Anyone else get LASIK eye surgery done? I go Saturday and I'm nervous...

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lowhighkang_LHK said:
How was the surgery, how long did it take to recover? How long until you were started watching tv are doing normal activities? Were you able to study a few days after? Look at a lap top screen...etc.

Also, I guess, most importantly, was it worth it?
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Had it done around four years ago. Totally worth it.

Surgery wasn't bad. Took about 15 minutes total. I was super nervous. They gave me something to calm me down but it didn't kick in until after the surgery. If it's like mine, they'll tell you to stare at the blinking light the best you can. The more you focus on it, the better the laser does.

Recovery took maybe a week or so. I was getting headaches but I think it was normal because it's just you getting used to it. You might have to sleep with these plastic pads over your eyes so you don't poke yourself during the night.

Normal activities occurred almost immediately. As soon as I got off the surgery table, I could see. I still remember it was 11:00 in the morning when I finished. Doctor told me to look at the clock and I could see it perfectly.

Only thing I stayed away from was the computer for a little while. Unfortunately, about a week after I had my surgery, I had to take a test that covered a bunch of college credits that was entirely on the computer. It felt like it was a little brighter than I was used to but I don't know if it was just in my head. I passed the test so it was all good. Today, I'm fine so don't worry about lasting problems.

Pretty much, just don't rub your eyes for a few weeks (need the flap to heal which happens pretty quickly) and you'll be good. Best money you'll ever spend guaranteed.
 
Mine was done 5 years ago, and it was the best decision I've made. I was in the office for about 3 hours. mostly just sitting around before and after the surgery.

I took 2 months off work, but I only needed a week to recover. I was extremely light sensitive though, and still am at times. Direct sunlight is fine, but if there is a thin cloud cover, my eyes can't really handle that light.
And driving at dusk, is a problem now. I can't really judge how far ahead a car is if it's coming towards me, what with the head lights. I try not to drive during that hour.
 
Just to add something I forgot onto mine, I had to take three different eye drops three times a day before (about two or three weeks, which sucked) the surgery to prevent infection. Afterwards, had to use eye drops a few times a day to prevent dry eyes but I stopped doing that after a week since I kept forgetting. All of this was doctor's orders. Both were more of a pain in the ass than the surgery.
 
Had it done. It didn't go very well. I now see about eight copies of everything, (many more at night) but at least I don't have to wear glasses any more.

Except, you know, when I want to read or look at something within arm's reach.
 
YesNOnoNOYes said:
Did LASIK and it was the best thing I ever did :D

No glassesness is super awesome aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw yaaaaaaaasssssss

procedure was short and painless. i didnt get drugged or anything. could see fine in 48 hours

GL OP!!
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Ditto. Best part for me: I went into the room, no glasses. Doctor asked me to read the clock on the wall eight feet away. I couldn't read it. They do the surgery in a short amount of time. As they raise me up from the chair, he asks me to read the clock again. I could see it perfectly clear.

You will be so damn happy.
 
Wads said:
Had it. Regret it and wish i never did it. To top it off i still need glasses.
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What happened? My vision is terrible, but I am too scared of the surgery. God forbid something goes wrong and I will be blind; the risks are too serious for me.
 
I had it done about 5 years ago. Best decision of my life. I had 70/20 vision going in, had 15/20 coming out of it.

The process took about 10 minutes total. I'll admit the 8-10 hours right after the surgery were somewhat painful. I couldn't open my eyes as it felt like someone had thrown sand in my eyes and sewed my eyes shut, just couldn't open them, wanted to gouge them out lol.

Took about a day or two before I could see normally again and when I could, oh boy, it was like going from SD to HD, no fucking joke. One of the most incredible feelings I've ever felt. Like I said, best decision of my life. Never having to wear glasses or contacts anymore is the best feeling.
 
I'm interested in this. What's the difference between LASIK and LASEK? Is there a high risk associated with either procedure?
 
I want to get LASIK, but my eyes already get dry pretty easily and there's tons of horror stories online about the surgery giving people really bad dry eyes.

