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Hey Guys,
I am Jayjay54 from Germany (Not to be confused with Jayjay_90 who is also from Germany. He stole my name. Bastard  <3) and this is my Blog for my 500th Post (Yay for Hydra!).
I was thinking, how the fuck can I stand out in any way from all these Bad-Ass-TL-Nerds. This was actually a valid question. And then it hit me. I had a PRK, a Laser Eye surgery. So I am going to describe the steps, tell u all about it and just maybe one or two guys follow me. Because this was plain out the best decision in my life.
I had a dpt value of 2.5 left eye and 2 right eye. In addition to that, I had astigmatism of about .5 both eyes. I never wore any glasses and when I walked down the street I would just not see guys saying Hi to me which resulted in like 4239 pissed friends (I am sure, there are people in here who know what I am talking about). This came down to the point where I confused a guy in a restaurant with my roommate and literally shouted to him why this fucking asshole could not wait outside for me for 5 minutes. Apparently, I was pretty intimidating. He timidly replied that he was about to leave and he was sorry. That was unpleasant, but I had a seat to eat now :D
My eyes and contacts were never good friends and never will be (and now never have to be again). When I went out to a club with contacts my eyes would be devastated the next morning. I tried a million different CLs and liquids. Never helped.
So finally, I decided to just don’t give a fuck, take my saved up money and have eye surgery to fix my eye. Unfortunately, I learned in my first examination that I was not eligible for LASIK, which is basically cutting a lid in the eye, opening it, laser, und close it again, because my cornea was too flat in my left eye. My only option left was a PRK, where they remove the top layer with a nice instrument called the ‘hockey knife’, laser and just wait until the eye is healed up. This takes about 6 month and side effects are strong pain (the doctor described it as if u had a stick hit ur eye) and distortions of seeing in this period of time.
Due to the lack of options I decided to do it. I was tired of running through the world blindly and I will never become a guy who wears his glasses. The costs for both eyes were 3200 € including all examinations.
The surgery:
The day came and I was getting nervous as shit. I doubted my decision, was afraid of all the horror stories u heard and afraid of the next months. But there was no return.
They locally numbed my eyes and sit me down under the laser. They applied one device to prevent me from shutting my eyes and then a second device which turns ur eye ‘off’. Ur eye is acutally off, so u don’t see the removal of the top layer. Weird feeling. The removal didn’t hurt at all. Afterwards the laser treatment itself began. Smells like burned hair and looks unbelievably cool. Looks kinda like u were beamed up. This part was actually fun. I got my final contacts which shielded my eye for 5 days. Then rinse and repeat for second eye. The procedure for both eyes was like 5 minutes total. I was surprised.
When they made me get up, I could already see everything crystal clear. It was awesome.
At home, I waited for the pain to set in, but it never did. Everything went perfect.
Then I learned that my insurance pays 90% of the surgery!!! AWESOME!
Right now, After 6 weeks I have almost 2,0 vision (could read 2 out of 4 letters), 0,0 dpt, 0 astigmatism, no pain at all. Sometimes my eyes are a little dry and my right eye has some double sight after a hard day. But that’s normal and will go away in the next few weeks.
Everything went better than expected.
I would do it again in a heartbeat.
So if you’re in a similar situation, consider having eye surgery. It’s awesome. And it works. Feel free to shot me a pm and I’ll answer questions or just post’em here (although I am in the US [VEGAS BABY] from August 24th to Septmber 12th and dunno if I got time to answer stuff there. But I’ll try). I hope I can inspire some of u guys.
See u guys around. In fucking HD!
Additional info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorefractive_keratectomy
 
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Shame I just moved out of Vegas two weeks ago D:
Glad everything went well for you! :D
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I don't have the best vision and simply detest the idea of contacts, so I always wondered about laser-eye surgery. The whole idea of having my eye cut-up made me squirm. I am the kind of person that turns into a total pansy if anything happens to my eyes. I am glad that it worked out for you. So you really had no pain at all?
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On August 20 2011 23:05 Chimpalimp wrote:
I don't have the best vision and simply detest the idea of contacts, so I always wondered about laser-eye surgery. The whole idea of having my eye cut-up made me squirm. I am the kind of person that turns into a total pansy if anything happens to my eyes. I am glad that it worked out for you. So you really had no pain at all?
