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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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Well , as an optometrist working in Spain i can say this is a bunch of nonsense.
Extraocular muscles can be reinforced with pencil pushups and the like exercices , but they will not make disappear your need of -7 glasses if you already need them.
As always , check for an optometrist/Eye doctor in your region ,sure there are Eye conditions that can be corrected without glasses/contacts and there are Visual Hygiene concepts and Ergonomics that can help with getting less stress on your vision but get advice from a professional.
Reported the above as Spam by the way.
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Really interested thanks for sharing this. I've always wanted to do this being very active plus everyone knows waking up and not being able to see a thing is annoying even if you've been used to it for as long as you can remember.
Biggest hurdles: fear of botched surgery, then the cost :\
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I was in this forum looking at some of the beginner fitness info (Starting Strength and the like), but I can add my comments about Lasik as I did have the procedure on both eyes in March 2010.
Overall I will say the results are great and by default I'd encourage most people to pursue it.
My eyes were in the -4.5 to -5.5 range (myopia/nearsighted), and I had some astigmatism in each eye. I wore glasses from about 6 years old, transitioning to disposable soft contact lenses around 12 years old or so. The astigmatism in my left eye was mild enough that was never even given a toric lens, although I did wear toric on the right.
I also had no other history of eye issues. I was 29 years old at the time, and my contact lens presciption hadn't changed in several years.
From what I was told, both nearsightedness and astigmatism are issues that Lasik can correct very well. I am honestly not sure how Lasik performs in correcting farsighted vision.
There were several appointments to have me look into various machines while computers mapped out exactly how each of my eyeballs looked, etc. They also need to measure the thickness of your cornea, because they need to ablate (remove) some of it to reshape your eye. That is how they achieve re-bending light through your eye, so the focal point is changed and, voilà, you can see clearly.
They will not operate on you if your corneas are too thin. Nice, thick corneas give them plenty of material to work with. Also, you will want to consider if your corneas are thick enough for a second procedure if you go to a place with some sort of 'lifetime guarantee' where they will correct your vision again if it degrades significantly. You won't be a candidate for a second procedure if your corneas end up too thin after the first. FYI.
Other candidate considerations: dry eyes. If you already have them, the trauma of the Lasik procedure can exacerbate the problem. The way they judged me is they asked me how long I keep my contacts in per day. I said 'some days I have them in by 7:30am and wear them until midnight or even later, depending on when I go to bed'. And with that schedule, I had never felt the need for drops in my eyes. Based on that, they said I'd be fine. Fair warning that if your eyes dry out on you much, it may get worse after surgery.
Also: starbursts/halos. I'm not sure what else to call them... some kind of diffraction or refraction -- I don't know what the appropriate technical term is. At night, following surgery, every light source will have a starburst around it, or a halo-like ring. They said it has something to do with light passing through the area that was cut. Technically you have a wound on your eye, and light bounces through that spot in an unpredictable way. As the cut heals, the effects lessen. Some people heal completely back to normal. Personally I still have small starbursts around lights, but it's barely noticeable (actually after awhile my brain stopped paying attention to them), and it was a worthwhile risk to me. The first few nights they are pretty outrageous though, heh. If you do anything life-or-death at nighttime where you think a blur around light sources would be a concern though, you might not want to get the surgery.
Something else, for you nearsighted people: you know how you can take your glasses off or have your contacts out and read a book OK? I mean, that's the definition... you can see things close to you. OK, well, Lasik is going to balance out your vision so you can see well at all ranges. Thus I was told that, as I age, and my eye muscles get less elastic, I won't be able to focus in as closely. And that won't be something that Lasik can correct -- it won't be that I can't see well, my eyes just won't let me see well right in front of my face. So somewhere in the 45-55 years old range I should expect to need reading glasses. I decided that was an OK tradeoff, but everyone should make the call for themselves.
Anyway, I felt my facility had top-notch care. All this mapping info, etc. went into their computers, and would prevent any mistakes like making the wrong alterations to the wrong eye. (When you're under the laser, it is looking for exactly the eye that was mapped out previously -- if it doesn't see things matching up, it doesn't cut.)
