Lasik...talk me in or out of it.... (heartbeat, insurance, eye)
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I don't have dry eyes, no night driving issues. When I still had glasses, I had horrible night vision.
100% convinced I did the right thing. Should have done it much sooner.
You were lucky.
Some people have your results.
Some don't.
It's impossible to predict.
And since you only get one pair of eyes and no guarantee, I don't think it's worth it.
You were lucky.
Some people have your results.
Some don't. It's impossible to predict.
And since you only get one pair of eyes and no guarantee, I don't think it's worth it.
Of course there is a risk ...
there was this very public story by Kathy Griffin:
Kathy Griffin's Lasik nightmare left her reeling | IrishCentral.com
When Griffin went for Lasik surgery in 2003 the procedures left her more and more shaken. Griffin underwent a total of five operations performed by Doctor Robert Maloney in Los Angles, correcting what she called mounting errors, until she was eventually left partially blind in her right eye.
On her website, Griffin states: 'I will not be going to him again.'
Griffin's final procedure lasted 90 minutes and she endured 17 stitches in her eye for three weeks. That's why nowadays she urges anyone considering getting Lasik surgery to look at her experience and think again.
On her website Griffin wrote: 'As of now, I’m not in pain anymore, but my vision in my right eye is extremely blurry. It can’t be improved with glasses or contacts."
Apparently the procedure is not without risks. No one forced Kathy to do it of course, but in the get-it-taken-care-of-quick society we live it its as well to remember there are real risks attached.
I wouldn't do it in a million years. Contacts are too easy, and glasses the same.
I agree today there are so many elective SURGERIES...there are so many good looking frames for the glasses. I tried contacts mega years ago and couldn't work with them so quit that...I take enough eye support supplements that do help me.
I am 41 years of age now, I am extremely near sighted at -7.00.
I am wondering what the purpose of Lasik is though. I sometimes hear about people needing to use reading glasses after the fact. Seems like I'd never get away from glasses and if that is the case I am just wondering what the point is at all.
I believe that you need to go to the doctor for touchup visits every few years and I don't plan in staying in the USA forever.....figure I will eventually move to the UK (Scotland).
I plan to move abroad at some point and assume that I'd have to pay for plane tickets to come back every few years? That seems kind of a pain in the neck to say the least. Alternatively I'd have to pay the doctor out there for touchups instead.
When I was 42 I researched this very thoroughly indeed, with exams by two of the "best" doctors here in greater Seattle. I'm a good candidate, though with slightly thin corneas (a warning sign, for me). One of the surgeons is a Harvard grad and wrote the book on cornea surgery, from what I researched.
End of the day, though, I figured: my vision is better than 20-20 with glasses. I've been wearing glasses my whole life and it isn't that big of a problem, there are few or no situations where they've been a major inconvenience. I have activities glasses made for the military that are sand proof, everything-proof other than small arms fire . My prescription is pretty stable, too. So...why take the risk?
Second, at that age (close to yours) age-related nearsightedness is on the way. With LASIK, I'd be trading one pair glasses for another essentially immediately. Sure enough, six years later, I merely flip up my existing glasses for close-in work, I won't need true reading glasses or bifocals for years yet, but it's surely coming. My near vision has gotten worse in my 40s, true for just about every other person on Earth. You won't be the exception.
I wrote a long essay to myself and others on the above, will reprint if further "commentary" is needed. The risk analysis simply didn't add up, in my case. I canceled the procedure at only T-minus 8 days, I was that close.
Note: of course, I could be wrong. I could be fine, years later. Most people are, btw. It's a tough choice, I must say. My opinion is, if you're feeling what I call 'Spidey Sense' that this is wrong *for you*, it probably is.
If you have to have "touch ups" every few years, that's more and more cornea surgery, more and more LASIK flaps, more and more risk of complications. Not a chance, kiss your cornea nerves goodbye which causes additional complications (dry eyes).
I buy a new pair of glasses every year or two, just for style because men's styles do change. They look great on me, women find me attractive and non-threatening. And, intellectual. They are truly a fashion accessory, in my case, since I've embraced the look.
If you have to have "touch ups" every few years, that's more and more cornea surgery, more and more LASIK flaps, more and more risk of complications. Not a chance, kiss your cornea nerves goodbye which causes additional complications (dry eyes).
I buy a new pair of glasses every year or two, just for style because men's styles do change. They look great on me, women find me attractive and non-threatening. And, intellectual. They are truly a fashion accessory, in my case, since I've embraced the look.
Touchups are not needed by everyone, and certainly not every year or two. Most do not need them at all. Once the cornea is reshaped, the change is permanent.
My younger son had Lasik and is very pleased with it.
His brother has not - because he likes the way he looks in glasses!
I know some people who have had problems after LASIK, and others who think it is the best thing that ever happened to them.
I recommend you go to a well-established opthamologist for evaluation. Ask them how many people they turn away for surgery. If they say 'none' or almost no one' that is a red flag. Many people are not good candidates.
I went to a doctor who did a full evaluation, and then said she did not think it was a good idea for me. She laid out the pros and cons of the procedure. I now refer many people to her.
I am amazed that people go to a 'strip mall' kind of place for this, but I know many do, and some have good results. I just would not risk anything when it comes to my vision.
I have also noticed that many eye doctors wear glasses. It does not necessarily mean much--maybe they like glasses--but for me it reinforces that there are many people who are not good candidates for vision correction surgery.
Good luck.
I did it a few years ago. I have no regrets. I'd been wearing glasses or contacts for more than 20 years.
4 years later and my distance is still great. I need reading glasses but that's normal and something I expected. LASIK can't fix old and I spend all day on a computer. I get terrible headaches without my glasses but I only need them at work.
Expanding on my previous post...I wore glasses for 30 years and was fine with them, but what pushed over the line to get the lasik done was that at 44 I had reached the point of needing either bifocals or two different sets of glasses, and wanted no part of that. Now that I'm 56 I ended up with gradiated lenses and although they work ok, I don't like them at all.
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. My prescription is pretty stable, too. So...why take the risk?
