Laser eye surgery
- Thread starter Cobster
- Start date
I did Lasik just about a year ago. My only regret is I didn't have it done a few years ago. I hated wearing my glasses, especially when playing sports.
I came out with better than 20 / 20 vision.
After I had mine done, 4 others that talked to me went and had it don as well, everyone has been very pleased with the results. My cost was $1,600. The others varied depending on problems they may have had.
For the person who asked if they give you anything, they will offer you a pill to relax you when you go in. I declined even though I was nervous. Once you are in the procedure room they put drops in your eye to numb them before starting the procedure. I didn't have any problems, but they did mention that some people feel small pain after the drops wear off.
I agree with the others about the follow up procedures. I did everything I was told including taking an extra week off playing sports to just be extra cautious. I have years more to play hockey, what was missing a month compared to not having to wear corrective lenses.
Good luck with your decision.
I came out with better than 20 / 20 vision.
After I had mine done, 4 others that talked to me went and had it don as well, everyone has been very pleased with the results. My cost was $1,600. The others varied depending on problems they may have had.
For the person who asked if they give you anything, they will offer you a pill to relax you when you go in. I declined even though I was nervous. Once you are in the procedure room they put drops in your eye to numb them before starting the procedure. I didn't have any problems, but they did mention that some people feel small pain after the drops wear off.
I agree with the others about the follow up procedures. I did everything I was told including taking an extra week off playing sports to just be extra cautious. I have years more to play hockey, what was missing a month compared to not having to wear corrective lenses.
Good luck with your decision.
Thanks dude, she found the link very helpful.rubmeister100 said:
I'm not sure what she wants to do, she has an appointment next week.
i just had laser eye surgery three weeks ago and i have been regretting my decision since. i think it was the most stupid thing i have done. pls if you are thinking about this do not go for it. you only have one set of eyes. if your visual problems can be solved with contacts and/or glasses stick to them. if something goes wrong with your sugery, it will be hard to rectify at best. worse, you will have to stick with it for life. although you might attain 20/20 vision after surgery, there are still many problems that can appear, like starbursts, halos and dry eyes. i thought these were insignificant too, but they can be a total nuisance in your life.
tocanada said:
Dry eyes yes has been present since I had my surgery, five years back or so.......As for the star bursts and halos you should have been warned they might occur. At 3 weeks you are just coming out of the initial healing process and you are sill light sensitive. As your doctor should have told you 6 months is the average time for the sensitivity. Stick with with the follow up exams and keep using the drops.
i know the success rate for laser eye surgery is high and i hope to be a part of that sucess story. but how could such a noble profession lower itself by aggressively promoting and downplaying the risks of a surgery that often cannot be fixed and no one knows what the long term risks may be. all the staff in the office showed a type of casual attitude towards the procedure at every step in the process. this attitude made me approach the surgery in an overly casual manner. all the consent forms were given to me to read and sign minutes before the surgery. they failed to disclose the risks (four pages of fine print) until immediately prior to surgery, which was overwhelming and unethical. it was hard to digest all that information minutes before the surgery! yes, i did know about halos and startbursts, they even gave me a wavier to sign and said i have a greater chance of developing them due to large pupil size. it would have made more sense to tell me this beforehand so i can think about it!! i did not fully research the “other side” of lasik before signing the mile-long consent form. i did not get more than one opinion and ask to know my numbers: corneal thickness, pupil size, how much tissue has to be removed and how much you will have left, untouched. had i known all my numbers beforehand i would not have done it.
tocanada said:
You are absolutely correct in your post. Although ophthalmic surgery is out of my area of specialty, I personally would not even consider this procedure or recommend it to my friends and family. People would be very surprised to learn that many of the "laser eye surgeons" wear contacts and would never actually consider having this procedure done on themselves. Of course they will probably have an excuse like "I am not a good candidate for the procedure myself".
I didnt see this thread at time of posting, but i went with TLC few years back. I have absolutely nothing to complain about regarding my surgery or TLC. Best decision ever! I felt comfortable as soon as i walked in and everyone you see and talk to is very nice. On picking a place, that is what it is all about, which do you feel more comfortable with.
To Tocanada: I had all the symptons you mentioned. Everyone is different and heals differently. My family eye doctor had hers done after me and I was still experiencing halos whereas she wasnt. I would say it was a good 2 or plus years before it started to disappear. Dry eyes: I would say it was probably up to mid-late last year where my eyes dont feel as dry as it used to be.
You only had it 3 weeks ago, you need at least a year for most indiv. for everything to heal properly. Sound like you really didnt do enough research about this as you should have. Or else you would know about all these symptons and time it takes to heal. And its not really fair for you to totally deter someones else plan just because yourself wasnt aware that this was gonna be more than just going in and walking out with new eyes that are 100% right away.