Before the procedure, they'll want you to fill prescriptions for a couple eyedrops. One is an anti-inflammatory, and the other is an antibiotic. You will also need to get very specific moisturizing drops. The wounds will make your eyes more susceptible to infection for a time after surgery (hence the antibiotic, as a preventative measure), so they also don't want you just buying a large bottle of eye drops and using it for weeks, as germs can build up on the nozzle. Instead you'll be instructed to get drops that come in small, one-use capsules. In the weeks following surgery, you can eventually go to a bottle, if you want to; however, I figured slightly more expensive drops were far better than a slightly higher risk of infection!
Yeah, on the day of surgery, I finally met my surgeon. I had been under the care of a different opthalmologist for the prior appointments, but this different doctor actually ran the procedure. They had explained all of that to me beforehand... basically my clinic just set up and performed triage on candidates, and one of the actual surgeons would come in only on days where people were ready to go. He did, of course, give me a once-over examination himself, just to 'OK' things personally.
I popped a Valium, although I don't really recall any effects from it. It certainly didn't make me feel worse, and I wouldn't worry about it.
Probably the only uncomfortable part was beforehand when I was first on the surgical table. They do affix something around the orbital area to hold your eye in place. Felt a little funny as they put that on.
I had a completely bladeless procedure, where they use one type of laser to make the small surface incision, and a different one for ablating the corneal tissue. I just laid down on the table, and they swung me back and forth from under one machine to another. There was absolutely no pain. The ablation laser makes a little noise from some suction going on, because it must have a little built-in vacuum to whisk away dead cells that the laser creates. And you hear it clicking away as it makes its little laser bursts.
There was one point in the procedure where the surgeon warned me that temporarily I wouldn't be able to see or my vision would dim or something, but honestly I don't remember it being that bad or feeling weird. I think it might have been after the incision, when they peel back the flap. Can't recall.
Anyway, after the machines were done, they put my flaps down (instant Band-Aid, GO!), put my first round of drops in, and I was good to go. It was really amazing sitting up on the table and noticing the "EXIT" sign above the door right away. I could read it clearly. Your vision really is instantly better.
Post-op, have someone drive you home, and try to take a nap. By the time I was home, I was tearing up something fierce, and if you're going to have any pain it's going to be a slight burning sensation in those first few hours. If you can just sleep through it, it's for the best. I awoke that evening and the pain was completely gone. There was still plenty of irritation though, and you will continue to have that for... I forget what it was... maybe a day or two. Since the surface of your eye is cut, you might get the sensation there's a foreign object in there, like you've got an eyelash or something stuck in your eye. There's nothing you can do about it though. The anti-inflammatory drops are absolute lifesavers those first few hours. Every couple hours when I got to apply new ones... oh, it was so soothing.
I had my surgery on a Friday and was back to work on Monday. You can really do whatever you want to within a few hours after surgery, just DON'T rub your eyes -- they're still healing! Personally I would wipe away any tears, etc. that would go down onto my cheeks or wherever, but I did not touch any closer to my eyeballs than the orbital area. I tried not to apply any pressure or whatever to them. Your eyes will be very tear-y for the first day or so. It's slightly annoying, but I just planned a dull weekend and my eyes felt normal before I knew it.
You'll want to wear sunglasses outside, and they'll give you shields to put on over your eyes with athletic tape at night, so you don't accidentally brush/bump things while sleeping.
Also DO NOT SMOKE for the first couple weeks after surgery. I've been known to enjoy a cigar or hookah now and then, so I just had to avoid that. If you have a cig habit, you're going to need to lay off following Lasik. Your eyes are sensitive to smoke/particulate in the air. Similarly, if you work in a dusty environment, you're going to want to take time off or avoid that somehow. Particles getting into your wounds will increase the risk of infection or maybe cause things to not heal up right (I presume).
That's all I can think of for now. I mean, overall it seems like a very nice approach to vision correction, they really cover all the bases and it's not a difficult procedure to endure, etc. That's why I think it's a good thing and don't have an issue recommending it. And they did correct me down to 20/20.
