Has anyone has their vision fixed with LASIK?

Just got back from the opticians and it seems that my eyes are starting to reject my contact lenses (G/P), and I need to start cutting my wear time down. 

As I can't stand wearing glasses I was thinking about having my eyes fixed with laser treatment and was wondering if anyone else here has had it done?

If you have I was wonder what the results were like for you, is it as good as or better vision wise than wearing glasses/contacts?  What's your night vision like, how long did it take you to recover to a point where you could work again, that sort of thing.  I'm hoping I'll only need a couple of days off work, then work from home for a week or some such?

I'm asking this question here as most of you also spend you days staring at a computer screen in an dry air conned room (which is one of the things causing problems for me) as some of the side effects can be dryness in the eye for a while after the op which this environment can make worse!

Off to see someone about this next week, just nice to go armed with questions! 

Cheers,

Stephen. 

You want to be asking about failure rates and what the consequences are of it going wrong. You also want to be sure that you dont have any conditions auch as keratonitis which cause thining of the retina as that would do more damage.

Basicly - its a mediacal procedure so yo want to be as sure as you would with any other - but remember it is effectively a "vanity" treatement that you are paying for. While the optician you would use to do it is bound in the same way a physician is, there is the tension there in that they also want to make money.

Basicly - I would get a second opinion first.

My sister had this done.

By the time my mother drove her home from the doctor's office, her vision was 20-30.  Over the next week or so, it gradually improved to 20-20. She went back to work the day after the surgery.

They gave her eyedrops in case she experienced dryness, but she didn't need them.  She's a dentist so she works in a dust-free, clean, hospital-like environment so your experience may vary.

I'm going to do it someday, but I can't justify the expense yet, especially since my insurance wouldn't cover it at all.

Custom PRK Laser Eye surgery,

On the expense front -- I heard a radio article on getting these treatments cheaply a coupl eof years ago.

Some of the companies will try to fill last minute empty booking slots by selling cheap on eBay.  Sounds weird, but it's their way of minimising the losses of an empty operating chair.  It's the same treatment by the same people, just last minute -- kind of like 'Easy-Eye'?

Example : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Laser-Eye-Surgery-Treatment-from-395-or-12-pm-x36mths_W0QQitemZ110156788214QQihZ001QQcategoryZ75084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Personally I wouldn't be able to cope with eye-surgery as a last minute event (I'm to anally-retentive for that), but the savings could be worth it.


Herbie


PS : I love the way they quote the price as 'per eye'.  I always get a mental image of a pirate with an eye-patch shouting 'What a bargain!'

PerfectPhase wrote:

As I can't stand wearing glasses I was thinking about having my eyes fixed with laser treatment and was wondering if anyone else here has had it done?

Heh, never; not me

I like the slight magnification of vision my myopia gives me, makes it easier for me to see fine details without a magnifying glass (like picking my nails, etc).

But I'm more concerned about the loss of periphial vision; I read somewhere that you're not allowed to drive at night in certain countries if you've had the surgery.

Then there's the article by Health Which?....

blowdart wrote:

One day they'll work out how to treat -12.

*mutter*

They fixed mine with ICLs (Implantable Collamer Lenses).  Eyesight recovery was nearly instant.  I could see on the operating table as soon as they unfolded the lens.  As a bonus they can be removed later or touched up with Lasik if the correction isn't perfect.  Took me from minus a lot to 20/15 after four weeks.  I was 20/25 by the next day.  Of course, like everything, there are risks.  ICLs present a different set of risks such as possible early onset cataracts.

W3bbo wrote:



PerfectPhase wrote: As I can't stand wearing glasses I was thinking about having my eyes fixed with laser treatment and was wondering if anyone else here has had it done?

Heh, never; not me

I like the slight magnification of vision my myopia gives me, makes it easier for me to see fine details without a magnifying glass (like picking my nails, etc).

But I'm more concerned about the loss of periphial vision; I read somewhere that you're not allowed to drive at night in certain countries if you've had the surgery.

Then there's the article by Health Which?....

I'd like to read about the peripheral vision loss due to the surgery, however a Google search returned nothing, do you remember where you read about it?

Well I'm of the opinion that poor eyesight is better than no eyesight at all, so I don't think I'd risk it.

I'll wait for someone to come with Rentinax-5; you know, that stuff that Captain Kirk was allergic to.

mig wrote:

I'd like to read about the peripheral vision loss due to the surgery, however a Google search returned nothing, do you remember where you read about it?

Loss of periphary vision wasn't related to it, probably just something from the rumour mill.

As with anything I say, take it with a bulk-tanker's worth of salt.

Ray6 wrote:

I'll wait for someone to come with Rentinax-5; you know, that stuff that Captain Kirk was allergic to.

Intreasting    So you're not happy with a laser reshaping your eye, but are quite happy to have your DNA/Whatever re-written

Dupe.

After wearing coke bottle glasses and fighting contacts with allergys I had it done.  It was about 7 years ago and I still only have one word to say 'AWESOME'.

Doesn't it tend to leave people with a viciously penetrating expression? Darker eyes that seem to need to open wider than before?

Vanity rejection?  Presbyopia is my forte, and my arms have become too short to read a menu without reading glasses.

Where's the pasture, I'm ready to graze... kick me, I'm yours... meps.

Whatever you do, if you are broke, don't be so desparate as to try to "do it yourself" or having a "skiing buddy do it on the cheap."

After all, over on Slashdot they're running an article about how to build a MagLite laser. Sometimes, I think, knowledge is a bad thing.

blowdart wrote:



out180 wrote:  blowdart wrote: One day they'll work out how to treat -12. *mutter* They fixed mine with ICLs (Implantable Collamer Lenses).  Eyesight recovery was nearly instant.  I could see on the operating table as soon as they unfolded the lens.  As a bonus they can be removed later or touched up with Lasik if the correction isn't perfect.  Took me from minus a lot to 20/15 after four weeks.  I was 20/25 by the next day.  Of course, like everything, there are risks.  ICLs present a different set of risks such as possible early onset cataracts.

Yea, I've seen the prices for that. And cataracts? I don't think my vanity goes far enough to risk that.

It wasn't too much more at the surgery clinic I went to.  I think the difference was $200 per eye, although I could be mistaken.

I took a considerable amount of time to weigh the risks, including the possibility of early onset cataracts.  After a couple dozen of years of headaches, heavy glasses on my nose, and horrible hard contact experiences I decided to go forward.  So far so good.  If it bites me later then I can't say I wasn't warned.  If I do get cataracts later in life they'll pull the ICLs and put in a crystals lens, or whatever is used at that time.  It's a very tough choice that everyone should take a considerable amount of time to consider.