are often crooked and tend to need tightening about every 4-5 months, otherwise they slide down my nose. Plus, I need to wear special prescription safety glasses at work that are "one size fits all" and of course, I don't fit into their one size - I'm too small. Thus, these safety glasses don't provide proper protection since they don't fit me right, and they're heavy on my nose, which will aid and abet any incoming headache.

So, yeah. I definitely want it done. My grandfather had it done a long time ago and the results were outstanding.

Are they going to fix your ears while they're at it?

GraySaturday

So I had my appointment on saturday and I was a perfect candidate for the all laser custom surgery. Seems I have huge pupils and that means I need the most expensive, of course! ugh!!

Anyways, this wednesday evening I go in for the surgrey, so wish me luck!!

Hopefully wed/thursday I will be able to see!! yay!

LikeAnOcean

GraySaturday wrote:

So I had my appointment on saturday and I was a perfect candidate for the all laser custom surgery. Seems I have huge pupils and that means I need the most expensive, of course! ugh!!

Anyways, this wednesday evening I go in for the surgrey, so wish me luck!!

Hopefully wed/thursday I will be able to see!! yay!

It always ends up being the most expensive one. I think the cheaper ones are for very rare occasions. Good luck with the surgery! It's been a year next month for me and its the best thing I've ever done for myself.

spat

GraySaturday wrote:

So I had my appointment on saturday and I was a perfect candidate for the all laser custom surgery. Seems I have huge pupils and that means I need the most expensive, of course! ugh!!

Anyways, this wednesday evening I go in for the surgrey, so wish me luck!!

Hopefully wed/thursday I will be able to see!! yay!

hey thats great! congrats. i have the same problem as you with the huge pupils. did your doctor warn you about the halo's you'll get at night time around lights? like the street lights and stuff will have a huge glow around them. for me they were bigger than normal for about 6 full months, then it went down. not much you can do to avoid it, but be patient and it'll go away.