Yeah same here :/
I tried contacts too but it took 3 hours to put them both because I can't touch my eyes. I hate it.
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On August 20 2011 23:05 Chimpalimp wrote:
I don't have the best vision and simply detest the idea of contacts, so I always wondered about laser-eye surgery. The whole idea of having my eye cut-up made me squirm. I am the kind of person that turns into a total pansy if anything happens to my eyes. I am glad that it worked out for you. So you really had no pain at all?
this one device was not comfortable but other than that no pain at all. and it's done in a few minutes. I imagine if you get a LASIK, which is state of the art, instead of a PRK, the side effects would be even smaller.
there are risks however. and the thought that something happens to my eyes scared the shit out of me. I just imagine the cosidering doctor's don't treat risk patients.
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how did your insurance pay for it? im not doubting you i just wonder how i can get something like that paid for in the UK :s
we have laser surgery offered all over the place for 350/eye i think, would love to save up for it eventually
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On August 20 2011 23:19 FFGenerations wrote:
how did your insurance pay for it? im not doubting you i just wonder how i can get something like that paid for in the UK :s
we have laser surgery offered all over the place for 350/eye i think, would love to save up for it eventually
i don't know about the UK system, but we have like a national health insurance and a private one for teachers, self-employers and high earners. My father is self-employed and so I am in a private insurance called Debeka. Private insurances cover stuff like glasses, lenses and so on.
There was a verdict in Germany that the insurances are not allowed to treat the eye surgery any different than glasses because both are a ackknowledged way to deal with sight problems. So I already prepared to suit the insurance (father is lawyer, might as well give it a try) refering to this verdict and just sent the bill. To my surprise, they just said that they are gonna pay everything and wished me good luck. 90% that is, because I have 10% to pay in all treatments. So I paid 320 € all in all.
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Always thought about getting eye surgery, potentially will one day with such a good support story. However I don't think I'll go to a place that only charges 350 per eye... i think good eye surgery should cost more.
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On August 20 2011 23:30 Jayjay54 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2011 23:19 FFGenerations wrote:
how did your insurance pay for it? im not doubting you i just wonder how i can get something like that paid for in the UK :s
we have laser surgery offered all over the place for 350/eye i think, would love to save up for it eventually i don't know about the UK system, but we have like a national health insurance and a private one for teachers, self-employers and high earners. My father is self-employed and so I am in a private insurance called Debeka. Private insurances cover stuff like glasses, lenses and so on. There was a verdict in Germany that the insurances are not allowed to treat the eye surgery any different than glasses because both are a ackknowledged way to deal with sight problems. So I already prepared to suit the insurance (father is lawyer, might as well give it a try) refering to this verdict and just sent the bill. To my surprise, they just said that they are gonna pay everything and wished me good luck. 90% that is, because I have 10% to pay in all treatments. So I paid 320 € all in all.
looooool nice story
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Been using contacts for like 8 years now (-6.5 both eyes). Always been considering surgery, however I haven't due to some horror stories about shit going wrong. Atm I don't have the cash, perhaps in the future though.
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On August 20 2011 23:45 FFGenerations wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2011 23:30 Jayjay54 wrote:On August 20 2011 23:19 FFGenerations wrote:
how did your insurance pay for it? im not doubting you i just wonder how i can get something like that paid for in the UK :s
we have laser surgery offered all over the place for 350/eye i think, would love to save up for it eventually i don't know about the UK system, but we have like a national health insurance and a private one for teachers, self-employers and high earners. My father is self-employed and so I am in a private insurance called Debeka. Private insurances cover stuff like glasses, lenses and so on. There was a verdict in Germany that the insurances are not allowed to treat the eye surgery any different than glasses because both are a ackknowledged way to deal with sight problems. So I already prepared to suit the insurance (father is lawyer, might as well give it a try) refering to this verdict and just sent the bill. To my surprise, they just said that they are gonna pay everything and wished me good luck. 90% that is, because I have 10% to pay in all treatments. So I paid 320 € all in all. looooool nice story
true tho but this really only applies to Germany...sorry.
