Laser Eye Surgery. Whos done it?

[Druidx]

Lasik around 10 years ago. I started out around 20/200 in both eyes, ended up 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in the other. Expensive but worth it.

 

[PowerYoga]

Friend did it and has dry eyes and terrible night vision. No halos or sensitivity to light though.

 

[enis083]

I did it in 2007. I had really bad dry eyes for like 4-5 months. My eyes were bloodshot on bad days during the first few months. I was on Restasis for the dry eye during that time. The dry eye problem is pretty much gone. I was pretty blind before Lasik. Eyes are still functioning. I think I was 20/30 in both eyes after surgery. My only regret is not doing it sooner when my friends did it back in 2004.

 

[meister]

had lasik around 2003 or 4. best thing ever. get evaluated and understand the risks. only long term deal that I'm disappointed in is now I need reading glasses. (I'm 47).

had some halo's and ghosting for the first month, but that went away. Before the surgery I had excellent night vision. Now, it is only good or acceptable.

It is a trade off, but I'm overall happy with the decision.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I'd love to get it done, I'm so sick of glasses. Reflections all over the place depending on the room's lighting... no matter what anti glare I get, it happens. Ex: if a window or screen is behind me I'll be having to tilt my head in weird ways to avoid the irritating reflection. I notice this more than I ever did and it just irritates me. Also sick of constantly cleaning them, they seem to be a dust magnet.

The thought of no glasses would be so awesome. I'd be able to do so much more things, like going swimming, going in any situation where I get wet. Now, forget it, one single spec of water on the glasses just drives me up the wall and I'll be constantly trying to get it off.

I'm just so chicken about actually going through the proceedure though. Just the thought of someone playing in my eyes makes me cringe. I cannot do eye drops or anything like that, I can't imagine having the top layer sliced off etc... I don't care how much they freeze it. I would just fidget so much think it would ruin the surgery. If ever they come out with a way they can put you under I'd go for it.

Though I'm also scared something goes wrong where I end up with complications, such as something that would require me to have to use eye drops or worse, contacts (kinda defeats the whole purpose, considering I could get contacts now if I wanted to... but again can't imagine shoving stuff like that in my eyes.). My eyes are seriously watering right now just thinking about it. Either they put me under or give me tons of medication to mellow me out or something.

How long does the surgery typically last anyway? I just need to go in with the mentality that I'm only getting a root canal or something like that. Assuming it's not something that takes longer. I imagine there is a recovery period too, but tbh that worries me less, at least I can look forward to know it will heal and it's technically over..... provided nothing goes wrong.

My fear is also that I go through all of that and end up needing glasses again in 20-30 years from now.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

I'm going In for an evaluation and I will be doing this. Who has done it and how have your eyes been since?

Had lasik back in 2001. Vision during the day is ~30/20. Vision at night is the same, as long as I where glass with an AR coating. If I don't - I see starbursts from every light source. Not really complaining as I knew this would be a significant risk and overall I'm very happy with the results. Particularly as I was extremely nearsighted before the surgery.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Had lasik back in 2001. Vision during the day is ~30/20. Vision at night is the same, as long as I where glass with an AR coating. If I don't - I see starbursts from every light source. Not really complaining as I knew this would be a significant risk and overall I'm very happy with the results. Particularly as I was extremely nearsighted before the surgery.

Wait so you still have to wear glasses?

 

[labayds]

I'd love to get it done, I'm so sick of glasses. Reflections all over the place depending on the room's lighting... no matter what anti glare I get, it happens. Ex: if a window or screen is behind me I'll be having to tilt my head in weird ways to avoid the irritating reflection. I notice this more than I ever did and it just irritates me. Also sick of constantly cleaning them, they seem to be a dust magnet.

The thought of no glasses would be so awesome. I'd be able to do so much more things, like going swimming, going in any situation where I get wet. Now, forget it, one single spec of water on the glasses just drives me up the wall and I'll be constantly trying to get it off.

I'm just so chicken about actually going through the proceedure though. Just the thought of someone playing in my eyes makes me cringe. I cannot do eye drops or anything like that, I can't imagine having the top layer sliced off etc... I don't care how much they freeze it. I would just fidget so much think it would ruin the surgery. If ever they come out with a way they can put you under I'd go for it.

