Lasik?

[ocoas]

I asked my Ophthalmologist about lasik his response.
"Go to a ophthalmologist convention and see how many have had lasik."
"Very few if any."
So I said you don't recommend it.
"No"
When I asked why, he said "I'm not taking any chances with my eyes."

A lot of people get it and have few problems.

 

[MaintMach]

I had it done in 2003. I was wearing contacts and my eyes were getting so bad that I was going to have to wear glasses with contacts to be able to see without the lens being double thickness coke bottle lens. The optometrist would cringe when he saw I was coming in for my eye examine. His office partner had Lasik done and he came in to talk to me about it and said get it done. Also one of the scientists where I worked had it done and he said his came out better than he had hoped for. The scientist went to someplace in Berkeley and watched a procedure prior to having his done.

The procedure was painless and fast. The doctor that did it said he would not guarantee that I wouldn't have to wear glasses since it was like throwing a football 100 yards and hitting a quarter. I did have to wear a bandaid contact lens on both eyes to hold the lens in place for 24 hours. It took about three days before I felt safe to drive a car. I did have a double vision of sorts for a while and the nighttime starring of lights but that did go away. I have one eye that can see distant and one for reading.

I asked if I would be able to wear contacts if I wasn't able to get by without glasses and was assured that I could. I have since been told I will have to have cataract surgery in the future by an optomoligist who said it wasn't a problem having had the Lasik's.

Dryness was a problem the first few months and then hasn't been a problem until a couple of years ago but I don't know if that if from age or not.

In the past few years I do wear glasses on occasion for driving especially at night, but I can drive at night without them if I have too. The glasses just make it more comfortable. I also am needing reading glasses more often, age.

I have a vhs tape of the procedure of them operating on my eyes.

Each to his own but I say have it done if you feel comfortable about it.

 

[jckloo]

I did Lasik a few years ago because I was at the point of needing bifocals, which would not work well for track days. I was at the outer edge of being correctable but did it anyway and have been really happy.

The immediate recovery time was fast but if your eyes are bad to begin with, like mine were, it can take 6 months for your eyes to fully adjust post-surgery. I have a harder time seeing in really dim light but otherwise, it has been a huge improvement. I went from coke bottle lenses to 20/10 vision.

I need reading glasses now but was at that point anyway - the Lasik didn't change that.

I used Scott Hyver - I wanted someone who did nothing but Lasik, had done thousands of procedures and saw my bad eyes as routine rather than some weird challenge. He was great.

 

[Killin_ix]

Do you guys have any recommendations about the procedure (or the process of finding a provider) that you can share?

Had this done about 5 years ago. Best investment ever! No more dry contacts when riding - really comes in handy at the track. No more foggy glasses on rainy days.

The process was quick and painless. Went in for lasik, wife drove me home, took a nap and woke up with a bit of blur vision. The next day I was able to see very clearly. Had to treat the eyes with drops so it won't dry out but no pain what so ever.


Any long term effects for those of you who have done it a while ago?

The first week or so there was sunburst or halos. They went away after and my eyes adjusted. No issues at the moment.

Any negative experiences or things to look out for?

See question above.

Any recommended providers that you had a good experience with?

I know you might say it's a joke.. but I went to Dr. Scott Hyver. Yes the same one you hear on the radio. After going to multiple consolations I found Hyver to be most convenient. Plus he gave me a friend discount.

Any chance some insurance will pay for some of it or is it all elective? I have a chance to re-select my insurance plan/provider soon so it could be a factor.

I used my flexible savings account from work. Saved a bit of money

I can't stress enough how much this changed my life. Especially when riding for longer period of time.

 

[Son-of-Ricardo]

So I've read about the starbust and halo effects, does wearing glasses at night help with that? Is it bad enough to be distracting for driving or riding?

I hate driving at night cuz I seem to get double glare from the windshield/faceshield then again on my glasses.

You will hear many anecdotal examples of good and bad experience with Corneal Refractive Surgery (CRS). Every experience will be a little different for each person. As with any surgical procedure, there are risks. But you have to look at the procedure's overall success - scrutinizing specifically, the clinic you are intending to go to. Do your homework and find the right surgeon - ask for references.

