Anyone here have laser eye surgery?

[jobob]

I'm blind-as-a-bat nearsighted (-6.5/-7.0 ) and although I've been wearing disposable soft contacts for many years now with no problems, I'm dreading the day when I get something in my eye while biking, or do something dumb like pop a lens out when I'm rubbing my eye, or get sunscreen in my eye, that sort of thing. I'm pretty careful, I always wear sunglasses, but something's bound to happen eventually, I suppose, and it's such a hassle to deal w. contacts out in the wild. I don't see nearly as well with my regular eyeglasses - no peripheral vision, for starters, plus they're about as thick as coke bottles and I'm just too vain to be out in public with them !

So I'm starting to think about corrective laser surgery. Anyone out here have it, and can you share your experiences, positive or negative?

Thankyee kindly, - Jo.

[Deanna]

Hello Jobob,

I am about as nearsighted as you, and was also considering laser eye surgery about a year or so ago. At the time, my optometrist informed me that the surgery can only correct your vision by a certain amount and that I would still need lenses afterwards. Please check with your doctors to see if they have advanced the technology enough that it can correct your vision to the point that you won't need glasses.

Deanna

[kerrybelle]

Believe it or not my eyesight is even worse than yours, plus I have an astigmatism! I've been wearing gas permeable (hard) lenses for many, many years. I like them because they help to keep my eyes from getting worse and if my prescription doesn't change the lenses last a very long time.
Anyway, I've often thought of corrective surgery and like Deanna wouldn't be able to be corrected to 20/20. Between that and the fact that it's my eyesight their dealing with, I've always opted not to do it. My brother-in-law had Lasik done a few years ago and hasn't had any problems.

Kerry

[Adventure Girl]

Originally posted by jobob
I'm blind-as-a-bat nearsighted (-6.5/-7.0 )

I'm not trying to make this a competition, but -6.5/-7.0 is nothin'! I'm -11.5/-14!!!


I've considered lasik and talked to my ophthalmologist about it, but I'm not a great candidate for it. Contacts work well for me, but they aren't perfect. Bugs, dirt, dust, sweat and sunblock are all unpleasant problems, but with contacts they're even worse. I always carry a few of those disposable saline tubes in my camelback and have used them to wash out the crud a few times.

I do know quite a few people who have had the procedure and swear by it! One friend said the worst part of the whole process was the little device the used to keep her eye open.

I wouldn't go to one of those "discount" eye chopper places. Just be sure you go to a good doctor. Some are specialists in high mypoic cases ("blind as a bad nearsighted" people!)

[bounceswoosh]

I had lasik in 1999. My eyes were about -9 for each with about -3 (?) astigmatism on top of it. Afterwards, for a while, I had 20/15 in one eye (better than "perfect") and 20/20 in the other.

Lasik has changed my life. It used to be, I couldn't even read the bedside clock without my glasses. It used to be, I couldn't find my glasses if I dropped them. It used to be, I was terrified that I'd go white water rafting or something and lose my contacts underwater ... and be blind. It used to be, I couldn't even find my friends at the beach.

Things to know about Lasik:

1) It doesn't stop your eyes from changing, if that's what they were going to do. My eyes continued to slowly change for a couple of years. I wear glasses for computers and basically everything indoors or from twilight to dark, but I see just fine for sports and whatnot. I play ice hockey, mountain bike, and do whatever without glasses. I could get away without glasses for a lot of indoor stuff, too, but I prefer to have them if it's not inconvenient.

2) Pupil size. If you have large pupils, as I do, you'll see better in bright light. Shade, twilight, etc starts making things fuzzy, and headlights will be starbursts, just like when you've been wearing your contacts too long.

3) Your eyes will be very sensitive to light after the surgery. Plan on wearing sunglasses anywhere there's sun for at least a few years.

4) The worse your eyes and the more frustrating you find the whole corrective lens experience, the better you'll appreciate the surgery. I know people who got it because they had -2 or something, and they weren't happy at all. The more drastic the change will be in your life, the more likely it is you won't regret it.

5) It's surgery. Someone will be cutting into your eye. If your experience is anything like mine, you'll have to sign roughly 20 sheets of paper detailing every morbid thing that could go wrong. If your eyesight isn't bad enough to still want to go through with it after reading all of this stuff, you shouldn't have the surgery.

6) It's surgery. Someone will be cutting into your eye. Make sure that someone has many thousands of similar operations under their belt, and that they've done many on people with similar prescriptions to yours.

7) The younger you are, the better you heal. It's just a sucky fact of life. I was 21 when I had my operation.

8) Whatever eye health problems you might have aren't eliminated by this surgery. I need to get my eyes dilated every year or two because my eyes are oblong enough that they're at risk to tear. That fact hasn't changed just because I had surgery.

I was very lucky; my eyes aren't itchy or dry, and doctors tell me that they can't even see the scarring from the surgery. Other people have different tales to tell.

