Laser Eye Sugery

[Peji911]

My girlfriend has -12 and -14 vision, how brutal is that. She wears contacts though and they do the trick, but they're so strong that she can only get them once and year. On top of that, they're very expensive.

What does everyone think of this surgey. Its about $1,000 CDN an eye right now, but it might be more expensive since her vision is so bad.

Either way, has anyone here gotten it? How do you feel? Have you heard of it going bad and people becoming permanantly blind?

My problem with it is that its such a new idea, and so what happens 40 or 50 years down the line? I dont want it to have side affects and becoming blind. It makes me very nervous.

[Blaxican8504]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

I was actually talking to my optometrist about this. He said its better to get it while you are young. He said if I got it now (I'm 21), it would last me a good 25 years or so. And the longer I wait, the shorter it would last.

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

My girlfriend has -12 and -14 vision, how brutal is that. She wears contacts though and they do the trick, but they're so strong that she can only get them once and year. On top of that, they're very expensive.

What does everyone think of this surgey. Its about $1,000 CDN an eye right now, but it might be more expensive since her vision is so bad.

Either way, has anyone here gotten it? How do you feel? Have you heard of it going bad and people becoming permanantly blind?

My problem with it is that its such a new idea, and so what happens 40 or 50 years down the line? I dont want it to have side affects and becoming blind. It makes me very nervous.

First its not a new idea. Its been done in various forms for over 20 years so you really shouldn't worry about long term effects. I had LASIC done 7.5 years ago and I loved it. My night vision isn't as good so if you have a bit of rings around headlights right now, it could get a little worse but with some of the newer technology its really not an issue. Its not a big deal for me at all and I did have a form of it before. My wife, brother and numerous friends and co-workers have all had it done. Its common place and its highly doubtful of you going blind. My brother's eyes were more sensitive and it took almost two weeks for his eyes to fully heal - he had a slight haze since since they were swollen. He could still drive the next day but the full healing process took a bit longer. My eyes were great 1 day later and my wife was reading road signs right after the surgery. The recovery times are normally very fast although you will be more susceptible to bright lights the first week and my eyes were dry for almost a month (just use natural tears).

My script was a -5.5, -5.75 which was really bad but nothing like your girlfriend. The surgery is more expensive for eyes that are worse but they also have a new improved "wavefront" lasic procedure for eyes that are bad and might make it possible. Wavefront is about twice as expensive as LASIC. LASIC should be around $750 for an average eye and $1000 for bad eyes like mine. Don't know about your girlfriend. Dr. Tafour in Windsor is the North American expert and he charges around $1750-$2000 per eye and can do almost anything (he is an actual eye surgeon). I can tell you that five years ago, they wouldn't have operated on her since her eyes were too bad. She still might not be eligible to have this surgery or its even possible that they can try it in the form of two surgeries to make sure they don't overcorrect the first time (two surgeries is very rare and would have to be at least 6 months apart).

Blaxican, you are right that the sooner you get it done, the more use you will get out of your eyes. By the time we all hit 45 or 50, our eye muscles get tired and they don't open enough to allow the light in resulting in most of us getting reading glasses eventually. LASIC should could long-term near or far sightedness but reading glasses are necessary for everyone eventually. However, CK is a new procedure being done over the last few years and you are eligible for it if you are over 40 (licenced by the FDA). Its radio frequency energy (no laser) used to reshape the cornea to remove the dependance on reading glasses. Gary Danielson has actually had both LASIC and later on CK to remove the need for glasses in all situations. If you are only 21 and your eyes are still unstable (deteriorating) I would consider waiting a little bit longer. You need to make sure your eyes have essentially bottomed out which usually happens closer to 25 although people do have the surgery earlier than that.

Whatever you do, research the doctor that is doing it. The new technology goes a long way but you want an experienced doctor that will still be around. Most doctors offer some form of free touch-up in the event that your eyes change a little over time even though it shouldn't be necessary. The actual laser procedure is very short. You can be in and out of the chair in 10-15 minutes. The use of the laser itself depends on your eyes. If they aren't too bad, the laser may only run 10-15 seconds per eye. For me they were around 35 seconds to reshape my eye. I can walk you guys through a traditional LASIC procedure if you want.

[DXZeke]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

If you don't mind, Walk us through Rudy. Thanks!

