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My prescription is very weak compared to most people (-1.00). I can drive and do most things fine without contacts, but I have a hard time reading facial expressions from more than 5-10 feet away which makes life a little harder. Also, everything gets way worse at night. Contacts get dry too quick and glasses are a pain in the rear end. The money isn't a big deal for me. Would it be stupid to get LASIK with such a weak prescription or can it actually benefit me?
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Jul 12, 2010 14:51
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Built 4 Cuban Linux posted:My prescription is very weak compared to most people (-1.00). I can drive and do most things fine without contacts, but I have a hard time reading facial expressions from more than 5-10 feet away which makes life a little harder. Also, everything gets way worse at night. Contacts get dry too quick and glasses are a pain in the rear end. The money isn't a big deal for me. Would it be stupid to get LASIK with such a weak prescription or can it actually benefit me? I had about the same prescription (-1.00, -0.75) and still found the procedure worth it. It's nice being able to drive and read street signs easily from a distance.
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Jul 12, 2010 16:20
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Anybody had the condition where their eyes would be not fully closed at night, which would dry the poo poo out of the eye in the morning and make it irritated enough to be completely blurry all day?
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Jul 17, 2010 03:29
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This is a good thread so I'm contributing to rescue it from page 4 or so. I had lasik or lasek (don't remember which) with Wavefront eight days ago and this is what one of my eyes looked like 24 hours later:  There is more blood below and to the side of the iris; the area above is just the biggest bit. It still looks roughly the same but both my eyes feel fine and the only visual issue is that I still have haloes at night, which I was warned about before surgery (and told they will go after some weeks, along with the blood in the eyes). Each eye is now slightly better than 20/20 and with both together I can see as well as 20/12 in good conditions, which is far better than when I used glasses/contacts. A fun party trick is to read size 10 Arial from two metres away in sub-ideal lighting. I have no problem using a computer or my phone and I can still focus quite close, though I used to be able to focus closer. I have found that driving is annoying, as the imperfections in the windscreen, i.e. tiny ripples in the glass, are distracting. I got free Intralase on one eye as the surgeon had difficulty using the microkerathingy on that eye. I had to have Wavefront due to my unusually large pupils, though Wavefront was half the reason for wanting laser surgery anyway. I was not offered any valium/etc and the procedure was extremely unpleasant (though not painful) and I imagine a large proportion of people would not be able to handle it; I never heard mention of tranquilisers beforehand, so maybe they aren't used in the UK, which sucks if you are at all squeamish. After going home on public transport and on foot with my eyes shut, then taking a short sleep, I was able to do everything as if I had not just had surgery. Overall I would say I am very happy but still underwhelmed, as I had been hoping for even more sharpness, though I am told that my vision should still improve slightly in the next few months.
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Aug 7, 2010 01:37
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asteroceras posted:Overall I would say I am very happy but still underwhelmed, as I had been hoping for even more sharpness, though I am told that my vision should still improve slightly in the next few months. Same here. My vision is definitely better (20/15) but I don't get the feeling of things being like real life high def or anything. e: I just had the procedure several days ago. I'd say my sight is on par with what I had wearing glasses. Midnight Moth fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Aug 7, 2010 |
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Aug 7, 2010 02:12
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asteroceras posted:... and the procedure was extremely unpleasant (though not painful).... If it wasn't painful, how was it unpleasant?
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Aug 7, 2010 02:44
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I actually did find the procedure to be slightly painful. They put these suction cup things in your eyes and it feels like someone pushing down on them.
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Aug 7, 2010 04:24
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:If it wasn't painful, how was it unpleasant? Imagine lying on a bed, having your eyelids clamped open like in "A Clockwork Orange" while a guy cuts open the front of your eye, then you see him use a brush to fold the flap of eye to the side. Then your vision goes black and a noisy laser machine zaps the inside of your eye and you can smell your eye burning. Then the surgeon brushes the eye flap back into place and you still have one more eye left to do. It's really horrible. I checked and it turns out I had Lasik not Lasek. I think Lasek would have been the last resort if they could not get the Intralase to work on the eye that they couldn't microkerathingy.
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Aug 7, 2010 04:38
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asteroceras posted:Imagine lying on a bed, having your eyelids clamped open like in "A Clockwork Orange" while a guy cuts open the front of your eye, then you see him use a brush to fold the flap of eye to the side. Then your vision goes black and a noisy laser machine zaps the inside of your eye and you can smell your eye burning. Then the surgeon brushes the eye flap back into place and you still have one more eye left to do. Doesn't seem that bad really. If something isn't painful, it can't be that bad.
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Aug 7, 2010 05:13
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Bloody Hedgehog posted:Doesn't seem that bad really. If something isn't painful, it can't be that bad. Have you tried waterboarding?
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Aug 7, 2010 12:21
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I didn't find it unpleasant at all. Probably because they loaded me up on Xanax before the procedure.