[Barb]

I had very poor vision and astigmatism. I had the Lasiks done 4 years ago and I'm still loving it. I was 36, not old not really young. I was so worthwhile. It did take about 6 months before my (slight) halo effect went away and I do occasionally have dry eyes in the morning, but this is minor compared to the pain in the butt of not seeking at the beach with a kid to watch after!

Do your research. Most Dr, around here give a complimentary exam to see if you are a good candidate. The exam is very thorough(sp).

Good luck

[jobob]

Thanks so much, everyone!

[doctorfrau]

I had LASIK in 2001, and have not regretted it. There are days when my eyes are dry, or I am tired and don't focus quite as well, but this FAAAAARRRRRR outweighs all the problems I had with contacts, and with my coke bottle lenses.

I can see the clock, can see the shampoo bottle in the shower, can nap without worrying about contacts, can run/bike in the rain, can buy any old sunglasses I want to, can find the kids in the pool, AND..... something that never occurred to me...... (whisper) - I can see during sex!

Had it done when I was 38, and my eyes are uneven on purpose. One eye is for distance and the other is for closer-up/reading. It is not as hard to adjust to as I thought. This is supposed to keep me from needing reading glasses until I am like 60 (41now).

Find an ophthalmologist who specializes in this kind of anterior chamber/corneal surgery. Also make sure who you see isn't just blowing sunshine up your skirt and elevating your expectations. Mine emphasized that I might still need mild lenses, that he couldn't guarantee 20/20, but that he was 90% sure he could at least get me to 20/40. As blind as I was, this was no contest.

What finally made my decision was that my particular ophthalmologist was quite active in 3rd world medicine, and had a standing offer to waive his fee and have it donated to a prominent eye health/cataract charity that works in India. Seriously, I wrote the check out to the Eye Foundation of America, not to him. THis to me proved that this wasn't a doc-in-the-box operation and he wasn't just after my money.

I have not regretted my decision. There are a few drawbacks, as I said, but I agree with whoever said that the bigger the change, (the worse your eyes are) the more satisfied you will be.... And I was lucky - I ended up with about 20/25 , so I wear no extra lenses at all.

[bounceswoosh]

Agreed about the seeing your partner business -- it's great for nocturnal fun. It really is a huge life change.

[Trek420]

I'm blind as a bat but I'm not going for the surgery; first I'm almost 50 and second several family members have vision problems late in their 80's (who doesn't?). Should I be so lucky to pedal through my 80's I have not read anything about how lasik now would look then as the eye continues to change.

Maybe I should refer this back to the "show of hands who's over 40" thread ;-) but ....anyone here tried riding with bifocals? That may be my next pair...or maybe get prescription Oakleys for the bike only...that'd be fun.

[jobob]

Trek (hey when are you morphing to Mondonico?), I understand your concern. For what it's worth, a friend of mine had LASIK recently and she's 58, so age is not necessarily a limiting factor.

My near vision is starting to go south, too - right on schedule, I turn 45 this year

snapdragen had posted this link some time ago, these look really nifty - vinyl lenses you can stick on to your sunglasses.
http://www.neoptx.com/

- Jo.

[MightyMitre]

My eyesight is -6.5 in each eye but I'm still a little wary of eye surgery. Although I have to wear daily disposables at least with those I can see pretty well.

I've worn them for 12 years and so far I've been pretty lucky when cycling, although I do tend to be careful on the bike, esp. when there's lots of dust/flies.

The thought the surgery could go wrong and leave me with no vision is too scary for me at the moment.

Think I'll wait a few more years - the technology has come on so quickly so far, i figure if I leave if a bit longer hopefully they'll be able to perfect it even more.

[jobob]

Thought I'd give you all an update ...

I went to the Stanford laser eye clinic for an initial evaluation to find out if I was a good candidate for LASIK.

My corneas were thick enough, but the topography of my corneas is too irregular (basically, I have bumpy corneas) - the Dr. told me that recent studies have shown that in some instances people who have undergone LASIK with corneas as bumpy as mine have seen some long-term complications. So, he had some serious reservations about my going ahead with the procedure (basically, he turned me down), although since my eyes met all the other criteria he said if I was really dead-set on having it done I would most likely be able to find another clinic that would accept me. Since I was only going to go ahead with it if there was no doubt that I was a good candidate, I left it at that - this is the reason why I went to the Stanford clinic in the first place, I knew the Dr. there is very selective.

I did ask him if there were any other procedures appropriate for my eyes, and he told me about a procedure involving actual implantation of an artificial lens behind the cornea - basicaly a contact lens implant (aka phakic intraocular lens or phakic IOL). This is very similar to the procedure used for many years for cataract patients, except in treating myopia the original lens is left in place. The Dr. participated in the clinical trials for the myopia surgery, and he was very enthusiastic about it. But, the clinical trials for my type of vision have concluded so he can't perform this type of surgery until it receives final FDA approval, which in theory should be around the end of this year (or not - the FDA approval process can be veeeery sloooow), but if and when it's approved I'll go back to Stanford & find out more about it.

In the meantime, I remain

- Jo.