Lasik

After waking up this morning to a folded contact stuffed under my eyelid (yeah yeah, I'm bad. I'm usually too tired to take them out, or just don't even think about it before going to bed), I SO want Lasik. I can't wear glasses to work because I need to wear safety glasses in the lab, which pretty much contributes to my excessive contact wearing. I'm also not supposed to wear contacts, we are supposed to get prescription safety glasses (that aren't all that flattering ), but for the last 4 years I've been here I've been wearing the contacts. No one ever asked and I never told - plus my Team Leader breaks that rule also

Last time I went to the eye doctor (probably 2 years ago), he said I was a great candidate for Lasik. Rob said then that I should wait until I'm 40 or so then do it. But after some reading, by the time you're 40 you're probably going to need reading glasses anyway, so why drop $2000 if you're just going to have to wear glasses for something right away/very soon?

I'm 23 now, I've been wearing glasses since 6th grade, contacts since I was 17. Can't see far away worth a crap anymore. I've always been bad wearing contacts too long - last appointment the dr gave me ones I could leave in for awhile. I've been trying to wear my glasses more but I tend to forget about them. And the fact that the frames keep needing an adjustment on one side annoys the crap out of me I will be getting them readjusted today.

I have always been leery about Lasik, hearing about them taking a scalpel to the eye freaks me out. But I was researching some places in Charleston and one I always hear an ad for on the radio popped up. So I checked it out and they have a laser-only Lasik. It's supposed to be much safer, much faster healing time (they recommended a nap afterward to help ), and if your eye moves at all out of the proper area the laser will stop until it is correctly in place again. It's around $2,100 from what I can tell. I'm certain I'd have to go there to get a set-in-stone price though. My insurance has a discount on Lasik, a certain amount of money per eye.

Today I look like demon-eye. My co-worker said it looks like I have a Terminator eye. I'm sure I hurt it this morning trying to dig that contact out of my face. A bowling friend of mine had it happen to her not too long ago after she got them for the first time and she's turned off to them already. My TL just came in and talked about it getting stuck in the corner of his eye a lot. And that if the main safety guy sees my demon-eye, I can't tell him what realllly happened (Rob told me to just tell people he knocked me in the face this morning )

So has anyone gotten the laser only Lasik? Or even the regular Lasik? What was it like? Process, healing time/process, ~cost, etc? Thanks!

I had LASIK in 2005. Like you I was very nearsighted. I'd worn glasses since 5th grade. Because I'm old I have to wear reading glasses now unless I'm under very bright lights. Why wait till you're older. Have 15 or so years without any glasses.

I'm very happy I did it. Now I can go to the beach and drive without glasses because I can always see at a distance.

The laser only isn't necessarily safer. It's just that they don't have to stick the broken end of a bottle in your eye to start the procedure (no, they don't actually use a bottle it just feels a little like that).

The whole thing is over in minutes. You'll be increadbily light sensetive at first but you go home and nap for 8 hours and when you wake up you can see really well. It takes a few weeks for them to settle completely to where they'll be and you'll have to use lubricating drops for a while (which everyone who works on a computer should use anyway) but it's more exciting than inconvenient.

I know someone who had it done. We talked about it a few weeks ago. She didn't mention which type (I know there is more than one). She told me most people fear "seeing" while they do the procedure but when you have terrible eye sight you really can't see what they are doing or how close to your eye. She said it felt like her eyes were being washed with solution. She recommended the highest priced package. She had to go back for several visits over a year and this package covered all the visits. She is older and a year later she needed another surgery. The higher priced package covered that surgery too and the visits for another year. HTH

Thanks! I want to go home and talk to the hubby about it, show him what I've looked at and show him the thread's responses too. I like being able to wear my sunglasses whenever, instead of having to be sure I'll have my contacts in for them. It would be nice to not have to worry about remembering to take them out or put them in or even deal with them anymore. I imagine the savings over the next 15-20 years on contacts and/or glasses will be the same or maybe even more than the procedure.

I'm glad its a quick procedure, and that the healing seems pretty simple to do - naps and use the eye drops. Wonder if I can get a couple sleepy pills from them to sleep for 8 hours afterward After spending 8 hours with my eye hurting today, I never want to touch contacts again, even though at my eye dr appointment I'll be replenishing my stock.

I HATE things touching my eye, it took me a LONG time to be able to put eyeliner on myself (forget letting my mom do it when I was younger, my eyes would instantly water at the sight of her coming near my face!) I've had contact issues before where I couldn't get them out and Rob had to help me and he had to fight my eyelids to keep them open. That would probably be the part that freaks me out the most - stuff near my eye. I think I'd trip out feeling a "broken end of a bottle" in my eye!

$2k - insurance discounts is affordable, as long as we still have the original down payment amount for our car that is coming this month. I'll be getting paid again and hubby has a few thousand waiting to come in for transmission jobs.

I did notice there are a few packages when googling the price, and some cover any "touch up" visits for a year or so. I'll most likely be looking more into it in the Charleston area later tonight with hubby at home.

"Wonder if I can get a couple sleepy pills from them to sleep for 8 hours afterward "

They give you a pill to take home for that.

