Ever Had LASIK Surgery?

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sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:14 PM
I've got my surgery scheduled. I'll be going under the laser on the 14th. I first got glasses when I was 9, and began wearing contacts my freshman year of high school. After almost 19 years wearing corrective lenses, I can't wait to get this done!

Anyone done it? They told me I might experience "halos" from lights at night. How bad was it for you? And how long did that last?
Jun 6, 2012 10:14pm
gerb131's avatar

gerb131

Senior Member

9,932 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:23 PM
Can't help you but that is one surgery that I dont need but would love to have done.
I drive about 1200 a week and my eyes get tired of focusing and driving at night has become a bit more difficult I hate to say.
Jun 6, 2012 10:23pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:25 PM
I don't know anyone that has gotten LASIK that regretted it. The technology for it these days is pretty good; I doubt you will have any ill effects.
Jun 6, 2012 10:25pm
Commander of Awesome's avatar

Commander of Awesome

Senior Pwner

23,151 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:27 PM
I've been thinking about this for a while. I got a nasty eye infection last yr and since my eyes have been pretty dry. Hard to wear contacts on consecutive days, and would make not having to deal with it very convenient.
Jun 6, 2012 10:27pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:35 PM
My wife has tossed around the idea of getting it. Her eyes are pretty bad, I'm not sure what her holdup is.
Jun 6, 2012 10:35pm
password's avatar

password

Senior Member

2,360 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:36 PM
My wife complains about wearing glasses everyday and talks about wanting to have the surgery but she is scared to death that something will go wrong with the laser during surgery or she will move and it will damage her eyes. I also wear glasses but unlike most people, I actually like the look and wont even wear contacts. I had an employee get the surgery about 6 years ago and he loved the results, he says his vision is better than 20/20, don't know if that is possible. What do they charge these days for the procedure?
Jun 6, 2012 10:36pm
sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:42 PM
The doctor told me I could get as good as 20/15 vision...so it is possible to get better than 20/20.

My surgery is going to run about $3,500. It is actually a lot less expensive than I thought it was going to be.
Jun 6, 2012 10:42pm
Pick6's avatar

Pick6

A USA American

14,946 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:42 PM
My mom got it when Lasik was a fairly new thing (i believe) about 10 years ago. She had horrible vision. Surgery went great and her eyes are still fine.
Jun 6, 2012 10:42pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:43 PM
sherm03;1191279 wrote:The doctor told me I could get as good as 20/15 vision...so it is possible to get better than 20/20.

My surgery is going to run about $3,500. It is actually a lot less expensive than I thought it was going to be.
That isn't bad at all. I think my wife's main concern was the cost but at $3,500 it seems like a no brainer to be able to lose the glasses and contacts.
Jun 6, 2012 10:43pm
sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
Jun 6, 2012 10:46 PM
justincredible;1191284 wrote:That isn't bad at all. I think my wife's main concern was the cost but at $3,500 it seems like a no brainer to be able to lose the glasses and contacts.
I'm going to LasikPlus in Kenwood, too. So I'm sure there are cheaper places out there...but I felt comfortable going to the guy who has done over 77,000 surgeries.

My brother-in-law got it done last year. His eyes are not nearly as bad as mine, and he only paid $1,500.
Jun 6, 2012 10:46pm
password's avatar

password

Senior Member

2,360 posts
Jun 6, 2012 11:32 PM
sherm03;1191279 wrote:The doctor told me I could get as good as 20/15 vision...so it is possible to get better than 20/20.

My surgery is going to run about $3,500. It is actually a lot less expensive than I thought it was going to be.
That is not a bad price when you consider what you spent on glasses and contacts over the course of a few years.
Jun 6, 2012 11:32pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Jun 6, 2012 11:34 PM
password;1191418 wrote:That is not a bad price when you consider what you spent on glasses and contacts over the course of a few years.
I just brought it up with my wife again tonight and she said she just doesn't want to spend the money on it. I think she's nuts. I have no idea how much she spends on contact supplies and glasses in a year.
Jun 6, 2012 11:34pm
Sykotyk's avatar

Sykotyk

Senior Member

1,155 posts
Jun 6, 2012 11:39 PM
My uncle and sister both had it done and absolutely loved it. I am planning on getting it in the next year or two.
Jun 6, 2012 11:39pm
password's avatar

password

Senior Member

2,360 posts
Jun 6, 2012 11:48 PM
justincredible;1191424 wrote:I just brought it up with my wife again tonight and she said she just doesn't want to spend the money on it. I think she's nuts. I have no idea how much she spends on contact supplies and glasses in a year.
She may be spending $200-$300 a year on contacts and an easy $400 every 2 years on glasses. I don't think the price is bad but my wife is scared to death when it comes to someone doing any kind of surgical procedure on her eyes.
Jun 6, 2012 11:48pm
Glory Days's avatar