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Hope all goes well! Looking forward to your update
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Tell us how it goes later!
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So yesterday was my pre-op exam. They did all the usual things and everything checked out.
This morning I woke up for my surgery, had a banana, and had my dad drive me over. I arrived and they went over some basic pre/post op things. Be careful of getting things in your eyes, NO RUBBING, how/ when to use the eye drops, etc. I take my 10milligrams of valium and wait 30 minutes or so. Honestly I've never taken valium or any type of strong drugs before so I don't have anything to compare it to but I didn't really feel any different or necessarily more relaxed.
I put on my cap and booties and head into the surgical suite. It's a small room with a medical table with a machine attached (the laser). They do one last look in my eyes and say we're good to go. I lay down on the table and the machine slides over my face. My eyes are taped open (it doesn't feel irriating at all). They do some stuff and say "stay at the green light." This is the crazy part. They swab your eye with this thing and then they put an eye clamp or something on and say "ok the light is gonna go dim and you may feel some pressure."
Honesty this shit cray and there's no way to explain it at all. Afterwards I just wanted to close my eyes and go to sleep because it was just fucking crazy. I went home and took a nap for about 3 hours. I put in my eye drops and went back to bed.
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Good thing about the Army is that I'm getting it done for free!
I'm quite nervous tho, my surgery is actually on the 16th of April. I've been hearing good things though, so my fingers are crossed!
:D
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After my nap (I slept from 10-1 and then 1:30-5) I got out of bed and could see about 90% clear I would say. I put in the eye drops without much trouble and used the artificial tears frequently. My eyes didn't feel try per se, but I was getting some foreign body sensation (feels like something in eye) so I would drop some in to make it stop. I watched some streams, played some dota, and went to bed around 12.
It's now 24 hours later and I feel like my vision is near 100%. There is some discomfort that I can't quite put my finger on but I feel great.
Looking back at my last post trying to explain the procedure: it's freaky. It if you just focus you can do it ezpz.
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Thank you for this thread bro. I am like -4.25/-5.00 nearsighted and I going to do this as well, sometime.
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I'm like -1.5 -1, and use glasses all the time in front of my PC. I can still read text on my PC without glasses on, but it slightly blurred and I have this urge or habit of squinting my eyes to make things look more clearly. If I don't squint my eyes, everything simply feels to un sharp, and when Im playing games i can really notice the difference and its annoying the crap out of me.
I've been thinking about getting an eye operation, since it doesn't really matter how bad your sight is, the difference is between wearing or not wearing glasses.
My question is about eyesight develops in general and especially after the operation. Would your sight simply not get worse again a few years after the operation, leading to you needing glasses again?
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Your welcome everybody! Thanks for the encouragement; I am so happy right now.
Ruxxar: it depends. They say that "there are no guarantees and there are risks" but "you can expect vision similar to what you currently achieve with you glasses or contacts." so if you have good vision with your glasses on you will most likely have good vision after surgery. Your vision should NOT deteriorate because they will only do the procedure if your prescription has not changed in a year or two. As you get older you may need reading glasses, the same as any person who gets old and needs reading glasses (if you stayed with glasses you would probably need bifocals).
I just had my 24hr post op check up and they said I look all good. My vision test was about 20/30 (down from 20/15) but I should continue to improve over the next weeks.
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Yesterday went well. I went out for a little while at night driving and I did notice some mild halo effect, but nothing serious. If it improves/goes away, great. If it doesn't I don't think it will bother me. The only discomfort I have had the whole time is some foreign body sensation (feels like dust in your eye) which goes away when I use the artificial tears, the anti-biotic drop gets crusty on your eye and is very scary/tedious to clean without rubbing your eyes, and the sunglasses they give you suck! I need to get some better ones.
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My goggles fell off in the night so I was really scared the second I woke up, but everything seems ok. I immediately realized I couldn't touch my eyes so that's a good reflex. I usually have very crusty eyes in the morning (my house is very dusty + some allergies) which is exarcerbated by the thick anti-biotic drops so my eyes do hurt some in the morning. I put in some artificial tears right away and start to feel much better almost instantly.
