Yet Another LASIK Thread - Post surgery question

[PKPunk]

I just had Wavefront Lasik done on both my eyes last Monday and I went from a combined vision of 20/400 to 20/20 in my left eye and 20/30 in my right eye. I'm a little disappointed that my right eye didn't correct up to 20/20 but my doctor told me that there is a chance that my eye will improve after a few weeks and the eye has had time to heal. So what I'm wondering is if anyone on anandtech has had lasik done and if your vision had changed for better or worse after your eyes had time to heal?



And if anyone is wondering, after the surgery I haven't had many complications. My eyes aren't dry or scratchy but they are slightly sore and I'm seeing Halos around light sources. It's only been three days but I think the halos are getting better but I don't think my vision is improving past the initial surgery.

 

[drewdogg808]

mine took several days to clear up and several months before dryness went away. vision can still fluctuate and change up to a few months post-op depending on swelling, dryness, etc...

just take it easy on your eyes, use all drops as recommended/prescribed, give it some time. things can still improve.

 

[KnickNut3]

Has anyone gotten the new inner-ocular implants done yet? Apparently they're suppossed to pwn lasik. Not sure if they've been cleared for mainstream patients yet, or if they're still for cataract patients.

My (very good) optiometrist has always been somewhat apprehensive about lasik, but he's raving about the potential of these implants.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

My opto is really gunning for these hard-contacts that reshape your eye gradually overnight. You wear them while you sleep, and then take them out during the day. Apparently after a 3-week adjustment period (depending on degree of vision) you have perfect vision during the day with nothing at all in your eyes, and then just wear the "retainers" when you sleep. Sounds like a good nonpermanent solution to me until LASIK/PRK/implants gets sorted out.

Oh, and if we're doing ocular implants, I want IR and xray.

- M4H

 

[Babbles]

I think those things are still in FDA trials.

 

[Ameesh]

my wavefront and intralase procedure worked fine after a few weeks, my vision flucated quite a bit for the first 1-2 weeks but then stabalized quickly, just give it some time

 

[drewdogg808]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
My opto is really gunning for these hard-contacts that reshape your eye gradually overnight. You wear them while you sleep, and then take them out during the day. Apparently after a 3-week adjustment period (depending on degree of vision) you have perfect vision during the day with nothing at all in your eyes, and then just wear the "retainers" when you sleep. Sounds like a good nonpermanent solution to me until LASIK/PRK/implants gets sorted out.

Oh, and if we're doing ocular implants, I want IR and xray.

- M4H

orthokeratology has been out for awhile, paragon crt is a newer lens company out in the market. worked well for a few people i know...didn't work too well for me though. i'm pretty picky.

plus they cost quite a bit, but its good for people who don't want a permanent solution since your vision will go back to where it was prior if you don't wear the retainer lens for several days.

 

[EvilYoda]

Why doesn't that sound safe to me? If your eyes would lose that new vision after a few days of not wearing the "retainers", how much work are eyes doing at night? Wouldn't they feel tired or sore all day?

 

[DaviDaVinci]

20/15 in both eyes since the day of the surgery, that was more then a year ago. I was -3.75 in one eye and -4.50 in another. It all depends on the patient. Try to take care of them as much as possible. I kept mine as wet as possible with those drops. The slower they heal, the less chance of halos at night etc.....

The whole point of getting LASIK was so I don't have to fiddle with things at night and have to worry about my hands being clean. With those retainers, it's no different then wearing contacts. You STILL have to make a trip to the bathroom to put them in and take them out in the morning. They can STILL be lost, and they STILL aren't permanent. Imagine going camping? They do have an advantage in that you don't ahve anything in your eyes when you go swimming or work in a lab environment where contacts can be dangerous. With LASIK, I goto bed, wakeup, come home, and not have to fiddle with anything.