Though I'm also scared something goes wrong where I end up with complications, such as something that would require me to have to use eye drops or worse, contacts (kinda defeats the whole purpose, considering I could get contacts now if I wanted to... but again can't imagine shoving stuff like that in my eyes.). My eyes are seriously watering right now just thinking about it. Either they put me under or give me tons of medication to mellow me out or something.

How long does the surgery typically last anyway? I just need to go in with the mentality that I'm only getting a root canal or something like that. Assuming it's not something that takes longer. I imagine there is a recovery period too, but tbh that worries me less, at least I can look forward to know it will heal and it's technically over..... provided nothing goes wrong.

My fear is also that I go through all of that and end up needing glasses again in 20-30 years from now.

I just had it about a little more than a month ago. Granted, I probably live in a place that is on the other side of the world that you are probably on.

In my case, after lasik, I was required to do eye drops (antibiotic drops, anti inflammatory and fake tears). This may be a factor if you can't do eye drops. Take note that this will be required during the recovery period since you mentioned that you are not really concered that much about the recovery.

Before my surgery I wear glasses or contacts with prescriptions of -7.00 and -7.50 diopters (I am highly myopic). I could barely make out the giant E in the snellen chart.

Surgery was just something like 10 minutes per eye and pretty quick and mostly painless. The most disconcerting part really is that you will see mostly everything that is happening to your eye.

Right now about a month in, my right eye is close to perfect (just a bit of dryness, but near and far vision is just about perfect at 20/20). My left eye though has a bit of complication. Before the surgery, the doctor said that my left eye had a very tiny injury (most probably from my long term use of contacts, and I tend to "abuse" my use of it wearing it for 16 hours when I should just be wearing it for 8-12 hours a day). The doctor said that we can still do the surgery but there is a slightly elevated risk of my cornea lifting. As it turns out after the surgery my cornea lifted a bit which caused my left eye to be a bit astigmatic. It's not really that bad though, just like having contact lenses on since for my eyes, contact lenses cannot be used to correct my eyesight to 20/20. I'm still having regular checkups on my left eye to make sure it is healing properly but so far so good.

Just understand the risks and do a lot of research. For every surgery you take there are risks and rewards. Despite my complications with my left eye I'm very happy with my decision to do lasik.

Perhaps another advise I could give is even if you have an aversion to it, why don't you really try contacts first? once you get the hang of it, it is a lot better than glasses. No distortions and chromatic abberations. Besides, it might even make you less chicken about doing lasik since you will already be used to doing something on your eye.

Oh and some more additional info, doctor also advised me that on sunny and even some overcast days it is best that I wear sunglasses that provide UV protection. Since before I wear eyeglasses or contacts that already naturally have UV protection and right I'm no longer wearing those so I need to protect my eyes from UV since being highly myopic, I'm more prone to cataract. Also, lasik will not prevent the onset of me necesitating reading glasses in the future when I get older.

 

[TridenT]

I just had it about a little more than a month ago. Granted, I probably live in a place that is on the other side of the world that you are probably on.

In my case, after lasik, I was required to do eye drops (antibiotic drops, anti inflammatory and fake tears). This may be a factor if you can't do eye drops. Take note that this will be required during the recovery period since you mentioned that you are not really concered that much about the recovery.

Before my surgery I wear glasses or contacts with prescriptions of -7.00 and -7.50 diopters (I am highly myopic). I could barely make out the giant E in the snellen chart.

Surgery was just something like 10 minutes per eye and pretty quick and mostly painless. The most disconcerting part really is that you will see mostly everything that is happening to your eye.

Right now about a month in, my right eye is close to perfect (just a bit of dryness, but near and far vision is just about perfect at 20/20). My left eye though has a bit of complication. Before the surgery, the doctor said that my left eye had a very tiny injury (most probably from my long term use of contacts, and I tend to "abuse" my use of it wearing it for 16 hours when I should just be wearing it for 8-12 hours a day). The doctor said that we can still do the surgery but there is a slightly elevated risk of my cornea lifting. As it turns out after the surgery my cornea lifted a bit which caused my left eye to be a bit astigmatic. It's not really that bad though, just like having contact lenses on since for my eyes, contact lenses cannot be used to correct my eyesight to 20/20. I'm still having regular checkups on my left eye to make sure it is healing properly but so far so good.

Just understand the risks and do a lot of research. For every surgery you take there are risks and rewards. Despite my complications with my left eye I'm very happy with my decision to do lasik.

