Author Topic: LASIK.... (Read 827 times)

zer0netgain · « **on:** January 14, 2020, 08:03:54 AM »

I'm considering it. Anyone have input?

Black Hills · « **Reply #1 on:** January 14, 2020, 08:12:42 AM »

while I haven't had it myself, most that I know who have had it liked it. One guy can no longer drive at night due to it, but that was 15 years ago so??

viffergyrl · « **Reply #2 on:** January 14, 2020, 09:01:12 AM »

Well. I had it done in my mid 30s and I'm 61 now. It was great for about 15 years, until I needed reading glasses. Now I need two pairs of glasses. One I wear all the time which are bifocals for up close and the upper part is mostly uncorrected. The second pair are also bifocals, but the upper half is for the computer. In short, I am now far-sighted... and still wear glasses.

Had I not had it done, I would still need glasses for distance, but would be taking off my glasses for reading or close work. So I'm kinda meh at this point.

If you have astigmatism, you need to ask questions about how that will be addressed. You also need to ask about replacing your lenses if you have cataracts down the road.

On the upside, I didn't have the side effects of dry eyes or halos at night. In fact, I take my glasses off at night because of the coating on the glasses blurs my distance vision a bit. I can see the dash well enough, but need glasses for the GPS.

Black Hills · « **Reply #3 on:** January 14, 2020, 09:15:01 AM »

astigmatism is the reason I have not considered it.

Bounce · « **Reply #4 on:** January 14, 2020, 09:28:40 AM »

See my comment on .com about halos.

BTW: Cataract surgery fixed my astigmatism (20:150 in that eye) AND an unexpected side effect was that I saw purple for the first after I healed up. I've been red/green color blind my whole life. Even the surgeon was not expecting that.

jadziadax8 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 14, 2020, 09:42:15 AM »

I had it done last April and could not be happier. I have been severely nearsighted (-6.00 D in right eye, -7.00 D in left) since I was a kid. Ten years ago, they would not have been able to correct my eyes fully, but the tech has gotten so good since then that they were able to do it. Since my correction was so severe, I had to pay $$$ to get it done, but the correction is guaranteed for life. This is not the case if I develop presbyopia, i.e. age-related farsightedness, because that is caused by a muscular defect in your eyes, not a shape defect.

Anyway, the procedure could not have gone better. I got a prescription for Valium and Ambien. I took the Valium before the procedure to get relaxed, as you are awake for it. It took seven minutes for them to pry open my eyes and reshape my cornea. I went home, took the Ambien, slept 12 hours and was able to drive myself to work the next day. I see perfectly (20/15). I get a little glare at night, but that has only been happening recently because the air is dry for the winter. I otherwise have no trouble with dry eyes.

For someone who has struggled with vision defects for nearly her whole life, not having to deal with glasses or contacts is a miracle. I would recommend LASIK to anyone.

jadziadax8 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 14, 2020, 09:42:40 AM »

Quote from: Bounce on January 14, 2020, 09:28:40 AM

an unexpected side effect was that I saw purple for the first after I healed up. I've been red/green color bling my whole life. Even the surgeon was not expecting that.

Neat!

viffergyrl · « **Reply #7 on:** January 14, 2020, 09:57:54 AM »

Oh yes. Totally overjoyed to be able to read the alarm clock without my glasses and the license plate on my car down in the parking lot from my second story apartment. And it was good for 15 years that way. But my vision was in the -3 to -4 range and not -6 to -7. YMMV.

And presbyopia is not a muscle defect; it's caused by the loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens:

Inability of the eye to focus sharply on nearby objects, resulting from loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens with advancing age.
n. Diminished power of accommodation for near objects, incident to advancing years, and due to progressive loss of elasticity in the crystalline lens.
A defect of vision consequent upon advancing age. It is due to rigidity of the crystalline lens, which produces difficulty of accommodation and recession of the near point of vision, so that objects very near the eyes can not be seen distinctly without the use of convex glasses. Called also presbytia.

It's a symptom of age and everyone gets it to some degree:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/presbyopia/symptoms-causes/syc-20363328

zer0netgain · « **Reply #8 on:** January 14, 2020, 10:44:13 AM »

Dang....I'm really thinking twice about it now. I can function fine without glasses...just most things are blurry. Sounds like the benefit isn't worth the risks.

viffergyrl · « **Reply #9 on:** January 14, 2020, 11:17:20 AM »

Another upside was the valium/demerol combo they gave me prior to the surgery. Best high I ever had. Giggled my way through the whole procedure. I only wish I had brought a headband with antennae on them coz you walk out with these perforated plastic eye cups over your eyes to prevent you from touching your eyes.

