Laser eye surgery.

i know of 4 people who have done it.
and that includes one person who was legally blind.

all of them had good experiences and good results.

on a separate but related note, my father had cataracts, both eyes. he had new lenses put in both eyes - easy peasy.

Sadly, I do know of one, but they have had so much trouble with it that I feel really sorry for them.

But they are a really RARE case. But she's had to go back to get them worked on like 4 different times.

Again, though, I think that she was a very RARE and odd case and that most of the time it goes smoothly.

I know a good half dozen people who have done it and they've all been thrilled with the results.

I know four people who've done it and they all were very happy with the results. I'm considering it myself because my eyes are so bad, but I'm still scared.

I want to do it myself. I know that I'm a good candidate. Right now, it's just a question of coming up with the money for it.

And, like Bubastes, I'm a little bit of afraid of the whole procedure. Extra Valium for me pre-op, please!

My father's an ophthalmologist and has been performing this surgery since the days before lasers. He used to perform the same surgery with a microscope using a diamond-tipped scalpel (called radial keratotomy). He's almost always had positive results. The risks from this type of surgery are very minimal, the main risk being affected night vision. I think even that's not too common.

I always wonder what, specifically, people are afraid of with this procedure. But that's easy for me to say because I have 20/20 vision (up to now ).

I've done it, and so has my husband. We both are very happy with the results. The only issue is that I see tiny halos around bright lights at night (street lights, etc.) But it's not a big deal. SO worth it.

I've done it too. I have the same long-term result WendyNYC has. No biggie. My eyes tend to be more dry (I live in a very dry clime to begin with), but I just use Genteal eye drops. I LOVE not wearing glasses.

For the surgery, I was offered, but turned down, a Valium, and I admit I was terrified before the first eye was done. After I knew exactly how it went, the second eye was a cake walk.

I have had it done.

I had the night halos for awhile, but don't seem to notice at as much as I did at first.

I also use eye drops in the winter. I love my fireplace - which tends to dry out the air in the house.

I am one of the few people whose eyes changed (I had mine done 10 yrs ago). I now wear glasses for driving. I can still pass the driver's eye test so my license doesn't say I need glasses - but I feel better wearing them.

I wish I had done this 30 years ago.

My sister-in-law had it done a year before I did. She loves it. Still doesn't need glasses. Recommends it to anyone who will listen.

My brother-in-law had it done 15 years ago. Loves it. Recommends it to anyone who will listen. (He gets the dry eyes in the winter).

Go for it!

The more I hear about this from friends, the more tempted I am. The diopter number on my contact lenses is -7.50 (nearsightedness in the 20/800 to 20/1000 range), and it would be wonderful to not be completely blind without my contacts or glasses.

I had it done about nine years ago, and have never regretted it. I had 20/20 vision up until about six months ago, and I've gone down only to to 20/25. The recovery was slower than I expected (I didn't have crystal clear vision for a few weeks after the surgery), but the operation itself didn't hurt at all - it just smelled bad. Hee. I still think it's the best money I ever spent. Definitely make sure your doctor has done thousands of the procedure himself rather than being the new guy on a team that has done thousands of the procedure. Hope this helps!

I had insurance which covered this procedure with no out-of-pocket expense for about fifteen years.

I never got it done.

There are drawbacks. The 'dry eye' people have mentioned is a result of the procedure. There are also adverse effects to mid-range vision. The 'auras' people see at night were a major issue with me, since I relied on my night vision to work.

I would investigate the drawbacks very thoroughly, if I were you. The results are permanent. Also, ensure you research the doctor's credentials very, very carefully. In Vegas, a doctor has blinded some patients and has a class action lawsuit pending.

If you just need glasses or contacts to correct a little vision, I'd stick with them. If your vision is approaching 20-200, only then would I, personally, consider it.

My sister had the procedure done about six years ago. One eye had to be done twice and the other four times (which i understand is the limit to the number of times an eye can be done). She does not have to wear glasses or contacts, but her vision is not perfect. Poor results are not as rare as the doctors would like you to believe.

I would never have this procedure done. I wear glasses for reading.

Richard

My best friend had hers done about 10 years ago. She doesn't suffer from dry eyes and her night vision was never good. At 55, she got her first pair of reading glasses from the drug store for under $20. Big difference she was was almost legally blind when she had the surgery.

The big thing to remember when choosing a surgeon is to make sure you've got one with more than 15,000 operations under their belt. Once they've passed that mark, she said, then the risks to the patients drops to next to nothing.

Personally, I'm saving up for it too.

Since the surgery scares the crap out of me, I'll stick with the glasses because they cost much, much less (and I don't think my insurance would cover it, anyway.)

BenPanced said:

Since the surgery scares the crap out of me, I'll stick with the glasses because they cost much, much less (and I don't think my insurance would cover it, anyway.)

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Wish I could say that--my glasses are $650 every other year, plus exam. And my insurance covers about as much of my glasses as it would the surgery.

I desperately want to get it done myself, but must say that I too, am quite scared! I have a friend who has had it done and said it's the best thing she's ever done. The only drawback is that her eyes are very sensitive to light and she wears sunglasses always when she's outside.

I guess the thing to keep in mind is that everything has risks - including love and getting out of bed in the morning. You need to do a cost/benefit analysis to decide if a life of seeing clearly is worth the chance of having dry eyes, needing further surgeries, etc. I figured if I went with the best surgeon I could find, I was willing to accept the good odds that everything would be fine. YMMV.

PS I was scared, too! If the freezing had included needles instead of drops, there's no way on earth.

Gehanna said:

Do you recommend it or should I avoid it?

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Would my reply be illegal since I am NOT a doctor?

Oh dear. That picture scares me too!

If you're scared off doing something because of pictures, DO NOT type "childbirth" into Google Images.

Seriously, as soon as I've got the money, I'm going to investigate it. As far as the drawbacks are concerned, no one has mentioned a single problem that I don't already have, and I've never had the surgery.

Losing my eyesight would be second only to losing my hearing, and my eyesight's getting worse and worse every year. The possibility (probability?) of eventually being blind scares me far more than that picture.

Had it done 5 years ago, and love it! I was VERY nearsighted. After years of wearing contacts, they started to bug my eyes and my glasses were so thick that they distorted my face and my vision.

I REALLY recommend that you go to an actual eye surgeon/specialist. I went to a Dr. who specialized in cataract surgery. Lasik was a walk in the park compared to some of the stuff he did. It is sooo much better than going to a Lasik mill, and worth the extra $$. Even today, ophthalmologists will comment on the quality of the procedure I had done.