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Thanks for the updates, sounds like things are going well
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Some more updates:
Tuesday (6 days after surgery) I felt a noticeable increase in vision. I feel like I'm basically at the same level as my glasses/contacts before hand. I'll never really be sure because it's just one of those things where you think "you know...I don't even know if I could read that before hand so I'm not sure if it should be blurry!" There are still fluctuations in quality and some halo effect on light sources in dim/dark conditions, but it definitely seems to be getting better.
Thursday - I noticed a very slight abnormality in my left eye. Imagine if the tiniest eye lash was on your eye and you couldn't feel it but it put a < shaped shadow just on the peripheral of your vision. I don't notice it all the time. I'm not too worried, but I am going to give them a call in the morning.
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Friday - I gave them a call and they said not to worry, but to mention it at my next appointment (1 week from today). They said "it was probably there all the time but you just started to notice it" which is certainly bullshit. I believe this is called a "floater." It's caused by...something. Basically the surgery is pretty intense for your eye and so it can cause some stuff on the inside of your eye to not be happy
I did some googling and got pretty freaked by some of the horror stories out there about people having insane amounts of floaters and fuck life etc. I am a little worried but as long as it doesn't get any worse I will be ok with it.
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God i want to get this done, have the money but my prescription changed a bit at my last eyetest which would make me ineligible right?
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My mother had this done 10 years ago and always says how great of a decision it was and how its easily worth it. I will certainly be getting it done in a few years. Glasses are just a hassle honestly. I cant wait to wake up one day and see perfectly.
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I just got mine done last week, I still get halo effects when im driving at night and also I can't seem to look at small prints like i used to with glasses. Like I gotta get a little bit closer than i usually do with glasses to type this.
I have an appointment tomorrow at 2pm so lets see what they say.
Also after my post op appointment last week, they said i had 15/20 eye vision
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I had my two week follow up yesterday. Everything looks good. The doctor was adamant that my floater was not caused by the surgery. Honestly I don't know, but I still sincerely doubt that "it was always there, but I just never noticed it."
I don't notice much halo or glare at night except on really bright lights (but honestly I think that's just how lights are supposed to look).
I asked my doctor if there is a difference between bladed and blade-free procedures, he said no. They do the exact same thing (make a flap on your eye) and the laser procedure has no advantages. He may be a little biased because they only perform the bladed procedure.
In the next couple days I'll compile everything into the op.
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Approaching two months out and still feeling very good. I had a scare last Saturday - my left eye was a bit blurry and felt dry, but this was really due to sleeping in an odd way and just having a really dry eye. It went away after a while and some moistening drops. I had forgotten that I sometimes got this pre-surgery after doing a particularly sweaty Bikram class or too long in the sauna/hot tub.
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On April 10 2012 05:37 Prolix wrote: I was in this forum looking at some of the beginner fitness info (Starting Strength and the like), but I can add my comments about Lasik as I did have the procedure on both eyes in March 2010.
Overall I will say the results are great and by default I'd encourage most people to pursue it.
My eyes were in the -4.5 to -5.5 range (myopia/nearsighted), and I had some astigmatism in each eye. I wore glasses from about 6 years old, transitioning to disposable soft contact lenses around 12 years old or so. The astigmatism in my left eye was mild enough that was never even given a toric lens, although I did wear toric on the right.
I also had no other history of eye issues. I was 29 years old at the time, and my contact lens presciption hadn't changed in several years.
From what I was told, both nearsightedness and astigmatism are issues that Lasik can correct very well. I am honestly not sure how Lasik performs in correcting farsighted vision.
There were several appointments to have me look into various machines while computers mapped out exactly how each of my eyeballs looked, etc. They also need to measure the thickness of your cornea, because they need to ablate (remove) some of it to reshape your eye. That is how they achieve re-bending light through your eye, so the focal point is changed and, voilà, you can see clearly.
