LASIK?

[Zorba]

I'm trying to convience my wife to get LASIK. She wears contacts, which are fine most of the time, but they drive her nuts anytime we are in the water. We have a toddler that loves swimming and water parks, so I think LASIK would let my wife enjoy it a lot more.

She is however, very nervous about risking her eye sight for a convenience. I've tried to research the failure rate, but I haven't found a lot of warm and fuzzy from it.

So what do you say ATOT? Have you gotten LASIK? Would you do it again? Any bad side effects?

 

[KillerCharlie]

Had it 5 years ago from the best doctor in Seattle with the best equipment. I'm in that small percentage that has bad side effects.

Life has sucked for 5 years due to bad dry eye. It is very painful and sometimes hard to keep my eyes open. This explains it best: http://digg.com/2015/chronic-eye-pain

Chances are good she'll be fine, but there's a small chance of problems. No one thinks it'll happen to them. I didn't. I wish I could go back in time.

 

[BoomerD]

I considered it...my eye doctor told me it wouldn't help with my problems/vision, so I never got it done...BUT, just consider this...if you pressure your wife to do it and she has problems with it...it will be 100% your fault...not a chance of blaming it on a doctor or nurse's mistake anywhere, no chance of blaming it on (the 5% who have problems, no way to know it would be you," nope...it will be ALL your fault for pressuring her to do it.

Better to let her make that decision...and support her whichever way she decides.

 

[Red Squirrel]

If she can stand putting on contacts (I still can't imagine doing that. I'm just too squeamish when it comes to eyes) then LASIK is going to be a non issue. It's uncomfortable to go through, but it's very fast. The hardest part is having to put eye drop, which is for 2 weeks if I recall.

Got it done several years back, the main side effect I got (which is normal) is halos. It was fairly bad at first, which is normal, but I did it in summer so did not have to be in the dark much. It's mostly in the dark, ex: night driving, where it's an issue. After about 6 months it became bareable, but it never went away completely. It seems to be better every year though. Like this winter I'd say it's the best. I imagine it will continue to improve.

I would do it again in a heart beat, it's a very small inconvenience as it's only an issue at night and not really that bad. Basically, a source of light with a very black background will have a ring around it. A blue LED on a black monitor will do it too. but a source of light in even a dim lit room will just look normal.

I just grew tired of glasses, always getting dirty, getting reflections in them from other light sources, being blind in the mornings until I can find them etc... it just escalated to the point where I said it's time.

Downside is that after 40 you need glasses to see close. But in my case the way I see it is that I bought myself about 10 years of not needing glasses. I was stuck with glasses anyway, and at least I'll only need them to see close and not far too.

 

[MrSquished]

There was a Lasik thread not that long ago with a good amount of responses and had some good info. Find it and check it out.

 

[SearchMaster]

My wife had it done about 10 years ago. Her vision was horrible (like 20/200-ish), and after having it done she was ecstatic. Her vision has gradually gotten worse, and it's not quite as bad as it was originally but it's still very bad. She needs to take advantage of the "lifetime adjustments" but just hasn't had time.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Had it done a year ago. No issues at all. Well worth every penny.

 

[Sheep221]

I think that people who as adults were prescribed glasses or contracts are most keen to undergo lasik. If you get glasses at age 3 or so like me, you don't even notice you have them. In this sense you rather spend a spare $ 4K on something else.

 

[Kaido]

This explains it best: http://digg.com/2015/chronic-eye-pain

Hooooooooooly crap, Lasik is now on my "never ever ever ever" list

Are your eyes better now?

 

[Zorba]

I considered it...my eye doctor told me it wouldn't help with my problems/vision, so I never got it done...BUT, just consider this...if you pressure your wife to do it and she has problems with it...it will be 100% your fault...not a chance of blaming it on a doctor or nurse's mistake anywhere, no chance of blaming it on (the 5% who have problems, no way to know it would be you," nope...it will be ALL your fault for pressuring her to do it.

Better to let her make that decision...and support her whichever way she decides.

Yeah, I am not pressuring hard. She was actually about to do it a couple months ago, then I helped talk her out of it, by bringing up the risk/benefit ratio.

I've only met one person IRL that had serious complications, and that was from when LASIK was brand new, everyone else says they love it. But then reading stats online and seeing things like halos for years, scares us away from it.

 

[rpanic]

Had it done 15+ years ago one eye is 20/20 and other eyes is 20/25 still, my wifes eyes are still 20/20 in both was the best money I ever spent. The guy that did my eyes has been doing it since the late 70s and was about twice as much as all the other places you see advertised.

Edit: before I had it done I couldn't read a license plate from more than 10 feet away I can't remember what my vision was before correction.

 

[Mike64]

First off, that last poll item should really be broken out separately, "not needing" (and/or "not being a good candidate for") and "not wanting" it are entirely different things.

She is however, very nervous about risking her eye sight for a convenience. I've tried to research the failure rate

I've never paid enough attention to even know if it can correct significant astigmatism (which I have as well as being nearsighted) but in any event, as far as I'm personally concerned, the only relevant fact is that the irreversible complications rates is < literal 0. (I'm not suggesting someone would have to be nuts to want it, but I also don't think it's paranoid to not even consider it for ordinary vision correction - everyone has different tolerance levels for different health risks.)

I guess if I'd ever wanted to be a commercial/military pilot and Lasik-corrected vision is acceptable in those fields, I might've considered it, but no other reason would ever get me to take any immediate/acute risk with the eyesight I have (which isn't really functional in the modern world without correction but very far from walking-into-walls-or-stumbling-into-ditches bad.) Except for one very unpleasant day after they fell off (onto the tracks, between stations) while I walked between subway cars when I didn't have a spare pair lying around, I've worn my glasses from the minute my feet hit the floor in the morning until I get into bed at night since I was 8 years old. Apart from the slight annoyance of having to keep track of them when I go swimming at beaches or in lakes, the only time they ever remotely even annoy me is when I caught get in heavy rain without an umbrella or hood and on the rare occasions when that happens, I just take them off and deal with not being able to see people's faces clearly or read street signs for a little while...

