Posted: 12/12/2008 5:17:09 AM EDT
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I'm looking for imput from people who have had one of the various vision corrections done. I am planning on having it done within the next 3 months. I'm looking forward to no longer relying on glasses and contacts!!
What type do you recommend? I'm looking at Lasik at the moment. Any information that I should know before looking for a dr? How much did yours cost? Thanks. |
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I spent about $2500 for both eyes and lifetime correction.
It was worth every penny, and probably twice what I spent. I am one of those guys that had no side effects, and it worked perfectly on me. Some folks have had bad experiences, though, and they will be along shortly to tell you how foolish it is. 
Good luck. 
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Do it now! I had Lasik back in what...2004 or 05...can't remember. I had a stigmatism in my right Eye which sucked for shooting. I had it done, no side effects (well, I did get hallo effects for about 6 months while night driving...went away with time). Keep your eyes lubbed after the surgery...follow ALL DR's orders. My guy was a jerk and did not let me take the oral sedative before the surgery...said i had to stare at the red light and if I moved my eyes it would be bad.
WARNING: Gory details to follow...DON'T READ if you're squeemish... THe surgery itself was not pleasent. It litterally felt like he was trying to push my eye out the back of my skull. I could feel the sensation of the laser making the cut....although they do put in drops to numb the eye....and I could smell burning....so, go for it, and put it behind you as soon as possible. Oh, I had 20/15 vision after the surgery.... |
| I had Lasik at Dr. Tylock in Irving, Texas. DO IT!! I am so glad I did. I spent about $1500 that also included 2 nights at a Holliday Inn and shuttle rides to and from. He set me up with care credit, 0% for a year. My only regret is I waited so long to get it done. Great people and had a good time. He does do a "cattle call" where he has a large group do all the test and surguies at the same time, but I was ok with it. They answered all my concerns and questions and lots of valium too. I was a huge puss, but it was all great. That was about 2 years ago. I am still a little sensitve to bright bright lights but hell I sunglasses are nothing compared to glasses ALL the time. If you can get it done then you should find a good Dr. and get it done. |
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Considering the same but being a big puss about it, actually spoke to my aunt who had it done and my brother who is a UH-60 pilot and both said do it.
DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEOS ON THE NET!!!!!! Thats what had me thinking twice, but they both said slight pressure and it was quick. I set up an appointment on Saturday and hope to calm my fears. Lots of advantages to this specially if TSHTF |
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My Mom and I had the Zyoptix procedure done at Lasik MD in Montreal, best 2K I ever spent.
Its been 30 months since and I had a checkup a couple weeks ago, I can read the 20/15 line. |
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Going on 8 years for me now.
I had very little power correction as my vision issues were all due to astigmatism. I had it done before the new custom LASIK that allows the laser to track your eye movements. Also, the newer lasers ablate (cut) further out on your cornea than what the laser used when I had mine done. Anyway, I came out with 20/15 and 20/20 vision and have seen no reduction in vision since then. I haven't even been to an eye doc in 5 years. I have some permanent halo effects at night, especially red tail lights and sodium lights, that is due to the transition from the non-ablated part of my cornea to the ablated part. However, it is not very bad and rarely causes me any issues with night vision. If my eyes are very tired it can be a little annoying. Because the newer lasers cut further out you will be less likely to experience halo effects after your eyes heal. I am more sensitive to bright sunlight but I wear sunglasses all the time now when outside or driving. But I don't know if that's due to the surgery or just because I started wearing sunglasses since I didn't have to wear regular glasses anymore and I've just gotten used to sunglasses. Before I never wore sunglasses due to not having a prescription pair. My wife had custom LASIK done 3 or 4 years ago and she is 20/15 in both eyes and has had zero side effects. No halos, no nothing. We are both extremely happy LASIK patients and would gladly spend the 8k we spent again. Money well spent. Go to a good reputable doctor and pay extra to go to the best. |
Did Lasik about 4 years ago and it's one of the best choices I've made. Was down to 20/15 (L) and 20/10 (R) after a year but haven't been back to the eye doc since and stare at a computer screen for a living so I'm sure there's been *some* degradation. Still well worth it. I'm a big geek so I didn't take any of the offered happy pills and watched them do it real-time (well, until everything went black  ) - very cool technology!
