that rocks! no better gift than the gift of sight !!! hehehe

When I get a good job lasik will be in my future. Contacts are a pain.

Here's a random question: :)

What did people use to do way back in time before they had corrective lenses? All those poor ancient romans and greeks who had 20/200 vision must have had a hard time trying to do normal things.

(must stop eating pixie sticks....)

LOL....big nerd! Hahaha. :D

hehehe.. yea.. i got that from an eye doctor's radio commerical that i heard the other day :D

LOL, So you're a mobile infomercial, huh? :p

oh yea!:p

OK.. what do they mean when they say the proceedure starts at a certain price per eye???

Does that mean the worse your vision is, the more it will cost?

Bumping this up because unless I chicken out, I will be having my surgery on 12/11

It's been at least 6 years since I had LASIK, and I haven't regretted it even for one minute! My eyesight was so bad that I once walked into a wall and broke my orbital bone, but now it's better than 20/20. The minute the surgery was done, I started crying with joy from being able to really see!! It was like I was transformed to Oz or something.

When I had it done, it was about $2500 for both eyes, and I went to a doctor who had done several thousand prior to me. I was able to get a medical loan at 4.9% (I tease that my eyes are "paid for" now!).

My recommendations: On a scale from 1-10, the pain is never more than a 4 or 5; the emotional pain is about 129!!! The more you can relax during the surgery, the better outcome you will have (clenching will constrict your blood vessels). They gave me 2 Valiium - but I had taken another before going, and I'm glad I did. Also, if you're sensitive to smells, it will smell much like when you're having dental work done. No one told me about that flash of blindness or the smell, and that was what freaked me out!

When you go on your follow-up visit, you will meet a lot of nay-sayers. Ignore them, unless you're having a problem yourself. Remember: relax!! About a month afterwards, I went back to the doctor because I didn't feel as if I was seeing properly in the one eye. What it turned out to be was, my one eye is perfect for driving/long distance, etc, and the other is great for reading!! They actually try to do that for people, so I really lucked out!! I will never have to wear bifocals, ever!

I know about 5 other people who have had LASIK or PRK, and not one of them is unhappy with the results. You've done your research, now remember to give yourself time to relax both before and after your surgery. Good luck!!

Thought I'd put in my $.08 worth. . .
 

Had the procedure done nearly 5 years ago and have had no regrets.

Ironically, a former co-worker found this website about 1 week before I had my surgery done. I was very anxious, and nervous at the same time, to have the surgery done, but didn't think about backing out. This particular website is for those that have had LASIK and have not had good sucess. I believe if I had gone through the whole website, I probably would not have had the LASIK done.

One co-worker who had hers about 3 months before I did raved about how happy she was that she did it. Well, the Tuesday that I returned to work after having had the surgery, another co-worker says "Becky said she wishes she had never had that done!" So I asked her why did she go on and on about it with me, and the response was because she didn't want to discourage me from getting it.

Again, I think if I had thought about the "what ifs" - what should we expect 5, 10, 20 years down the road, I don't know if I would have done it, but as for now, I'm seeing 20/15 from both eyes (I think my vision before was around 20/400) and this from someone who wore glasses for 27 years and couldn't go to the bathroom at night without them on! My husband says he's glad I had it done so he can look into my beautiful brown eyes. . .

btw, thanks to whoever was in charge of writing up the insurance for my husband's employer, the only thing I had to pay for a $4400 procedure was the $10 copay! :D

I would kill to have LASIK. I'm roughly -9 in each eye. My eyes are so bad that I'm not a candidate.

It costs X amount (I forget!) each time the laser is used, so if you need a second go at it, it will cost more. Most "tune ups" don't require the laser, though, so it's more of a "just in case" statement.

Again, I highly recommend it!!

Re: Thought I'd put in my $.08 worth. . .
 

Wow that sounds like my sister, expect her insurance did not pay. But she said is was worth it anyway. She too also had 20/400 or something.

I'm getting it done (hopefully!) within the next six months (granted I don't chicken out). Insurance will pay for everything. :D

I had mine done 2.5 weeks ago and I am loving it!

I was hoping you would respond to this thread. I noticed that you were having it done. How did you handle the procedure? I had a teddy bear that probably needed a little reconstructive surgery, I was squeezing his side so tightly!

You too huh? I think I squeezed the teddy bear in half. The clamp thang was the worst!