Makes me really wary.
 
I'm interested in LASIK, but I also have zero issues with wearing my contacts. Discussed it with my optometrist a month ago, and he pretty much advised me not to do it if I was comfortable continuing with contacts. So yeah, I'm probably not going to bother.
 
The quality of Lasik has improved significantly as well, and it's not unheard of to achieve better than 20/20 vision.
 
I really want to get it but I'm afraid of going in and coming out blind lol. I have the money and I'm thinking about doing it this year, but that one thought scares the hell out of me.
 
I'm having FS-LASIK done tomorrow! (Same thing as LASIK I guess?) Thirteen hours to be exact. I'm a little nervous but not too bad, mostly excited! Have to go to bed now, but I'll try to update once it's done.

Crazy to think that this will likely be my last night wearing glasses...
 
Getting my wife's done in March. I can fake a 20/20 vision test squinting, so my eyes aren't bad. I'm kinda jealous my wife will have better eyesight than me - she's blind as a bat right now :)
 
TangoAlphaLima said:
I'm interested in LASIK, but I also have zero issues with wearing my contacts. Discussed it with my optometrist a month ago, and he pretty much advised me not to do it if I was comfortable continuing with contacts. So yeah, I'm probably not going to bother.
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I don't mind contacts that much either. I think I'd get LASIK if I didn't get terrible anxiety just thinking about it. I don't know how much god damn valium I'd need to get through that shit.
 
I got it done in 2005. Best money ever spent. I was about 20-550 in both eyes. Now I'm 20-15 in the left and 20-25 in right
 
Culex said:
I got it done in 2005. Best money ever spent. I was about 20-550 in both eyes. Now I'm 20-15 in the left and 20-25 in right
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If my vision was that bad I would get it done in a heart beat, but mine is just bad enough to need glasses/contacts. Wearing them doesn't bother me much, just hate my current frames since they will not stay on my head while I look downwards. Or run. Or do anything, really. Grrr.. Stupid cheap frames.
 
Got it done last Friday. Quick and painless. Dealing with dryness atm which sucks. Wearing eye shields for bed is annoying. My eyes are still bloodshot but overall a good experience
 
Had mine a few hours ago. Not a fan of the procedure - lots of liquids in the eyes and I guess I don't handle that very well. Completely pain less, however, and it was finished in no time.

My eyes were burning and hurting for about 3-4 hours after getting home, but they want you to spend about that much time with your eyes closed anyway. I did get eye drops that eliminated it completely though, but only for maybe 20 minutes. I also didn't want to use too much of them since I missed the first two drops, and you only get ten drops total.

Right now my eyes feel a little uncomfortable, I'm quite light sensitive, and my vision is not completely sharp yet, but everything seems fine so far!
 
I got mine done prolly about 5-6 years ago, and I'm really glad I did.

The first day is by far the worst. The procedure is totally painless, and you get some results basically instantly (I was able to read the hands on the clock on the far side of the room as they were giving me my checkup before leaving, which would have been impossible before, I did a double take because I actually forgot I wasn't wearing glasses at first) but by the time I got home the anaesthetic was wearing off and my eyes were starting to burn. The burning was the worst, because it felt like it would just never go away. I slept for a few hours that afternoon and again that evening, and wasn't allowed to play games or use the computer at all that first day.

The second or third day I came back and they cleared me to drive. The first week you use a lot of eyedrops, and the first month I think that cuts back some but you aren't out of the woods on taking drops at least daily.

Dryness is a pretty common problem, and haloing, but I know for myself the dryness was less and less severe as time went on. I think I've used eyedrops maybe twice in the last year. With haloing it can be a little difficult to drive at night, but it usually isn't too bad.
 
Recovery was about a day. So the first day you're basically laying in bed with your eyes closed. The next day you have your post-op exam and they test your eyes. At this point I was already seeing 20/15 in the left. The right eye is a little worse at 20/30 but they said your vision will gradually improve for weeks and even months on to come and this is normal.