They will not operate on you if your corneas are too thin. Nice, thick corneas give them plenty of material to work with. Also, you will want to consider if your corneas are thick enough for a second procedure if you go to a place with some sort of 'lifetime guarantee' where they will correct your vision again if it degrades significantly. You won't be a candidate for a second procedure if your corneas end up too thin after the first. FYI.
Other candidate considerations: dry eyes. If you already have them, the trauma of the Lasik procedure can exacerbate the problem. The way they judged me is they asked me how long I keep my contacts in per day. I said 'some days I have them in by 7:30am and wear them until midnight or even later, depending on when I go to bed'. And with that schedule, I had never felt the need for drops in my eyes. Based on that, they said I'd be fine. Fair warning that if your eyes dry out on you much, it may get worse after surgery.
Also: starbursts/halos. I'm not sure what else to call them... some kind of diffraction or refraction -- I don't know what the appropriate technical term is. At night, following surgery, every light source will have a starburst around it, or a halo-like ring. They said it has something to do with light passing through the area that was cut. Technically you have a wound on your eye, and light bounces through that spot in an unpredictable way. As the cut heals, the effects lessen. Some people heal completely back to normal. Personally I still have small starbursts around lights, but it's barely noticeable (actually after awhile my brain stopped paying attention to them), and it was a worthwhile risk to me. The first few nights they are pretty outrageous though, heh. If you do anything life-or-death at nighttime where you think a blur around light sources would be a concern though, you might not want to get the surgery.
Something else, for you nearsighted people: you know how you can take your glasses off or have your contacts out and read a book OK? I mean, that's the definition... you can see things close to you. OK, well, Lasik is going to balance out your vision so you can see well at all ranges. Thus I was told that, as I age, and my eye muscles get less elastic, I won't be able to focus in as closely. And that won't be something that Lasik can correct -- it won't be that I can't see well, my eyes just won't let me see well right in front of my face. So somewhere in the 45-55 years old range I should expect to need reading glasses. I decided that was an OK tradeoff, but everyone should make the call for themselves.
Anyway, I felt my facility had top-notch care. All this mapping info, etc. went into their computers, and would prevent any mistakes like making the wrong alterations to the wrong eye. (When you're under the laser, it is looking for exactly the eye that was mapped out previously -- if it doesn't see things matching up, it doesn't cut.)
Before the procedure, they'll want you to fill prescriptions for a couple eyedrops. One is an anti-inflammatory, and the other is an antibiotic. You will also need to get very specific moisturizing drops. The wounds will make your eyes more susceptible to infection for a time after surgery (hence the antibiotic, as a preventative measure), so they also don't want you just buying a large bottle of eye drops and using it for weeks, as germs can build up on the nozzle. Instead you'll be instructed to get drops that come in small, one-use capsules. In the weeks following surgery, you can eventually go to a bottle, if you want to; however, I figured slightly more expensive drops were far better than a slightly higher risk of infection!
Yeah, on the day of surgery, I finally met my surgeon. I had been under the care of a different opthalmologist for the prior appointments, but this different doctor actually ran the procedure. They had explained all of that to me beforehand... basically my clinic just set up and performed triage on candidates, and one of the actual surgeons would come in only on days where people were ready to go. He did, of course, give me a once-over examination himself, just to 'OK' things personally.
I popped a Valium, although I don't really recall any effects from it. It certainly didn't make me feel worse, and I wouldn't worry about it.
Probably the only uncomfortable part was beforehand when I was first on the surgical table. They do affix something around the orbital area to hold your eye in place. Felt a little funny as they put that on.
I had a completely bladeless procedure, where they use one type of laser to make the small surface incision, and a different one for ablating the corneal tissue. I just laid down on the table, and they swung me back and forth from under one machine to another. There was absolutely no pain. The ablation laser makes a little noise from some suction going on, because it must have a little built-in vacuum to whisk away dead cells that the laser creates. And you hear it clicking away as it makes its little laser bursts.
There was one point in the procedure where the surgeon warned me that temporarily I wouldn't be able to see or my vision would dim or something, but honestly I don't remember it being that bad or feeling weird. I think it might have been after the incision, when they peel back the flap. Can't recall.