Just to illustrate how safe Corneal Refractive Surgery has become, the Air Force permits its fliers (pilots) to undergo the surgery (Lasik or PRK). These are individuals that operate under some of the most rigorous and stressful conditions operating multi-million dollar equipment. Most people seeking CRS will qualify for PRK, but not all qualify for Lasik (has something to do with actual shape of your eye). Hopefully you can qualify for Lasik because recovery was relatively quick and painless. As I mentioned, my wife did not qualify for Lasik and had PRK instead. She's a tough chick and has a very high pain tolerance, but she hated the recovery period.

The side-effects of star bursts/dry eyes etc. bother me very little and have been essentially non-issues. I stand by my statement that Lasik was one of the best things I'd done for myself. It liberated me from glasses and PIA contact lenses.

Again... best of luck and keep us posted.

 

[DTM74]

I've heard overwhelming positive reviews of lasik.

However the small number of negatives really freak me out, and I consider my eyes to be pretty damn irreplaceable.

This is my sentiment too. My contacts/glasses aren't a huge inconvenience to me to make the leap.

 

[hisg58]

one of the best decisions of my life. I went to Pacific Vision Institute in SF on a personal recommendation, but they were pricey. Less than a minute for each eye, had my parents come drive me home, was back in the office later that day with only slight blurriness. Not a single regret.

 

[berth]

As you may have noticed, eye surgery reviews tend to be 1 star or 5 stars. It's the nature of the beast.

My wife did it successfully, what, almost 20 years ago now. She's been getting reading glasses and night driving glasses for a couple years now.

She does not complain about the halos and such at night. That doesn't mean she doesn't see them, she just doesn't complain about them. So, in that light, the procedure was very successful.

All that said, boy howdy, was that one of the scariest forms I've ever seen signed in my life. The shiny pamphlets and glowing reviews are in STARK contrast to what you're signing away on that form. "WE ARE ABOUT BLAST YOUR EYEBALLS WITH LASERS!!!11!! CAVEAT EMPTOR! IF YOU WALK OUT OF HERE NOT DEAD AND BLINDED, COUNT YOURSELF FORTUNATE!"

Really awful disclaimer. I don't think the ones we signed for brain surgery were as bad as that thing.

And this was done back at the height. The process was assembly line. The room filled with patients. Your turn, valium already int eh system, add some anesthetic drops, NEXT, lie down, slice open your lens, KZAP POW SIZZLE, next eye, ZING BANG POP, here's some funky glasses, don't scratch it, up and out the door with you, NEXT!

The doctor doesn't move, people just shuffle through. 10 minutes.

 

[Roadstergal]

I went to UCSF opthamology at the Parnassus campus. The gentleman who saw me, after we chatted and he did his measurements, recommended PRK, not LASIK. He thought it would heal better and give me better outcomes, especially since I do impact sports.

So I went PRK, and they ablated my cornea rather than cutting a flap. What this meant was that I had to do one eye at a time, a week apart, because each eye had to recover for a week.

My long-term outcomes have been fantastic. No halos, no vignetting, no other visual artifacts, even when driving at night; my vision has been perfect for over 2 years now and counting.

So all I can say is, I highly recommend UCSF, and talk to the faculty there about your own individual circumstances.


ETA: I have a very good insurance plan; it didn't cover the surgery, but UCSF gave me a substantial discount after seeing the insurance plan.

 

[Starpower]

Had Lasik done maybe 15 years ago. No problems what-so-ever. No pain no night "flares" or similar. life changing!!

 

[kuksul08]

There is a correlation between positive reviews and small corrections.

Meaning, if you're legally blind--like I am--you ain't gonna achieve no happy, non-ghosting 20/15 no matter what.

My power is only 1.50 and 1.75. So I need glasses but I don't want to risk lasik.

 

[Guoseph]

Thanks for all the feedback and recommendations. I'm going to schedule an evaluation at least to see how things go. I'm thinking I want to get an evaluation at maybe 2 different places, I assume this is not bad etiquette, but it's my eyes and I want at least a second opinion.

My latest prescription was for 3.50 Left and 3.25 Right, with some measure of Astigmatism that I don't know the number of. I don't know where that falls on the scale of "if your vision was really bad before". Current thinking is if I can do Lasik I'll probably go for it, if PRK then maybe I'll hold off.

 

[Ogier le Danois]

Thanks for all the feedback and recommendations. I'm going to schedule an evaluation at least to see how things go. I'm thinking I want to get an evaluation at maybe 2 different places, I assume this is not bad etiquette, but it's my eyes and I want at least a second opinion.