I would have looked like a human dragonfly. It would have been totally worth it.

Meemuh · « **Reply #10 on:** January 14, 2020, 11:25:14 AM »

I'm in the same boat as jadziadax8, except that I had it done 19 years ago (my wife and I got it done on the same day). I wasn't able to read my big digital alarm clock from more that a foot away...I just couldn't see. A couple years ago, my wife got readers - and this past fall I actually ended up back in regular glasses, but they are far from a strong prescription.
I dealt/deal with a bit of starburst at night, but nothing that's troubling for me.

Both my wife and I ended up with really good results from our surgery, and we are both really glad that we had it done. We didn't have any issues that weren't worth dealing with when considering how much our eyesight improved.

But, I was "nearly blind" (my description - not a medical diagnosis). If you can function without glasses or dropping contacts in - I wouldn't mess with it.

Bounce · « **Reply #11 on:** January 14, 2020, 01:32:54 PM »

Quote from: zer0netgain on January 14, 2020, 10:44:13 AM

Dang....I'm really thinking twice about it now. I can function fine without glasses...just most things are blurry. Sounds like the benefit isn't worth the risks.

The question to ask yourself is if things could me worse if you lost eyesight in one (or more) eyes as a result. It happens.

Like I said. 20:150 with a "tilt" because of the football-shaped lens. The other was more like 20:75. With the increasing opacity of my OEM lenses, my answer changed. My star bursts are (they say) because I had such good peripheral vision to start with. I can see the edges of the lenses as they move in-and-out to focus (I opted for the high-zoot multifocals over fixed focal lengths).

{Bee dee bee dee bee dee}

Oddball · « **Reply #12 on:** January 14, 2020, 07:36:19 PM »

I had it on January 4, 2008. For three years I dealt with dry eyes, halo's, and erratic vision. Then magically everything was fine except driving at dusk and dawn.

Flash forward to 2018. All of a sudden headaches every afternoon. Eye strain. I now wear full progressive lenses all the time.

Still stop driving and relax at dusk and dawn due to problems. Technologies advance. Things change. But I will NEVER recommend LASIK.

Cablebandit · « **Reply #13 on:** January 15, 2020, 06:16:50 AM »

Ever time I get an eye exam they always tell me what a great candidate I would be. Then they always go on to say I'll need reading glasses once I age because pretty much everyone does. So what's the point? Everyone I know that's had it done seems to have some sort of issues from it, either initially or eventually. To top it off most of them carry around glasses now anyway. It I need to carry glasses around I'd prefer to just store them on my face.

Plus, if I could actually see the alarm clock that would take away the excitement of waking up in the middle of the night and trying to guess the time. Is it 12:00 and I can get some more slumber, or is it 4:27 and I have to get up in 3 minutes?

You only get one set of eyes...don't fuck them up.

CLAY · « **Reply #14 on:** January 15, 2020, 07:46:08 AM »

Quote from: Bounce on January 14, 2020, 09:28:40 AM

an unexpected side effect was that I saw purple for the first after I healed up. I've been red/green color blind my whole life. Even the surgeon was not expecting that.

THAT is fascinating. I am red-green colorblind as well. Did they have any explanation? We a re missing (or not working right) certain cones- I wonder what changed? Interesting!

minimac · « **Reply #15 on:** January 15, 2020, 08:41:06 AM »

Quote from: Bounce on January 14, 2020, 09:28:40 AM

.... Cataract surgery fixed my astigmatism (20:150 in that eye) AND an unexpected side effect was that I saw purple for the first after I healed up. I've been red/green color blind my whole life. Even the surgeon was not expecting that.

I had the same-only I didn't have cataracts. Try 20-500! The surgeon said everyone has the "beginnings" of cataracts, but they do not develop in everyone. His practice is based on removing those"beginnings"and implanting a corrective lens. By doing so, insurance covers the cost-or most of it-because it's considered corrective rather than cosmetic surgery. It's a once and done procedure. I had mine done thirteen years ago and as I'm this close to seventy, do not need glasses. My eyes are still 20-20 and 20-30, although I wore coke bottle glasses for fifty years in order to barely pass an eye exam. I too, would never recommend Lasik - I've seen (no pun intended) too many bad results.

smoker · « **Reply #16 on:** January 15, 2020, 01:32:47 PM »

My only recommendation is this: don't make a decision based on one of the smallest sample groups on a forum that is one of the smallest sample groups from which the forum was created.

