Need opinions re: Lasik surgery

[Rowdyboy]

I'm nearly 50 and I have severe astigmatism (20-100 in right eye, 20-200 in left). I can afford to give myself a 50th birthday present and I'd like my sight back (have had glasses since I was 17). Have never had contacts because I can't touch my eye.

Suggestions, comments, experiences? Tell me what you think

[wtmusic]

1. My wife had it done

In three minutes she could see without glasses. She loves it!!

Two things:

1) Check qualifications and references of opthamologist;
2) Pay extra for 'Wavefront'--definitely worth it

[Rowdyboy]

2. What's wavefront?

[wtmusic]

4. It's a new technology

which has only been available for 6 months or so.

Before the actual surgery they do a laser mapping of your cornea at something like 250 places. It's a lot more accurate than the old way.

[Rowdyboy]

8. Thank you

I will ask and, if its not available, will keep looking.

[Deja Q]

3. If you have shifty eyes and/or easily get distracted...

don't!

One little eye movement and the laser zaps the cones, rods, cornea, and whatever else the doctor tries to re-shape...

Besides, these are your eyes. The doc could do a little whoopsie on his own and you'd be in bad trouble.

Of course, I'm a luddite...

[Rowdyboy]

5. I am EXTREMELY sensitive with my eyes...

Trying to put in eyedrops is difficult for me so you can imagine...

[boxster]

14. I had LASIK done because I couldn't wear contacts anymore.

I had an eye infection (caused by contacts) in my early 20's that changed the chemistry of my tears, making it impossible to wear contacts, so I can relate to your difficulty with eye drops, etc.!

[wtmusic]

9. The laser comes in pulses

so even if you shift for a brief moment it's not the end of the world.

But they give you a sedative and put this stuff in your eye to relax the muscles. My wife actually found it very easy to keep her eye still (you concentrate on a steady beam of light).

[boxster]

10. I hope you're joking. Please don't terrorize the poor guy.

Almost the entire process is done by computer, and the computer tracks your eye movements and accounts for them.

My doctor's done 20,000 of them, and he's never done a "whoopsie" nor has one been caused by the patient moving their eyes at the wrong time.

[Nay]

19. Not true, Hypnotoad. The new lasers track your eyeball even if

you move it. I had the surgery done about 8 months ago and I LOVE IT. Two friends are going in for the surgery next month after seeing how freeing it has been in my life.

[boxster]

6. The problem you describe is nearsightedness, though I presume you also

have astigmatism to go along with it. LASIK can help with both, as it did with me. I had it done several years ago. My "adjustment" period was longer than normal - about six months - but once my sight stabilized, it's been great. I would do it again without question.

One word of advice: choose a good eye doctor, one with plenty of experience and who will freely provide references from happy patients. Avoid the strip-mall, low-cost places.

[Rowdyboy]

11. I'm near sided and far sided with acute astigmatism

and my behind's pretty nice too!-sorry, bad pun, couldn't help it!

[burrowowl]

7. The surgery thins the cornea

and makes one more prone to glaucoma.
Since you are near sighted, if you get surgery, you will have to wear glasses to read.
The severe astigmatism may not be corrected either, so you are back to wearing glasses.
If you do decide, make sure it is not on the cheap. A friend of a friend who makes glass eyes says business has been up.

[Rowdyboy]

12. I'm definitely going to pay for a quality job

It's my eyes we're talking about. Not interested in discount jobs!

[loftycity]

13. Don't

I don't know what national news program I did see this. But most of the doctors who perform the surgery have not had the procedure done on themselves.
From talking to some doctors friends they have said not to do it. It can ruin your night vision to the point --you can have your drivers license pulled.
If you are really set on it ---just have one eye done...not both.

[burrowowl]

15. Welcome to DU

Yes, my eye doctor told me about the rise in glaucoma with the surgergy. She wouldn't have it done and I wouldn't either.

[Liberal Christian]

16. I had LASIK three years ago

I was nearsighted with a mild astigmatism. I now have 20/20 vision and love it. I still need reading glasses, but to me that's better than wearing glasses all the time was.

You'll need to check to see if you are a good candidate for it. When I had mine done, they told me that a mild astigmatism would be ok, but they couldn't do much with severe astigmatism. That may have changed, though, so it's definitely worth investigating.

I would echo the recommendations of people who say to have it done at a place that has done thousands and thousands of these procedures. Because I was living in western Wyoming at the time, I had mine done at the Eye Institute of Utah and was very pleased with before and after care, as well as with the procedure itself.

Here's what they did. They gave me a mild dose of valium about 20 minutes before they started. When I was in the room, they gave me a numbing eyedrop, then put something in my eye to keep it open. They told me to stare at the red light. I did. In seconds it was done and they were moving to the next eye. My friend watched it on the monitor in the waiting room and when I told him I had a little trouble holding my left eye still (they waited until I was still, of course) he said he could tell from the monitors.

I wore plastic eyeshields taped to my face the rest of that day and the next day, but, darn it ... I could READ the highway signs on the way home!!

I am sooooooo glad I had it done.

[Rowdyboy]

17. Thank you so much!

I can live with that! I'm a littlde bit of a chicken-shit but I can asily live with that. Thanks!

[Rowdyboy]

18. kick

:kick:

[NoPasaran]

20. Before Lasik was developed

Back in the 1980s I had RK done on my eyes. It was the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me.
I had been wearing glasses since I was ten. Both eyes were myopic, but one much more so: 20/100 OS, 20/400 OD. Because of the big refractive difference between the two eyes I saw double. So I essentially had no depth perception and was totally unable to ever catch anything, be it a ball or be it a set of keys tossed across a room.
I had good results from my surgeries. For quite a while I just marvelled at how "lifelike" the world was in 3D. I do everything without glasses and it is W O N D E R F U L.
If you do have Lasik by all means have it done by someone in whom you have confidence. In my case I was lucky enough to be working for an ophthalmologist who, despite being a Bible thumping wingnut was pretty skillful with sharp instruments.

[Rowdyboy]

21. Thank you...

I'm leaning very strongly towards doing it. I'm going to talk to my doctor in a couple of weeks and if she says okay, I'm decided. But it helps to hear from people who've been there and liked it.

I'm really tired of being joined at the hips to a pair of glasses. 33 years is long enough.

[wtmusic]

23. Let us know how it goes!

:-)

[Lostmessage]

22. I would do one eye at a time

Just in case something goes wrong you will have the other eye to see out of.

[put out]

24. I had it done in summer 2002.

I really like it. I had monovision done (one eye corrected for distance, the other not corrected so much, so that I would not have to use reading glasses for a while). My eyesight isn't perfect, I will probably have an adjustment done in a few years, but, dang, I would do it again. Ever so much better than glasses or contacts.

[Rowdyboy]

25. I promise...this is my last kick...but if anyone else has anything to say

re:lasik, I'd like to hear it. I've pretty much decided to go for it, but I want to be very cautious..

[KadeCarrion]

26. My best friend had it done a couple years ago

I forget if it was LASIK or another slightly different procedure, but she described it all to me in graphic detail. They sliced the outer layer of her eyes open, let her sit for about twenty minutes while they did the same to about a dozen other people, then went back in and performed the laser surgery on her corneas. She's had no problems and see perfectly, but I am way too chicken-shit to go through that. For now I'll stick with contacts!

Good luck with your decision! Let us know how it turns out! Maybe someday I'll have guts to go through with it! ;-) (not bloody likely though!)