Anyone here have Lasik?

[tim.s]

Hoping to hear experiences (positive or negative) from people who have had Lasik or have experience from an immediate family member.

I'm wondering what the post-op time is like in the days following the surgery (discomforts, recovery time, vision fluctuations, etc...).
Also wondering if anyone has had any complications or vision fluctuations longer term.

The most common complaint seems to be "starbursts" and poor night vision caused by the the microkeratome which creates the corneal flap. But the new "bladeless" process (IntraLaski) is supposed to prevent those sideaffects.

Thanks

[jay]

Had it done 5 years ago, and am super pleased at the result. The surgeon who did mine had done my optometrist six weeks earlier; I figure if my regular eye doc is gonna trust her eyes to this guy, that's good enough for me.

I'd worn hard contacts or RGP contacts for almost 25 years, so I had to go almost 5 months in glasses to give my eyes time to re-stabilize.

The "scratchiness" right after surgery was bothersome, but they prepare you for it, and in my case I was able to take a late afternoon nap through most of it. My vision quickly settled in, and has been the same for the last 5 years. The "starburst" effect for me was no different that what I'd become accustomed to with contact lenses, which was no big deal.

I had "dry eyes" even before the surgery, and that got a little worse for a while. I ended up having a full set of punctal plugs put in my tear ducts. They're silicone plugs that block the tear ducts to prevent them from draining wha tear production you do have away too fast.

I'd highly recommend you try to PM or email DanL, and get another view, though. His wife has Lasik, and it didn't turn out as well.

Good luck on your decision, keep us in the loop, and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[MG Pilot]

I had LASIK performed in 7/99. The technology was not as good as it is now, but I have had no problems. I was 27 at the time and my eyes have regressed a tad. Hence, a fews years from now I will be faced with a choice...re-do the LASIK or wear glasses part time.

There was virtually no recovery time. In fact, I flew out to Washington for a climb just one week later. LASIK is pretty sweet, and with today's advancements, I would recommend it to anyone who was a good candidate. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[kemosabe]

tim.s: It's ironic that as I was reading your thread about Lasik, the banner above your post was about the exact same thing!!!

Coincidence or not?

[BCinTX]

Had Lasik done 5 years ago. Dry eyes bothered me for a few weeks but no problem now. Like Jay, no worse starbursts or night vision. But for about the first 1/2 hour or so in the morning my vision is a bit blurry--takes more effort to read, and far vision isn't so clear either. Not so much as to affect driving unless I need to read street signs, but since I telecommute I usually don't drive right away anyway.

Overall I'm very happy with not having to deal with glasses and contacts anymore and satisfied with my vision.

[DanL]

Originally posted by jay
Had it done 5 years ago, and am super pleased at the result. The surgeon who did mine had done my optometrist six weeks earlier; I figure if my regular eye doc is gonna trust her eyes to this guy, that's good enough for me.

I'd worn hard contacts or RGP contacts for almost 25 years, so I had to go almost 5 months in glasses to give my eyes time to re-stabilize.

The "scratchiness" right after surgery was bothersome, but they prepare you for it, and in my case I was able to take a late afternoon nap through most of it. My vision quickly settled in, and has been the same for the last 5 years. The "starburst" effect for me was no different that what I'd become accustomed to with contact lenses, which was no big deal.

I had "dry eyes" even before the surgery, and that got a little worse for a while. I ended up having a full set of punctal plugs put in my tear ducts. They're silicone plugs that block the tear ducts to prevent them from draining wha tear production you do have away too fast.

I'd highly recommend you try to PM or email DanL, and get another view, though. His wife has Lasik, and it didn't turn out as well.

Good luck on your decision, keep us in the loop, and if you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

How ya doin' Jay? Yes, it didn't turn out great for my wife even though she went to a great Lasik surgeon (the guy who did Tiger Wood's eyes, I believe). They did a follow-up Wave Front procedure last fall and there was no improvement. Turns out there's something weird about the surface of her eyes. She can still see but it's blurry and it's hard for her to drive at night to this day. Guess she's one of the unlucky few who had a negative experience, but the technology is changing rapidly so who knows. Glad we have the life-time guarantee.

