Lasik Surgery

[Dr Steve Brule]

I'm finally contemplating biting the bullet and trying Lasik surgery. I'm sick of wearing glasses and the hassle that comes with them. And contacts are too expensive. 0% interest checks out to about $125 a month or so for the surgery. I have a pretty moderate prescription (-3.25 & -3.00), so it sounds like I'm an ideal candidate for Lasik.


Just wondering what your guys' experiences are with Lasik, and if you'd recommend it.

[Elderly Gentleman]

I had Lasik done several years ago (around 03 I think) way before it was as common or as affordable as it is today.  I can honestly say it was worth every penny!  There will be an adjustment period afterward but it's not that bad at all.  I was legally blind without glasses or contacts prior to mine (and astigmatism).  I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is a good candidate.  I used to have both glasses and contacts and get new ones every year.  With the money I've saved, the surgery has paid for itself several times over.

[wallieD]

i would love to have perfect vision, but it isn't an option for me. one eye is pretty good and the other has blind spots. it's hard to explain it.  i can see everything, but reading is almost impossible . if something happened to my good eye i would kill myself because blind spot vision is just too trippy. i don't know how that one skater pulls it off. i would  do the surgery if the risks are really low.

[20matar]

Have a look at this thread, some people were talking about the different types of corrective surgery and their experiences with those.

http://www.slapmagazine.com/component/option,com_jfusion/Itemid,4/index.php?topic=89402.0

[Tracer]

If you're old don't do it because you may divorce your wife and lose 1/2 your shit. They say you see all the beauty but more ugliness.

[Main]

I tried a whole bunch of different contacts, they were all irritating. Been wearing glasses for several years now. The only time it sucks is when I get really sweaty when skating and I'm constantly pushing them up. When I eat shit my glasses will fly off and I hope they didn't break or the lenses aren't ruined...even though they have deep scratches in them already from concrete, same with the frames. I don't know man...I just roll with it.

[okdad]

Both of my parents have had LASIK and say it's one of the best things that has happened to them. However, I've heard it said that you should wait until your loss of vision plateaus before having the surgery -- i.e, wait until your eyeglass prescription stops getting stronger and has been about the same for a while before having LASIK.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

that sounds about right. got some information on that as well, and the doctors basically said that they "guarantee" hardly any loss of eyesight after the surgery, but only if your loss of vision has pretty much stayed the same for something from 12-18 months.

[Yushin Okami]

LASIK is easily the best thing I've ever done. My eyesight was fucked most of my life (got glasses when I was 7) and all I ever remember was being blind. I couldn't see shit without my glasses or contacts. I finally pulled the trigger about 6 years ago. The surgery itself was a piece of cake. I actually took the bus to the eye center by myself (which I wouldn't recommend) which says how easy it was. Not including the wait time I was in the chair with lasers in my eyes for about 5 minutes. They gave me a pain pill and sleeping pill and sent me on my way. After the surgery does suck... it feels like your eyes are scratched or you got poked in the eye for about 4 hours or so. They just tell you to head home and take a nap, which is what I did. A little over 4 hours later I took my dogs for a walk, in the sun w/o sunglasses and could see clearly for the first time in my life. It was surreal.

Full disclosure my eyes have gotten a little worse since the surgery. I'm now 20/40 and try to wear glasses when I drive at night. That said, the only reason I think I ever noticed was because I put on a friends pair of sunglasses once and said to him, "these lenses are great, they're so clear" and his reply was, "well they're prescription". Again, a very mild prescription and on days I've forgotten them it's not an issue to drive at night, it's just more comfortable to wear them. I also work at a computer 10+ hours a day which my doctor said is probably a big factor.

That said, if I woke up tomorrow and my eyes were back to the way there were 6 years ago I would still praise LASIK. If you're a candidate DO IT!

[h00man]

LASIK is easily the best thing I've ever done. My eyesight was fucked most of my life (got glasses when I was 7) and all I ever remember was being blind. I couldn't see shit without my glasses or contacts. I finally pulled the trigger about 6 years ago. The surgery itself was a piece of cake. I actually took the bus to the eye center by myself (which I wouldn't recommend) which says how easy it was. Not including the wait time I was in the chair with lasers in my eyes for about 5 minutes. They gave me a pain pill and sleeping pill and sent me on my way. After the surgery does suck... it feels like your eyes are scratched or you got poked in the eye for about 4 hours or so. They just tell you to head home and take a nap, which is what I did. A little over 4 hours later I took my dogs for a walk, in the sun w/o sunglasses and could see clearly for the first time in my life. It was surreal.

Full disclosure my eyes have gotten a little worse since the surgery. I'm now 20/40 and try to wear glasses when I drive at night. That said, the only reason I think I ever noticed was because I put on a friends pair of sunglasses once and said to him, "these lenses are great, they're so clear" and his reply was, "well they're prescription". Again, a very mild prescription and on days I've forgotten them it's not an issue to drive at night, it's just more comfortable to wear them. I also work at a computer 10+ hours a day which my doctor said is probably a big factor.

