curious..has anyone had lasik done?

**Linthade** · March 23rd, 2004, 11:49 AM

I had mine done in July of 2002. I had both eyes done at the same time, cost me $1250 per eye.

Everything went great except for the fact that I was so ridiculously nervous of screwing things up myself, that I screwed it up myself. I was shaking from being too nervous when he did the first eye(right eye) and caused him to take more time and didn't do as good of a job on it. He had to keep telling me to hold still. I was trying so hard to hold still, that I was shaking.

After the first eye was done, I realized there was nothing to it and relaxed. The left eye went off in just a few minutes and I was done. I was a 300 with astigmatisms before the job, and ended up with 20/10 in the left eye, and 20/40 with some occasional blurriness in the right. I could go back to have the right one tuned up but it'll cost me $$$.

The moral of the story is: Relax. Chill out and the whole deal is done in under 10 minutes. The horror stories you hear are from quack Doctors out to make a buck on a bad candidate for the surgery. I highly recommend having 2-3 consultations by different doctors without telling them you've already seen someone else. If they all say you're a good candidate, rock on.

*lin*

**Shard92** · March 23rd, 2004, 12:20 PM

My brother had it done. He still needs glasses to read. They said they could correct for one but not both.... ( he use to have bifocals... )

**amyb** · March 23rd, 2004, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by Shard92

My brother had it done. He still needs glasses to read. They said they could correct for one but not both.... ( he use to have bifocals... )

That's what I have now, bifocals..which I want to get out of.

**DocPC** · March 23rd, 2004, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by amyb

That's what I have now, bifocals..which I want to get out of.

Hi granny.....

**Stalemate** · March 23rd, 2004, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by Cleetus

Certain types yes they can...

I'm going to have to "look" into that.

**NooNoo** · March 23rd, 2004, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by DocPC

Hi granny.....

OOOH Doc, your optomerterist called.. your quad focals are ready.... but they reckon having a second pair mirrored is a bit old fashioned.

**DocPC** · March 23rd, 2004, 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by NooNoo

OOOH Doc, your optomerterist called.. your quad focals are ready.... but they reckon having a second pair mirrored is a bit old fashioned.

:butt:

**amyb** · March 23rd, 2004, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by DocPC

Hi granny.....

now be nice..

**cisco2** · March 23rd, 2004, 01:32 PM

Lasik can't help you if you're getting old and are having trouble focusing up close. That has something to do with corneal hardening and there isn't any way to fix that yet (or so I've heard).

Two people I work with have had Lasik and seem very pleased. I have been thinking about Lasik myself, I too have an astigmatism and that complication concerns me above the normal fears of just messing with my peepers to begin with. All in all I have very few reservations about Lasik, it seems to have a pretty good track record.

Echo the steer away from bargain eye centers on this one. The cost at upscale places isn't really that prohibitive in the long run anyway and the risks... not worth saving a few dollars.

**jitBob** · March 23rd, 2004, 02:10 PM

Originally Posted by cisco2

Lasik can't help you if you're getting old and are having trouble focusing up close. That has something to do with corneal hardening and there isn't any way to fix that yet (or so I've heard)..

Actually, I remember reading not too long ago that they are working on a procedure to "fix" old age of the eyes. Given the choice of bi-focals or reading glasses, it's "where the hell did I put my reading glasses"?

**Pinnacle** · March 23rd, 2004, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by a d e p t

I see a lot of referrences to near and far-sightedness being corrected, but what about astigmatism?

Has anyone ever had that corrected through laser surgery?

In addition to being 20/600 (left) and 20/400 (right), I also had astigmatism in both eyes. Now, all is well. I agree with those that have said to avoid bargain basement surgeons. God only gave you two eyes, so don't mess them up. I could have had my eyes corrected here in town, but I thought it was worth the five hour drive to Toronto to have it done by a leader in the trade. The person right before me had flown in from Colorado.

Another thing to consider is how many procedures the surgeon does. Obviously, you want him/her to be experienced, but you do not want a tired out surgeon. My friend thought about using a surgeon in Windsor (in Canada also), but backed out when he found out the staggering number of procedures the surgeon was performing every day. He ended up going to Toronto also and had a great experience.

**amyb** · March 23rd, 2004, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by jitBob

Actually, I remember reading not too long ago that they are working on a procedure to "fix" old age of the eyes. Given the choice of bi-focals or reading glasses, it's "where the hell did I put my reading glasses"?

Agreed on that! They say they can help me, so I'm trying it.

**Archer** · March 23rd, 2004, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by amyb

Something like that. My husband had it done (one eye) last month. This is our anniversery present to each other (19 years) (better eyesight). Is that romantic or what?

Romantic yes and I wish you both the best with the outcome but isnt that going to cause problems when you get to clearly see each other in the buff for the first time in years.

I havent heard of this Lasik before is this similar to the procedure the Russians pionered which entailed cutting the cornea with a scalpel in a sort of star shape to remove the stiffness and aid focusing?

**techs** · March 23rd, 2004, 08:01 PM

Originally Posted by Archer

Romantic yes and I wish you both the best with the outcome but isnt that going to cause problems when you get to clearly see each other in the buff for the first time in years.

I havent heard of this Lasik before is this similar to the procedure the Russians pionered which entailed cutting the cornea with a scalpel in a sort of star shape to remove the stiffness and aid focusing?

Yes that is what it is. Originally it was called a Starburst Keratotomy or Radial Keratotomy. This is was because the small incisions are are at rt. angles to the cornea and look a like the suns rays in a childs drawing. It was developed in the Soviet Union way back when. The 'art' that is involved is how much to cut. Doctors used to shoot for less than optimum vision. From what I remember after the little incisions are made the cornea flattens. The amount varies by individual which is why people get slighlty different results. Apparently a good Lasik surgeon is a better artist.

**dfilas** · March 23rd, 2004, 08:48 PM

Originally Posted by a d e p t

I see a lot of referrences to near and far-sightedness being corrected, but what about astigmatism?

Has anyone ever had that corrected through laser surgery?

My left eye was moderate astigmatism. Corrected with no problems. They can almost always fix this.

I had to wear a toric contact lens prior to the surgery.... and anyone who wears those knows they can be more than a little uncomfortable if you dont get it put in just right. I'm SO glad to not have to do that every morning any more.