Seeing at night is fine. I am still a little bit sensitive to light, but the halo effect at night is more or less non-existent. Really about how it is when I wear contacts.

the only problem I have is dry eyes. I have to put drops in twice a day. Hopefully that improves.

Also, when can I go swimming / submerge my head in water? I've been showering with eye goggles on because I'm too paranoid. It's been 6 days since the surgery.
 
marcurius said:
Had mine a few hours ago. Not a fan of the procedure - lots of liquids in the eyes and I guess I don't handle that very well. Completely pain less, however, and it was finished in no time.

My eyes were burning and hurting for about 3-4 hours after getting home, but they want you to spend about that much time with your eyes closed anyway. I did get eye drops that eliminated it completely though, but only for maybe 20 minutes. I also didn't want to use too much of them since I missed the first two drops, and you only get ten drops total.

Right now my eyes feel a little uncomfortable, I'm quite light sensitive, and my vision is not completely sharp yet, but everything seems fine so far!
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You should have your eyes closed post surgery dude. Especially on the first day. Sleep it off.
 
To those of you who have had any of these sorts of surgeries:

Have you needed to do any follow-up surgery, if so how long after?

I really want to do this someday... but if it's going to cost that much and only be good for 2 or 3 years I'll have to think pretty hard on it.
 
lowhighkang_LHK said:
Recovery was about a day. So the first day you're basically laying in bed with your eyes closed. The next day you have your post-op exam and they test your eyes. At this point I was already seeing 20/15 in the left. The right eye is a little worse at 20/30 but they said your vision will gradually improve for weeks and even months on to come and this is normal.

Seeing at night is fine. I am still a little bit sensitive to light, but the halo effect at night is more or less non-existent. Really about how it is when I wear contacts.

the only problem I have is dry eyes. I have to put drops in twice a day. Hopefully that improves.

Also, when can I go swimming / submerge my head in water? I've been showering with eye goggles on because I'm too paranoid. It's been 6 days since the surgery.
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It's gonna be about two months total for everything to completely heal/recovery.

I'd wear the goggles for another few days since the flesh in your eyes is still raw from surgery and the double doses of eye drops until your optomitrist tells you otherwise. I stopped one after two weeks but kept taking the other one for at least another week afterwards.

The 20/15 happened with me too, but that's because there's still some oils under the flap that gets trapped and will evaporate over time.

After your done with the drops you should invest in these artificial tears to help with the dryness

refresh_tears.jpg


shouldnt have to use the artificial tears for more than a few weeks before you wont even need them anymore.
 
joe2187 said:
It's gonna be about two months total for everything to completely heal/recovery.

I'd wear the goggles for another few days since the flesh in your eyes is still raw from surgery and the double doses of eye drops until your optomitrist tells you otherwise. I stopped one after two weeks but kept taking the other one for at least another week afterwards.

The 20/15 happened with me too, but that's because there's still some oils under the flap that gets trapped and will evaporate over time.

After your done with the drops you should invest in these artificial tears to help with the dryness

refresh_tears.jpg


shouldnt have to use the artificial tears for more than a few weeks before you wont even need them anymore.
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So my right eye should improve?
 
lowhighkang_LHK said:
So my right eye should improve?
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schedule a follow up appointment or (you should already have one) and they should scan your eyes for any build up, if it looks like something they need to re-open and clean (which is rare) they'll do it otherwise it will go away on it's own and clear up after a while.

I was 20/15 for a good two months before everything became 20/20 clear with me.
 
Once I buy my house this year this is probably the next big purchase I'm saving up for. My contact prescription is -7.50 (so that's like, what? 20/600 or so?) My dad had PRK and aside from slight haloing during night driving hasn't had any issues in the decade or so since having it.
 
I went in for lasik and the doc recommended PRK:

1. the incision with lasik creates a ring. any light outside the ring is un-corrected, that causes halos. PRK directly lases the cornea with no incision, thus no ring, and a larger corrected area. Recommended for those with larger pupils.

