Laser Eye Surgery

[Drew2]

Anyone had any experience with it? Got it themselves, family member, etc. Is it worth it? I've been considering making it a goal, since contact/glasses are getting beyond annoying... and in the end, I'll probably save money over the course of a few decades of exams/glasses.

My biggest concern is the risk involved. I don't want to go blind. :(

Or, if you don't have experience with it, would you do it?

[Edited on 1-25-2004 by Tayre]

Tayre IM me i will tell you anything you need to know
my Dr's do pre-op and post-op work for it

[Edited on 1-25-2004 by The Edine]

if anyone else has honist questions let me know in u2u's and ill contact you

[Jonty]

I'm considering it sometime in the future also. If you could, Edine could you U2U whatever you tell Tayre about it please? Thanks.

turn your IM on jonty

[Drew2]

The Edine really is the best.

Go figure.

[Souzy]

Damn I'm all extra late, but my older sister had it done. It worked for her.

[GSLeloo]

I'm honestly scared of lazers being near my eyes. I get freaked out of the idea of even having my eye poked... my eyes are sensitive!

[Snapp]

I'm with Leloo.. it freaks me out the thought of someone zapping my eye... so I'll just stick with my contact (yes, I only wear ONE) for a while.

[Shari]

Being a photo major I'm extremely hesitant about laser eye surgery. My uncle had it done for his farsightedness and it worked for awhile and went back to the way it was. He got the surgery done a second time and the same thing happened. Last summer I saw him he was waiting to get the treatment done a third time.

I'm sure age has something to do with it. Obviously younger eyes are going to heal faster/easier. My uncle is by no means young so I'm sure that was a factor in why he was experiencing problems.

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by GSLeloo
I'm honestly scared of lazers being near my eyes. I get freaked out of the idea of even having my eye poked... my eyes are sensitive!
From what I hear it's actually a really little saw that they cut up your cornea with. If that makes you feel better. :D I'm sure Edine will correct me if, once again, I'm talking out of my ass.

Originally posted by Jesae
Being a photo major I'm extremely hesitant about laser eye surgery. My uncle had it done for his farsightedness and it worked for awhile and went back to the way it was. He got the surgery done a second time and the same thing happened. Last summer I saw him he was waiting to get the treatment done a third time.

I'm sure age has something to do with it. Obviously younger eyes are going to heal faster/easier. My uncle is by no means young so I'm sure that was a factor in why he was experiencing problems.

That is because of a diffrent alement that happens to everyone in their old age Presbyopia
Lens in your eye becomes less elastic and can not focus up close, he had to have it done more than once because it progresses untill about (starts at the magic number of 43) 65-70 years old
which is the reason for most people wearing bifocials.

more like a razor they use to slice it open then its a laser that tracks your eye that does the job, only manual part is the slicing of the cornea

[Ravenstorm]

I'll never have it done.

It won't save me money as my prescription doesn't change - which is the usual case after a while, I understand - so I don't go through lots of glasses. Nor do I wear contacts any more. And while it is, generally speaking, a safe procedure, I see no need to take that small chance of having something go wrong.

It's really just a purely cosmetic procedure so why risk even a .5% chance (or whatever it is) of hurting my vision for some vanity and convenience?

Raven

[Latrinsorm]

Originally posted by Ravenstorm
I'll never have it done.

It won't save me money as my prescription doesn't change - which is the usual case after a while, I understand - so I don't go through lots of glasses. Nor do I wear contacts any more. And while it is, generally speaking, a safe procedure, I see no need to take that small chance of having something go wrong.

It's really just a purely cosmetic procedure so why risk even a .5% chance (or whatever it is) of hurting my vision for some vanity and convenience?

Raven
different strokes

I wake up every morning and wish I had perfect vision. Every time I go to a baseball game I wish I had perfect vision. Every time I go to sleep I wish I had perfect vision. Guess what I'm going to have done when I get some money?

(I'll just leave that open-ended for now)

Heh it matters for me. Then again, i shoot people for a living.

[Drew2]

I agree with Latrinsorm. Sure the contacts and the glasses don't create a huge impact on my daily life, but when I wake up, go to sleep, or try and focus on things for long periods of time, you bet your ass I wish someone would go inside my eye and make everything all better. I have a slight stigmatism(sp) in my right eye that I don't get corrected because Toric lenses are more expensive, so I'm forever cursed with a very slight blur, no matter what I use.

It would be nice to wake up one morning and see the world crystal clear without that grimy crap feeling you get from sleeping with your contacts in. Or waking up and having to feel for your glasses because you can't fucking see. That's not cool.

Try taking a piss in the morning when you are to blind to find your way to the bathroom. Tayre knows what that is like.... and good luck for him if he wants to look at the alarm clock

Tayre, dont sleep in your damn contatcs you have a better chance of going blind by abusing them than you do having the surgery.

