I'm going under the knife Thursday. [EDIT] Surgury being delayed [EDIT2]MORE INFO ADDED

Baldy18

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2000
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Well actually it is a laser. I'm have LASIK laser eye correction surgury done to correct my near sightedness. Everything should turn out fine but it is my eyes so I'm a little nervous about it. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time (I've worn glasses and contacts for 15 years) so tomorrow I go for an exam to check the health of my eyes and if everything is OK the Thursday at 3pm EDT I will have surgury. Wish me luck.

Almost forgot next Thursday I'm having my wisdom teeth taken out. I'm not excited about that one.:(

[EDIT] Well I went for the preop exam today and got the bad news that my corneas are too thin for the surgury right now. This is caused by my contacts sucking the moisture out of the cornea and more time is needed without contacts for my eyes to readujst again (normal I'm told for this to happen to contact wearers especially when they wear them as much as I do). So I have to go another week without contacts and put moisturising drops in my eyes every two hours. If everything checks out next Wednesday then I'll be having the surgury done on the 14th.:(

[EDIT2] Well went back to the surgeon again today and I got more bad news. My corneas are too thin for LASIK, so I will never be able to have the surgury done.:( However, I am still a candidate for LASEK so I will be having it done next Tuesday and the Tuesday after. It is the same surgury as LASIK except both eyes cannot be done the same day and since they don't cut the protective flap and just shave the front of the eye, healing time is longer (a week or two) and there is increased risk of infection. They say the results are the same so I'm going to go ahead and have it done.

Also I'm still having my wisdom teeth out in about 12 hours.
 

mechBgon

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Oct 31, 1999
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I understand the nervousness about your eyes. Two per lifetime... max. :Q If it's any comfort, my father had eye surgery to correct clouded lenses and it has been a tremendous benefit for him. Just follow the doctor's orders, as I think JHutch advised JW Middleton to do, and you should do great. Good luck, we'll be thinking of you! :)
 

Wellcky

Golden Member
Jun 1, 2000
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Boy I wish I had the bucks for that surgery. :p

Good luck on the LASIC. Hope all goes well!!
 

toft-dk

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 1999
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We will be thinking of you Matt ;):)

Good luck and dont feel too anxious it will be over before you know it and you can reap the benefits :D
 

Confused

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Nov 13, 2000
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<< Boy I wish I had the bucks for that surgery. :p >>



Me too! Good luck with it, and i hope you have a speedy recovery!

Take care Matt

Garry
 

CyGoR

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Jun 23, 2001
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Good luck and hold strong Baldy18!!
I think that everything will work out fine..
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
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Enjoy your new vision and freedom from glasses Baldy. This thread hit home for me. I had saved for the Laser surgery and had just gone for the pre-exam when I was served notice by the State that they were prosecuting me. The $3,000 went to the Lawyer on the day I was supposed to get the surgery :(
 

RaySun2Be

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Oct 10, 1999
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Best wishes on the surgery, may the doctor's hands be steady and sure! And be sure to follow the post-op procedures. :)

Also best wishes for the wisdom teeth removal too! :)

David, that sucks. :(
 

Robor

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Oct 9, 1999
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I had that surgery performed about 3 years ago and I'm very happy with it. My vision wasn't terrible before but it was bad enough that I couldn't read road signs or see anything clearly. My eyes were too dry and produced too much protein for contacts and I hated wearing glasses. I hope you're a good candidate for the surgery - you will not regret it.

Just be sure to follow the post-op procedures as they are important. You need to get rest (sleep) ASAP after the surgery so your eyes can heal properly and so you don't have to feel the pain. Despite what they tell you it is very uncomfortable after the numbing drops wear off. Mine felt like I had sand *and* an eyelash in my eye. You'll want to sleep as soon and as long as possible after the surgery. I don't know about your Dr. but mine gave me 2 Valium to help. I took one on the way home and one right before laying down. I still couldn't sleep so I called the office and they had my (now ex) wife run out and buy Tylenol PM. He had me take one of those with a beer (I'm not kidding). I woke up 13 hours later with only a very slight discomfort and clear vision. Oh, buy some sunglasses if you don't have them. Many people find their eyes are more sensitive to light after the surgery.

I had all 5 wisdom teeth extracted when I was younger and it wasn't that bad. I had a little pain but not extreme. Bite on tea bags to control the bleeding and don't use a straw when drinking liquids. I was eating a sandwich and Dorito's the next day and took out my own stitches before my follow up. :Q

Good luck on both!
 

narzy

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Feb 26, 2000
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He forgot to mention (or he doesn't know yet...)Im the one who gets to point the laser and pull the trigger...MOOOWAHAHAHAHAHAH!










Good luck and best health to you :)
narzy
 

Smoke

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Jan 3, 2001
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I too had Lasik in 1998. You have made a "good" decision. Robor gave some good advice. Try to relax and remember that folks like Robor and me have blazed the trail for you and you will be just fine.