Glory Days

Senior Member

7,809 posts
Jun 7, 2012 5:17 AM
Did it 6 years ago. Best thing i ever did. My vision now is 20/13(not sure how accurate that is). Only time i notice "halos" is when my eyes are tired and dry. I never actually even noticed it until i read your post though. The surgery itself isnt bad at all. They numb your eye so it relaxes, suction it so it pulls up the cornea(you actually lose sight then). Then you feel something on your eye like a tiny little circular saw. They peel back your eye, turn on the laser( you smell your eye burning) and then they do the reverse. All done in a matter of minutes. I didnt even really need the sunglasses after too long. My left eye healed in a day or two. My right eye took almost 2 weeks to clear up.
Jun 7, 2012 5:17am
B

BR1986FB

Senior Member

24,104 posts
Jun 7, 2012 5:17 AM
Got it done in 2001, I believe (can't remember the specific dates). Had to have it done a second time about a few months or so later as my eyes were so bad they started to "slip." They got my vision down to 20/15 and it was a Godsend. Surgery held until last year (about 10 years) before I had to go back to glasses. I wouldn't be too alarmed by this as the doc told me once you hit 40 the surgery will likely regress anyway.

The halos never went away for me. Was not a fan of driving at night with this. It was great while it lasted for me.
Jun 7, 2012 5:17am
F

fan_from_texas

Senior Member

2,693 posts
Jun 7, 2012 10:08 AM
I had PRK, which is similar to LASIK. It's the single best decision I've ever made from a quality of life perspective, even though I lost most of my depth perception. Still worth it, as long as I'm not on your softball team.
Jun 7, 2012 10:08am
sherm03's avatar

sherm03

I go balls deep.

7,349 posts
Jun 7, 2012 10:18 AM
fan_from_texas;1191636 wrote:I had PRK, which is similar to LASIK. It's the single best decision I've ever made from a quality of life perspective, even though I lost most of my depth perception. Still worth it, as long as I'm not on your softball team.
Hadn't heard of anyone losing depth perception from the surgery. That's kind of worrisome to me. How bad is it for you?
Jun 7, 2012 10:18am
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Jun 7, 2012 10:36 AM
sleeper;1191247 wrote:I don't know anyone that has gotten LASIK that regretted it. The technology for it these days is pretty good; I doubt you will have any ill effects.
Agreed. I don't know anyone who regrets it either.

My mom's vision was so bad she was not a candidate for LASIK, but she had cataracts and had to have replacement corneas. They used corneas that corrected her vision enough that she was able to get PRK and they had a video feed in the waiting room so I watched them do it. It was pretty cool to see and seemed simple enough. I would consider it, but my vision is also so bad I am not a candidate. (my corneas are too thin, too flat and my vision is too bad :cry:)

There are some really bad horror stories out there on the internet if you look for them.
Jun 7, 2012 10:36am
F

fan_from_texas

Senior Member

2,693 posts
Jun 7, 2012 10:47 AM
sherm03;1191651 wrote:Hadn't heard of anyone losing depth perception from the surgery. That's kind of worrisome to me. How bad is it for you?
It's not bad for 99% of real life. My eyes were terrible before (something like a -8), and I had worn gas permeable lenses forever, so my corneas were thin and flat, which is why I had to go the PRK route.

My day-to-day depth perception is fine, but I struggle with fine degrees. E.g., at the eye doctor, they show you the "hidden picture" sorts of things. No matter how long I stare at that, I can't see the hidden picture. Or watching movies in 3D is a bit frustrating, as it just looks like bad 2D to me. I don't run into things on a daily basis or anything like that, but tracking small objects at high speeds is impossible--I can't track a fly ball in the outfield anymore, for example. It's just too hard to locate something that small moving so quickly (which I found out the hard way by looking terrible).
Jun 7, 2012 10:47am
M

MontyBrunswick

Jun 7, 2012 11:11 AM
I have perfect eyesight so I don't need LASIK.

Hope this helps.
Jun 7, 2012 11:11am
FatHobbit's avatar

FatHobbit

Senior Member

8,651 posts
Jun 7, 2012 11:18 AM
fan_from_texas;1191736 wrote:My eyes were terrible before (something like a -8), and I had worn gas permeable lenses forever, so my corneas were thin and flat, which is why I had to go the PRK route.
Hmm, I also wore gas permeable contacts forever. I wonder if that is why my corneas are so flat? The dr explained to me that most people have bad vision because their corneas are not the correct shape, but my vision is bad because my eyeball is too long.
Jun 7, 2012 11:18am
F

fan_from_texas

Senior Member

2,693 posts
Jun 7, 2012 11:21 AM
FatHobbit;1191810 wrote:Hmm, I also wore gas permeable contacts forever. I wonder if that is why my corneas are so flat?
That's what they told me, at least. It seemed reasonable, but I don't really know.
Jun 7, 2012 11:21am
chicago510's avatar

chicago510

Original Chatterer

5,728 posts
Jun 7, 2012 11:56 AM
What is insurance coverage like for this? I've worn some sort of lens since puberty and would kill to be free of that hassle eventually.
Jun 7, 2012 11:56am
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Jun 7, 2012 11:57 AM
chicago510;1191868 wrote:What is insurance coverage like for this? I've worn some sort of lens since puberty and would kill to be free of that hassle eventually.
Likely 0%
Jun 7, 2012 11:57am