Perhaps another advise I could give is even if you have an aversion to it, why don't you really try contacts first? once you get the hang of it, it is a lot better than glasses. No distortions and chromatic abberations. Besides, it might even make you less chicken about doing lasik since you will already be used to doing something on your eye.

MINE

 

[OutHouse]

i had mine done about 4 years ago. i finally noticed, (yea i know) that the starburst i had is pretty much gone. my left eye is my worst both pre and post op, they redid my left eye 3 times and it helped a lot. for the first 2 years i thought i made a mistake but now, its the best thing. i wore glasses since i was 17 and HATED them!

 

[Wingznut]

I had Lasik done in January. My eyes were 90% better, but I still had some astigmatism remaining. Not horrible, but not perfect. I went back in August and had it done again. Now my distance vision is 20/15 and I am thrilled with it.

HOWEVER... What I am not thrilled with is my near/PC distance vision. I knew it would change, as my doctor told me a dozen times. I'm 45 years old, and most people of my age and older (even with perfect long distance vision) need reading glasses. I didn't before Lasik, because my nearsightedness corrected my near vision. Well, sort of... In reality, there was only a very limited space which was clear without glasses. But it's what I was used to.

With Lasik, I got perfect long distance distance vision in exchange for near distance. I definitely don't regret getting the procedure, but it is something I'll have to get used to.

 

[TallBill]

Had PRK in 2005, I already kind of forget that I wore glasses for like 12 years before that. My vision is better than 20/20 now and I have almost undetectable scarring. I'm 31 now.

 

[jaedaliu]

I was a bad candidate for LASIK. The microkeratome (blade) cut would not leave enough corneal thickness for LASIK. Intralase (laser) cut would, but there would not be enough corneal thickness left after the surgery for a touchup (if required.) Subsequent rule changes would have given me a chance at a touchup, but I decided against it.

So the surgeon suggested that I go for PRK. Which he described like playing golf for my poor vision. "We shoot for the hole on the first shot, but there's a good chance it won't go in, and you'll need subsequent surgery(s) to get it right." oh, and there's a 6-12 month period between surgeries for your eyes to heal and stabilize.

I'm waiting for my wife to finish her training, then will probably go for some type of corneal implant.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Wait so you still have to wear glasses?

Only at night. My prescription is almost nil. Just need the AR coating to cut the starbursts down.

Good tradeoff IMO. I could hardly see at all before the surgery. Now I see great during the day and pretty well at night too.

FWIW, I was not the best candidate for lasik back when I had it done. My pupils are abnormally large. Something like 11mm in diameter. At the time, lasik was ideal for people who had under 8mm pupils because that was the maximum beam waist of the laser. A new technology at the time (lidar vision) allowed the doc to "spot" the laser around on a >8mm pupil, allowing the doc to treat >8mm pupils, like mine. In some portion of the >8mm eye population however, the outer edge of the corner is reshaped slightly more/less than the center. In my case it was slightly less, so my cornea has a slight "dish" shape to it. Not a problem during the day because ambient light constricts my pupils to the point were the outside of my cornea doesn't affect my vision. But at night, my pupils dilate and the outside of my cornea comes into play and I see starbursts as a result. At least that's my take on why my vision is the way it is.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ahhh I see so the glasses are not so much to see as to get rid of starburst. That starburst goes away after a while though right? How would you describe that, is it like when you look at a bright light and you have tears in your eyes? I suppose that would be annoying but if I know it goes away after a while I could live with it. Sure beats reflections, and having to clean my glasses every 5 minutes because of random specs that get in them.

I think I'll have to man up and just go for an assessment and see if I'm a good candidate, and go from there. Or is it best to wait till I'm older? ex: do eyes continue to degrade over time, or does this put a stop to it? I don't want to be stuck with glasses again years from now if I do go.

Also there are two types that I'm aware of, the blade one (one that makes me cringe the most) and the one where the laser does all the work. Which one is typically better? I heard with the blade one you are at risk of losing that skin if you get into a car accident or anything with sudden impact, as it never heals completely. Is this true?

 

[ultimatebob]

Dupe.

 

[ultimatebob]

I had it done around 2008 to get my recurrent corneal erosion problem fixed.

