Thinking of Getting Lasik

[Bart Goldberg]

I've been wearing glasses since I was 8 years old. And I find that as I'm getting older, its getting harder to see well with them (now a days I wear progressives due to presbyopia). I'm still a little intimidated by the surgery - so has any of my fellow wood workers on SMC had the surgery, or know of anyone who has. Are you happy with the results. And to keep on topic, can you now perform better when setting up your equipment for exacting measurements?

[Jason Roehl]

A friend of mine and both her parents have had it done, and now they all see AT LEAST 20/20, some even see 20/15 in one eye. As soon as I can afford it, I think I may go for it. I've had glasses since age 3, and even corrected I'm 20/25-20/30 at best w/astygmatism. But I don't mind giving it a few more years, it's still pretty new (<10 years) and there's NO idea what the long-term effects are.

Jason

[Mike Cutler]

Bart. I have three co-workers that have had it done and all of them think it was fantastic. All three had it done in Boston. I don't know yhe exact location, but the attending doctor is one of the leading pioneers in the US for this process. The cost was $5000.00 total and required an overnite stay in Boston at a local Holiday Inn. One thing I found interesting was that due to their age both eyes were not "adjusted" the same. Essentially one eye is for far vision and one is for near vision. It sounded kinda whacky to me, but they explained that if they had both eyes adjusted for far vision it would have required them to wear reading glasses. Of the three the one with the worst vision was a -8.0 and all of them are real happy. I am going to set up a screening this spring to see if I am a candidate and then use pre-tax contributions to my health insurance and have the surgery done next year. This particular facility also has a payment plan and accepts MC and VISA. One of the things that I liked most about this facility is that they are right by major hospitals and all they do is vision surgery of all types, this is not a travelling road show where one doctor rotates through 3 or 4 locations a week. I can e-mail you with the actual info if you'd like once I see them at work

[Dave Hammelef]

I know of about 6 co-workers who have had it done some in the Detroit area a few went to winsor. The guy in winsor was one of the first to do it and has been doing it along time. Of the 6 4 were fine 2 were not. One of the unsuccesful ones has a hard time seeing in the dark and dry eyes. His night vision is so bad he basically can not drive at night. The other problem case had dry eye problems early but left were I work so I do not know how that one worked out. The success all say everything was fine from right after the surgery onward.

For me I have only 1 pair of eyes and do not want to risk losing any vision just so I might not have to wear glasses. There are other non-surgical procedures that are being investigate and I will wait.

[Fred Reitberger]

I've been wearing glasses since age 9. Each annual vision checkup I ask my eye doctor, who wears glasses, if Lasik was ready or not. His standard answer was no. Last July I noticed he wasn't wearing his glasses. I asked if he had Lasik and he replyed that he was wearing his contacts and that he wasn't a good candidate for Lasik. Since this was a different answer I followed up. Turns out his pupils dilate too much and that is a negitive indication. (The fellow who can't see at night could have this problem)

I also found out that for the past three years he had been researching bad Lasik outcomes and taking care of them as part of his teaching at the University of South Florida. He says the bad outcomes are from two major problems. Bad screening where the doctor cuts it too fine to the standards and takes on something he should have left alone. And debris and flap problems.

I asked if I was a good candidate and who would he reccomend. I was a good candidate and he gave me two references that he said had not had a bad outcome. I spent the next two days researching on the web to find out what were the worst cases I could find.

I went in armed with the good and bad and got screened by the Lasik doctor. He answered my questions and I decided to get it done. The process was comfortable and took only two hours total from arrival to leaving. The worst discomfort was equal to the feeling that I had left my contacts in for too long.

I followed the regime of eye drops, night shield and don't rub the eys very carefully and within a week I got my renewed drivers license without the glasses requirement. It's been 9 months and my eyes are still a little dry but from all the people I have talked with I expected occasional dryness for up to a year. It was a good experiance.

As for the shoop work. I had both eyes corrected to distance so I have to wear reading glasses. I find it no problem to use safety/reading glasses in the shop and under my turning mask. Talk to your eye doctor, to people that have had it and then make your decision. I'm now 20/20 and loving it!

One last thing. After over 40 years with glasses the first time I stepped into the grocery store and could see edge to edge vision clearly I almost fell over. The field of vision was so broad and clear that the visual overload was increadable.