On August 20 2011 23:34 Shadow Sylph wrote:
Always thought about getting eye surgery, potentially will one day with such a good support story. However I don't think I'll go to a place that only charges 350 per eye... i think good eye surgery should cost more.
yeah it has to be a little more expensive or the laser is shit. I also got a wave based scan of my eye included in the price. so the treatment was taylor-made for my very eyes instead of just lasering by values.
but apart from that, do it!
On August 20 2011 23:47 gullberg wrote:
Been using contacts for like 8 years now (-6.5 both eyes). Always been considering surgery, however I haven't due to some horror stories about shit going wrong. Atm I don't have the cash, perhaps in the future though.
everything above -5 is a little more risky and the results stray more. make sure to find the right guys if u do
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I'm pretty keen to get this as well, what did the surgeons tell you about any long term side effects (if any)?
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On August 21 2011 00:02 Pwnographics wrote:
I'm pretty keen to get this as well, what did the surgeons tell you about any long term side effects (if any)?
I had PRK so only the surface is hurt. and it heals up entirely within a week. you have to take cortison for 2 month or so to prevent scars. after 6 month not even a doctor can see the surgery, if everything wents right. it's as if you had a small wound (depth 60 my) in your eye. PRK is practiced for like 25 years and so long term issues would be known by now.
as with LASIK you create a lid and shut it again. it's virtually safe and gest attached again. They say there is a tiny risk, that it opens up again, but I don't believe it. this treatment is pretty young and so u never know, but I guess u are safe
however, your sight might still change, like it always can. my vision has not changed in 7 years, I just hope it stays that way.
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On August 20 2011 23:47 Jayjay54 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 20 2011 23:47 gullberg wrote:
Been using contacts for like 8 years now (-6.5 both eyes). Always been considering surgery, however I haven't due to some horror stories about shit going wrong. Atm I don't have the cash, perhaps in the future though. everything above -5 is a little more risky and the results stray more. make sure to find the right guys if u do
Yeah exactly, I'm used to contacts either way so it's not that big of a deal.
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I am seriously considering LASIK, but my only thing against is that I am highly highly photosensitive, so I'm worried that I may shut my eye or something. Do they hold it open or what?
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This is really awesome sounding. I've had glasses since the 6th grade and while my eyesight isn't too bad I seriously considering laser eye surgery.
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I've been considering laser surgery for awhile and have done a lot of research, but the fact that it only lasts an average of 5~6 years doesn't really appeal to me. There are many horror stories with people who have amazing results with no problems after surgery, but end up having problems at the 5~6 year mark. Dry eyes, terrible vision at night, with "starbursts".
No thanks!
![[image loading]](http://www.eyefreedom.com/images/starburst/Traffic_Starbursting_Simulation.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.lasikreviews.co.uk/images/lasik-complications-starbursts.jpg)
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moltenlead: don't worry about the surgery. It's notbright, it's more of dots doing funky stuff, also you can't blink your eyes are held open. but photosensitiveness (is that even a word?) is already a side effect in the first days and in general (same applies for contacts tho). So it might increase a little after surgery, don't know how much it bothers you.
ClocKomA: my eyesight wasn't that bad either, but still bad enough to need glasses, I got tired of it. Now everything is awesome. I love the feeling of getting up and already see everything. Also I'm a scuba diver which adds as a bonus.
On August 21 2011 02:31 mlee wrote:I've been considering laser surgery for awhile and have done a lot of research, but the fact that it only lasts an average of 5~6 years doesn't really appeal to me. There are many horror stories with people who have amazing results with no problems after surgery, but end up having problems at the 5~6 year mark. Dry eyes, terrible vision at night, with "starbursts". No thanks! + Show Spoiler +
hey. first of all, starburts and so on are actually already there at night if you pay attention to it. those examples are quite drastic. I personally have little trouble with that stuff, no starburst, little glares and ghostings occasionally (but thats normal and will go away in the next weeks as the epithel smootens up). Moreover, these side effects are only that bad if the person has a lot of cornea removed (e.g -7.5 dpt or so).
