Had LASIK with IntraLase and VISX CustomVue hours ago

[AUMM]

Originally posted by: Koing

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
You realize you will still need reading glasses eventually right?

The degeneration of the lens in the eye is inevitable for everyone, but it can be fixed with an implant. However, I'm not sure how this is relevant to the intervening years when someone can be without prescription eyewear.

What happens if you look elsewhere when the laser is pulsing to do whatever it is doing?

I believe the laser stops firing if your eye stops looking straight up. I'm not sure why you WOULD look away, since it's the health of your eye at stake (it's only for 20-30 seconds for each eye, hardly difficult).

I keep reading how if you're nearsighted, you may need reading glasses/etc for reading, computer work/etc...

My ability to focus VERY closely is gone -- from about 5 inches inward. Otherwise, I don't have any problems except dryness in the morning and very late evening (when I should be in bed anyway!), and my eyes are both 20/15. The left side is borderline 20/10.

I was just wondering in case you moved your eye for whatever reason.

So what do you do when you kiss a girl? You lose focus of her when your 5inches close? Strange...

I'll probably get it done later but I'll swap my glasses out to have plastic lenses in them. I look weird without glasses on...gotten so use to them. And they look good!

Koing

lol so are you the creepy dude that will stare at the chick when you're making out with her?

 

[TheSlamma]

Originally posted by: dquan97

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Chicken -- real men get PRK.

Congrats on your new eyes!

Had PRK done a month ago...definitely the manly way to get your eyes done. Instead of feeling ready to go back to work in 24hrs with Lasik, it takes a week. Plus, you really suck it up the first few days.

Before: 20/400
Now: R 20/30 L 20/50

Full potential should be reached within 6mos.

Why is PRK the "real man" choice?

I thought it was just for people where Lasik will not have good results?

 

[Mellman]

you'll have to let us know how your nightvision is... my dad got this done, and said his night vision is gone, an he still can't see clear. granted he's older so its possible he just wasn't a good candidate...but yeah he has no night vision anymore.

And eyedrops? big deal I already have to use them with contacts

 

[BLHealthy4life]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Originally posted by: archiloco
round here you can walk across the border (Mexico) and get it for 400 bucks an eye 800 total (if you haggle them down) it's usually 500 an eye........the doctor is American trained (and has been doing it for 5 years)...still would not do it with that price it just feels like you are cheeping out on the most important sense in your body...and even the doctors in the US side have been coming down in price to the 999 for both eyes, too much competition from people going across.

I never got it down but from what I understand it's just a machine right???? I mean what is the doctor doing. There is a computer doing most of the mapping controlling the laser and everything. I imagine if you had the machine at home and all related training manuals you could do it yourself?

Do not be ridiculous....

It takes a doctor and a team of assistants to get the procedure done....

The doctor has to prep your eyes with numbing drops, align the patient in the chair, puts tape around the eyes to keep eye lashes from getting in the way, places a contraption over the eye to force it open and creates a vaccuum of some sort to cut the flap (completely painless), supervises the laser that is creating the flap, he has to fold the flap out of the way once it is cut (uses eye drops to "raise" the flap from the cornea and then folds it out of the way), then he has to supervise the LASIK machine (he has a pedal that he presses to operate it), then he has to return the flap to its position after the LASIK, smooth the flap to get rid of any wrinkles, etc...then he checks to make sure that your eyes are fine after the LASIK.

also, when the flap is moved out of the way as well as put back into place - you can see all of this happeneing - it's very weird.

 

[StrangeRanger]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer
I'd like to have it done, but the flap thing scares me to death

That's what valium (sp?) is for
j

 

[Firebot]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
I know a lot of people go to Canada to get it done. Anyone know how much lower the cost is there?

Had mine done for 1800$ CAN for both eyes 2 years ago.

 

[TXHokie]

Originally posted by: KK
the 500 an eye is for hardly any correction at all. mine was around 1200 an eye. If you qualify to get the 500 an eye price, it's not like they are going to fvck up anymore likely than someone else getting it done in the same office for over 1000 an eye using the same technology.

Had mine done back in 2001 when it was advertised for $999 both eyes. Only had it done after talking with several "guinea pigs" that had the same thing done earlier without issues. I was pretty much blind without glasses with -6.25/-6.75 and got it corrected to 20/15 and 20/20 with no after effect such as nighttime starbust or eye dryness I read about. I know others that paid 5 times that and had problems. I considered myself lucky. Sight still as good as any and definitely the best $$$ ever spent. I wouldn't recommend going cheap but wouldn't discount it either.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Originally posted by: archiloco
round here you can walk across the border (Mexico) and get it for 400 bucks an eye 800 total (if you haggle them down) it's usually 500 an eye........the doctor is American trained (and has been doing it for 5 years)...still would not do it with that price it just feels like you are cheeping out on the most important sense in your body...and even the doctors in the US side have been coming down in price to the 999 for both eyes, too much competition from people going across.

