Your thoughts about LASIK?

Hitlers_Hairy_Anus · 2015-06-09T14:17:13+00:00

I had LASIK about 12 years ago and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. My eyes have just recently started getting slightly blurry. When they reach a point of needing correction that's the way I'll be going again.

doomcrawler · 2015-06-09T18:26:30+00:00

I had LASIK in 2000. Best thing I've ever done...well, besides divorce.

GreatWhite_Buffalo · 2015-06-09T12:31:52+00:00

I fucking hate contacts and glasses.

I have pretty bad allergies and my eyes are constantly bothering me. I can't wear contacts when they get bad because I have to use Visine constantly. I've worn glasses every day for the last few weeks and they piss me off.

I know people that just rep it and become glasses guy, but it's not for me. I want LASIK ASAP, once I get the OK from my eye doctor and my bank account I'm doing it. My eye doctor told me that you need to wait til you're at least 25 and have had a steady prescription for a few years.

I'm at like a -2.50 right now, I'm not THAT blind, but things like driving without contacts would be dangerous.

I do consider it a worthy investment if you're a candidate with the capital.

Apathie2 · 2015-06-09T14:09:15+00:00

Try clear care for the contacts first. I used to have a lot of problems too. Especially with allergies

m1serablist · 2015-06-09T18:34:22+00:00

it's not a miracle procedure. but being fast and easy from doctors' point of view, it's advertised like it was invented by jesus himself. if you google the procedure you are bombarded with link on how awesome it is, but with the right keywords you can read on how it's not that awesome 100% every time. check this for starters http://lasikdangers.blogspot.com/p/ascrs-literature.html then go to links section for more.

RPthrowaway123 · 2015-06-09T14:24:02+00:00

I wear contacts but I've always wondered about LASIK too. I heard that it can cause problems for your eyes and it damages your corneas, but that's about all I know. I'd love to hear from a doctor or somebody who has actually had it done.

for reference I'm at about -4.50

dreckmal · 2015-06-09T14:37:43+00:00

I have a super old set of frames, likely from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century. Women constantly comment on how cool they are.

Johnny10toes · 2015-06-09T14:53:56+00:00

I think it's still too pricey. Mine would be about 4 grand. If it came down to a grand I'd do it.

Believeitsask · 2015-06-09T17:33:19+00:00

worked well for me. Its pricey where i live (3500) but that was 12 years ago. Best investment ever aesthetically for me

Masonjarteadrinker2 · 2015-06-09T17:53:09+00:00

My father and Mother have both gotten it, one here in the US and one got it done in Mexico.

After a few years both seem to be having problems seeing again, my mom had problems seeing from up close right away so IDK I'm kind of iffy about it. I get frustrated wearing contacts but it's something I just gotta do at least for now.

M3_Drifter · 2015-06-09T18:37:13+00:00

I got laser eye surgery with a method called "SMILE" (google it). It's been about a year now and the only negative is that my eyes tend to dry out a bit more, meaning my vision sometimes gets slightly blurry in the evening. Not enough to be dangerous in any way though.

Before, my vision was at about -4 to -5, and I fucking love being able to use sunglasses.

prodigy2throw · 2015-06-09T18:39:10+00:00

From what I see in this thread, it sucks for some people and doesn't suck for others.

If you can afford it, try it. If not, work with it and buy some nice frames. Nobody here has said they went blind so you should be good. Do research online and see if it's worth it.

[deleted] · 2015-06-09T18:50:26+00:00

I had it done a year ago and so far so good.

I started hearing more and more horror stories after I had the procedure though, which sometimes gives me panic attacks.

I haven't had any real problems and I can see great.

I have had girls tell me that they think I was cuter when I had glasses, so, I guess you can't really win.

captshady · 2015-06-09T18:57:34+00:00

Opt for a clear lensectomy

http://arkansaslasik.com/procedures/clear-lensectomy/

Whisper · 2015-06-09T19:13:19+00:00

I had PRK instead, which I recommend. The LASIK flap can sometimes have some issues.

alisonstone · 2015-06-09T19:29:41+00:00

First, find a good doctor. The best doctors are always booked to capacity, so they don't have any incentive to "push" you into doing the surgery. I went to the same doctor that does the eye surgeries on all the pro-athletes in my area. I needed to wait for months to get my surgery due to him having so many patients, but it was well worth the wait to get the best.

Then get a consultation. Consultations are usually free. You might find out that you are not a candidate for laser eye surgery, and then you don't have to think about it ever again. I know tons of people who keep asking their friends or asking people online about whether it is a good idea to get laser eye surgery. You are not them. Everybody's eyes are different and until you get it scanned and measured by the microscopes, you are not going to know if you are a candidate or not. Some people are far better candidates than others and they have an extremely high success rate, while others are very poor candidates but sketchy doctors still push them to do the surgery because they want the money.

The main factor that would determine whether you are a candidate or not if you are near-sighted/far-sighted is the thickness of your cornea. If you have very thick corneas, there is a much wider margin for error and errors are not catastrophic (you can do another surgery). If you have thin corneas, it would be harder to cut the flap during LASIK and if there are problems and you've lost too much of your cornea already, it would be too risky to attempt further laser surgery. The doctor would measure your cornea during the consultation.