The fact that it only lasts from 5-6 years is just not true. As I said, the eye changes. A person with 2,0 dpt can have 2,5 in 6 years. On the other hand, if you have constant eyesight for years it is likely you never need glasses again. I personally wouldn't mind getting back .5 or so as I won't need reading glasses when I'm old. I don't expect to go back to 1.0 or so at all.
dry eyes. This is indeed a concern (especially LASIK, nerves will get numb and they have to regrow again to activate your natural tears. takes some time). You have to drop artificial tears like 3 times a day. But I also did that before. Many people don't keep in mind that contacts have side effects and make the eyes dry as well.
Also, there is a HUGE number of positive results compared to the relatively small numbers of horror stories. And a lot of them had serious conditions or near non existent eyesight. Also, a lot of them a treated wrong. If you choose your doctor wisely, you'll be fine.
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I would absolutely love to have this done... but it's so expensive in the US and there's no chance my insurance will cover it :/
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After I went to the army they told me that I only have 2.0/1.75 so I really want to get it corrected  Might have a look into this actually!
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On August 21 2011 00:02 Pwnographics wrote:
I'm pretty keen to get this as well, what did the surgeons tell you about any long term side effects (if any)?
Nobody knows yet, since the procedure is still relatively new. They make you sign papers before surgery making sure that you are aware that there is no information on long term side effects yet. Theoretically though, it is a sound procedure. All they do really is create a flap (or dissolve the epithelial surface to allow it to regrow), laser the cornea, then allow the flap to heal. The only logical long term side effect that seems obvious is that your eyes are never as strong as they were prior to surgery. In other words, you are more vulnerable to damage to the eyes. The whole thing is FDA approved though, so it should probably have no huge detrimental effects.
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I'm so glad your procedure went well . It must feel incredible to wake up and just see everything clearly with no fuss.
I've been curious about eye surgery for a long time but I tend to get hit in and around the eye quite often so I've been rather afraid of damaging my eye after the fact.
I break glasses fairly regularly ( about 2 pairs a year) at concerts and I just dislike the way contacts make my eyes feel dirty after extended wear. So maybe surgery is the way to go. I don't know but your story has me considering it.
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hmm man i'm kind of fond of my glasses though, I can remember there are occasions where they blocked small debris...
although I do admit I would love to see myself without glasses in the mirror. It's a strange concept, but when you wear glasses you cannot see what you look like w/o glasses clearly!
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I have pretty bad eyes, -9 each, so I'm planning on waiting out the early years of my 20s, then seeing whether it's worth the surgery.
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On August 21 2011 04:19 TOloseGT wrote:
I have pretty bad eyes, -9 each, so I'm planning on waiting out the early years of my 20s, then seeing whether it's worth the surgery.
Well you would have to wait anyway. Most men's eyes don't fully develop until 25. The best way to make sure is to get yearly eye exams and seeing when there is a stop in prescription change. You really don't want to go into a surgery knowing that your eyes could still get worse. The surgery will probably be improved in the future anyway (and cheaper).
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Hey again.
novabossa is kind of right, but only concerning LASIK. This is the state of the art procedure and it normally heals off within 1 or 2 weeks opposed to 3-6 month PRK. Still, PRK is practiced for like 25 years. So there is enough data already to rule out unexpected longtime sideeffects. I'll be fine
also your argument is right. the key is the removal of cornea. Assuming that the LASIK lid (or flap) gets perfectly attached again, the difference will only be the cornea removed at the actual laser treatment. PRK removes about 10% of the cornea, LASIK like 20%. But the doctors will check how strong your cornea is beforehand. e.g. my cornea was 540 my right eye which is fine. Lasik will remove about 100-120 my at my eyesight. the left eye had like 430. So they were like, naaah we can't do it. But we can do the outdated PRK which only removes 50-60 my. Considering that my left eye already has the difference to the right eye of 110 my u have to ask yourself if it really matters. Also, the protecting cover, the epithel will grow back (PRK) or even stay as it is (LASIK). I am not really afraid that my eye is considerable weaker after removing 50 or so my. My Eye will handle stuff as it always as.