Anyway, after the machines were done, they put my flaps down (instant Band-Aid, GO!), put my first round of drops in, and I was good to go. It was really amazing sitting up on the table and noticing the "EXIT" sign above the door right away. I could read it clearly. Your vision really is instantly better.
Post-op, have someone drive you home, and try to take a nap. By the time I was home, I was tearing up something fierce, and if you're going to have any pain it's going to be a slight burning sensation in those first few hours. If you can just sleep through it, it's for the best. I awoke that evening and the pain was completely gone. There was still plenty of irritation though, and you will continue to have that for... I forget what it was... maybe a day or two. Since the surface of your eye is cut, you might get the sensation there's a foreign object in there, like you've got an eyelash or something stuck in your eye. There's nothing you can do about it though. The anti-inflammatory drops are absolute lifesavers those first few hours. Every couple hours when I got to apply new ones... oh, it was so soothing.
I had my surgery on a Friday and was back to work on Monday. You can really do whatever you want to within a few hours after surgery, just DON'T rub your eyes -- they're still healing! Personally I would wipe away any tears, etc. that would go down onto my cheeks or wherever, but I did not touch any closer to my eyeballs than the orbital area. I tried not to apply any pressure or whatever to them. Your eyes will be very tear-y for the first day or so. It's slightly annoying, but I just planned a dull weekend and my eyes felt normal before I knew it.
You'll want to wear sunglasses outside, and they'll give you shields to put on over your eyes with athletic tape at night, so you don't accidentally brush/bump things while sleeping.
Also DO NOT SMOKE for the first couple weeks after surgery. I've been known to enjoy a cigar or hookah now and then, so I just had to avoid that. If you have a cig habit, you're going to need to lay off following Lasik. Your eyes are sensitive to smoke/particulate in the air. Similarly, if you work in a dusty environment, you're going to want to take time off or avoid that somehow. Particles getting into your wounds will increase the risk of infection or maybe cause things to not heal up right (I presume).
That's all I can think of for now. I mean, overall it seems like a very nice approach to vision correction, they really cover all the bases and it's not a difficult procedure to endure, etc. That's why I think it's a good thing and don't have an issue recommending it. And they did correct me down to 20/20. nice post!
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+ Show Spoiler +On April 10 2012 05:37 Prolix wrote: I was in this forum looking at some of the beginner fitness info (Starting Strength and the like), but I can add my comments about Lasik as I did have the procedure on both eyes in March 2010.
Overall I will say the results are great and by default I'd encourage most people to pursue it.
My eyes were in the -4.5 to -5.5 range (myopia/nearsighted), and I had some astigmatism in each eye. I wore glasses from about 6 years old, transitioning to disposable soft contact lenses around 12 years old or so. The astigmatism in my left eye was mild enough that was never even given a toric lens, although I did wear toric on the right.
I also had no other history of eye issues. I was 29 years old at the time, and my contact lens presciption hadn't changed in several years.
From what I was told, both nearsightedness and astigmatism are issues that Lasik can correct very well. I am honestly not sure how Lasik performs in correcting farsighted vision.
There were several appointments to have me look into various machines while computers mapped out exactly how each of my eyeballs looked, etc. They also need to measure the thickness of your cornea, because they need to ablate (remove) some of it to reshape your eye. That is how they achieve re-bending light through your eye, so the focal point is changed and, voilà, you can see clearly.
They will not operate on you if your corneas are too thin. Nice, thick corneas give them plenty of material to work with. Also, you will want to consider if your corneas are thick enough for a second procedure if you go to a place with some sort of 'lifetime guarantee' where they will correct your vision again if it degrades significantly. You won't be a candidate for a second procedure if your corneas end up too thin after the first. FYI.
Other candidate considerations: dry eyes. If you already have them, the trauma of the Lasik procedure can exacerbate the problem. The way they judged me is they asked me how long I keep my contacts in per day. I said 'some days I have them in by 7:30am and wear them until midnight or even later, depending on when I go to bed'. And with that schedule, I had never felt the need for drops in my eyes. Based on that, they said I'd be fine. Fair warning that if your eyes dry out on you much, it may get worse after surgery.