Big +1 on staying lubed and hydrated until everything heals. I've actually found it makes a nice indicator for me - I start to experience slight haloing/starring at night if I'm dehydrated. Good reminder to drink more water when I notice a glare  .
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Okay I like what I hear from you guys but I have a story and a question for you. I'm graduating with a degree in Homeland Sec and have been oo a Volunteer FD (get my screen name now) for 4 years. Most career/paid fire depts require 20/40 min. correcable to 20/20. My vision is currently 20/100 and my astigmatism is -5.00 (L) and -5.25 (R).
SO the question is... how much can be corrected? I am not looking for a hard answer just wondering. |
| In the DFW area the Dr.'s have a class on a week night. They could best ansewer your questions on that. Here the classes are all free and open to anyone. Check around in your area I bet its the same or send an e-mail to some here. They both used to have radio shows where they would ansewer questions on the air too. |
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I had LASIK done two years ago and have maintained 20/20 since then. I paid $1400 for both eyes and a year of followups. My prescription used to be -4 and -5 diopters for my right and left eyes and they were both corrected completely. Since my vision was pretty bad, he was unsure if I would have enough cornea left to do a second correction should my vision deteriorate again so I just hoped to get it right the first time.
So far it has been good. The first year, I kept eye drops handy as my eyes would dry out and easily become red with irritation. It isn't as bad now, but I still keep eye drops close by. My LASIK was done with all laser. Using a laser to cut the flap instead of a blade. My eyeball was sucked in a suctioncup thing so it couldn't move during the flap cut and it was kind of scary because I felt a lot of pressure pulling my eye out and I thought it would pop out of my head at any moment and I could only see darkness. I think burning the flap with a laser has caused my eyes to stay dry for so long but that is just a guess. If I could do it over I think I would have stuck with the traditional blade method to cut the flap. The surgery itself wasn't bad at all, just the burnt hair smell of the eye being burned and the deathly fear of not moving a single muscle to screw something up during the procedure. The doctor told me to stare at the green light and to hold still and I was sure motivated to do just that. The rest of the day was hell as my eyes felt like they had sand in them and I could not rub them, just grin and bear it and put in eye drops. I even had silly goggles to wear at night so I wouldn't rub them in my sleep, my wife had lots of fun teasing me about those. My eyes were pretty badly blood shot for a week or so and then they calmed down and healed up nicely. I have great night vision and lights at night do not have the starry or halo effect that some people experience with lasik. Not relying on eyeglasses or contacts is priceless in terms of preps and security and well worth the temporary discomfort. I would be pretty helpless without glasses should I have lost or broken them. I would consider lasik to be a top priority as far as preps go if you have poor vision. |
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Quoted:
I spent about $2500 for both eyes and lifetime correction. It was worth every penny, and probably twice what I spent. I am one of those guys that had no side effects, and it worked perfectly on me. Some folks have had bad experiences, though, and they will be along shortly to tell you how foolish it is.
Good luck. +1 I went to Lasik Plus |
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The Army just did PRK for me for FREE. Best thing Uncle Sam ever did for me. I was 20/800 before and am a little better than 20/20 now.
If its an option for you I would suggest PRK. The recovery time is longer but the long term results are supposed to be better. Best of all, theres no cutting with PRK, and the precedure takes less than 10minutes. |
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While there is no cutting with PRK, they scrap the top of the eye off. Thats why it takes longer to recover.
Im happy with the surgery. I paid 3200 with the lifetime guarantee. Only thing I would suggest is if you have an employer that does flexable spending, that can save you all your taxes you would spend. |
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Mine cannot be corrected fully due to the severity of my problem. I am considering having lasik done just for astigmatism correction, leaving the power alone. I can have artificial lenses implanted + lasik to fully correct my vision, but am a little reluctant to trust a plastic implanted lens for 40+ years.