[GSLeloo]

Originally posted by The Edine
more like a razor they use to slice it open then its a laser that tracks your eye that does the job, only manual part is the slicing of the cornea

My god... keep your razors away from my eyes!!!!!! I swear to god if anyone came near my eyes with a freaking razor they'd come back minus some parts... That made me feel sick.

your hopped up on a high dose of Valium in most cases so your content

[GSLeloo]

Never! You will not drug me! God it's like a bad horror movie where they drug you and then perform illegal experiments on you and you come back being like Robocop.

[J-Tech]

My aunt got laser eye surgery done on both of her eyes a few months ago in cuba for 200$ US - Cuban doctors are really good too.

-John

[Soulpieced]

There is very little risk, and hopefully I plan on getting it done at a later time.

The problem is, I've talked to my eye doctor, and she said you really have to wait at least 5 or 6 years AFTER your eyes stop changing. My prescription hasn't stayed the same for any 1 year period, so I'll be 28 or older by the time I can safely get it (probably Lacek).

heh J-tech
I would not trust somebody who only charged $200 for the surgery...

[Wezas]

My boss got it done about a year ago, she's older (early-mid 40's) so her doctor told her she would still need reading glasses. But her long-distance vision is perfect. She has started using her reading glasses, and tells everyone that it's a great experience.

[Drew2]

Come to think of it, Leloo brings up a good point. I'm n ot sure how chill I can be with a doctor bringing a razor to my eyes. I'm starting to reconsider.

[J-Tech]

Heh - Obviously you dont know how good cuban doctors are - There better than american docotrs, the reason they dont charges so much is because it ISNT america. Man open your eyes to the rest of the world.

-John

[J-Tech]

Might i add she had this surgery done in september and here eyes are SOOOOO much better, and there was no flaws or fuck ups while they were doing it, so yes, i would say i trust some one that charges 200$ because like i said, its not america, so you dont get roayal fucked over like you do by the doctors in america.

-John

I work in the Field, I know a bit more about the quality of service. Quban doctors can not aford the multi million dollar lasers that are out now, maybe if they are using older technology

they also will not have the history of doing 30,000-100,000 procedures

sure they will have success and wont have complications, im not saying she did not have a good surgery done.
The diffrence is when a Doctor has a complication average of %1.5 to %0.3

[Ravenstorm]

If you want to make an informed decision, read. The informed consumer is a happy consumer. You can never ask too many questions before someone cuts into you.

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/LASIK/risks.htm

Raven

naw the peeling back of the front layer of the cornia is not that hard... as long as the doctor does not sneeze.

[Prestius]

I just got my eyes done a couple of months ago. Best $1500 I've ever spent.

I've been wearing contacts and glasses for years and years and it is awesome not to have to deal with any of that crap anymore. The surgery is a breeze and lasts maybe 5-10 minutes max. It is a little unnerving knowing that they are zapping your eye, but it's over so fast that it's not a big deal. Besides, they give you Xanax to mellow you out beforehand. The worst part was probably the smell - kinda smells like burning hair. No big though .. and to not have to deal with glasses at all anymore is just awesome.

After the surgery my eyes were perfect. They did sort of go in and out of focus off and on for about a week, but after that it's all good. I went from 20/300 to 20/20 in one fell swoop.

Highly reccomended.

-P

[Drew2]

20/300????? Omfg. Nightmare.

Mine are only like.. 20/50 and 20/70. Maybe a little higher.

[Edited on 1-27-2004 by Tayre]

[Wezas]

My contacts are -5.5, what would that put my vision at, Edine?

[Drew2]

Worse than mine.

Mine are -4.25 and -3.75 (left and right)

Although my right has a slight uncorrected stigmatism so it seems worse.


Edit: I feel much better knowing my life isn't as sucky as some that have glasses. Sorry for you guys.

[Edited on 1-27-2004 by Tayre]

Originally posted by Tayre
20/300????? Omfg. Nightmare.

Mine are only like.. 20/50 and 20/70. Maybe a little higher.

[Edited on 1-27-2004 by Tayre]

Tayre your not 2\50 20\70

your prolly 20\400 or 20\200 depending on how well your eyes accommodate

Originally posted by Wezas
My contacts are -5.5, what would that put my vision at, Edine?

Wezas your blind.
you prolly cant even see the big E on a 400 chart so Id say 20\800

[Drew2]

....oh. Well the first exam I had like 3-4 years ago, I was 20/50 , 20/70.

[Latrinsorm]

Edine my glasses are about yay thick, how bad are my eyes? :D

I'm interested in some of that Xanax stuff, though. How many times you think I could ask to have the surgery and change my mind at the last second before they cut? Mmmm.. free (to me) pills.

[HarmNone]

There has been some excellent information presented in this thread, by various people. Edine has knowledge on the subject, as do those who have had the procedure done.

The best advice I could give would be to use common sense. Research the subject thoroughly (as Raven suggested), talk to people who have had it done, do some intense "doctor shopping" by looking into the success-to-failure ratios of physicians in your area who perform the procedure and choose the best one, and talk to the doctor extensively, asking any and all questions that might come to mind. It is always a good idea to spend some time thinking about what you want to know and write your questions down before going to see the doc you have chosen.

If you do that, you have raised the odds of having a successful procedure exponentially. :)

HarmNone