I never got it down but from what I understand it's just a machine right???? I mean what is the doctor doing. There is a computer doing most of the mapping controlling the laser and everything. I imagine if you had the machine at home and all related training manuals you could do it yourself?

yeah, you could probably do the procedure. But it's the "what-ifs" that the doctor is prepared for. Of course after doing the procedure for thousands of times a year, you'd probably get the training on the "what ifs" too. Also there's the issue of getting one of these machines, I don't think the average joe could, I know that the doctors have to pay a royalty fee for every procedure done, plus I'm sure that there is an upfront cost.

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: TXHokie

Originally posted by: KK
the 500 an eye is for hardly any correction at all. mine was around 1200 an eye. If you qualify to get the 500 an eye price, it's not like they are going to fvck up anymore likely than someone else getting it done in the same office for over 1000 an eye using the same technology.

Had mine done back in 2001 when it was advertised for $999 both eyes. Only had it done after talking with several "guinea pigs" that had the same thing done earlier without issues. I was pretty much blind without glasses with -6.25/-6.75 and got it corrected to 20/15 and 20/20 with no after effect such as nighttime starbust or eye dryness I read about. I know others that paid 5 times that and had problems. I considered myself lucky. Sight still as good as any and definitely the best $$$ ever spent. I wouldn't recommend going cheap but wouldn't discount it either.

so you had both your eyes done for $999 with >-6. That's a great price. Most ads I seen for the 500 an eye were for correction on less than a -2 or something like that. My wife had hers done a few monthes after I did. Her sight was in the 6's like yours, she paid about 3300 for both hers, but she had used another type laser and got more of a warranty than what i did.

 

[Cogman]

So what keeps your eye from moving while the procedure is being done? I have always wondered this (+5.0 Heavy astigmatism both eyes). I want to do it so badly, but I don't believe im a candidate just yet. (and the thought of looking away for just a second kindof scares me.)

 

[Reckoner]

Originally posted by: Cogman
So what keeps your eye from moving while the procedure is being done? I have always wondered this (+5.0 Heavy astigmatism both eyes). I want to do it so badly, but I don't believe im a candidate just yet. (and the thought of looking away for just a second kindof scares me.)

Most places offer a free consultation. Why not go in and get some information pertaining to your individual case?

 

[AmigaMan]

fellow Seahawk? Congrats on the lasik...been thinking about it too. $5000 is a bit much for me right now since the wife and I just had our first kids.

 

[ponyo]

Originally posted by: BLHealthy4life

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
I imagine how much it would be if it was done in China????

I heard the procedure itself can cost anywhere from 1K to 2K per eye. But some of it are extra charges that the doctor tries to charge you. Like "wavefront" which is supposed to get a much better picture of the eye to make corrections. What is the deal with $500 per eye that I keep hearing.

Wavefront is the technology used in my procedure. It gets the best mapping of the human eye possible detecting both lower and higher order abberations to correct during LASIK.

I dare anyone to go get LASIK for $500 an eye and see what happens....

My friend did the $500 an eye thing years back and he's perfectly fine. They tried to up sell him the more expensive procedure but he kept firm. It's not like he didn't have the money. I asked him how can he gamble on his eyes like that. He replied they weren't going to intentionally do a poor job just because he opted for the cheapest procedure. He's a gambler by nature.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma

Originally posted by: dquan97

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Chicken -- real men get PRK.

Congrats on your new eyes!

Had PRK done a month ago...definitely the manly way to get your eyes done. Instead of feeling ready to go back to work in 24hrs with Lasik, it takes a week. Plus, you really suck it up the first few days.

Before: 20/400
Now: R 20/30 L 20/50

Full potential should be reached within 6mos.

Why is PRK the "real man" choice?

I thought it was just for people where Lasik will not have good results?

I was kidding, but the reason I said that is because PRK has a much more painful recovery time. The advantage is that there is no "flap" that never reheals. In PRK, the "flap" is completely removed (VERY weird when the doc scrapes it off) and then grows back completely.

Actually, LASIK can fix greater diopters than PRK, from what I understand. The real advantage to PRK is what I mentioned above. The Air Force paid for mine, and they favor PRK because of potential (but unproven?) problems with the "flap" at high altitude and under higher G forces. I was concerned about the "flap" with scuba diving and water pressure at depth (again, theoretical, but I don't want to be the first!).

LASIK has the marketing advantage because the recovery is easy. Very few civilian doctors ever do PRK for that reason.

 

[AndrewR]

Oh, I forgot an illustration of the advantage of PRK over LASIK:

The week after my surgery, I had the protective contact lens removed from my eye. That very same day, my three year old daughter accidentally elbowed me RIGHT in the eyeball and caused some corneal abrasions (which actually heal VERY quickly).

