Has anyone had corrective eye surgery done? (LASIK, INTRALASE, PRK, etc.)

[frankfuster]

Basically I decided to go have a complete free evaluation at one of these omglazergunzpewpewpew centers and they said I was a "more than optimal candidate" for lasik surgery. This particular center only does the basic lasik with microkeratome cutting blade and the more advanced "custom vue" wavefront assisted lasik. I qualify for both. I obviously sprung for the "custom" one. I'm scheduled for Oct. 12th. The total surgery cost is $1400 since my health insurance covers part of it because of my high level of myopia:
OD: -4.75 - 1.00x025

OS: -5.50 - 1.00x175

So when I got home I realized I sorta rushed this a bit without doing much research besides the typical wiki article and such. And I came upon this forum:http://www.lasikflap.com/forum/index.php"]Lasik Flap[/URL]

Needless to say I almost shyte my pants. I had no idea so much could go wrong. Anyways, one option that is mentioned that is apparently much safer than the others is the PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) procedure. Since most of the issues surrounding LASIk stem form the fact that they have to cut a flap in your cornea and apparently, this does not really heal or seal up completely when cut and when it does heal somewhat, it only has about 8% of the strength it had before. The PRK procedure does not involve cutting the cornea but rather thinning it via some chemical (like lacquer thinner I guess), and since the cells of the cornea can completely regenerate, the structural integrity of the cornea is retained. So, in my opinion I believe PRK is the best of both worlds.

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone has had any sort of corrective eye surgery done and what your experiences have been.

 

[Reckoner]

Text

 

[Throckmorton]

I wouldn't fvck with my eyes like that, but that's just me. You only get one pair of eyes.

 

[jlee]

I was told that the flap healed to 90% percent of the original strength within a few months.

I've thought about it as well, but I'm mainly concerned about potential eye trauma causing more damage than it would otherwise..maybe I'll just get contacts..

 

[Capt Caveman]

Do a search. There was a pretty lengthy thread by someone else here who had it done.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Hi everybody, I'm Dr Nick!

 

[Reckoner]

I had custom lasik done. My vision isn't as strong as it was with contacts, but I'm 20/20. I still suffer from dryness 8 months post-op, and it may never go away. Overall, it was worth it. Don't discount the cost of eye drops - they're fucking expensive.

 

[xdreadpiratedoug]

I had it done - honestly, it's bad ass and totally worth it. I'm now 15/20, just over 6 months out - it's so much nicer not having to wake up and put on your glasses to see the other side of the room.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I had the waveform type done almost 3 years ago and highly recommend it.

Getting the flap cut during the process is pretty freaky. They put this Clockwork Orange device in to crank your eyelids open and then center a vacuum device on your eyeball that precisely cuts the flap. Once they flip the flap just stare at the red dot. It's a relatively painless and a fairly short process.

If you tend to be a person who heals quickly from cuts and bruises you should have no problem. After I had it done I went home and kept my eyes closed for 3 hours as the doctor directed. When I opened my eyes my vision was unbelievably crisp and clear. A week later the eye doctor said she could barely see the flap incision even at 10X mag.

My wife had it done as well over the same weekend. She didn't heal quite as quickly and had a problem with dry eyes for almost a year but no longer has any issues.

 

[Throckmorton]

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
I had the waveform type done almost 3 years ago and highly recommend it.

Getting the flap cut during the process is pretty freaky. They put this Clockwork Orange device in to crank your eyelids open and then center a vacuum device on your eyeball that precisely cuts the flap. Once they flip the flap just stare at the red dot. It's a relatively painless and a fairly short process.

If you tend to be a person who heals quickly from cuts and bruises you should have no problem. After I had it done I went home and kept my eyes closed for 3 hours as the doctor directed. When I opened my eyes my vision was unbelievably crisp and clear. A week later the eye doctor said she could barely see the flap incision even at 10X mag.

My wife had it done as well over the same weekend. She didn't heal quite as quickly and had a problem with dry eyes for almost a year but no longer has any issues.

What happens if you move your eye? They don't hold it in place?

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton

Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
I had the waveform type done almost 3 years ago and highly recommend it.

Getting the flap cut during the process is pretty freaky. They put this Clockwork Orange device in to crank your eyelids open and then center a vacuum device on your eyeball that precisely cuts the flap. Once they flip the flap just stare at the red dot. It's a relatively painless and a fairly short process.

If you tend to be a person who heals quickly from cuts and bruises you should have no problem. After I had it done I went home and kept my eyes closed for 3 hours as the doctor directed. When I opened my eyes my vision was unbelievably crisp and clear. A week later the eye doctor said she could barely see the flap incision even at 10X mag.

My wife had it done as well over the same weekend. She didn't heal quite as quickly and had a problem with dry eyes for almost a year but no longer has any issues.

What happens if you move your eye? They don't hold it in place?

Nope, they don't hold your eyes in place and your eyes do move a small amount naturally during the procedure. Those small movements are tracked and compensated for by the LASIK equipment. If you do move the eye doctor will yell at you to keep staring at the red dot.

For those who are nervous types they should offer you Valium during pre-procedure prep to keep you mellow during the surgery. I didn't find it necessary though. Besides a small amount of discomfort, and not being able to blink for about 20 minutes, it's really not that bad.

 

[JasonK]

Brother and Mom had it done few years ago, they even give them the entire tape of the surgery!

 

[Mustangrrl]

I had Lasik about 2 years ago and HIGHLY recommend it. Even with contacts, my eyesight was horrible. I had astigmatism and really awful depth percepton in my right eye.

My left eye took 5 seconds, the right took 13. Immediately after the surgery, I had PERFECT vision. The doctor said my eyes would sting for a couple of days... they were slightly uncomfortable for maybe 20 minutes, tops. I never had halos or anything weird, but did notice stop lights and tail lights did look a tiny bit pixelated for about a week, but only when I consciously focused on them.

I have had perfect vision ever since, and only had slightly dry eyes for about 3 days afterward, but that was probably because I was staring in awe at everything and forgot to blink.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: JasonK
Brother and Mom had it done few years ago, they even give them the entire tape of the surgery!

hey jasonk, im jasonk tooo... noticed the JK at the end of my name lolz

i had it done too, and its a miracle if you ask me. i had the flap cut. my eyes get dry every once in a while, but they did that before the surgery too so I dont even blame the surgery for that. i didnt get quite 20/20 but its soooo much better than before i dont care.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Had LASIK with IntraLase and VISX CustomVue hours ago

 

[frankfuster]

So basically, that forum where everyone says LASIk is evil and will fuc up your life are perhaps exaggerating the things that can go wrong. I fell a bit more confident knowing the whole flap cutting thing ain't as bad as it sounds. But now I'll definitely try to get a surgeon that uses the LASER to cut the flap instead of the microkeratome.

 

[Bateluer]

I had it done initially last Feb, with very good results. I'll be going in again for an enhancement on 5 Oct.


Edit - Artificial tears are your friend.

 

[Geocentricity]

YALTELT coming soon? (yet another long-term effects of lasik)

 

[KK]

I'm glad that there are programs that help the vision impaired folks. Definitely look into what will be good for you when you lose all sight.

j/k I had mine done a couple years ago, and I have no issues(dry eyes,halos).

 

[Auryg]

I had customvue done one year ago now. I had just turned 18. It was great.

One eye is like 20/10 and the other is around 20/20. No dryness. Go for it.

I get halos, but they aren't any worse than the ones you get with contacts.