The first few hours afterward were a pain. I just slept for most of it, but by 10 pm I got up to watch ER and the husband and I ordered pizza for dinner
(since we had to travel quite a distance, we spent the night in a hotel)

I am SOOOOOO Happy that it turned out well for you!!!!! :)

Resurrecting this thread once more!
I am going in 2 hours to get my eyes zapped! Hopefully, everything goes well. I am going to a really good place - The Kraff Eye Institute - in Chicago. Several of my co-workers have been there and had great results.

Lili

Good luck! Relax...that is the best advice I can give ya (had it done 12/18/03)

I can't get LASIK because my prescription is too high. I hadn't realized that it was an issue. So now I get to continue to wear contact lenses. :(

Good luck, Lili!

how high is your prescription? One of my good friend had it done, and her eyes were actually worse than mine (i'm -7.5 and -7.0)

I'm farsighted so I'm the opposite. +7.00 Optometrists cringe when they hear that, lol. My ophthalmologist told me that I need to add something to my cornea, not take it away as LASIK does.

When I wear eyeglasses, my eyes look enormous since my lenses are so thick. I have been wearing glasses since I was 18 months so I have heard all the Coke bottle, four eyes jokes. I'm lucky since my vision is 20/20 when corrected so I really shouldn't complain.

I'm like -7 and -8 in my eyes.

Glasses since 1st grade and contacts since highschool. I've been considering lasiks for awhile. The only thing that held me back was the Army. At first they wouldn't let anyone that had it done in the Army. Then they only wanted Army contracted docs to do it. However now, I just need to get a waiver or something and get it done.

I think this summer I may either get a new car or get it done. Not sure yet.

I think LASIK is a good investment. It was the best $5600 I ever spent!

Here is a recap of my surgery for those wanting to know about the pain, recovery etc etc., oh and b4 surgery I had astigmatism and I am not sure about my eyeglass prescription, but for my contacts, I was -4.75 in the left and -5.25 in the right. And I think they said my eyeglasses were in the -7, -8 range....

*I checked in at 1200pm for my 1245pm surgery.
*They gave me a valium to calm me down (ohhh it def did)
*I had LASIK with Intralase and Customwave done.
*Intralase means a laser does the cut to open up the flap in my eye as opposed to the mikrokeratome (sp?) aka a blade
*the customwave means the laser is all computer guided so you get better results.

The procedure:
I went into a room and they laid me down on a chair and they put this suction cup thingy on my eye so the laser could cut the flap open. its mild discomfort and you feel some pressure, then the freaky part is your eye goes blind for a few secs. they did the same to the other eye and when i opened my eyes, i was completely blind, sorta like there was a thick layer of fog over my eye. This part took like 5 mins. 50 seconds in each eye with the suction thingy.
The nurse walked me to another room where they were going to do the actual LASIK. they cleaned and sterilized my eye and put more numbing drops in and put that thing that keeps your open and so you cant blink. i had to be perfectly still and stare at the red dot which was kinda hard because my eye kept un-focusing. the laser part took another 50secs in each eye. then the doctor smoothed out the flap and covered my eye with it. and i was done!!!

After the Procedure
- No , I could not see right after. everything was very very hazy. when my hubby walked me to the car i had sunglasses on and my eyes closed because the pain was very intense and my eyes were tearing alot. the pain was similar to if you have ever gotten hotsauce in your eye, but i could not rub them!!!

-when i got home the pain was worse and i had to close all the shades, even with the sunglasses my eyes were ultra sensitive.

-i took a pain killer that they gave me and laid down for about 8 hours and put on these goggles they gave me so I would not rub my eyes.

-i woke around 10pm and I could see!!!! it was still hazy, but i could see!!!

- this morning I went for my post-op checkup and I am 20/20 in each eye. my eyes are dry so i have to keep putting drops in but the dr. said this was normal. i also have 2 other bottles of drops that i put in every 4 hours.

-my dr said my vision would be fine tuning itself over the next week or so bc its still a bit hazy. overall, i am thrilled with the procedure and recommend it. the worst is the 8hrs following the procedure where you feel like your eyes are on fire!!!

I have no clue what my prescription is. I have astigmatism but my eyesight changes at least once a year. My doc says there's nothing to be done until it stops changing for a while because any surgery would be pointless.

Reading about the process makes me rethink my ideas at all. I don't think I could handle that. I can't even keep my eyes open for an eye exam! My lids flutter and close and I get so teary. I can't wear contacts, so glasses it is!!!

