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Greetings Health and Fitness!
I have worn glasses since I was about 8 years old (3rd grade); I'm 24 now. About two weeks ago a groupon deal for Lasik vision correction came up for about 50% off (2,500$ instead of ~$5,000). Obviously I can't do a payment plan of whatever, but saving that money was too good of a deal to pass up. A few weeks before this one of my co-workers had said "it's the best decision I ever made." Maybe a bit of hyperbole, but a ringing endorsement for sure.
I'll be documenting my experience in this thread (maybe I should just make a blog instead?) for anyone else thinking about this.
Some additional background:
I consider my eyesight to be very poor. I cannot see the first row of letters (usually a gigantic E) in the vision test chart without my glasses and my left eye has some minor astigmatism. As an anectdote, one time (glass off) I turned around while talking to my sister (short, blone, white) and turned around irritated that she was not answering me anymore. I didn't realize for a few seconds that she was gone because I saw someone moving across the room...except it was her tall, black boyfriend. Herp.
With my glasses on I have very good vision, about 20/15.
To be honest I just hate my glasses, and have since around the 5th grade. They get foggy, wet, bent, get tight, etc. I have never found a pair that I like - I feel that they obscure my face and make me look small/short on top of 'hiding' my very nice eyes. When I wear my contacts I regularly get complimented on how nice my eyes/eyelashes are.
I have had contacts available to me since I was a senior in high school (grade 12) and I would wear them occasionally or for special occasions, but they really are not any more convenient than glasses. They make your eyes dry, can 'wiggle,' are sensitive to wind/water/temperature, and you can't sleep in them! Besides that, they are very annoying/painful to put in right after waking up.
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Today I went for my pre-pre-op consult. They did two very quick tests - the first was a 'topographical map'/analysis of the shape of my eyes and the latter was a check of my overall vision quality. It took about 5 minutes overall. My consultant (she was not a doctor/surgeon, but some other kind of lab tech/assistant) told me I was a good candidate, falling in the average range in terms of irregularities of the eye. I was very happy to hear that since I had always thought of my vision being very bad.
She went over the procedure with me. I explained to her that when my coworker described it I began to feel nauseous and her explaining it wasn't much better but #YOLO. She explained that you get an eye numbing drop (these actually freak me the hell out), they tape your eyes open, and you get some valium (I have never taken anything like this so that actually worries almost as much as the surgery).
They have been very busy because of the groupon deal and some other special that they were running, but I have an appointment in two weeks (10 April) for my pre-op and then on 11 April I have my surgery! I have not been wearing my contacts for the past 3 weeks (just not convenient to do so), which is good because you cannot wear you contacts for at least 2 weeks before your procedure (they can temporarily deform the shape of your eye).
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i'm gonna really interested in your experience. i'm not old enough to get it done yet, but i've always hated glasses and contacts. whenever i wear my contacts i feel like crap. i start like having eye tics and stuff.
i remember reading this from another guy who was going ot get laser eye surgery. he said that he just wanted to wake up one day and be able to see without putting glasses on. a couple days ago i took a shower with my contacts on and it was so weird because i usually wear glasses and you take them off before showers. any ways i'm really contemplating laser eye surgery and i wanna see how it goes for you.
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I am also very interested in your experience!
I'm 20 and plan on getting this procedure done at some point. Keep us updated and I hope you have a great outcome.
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I also will be watching this closely, as I am considering getting the same done in the next 6 months or so.
Bigtony, can you confirm that you are getting las-I-k, as opposed to las-E-k, or prk?
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Lasik was honestly one of the best decisions of my life. You can probably get it for ~2000 if you're in Los Angeles, but that might be a stretch for an international forum :p
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Just make sure you do ALL the research and make sure the procedure is done by someone who is a complete pro. I wouldn't try to skimp on costs for something that is going to impact you every second of the rest of your life.
I know several people who say it was the best decision they ever made and love it, but one of my close friends father was one of the people who got fucked over and had a botched job. He has terrible vision now with halos and stuff and is basically blind in one eye, so make sure you know the exact risks and complications for whatever method you are considering.
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<-----In optometry school right now. Learning a lot about this stuff! 
My wife got PRK done and said it was one of the best things she has ever done.
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Good luck with your surgery! Please do let us know about your experience because I am contemplating going in for Lasik. I've had glasses since the 8th grade and I'm 26 right now. I wear glasses and find them extremely inconvenient, just like everyone else. However, I've always been petrified of messing around with my eyes i.e.- any surgery or procedure etc.
Please do keep us informed on this forum =) and good luck!