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

Its been awhile since I or my wife (about 4 years for her) had it done so hopefully I don't forget anything. The procedure is basically painless with respect to your eye. When you go in for the surgery, they usually prep a few of you at the same time. You can take a valium (or something like that) to settle your nerves. They also put freezing drops in your eyes so you feel nothing when they operate.

When you actually go under this laser machine in the doctor's room, they will put clamps in your eye to keep you from blinking. This was uncomfortable in that these steel things are inserted above and below your eyeball. Once they get them in its fine but it wasn't overly pleasant. Its very important obviously since you can't blink when they cut your cornea (lasic = flap and zap) or use the laser to reshape your eye.

After the clamps go in, they put a suction cup thing on your eyeball (I didn't like this either). When its secure this little gizmo runs across your eye and cuts your cornea. You are momentarily blinded for a few seconds and then you will actually see the doctor peel back the top layer of your cornea to get your eye ready for the laser.

After that, they tell you to stare at the red light and the laser will make passes over your eye reshaping it to fix it permanently. This is painless although many people say it smells like hair burning. I don't remember that. My script was a -5.50 and -5.75 so the laser ran 34 and 36 seconds for each eye (this was 7.5 years ago, maybe its faster now). Other people I know had it for as little as 10 seconds. They usually put a patch over your other eye while they do the first one and vice versa so you are looking where they want. Once both eyes are done you are finished. The whole prepping of your eyeballs and laser surgery is only about 15 minutes. Again, this is traditional LASIC. If you get the WAVEFRONT which is newer and more expensive, I don't know what the differences are.

Afterwards, they give you funky glasses since your eye will be sensitive to light and sunlight could harm your eye (especially at the side). Someone needs to drive you home since you won't be able to see too well at the beginning although my wife was pretty darn good. They give you prescription eye drops and natural tears for when your eyes are dry. You must take them as required to prevent infection. When I got out of the chair, it was pretty hazy. I really couldn't see well at all but I did expect this. I actually was staying at a hotel since the surgeon was 2 hours away. We had a whole group go and I went back to the hotel and slept for 2 hours. They tell you to try to take a nap to rest your eyes. When I woke up, I could actually see the TV at the end of the bed which was on. I was amazed. By the next morning, me eyes were already 30/20 and I could drive. The first two days I saw the most healing and it will get slightly better each day over the first week or two. It was really incredible and you will love it if you get it done.

Horror stories are very seldom (like any elective surgery). Some like my brother took a full two weeks to get rid of the haze since his eyes were still a bit swollen from surgery. He could drive the next day but his vision was slightly hazy. Sensitive eyes can take a bit longer to recover. I would recommend though if you are using contacts to go to glasses completely for at least a week before surgery. Its important to let your eyes breathe and be fully healthy before surgery or you could see some small red spots on your eyeball afterwards and maybe the healing take a bit longer. Its not too big a deal and it will correct itself but its best to go in with your eyes in tip top shape. Usually they schedule a recheck the next day and about a week later to make sure everything looks good. Hope that helps!

[Goffs]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

wow i just accompanied my little brother yesterday to get his surgery done...i got to watch the whole thing while they did the whole procedure...

rudy can pretty much tell you how it went through as i just saw from second hand...but i was a bit distracted because the Nurse there was sooo freakin pretty and she kept smilin at me....saw the ring on her finger and all i can do was smile back...*sigh*

im planning on getting this once i get a steady income..

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

wow i just accompanied my little brother yesterday to get his surgery done...i got to watch the whole thing while they did the whole procedure...

rudy can pretty much tell you how it went through as i just saw from second hand...but i was a bit distracted because the Nurse there was sooo freakin pretty and she kept smilin at me....saw the ring on her finger and all i can do was smile back...*sigh*

im planning on getting this once i get a steady income..

When I had mine done, they had a TV showing the procedure in the waiting room and a window into the room where we could watch. I think that helped me. When my wife had it, it was just a room and I simply sat outside and waited for her to come out. She was very nervous going in but couldn't believe how easy it was when she came out. She was rattling off street signs on the way home and I kept reminding her that she's not supposed to read initially since she's supposed to rest her eyes but it was like a kid at Christmas.

Its not cheap so do it before you get kids since its tough to scrape together the funds when money's tight. My wife got it done two months after we got married since we had some extra cash from the wedding.

[GBrushTWood]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

If you can get driven home by the 'Assman' after the surgery it should be alright. Just make sure he doesn't "stop short" when you are in the car though...

[Peji911]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

If you can get driven home by the 'Assman' after the surgery it should be alright. Just make sure he doesn't "stop short" when you are in the car though...