I think that people who as adults were prescribed glasses or contracts are most keen to undergo lasik. If you get glasses at age 3 or so like me, you don't even notice you have them.

I can still remember the woman testing my vision at school (45 years ago) asking if the idea of having to wear them "bothered" me, and really pressing the issue (as though I were refusing to acknowledge my "grief") despite my looking at her like she was insane and pointing out - repeatedly - that it wasn't an issue for for anyone else in my family, so I couldn't imagine why would it bother me? No doubt I'd asked them about it casually at one point or another, but my parents never even considered it serious/important enough to "discuss" it with me, but on some level I'd been assuming I'd end up needing them eventually and, as I pointed out (to that rather odd woman's surprise, again), I thought it was bizarre that anyone would intentionally live with with poor vision just to avoid wearing them..

 

[dr150]

I've wanted to do it since I've been wearing glasses for most of my life.

But EVERY TIME I ask an eye doctor who wears glasses (which is basically all of them) why they haven't had LASIK, they all give me the same answer--that the risks aren't worth it...and that you'll still need glasses as you age!

 

[purbeast0]

I've wanted to do it since I've been wearing glasses for most of my life.

But EVERY TIME I ask an eye doctor who wears glasses (which is basically all of them) why they haven't had LASIK, they all give me the same answer--that the risks aren't worth it...and that you'll still need glasses as you age!

And it would put them out of business.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Had lasik about a year and a half ago. Still amazing. Rare dry eyes but I keep drops on hand.

 

[Mike64]

And it would put them out of business.

If it were foolproof and could correct all types of (even ordinary) vision problems, it might put some optometrists and opticians out of business but mostly it would just shift their focus to an older age group, since external correction becomes necessary even among many Lasik patients as they age. But it certainly wouldn't put most ophthalmologists out of business (and obviously I don't mean just the ones performing the procedure), since relatively few people see MDs primarily for vision correction in the first place. (I see one fairly regularly for general eye exams, but get re-examined by an optometrist for VC, since imx the MDs tend to have a much more good-enough-is-sufficient attitude toward it than optometrists, viewing eye disease/disorders as the only things worthy of "serious" consideration...)

 

[gorcorps]

Not me, but I can think of two people who had it personally and they're split. My Aunt had it done and had to go back to glasses pretty quickly. She didn't seem to get much out of it, and her recovery was longer than she expected.

My buddy had it done, and he pretty much couldn't open his eyes for a couple days (again, longer than expected). When he finally could open his eyes he was very sensitive with bad halos, and was cursing the doctor. He healed up within a couple weeks though and he's very happy with the results.

I don't see myself pulling the trigger, even being in an industry where contacts aren't allowed and I have to constantly swap my street glasses with prescription safety glasses whenever I leave the office.

 

[JimKiler]

OP make sure your wife's eye type is recommended for Lasik.

Most people with side effects have them go away by a year if not sooner. My eyes had no issue but my sister had extreme dry eyes for a year and she had to skip camping with us since the smoke would have been too much. But it is surgery so she has every right to take it seriously.

 

[Zorba]

OP make sure your wife's eye type is recommended for Lasik.

Most people with side effects have them go away by a year if not sooner. My eyes had no issue but my sister had extreme dry eyes for a year and she had to skip camping with us since the smoke would have been too much. But it is surgery so she has every right to take it seriously.

Years ago she had a consultantion, and they said she was a perfect candidate. She didn't do it then because it was summer and she didn't want to stay put of the water for 2 months like they said she'd have to. Then there was always something, a vacation, moving, etc.

 

[Imported]

I sometimes experience the odd halo at night (usually only Infiniti tail lights if it happens) but otherwise side effect free.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

With the OP posting a single picture of said significant other how can we not sway him/her to offer the prescription eyewear that might look good.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Years ago she had a consultantion, and they said she was a perfect candidate. She didn't do it then because it was summer and she didn't want to stay put of the water for 2 months like they said she'd have to. Then there was always something, a vacation, moving, etc.

My recovery time was very quick. I was pretty much back to normal within a week or two with dry eyes. I think it was by the 3rd month or so when they told me I was pretty much good to go. I think I'm due back for a check up soon but I haven't received a call yet.

 

[MrSquished]

I saw a news special that said that 2 week contacts were the exact same construction as one a days. The contact manufacturer, Baush & Lomb with Accuvue lenses. This was over 20 years ago. I then proceeded to wear my one a days like 2-3 week sleep in contacts. After going to various checkups through those years, I was told my eyes were fine. Until the last exam, where I was advised to change to BioTrue lenses. And they were so much better feeling.

My prescription actually went down that exam. From 3.5 in the left eye to 3.25 in the left eye and from 3.25 in the right eye to 3.00 in the right eye.

Within a year I had massive pain in my left eye that was attributed to sleeping with contacts on. Solution was some medicated drops for a week. I didn't wear contacts for a month after that but have since gone back to the same ways. No problems.

TLDR
: Moral of the story is you can wear contacts for way longer than prescribed, at least in my experiences. And unless it gets bad you can continue to do so.

 

[RLGL]

Had it done, results not as promised.Back to 3 window panes to look through.
Close up is terrible, mid range so so , did not fix astigmatism

 

[John Connor]

You know, there was a great laisk eye surgery parody commecrail on the tube, but I can't find it. Point I'm making is don't be a sucka.