That said, if I woke up tomorrow and my eyes were back to the way there were 6 years ago I would still praise LASIK. If you're a candidate DO IT!

Interesting. I'm thinking of getting it soon and everyone who has gotten says its the best thing they ever spent their money on

[iKobrakai]

Thought about it years ago, then my dad tried to be funny and said "Well, how come the doctor performing the surgery still wears glasses?". Now that I'm sober, I might pull the trigger.

[Jordick]

Now that Lasik is only like $300 an eye, come my 18th birthday in January, that shit is getting done. I cannot see two feet in front of me without my glasses but I just can't stand em anymore. Is it safe to still do it before being 18?

[Dr Steve Brule]

Now that Lasik is only like $300 an eye, come my 18th birthday in January, that shit is getting done. I cannot see two feet in front of me without my glasses but I just can't stand em anymore. Is it safe to still do it before being 18?

Unfortunately It's only $300 an eye if you have a crazy weak prescription. Like -1.00 per eye.

I'm looking at about $2500.00 for both eyes if I don't get the lifetime of free touch-ups.

[j....soy.....]

I'm like a -10 and when I ask....I dont get answers like.....'Yes!'  'No problem!'.....they say things like.....'well.......'

[20matar]

Expand Quote

Now that Lasik is only like $300 an eye, come my 18th birthday in January, that shit is getting done. I cannot see two feet in front of me without my glasses but I just can't stand em anymore. Is it safe to still do it before being 18?

[close]

Unfortunately It's only $300 an eye if you have a crazy weak prescription. Like -1.00 per eye.

I'm looking at about $2500.00 for both eyes if I don't get the lifetime of free touch-ups.

Whoa there. So people with weak prescriptions can get the surgery too? Mine are like -2.25. The thing is, I have strabismus, and the one reason I don't go anywhere without my glasses is that they allow me to look straight ahead. Being lazy-eyed fucks up my depth perception, so I'm worried about spending a small fortune on a surgery that will just give me 20/20 double vision.

Dad had a strong myopia and got operated on back in the 80s. He wears reading glasses now, but it's due to his age, and even if it was a side effect of the surgery, it still beats wearing those inch-thick glasses for every waking hour. My brother has poor eyesight, but can't go through corrective surgery because he has ceratocones.

[brycickle]

I plan on getting it done within the next few years. It's right up there on my list of medical priorities with getting a vasectomy before I have a kid.

[somethingmustbreaknow]

i've had a lasek eye correction surgery 3 years ago. my doctors didn't say anything about wearing sunglasses when being outside for the next 12 months. the week immediatly after the surgery i couldn't even go outside because of brightness, or at least my personal perception of it. but afterwards after the healing process was done skating was cool and i had no problem with wind dust, dirt, brightness and stuff like that. but you gotta be careful the first timeperiod after the surgery, avoiding an infection and shit at all costs. that would be dangerous. but ya, just listen to your doctors i'd say.

i'm quoting myself from the other thread.

still worth every damn penny.
just try to be as correct as possible with the eye fluid, anti-septics and stuff and try to avoid dirt and shit at all costs.
getting an infection is the most dangerous thing when after surgery. it's not that frequent from what i heard, but you gott take your time to fully recover and better take a day or two more.
just came back from barcelona, it was hell with contact lenses because of the dust, sand and wind.
no biggie now.

[Coastal Fever]

I'm like a -10 and when I ask....I dont get answers like.....'Yes!'  'No problem!'.....they say things like.....'well.......'

-6.75 and I get pretty much the same response.  Last guy basically said "you aren't a great candidate for the new updated surgery everyone loves, but you could get the more primitive, painful, less consistent surgery for people with bad eyes."

[somethingmustbreaknow]

if your eyes are thast bad, then you need a really thick cornea in your eye where they can take stuff away. that's how it works. they also told me at first that my cornea is too thin, as i was having -3.75 and -4 but that was after wearing contacts every day. your eye adjusts to your hard contact lenses and you gotta have em out for at least one or two weeks. if your cornea is thick enough they can pull of surgeries for harsher ametropia.

[fulltechnicalskizzy]

Is it normal to start seeing ghosts after your lasik surgery? I have been seeing ghosts.

[fulltechnicalskizzy]

Whoops indeed

[Monty Burns]

having it done later this year or early next year . My eye sight is not bad enough really to "need" glasses , but might technically need it for driving license and afew other things

[somethingmustbreaknow]

Is it normal to start seeing ghosts after your lasik surgery? I have been seeing ghosts.

seeing ghosts is completely normal. oh, and xray.

[20matar]

having it done later this year or early next year . My eye sight is not bad enough really to "need" glasses , but might technically need it for driving license and afew other things

Save the money and just keep a pair of glasses in your glovebox.