I don't even remember that I had LASIK till someone brings it up. I take my perfect vision for granted nowadays. Hope it lasts a while.
Cheers

 

[PKPunk]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
My opto is really gunning for these hard-contacts that reshape your eye gradually overnight. You wear them while you sleep, and then take them out during the day. Apparently after a 3-week adjustment period (depending on degree of vision) you have perfect vision during the day with nothing at all in your eyes, and then just wear the "retainers" when you sleep. Sounds like a good nonpermanent solution to me until LASIK/PRK/implants gets sorted out.

Oh, and if we're doing ocular implants, I want IR and xray.

- M4H

I was thinking about getting those to avoid surgery but I read the correction may not last for the whole day even after the 3-4 week adjustment period. I read that after 8-10 hours your vision begins to blur slightly.

 

[PKPunk]

Originally posted by: DaviDaVinci
20/15 in both eyes since the day of the surgery, that was more then a year ago. I was -3.75 in one eye and -4.50 in another. It all depends on the patient. Try to take care of them as much as possible. I kept mine as wet as possible with those drops. The slower they heal, the less chance of halos at night etc.....

The whole point of getting LASIK was so I don't have to fiddle with things at night and have to worry about my hands being clean. With those retainers, it's no different then wearing contacts. You STILL have to make a trip to the bathroom to put them in and take them out in the morning. They can STILL be lost, and they STILL aren't permanent. Imagine going camping? They do have an advantage in that you don't ahve anything in your eyes when you go swimming or work in a lab environment where contacts can be dangerous. With LASIK, I goto bed, wakeup, come home, and not have to fiddle with anything.

I don't even remember that I had LASIK till someone brings it up. I take my perfect vision for granted nowadays. Hope it lasts a while.
Cheers

Weird, I had the same vision pre surgery as you. I sort of get the feeling that my vision won't be getting any better than 20/20 left, and 20/30 right. I'm taking all of my eye drops on time and carefully. But so far I'm not experiencing dry or scratchy eyes so that's cool. Because I do't have dry or scratchy eyes I'm using the artifical tears.

 

[Cat]

What's the worst ( max diopter? ) myopia this is appropriate for, discounting individually varying things, like thickness of the cornea? I have absolutely horrible vision in both eyes, probably -9.5 or -10 in both.

 

[Layzee]

Can you guys post how much the Lasik procedure cost you? I'm considering having it done, and was wondering what a fair price would be. Of course I will not be looking into those low cost deals they advertise in papers and stuff.

Also, does that price include post op. exams? Sorry if I'm jacking your thread. Just another geek with glasses that wants his eyes fixed.

 

[PKPunk]

Originally posted by: Cat
What's the worst ( max diopter? ) myopia this is appropriate for, discounting individually varying things, like thickness of the cornea? I have absolutely horrible vision in both eyes, probably -9.5 or -10 in both.

I'm not sure what the max is but when my doc was trying to sell on the procedure he was bragging about correcting people with vision in your range. He was saying the main factor that disqualifies people form the lasik is sever astigmatism

 

[PKPunk]

Originally posted by: Layzee
Can you guys post how much the Lasik procedure cost you? I'm considering having it done, and was wondering what a fair price would be. Of course I will not be looking into those low cost deals they advertise in papers and stuff.

Also, does that price include post op. exams? Sorry if I'm jacking your thread. Just another geek with glasses that wants his eyes fixed.

no worries about thread jacking. I think really depends where you live. I'm in the San francisco bay area and I saw 4 different doctors before having it done and the prices were pretty simmilar between them. Regular Lasiks was about 2700-2900, and Custom Wavefront Lasik was 4000-4200. I have a friend who's pricing it out in Texas and he's getting getting quotes of about 1500 less than what I posted above.

If you can I'd say you should get it done in Canada. I don't know why but it's Dirt cheap out there. My cousin who lives out there got regular lasik for 800 US (400/eye).

Also with all the doctors I've seen all the post op visits are included for like a year. My doc is giving me a next day , then a next week, 2 week, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month and 1 year check up visit.