They also give you a valium before the procedure.

Don't go with the cheapest provider. Find a Dr who also does other eye surgery.

Once and start to need reading glasses decades later you can use the ones you buy in a grocery store. No more worries about waiting for replacements if you break a pair.

I had what was then called Radial Keratotomy (sp?) probably 18 years ago and loved the after effects. Woke up the next morning and could read the titles of books in the bookcase across the room. 20/10 vision from 20/400 vision overnight!!!!! One of the best things I ever did. I was around 40 years old (not quite sure because not quite sure when I had it done!), and the dr. told me I would still have to wear reading glasses when the time came, and I do, but so what? At least I don't have to wear coke bottle lenses or fight with wearing contacts in this dry weather here in AZ. Plus I had a severe astigmatism so could never wear soft contact lenses, which made the hard lenses even more uncomfortable.

I would do it again in a heartbeat, especially now that they have improved the surgery so much. I was squeamish about being "awake", but don't really remember seeing anything...once something gets really close to your eye, it blurs anyway.

I want lasik pretty badly too but I'm scared because I heard from a friend who had it done that you have to sign a form beforehand that if anything goes wrong they aren't responsible....If there was no form I'd do it...but the form is like a warning to me.
I wear safety glasses at work since I work in a lab too and I wear contacts under them. Both the contacts and the safety glasses drive me crazy- I hate them!

So after going to the eye dr again, he definitely gave me heck for leaving my contacts in so much - which I of course was expecting. He has me trying Accuvue Oasis for a bit, because he said my corneas need to breathe more, and to still take them out even though they are overnight ones. My eye is still Terminator-like, bought some Visine to put in it tonight. Seems to be less red than earlier.

He told me that I'm still a pretty good candidate for Lasik, I would just need to find out my eye thickness - the other two things I was good on (curvature and prescription [-5.00 right now, up from -4.00 2 years ago]) He blamed the big jump on excessive contact wearing and thinks that by taking them out nightly it will start going back down to -4.00. I hate putting them in and taking them out so much haha sometimes it's just a complete PAIN. Hubby told me to start looking into the Lasik more (and claims he never said wait til I'm 40!). This one place here has done it a lot. Definitely not looking for the cheapest place at all. Money isn't really an issue at all. Hubby should be taking home at least the cost of the procedure on Friday from work, so we can just put that aside for it. I would rather find a place that has the best reviews in eye surgery and Lasik and most experience doing them and then have a consult there.

Hubby has 20/400 in his right eye and 20/20 in his left He said the bad eye has been getting better though, so lucky him - wish mine would follow suit! Mine have been getting progressively worse over the years and I'm ready to stop that before I fall out of the good candidate spot! Wearing reading glasses won't really bother me when I get to that age - better than having to wear them all the time or fighting with my contacts!

I know about 15 people who have had it done....all people that I work with. If I had to guess, I would say that roughly half of the people have had complications from Lasik. Some of them needed second, or third procedures to completely correct their vision. One (a brittle diabetic anesthesiologist) nearly lost the vision in one of his eyes. One of the orthopedic surgeons I work with now wears glasses all the time, as he is unable to wear contacts after the unsuccessful Lasik. Several others continue to need lubricating eyedrops years post Lasik surgery. That being said, the people who have had it done, and had good outcomes (again...probably half of them) absolutely swear by it, and don't regret having it done....most of them say it was the best thing they've ever done, and would do it again in a heartbeat.

I'm a great candidate for Lasik. I'm terribly nearsighted (-8.50) with mild astigmatism. I hate my coke-bottle glasses, and wear my contacts all the time (except when I take them out to sleep.) I've always been afraid to go the Lasik route. I would hate to lose the limited eyesight that I have, and I know that, even though I hate my glasses & contacts, at least I will always be able to see well with them.

Originally Posted by Tara & Rob

So after going to the eye dr again, he definitely gave me heck for leaving my contacts in so much - which I of course was expecting. He has me trying Accuvue Oasis for a bit, because he said my corneas need to breathe more, and to still take them out even though they are overnight ones. My eye is still Terminator-like, bought some Visine to put in it tonight.

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Did he also bug you for not seeing him annually being a contact wearer? Accuvue Oasis feel pretty nice, though ultimately my eyes are so sensitive I need dailys.

And I'm going to tell you the same thing I told libby. Don't use Visine, go get some real drops. Try brands like Refresh or Thera Tears as they seem to be the best for those who have problems with their eyes - get the single vial. When you use drops that are just in one bottle they have more ingredients and preservatives. If your eyes are already irritated putting a bunch of preservatives in them will just make it feel worse.

And if you ever think of having Lasik you have to use the single vial thick lubricating drops made for bad dry eyes and those who've had Lasik after.

My husband had Lasik back in 1999-when he was about 40. No doc did procedure locally at that time so we went to Madison,WI for the procedure. While I was driving home he even though he had the plastic eye shields on could read the road signs more clearly.
Its best to follow the post op instructions on eye care.

Yes he will wear over the counter reading glasses now esp when he read like a magazine with a glossy surface. Otherwise never had any probelms.