Also: starbursts/halos. I'm not sure what else to call them... some kind of diffraction or refraction -- I don't know what the appropriate technical term is. At night, following surgery, every light source will have a starburst around it, or a halo-like ring. They said it has something to do with light passing through the area that was cut. Technically you have a wound on your eye, and light bounces through that spot in an unpredictable way. As the cut heals, the effects lessen. Some people heal completely back to normal. Personally I still have small starbursts around lights, but it's barely noticeable (actually after awhile my brain stopped paying attention to them), and it was a worthwhile risk to me. The first few nights they are pretty outrageous though, heh. If you do anything life-or-death at nighttime where you think a blur around light sources would be a concern though, you might not want to get the surgery.
Something else, for you nearsighted people: you know how you can take your glasses off or have your contacts out and read a book OK? I mean, that's the definition... you can see things close to you. OK, well, Lasik is going to balance out your vision so you can see well at all ranges. Thus I was told that, as I age, and my eye muscles get less elastic, I won't be able to focus in as closely. And that won't be something that Lasik can correct -- it won't be that I can't see well, my eyes just won't let me see well right in front of my face. So somewhere in the 45-55 years old range I should expect to need reading glasses. I decided that was an OK tradeoff, but everyone should make the call for themselves.
Anyway, I felt my facility had top-notch care. All this mapping info, etc. went into their computers, and would prevent any mistakes like making the wrong alterations to the wrong eye. (When you're under the laser, it is looking for exactly the eye that was mapped out previously -- if it doesn't see things matching up, it doesn't cut.)
Before the procedure, they'll want you to fill prescriptions for a couple eyedrops. One is an anti-inflammatory, and the other is an antibiotic. You will also need to get very specific moisturizing drops. The wounds will make your eyes more susceptible to infection for a time after surgery (hence the antibiotic, as a preventative measure), so they also don't want you just buying a large bottle of eye drops and using it for weeks, as germs can build up on the nozzle. Instead you'll be instructed to get drops that come in small, one-use capsules. In the weeks following surgery, you can eventually go to a bottle, if you want to; however, I figured slightly more expensive drops were far better than a slightly higher risk of infection!
Yeah, on the day of surgery, I finally met my surgeon. I had been under the care of a different opthalmologist for the prior appointments, but this different doctor actually ran the procedure. They had explained all of that to me beforehand... basically my clinic just set up and performed triage on candidates, and one of the actual surgeons would come in only on days where people were ready to go. He did, of course, give me a once-over examination himself, just to 'OK' things personally.
I popped a Valium, although I don't really recall any effects from it. It certainly didn't make me feel worse, and I wouldn't worry about it.
Probably the only uncomfortable part was beforehand when I was first on the surgical table. They do affix something around the orbital area to hold your eye in place. Felt a little funny as they put that on.
I had a completely bladeless procedure, where they use one type of laser to make the small surface incision, and a different one for ablating the corneal tissue. I just laid down on the table, and they swung me back and forth from under one machine to another. There was absolutely no pain. The ablation laser makes a little noise from some suction going on, because it must have a little built-in vacuum to whisk away dead cells that the laser creates. And you hear it clicking away as it makes its little laser bursts.
There was one point in the procedure where the surgeon warned me that temporarily I wouldn't be able to see or my vision would dim or something, but honestly I don't remember it being that bad or feeling weird. I think it might have been after the incision, when they peel back the flap. Can't recall.
Anyway, after the machines were done, they put my flaps down (instant Band-Aid, GO!), put my first round of drops in, and I was good to go. It was really amazing sitting up on the table and noticing the "EXIT" sign above the door right away. I could read it clearly. Your vision really is instantly better.
Post-op, have someone drive you home, and try to take a nap. By the time I was home, I was tearing up something fierce, and if you're going to have any pain it's going to be a slight burning sensation in those first few hours. If you can just sleep through it, it's for the best. I awoke that evening and the pain was completely gone. There was still plenty of irritation though, and you will continue to have that for... I forget what it was... maybe a day or two. Since the surface of your eye is cut, you might get the sensation there's a foreign object in there, like you've got an eyelash or something stuck in your eye. There's nothing you can do about it though. The anti-inflammatory drops are absolute lifesavers those first few hours. Every couple hours when I got to apply new ones... oh, it was so soothing.
