combat mediC

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys, my eyes are terrible, I'm 28 (birthday is today actually) and my contacts are -5.75.. Was considering getting Lasik done, now that I have the means to afford it and what not. Have any of you guys had it done? Were you also apprehensive at first?

svtmike

I had it done 4 years ago. My eyes were in the range yours are, with some astigmatism. I'd have it done again without a doubt. I'm still 20/15 in one eye, 20/30 in the other because some astigmatism has come back. My vision is still 20/20 with both eyes.

The freedom to do what I want without worrying about prescription eyewear of any kind is very liberating for me and my fairly active lifestyle.

I went to a doctor recommended by my optometrist. He was pretty expensive ($2400 per eye), he had performed tens of thousands of LASIK surgeries, and he has his own machine with the latest technology that only he uses to perform the surgeries.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

omfg, my vison is -5 and -6...

combat mediC

iTrader: (1)

^no wonder you could'nt see the crabs.

combat mediC

iTrader: (1)

The surgical eye center I'm going to check out is the one that did the surgery to Tiger Woods lol, he's there spokesperson. Anyway, Thank for the positive words Mike, it'd be nice to be free of contacts and glasses lol.

How long was the recovery time?

Ken1997TL

I had it done, got a waiver from the Navy and was able to return to active duty within a week. My eyes were really painfully dry for about two days, I couldn't look at almost any light without wincing for three days. I was miserable but it is SO worth it in the long run.

svtmike

I was 20/15 the next morning, and able to drive. Other people take a bit longer but it was really fast. I just had to rest my eyes the day of and wore goggles while I slept for a week or so. That was the worst part.

Berner

TLC? That is where I had mine done here in Pittsburgh. I heard the same Tiger Woods story. lol.

As far as the surgery, it was the best money I have ever spent.

Rapture

Wow, I have -7 in both eyes. You think you have it bad...

Anyways, I'm also considering lasik. It's funny this time last year I was 100% ready for it, but then like a week after my first consultation with the lasik center (to check cornea thickness) alluva sudden I get this dry eye syndrome. Kinda good to hear that your eyes dry out so much after the surgery, since I was about ready to say "fuck it" and just get the surgery before treating this. I'm sure if I did that I would have been in a world of hurt.

and I've been told that really the biggest (and probably only) reason people have botched lasik surgery is either because they pick a crap surgeon or optometrist (for the pre-op stuff) or they do that $400 lasik surgery and get bad results. Or they don't do the pre-op stuff themselves, like they think it's okay to keep wearing contacts until like a day or so before the surgery.

And yeah if I get lasik it would most likely be at TLC too. The only think holding me back is that for some reason, neither my optometrist or TLC want to give me any reading material or anything I can check out, as far as the whole surgical process and what it entails. I get these pamphlets and brochures and crap in the mail from TLC and that's about it. It's not so much that I don't have info, it's just that they don't seem too willing to go out and get me the info I should read up on. I don't feel like paying ~$4500 for the surgery if nobody is willing to make the effort. Oh well...

omnuts

I had mine done 2yrs now, best money spent..night and day differences, Do some research on the center and surgeon that will perform it

Street Spirit

Someone I know researched and met with the doctor prior to deciding where to have his laser surgery done. He felt very confident in his choice of doctor and was told he was a good candidate. The surgery went well. However, instead of just needing to use the drops in his eyes for the typical recovery period (I haven't had it done -- is it one or two weeks??) --- he needed to use them for TWO YEARS post-surgery!! He had extremely dry eyes that were not producing tears after the surgery and it took those two years for his eyes to recover 100% and not need any drops. I think for most of that first year at least, he was using them every x-number (round-the-clock) of hours, just as he would've needed for the initial, short-term recovery...only his long outlasted any reovery stories he'd heard.

1islandparadise

I dont know my little brothers prescription but he wore glasses for the longest. He is stationed at Ft. Lewis and the Army has free lasik surgery. I talked to him a few days ago and he said he is 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other with an overall of 20/20. I think its been a couple months since he's had the surgery and he said he is still not fully recovered. All and all he is VERY pleased with it.

Ken1997TL

I didn't have to use drops beyond the first week.

WdnUlik2no

I've also been considering it since 2000, but never got up the nerve to go through with it, even though the doctors have told me I'm a good candidate. I heard that you have to have it redone every 10 years? Is that true?

On another note, I will never complain about how bad my eyesite is ever again after seeing the -5.75, -6 and -7's up here. I have astigmatism and I'm -2.25 in both eyes with contacts. (-2.00 with glasses) I thought my eyesite was pretty bad because I without my glasses or contacts, things are very blurry and I can't make out details unless I'm close up and forget about reading text.

Rapture

Long time no post.

I'm hopefully going to get my surgery done in the next couple months. The one thing I'm really concerned about is that I hear from all sorts of sources that I shouldn't assume I'm going to get 20/20 vision, and that "Being less dependent on correction is a much more reasonable goal" Why do they say that, for legal reasons? What exactly would cause a surgery to result in lesser vision correction? I mean, is it just if they miscalculate my level of correction, or would it be just incompetence?

Rapture

Regardless if anyone felt like answering my questions or not, I had my lasik done yesterday. The procedure itself was pretty much nothing. "Focus on a light for a bit, we'll do the rest...... Okay done, let's do the other eye."

12 hours later I woke up and my vision was near perfect. My left eye is pretty clear, but kinda fogged up, but the right is like 95% there. You're not really supposed to get the full results for weeks, but it's definitely a good sign. Cost $3100 for both eyes after my VSP discount They also treated at least 4 other people before me. They're banking on this, definitely.

