Laser eye surgery

Has anyone had this?

l'm now officially OLD and finally have to realize that l need either glasses or contacts or surgery for distance vision.

The "borrowed" glasses l use to drive with are perfect for the car, but they're about 20 years old (LOL), big, not the least bit pretty, and pretty much falling to pieces. They stay in the car where people can't really see them, or me in them.

At work, l go to meetings where l have to see boards and monitors across the room, so l definitely need something. However, my main job is microscope work, so l need my close-up vision to remain intact - or so l thought. This is really my question: l read that laser eye surgery for distance vision is sometimes only performed on one eye, so the close-up vision isn't lost in the other. Has anyone had this, or know of anyone's experience with it? 

I know people who have had it, and they all seem happy with it.  I've discussed this with my eye doctor and he gave me some recommendations of good quality professionals to talk to.  What I have learned is that the procedure usually corrects your vision for distance, but you end up still needing reading glasses, if not right away, at a point in the future.

I have 5 or 6 different fields of vision, so I have progressive lens eye glasses.  I don't need glasses for reading, so the glasses have a small no prescription area at the bottom of the lens which I'm supposed to be able to read through. However, no matter how clean my glasses are, it still feels like I'm looking through dirty glass when I'm reading, so I just read over the top of my lenses like an old granny!   LOL
 

My uncle had it done, one eye for distance and the other for up-close. Apparently your brain compensates and you get used to it. Personally, I really hate the idea of anyone cutting my eyeball. . .

Willowy said:

My uncle had it done, one eye for distance and the other for up-close. Apparently your brain compensates and you get used to it. Personally, I really hate the idea of anyone cutting my eyeball. . .

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The old way involved using a scalpel and making cuts around the iris like you were segmenting a 1/2 of a grapefruit.

l'm glad to hear about people who had it done successfully. 

l considered progressive lenses too, although my near vision is perfect, but everything outside of 8 feet away becomes fuzzier the farther it is. l don't wear even safety glasses at the microscope, but need safety glasses around the Fab, then some kind of corrective vision around the rest of the building. 

Cutting into the eye does make me shudder too, but hopefully the end result will be worth it. There is a laser surgery that doesn't cut, but l won't be able to afford that one. Laser vision isn't covered under out Ontario health care, and my work insurance only covers a portion of it.

l may opt for contacts, and only wear one at a time to get used to the one eye long, one eye close type of vision.

I had laser eye surgery done... I guess six (seven?) years ago. I was eighteen, and it's been great so far. Had it done in both eyes, and haven't had a problem.

My mom also got it done. Now she can see far away, but she needs reading glasses and can't see much close up at all. =/ I'm not sure if it was a very good trade-off, to be honest (though, she thinks it is, so I guess that's all that matters). I don't know anyone who's gotten it done in only one eye though.

@Envy, thanks for your response.

l'm glad you're happy with your results, it seems like most people who have it done are happy that they did.

l'm glad you told me about your mom not being able to see much close up after the surgery, l had heard the same thing from someone else. And that is exactly what l need to avoid - my close-up vision is my livelihood.

I will say that my mom recently turned 50 (I think she was late 40s when she had the surgery done). I'm not sure how old "OLD" is. =P

l turned 50  2 days ago, so l guess we agree on OLD