This numbers change with increasing dpt values tho. so the poster with -9 will have a lot more removed. Same applies to farsight. I would never, never do a LASIK or PRK at that value. Never. It's to risky. But everything to -4 or -5 dpt is absolutely ok.
edit: I don't know how to do a real my. A my is 0.001 mm. I hope u get the idea
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On August 21 2011 05:53 Jayjay54 wrote:Hey again. novabossa is kind of right, but only concerning LASIK. This is the state of the art procedure and it normally heals off within 1 or 2 weeks opposed to 3-6 month PRK. Still, PRK is practiced for like 25 years. So there is enough data already to rule out unexpected longtime sideeffects. I'll be fine also your argument is right. the key is the removal of cornea. Assuming that the LASIK lid (or flap) gets perfectly attached again, the difference will only be the cornea removed at the actual laser treatment. PRK removes about 10% of the cornea, LASIK like 20%. But the doctors will check how strong your cornea is beforehand. e.g. my cornea was 540 my right eye which is fine. Lasik will remove about 100-120 my at my eyesight. the left eye had like 430. So they were like, naaah we can't do it. But we can do the outdated PRK which only removes 50-60 my. Considering that my left eye already has the difference to the right eye of 110 my u have to ask yourself if it really matters. Also, the protecting cover, the epithel will grow back (PRK) or even stay as it is (LASIK). I am not really afraid that my eye is considerable weaker after removing 50 or so my. My Eye will handle stuff as it always as. This numbers change with increasing dpt values tho. so the poster with -9 will have a lot more removed. Same applies to farsight. I would never, never do a LASIK or PRK at that value. Never. It's to risky. But everything to -4 or -5 dpt is absolutely ok. edit: I don't know how to do a real my. A my is 0.001 mm. I hope u get the idea
Absolutely agree. Glad everything went so well
Also, a note on cheap procedures: the thing about these procedures is that they don't tell you everything. I used to work as an intern at a laser eye clinic (also had LASIK myself), and what is usually the case for $350 per eye surgeries is 1) there are hidden costs, 2) it only applies to a small percentage of people, and/or 3) the surgeon is not experienced. So I'd be wary of any surgery that costs less than $1500 per eye.
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On August 21 2011 18:06 novabossa wrote:Show nested quote +On August 21 2011 05:53 Jayjay54 wrote:Hey again. novabossa is kind of right, but only concerning LASIK. This is the state of the art procedure and it normally heals off within 1 or 2 weeks opposed to 3-6 month PRK. Still, PRK is practiced for like 25 years. So there is enough data already to rule out unexpected longtime sideeffects. I'll be fine also your argument is right. the key is the removal of cornea. Assuming that the LASIK lid (or flap) gets perfectly attached again, the difference will only be the cornea removed at the actual laser treatment. PRK removes about 10% of the cornea, LASIK like 20%. But the doctors will check how strong your cornea is beforehand. e.g. my cornea was 540 my right eye which is fine. Lasik will remove about 100-120 my at my eyesight. the left eye had like 430. So they were like, naaah we can't do it. But we can do the outdated PRK which only removes 50-60 my. Considering that my left eye already has the difference to the right eye of 110 my u have to ask yourself if it really matters. Also, the protecting cover, the epithel will grow back (PRK) or even stay as it is (LASIK). I am not really afraid that my eye is considerable weaker after removing 50 or so my. My Eye will handle stuff as it always as. This numbers change with increasing dpt values tho. so the poster with -9 will have a lot more removed. Same applies to farsight. I would never, never do a LASIK or PRK at that value. Never. It's to risky. But everything to -4 or -5 dpt is absolutely ok. edit: I don't know how to do a real my. A my is 0.001 mm. I hope u get the idea Absolutely agree. Glad everything went so well Also, a note on cheap procedures: the thing about these procedures is that they don't tell you everything. I used to work as an intern at a laser eye clinic (also had LASIK myself), and what is usually the case for $350 per eye surgeries is 1) there are hidden costs, 2) it only applies to a small percentage of people, and/or 3) the surgeon is not experienced. So I'd be wary of any surgery that costs less than $1500 per eye.
also, the quality of the laser will obviously be inferior. like I already described, my eye was scanned and the treatment was taylor-made after that scan. Def a huge advantage!
I'm really glad that some people here are reconsidering laser surgery after my post maybe I have improved a life...
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EPT