Anyway, had I been a LASIK patient, that elbow would have most likely dislodged the flap, and I would have been in a very bad situation. All three doctors who had a comment (ER doc, eye surgeon over phone, and optometrist the next day) said, "That's why we do PRK."

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: BLHealthy4life

Originally posted by: Koing
What happens if you look elsewhere when the laser is pulsing to do whatever it is doing?

Cheers for the info.

Koing

The laser has a tracking system. It tracks the most minute movement that your eye(s)makes while the laser is pulsing.

If the movement is too great, the laser will stop pulsing for your eye to realign.

Pretty fascinating.

Thank you for answering that. It was one of the questions that had been on my mind.

 

[BLHealthy4life]

Originally posted by: Cogman
So what keeps your eye from moving while the procedure is being done? I have always wondered this (+5.0 Heavy astigmatism both eyes). I want to do it so badly, but I don't believe im a candidate just yet. (and the thought of looking away for just a second kindof scares me.)

YOU keep your eye from moving during the procedure. You are told to look at a illuminated dot and if you look at this dot, you will not move your eyes. Plus, you are thinking to yourself about not moving your eye...it's only for 20-30 seconds.

If you move your eye a little, the laser system is able to track your movement.

It's a very weird experience looking at the dot and seeing hundreds of flashes of light going into your eye and hearing the "POP-POP-POP-POP" of the laser pulsing....

 

[KK]

Originally posted by: BLHealthy4life

Originally posted by: Cogman
So what keeps your eye from moving while the procedure is being done? I have always wondered this (+5.0 Heavy astigmatism both eyes). I want to do it so badly, but I don't believe im a candidate just yet. (and the thought of looking away for just a second kindof scares me.)

YOU keep your eye from moving during the procedure. You are told to look at a illuminated dot and if you look at this dot, you will not move your eyes. Plus, you are thinking to yourself about not moving your eye...it's only for 20-30 seconds.

If you move your eye a little, the laser system is able to track your movement.

It's a very weird experience looking at the dot and seeing hundreds of flashes of light going into your eye and hearing the "POP-POP-POP-POP" of the laser pulsing....

Did you smell it too? Mine smelled like burning hair.

 

[BLHealthy4life]

Originally posted by: KK

Originally posted by: BLHealthy4life

Originally posted by: Cogman
So what keeps your eye from moving while the procedure is being done? I have always wondered this (+5.0 Heavy astigmatism both eyes). I want to do it so badly, but I don't believe im a candidate just yet. (and the thought of looking away for just a second kindof scares me.)

YOU keep your eye from moving during the procedure. You are told to look at a illuminated dot and if you look at this dot, you will not move your eyes. Plus, you are thinking to yourself about not moving your eye...it's only for 20-30 seconds.

If you move your eye a little, the laser system is able to track your movement.

It's a very weird experience looking at the dot and seeing hundreds of flashes of light going into your eye and hearing the "POP-POP-POP-POP" of the laser pulsing....

Did you smell it too? Mine smelled like burning hair.

No, no smells whatsoever.

Burning hair? U sure you didn't get a few eyelashes lasered off? lol

 

[Gillbot]

I may have to grow a pair and go back in for another consult.

My first one didn't go so well. The Doctor walked in and started shuffling through folders and said, "you're not sue, Dave? no, then tom? no, then sam?" I just said if you have no idea who I am, you are not gonna burn up my eyes and I promptly left. That was about 7 years ago. Hopefully they've gotten better since then.

 

[AmphibSailor]

I had LASEK. which is a variation of LASIK sort of like PRK. I was pretty worried also, but about 5 visits to the eye doctor before surgery calmed me down. My total cost with followups was about $1500 dollars. I had the surgery in Seoul Korea by an American trained doctor. My vision has settled out to 20/20. I still have dry eyes but that's because I am prone to sleeping with my eyes open. It's been over a year since my surgery.

It was the best $1500 I've spent.

 

[BLHealthy4life]

Originally posted by: AmphibSailor
I had LASEK. which is a variation of LASIK sort of like PRK. I was pretty worried also, but about 5 visits to the eye doctor before surgery calmed me down. My total cost with followups was about $1500 dollars. I had the surgery in Seoul Korea by an American trained doctor. My vision has settled out to 20/20. I still have dry eyes but that's because I am prone to sleeping with my eyes open. It's been over a year since my surgery.

It was the best $1500 I've spent.

 

[DukeAbercrombie]

had that done too, the pred forte drops are disgusting tasting once they drain

 

[FearoftheNight]

someone told me not to pursue lasik due to the fact that it accelerates or causes severe vision deterioration 10-20 years down the line. is that true? i was seriously considering this procedure until i heard that

 

[Ackmed]

Had mine done about a year ago. Was pretty bad off, -7.5 on my contacts. Would do it again 100x.

My insurance paid for half of it, which is why I jumped on it.