[Ken Wright]

I had RK about 11 years ago and after wearing glasses for most of my life it was a wonderful change ..... for the past two years my eyes have aged some and i had to go back to the reading glasses and finally bifocals for my woodworking ... lines from a marking knife are hard to see....

i'm not a candidate for lasik because if you've had RK that procedure it disqualifies you .... but ... i know several who have and they all worked out real well .....

I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of the glasses if i had the chance

[Bart Goldberg]

I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous. No one wants to be in the bad result bucket. However, it appears that the frequency of problems some folks have had are not nearly as numerous as just a few years ago. Better screening, and better equipment. So, I do believe that I will go for it. BTW, to all that are considering it, prices do vary quite a bit. The cheapest I've seen is in Canada, where you can get the whole procedure done for about 800 US dollars. Locally in NJ, the rates vary from about 4-6 thousand. I was able to negotiate with my Opthamologist to 3500, down from 4500. Wish me luck, and I'll let you all know how well it all comes out.:)

[Dr. Zack Jennings]

I'm nearsided and wear a contact in my left eye. I can read and do woodworking with my other eye(uncorrected). I wear reading glasses over the left eye some at work. I get along fine. I'm really pleased when on the computer because I always have the TV on across the room. I could not see the PC Screen well with my bifocals w/o tilting my head back. I was constantly putting glasses on and taking glasses off.

I don't notice the difference in everyday life. I do have a pair of glasses that correct the right eye only complimenting my contact. I never wear them unless I'm driving cross country and looking for roadsigns. I do see better with both eyes corrected but it's no big deal.

One bonus is I can wear cool sunglasses and I don't have to buy glasses at $350. I had prescription glasses, occupational glasses, prescription sunglasses and prescription motorcycle goggles. That's 4 pair, all with progressive lens bifocal prescriptions in them. That's $1,000+. Now, I pay $25 every 2-3 months for more contacts.

My doctor suggested I try this and said some people can do it. One eye becomes dominant faraway, the other takes over close up. I'm lucky I can tolerate it. I've been doing this for 3 years, I'm 56.

[Ken Wright]

Forgot to mention in the other post that I had my eyes adjusted so that my left was for distance and my right was for reading. Sounds like a cheap drunk but in actuality it worked out real well. Amazing how quickly the brain adjusts to the point that you don't know its been done. My distance eye is still as good as ever ... its the reading eye that deteriorated.

[Phil Phelps]

Originally posted by Ken Wright
I had RK about 11 years ago and after wearing glasses for most of my life it was a wonderful change ..... for the past two years my eyes have aged some and i had to go back to the reading glasses and finally bifocals for my woodworking ... lines from a marking knife are hard to see....

i'm not a candidate for lasik because if you've had RK that procedure it disqualifies you .... but ... i know several who have and they all worked out real well .....

I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of the glasses if i had the chance

My opthymologist says it's your age that counts. It won't last forever. So while your young, might be the thing to do. I would NOT go to someone who advertises. Hey, Keith has a laser!!!!:p

[Jason Roehl]

I'd be afraid that Keith would leave behind an engraving of something like "sawmillcreek.org" or "Hampton Roads Online"!!

Jason

[Ken Wright]

"Handcrafted by Ken Salisbury"

[Rob Glynn]

I had Lasik treatment here in Western Australia about 4 years ago.

It was the best thing I ever did.

I had significant short sight and astygmatism in both eyes, and a dry eye problem in one eye. The Lasik treatment resulted in me being normal vision 6/6 (20/20) in one eye and very slightly long sighted in the other. The dry eye problem remained unchanged and I continue to treat it with artificial tears when required.

For about 2 - 3 months after the treatment I had some night vision problems, particularly flare associated with bright objects. That has long since settled down so that I now have no problem driving at night.

[Ray Carpenter]

Howdy Bart,

I am the poster boy for not having Lasik done. I had them done at one of the surgery mills in Vancouver, Canada. I probably was not a good candidate, but they accepted me anyway. I walked out of the surgery seeing 20/200. I guess I was the exception. After a few months I went back for "enhancement" They left a ripple in one eye and found that they had "button-holed" they other one.

I had a terrible time in getting any Opthomologist to see me when I returned as they do not want to have anything to do with someone elses' work. Take my advice and get your surgery done LOCALLY in concert with your own Opthomologist(MD). I had problems and they were very much complicated in getting data from Canada. Lasik is great, I do not wear glasses except when driving at night. I can really tell that I have the problem when I look at the moon at night. I see three of them...

Best regards and good luck.