Also, if you may want to consider getting PRK instead of LASIK. PRK is the safer procedure and may be the only options if you have "average" cornea thickness or if you have a high prescription. The concept behind all the variants are the same, a laser reshapes your cornea so it no longer have funny lumps or strange shapes so light can go to the right place without becoming distorted. With LASIK, a flap is cut into the cornea and the middle of your cornea is burned such that when it closes, it would adjust to the right shape. With PRK, there is no flap and the surface of your cornea is lasered instead. This is much safer as there is no need to cut the flap and is more accurate (no need to close the flap and hope it aligns as expected, this is all done on the surface). The bad part about PRK is that they need to dissolve the outer layer of cells on your eyes and it takes a few weeks for it to fully heal. It will be very blurry the first week (you probably can't read/drive the first few days), and may still be somewhat blurry the first month (but you can read, drive, etc, but you might not be 20/20 yet depending on how fast you heal), and it will probably take 3 months or so before that last bit of clarity settles in. PRK is typically done one eye at a time because of the longer healing time. I did PRK and I wish I did it earlier.

Personally, I would recommend most people to do it, unless they are very happy with their glasses. It's not obvious whether laser eye surgery is that much riskier than wearing contact lenses for 10+, 20+, or 30+ years. Contact lenses are not exactly great for your eyes either as it reduces the amount of oxygen to your eyes and ends up holding a lot of bacteria in there too. The Internet is filled with horror stories about laser eye surgery, because those guys are the most vocal. A lot of the horror stories are because people end up not taking care of their eyes after surgery and getting an infection or they went with the "cheap" surgery, which is usually a cheap 10+ year old laser eye surgery machine that is rented and shipped around on a truck to days when surgeries are scheduled (the constant moving risks damage/mis-calibration of the laser). If you get the best doctor, he can afford the latest technology. That matters more than anything else because the machine does everything.

cmiovino · 2015-06-09T19:02:42+00:00

Take it from me, I'm a TRPer with some eye issues.

Currently battling recurrent corneal erosion after an eye injury out hiking. Corneal abrasions are super painful and used to occur every other week when waking up... dry eyes and inability to heal. Special drops have seemed to fix this after 4 years of searching for answers.

I've had a ton of issues with them. Had my eyelid almost completely sliced off and reattached. The hiking incident. And some other disease as a kid. All unrelated. Just horrible luck.

As a result, I'm deathly afraid of contacts and touching my eyes. I wear glasses to drive and sometimes watch TV (when I rarely do). I invested $200 prescription sunglasses... really great.

My vision isn't horrible, but not great. I've been told I should really wear glasses all the time, but it doesn't bother me not to.

Skip LASIK. I've had many friends on Facebook post they had it done, but it went right back after 2-3 years to where it was before.

TRP advice: Get a good fitting pair of stylish glasses if you need them. Work on your clothing and other accessories to get out of the 'Asian nerd' stereotype.

walkingthelinux · 2015-06-09T15:52:49+00:00

LASIK really screwed up my eyes. Looked like a wonderful thing for a year or two, then the long slow decline in my vision.

Biggest mistake I've made honestly.

z_omg · 2015-06-09T21:51:31+00:00

Blind as a bat at age 20. Now I have 20-20 vision. Hands down the best money I've ever fucking spent and I've recommended it to more than 10 of my mates who've done it and expressed the same. Technology is accessible to you - do it.

VasiliyZaitzev · 2015-06-09T22:47:03+00:00

If you do any kind of altitude sports or scuba, you may want to reconsider--as I understand it, LASIK eyes don't like pressure changes much. YMMV, of course.

I hate contacts, but wear Lindberg frames that are unobtrusive. I like how I look in glasses (again YMMV) and girls seem to like the Lindberg's on me

C00l_Guy · 2015-06-09T23:07:12+00:00

I had it. Pretty good. Just a bit of irritation and dryness. Nothing will be as sharp as glasses though they make you see better than normal human beings anyway.

Mine came with 10 years of free touch ups.

RedPillAccount69 · 2015-06-10T00:48:31+00:00

Hand down one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.

RICCIedm · 2015-06-10T01:30:25+00:00

I had LASIK three months ago. I had 3.0 myopia and now my eyes are perfect. You'll have to stop going out for a week and lifting for about a month, though. I felt pretty bad during that time.

beerthroway · 2015-06-10T03:03:57+00:00

I've had LASIK for 3 years now. I got it right out of college as a graduation gift from my family. It cost about $3k.

I don't think a week has gone by that I haven't woke up happy that my eyes don't hurt from contacts (even without sleeping in them and proper cleaning). That I can wake up right off the bat and see the world in detail. If you truly want to know what gratitude should feel like, get LASIK. I have fantastic vision now and I love it. Worth every penny.

Dimsml · 2015-06-10T07:20:17+00:00

Please remember: It is a surgical procedure with all the pros and cons.

Talk to your GP, talk to an ophtalmologist in your clinic / hospital, talk to several docs doing the surgery. Only then choose a clinic and do all the tests they give you.

E.g. my ophtalmologist told me that I possibly have dry eye syndrome and that stuff got confirmed later. It is a counterindication for LASIK and PRK.

A girl I know also had dry eyes (you could tell when she constantly ordered different moisturizing eye drops from different pharmacies and even some phoney bluish eye drops from France), but she went to have a LASIK anyway. I warned her that dry eye syndrome is a counterindication but she wouldn't listen (Why a high-SMV girl would listen to a beta low-SMV male?), the docs said that she doesn't have dry eyes and she had a LASIK. I am not sure if they tested her for dry eyes though. They want money, not your happiness.

And guess what? Right, she started complaining about her dry eyes even more after she had LASIK.

Oh well, I did my part.

Title	Your thoughts about LASIK?
Author	zenplus
Upvotes	10
Comments	40
Date	June 9, 2015 11:54 AM UTC (11 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/395hp7/your_thoughts_about_lasik/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/your-thoughts-about-lasik.149868 https://theredarchive.com/post/149868

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