But in the less than 24 hours since I've had it, I'd definitely say it's worth it.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

omg, i want it now.
thanks for the update, even if no one reads this .

Rapture

The funny part is they told me I'm supposed to feel some itching, burning, like a "sandy" feeling in my eyes afterward. All I know is that the Xanax they gave me before and again after the procedure put me to sleep so I felt absolutely no pain. Just woke up with much better vision.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I'm excited! im tired of putting in contacts daily.

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

good to know as well. i think my brother spent like 4 grand on his. i might start seriously looking into this next year or something.

Rapture

Oh yeah, I hear you on that one. Me personally, my contacts kept sliding out of position. Sometimes while I was driving my contacts would just slide around at the worst possible times.

one suggestion would be to try and research any and all discounts you can get. My TLC didn't do it for me, but I've heard others say they get their lasik done elsewhere and they get some sort of a discount for paying in full. My VSP discount took around $1200 off at least.

phile

What about those groupon deals? Anybody tried going that route? I'm skeptical because it seems really cheap.

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

Just do some research on the company on those groupoun deals. They're some that are relatively good and, of course, some that are sketchy.

I'm planning on doing mine in Houston where they're only charging $1100 an eye. They're respected in Houston and have done thousands of them. Obviously, they charge a LOT less then most.

98tlracer

I actually used a Groupon deal for my lasik surgery. For those in the bay area the place is called Laservue Eye Center. I did some research beforehand and they seemed pretty reputable. I paid $3000 plus $800 for an upgraded custom surgery. I ended up using my HSA to pay for it so that was an additional tax savings.

I've had the surgery for a year now and everything has been amazing...20/20 vision. There was one day that I woke up noticing my right eye vision was a little blurry. I went to the office to get it checked out and the doctor said I just need to use eye drops every now and then. This is especially important for people who are on the computer all day.

Rapture

I believe that most of what I personally paid for was the "lifetime commitment" that was a part of the whole package I got. If my vision worsens at all in the future, I can get an enhancement procedure for free (if it's recommended)

Acura_Dude

Contact/glasses user here as well. I'll more than likely wait. I'm -3.00 right eye, and -2.75 in my left. Looking at my presciption now. If I ever get -4 and beyond, I'll definitely have to have that fixed. I'm not wearing glasses/contacts typing this. I can drive during the daytime not wearing anything on my face, but nighttime is a struggle, especially if a break my glasses, etc etc. But I don't risk night time driving. Daytime is super easy, I can see, a little blurry, but I rarely do that as well.

Rapture

Just had my first post-op exam. Almost 20/15 in each eye

phile

Mine is $3200. I saw an Amazon local deal for $1,795, jumped on it. Went for the initial consultation, due to my astigmatism, that deal wouldn't cover what was more appropriate for my eye condition. So I'm getting the bladeless done. Excited/scared, but really anxious to get it done and live glass/contacts free!

GIBSON6594

I know this is old, but just wanted to point out that I'm pretty sure military requires PRK, which is a different procedure than lasik. Takes longer to heal, but is better suited for active folks who may risk damage to the eye, such as military.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

fuck. I just realized that I work in front of a computer and its so bad for my eyes.
if i did Lasik, I wonder if my eyes would regress

mrstak

iTrader: (1)

pretty sure there's a chance of that happening but it might be smaller than you think. that'd be one of the questions i ask at the consultation. justin do you have astigmatism? wonder how much extra you gotta pay for having that...

btw for the people who have done lasik...how do they/you keep your eyelid from closing when they shoot the laser in. that's one of my fears...that somehow in the middle of the process, i'm able to blink and everything goes to shit. i heard they numb your eyelid and kind of clamp it open? is that true?

Rapture

Most places use something they fit over your eye to keep the eyelids open. They also place a suction ring over your eye to hold it in place. And yes they numb your eye so you don't feel anything (your vision actually goes completely black during the suction -- which is normal)

Also, the machine they use for the surgery is able to keep a lock on your eye at all times. So if your eye makes a lot of micro-sized movements all over the place, you'll be fine And once they take the suction and spacer-thing off your eye, you can blink. I did.

phile

I told my dr I work in front of a computer all day too. I was told to just wear sunglasses. It'll look weird to your co-workers but you'll be protecting your brand spanking new vision. Well, unless you're like me and you have astigmatism, I was told it might get bad again simply due to my eyeballs' shape changing, so I should get a good 10 yrs out of LASIK before I'll need corrective lenses again. But I'm ok with that.

PyroDave

my sister just had lasik done, it was about $6K for both eyes. the guy is the father of one of my friends and is considered one of the best on the east coast, so its worth it. she freaked out day of, yelling that she was blind and she'd never see again. panic attack i guess. a few hours after the procedure and some mild sedatives and pain meds, she calmed down, vision started to come back blurry and everything, within a few hours she was pretty much good. applying drops through the little covers.

1islandparadise

I stand corrected, it was PRK. Thank you for the update!

Ken1997TL

No longer true, at least for the Navy. I know because I was a guinea pig for the trial that later allowed it.

At the time (15+ years ago), I had to get a waiver. Today, they recommend you get LASIK or other surgery 6 months before signing up.

Rapture

My opto told me if I'm going to be on a computer, doing up & close work, I just need to take a 10 min break or so every once in a while. Give your eyes time to adjust, get their focus back, etc.

But either way I'd definitely try to limit it as much as possible. After getting rid of contacts I don't think I personally want to have to get back into all that again any time soon.