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Aug 7, 2010 12:28
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At first I thought you meant your waterboarding...
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Aug 7, 2010 12:42
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asteroceras you should have asked at the consultation could you get valium for it - you could have easily got some from your GP for the procedure if you were nervous about it. Sounds like you had a traumatic experience as the surgeon had problems cutting your flap so your enjoyment of your new vision is tarnished.
Beep Street fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Feb 22, 2012 |
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Aug 7, 2010 13:09
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asteroceras posted:Have you tried waterboarding? Waterboarding may not be painful, but it still makes you feel like you're drowning, which is one of the most primal fears there is. Have my eye painlessly operated on by a trained professional is not exactly in the same league. Everyone's different, but for me something is "extremely unpleasant" only when pain is involved.
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Aug 7, 2010 13:53
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I don't think that those discussing the unpleasantness are really factoring in that different people have different comfort zones. What's pleasant to one person is going to be absolutely fine to another. asteroceras sounds extremely squeamish, so bear in mind that while his opinion about his treatment is entirely valid, others may not bat an eyelid (not sure if that's a pun) at the treatment. I had it done some five years or so ago; I paid £1200 total, which is quite low compared to many, so you might expect that my treatment was more of the "cheap and cheerful" variety. But it was still perfectly fine! Here's how it went down for me: Imagine lying on a bed/couch, having someone treat your eyes so that they can be clamped open- seems odd at first, but once your eye is there, don't freak out and it's fine. Then someone comes at you with a scalpel. However, you can't actually feel it, and that close up it's extremely blurry. So you'll see the blurry device move to your eye and to a little twirl and barely even have time to register that your cornea has been cut open. Then the lights are turned off, and then the laser is started and it zap-zap-zaps at your eye. I think that fact that it's dark and the machine is noisy is really neither here nor there to be honest! At this point I was doing my best to keep focussed on the light, and was holding my breath with anticipation and not wanting any movement whatsoever to affect what was going on (even though it really wouldn't as your head is fixed in place). I didn't breath through my nose so I didn't smell anything burning, if that's a problem then stop breathing through your nose! Then the surgeon nudges the flap back in place, and you're left thinking... "what, is that it?" I mean sure, technically there are some potentially unpleasant parts to it. But I'd probably rate it as about as unpleasant as changing a baby's nappy- eww, it might seem a bit nasty, it's a teensy bit awkward and there's unpleasant stuff going down. But really, it's almost nothing. I was given a valium, but to be honest it didn't do a thing for me until after I was out of the place. No good optometrist should let you walk out by yourself afterwards and go home by yourself though, nosirreebob. Sounds like maybe aster's treatment could have been done a little more professionally to me. What did the staff seem like when you had your consultation? Absolutely worth it, one of the best decisions of my life, that's for sure. And now I'm doing some work in the valleys of Switzerland, and being able to look up at a panoramic mountainscape and just look at the entirety of the view in crisp detail without needing glases, without a border of my vision where everything goes blurry- amazing.
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Aug 7, 2010 14:07
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The thing is, I'm not a squeamish person... I went into the operating room relaxed and calm and intended to stay that way. I should note that my head was not clamped or strapped, so I was very conscious of not wanting to move. When I was lying there experiencing the procedure and following the instructions of the surgery team (there were 4 of them) I was imagining how bad it must be for someone who really is nervous and squeamish about having their eyes cut open. I did not panic and just looked at the patterns in my vision at the points when I was not being instructed to do something, yet it was still something I would not want to have to repeat and that I would advise nervous people not to undergo without some form of sedation. My recommendation for such people, therefore, is to ensure you have some kind of sedative (if your surgeon allows it) and that your head is strapped in place (if possible).
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Aug 7, 2010 14:32
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LinuxGirl87 posted:My questions: -Yes -Better, I was 20/20 with glasses/contacts but 20/10 now. -No. My eyes were a tad dry but no pain at all. I just used the drops that they gave me and the medicine as well and my eyes healed right up. -Yes, they recommend that you do not drive too much at night for the first few months. I see better at night now than I did before (been 2 years). -No. I can't tell a difference. -Yes, every opportunity I could get I would get LASIK. It makes me feel normal instead of blind and dumb without glasses on. -You can mess up the results by rubbing your eyes. I stopped completely after the surgery. The most I do is push the corner of my eye next to the nose if theres a lot of itching. That usually makes it bearable until I can put eyedrops in. I got a non-invasive procedure where a laser is used to cut the eye and a doctor never actually touches it with his/her hand. It was awesome, minus a misalignment which broke a few blood vessels while they were sealing the laser apparatus on my eyeball...that sucked and was a cool story to tell girls all at the same time. I was able to see a few hours later and although I spent most of the day asleep, I was able to do normal activities that night.