I am not a good candidate due to my unusual astigmatism. So I continue with the glasses!

I had Lasik in 2000, when it was still considered 'experimental'. My surgery was done by one of the few drs. in the country who actually taught the procedure. It cost $5000 and insurance didn't cover a penny.
Before surgery my vision was -1100 diopters (that's 20/1100). I was legally blind, and had a bad astigmatism. Glasses just weren't helping me much anymore. I'd been wearing glasses since 3rd grade. I had the surgery at age 44.
The day after the surgery I could read the wall clock across the room, something I hadn't been able to do in years and years. The swelling went down and my eyes adjusted to their new flat corneas.
I drive without glasses, altho' I know there are days I should be wearing 'cheaters'. I need reading glasses for tv, movies, reading.
My eyes didn't settle where they should have. I was only the 2nd patient of this dr. to have a complication. My left eye seems to have stablized at 20/40. My right eye, on the other hand, didn't do so well; it went from being -1100 to +300! Don't think that doesn't make seeing a challenge. I have 'ghosts' wherever I look, shadows of everything. If you see the number 11, I see the number 1111. I can't cross stitch anymore, I can't hold things closer to my eyes to see them better---threading a needle is horrendous.
Now, having said all that, would I do it again? Yes, I would. I can actually roll over in the middle of the night and read the digital clock by the side of the bed, even if it does say "22:1155" instead of '2:15'. I like not having the glasses on my face all the time; I actually had to have glass lenses because of the strength and I had daily headaches for years. If I couldn't put my hand on my glasses as soon as I woke up I would panic. I was literally helpless without them. Plus, my self-esteem is better; I feel that I look better without glasses.
So, I carry a pair of folding glasses in one pocket and a tiny magnifier in the other. I have reading glasses all over the house. Sometimes it bothers me that I'd be the one to suffer the complication, even tho' I always say "if it's going to happen to someone, it's going to happen to me." Then I think of just how much my sight has changed and have to feel grateful that I can see as well as I do. I do wonder sometimes if I should have waited because this was before lasers entered the picture. But, as I said, I'd gotten to the point that glasses just weren't helping much so I did what I needed to do.

My uncle had his eyes done...let's see, he died in 2000, so a few years before that. He must have been one of the first to have it done. Anyway, he was happy with the results. I'd like to ditch the glasses, but there's a tiny risk of the surgery causing blindness, and I can't deal with that. Even though it's a VERY small chance, I'm too scared.

Don't use Visine!!! It actually dries your eyes out to cosmetically remove the redness. The real drops are very soothing.

Thanks for all the replies!

My "Terminator eye" is much better. It turned pinkish on Friday and is mostly back to normal today. I think I really beat that poor thing up trying to fish out that contact. I was able to get my new 'trial' pair in on Friday, that was a plus. Of course we ended up on a ridiculous road trip last night and I had them in longer than I really wanted to but they came out easily at 5am when I got home and I plan to wear my glasses today. Tomorrow I may put them back in (though I prefer to keep weekends to glasses-only-days now til I figure out what I'm going to do with Lasik) because the cook out has a pool and I don't want to swim blind I got my glasses adjusted yesterday and hope they stay that way for awhile or else I'll be irritated! I didn't spend $107 + using insurance to have glasses I need to get adjusted every time I want to wear them.

I already am starting to think the new contacts are too strong for me, and the doctor said he could see my prescription going back down to -4.00 once my cornea starts breathing more. And if they do go back to around -4.00 I'll be an even better candidate for the Lasik because it means my eyesight has stayed pretty stable for 2-3 years.

The blindness risk scares the heck out of me as well. Rob told me he wants to get insurance on me first before doing it, in case I end up blind -scareddd- and can't work anymore. I don't even know how I'd survive going blind. It is one of my biggest fears about it, even though it does seem so relatively safe.

I'm confused on the pricing at the moment, because one site said $2,100 for iLasik, and another at the MUSC hospital eye center said $2,200 ... per eye. So I guess if that's the case it'll be between $4,000-4,500 which shall require a little more savings. Especially now that we have to buy $800 worth of tires for our dually.

DH got Lasik done when he was 17, so over 10 years ago. My old boss had it done as well. Both would do it again in an instant.

I had Lasik surgery done back in oh, geez, 2000? or maybe 2001 I was 23 at the time? They were doing a huge advertising blitz in my area and I thought hmmmmm I was the same way with my contacts, always leaving them in and hated my glasses. I applied for financing, got approved, much to my surprise and went and had it done. It was amazing! I was awake for the procedure and didn't get any valium either. I went home, took a nap, woke up and could see I was amazed Had been wearing glasses since 2nd grade and I have no idea what my prescription was, but standing in front of the bathroom mirror without contact lenses, I could not make out the nose on my face

I did have to have a second surgery to correct one of my eyes a little more, it was worse than the other eye and they under corrected it so I had to go in and have them correct it a little more. I had night haloing for about a year or so after the surgery, but nothing bad enough to prevent me driving at night, and I also had to make sure I had eye drops on me at all times for about a year, no biggie there. Almost 10 years later my vision is still practically perfect. Would I do it again? In a New York minute