Has anyone had lasik surgery?

[SATX*APhi]

Originally posted by texas*princess
hehehe.. yea.. i got that from an eye doctor's radio commerical that i heard the other day

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

[texas*princess]

Originally posted by SATX*APhi
LOL, So you're a mobile infomercial, huh?

oh yea!

[texas*princess]

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?

[Jill1228]

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

[honeychile]

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!!

[btb87]

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!

[GeekyPenguin]

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

[honeychile]

Originally posted by texas*princess
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?

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!!

[rainbowbrightCS]

Originally posted by btb87
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!

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.

[Munchkin03]

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

[Jill1228]

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

[btb87]

Originally posted by Jill1228
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!

[Jill1228]

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)

Originally posted by btb87
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!

[honeychile]

Originally posted by Jill1228
I had mine done 2.5 weeks ago and I am loving it!

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

[ambición6]

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