LASIK Eye Surgery

[BawA]

hi guys
here is the thing...
next monday am going to have a LASIK Eye Surgery, am just a bit scared and i want ur opinion, what u think, ist safe to do it? ist worth of doing it?
so far all ive heared and read on the net is that its safe but not totaly safe and the chances that something might go wrong is below 1%, but the eye is something that u wont get a 2nd chance on it so please give me ur honest opinions and experiances cuz its depends on the reply u guys gonna give if i would go for it or not.

[Barbarossa]

Nobody really knows the long-term effects of laser eye surgery, because it hasn't been around for long enough.

I mean, during the course of your life, your eyesight could change dramatically, so you could be spending all this money now, and still need to wear glasses in 10 years time or so.

Aside - I've been short-sighted since I was about 14, but the last time I went to the opticians, my eyesight is now in fact improving, as my eyes get older and the muscles that control focusing get weaker.

Have you thought about daily disposable contact lenses? Very convenient, quite cheap now, and you can change your prescription whenever you need to.

Just realised you haven't actually told us what's wrong with your eyesight, so maybe this doesn't apply to you.

Why do you want surgery anyway?

[BigBank_Hank]

It funny you ask because last night I had to get a new pair of glasses because I stepped on mine and I asked the doctor about it. What he said was that the majority of people that have it done it will help but it’s a short term solution and that most people end up back in glasses.

For example it wouldn’t be worth it for me to do it because I have astigmatism so bad that it probably would be worth the money.

[nerval]

Have you noticed that all the doctors doing the op wear glasses?
My view is that if it were as good as all that, they'd have it done.

It's unlikely to make you blind, but if you look on the web there many potential side-effects that are not often publicised, but hell to live with - dry eyes that need constant drops or goggles, inability to see at night as the cut is of smaller diameter than the open pupil; need to redo the op several times.

It's not a trivial procedure, despite them trying to sell it like sweets or newspapers, and once done it can't be undone.


Apart from the side effects, successful correction of vision depends on your prescription - for very minor short sight, will probably not need glasses; -4 and above, you're getting a bit iffy and they can't always predict the result correctly.
Minus 8 and above, they can't correct enough to stop you needing glasses .

And age 45plus, you'll need glasses for reading anyway.

I considered it (severe short sight) and chose daily disposable lenses instead. My brother (moderate short sight) had it done, claimed it was successful, but last I heard was putting drops in many times a day, years after the op.

Sorry if it's not what you want to hear.

Elton John has had implants I gather, which from what I hear seems to be replacing the eye's lens with one of a different strength - a bit like after a cataract. May be a bit more reliable option.

[Busyman™]

Try the See Clearly method.

I've been wearing contacts since the 8th grade. I wear disposables now.

I pay $35 every 2 years for contacts and exam. LASIK would barely on the radar.

I thought about back when there was rK and prK but couldn't justify the money spent.

I have no problem with contacts.

[lynx]

Re Hank's comments about astigmatism, that's one of the things lasik tratment is particularly good at curing. Older treatments couldn't sort it out though.

The problems and poor results nerval speaks of are typical of the old prk treatment, which is probably what his brother had done since lasik hasn't been around that long.

Prk removes the outer protective layer of the eye which has to grow back. Results are unpredictable because they don't know how thick it will grow back. Night vision can be poor because it may end up being slightly cloudy. Pain can result if it doesn't grow back thick enough.

With lasik the top layer is detatched, then the laser treatment takes place and finally the top layer is replaced. The chances of the problems associated with prk are drastically reduced, but not eliminated.

If you need glasses anyway then after 45 you'll probably need 2 pairs or expensive bifocals/varifocals, and even if you use contacts you will still need glasses for reading.

Lens replacement is really only recommended for people with really poor eyesight - Elton John was nearly blind without glasses. The risks with lens replacement are much higher. A friend had it done because of cataracts. It went wrong and he was in agony for 6 months until it was safe to remove the faulty lens, followed by being virtually blind in that eye for 2 years because they can't repeat the op until the eye has recovered from the first attempt.

See if you can find some people who have had lasik treatment done, especially at the same clinic. Their recommendations are far better than you'll get from a web forum.

[cpt_azad]

I considered it, but I'm okay with glasses. I dont' like contact lenses that much, kind of an uncomfartable feeling but that's just me. Not to mention you have to be 21 or something to get laser eye surgery done here. And as pointed out many times, you're just gonna end up getting glasses down the road anyway. It's a very short term kind of thing, you'll have excellent vision for a few years (with some sideaffects) and then BAM back to glasses again (or whatever you use).

And ya, we don't know the long term affects of Laser surgery, hasn't been around for too long.

[BawA]

the eye surgon who i went to said that eye sight damages till age of 20 and remains untouched from there so if i do the lasik there is very small percentage that it goes week after a period of time but its unlikly to happen.
so far what ive heared from my near ones they say its risky and they have seen people having problem after doin LASER(not Lasik), doc said there r much sideEfficts in the laser but with lasik chances r as low as 1%.
can u guys tell me how u know that this sloution is kinda temporery? as u said lasik havent been arround that long so how u can say that?

@Barbarossa
the only reason am doing this is what uve been talking about on ur reply, eyesight.
contact lenses... i dont like the removing and replacing part, they have many problems, they drop down, some times they move from thier spots and few more things, during the day i never remove my glasses except when i sleep.

and am 22years so am a lasik candidate.

more reply please.

[Yoga]

How did you find this surgeon

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/LASIK/risks.htm

You are brave, because this could go great or go very wrong. Or it could go good in the beginning and deteriorate a year after.

[nerval]

The problems and poor results nerval speaks of are typical of the old prk treatment, which is probably what his brother had done since lasik hasn't been around that long.

.

No, it's Lasik. And the problems are with Lasik as well.
Trouble is the surgeon is selling you the op - he's not going to talk you out of it.
Has he had it done himself?

There are worse things than having to wear glasses - or indeed contacts.