Meemuh · « **Reply #17 on:** January 15, 2020, 01:51:19 PM »

Do you mean to imply that we are statistically insignificant?

Quote from: smoker on January 15, 2020, 01:32:47 PM

My only recommendation is this: don't make a decision based on one of the smallest sample groups on a forum that is one of the smallest sample groups from which the forum was created.

OHScot · « **Reply #18 on:** January 15, 2020, 01:54:00 PM »

Quote from: Cablebandit on January 15, 2020, 06:16:50 AM

Ever time I get an eye exam they always tell me what a great candidate I would be. Then they always go on to say I'll need reading glasses once I age because pretty much everyone does. So what's the point? Everyone I know that's had it done seems to have some sort of issues from it, either initially or eventually. To top it off most of them carry around glasses now anyway. It I need to carry glasses around I'd prefer to just store them on my face.

Plus, if I could actually see the alarm clock that would take away the excitement of waking up in the middle of the night and trying to guess the time. Is it 12:00 and I can get some more slumber, or is it 4:27 and I have to get up in 3 minutes?

You only get one set of eyes...don't fuck them up.

You working third shift now? Heading in at dinnertime that sucks.

Or is there a 4:30 in the morning too?

Cablebandit · « **Reply #19 on:** January 15, 2020, 02:12:26 PM »

Black Hills · « **Reply #20 on:** January 15, 2020, 03:01:13 PM »

Quote from: Meemuh on January 15, 2020, 01:51:19 PM

Do you mean to imply that we are statistically insignificant?

story of my life..

smoker · « **Reply #21 on:** January 15, 2020, 04:49:24 PM »

Quote from: Meemuh on January 15, 2020, 01:51:19 PM

Do you mean to imply that we are statistically insignificant?

Quote from: smoker on January 15, 2020, 01:32:47 PM
My only recommendation is this: don't make a decision based on one of the smallest sample groups on a forum that is one of the smallest sample groups from which the forum was created.

That plus some of us like to drink so..... yeah.

Cablebandit · « **Reply #22 on:** January 15, 2020, 04:59:35 PM »

Quote from: smoker on January 15, 2020, 04:49:24 PM

Quote from: Meemuh on January 15, 2020, 01:51:19 PM
Do you mean to imply that we are statistically insignificant?

Quote from: smoker on January 15, 2020, 01:32:47 PM
My only recommendation is this: don't make a decision based on one of the smallest sample groups on a forum that is one of the smallest sample groups from which the forum was created.

That plus some of us like to drink so..... yeah.

02:32:47 PM

Yup, that math checks out.

maddjack · « **Reply #23 on:** January 15, 2020, 06:33:36 PM »

I recommend against,besides not lasting,if in the future you need anything done to your eyes,particularly if you develop glaucoma,it can be a problem.

Bounce · « **Reply #24 on:** January 16, 2020, 01:58:50 PM »

Quote from: Oddball on January 14, 2020, 07:36:19 PM

I had it on January 4, 2008. For three years I dealt with dry eyes, halo's, and erratic vision. Then magically everything was fine except driving at dusk and dawn.

Thank you for that ray of hope. Both my eyes were done around this time last year. 2 more to go...

Quote from: CLAY on January 15, 2020, 07:46:08 AM

Quote from: Bounce on January 14, 2020, 09:28:40 AM
an unexpected side effect was that I saw purple for the first after I healed up. I've been red/green color blind my whole life. Even the surgeon was not expecting that.

THAT is fascinating. I am red-green colorblind as well. Did they have any explanation? We a re missing (or not working right) certain cones- I wonder what changed? Interesting!

Nope. No explanation. Upright angles in that one eye become upright instead of a 30º tilt was expected. Vision correction was also expected. As for the purple... I still don't see purples to the blue end as anything other than blue (darker tint than royal blue for example) but I can now see the purples to the red end as something other than either red or grey. I had to learn (figure out) that it was the elusive "purple". Since R/G CB is a function of the cones, all I can conclude is that there was something in the OEM lenses that contributed to it.