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my friend got it done and I have to say the procedure sounded quite horrible..
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Yeah that's really interesting. I'm also thinking about getting that stuff done, although I was really somewhat disturbed when I saw a concrete explanation with pics and stuff of what's done during the surgery. :D
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Do you already know if they are going to use LASIK or PKR technology for you ?
I've gone through eye surgery about 1 year ago. The pre-pre-op consult said that my cornea was too thin for the LASIK tech, and that I would have to go through PKR.
Here are some answer to the question i got the most after my operation :
1- Does it work ?
Yes. My view without glasses today is about as good as my view with glasses beforeand, if not a little bit better.
2- Do you really remain conscious through the entire surgery.
Yes. I got a local anestesia, but you've ot to remain conscious in order for you eye not to move too much. I was asked to fix a red dot during the operation.
3 - How long does the recovery take.
For PKR, its pretty long. About 2 weeks to get full vision. I've been told that for lasik its much quicker ( 2-3 days)
4- Does it hurt.
PKR hurts. A lot. Not the surgery itself, but once the anesthesia wears off. They basicaly remove the epithelium, which has to grow back, and for whatever reason it really hurts a lot for maybe 3-4 days. From what i've been told, LASIK hurts a lot less.
OP (or anyone really) : If you got any question about the procedure, Life without glasses, Change management or whatever, ask away, i'll be appy to answer them
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I will be having a "full custom procedure with a wavefront LASIK" performed by one of two surgeons who have performed 10,000+ procedures each. That's definitely something I looked into beforehand. My analysis showed that my cornea is thicker than average. My tech was pretty upfront about potential complications and the possibility that I would need a touch up procedure (within 2-3 months it's possible to go back and adjust with no adverse affects).
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Getting rid of my glasses would be so awesome... But I can't wear contacts comfortably (dry eyes) and I'm way too scared to get surgery on my eyes. What if something goes wrong... But good luck to you
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my chiropractor cousin in law just has this done. He researched his Dr extensively. he found one in the top 100 rated based on Dr stuff and some inquirires. He had to pay for initial consultation but he says the dr office is alot more professional/friendlier and easier to deal with than any of the other offices he had talked to about follow ups.
He was slightly alarmed that a Dr office would be having a 50% special, and running groupon ads for service... Lasik isn't a guarantee.
If money is really an object to you, schedule a week down in colombia it runs 300.00 US. This was you at least get vacation.
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Interesting stuff. I checked into this myself a while ago and went for a consultation and everything but was never convinced it was worth it. I'm still open to the idea though and am interested in peoples' experiences.
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This is really interesting and I'll definitely be following this. I myself have absolutely horrible vision (combined with astigmatism), to the point where laser eye surgery is unable to fully correct it. I already had a consultation and they confirmed this.
As a result, in a few years I plan on getting Toric implants! Hope all goes well for you!
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On March 30 2012 02:42 purecarnagge wrote:
my chiropractor cousin in law just has this done. He researched his Dr extensively. he found one in the top 100 rated based on Dr stuff and some inquirires. He had to pay for initial consultation but he says the dr office is alot more professional/friendlier and easier to deal with than any of the other offices he had talked to about follow ups.
He was slightly alarmed that a Dr office would be having a 50% special, and running groupon ads for service... Lasik isn't a guarantee.
If money is really an object to you, schedule a week down in colombia it runs 300.00 US. This was you at least get vacation.
I will be having a "full custom procedure with a wavefront LASIK" performed by one of two surgeons who have performed 10,000+ procedures each. That's definitely something I looked into beforehand.
The doctors at this practice are very reputable and from what I understand at the forefront of their field. There's no way I would go down to Colombia for this...you serious? There is follow up care and the potential for a secondary procedure if extra correction is needed.
As for the groupon special...well it is cosmetic surgery so in this kind of economy it doesn't seem that weird to me. It's basically just a service that they provide, so no matter what they will make a little money or break even from it. Besides that if they get a lot of referalls from the surgeries they do, they will make $$.
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I have had PRK performed on me. I have 20/20 and 20/15. They give you a bunch of things drops/pills to use. I used them as prescribed because well i dont want to mess up my eyes. The pain wasnt anything dramatic, as long as you have access to painkillers (they will give you a prescription).
The only downside was I was very sensitive to sun/glare and had to wear sunglasses for a few months (very common).
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I got LASIK done about 4 years ago. Best decision of my life.
Didn't hurt at all. The operation was fine, I was pretty amazed during the whole process.
I would recommend everyone to at least consider it. Even more if you lead an active lifestyle.
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EPT