[Peji911]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

I was actually talking to my optometrist about this. He said its better to get it while you are young. He said if I got it now (I'm 21), it would last me a good 25 years or so. And the longer I wait, the shorter it would last.

shes 21 too..

so ur saying that it should last 25 years.. what happens afterwards?

[faster]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

I got it done as well.

Here's the scoop.

-the procedure is 90 seconds an eye. pretty much painless. if you have buggy eyes it will be painless, if your eyes are sunk in more, there will be some discomfort, but very minor

--you get home, take a few sleeping pills or valium, sleep for 3 hours and get up and your FINE, almost 20/20 vision. if you cant' get to sleep, you'll have some stinging and irritation. some are worse than others in this respect. still, it's not that bad.

--in 24 hours MOST people are 20/20... you go in for a checkup the next day to see how things are

--for a week you have to wear protective goggles at night, you don't want to touch your eyes, etc, and they're still healing.

--takes about a month to mostly heal.... some people's eyes change ever so slightly the next 3-6 months. most people's eyes are done changing after a month though, even a few weeks

the surgery is NOTHING. there's nothing to worry about. these procedures are extremely exact, and if you ever see one done you realize that they're not going to slice your eye in half or anything. very very well done.

when you're on the table getting the surgery, they don't strap you in... you literally just lay there. most people are nervous, but by the time they lay down they realize in a day they'll have near perfect vision. believe me, it actually calms you down. the biggest fear is just GETTING TO THAT POINT. when the surgery starts you realize it's here, it's here!

i know over 10 people that have had it done. none have had any complications and all are 20/20 with the exception of my father who was legally blind... he's at 20/30, which is AMAZING.

this is a life changing operation and i can't stress enough how much i'd recommend getting it. i couldn't even count my toes on my feet before the operation and now i can look at the alarm clock at night, and do things that i never could before. i was a big time baseball player a few years back and tore my groin severely which basically destroyed my career. i got back into the batting cage a couple months back and could easily hit the 90+ MPH fastballs and saw it clearer than ever. amazing.....

my night vision is worse but that's a small tradeoff. my wife actually had HORRIBLE night vision and the surgery improved her's immensely.

if anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me or email me @ [email protected] --> i don't mind at all. a buddy of mine got it done and basically beat me down until i did it and i'm SO SO happy he did.

one last thing.... i don't see why anybody would be worried about the long term effects. why you ask? simple. laser eye surgery just simply adjusts the curvature of your eye... it's a wound, and then it heals. just like your skin when you cut it, it heals and is like new. this is what they are doing to your eye... simply adjusting it with a laser and then it heals and is fine. almost all of us have scratched there eye right? this is the same concept... give it time and it's like new.

anyway, GET THE SURGERY, FORCE YOUR WIFE TO GET THE SURGERY, AND ANYONE ELSE YOU KNOW.

it's life changing... it TRULY is.

[RubenDouglas]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

any word on insurance coverages or costs?

some of yall make it sound like youre an infomerical trying to get me to think about a life altering surgery as if its nothing . more power to you i guess. youve seen the light

[faster]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

any word on insurance coverages or costs?

some of yall make it sound like youre an infomerical trying to get me to think about a life altering surgery as if its nothing . more power to you i guess. youve seen the light

Some insurance companies will cover it but most do not. I know I do sound like an informercial but of the many, many people I know, all are very happy and it truly changes your life.

I wish insurance companies did cover it.... factor in the cost of contacts/glasses for YEARS and it's a deal...

[rudyjuly2]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

shes 21 too..

so ur saying that it should last 25 years.. what happens afterwards?

Nothing. Your eyes are fine for life - it never "wears off". They tell you that you don't have to wear glasses for another 25 years but once you hit the 45-50 age range, everyone will start to need reading glasses. This affects EVERYONE, even those who had perfect vision their entire life. LASIC is not a long term worry. You can even correct the need for reading glasses later on through a separate and different procedure called CK (don't know the long named version).

[faster]

Re: Laser Eye Sugery

Nothing. Your eyes are fine for life - it never "wears off". They tell you that you don't have to wear glasses for another 25 years but once you hit the 45-50 age range, everyone will start to need reading glasses. This affects EVERYONE, even those who had perfect vision their entire life. LASIC is not a long term worry. You can even correct the need for reading glasses later on through a separate and different procedure called CK (don't know the long named version).

Exactly. Bingo.