Anyone do the laser eye thing?

I got checked out for it several years ago, but was declined after initial assessment as I wasn't a good candidate for the surgery (untrackable eye movement). Now, in my 40's my eyesight has started to change a lot, and I got progressive bifocals for the first time just a few weeks ago (was having a hard time reading my phone).

OP, at age 39, your eyes are likely to start changing in the next few years as 40's are normally when those shifts start happening. Not sure it would be worth the cost for Lasik if you end up with reading glasses or outright glasses again in a few short years.

For those that have had the surgery, how old were you when you had it done? And how long did it last before you needed touch-ups or glasses again?
 
beverage said:
For those that have had the surgery, how old were you when you had it done? And how long did it last before you needed touch-ups or glasses again?
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I was 45 when I had the flap style surgery. (19 yrs ago)
I remember walking out.....it was magical. An 8 hr sleep was recommended. Hamilton laser eye Institute.
When I woke up, it was night time. I looked outside. All I could see was light. Extreme halo coming from the street lights was blinding.
That took the better part of 10 yrs to subside, and it's still not 100% better.
As for my vision....one eye is different than the other since surgery.
I need a weak prescription for distance, to sharpen things up, and can't see worth af without glasses up close, and for reading. The up close loss was expected.
I'm slowly getting used to compound lenses, and I have no less than 6 pair of those drug store reading glasses, scattered about, it's been 19 yrs.
 
Most places offer free touch up, if it's not age related. TLC does for me.

However the chances of me putting an eye clamp on again is zilch, zero, never going to ******* happen again. Lucky I sat thru the first go round as it is a huge fear of mine
 
And the smell of hair burning … actually your cornea but same smell.
 
My fiancee got it done 3 years ago at Bochner (you know...the best clinic for this type of surgery.)

She now has extremely dry eyes, diffuse lamellar keratitis (Sands of Sahara, imagine waking up with your eyelids slightly stuck, and when you open them you end up tearing some of your eye off), and her eye sight is changing from almost perfect to not.

Friend of mine is an optomoligist, and told me that had she knew my fiancee was going to do it, she would have advised her not to because there is no way to undo the damages if your genetics don't play well with the operation. The surgeon at Bochner also made a comment blaming my fiancee's genetics.

My fiancee is currently using autologous serum (serum made from her blood) on her eyes in hopes of healing. She has also undergone 2 additional surgeries, uses polysporin and steroid eye drops regularly. She went for a second opinion at another optomoligist who said she sees many patients like this. Between the two optomoligists and my own research (using university databases, not Google), the actual failure rate is somewhere between 5% to 10%.

After all the above, I am not getting it done even though my eyes are -10/-10 plus astigmatism. Also keep in mind I've only listed the medical issues, I haven't talked about the stress and time used to solve this. And I forgot to mention that my fiancee regularly tells me that blinking feels like there is something in her eye.
 
Wow lots of differing opinions....and a few horror stories. Thanks all.

At 39 the Dr. told me that I can expect to have to use glasses again within 5-7 years anyway due to age, and astigmatism in one eye. Hence I'm not sure if it's really worth it as I may have missed the boat on this one.
 
Any indication of cataracts yet or are you inherently lucky that way,
the sun is not getting any easier on any of us.

Cataract surgery where diagnosed as required is covered by health care, subject to some optional upgrades. That surgery if successful will address your visual acuity issues.
 
Trials said:
Any indication of cataracts yet or are you inherently lucky that way,
the sun is not getting any easier on any of us.

Cataract surgery where diagnosed as required is covered by health care, subject to some optional upgrades. That surgery if successful will address your visual acuity issues.
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This.
Not cheap though.



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mimico_polak said:
Wow lots of differing opinions....and a few horror stories. Thanks all.

At 39 the Dr. told me that I can expect to have to use glasses again within 5-7 years anyway due to age, and astigmatism in one eye. Hence I'm not sure if it's really worth it as I may have missed the boat on this one.
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I wouldnt with that time horizon. Your chance of complication is unchanged (or if anything worse because you are older) and your years of substantial benefit are not that long.
 
Like mimico said, a few horror stories first hand that I never knew existed. Glad it worked out for me.
 
mimico_polak said:
Wow lots of differing opinions....and a few horror stories. Thanks all.