I had my surgery on a Friday and was back to work on Monday. You can really do whatever you want to within a few hours after surgery, just DON'T rub your eyes -- they're still healing! Personally I would wipe away any tears, etc. that would go down onto my cheeks or wherever, but I did not touch any closer to my eyeballs than the orbital area. I tried not to apply any pressure or whatever to them. Your eyes will be very tear-y for the first day or so. It's slightly annoying, but I just planned a dull weekend and my eyes felt normal before I knew it.
You'll want to wear sunglasses outside, and they'll give you shields to put on over your eyes with athletic tape at night, so you don't accidentally brush/bump things while sleeping.
Also DO NOT SMOKE for the first couple weeks after surgery. I've been known to enjoy a cigar or hookah now and then, so I just had to avoid that. If you have a cig habit, you're going to need to lay off following Lasik. Your eyes are sensitive to smoke/particulate in the air. Similarly, if you work in a dusty environment, you're going to want to take time off or avoid that somehow. Particles getting into your wounds will increase the risk of infection or maybe cause things to not heal up right (I presume).
That's all I can think of for now. I mean, overall it seems like a very nice approach to vision correction, they really cover all the bases and it's not a difficult procedure to endure, etc. That's why I think it's a good thing and don't have an issue recommending it. And they did correct me down to 20/20.
Thanks for this Prolix. I just will be looking into this in the future and have bookmarked this as a good reference to read over. Thanks for being so thorough.
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Theres an ad right now on TL that says LASIK $1000 only. Heh.
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I only fear that I will start slumping in Starcraft after getting Lasik.
Thinking of getting it someday, something tells me that I should go Korea to do it.
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I live in the Philippines, I got mine done about 1.5 years ago for about 1000 USD (~42K PHP, for the PRK procedure). Yes, its cheaper here, doctors don't charge much. A growing industry here in my country is "Medical Tourism". Basically, since labor and expertise is cheaper, a lot of foreigners opt to get out patient surgery done together with their vacation. Mostly cosmetic stuff for women etc. Lasik is a pretty popular one as well.
Anyways, my vision is great. The only downside I can say is that about once every 2 months, I wake up in the morning with really dry eyes, which is very uncomfortable but not painful. It disappears after about an hour after waking.
My doctor said its because people don't always sleep with their eyes completely shut. So, from time to time, especially if you sleep with a fan, your eyes get dry.
I imagine some people sleep most nights or every night with eyes not shutting completely, I've seen it with friends. So you can factor this in before getting surgery done, as you might end up with dry eyes every morning after getting the procedure.
On May 20 2012 08:10 Bigtony wrote: Approaching two months out and still feeling very good. I had a scare last Saturday - my left eye was a bit blurry and felt dry, but this was really due to sleeping in an odd way and just having a really dry eye. It went away after a while and some moistening drops. I had forgotten that I sometimes got this pre-surgery after doing a particularly sweaty Bikram class or too long in the sauna/hot tub.
Lol, imagine you live in a country where the air is like sauna every day!
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I haven't checked on this thread in awhile. I'm glad that my last post was well-received. I did have a good/positive experience overall, but I certainly don't want to brush off the idea of possible complications, or act as though I'm guaranteeing a smooth procedure, so it's great if others continue to chime in with their stories.
On April 21 2012 16:23 Resent wrote: God i want to get this done, have the money but my prescription changed a bit at my last eyetest which would make me ineligible right? It can. The main goal is simply to not proceed with Lasik when your eyes are definitely still changing. That's not because it's inherently 'bad' for you -- the surgical will work the same -- but most people won't be satisfied if their vision continues to change shortly following the surgery, thus necessitating additional vision correction. Everyone prefers that these procedures be a once-per-lifetime event, so that's the main reason stability of your vision is important.
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