Ray in Lexington, NE

[Peter Lyon]

I too had lasik done in Vancouver Canada and my experience was just the opposite. After two years I'm still amazed everytime I wake up and can clearly see the clock numerals staring back at me. I'm 20/20 in both eyes and have never had a problem.

I'd have to agree with the poster who mentioned that most problems originate from cases where the patient barely fits into the parameters of eligibility. When I first when for in for an interview, they were very clear on not performing the proceedure on "marginal" canidates. I suspect either some outfits get greedy or some patients get too demanding.

And lastly, I paid about $1100 for both eyes.

[andre mallegol]

Bart,

I had the procedure done four years ago. I had problems immediately after the procedure, the flap on my left eye came lose during the night. I returned to the doctor who did the work the next morning in serious pain. He repositioned the flap, taped a patch over the eye which had to remain in place for 3-4 days. At that time I changed to a Mass Eye and Ear Doc, which is where I should have been in the first place. The new Doc diagnoised the problem as dry eyes, said I wasn't a good candidate for the surgery in the first place and then set me up with a procedure to keep the eye moist. After a month of once a week visits my eyes were 20/20. Great feeling after wearing glasses for 30 yrs.

The mistake I made was going to a factory that was in the business of getting as many eyeballs in front of the laser as they possibly could. They charged 5K for two eyes. The doc I went to for the repair work charged 4K per two eyes and was much more conservative. He did one eye at a time so if you had a problem you still had a good one. The factory did both at once.

Would I do it over again. In a NY minute. I would be much more selective as to who did the work. Just make sure you are a good candidate. If you have difficulty wearing contacts for long periods of time you probably have dry eyes, which in my case is what caused the problems.

Good luck, Andre

[Douglas Robinson]

I may have lasik on my left eye in the next year (May). My right eye is almost 20/20. Two thoughts:

1) Presbyopia means old eyes. as I understand it from my father this relates to the muscles around the eye weakening as you get older. You may nbe able to change your eyes with Lasik, but the muscles will not be strengthened. Therefore, you may still need glasses. Talk to a professional!

2) I understand from a friend who had lasik on both eyes (and is happy) that his tear ducts do not produce tears as well as before the surgery (the dry eyes mentioned in an earlier post) I would ask about the frequency of this occuring. Good luck. let us know what you decide.

Doug

[Hal Peeler]

I had it done about 4 1/2 months ago. I had worn glasses and or contacts since I was 3. I am 39. I had no complications from the surgery, not even dry eye, which they say is the most common side effect. I was seeing 20/400 uncorrected before and at my last checkup (3 months post op) I was 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in the other. I haven't regretted it one minute. People always talk about the lack of data for long term effects, my doctor (not my surgeon) explained to me that while it is relatively new in the US, it has been done in other countries for many years. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything that anyone else doesn't know. My only advice is don't shop by price. Just because their cheap, doesn't mean they're bad and just because their expensive doesn't mean they're good. I agree with the post about not going to someone who does mass advertising. I'm in GA and I paid 3500 for both eyes. Go for it!!!

[Mike St.Amand]

Bart,

It's too bad you don't live up here in Vt. Most of the many people I know that have had the surgery have it done in Montreal. They have been doing it much longer in Canada than here in the US. One of the leading Lasik clinics in the world is in the IBM building in Montreal and you can get both eyes done for about 1400$ (US) each. Our local clinics have been forced to charge only about $2200 for the entire procedure including screening and follow up to compete. Everyone I know has had excellent results including several family members. I know what next year's tax return is going towards......

Good luck if you go for it.
Mike in VT.

[Chip Wright]

About three or four years ago, I was out riding my bike with a bunch of people, including my opthalmologist. At a stop, someone asked him what he though of Lasik. He said he had three words for them: "Human guinea pigs." Those words have stuck in my brain.

In fact, I was able to repeat that story just a year ago to my very same opthamologist when he asked me if I was interested in Lasik. Fun for me, if not for him.

[Bart Goldberg]

Originally posted by Chip Wright
About three or four years ago, I was out riding my bike with a bunch of people, including my ophthalmologist. At a stop, someone asked him what he though of Lasik. He said he had three words for them: "Human guinea pigs." Those words have stuck in my brain.

In fact, I was able to repeat that story just a year ago to my very same ophthalmologist when he asked me if I was interested in Lasik. Fun for me, if not for him.


Chris -So did you ophthalmologist change his mind about human guinea pigs?