[faye]

Hi everyone,

The post on glasses and frames got me thinking about LASIK surgery. I wear mainly contacts and have been thinking of doing LASIK for some time. I actually have a consultation next week. I know a few people who have had it done and none have experienced any side effects...in fact all of them are thrilled with the results. Has anyone here had LASIK? What was your experience like?

Thanks!

[MandM]

I haven't had it yet but really want to -- I'm just working up my nerve b/c I am very pain phobic!

I have at least five close friends, however, who have had it and LOVE the results. They also reported that they had VERY little pain -- just some really mild discomfort and scratchiness the first day.

I did have one friend who had to have hers redone, but she's over sixty and had really bad eyesite to begin with.

My contact prescription is -4.5. I think lasik is best on slightly lower prescriptions, but works ok on higher ones as well.

Anyway, I think you should do it, I've heard all good things and am going to do it too soon:-)

[daffie]

I haven't either but I don't think I would ever be able to. I'm just a big wuss when it comes to that kind of stuff. It would be great not to put contacts on everyday though =)

[MandM]

^^^you could try accuview extended wear. I put mine in at the beginning of the week and take them out at the end. It's terrific -- I wake up being able to see:-) The only problem is that it can be hard on your eyes over time. That said, I've used them for almost 20 years, no problems. I am, however, trying to take them out for 2 nights a week instead of only one, lately, and am looking in to lasiks.

What will push me to definitely get lasiks is if my eyes stop tolerating extended wear. No way do I want to deal with contacts every day.

Sorry, a bit off topic, but I'm still liking lasiks:-)

[stllove]

My dad had it done about 7 years ago because he couldn't see long distances. He says it worked great, except he now wears reading glasses, but alot of people start wearing reading glasses as they age...

[lucretias]

I'm scared of messing with something as important as my eyesight. I know one person who had fabulous results. BUT I've also known people who have had constant driness as a result or had their vision become worse after surgery.

[emmuna]

i know people who have had it with great results! i soo badly wish i could get it but i have super dry eyes which makes me a non-candidate. i hate wearing glasses but contacts hurt my eyes (bc of dry eye) so either way i have trouble! at least i have bags to easy my pain...

[latest obsession]

I had it done a year ago. I'm sooooo happy i got it done. It was virtually painless - a little scratchy but that's not really pain.

I wore glasses from the age of 9 till the age of 18 when i got contacts. I got really lazy and stopped taking my lenses out for weeks at a time. It got to the point where my doctor said that my eyes were not getting enough oxygen and i was growing new veins to compensate. It got really uncomfortable wearing lenses - it felt like i had sand in my eyes most of the time. I stopped wearing lenses for a year and switched back to glasses. I finally took the plunge and had it done.

The procedure took literally less than 10 minutes. My dad watched the whole procedure cuz i went to this lasik center where there's a glass wall between the waiting room and the "operating table". I was conscious the whole time. Honestly the only discomfort i felt was when they put the ring in your eye to keep it open and that took less than 2 seconds.

Anyway, it's been a year, i didn't get any of the weird side effects like halo effects. My eyes do become really itchy during summer so i have to get prescription eye drops called patanol. Other than that, I have no complaints what so ever.

Oh one thing is that for a month of so after the operation, you see like little strings of fuzz come into your line of vision and then disappear. I asked my doctor and she said that that is totally normal. In fact everyone sees them except people who were lenses. If you tilt your head back and stare up at the sky, you can sometimes see them. You get used to it after a while and your brain ignores it.


Let me know if you need more info but they pretty much cover everything in the intro appointment. :P

Ok last last thing...if you need step by step information on the procedure, they have it on www.howstuffworks.com - he even has pictures

[randr21]

i've been wearing contacts for 15 years and when i first heard about lasik, i was like no way, my eyes are too precious to undergo any kind of "surgery". however, one morning, as i was preparing to put my contacts in, i noticed a bubble on the surface of my eye. i freaked out, went to an eye doctor and he said i basically wear my contacts too long (i probably wear them around 15 hours everyday, but never overnight) and that the bubble was my body letting me know that it's irritated, literally. he also said that my eyes were lacking oxygen and in order to supply the growing demand, extra blood vessels were growing on the surface of my eye. yeah, gross.

