lasik, yea or nea?

[brianmanahan]

so i just noticed that my company insurance will cover some of a lasik surgery, so the max out of pocket is 1200$ per eye. i have had glasses all my life but at times i have really REALLY wanted to be able to see without them (and i hate contacts).

has anyone here had lasik, or had a loved one who had it, and based on your experience should i or should i not get lasik?

 

[Bateluer]

I had LASIK in 2007, don't regret it for a moment. But, I did have some side effects, namely dry eyes and starbursts around bright lights in the dark. I understand more recent techniques lessen or eliminate those entirely, as my sister had LASIK last year without the the dry eyes or starbursts.

I swear, I've spent more in Refresh Plus eye drops than the surgery did.

 

[gotsmack]

just get one eye done to see what the effects are on you.

 

[Bateluer]

just get one eye done to see what the effects are on you.

Thats dumb. During the interviews and tests, you'll know nearly exactly how successful the surgery will be.

 

[Mr. Pedantic]

Probably. Lasik is the same as any other surgery, there are always side effects, and with the eye some of the side effects can be quite debilitating. Fortunately, they're quite rare, but there are websites all over the internet created by people who have had bad experiences with the surgery.

But if you're looking for anecdotes, I know a couple of people who did it (both quite recently) and both have said it's a shame they didn't do it sooner.

 

[lxskllr]

I won't do it. I'd like to see without glasses, but I'm not willing to take any risk when glasses work, but are only a minor inconvenience.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I won't do it. I'd like to see without glasses, but I'm not willing to take any risk when glasses work, but are only a minor inconvenience.

Same here. Even (to pick a number) a 1% chance of "complications" is enough to keep me using glasses instead.

 

[Agent11]

I voted yes, but it really does depend on what your eye problem is. I would avoid correction for astigmatism because I've heard many horror stories... They all involve the eye losing structural integrity because of the many tiny slits cut into the eye in order to deform it. Imagine having a floppy eye that changes focus constantly, wouldn't be fun.

 

[Apex]

so i just noticed that my company insurance will cover some of a lasik surgery, so the max out of pocket is 1200$ per eye. i have had glasses all my life but at times i have really REALLY wanted to be able to see without them (and i hate contacts).

has anyone here had lasik, or had a loved one who had it, and based on your experience should i or should i not get lasik?

Had glasses my whole life, hated contacts. Did lasik last year, absolutely love it. Wife had hers done at the same time, loves it as well.

We paid $2000 for hers, $2200 for mine (I have bad astigmatism) from a doctor that's done over 50k of them.

 

[brianmanahan]

I voted yes, but it really does depend on what your eye problem is. I would avoid correction for astigmatism because I've heard many horror stories... They all involve the eye losing structural integrity because of the many tiny slits cut into the eye in order to deform it. Imagine having a floppy eye that changes focus constantly, wouldn't be fun.

no astigmatism here, just really bad nearsightedness (like 20/500 or something like that)

 

[Imported]

Best whatever amount I spent. I think it was around $4700 total but I used my flexible spending account for a small tax break.

 

[Anarchist420]

i ve had only three pairs of glasses since a doctor told me i was severely nearsighted in mid 2003 and they've all really good, but they have costed more than $2k in 2013 USD.

i would never get lasik or contacts though.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

yea

 

[RaistlinZ]

Same here. Even (to pick a number) a 1% chance of "complications" is enough to keep me using glasses instead.

How do you get to work in the morning? You probably have a better chance of being in a horrible car accident then having complications from Lasik.

OP, do it! Best money I ever spent.

 

[lxskllr]

How do you get to work in the morning? You probably have a better chance of being in a horrible car accident then having complications from Lasik.

For most people, there isn't a practical substitute for an automobile. For vision, glasses work, and have virtually zero permanent side effects. They also have the minor benefit of giving some eye protection from debris.

 

[nickbits]

LASIK permenantly ruined my corneas (double vision) and gave me moderate dry eyes, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but statistically it would probably be fine. It was great for the first 3 months after each time I had it done (had it done twice). The LASIK also thinned my corneas such that it caused complications in an unrelated surgery and that fucked up my vision so much that it can no longer be corrected.

 

[LittleTinGod]

I had PRK done a couple years ago, its a little different in that they actually scrap a layer away and it grows back as apposed to lasik where they just fold it back then fold it back over after the laser procedure, for about the first year I had to use lubricating eye drops but eventually my eyes started lubricating better again and I don't have to use drops anymore and they are fine. It worked out great for me. I did PRK because for whatever reason I think because of too much astigmatism I couldn't do Lasik but could do PRK.

 

[olds]

I won't do it. I'd like to see without glasses, but I'm not willing to take any risk when glasses work, but are only a minor inconvenience.

This times eleventybillion

 

[olds]

I had PRK done a couple years ago, its a little different in that they actually scrap a layer away and it grows back as apposed to lasik where they just fold it back then fold it back over after the laser procedure, for about the first year I had to use lubricating eye drops but eventually my eyes started lubricating better again and I don't have to use drops anymore and they are fine. It worked out great for me. I did PRK because for whatever reason I think because of too much astigmatism I couldn't do Lasik but could do PRK.

Korea is a long way to go for eye surgery.
We need pics of your mom to compare her eyes to Korean eyes.