I dont think putting eye drops in your eyes every once in a while is too much to do for 20/20 vision. Vs. Wearing contacts, which can still scratch and damage your eyes, or wearing glasses. I prefer good vision with neither, but to each his own.
To Tocanada: I had all the symptons you mentioned. Everyone is different and heals differently. My family eye doctor had hers done after me and I was still experiencing halos whereas she wasnt. I would say it was a good 2 or plus years before it started to disappear. Dry eyes: I would say it was probably up to mid-late last year where my eyes dont feel as dry as it used to be.
You only had it 3 weeks ago, you need at least a year for most indiv. for everything to heal properly. Sound like you really didnt do enough research about this as you should have. Or else you would know about all these symptons and time it takes to heal. And its not really fair for you to totally deter someones else plan just because yourself wasnt aware that this was gonna be more than just going in and walking out with new eyes that are 100% right away.
I dont think putting eye drops in your eyes every once in a while is too much to do for 20/20 vision. Vs. Wearing contacts, which can still scratch and damage your eyes, or wearing glasses. I prefer good vision with neither, but to each his own.
tocanada said:
Prior to my surgery I was informed of the risk and understood them. Me thinks you may have misled yourself. Prior to my surgery I had an extensive eye exam and had the opportunity to review the risks as well as talk to patients in various stages of recovery. When it comes to cosmetic surgery you are the one who needs to educate yourself before you act. And that entails asking questions.
papasmerf said:
At TLC, i went from doing tests, then to a room where you have the opportunity to ask any questions you have. They also take you thru the steps of everything you should expect from beginning to end. Then another room regarding payments and other forms/waivers for you to take home and look over and make your decision. My reg eye doctor also explained most of the stuff to me as well. So all the opportunities were definitely there for me if i wasnt sure of anything.
For what Tocanada describes his experience - completely opposite from mine. Where did you have your done?
milhouse said:
Lasik MD in Niagara Falls, Ontario.........Both eyes total cost was 1275.00
Had 20/400 and 20/430 in prior to surgery........Corrected to 20/25 both eyes. Also had extreme astigmatism in both eyes. They offered to get the eyes to 20/20 or better I could not see the point. They were honest about the surgery lasts 20 years or so.
i went to lasik md. i am very unhappy with "my" decision to have laser eye surgery. i went ahead with it despite having doubts. i am upset that i did not do all the necessary research beforehand because if had known what i now know i will not have gone ahead with the surgery. they do inform you of the risks of the surgery, but they also tend to emphasize that the risks are minimal. i think a more ethical way of dealing with this is not treat the surgery lightly and to fully inform patients of the risks and allow them time to think about it. maybe other laser eye centres operate differently. i am still against the surgery since i am not comfortable with having a flap in my eye (lasik) and the bowman's layer permanently destroyed (prk). but i will also not stop someone who really wants to have the surgery. the most important thing is to make an informed decision, something i did not do. and it is true, most optometrist/opthamologist do not have this surgery themselves because they are more aware than the general public on the potentially serious consequences of the surgery.
i would like to add that no one has ever mentioned to me about the bowman's layer being destroyed and can never regenerate. and for lasik surgeries, the flap will remain intact unless your eyes encounter trauma. so basically if i get into a car accident and the airbag activates there is a great chance that my flap will dislodge. my point is, when it comes to elective procedures concerning such a vital organ, the risks should be made known to you in a very real sense. they only mentioned it to me like it was no big deal because chances are very low that things will go wrong so don't even worry about it! i just want to warn people not to take such an important surgery so lightly and i think i am doing the right thing by voicing my concern so others are aware.
this guy sums it up very well how i feel...
"The two big realization that these websites made me think about and made me freak out for the rest of my life (at least), are the two things that I did not think about prior to the surgery:
1 - what if something was going to go wrong during / after the surgery?
2 - What are the long term implications of having this surgery done since there are no long term research on it?
So far it looks like that I can put my first concern to rest.
But I still have the rest of my life to keep worrying about number 2!!!!!
The second issue is the permanence of the procedure. Whatever problems you do incur, at best will be difficult to reverse, at worst it will be with you for the rest of your life! Whatever problems you may have encountered with conventional correction, they will never be as final as with surgery."
this guy sums it up very well how i feel...
"The two big realization that these websites made me think about and made me freak out for the rest of my life (at least), are the two things that I did not think about prior to the surgery:
1 - what if something was going to go wrong during / after the surgery?
2 - What are the long term implications of having this surgery done since there are no long term research on it?
So far it looks like that I can put my first concern to rest.
But I still have the rest of my life to keep worrying about number 2!!!!!
The second issue is the permanence of the procedure. Whatever problems you do incur, at best will be difficult to reverse, at worst it will be with you for the rest of your life! Whatever problems you may have encountered with conventional correction, they will never be as final as with surgery."
When I had it done the doc was honest and told me it lasts about 20 years.
That was before my surgery and it seemed reasonable.
That was before my surgery and it seemed reasonable.
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