2. I received drainage duct plugs for dryness, and haven't had much of a problem in the last 8 years.

Regarding the surgery, it was cake, a few anaesthetic drops, time passes instantly while they're lasing, and i the recovery was 4 days without vision (lots of books on tape). Best thing I ever did, even though I spent a shitload to get the best doc

EDIT: surprised to see people with PRK talking about halos. Maybe the corrected area was smaller in their surgery? All they have to do is dialate and correct to the area of the pupil and there shouldn't be halos
 
thespot84 said:
I went in for lasik and the doc recommended PRK:

1. the incision with lasik creates a ring. any light outside the ring is un-corrected, that causes halos. PRK directly lases the cornea with no incision, thus no ring, and a larger corrected area. Recommended for those with larger pupils.

2. I received drainage duct plugs for dryness, and haven't had much of a problem in the last 8 years.

Regarding the surgery, it was cake, a few anaesthetic drops, time passes instantly while they're lasing, and i the recovery was 4 days without vision (lots of books on tape). Best thing I ever did, even though I spent a shitload to get the best doc

EDIT: surprised to see people with PRK talking about halos. Maybe the corrected area was smaller in their surgery? All they have to do is dialate and correct to the area of the pupil and there shouldn't be halos
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You know I don't see these halos people are talking about, even at night. I sometimes see a little star bursting at strong light sources but that's slowly improving over the past 6 days. EDIT: I remember the surgeon saying I have average to below average sized pupils. Maybe that's why LASIK haloing isn't an issue for me.
 
lowhighkang_LHK said:
You know I don't see these halos people are talking about, even at night. I sometimes see a little star bursting at strong light sources but that's slowly improving over the past 6 days. EDIT: I remember the surgeon saying I have average to below average sized pupils. Maybe that's why LASIK haloing isn't an issue for me.
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did you get plugs for dryness? Did the doctor even offer?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctal_plug if it turns out to be a problem. I'm no doctor though. Ask your doctor
 
Had LASIK when I was 20 back in 2007. Fucking amazing. Haven't been to eye doctor in 7 years so I have no idea what my sight is now, but it still feels good. I didn't see shit before LASIK, everything was blurry no matter how close.
 
So many great results in this thread, just like in the last one. I'd like to get my eyes fixed too, but my eye doctor always tells me she thinks it's too risky.
Coincidentally, I've got an appointment with her tomorrow. It's just a regular check, but I'm going to ask her about LASIK again.
 
Thread is really interesting, I can't see shit without my glasses, and while I don't mind them, the chance of getting normal vision forever with so few downsides is amazing. I'll definitely look into lasik in the future
 
lowhighkang_LHK said:
Had the surgery. I now see 20 / 15.

After 15 years of contacts and glasses...no more.


My eyes get kind of dry though.
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It lasts about 8-10 years before you need to repeat the process. Glare is a bit more of an issue at night and my eyes are definitely dry when I wake up from a long sleep. It's fantastic not having to wear glasses or contacts anymore though, so very worth it.

Edit - I went with PRK, not Lasik. Same general idea though. I just didn't like the idea of cutting a flap, I said lets dissolve the whole thing and let it re-grow.
 
I got lasik done 18 months ago and it was one of the best fucking things I've done in my life!

Feels amazing waking up with 20/15 vision and not having to fuck around with glasses or contacts anymore.

Don't be afraid. Surgery and recovery are very quick. Just don't cheap out. Go to a reputable doctor,not some $99 Groupon special. Your eyes are not an area where you want to be concerned with scoring a deal.
 
E92 M3 said:
What happened? My vision is terrible, but I am too scared of the surgery. God forbid something goes wrong and I will be blind; the risks are too serious for me.
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Sorry just saw you quoted me. I'm still dealing with severe dryness on a daily basis. Pretty much 0 tear production. I do take eye drops daily and it helps a bit. I also have some halos and I feel like my vision is not as crisp as it used to be. These things + the fact I still have to wear glasses make me wish I had never done it. Had to wear glasses around 4 or 5 years after... I did have it done 12 or so years ago so I think the dryness is never really going to go away.
 
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