ETA: I get really queasy after eye exams and have vomited in years past. It's horrible!

My dad is an optometrist in Chicago and he recommends a lot of patients to Dr. Kraff (and sometimes they do stuff like go to football games with a bunch of other doctors). He has always had great things to say about him. Sounds like you went to a good place! Hope your vision is much better!

Mine was about the same, except I also had -4.00 cylinder (HELLA astigmatism). I went back for a tune up on the right eye. I still have a VERY slight astigmatism in my right eye but nothing to be concerned about. (the cylinder is like -0.25 now, beats the hell outta -4.00)

\

Ambición, you gave one of the best descriptions of LASIK that I've ever read! I had it done 8 years ago in March, and it was one of the best things I've ever done.

For those who are still considering it, I would add only one thing. Since I get terribly nervous ("white fright") by surgicial procedures, I took a valium prior to leaving to go to the doctor (he knew this). Everything else was like Ambición wrote, only in my case, I was able to see from the moment my cornea was replaced! I actually had tears in my eyes, saying "Look at that! I never noticed that!" I had worn glasses or contacts since I was five, and REALLY lucked out - I now have monovision. I'll never have to wear bifocals, either!!

I feel ya honey chile. The ativan knocked me out...Mr. 1228 drove and took care of me. (The office was in Renton, South of Seattle, about 2 hours from where I lived, so we got a hotel room and stayed overnight)

So thankfully I didn't feel much pain and slept thru most of it. By 10pm I was up and watching ER on TV

Lasik at 10: Common but not covered
 

Safety better but long-term safety unknown

Monday, December 12, 2005; Posted: 11:30 a.m. EST (16:30 GMT)

CHICAGO (AP) -- Christopher Tomes, 43, opened his eyes one morning, looked out the window and could read the license plate of a parked car -- without his glasses.

He'd had Lasik eye surgery the day before, becoming one of the 5 million Americans seeking to shed their eyeglasses with laser vision correction during the past decade.

"It's exceptional," Tomes said of his vision nine days after surgery. "I'm extremely happy I did it."

Since U.S. doctors began offering laser vision correction in 1995, safety has improved and new methods give people with more severe vision problems a chance to have the procedure.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/condi....ap/index.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I knew lasik was a new procedure, but I had no idea that its only been around for 10 years! :eek: I've been seriously thinkinig about getting it (my contact lens script is -7.5 )

Yeah, I can't see worth a darn. ;)

I had Lasik a few years ago. I was legally blind in my left eye before having it done. It was the best $5000 I've ever spent. Do not skimp or save money on your doctor. Go to the best one in your area.

Also, if you are told your vision is too bad, check out other doctors in the area. I know my doctor is doing a lot of new surgery with permanent contacts and new lasers. When I first visited I was told I wasn't a candidate. Two years later I was. Woohoo! I am so happy!

My stepdad is nearsighted and he had it done a long time ago and said it was worth it!

My mom is farsighted, so you only get one eye done, and she said it great. She doesn't have to wear glasses anymore when she does cross stitch.

I'm farsighted like my mom but I'm not sure if I'll ever have it done. I don't even like going to the eye doctor. Anything having to do with my eyes, or anyone's eyes, grosses me out!!!

Yeah, I've heard that people with extremely poor vision aren't good candidates, but most people can do it. I can't ever have LASIK, though, because I've had surgery on my retina. Yeah, it would really be nice to be able to see without contacts, but I'm just thankful I can see period, so I won't complain. :p

It depends on the person - my eyesight is poor, but my eye doctor from home (who has done a lot of research in the field) said that I would be a good candidate. It really does vary from person to person.

When my doctor said that I was not a candidate for LASIK because of my +7.00 prescription, I was disappointed because I wanted to stop wearing contact lenses. Little did I know at the time all the eye problems that were in store for me with the acanthamoeba keratitis. So now no LASIK, no contacts, eyeglasses, eyedrops, blurry vision, and monthly doctor visits for a year, but I'm improving so that's good.

Why not just get the surgery where they put a semi-permanent contact lens inside your eye? You can have it removed at any point. It leaves your eye intact without permanent change. Plus I heard it works for people with bad vision.

-Rudey

I really, really, really want to have this done but I am a giant chickens**t :(

ME TOO!!!

I hate hate HATE eyes. Anytime someone touches their eye or something, it freaks me out. Doubly for the people who turn their eyelids inside out. It took me about 5 months to learn how to put my contacts in and out. Horrible.