At 39 the Dr. told me that I can expect to have to use glasses again within 5-7 years anyway due to age, and astigmatism in one eye. Hence I'm not sure if it's really worth it as I may have missed the boat on this one.
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My eyes started changing when I hit 42. I've had a new prescription the last 4 years in a row. Replacing glasses/lenses annually is expensive enough. I can't imagine dropping thousands on Lasik only to end up back on the glasses merry-go-round in just a few short years.
 
I'm going to wait at least until I need cataract surgery. They apparently fix them then. Unless they come out with the cataract drops in the meantime. I'm not sure that I'm prepared to give up reading without glasses yet. I found with single vision glasses, I lose my up close vision, so that I can see distance in the car, but can't read the GPS or speedometer. Bifocals, mean I have shift up and down which doesn't work that well. Last year I got a pair of glasses for using computers, and they seem the perfect mix of distance and close up vision for driving, as well.

So I'd say if you're going to do it, then you should test out different glasses prescriptions to get the type of vision you want first.
 
@Baggsy when you do your cataract surgery you should look into the mono vision option. In my case, I'm regretting not doing it. Absolutely hate having all the reading glasses around all the time.
And because of my ignorance, I thought that "needing reading glasses" meant glasses for phone/ reading. Nope. Any vision within arm's length is blurry.
Making dinner.
Folding laundry.
Eating.
All blurry.
One Rx for that
One Rx for reading.
Such a freaking pain.

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It would depend on how bad your prescription is, and the shape of your eye. Some people are better candidates than others (starting prescription, age, lens thickness, etc.). Consultations with laser clinics are typically free, so it would be worth visiting if you're interested and they can let you know. The surgery is pretty simple and well-proven at this point, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

If you're a minus prescription right now, I'd wait a few years as you're of the age where you're going to need reading glasses within the next few years potentially if you were to get a 20/20 prescription. Sometimes putting readers on and taking them off constantly is more annoying than putting on a pair of distance glasses occasionally when you need to.

As for contacts, you can try different types to see if there are some that work better for you. I have pretty dry eyes, and have had some success with "Alcon Daily Total 1" dailies, and have tried some other dailies without as much success, but everyone likes something different. Dailies will give you better moisture levels if you have dry eyes; they cost a bit more, but they're worth it for me. FFS don't overwear your contacts like a crazy person either.
 
Thanks everyone for all the help and personal stories, good and bad. I'm going to see the optometrist in the next few months and see what's what. My prescription is about -2.75 or so last I checked...so fairly blind without my glasses. I cannot read the screen without them on, and basically put them on when I wake up, and take them off when I go to bed...it's become such a part of me but for sports, work, or even riding it's such a pain in the ass to have them on that I want to look at options.
Might give contacts a whirl again, but at work I need prescription safety glasses (which aren't all bad) but would prefer not to have to buy those also all the time.
 
Mr.K said:
If you're a minus prescription right now, I'd wait a few years as you're of the age where you're going to need reading glasses within the next few years potentially if you were to get a 20/20 prescription. Sometimes putting readers on and taking them off constantly is more annoying than putting on a pair of distance glasses occasionally when you need to.
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So much this.

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mimico_polak said:
Thanks everyone for all the help and personal stories, good and bad. I'm going to see the optometrist ...
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There are Opticians, Optometrists, and Ophthalmologists make sure you see the right one for the right service.
Ophthalmologist is a Doctor that is concerned with the health of the eye including surgery to correct serious issues.
 
Trials said:
There are Opticians, Optometrists, and Ophthalmologists make sure you see the right one for the right service.
Ophthalmologist is a Doctor that is concerned with the health of the eye including surgery to correct serious issues.
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The only problem is that, if the Ophthalmologist is any good, it's a six month wait for an appointment, and a two hour wait in the waiting room. It also requires a referral.
 
You wouldn't be seeing a standard ophthalmologist for laser eye surgery, you'd be going to a clinic that specialized in this sort of work. It may be worth talking to your Optometrist about the work (they may have some advice and will likely be doing some of the follow ups), but you could also go directly to the clinic if you're short on time or something. An optician generally only deals with glasses fit and dispensing (though some sketchy ass low-cost practices will have them do more, but you should steer super clear form this sort of place)
 
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