If you have ever visited my website you see I have some pictures of what I did before SETI. I had been a top rated skeet shooter for many years but just couldn't make it into that elite group at the very top. I had been legally blind my entire life ... meaning I couldn't see the "E" at the top of the eye chart! After Lasik I saw a whole new and different world. The following year I entered that "elite" group at the top and made the 1999 All American Sub-Senior 1st Team (ages 50 -59) and became the first native Mississippian to ever shoot a perfect score of 400 X 400.

I was interviewed by the company that made the LASER and was used in their national publicity program. I still remember swelling up with tears when I was asked if I remembered the first thing I saw after the bandages were removed the day following surgery. I had never seen "colors" that way in my entire life. It was wonderful.

About a year later, my doctor (one of the original six who did the FDA research for 10 years in the USA) helped another "athlete" achieve a higher level of performance. You may have heard of him, his name is "Tiger Woods". ;)
 

Baldy18

Diamond Member
Oct 30, 2000
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Thanks for the advise guys. I guess you don't know how popular this surgery is until you start asking people about it.

For those interested I checked out a few places and they all quoted me prices around $2000 and I have really bad eyes. I'm nearsighted to the tune of 6.75 diopters in one eye and 7.25 diopters in the other eye, which basically makes me blind without glasses or contacts. oh and I do have a few good pair of sunglasses because I wear contacts 24/7 right now. They won't let me wear contacts before the surgury though because they distor the shape of your eye. I had almost forgotten how bad glasses were.:|
 

dmcowen674

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Oct 13, 1999
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<< 6.75 diopters in one eye and 7.25 diopters >>

Baldy you can see fine, 8.25 and 8.50 here :(

<< first thing I saw after the bandages were removed the day following surgery. I had never seen "colors" that way in my entire life. It was wonderful.>>

I was so looking forward to that, the only colors I really can see is red, white and black.
They said if I didn't get it done before I turn 40 this year it will probably be too late and beyond what the Laser can fix for me. :(

The State did a lot more damage to things than will ever be realized.

Can't wait to hear how you see Baldy :)

Dave
 

SteelCityFan

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Jun 27, 2001
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I plan on getting this done as well. I don't have the cash now, but I have often considered just getting a fixed rate CC or a loan and just doing it.

I don't know how bad my eyes are. Probably not as bad as some. I have glasses from a few years ago, but I never wear them. I am far sighted (if that is the one that restricts seeing at a distance). I can see fine enough for driving etc... I just can't read signs that others have no problem reading until I get a little closer.

I need to get contacts I suppose until I can get it fixed right.
 

Smoke

Distributed Computing Elite Member
Jan 3, 2001
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SteelCityFan,

When you can see good "far" away but not close ... you are "far-sighted".

When you can see good "near" but not far away ... you are "near-sighted".

Lasik does not help "far-sighted" eyes though I seem to remember that they were working on that. ;)

[edit] They have made progress on the "far-sighted" correction and they do correct that condition.

/copied from Zion Eye Institute/

Technological advances are making these partial solutions to vision impairment obsolete. Newly developed surgical procedures utilize the precision of lasers, and one of the most successful new eye surgeries is Laser-in-situ keratomileusis, or LASIK. Doctors are able to correct the most common vision problems - from far and near-sightedness to astigmatism - with the LASIK procedure. Cumbersome corrective lenses no longer bother patients who have received successful LASIK surgery.



And I also had pretty bad stigmatisms in both eyes. I do have glasses for reading now but that is more a function of age. Lots of normal vision people need reading glasses when they start to get older ... Lasik does not stop the march of time. ;) :)

You might want to consider the option of getting one eye tuned for distance and the other for reading. I was offered this option but my interest at the time was for target shooting so I went for distance vision in both eyes (or as close to normal as possible) and with the smallest perscription you can get I can see 20/10 with my "shooting glasses". Now I wish I would have just had my dominant eye (my right) sculptured for distance and my left eye for reading. I would definitely suggest this as the best option.

What do you think, Robor?
[/i]
 

Robor

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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I dunno about having one eye corrected for distance and the other for reading. I've got good vision for reading (close) so I didn't have the need for getting one eye tuned one way and the other tuned the other. I've heard of people doing this with contacts so I guess it would be the same for a LASIK patient. I wonder what impact this would have on peripheral vision though?

BTW - I paid $3500 for both eyes. I think I had a -2.00 and -2.25 correction with a slight stigmitism. The cost is about 1/2 of that now. :( Still, I don't regret doing it.
 

Robor

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
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One thing I forgot to add... Make sure your vision has stabilized. I've got a friend who had his LASIK performed about a year before mine. He's wearing glasses now. I don't know if his is a common case though. He had *major* correction done. His vision required something like -12.00 correction with contacts. I hope I don't follow the same path. :frown:
 

Eltano1

Golden Member
Aug 6, 2000
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Good luck Baldy, and I didn't know that they do Lasic for nearsight, I do have the problem that I need reading glasses, and for what I knew they only do surgery for farsight problems, so I will follow your thread we great interest.
Again good luck and I'll see you soon ;)

Eltano