Well, signing off in an hour or so for a nice three week vacation in California (SF, Yosemite, Sequoia) and Hawaii (Kauai) vacation. Wahoo!

Hold down the fort Kemo!

[john802]

DanL - Enjoy your vacation!!!

-john

[jay]

Originally posted by john802
DanL - Enjoy your vacation!!!

-john

Ditto, wish I could go along.

[FLPilot]

I had mine done 10/00 and it has been the best investment I have ever made. Being that I work midnights in S. Florida with the high humidity, it was hard to see at night. I would be driving around with the A/C on in the car. Get out to stop someone and the glasses would fog up.

I have 15/20 where I used to have 200/20 vision. First few hours were probably the worst where my eyes were itchy, but I just went to sleep with those plastic covers for your eyes. The weird part was the next morning when I went to grab my glasses and they weren't on the night stand. I purposely moved them. I opened my eyes to find them and I could see perfectly! I was like WooHoo!

I have had no problems at all with night driving or any thing else. Good luck with your decision.

[jay]

Originally posted by FLPilot
I had mine done 10/00 and it has been the best investment I have ever made. Being that I work midnights in S. Florida with the high humidity, it was hard to see at night. I would be driving around with the A/C on in the car. Get out to stop someone and the glasses would fog up.

I have 15/20 where I used to have 200/20 vision. First few hours were probably the worst where my eyes were itchy, but I just went to sleep with those plastic covers for your eyes. The weird part was the next morning when I went to grab my glasses and they weren't on the night stand. I purposely moved them. I opened my eyes to find them and I could see perfectly! I was like WooHoo!

I have had no problems at all with night driving or any thing else. Good luck with your decision.

Glad you had a good result. My vision started out at 15/20 or better, and settled in to 20/20. Like I told my optometrist, when I'm standing in aisle 1 in the grocery store, I really don't need to know that (by reading the sign) pancakes are in aisle 10. Or to use anothe analogy, I really didn't need to be able to count the hairs on that flea.

Working with computers all day long, I'm happy that my intermediate vision settled in such that I can see the screen unassisted.

[Stevie B]

A friend just had it done last month and is seeing perfectly. I believe he said there are follow up visits in the future but otherwise he's very pleased and doesn't miss his glasses one bit.

[tim.s]

Good stuff everyone, thanks.

I'm currently considering having just the left eye done first and then waiting a few months before having the other done. It lengthens the recovery time, but it splits up the risk some.

[RedWingJohn]

I had Lasik done about 6 years ago, after having worn contacts for over 20 years and glasses for 5 years before that. The correction got me from a minus-40 to a zero (20/20) on the vision scale. In other words, I was in coke-bottle territory before surgery. I had absolutely no complications, a quick recovery, and my vision held up very well.

BUT... late last year I noticed I was starting to squint to see clearly, especially at night. I got checked out, and my optometrist measured me at a minus-4. According to the doc, I'm just a victim of the aging process, and it was nothing to worry about. I now have a pair of glasses I wear for night driving and whenever I really need to see clearly in the distance (like when I slice my golf ball into the trees!).

Bottom line: am I glad I had Lasik - you bet! I would even consider having a second Lasik procedure to get me back to 20/20 or better.

[tim.s]

Well, I got it done this morning - both eyes - about 10 hours ago. Had quite a bit of hazing which decreased through the day as the flap has sealed.

Vision is pretty normal now - no as good as with contacts yet, but I still have the clear bandage contacts in and the correction is still settling down.

I'll let you know what it's like the next couple weeks as it gets more constant.

Thanks for all the replies and messages.

[jay]

Originally posted by tim.s
Well, I got it done this morning - both eyes - about 10 hours ago. Had quite a bit of hazing which decreased through the day as the flap has sealed.

Vision is pretty normal now - no as good as with contacts yet, but I still have the clear bandage contacts in and the correction is still settling down.

I'll let you know what it's like the next couple weeks as it gets more constant.

Thanks for all the replies and messages.

Best wishes! Here's to future lifetime of good unaided vision.