Having the surgery is freaky as hell. I was awake during the procedure, and seeing this friggin thing coming at your EYE is spooky. It hurts like hell when the pain meds wear off, too.

The eye doctor said that my 20/20 vision in that eye would probably get worse, but it actually improved to 20/15 instead. Now it's back to where it was when I got the surgery, and my erosion problem is gone for now. They expect it to come back, though

 

[Imported]

Ahhh I see so the glasses are not so much to see as to get rid of starburst. That starburst goes away after a while though right? How would you describe that, is it like when you look at a bright light and you have tears in your eyes? I suppose that would be annoying but if I know it goes away after a while I could live with it. Sure beats reflections, and having to clean my glasses every 5 minutes because of random specs that get in them.

I think I'll have to man up and just go for an assessment and see if I'm a good candidate, and go from there. Or is it best to wait till I'm older? ex: do eyes continue to degrade over time, or does this put a stop to it? I don't want to be stuck with glasses again years from now if I do go.

Also there are two types that I'm aware of, the blade one (one that makes me cringe the most) and the one where the laser does all the work. Which one is typically better? I heard with the blade one you are at risk of losing that skin if you get into a car accident or anything with sudden impact, as it never heals completely. Is this true?

How old are you? I had mine done at 27. From what I understand there's a few methods but lasik creates the flap. PRK was advised by my doctor cause my cornea is a bit thin. He also mentioned those that do contact sports usually get PRK as it won't create a flap. He's done the eyes of a number of 49ers and he's on their staff so I trusted him when it came to that.

 

[rsutoratosu]

I done it in 2001, wife just got it 3 yr ago.. We both wear glasses and contacts before. its like the best thing ever.. no more glasses.. We both had 0 problems and had it done it at 2 different TLC chain

 

[OutHouse]

need reading glasses

me too, but not often mostly when its really small print or if im tired. as my eye doc said, "if we dont get you wen you are young, we will when you get old."

 

[Wingznut]

me too, but not often mostly when its really small print or if im tired. as my eye doc said, "if we dont get you wen you are young, we will when you get old."

How old are ya?

 

[OutHouse]

How old are ya?

turned 45 last week

 

[yuku]

I'd love to get it done, I'm so sick of glasses. Reflections all over the place depending on the room's lighting... no matter what anti glare I get, it happens. Ex: if a window or screen is behind me I'll be having to tilt my head in weird ways to avoid the irritating reflection. I notice this more than I ever did and it just irritates me. Also sick of constantly cleaning them, they seem to be a dust magnet.

The thought of no glasses would be so awesome. I'd be able to do so much more things, like going swimming, going in any situation where I get wet. Now, forget it, one single spec of water on the glasses just drives me up the wall and I'll be constantly trying to get it off.

I'm just so chicken about actually going through the proceedure though. Just the thought of someone playing in my eyes makes me cringe. I cannot do eye drops or anything like that, I can't imagine having the top layer sliced off etc... I don't care how much they freeze it. I would just fidget so much think it would ruin the surgery. If ever they come out with a way they can put you under I'd go for it.

Though I'm also scared something goes wrong where I end up with complications, such as something that would require me to have to use eye drops or worse, contacts (kinda defeats the whole purpose, considering I could get contacts now if I wanted to... but again can't imagine shoving stuff like that in my eyes.). My eyes are seriously watering right now just thinking about it. Either they put me under or give me tons of medication to mellow me out or something.

How long does the surgery typically last anyway? I just need to go in with the mentality that I'm only getting a root canal or something like that. Assuming it's not something that takes longer. I imagine there is a recovery period too, but tbh that worries me less, at least I can look forward to know it will heal and it's technically over..... provided nothing goes wrong.

My fear is also that I go through all of that and end up needing glasses again in 20-30 years from now.

I'm so sick of glasses and want to do eye surgery and i do not want to weay my thick glass when shoot the wedding photo . My concern is that some people say that woman should better not do the surgery before they turns out to be a mother. I also wonder why some doctor still wear glass. Anyway, the surgery exists some risks.

 

[yuku]

I done it in 2001, wife just got it 3 yr ago.. We both wear glasses and contacts before. its like the best thing ever.. no more glasses.. We both had 0 problems and had it done it at 2 different TLC chain

Since both you and your wife are near-sighted, how about your kid?

 

[PingviN]

Wanted to, but turned out my cornea is too thin for the existing technology