anyways, at this point, i started my lasik research. i went to the top doctor in nyc and it cost $5500, not covered by my insurance. however, i was not going to try and get a discount for my eyes. you have to go thru several tests, to see if you're an eligible candidate, and then there are several options, not just lasik. i do have to agree that if you dont have sufficient moisture naturally, you may not be a candidate.

me and my bf both did it, he did it a week before me, but he went with another doctor. he had more burning and tearing sensation afterwards. however, his prescription was only like -1.5 so he now has 20/10 vision. meanwhile, i had like -6.5 and even though my experience was nothing (mild discomfort, over really quickly, less painful than going to the dentist, you can ask for more painkiller if you feel you need it). i got home, went to bed, slept til morning, opened my eyes, and had the weirdest feeling since everything was coming clear!

my only complaint is that i feel my eyesight could be better (probably b/c my prescription was high to begin with). if i close my left eye, there is some blurriness when i see out of my right. however, when i go back for follow-ups and read the eye chart, my eyesight is 20/20. i wouldn't trade this for wearing glasses or contacts ever!

my dr. did say that having lasik will not mean you won't need reading glasses in the future. however, they're doing experimental tests on that procedure as well.

if interested, here's my doctor's info: www.ihateglasses.com

[cutiepie21]

My mom had it done a few years ago. She was really bad and couldn't see anything unless she had glasses on. She now sees nearly 20/20! I took care of her the day she got it done and the day after. Those are the worst two days. After that, she was fine. My aunt also got it done. She also had great results with very little side effects. The only thing I remember both of them complaining about was getting dry eyes, but it went away after a few months.

[tanyadh]

I had it in Jan 2005 and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I was a risk candidate because I have abnormally large pupils, so I went with a doctor who had a laser that adjusted to the size of my pupil instead of a one-size fits all laser. Everything worked out well and now I have 20/15 vision!

[pursessed]

I've wanted to get LASIK done for a while .. my prescription is really high, so I'm not sure if I can get it done. I've heard you should wait until you're 25 before getting it done, so I'm waiting. I don't know if its really true though.
Also I'm in the Chicago area. Anyone who's had it done, know of a good place to get it done or for a consultation?

[Pink*Petunia]

I had LASIK surgery about 2 years ago. I was hesitant to do it, but reached the point where I couldn't wear my contact lenses anymore (I had developed an "allergy" to them). Well, now I wish I had had it done 10 years ago! It was one of the best things I have ever done. Very minimal pain for a few seconds and within 24 hours I could see! It was amazing. I totally recommend it to anyone who is nearsighted like me. If I had worn glasses they would have been coke bottles--I had very bad vision. I think my contact lense prescription was something like -6.50 in each eye.

[Pink*Petunia]

The one thing I was worried about was getting the dry eyes I had heard about. Well, my eyes were slightly dry for several months--the doctor tells you which drops to use. But, I would say that for the past year I have had no dryness.

[theITbag]

I had it done and love it!!! It's cheaper than a car, cheaper than both a birkin and kelly. Best money spent. Would do it again at the blink of an eye.

My eye sight was horrible -7.00 in each eye. My pupils at baseline are really dilated (in the dark it was measure at 8 cm!!!). Ended up using the Allegretto Wavefront Laser (which is the newest laser technology). It is the most expensive of the custom lasik but has the best laser and able to treat high prescription and dilated pupils. I wasn't about to try to save a few hundred dollars when it came to my vision. Rather had great results.

Took less than 5 mins an eye, and about 1 hour later I was already able to see without my contacts. The following day, I had perfect vision. I was back to work in 2 days. Amazing.

I had dry eyes at the beginning, but now I don't even use my eye drops anymore (simply because I am lazy). At night, it is not as clear and I get a little glare but then I had that problem with contacts also (think it has to do with my dilated pupils). In the daytime, it's perfect. Had it done Feb 05. No regrets. I highly recommend it to everyone.

I had it done by Dr. Jay Bansal in the SF bay area. His wife and he have 4 Lasik vision offices in the bay area. Here's the website: www.laservue.com for those interested.