 

[m2kewl]

i'm on my 3rd week since having wavefront and lasik. 20/15 left, 20/15 right, man it kicks arse! i see some halos but they will eventually go away, i just got back from my follow up.

cost - $5k with three year follow ups and free corrections during that time. :thumbsup:

 

[PKPunk]

Originally posted by: m2kewl
i'm on my 3rd week since having wavefront and lasik. 20/15 left, 20/15 right, man it kicks arse! i see some halos but they will eventually go away, i just got back from my follow up.

cost - $5k with three year follow ups and free corrections during that time. :thumbsup:

I've got night halos too, but what what I'm trying to find out is if your eyes were 20/15 right after the procedure or if they healed to 20/15 after a few weeks.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: Cat
What's the worst ( max diopter? ) myopia this is appropriate for, discounting individually varying things, like thickness of the cornea? I have absolutely horrible vision in both eyes, probably -9.5 or -10 in both.

I was ~-8/8.5 & had a really horrible experience, blinded X1 week each time & had the procedure done X2 on each eye. It's pretty humbling to not be able to drive anywhere by yourself...

prob 20/25 & 2/30 now, but I love not wearing glasses.

The technology keeps improving, I'd hold out for the corneal implants & shoot for a corrected 20/15 in a few years.

My out of pocket for my procedures was $800

 

[drewdogg808]

Originally posted by: Cat
What's the worst ( max diopter? ) myopia this is appropriate for, discounting individually varying things, like thickness of the cornea? I have absolutely horrible vision in both eyes, probably -9.5 or -10 in both.

i'd say about 12 diopters of myopia would be the upper end and if there wasn't significant astigmatism with it.

being at the higher end of myopia, there are slightly higher risks with lasik.


edit:

price range for a decent place with newer lasers and prices include pre/post-op visits, etc... should be around 1200-1800 per eye for traditional and 2000-2200 per eye for wavefront.
even the ones advertised for cheap end up being closer to 1000 per eye after they nickel and dime you for every little thing.

 

[Layzee]

Thanks for the info guys. ~$4000 isn't bad if you're getting quality care for your eyes. I'd definitely opt for wavefront and whatever else would produce better results. I mean, a lot of us drop a couple hundred bucks every couple of months on computer doodads and electronic gear, so I'd drop the cash to upgrade my eyes.

 

[TechBoyJK]

I went to Lasik Vision Institute and I ended up with about 20/20 in my left and about 20/30 in my right. Considering that, prior to the surgery, I wouldnt dare drive my car without my glasses, I am still pretty frickin pleased with my current vision. I paid $1900. I have a habit of squinting that I formed from wearing glasses, and I am still breaking through that. Its like I try to hard to focus because my entire life I had to, now I over focus and then have to relax my eyes....... only when I relax them do I see the best. Thats how it should be i think. I do have night halos. no big deal, kinda cool if you ask me. All i know is that if I had the money I would have paid $50,000 or more to get what I got. Its a miracle no questions asked. Forget implants or anything else, Lasik actually fixed the problem, and it only took 10 minutes.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Originally posted by: TechBoyJK
I do have night halos. no big deal, kinda cool if you ask me.

Yep, I heard they were so terrible & all, when I had them, they made no difference & went away in a couple of months.

 

[desy]

Halos lasted bout 4months fracturing about a year.
that was 4yrs ago. 20/15 in boths eyes solid

 

[ShowdOWN]

my eyes were 20/15 right and 20/20 left the following day after the surgery. no halos, just dry eyes that developed 2 weeks after the surgery. I had to get punctual plugs so that my eyes can retain more tears. it was $600 but my health insurance covered it, so I ended up paying only $40.

 

[Ninjja]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
My opto is really gunning for these hard-contacts that reshape your eye gradually overnight. You wear them while you sleep, and then take them out during the day. Apparently after a 3-week adjustment period (depending on degree of vision) you have perfect vision during the day with nothing at all in your eyes, and then just wear the "retainers" when you sleep. Sounds like a good nonpermanent solution to me until LASIK/PRK/implants gets sorted out.

Oh, and if we're doing ocular implants, I want IR and xray.

- M4H

my roommate wear these and loves them. They are not for everyone she says, but they work perfectly for her. It's GVSS (Gentle Vision Shaping System) and she had 20/20 vision during the day.