Has anyone had Lasik done?

Question

I'm considering having it but I'm a wuss..

I hate doctors and surgeries.. I'm sick and tired of my contacts though.. and I cannot stand the way I look with glasses..

What are somethings I should take care of before having it done?

If you've had it done.. Did it hurt? Were there any complications?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

I know friends did it and it works but after long time they said that ur eyes sight will get low again,My opinion if u REALLY suffer from ur eyes sight,You can't really see good and u dont like to wear optical glasses so GO FOR IT and dont worry u will not get hurt:):) GOOD LUCK :):)

Answer 2

Please please don't get lasik. It is so, so not worth it. So many patients who have lasik and achieve 20/20 vision are called 'success stories'- and yet what people don't talk about is the risk of chronic and life-shattering dry eye. People don't talk about the fact that you can be one of the patients that DOESN'T have the dry eye go away, and you could live in pain for the rest of your life.

Want a 'worst case scenario' victim?

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showthrea...

Read this, and other stories in that forum. I will quote some of her story, and others.

"I have extreme LASIK-induced dry eyes. I wear air-tight goggles in my house, in my car and outside. I avoid public places, and shy away from social gatherings. The moving air of shopping malls and grocery stores intensifies my constantly burning eyes. I am terribly sensitive to sunlight, even with tinted goggles. Dry eye pain and burning wake me in the middle of every single night. I can no longer read or watch TV for pleasure.

It is impossible to put into words the sadness LASIK has brought to me and my family. I implore anyone who might be considering LASIK or any elective surgery to research it carefully. A twenty-minute LASIK procedure, intended to improve my vision, completely altered the direction of my life. It has blinded some, ruined careers, is to blame for suicidal thoughts and actual cases of suicide.

My future is uncertain. I am terrified of the systemic and hormonal changes aging will bring. A severely dry cornea is in danger of corneal erosions, conjunctival thinning, and could eventually reduce my vision. I can only pray for a solution to this maddening condition. In the meantime, I will work to challenge the “LASIK” community who continues to downplay the risks of this surgery. I see the need to be progressive in vision correction, but LASIK is definitely not the answer."

another poster:

"I am depressed every waking minute, and look forward to going to bed. My precious husband and young children are paying the price, because I am no longer myself. I started an antidepressant today, but am scared the side effects will make me worse. I truely feel like I ruined my life. I knew there were risks - why did I take them??? How will I ever get over the feeling of guilt and and how can you ever be happy again when you're always in pain? We went to Disneyland last week - the "happiest place on earth", and I felt like I was the saddest person there. I could barely make it through the day with my dry eye pain."

And another

"I just hope if anyone reading this post is considering laser surgery that you consider all the options and ask your surgeon about the possible complications. Like you, I thought “These things don’t happen to me”. Well they can happen to anyone and chronic dry eyes can be debilitating and life changing condition."

Don't become a statistic. Don't risk spending the rest of your life with impaired vision, impaired night vision, or the worst possible- constant 24/7 no matter what you try and do to stop it PAIN.

Answer 3

nop

Answer 4

I was about 20/250 before Lasik surgery a couple of years ago. The procedure was painless, probably due to the eye numbing drops and Valium they gave me. The ride home (as a passenger, of course) was fairly uncomfortable, mainly due to light sensitivity. The doctor gave me dark goggles, but the light was still too bright. I was in some pain once I got home (maybe 3 hours post procedure), but I had some left over Vicodin, and took two doses of that. The Vicodin took the edge off. Slept fine that night. Woke up the next morning, and I COULD SEE FINE! Hallelujah! I was jazzed up about that. I drove myself to my one day check up (an 2 hour round trip) with no problems, although I did bring someone with me, as a backup driver, should it have been necessary. For that check up, I was seeing at 20/25, less than 24 hours after the surgery. I went to work that afternoon (doing ultrasound which really requires you to use your eyes). For my one week check up, I was seeing between 20/20 and 20/15. Other than the touch of pain I had post procedure, before I went to bed for the night, I had no other problems. I would do it again in a heartbeat!  No more glasses, no more contacts, no more cleaning solutions and saline!

My advice would be to talk to everyone....talk to your family, friends and co-workers. Then ask your family, friends and co-workers to talk to their family, friends and co-workers....you get the idea. I found my surgeon by word of mouth. I asked everyone I know if they had Lasiks (or knew anyone who had Lasiks), and what doctor they went to. Almost everyone I talked to in my area went to the surgeon I ended up going to, and everyone was perfectly satisfied. I went into the procedure very confident!

Just one other thing....I went to a doctor who used computerized, laser equipment. No knives were involved. But, it cost me a pretty penny. I paid $5500 for both eyes, but I was not comfortable going to a doctor that advertised in the newspaper for $500 per eye. Sometimes you get what you pay for! Good luck to you!

Answer 5

I Tell You This Both My Sister And Brother Had It And Their Eyes Are As Good As New

My Sister Is A Pharmaceutical Graduate  And Works For A Company Called Orchidia That Makes Medicines For The Eye

So She Knows What She Has Did!

She Told Me That It Didn't Hurt Her But The Laser Smells Bad I Can't Imagine That! Lol!

All The Things You Need To Do Before Surgery Are Told To You By The Doctor Before The Operation

And Don't Worry Doctors Do These Surgeries  A Lot Daily And i Mean A Lot!! Here In Egypt

Good Luck Hope I HElped

Answer 6

I had CustomVue lasik about 2 weeks ago.  I didn't have any complications such as halos, glare, or dry eye.  Only thing I had was a popped blood vessel which just looks pretty icky, but doesn't harm the eye or vision at all and went away after a week.    Conventional Lasik has a higher rate of complications of glare and permanent halos.  Customvue is twice as much and a lot more accurate, but it's your eyes and you will have to live with the results.  You have to have a stable prescription for at least a year with any type of lasik.  For CustomVue you need to be at least 21 and for conventional lasik its 18.  It didn't hurt, it was just kinda of uncomfortable for about a minute because they have to put a metal eye propper opener on your eyes and then you feel a suction.  Each eye only takes like 30 secs.  It was well worth the money.

Answer 7

I'll tell you what my opthalmology professor taught me. It doesn't matter if a surgery has a complication rate of 1 in 1,000,000, if you are that one guy it is 100% for you.

A recent FDA survey said that 95% of patients were completely satisfied, 1% had serious complications like were posted on that sight above, while the remaining 4% had problems like glare, halos around bright lights, dry eye, and floaters.

I had the surgery because my eyes wouldn't tolerate my contacts anymore. I made sure to research it thoroughly, and being in med school, I had tons of resources. The biggest thing is to make sure you have a skilled, experienced surgeon. I would probably get evaluated by a couple surgeons to make sure you are a good candidate.

Now, my recommendation, both as a med student and a lasik patient, is not to unless:

1. you don't tolerate contacts or glasses (and not just for cosmetic reasons)

2. you are willing to accept the risk of the surgery. It is a surgery, and like I said, it doesn' t matter how small the complication rates are if you are that .1%.

3. you get all the information. speak to your doctor, ask tons of questions, and make sure you have a good surgeon.