Lasik Eye Surgery

[Kacey]

I must have missed this thread while I was on vacation. I had Lasik done 5 or 6 years ago, and I LOVE it. I went from severely nearsighted (anything past arm length was blurry) with moderate astigmatism to 20/20 in my left eye and 20/25 in my right. Over time, it has modified slightly, but my binocular vision is still 20/25, and my left eye is 20/25 and my right is 20/30. I was told that, at the point I would otherwise have needed bifocals, I would most likely need reading glasses, but it hasn't happened yet. I was 34 when I had the surgery and am 40 now.

My instructor had it done when he was 39 (he's 44 now) and came out with 20/15 in both eyes.

My cousins both had it done in their early 20s, about the same time I did, and went from coke bottle lenses to 20/20.

None of us have had any negative long-term effects, at least not yet.

 

[Jade Tigress]

I really need to do something. Would probably worth at least checking into. I went online and also the yellow pages and there are soooo many places that do LASIK...how do I determine who is the *best*? How did you decide who to go with? Thanks.

 

[tkd_jen]

I would ask around, people love to tell stories, if they had a good experience with a doc or bad, they will let you know. Also, calling around to some is good, you can often get a good feeling for a place based on how knowledgable their staff is. Also, price and "hidden costs" may vary greatly, it would be a good idea to shop around and ask what ALL the fees are (some charge for initial consultation, any touch-ups needed etc). Contact the Better Business Bureau maybe? Ask the clinics if they have any references maybe?

 

[Kacey]

I agree with Jen's ideas about the BBB and asking people about their experiences; also, see if your eye doctor's office has any recommendations. I got mine through an office where someone I knew worked; he didn't qualify because he'd previously had radial keratotamy (sp?) and got me his employee discount.

Some things to look out for (or so he said then; I don't see him any more, because he's the one I had to get the restraining order against). These are in no particular order.
- the operating room should be at a very high humidity
- they should measure the thickness of your cornea and let you know if it's thick enough for the surgery
- use the eye drops all the time right after - they help
- DON'T RUB
- avoid any activity that makes you sweat for at least a week
- wear eye guards for sparring (okay, I didn't do this... but do be careful about getting hit in or near the eyes until the surgical cut in the cornea heals)
- don't look at anything for the first several hours after the surgery; keep your eyes shut as much as possible
- don't go to the place with the lowest price just because they're cheaper; these are your EYES you're talking about
- no makeup around the eyes for at least a week, and longer is better (I don't wear makeup anyway, so this wasn't a problem for me - but if you get something in your eye, you'll rub, and then you could knock that flap of cornea loose)
- make sure they really can correct your astigmatism; the state of the art is getting better all the time, and when it first came out I wasn't eligible
- be really careful not to get water, shampoo, etc, in your eyes when you shower

That's all I can think of right now... good luck!

 

[oldnewbie]

A few points we found out when the wife did her eyes....

1. Some Doc's don't own their lasers, they use different locations to do the work. Different machines work differently.

2. On the reverse, some laser places own the laser, but "rent" Doc's to do the work.....(We found a Doc who owns his laser and uses it daily)

3. The "cheap" price means they do huge volume.. and spend very little time with each patient.

4. I video taped the procedure ! Make sure you can to cover your butt!

Good Luck