If you have really bad vision, get opinions from more than one surgeon, and listen to their advice. If they say you are not a good candidate, heed the advice. |
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I even had silly goggles to wear at night so I wouldn't rub them in my sleep, my wife had lots of fun teasing me about those. Oh, man! My GF at the time just couldn't laugh hard enough at those things. I took the recommendation seriously, but I didn't spend one night wearing those damn things! No ill effects, thankfully. Anyway, I would recommend it as long as you are aware of the risks. Things can go wrong and nothing is guaranteed. About the only guarantee you'll get is that there's no going back! Having said that, I love mine and don't regret it a bit. I have some minor halos/starbursts with direct, bright lights, but nothing that causes problems day-to-day. It's gotten better as they've healed and what remains I've gotten accustomed to. A little dryness occasionally, but again, nothing worth mentioning unless someone asks (like now). My vision was about 20/400 with a strong astigmatism before, and now they sit at 20/20 and 20/15 if I recall. I had the laser cut the flap and went with custom mapping as well to give myself the best chance for maximum correction. Don't bargain shop with your eyes! Out of pocket expense was about $2500 - w/o insurance/reimbursements it would've been about $6500. Had it done Oct. '07. |
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Thanks to all for the info. I had my initial appointment. Looks like I'll probably be having it done in early Feb. Told me regular Lasik with the laser cutting would take about 5 mins. I have a small astigmatism in one eye and they said that they should be able to correct it without a problem along with the distance vision problems.
Price will probably be about $3500...I'm paying it out of pocket. Insurance isn't covering it. 
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Well got it done this morning!! I was told that I was an excellent candidate.
Went in and got some eye measurements. Then they gave me Valium. I've never taken it but it made me VERY loopy!! They took me into the operating room. Put a device on my eye to spead the eye lids. Then put a suction cup on my eye. Hurt a little. Then cut the flap. That took 15 seconds per eye. Burned slightly but not bad. Then turned me to the actual laser. Put some tape on my eye lids to hold the lids open. Felt the dr use a little tool to open the flap. Then told me to look at a little red light. I heard a clicking sound and a little burning sensation on my eye. Lasted about 10-15 seconds. Then the dr turned me back and spread the flap closed. Repeat for the second eye and done. Took about 5 mins or so total. I was pretty loopy from the Valium. Wife drove me home. I couldn't see because my eyes were watering. When I got home, I went to sleep for about 2.5 hrs. Woke up and noticed that I can see distance just like wearing glasses!! Whoo hoo. Still fuzzy up close but that's supposed to correct within the next day or two. I have some antibiotic drops to put in my eyes and some artificial tears. It feels like there is some sand in my eyes but not bad at all. Have to wear goggles for 5 days while sleeping. Cost was $4200 for both eyes. Wavefront Lasik. Little pricey but the place I went to is the best in the business and has the best reputation in this area. Look forward to the next few days. |
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Me: "Hey Doc, what's that burning smell?" Doc: "Oh, that's just ozone burning from the laser" Me: "Ozone? It smells like my eyeball burning!" Hot Assistant: "Quit being such a baby" Me: "Hold my hand?" We all had a lot of fun in that 10 mins from getting prepped to walking out the door and she had NICE boobies. |
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glad to hear everything seems to have gone well.
I currently wear contacts, but eyes are at -1 correction, it's not much so I'm not really worried about trying to get it fixed. Several people from work had surgery done, I know one of them is back to wearing "reading" glasses. |
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Good on you! I want this so bad, but I'm such a chicken shit. Did the valium help with the nerves? Holy crap it makes me cringe just thinking about it, but I so need to get this done, dusty glasses and looking for them in the AM is starting to really get to me. Valium helped a lot. I hate drugs but I took it and would recommend it. I was pretty tense even with the Valium. Turned me into a vegtable later...and that's good because they want you to sleep for 2-3 hours afterwards. Seriously, it was about 5 mins of mild discomfort. That's it. Nervewracking because they were cutting on my eyes but that's about it. Day 2. Eyes are nearly back to normal. Close vision cleared right up. Distance vision is 20/15 as determined on my checkup today!! Things are only getting better!! |