My latest prescription was for 3.50 Left and 3.25 Right, with some measure of Astigmatism that I don't know the number of. I don't know where that falls on the scale of "if your vision was really bad before". Current thinking is if I can do Lasik I'll probably go for it, if PRK then maybe I'll hold off.

The place I went to in Denver recommended I get two consults.

https://www.2020institute.com/

I only did theirs before deciding against it.

It took about 1 hour from start to finish.

Maybe in the future.

 

[HadesOmega]

Had LASIK done 3 years ago and saw the VA eye doctor today and they said my eyes are in good shape still =) Like I mentioned before I don't notice any side effects anymore. Before had slight halos and sensitive to light but I don't even notice it anymore. =)

 

[kingmoochr]

Another Scott Hyver patient...I believe it was 5600 when I went 10 years ago. I saw 20/50 with mild astigmatism before, 20/15 after. Only on my last look at an eye chart was I 20/20 both eyes open. Super worth it, and Scott Hyver offered lifetime vision correction. In addition, soon after my surgery, I was grinding metal and got a shard in my eye (I had lazy eye protection habits due to wearing glasses all the time). I made an appt for him to take a look at it. He sat me down, put a few drops in my eye, and scooped it out, saying "that was fun" as I walked out. I think he was happy to not just be doing another surgery. No charge or bill. Highly recommend him. My night glare is no worse than the double glare you already get with glasses, and my recovery time was less than a day. It was more annoying trying to keep the goggles on at night.

 

[Hoho]

Got LASIK done back in 1999, by 2010, my eyes had started regressing, now I wear glasses again. But it was the best 11 years not having to wear eyeglasses, and wear just regular sunglasses...

I'd do it again if I qualified for a redo.

EDIT:

No issues with starbursts or glare after a month. The first month when the "flap" was healing, there were some, but that went away.

 

[Guoseph]

Ok, I think Scott Hyver's name on the to check out list, also I think Turner. Any other places?

 

[turboLT]

Do it. I got it young for other reasons. It's been 11 years since I've had it and still glasses free. I might have to get it again at some point since I'm still young but it was the easiest surgery I've ever had and worth every penny.

 

[bergmen]

I asked my Ophthalmologist about lasik his response.
"Go to a ophthalmologist convention and see how many have had lasik."
"Very few if any."
So I said you don't recommend it.
"No"
When I asked why, he said "I'm not taking any chances with my eyes."

A lot of people get it and have few problems.

At 67 I have lens corrected 20/15 vision in both eyes (glasses). Zero risk to my eyeballs and easy to adjust things with glasses. My driving glasses have transition lenses (darken when exposed to UV) and have a blended bi-focal for sharp vision of things at arms length (dash panels in cars or motorcycles, instrument panels in aircraft, etc.). I can read okay with them (newspapers, menus, novels, etc.) but prefer my reading glasses for extended work (computers).

I have always had good vision, never needed correction until the inevitable age degradation. I've never been a poke-my-finger-in-the-eye type so never considered contacts like my brother and Dad did.

I've never had better vision in my life with my outstanding, lightweight, super comfortable glasses. I don't even know they are there. I have a few extra sets as backups in my vehicles (required for driving). I also have a set of reading glasses for computers, etc. (I am an ME working on 3d CAD systems all day).

Night vision is perfect, no issues at all.

Glasses can be changed, adjusted, fine tuned, replaced, optimized. Eyeballs cannot.

Dan

 

[kingmoochr]

At 67 I have lens corrected 20/15 vision in both eyes (glasses). Zero risk to my eyeballs and easy to adjust things with glasses. My driving glasses have transition lenses (darken when exposed to UV) and have a blended bi-focal for sharp vision of things at arms length (dash panels in cars or motorcycles, instrument panels in aircraft, etc.). I can read okay with them (newspapers, menus, novels, etc.) but prefer my reading glasses for extended work (computers).

I have always had good vision, never needed correction until the inevitable age degradation. I've never been a poke-my-finger-in-the-eye type so never considered contacts like my brother and Dad did.

I've never had better vision in my life with my outstanding, lightweight, super comfortable glasses. I don't even know they are there. I have a few extra sets as backups in my vehicles (required for driving). I also have a set of reading glasses for computers, etc. (I am an ME working on 3d CAD systems all day).

Night vision is perfect, no issues at all.

Glasses can be changed, adjusted, fine tuned, replaced, optimized. Eyeballs cannot.

Dan

You never notice they're there...until you're not wearing them...waking up in the morning and being able to see the clock without reaching for glasses was just 1 of the perk's you don't think about.