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Aug 9, 2010 00:09
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DreadCthulhu posted:Anybody had the condition where their eyes would be not fully closed at night, which would dry the poo poo out of the eye in the morning and make it irritated enough to be completely blurry all day? I've had the operation one week ago and that's exactly what's hapenning. Right now I'm wishing I could just go back in time and cancel the operation. I can't see poo poo for half the day, and now I can't put my glasses on whenever I need to.
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Aug 23, 2010 12:19
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Trent-Easton posted:I've had the operation one week ago and that's exactly what's hapenning. Right now I'm wishing I could just go back in time and cancel the operation. I can't see poo poo for half the day, and now I can't put my glasses on whenever I need to. You didn't get given any lubricating ointment to use at night?
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Aug 23, 2010 12:28
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2ndclasscitizen posted:You didn't get given any lubricating ointment to use at night? Yes I did... I also have the one to use at day. It hasn't been very successful so far
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Aug 23, 2010 13:48
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I had custom Intralase done 8/13 and could see 20/20 by 7am the next morning. Very happy. The night between the surgery and the follow-up check up was miserable, but the drugs they provided made life tolerable. In the almost two weeks since I put the eye drops in as scheduled and everything has been great.
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Aug 25, 2010 00:36
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I had all laser lasik done about a month ago and I'm very happy with it so far. I had some mild discomfort a couple days after surgery but I haven't really had very much trouble with dryness or anything like that. I had some blurriness in my left eye for a week or two after the surgery but still was tested at 20/15 the day after. The blurriness has pretty much gone away and while I haven't had an eye exam since the day after, I'd say I'm at least 20/20 if not 20/15. Thumbs up.
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Aug 25, 2010 01:12
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Trent-Easton posted:I've had the operation one week ago and that's exactly what's hapenning. Right now I'm wishing I could just go back in time and cancel the operation. I can't see poo poo for half the day, and now I can't put my glasses on whenever I need to. Are you sure your eyes are actually staying open? My eyelids felt like absolute sandpaper for the first few weeks, and I know I wasn't sleeping with them open. This was despite lubing the poo poo out of them before bed, and using drops all day every 20 minutes or so. If your eye doctor didn't specify these already, you may want to try the preservative free drops in the little tubes. They are less irritating and more hygienic. The one problem with them is that they are thinner than the gel type drops, so they don't last as long. When you can, switch to a thicker drop and that helps a bit. It's not terribly unusual, don't worry too much. I had the same doubts about my decision as you and exactly the same post-op symptoms. I also felt like poo poo about the fact that I had pretty large halos around all lights, all the time. Both the dryness and halos got very gradually better, until I just didn't think about it much anymore. I think most people have a lot less issues than us, so when all you hear about is how great people felt immediately after, it made me extremely uncomfortable that my experience didn't match. I regretted the surgery regularly, and kept getting nervous about whether or not my eyes were hosed up. I even went for an emergency appointment with my doctor because I had a steady pain in the back of my eye that wouldn't go away, and I was convinced the pressure in my eye had built up and it was going to pop. It was completely fine, but when everyone says "no, I didn't have any pain" I figured it must be serious. Sorry for writing such a novel, I just hope some of it helps even a little. I'm completely happy with my eyes now, but I had major doubts. Basically, -use eye drops everywhere, all the time. I felt silly, but put drops in every 15 minutes at restaurants, anywhere. -As much as you are able, avoid computer use and TV. I had trouble focusing my eyes for the rest of the day after even an hour of computer use, totally back to normal now though. None of this stuff will fix you right away, I know, but you will be ok as you gradually heal.
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Aug 25, 2010 01:21
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I`m starting to look into corrective eye measures and I`m wondering if there`s anything that will help me more than cripple me further. I primarily use contacts but my habits with them are absolutely awful and glasses are impractical for my lifestyle and at my current prescription, hilariously stupid looking. I`m very active, I get in fights more than I should, I have intense allergies to everything that grows in nature which irritates my eyes. I understand LASIK is probably not for me, but what else is there? I intend to ask my eye guy next chance I get, but knowing what options to look into beforehand might be advantageous.
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Aug 25, 2010 01:34
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I had LASEK done a couple of months ago. The main memory of it was that day 2 and 3 were hideously painful. My right eye felt like someone was burning, cutting and squeezing it all at the same time. Once that went away everything was fine. I have great vision, no discomfort and I can't believe I wore glasses for all those years. It feels like a lifetime ago. LASEK saved me about 800 bucks, and I'm glad I don't have to worry about a flap getting detatched for the rest of my life. The pain was something else though.
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Aug 25, 2010 11:28
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Put it in Your Mouf posted:None of this stuff will fix you right away, I know, but you will be ok as you gradually heal. Well, this is kinda reassuring. I use the drops like 2-3 times a day, and the other bottle before sleep once (like they told me). Does that mean that I'll have to buy bottles of drops for the rest of my life, or does it eventually get better? I work on computers all day, so it's been very lovely the last week (seeing double letters, having trouble reading, being pissed and unsure about my vision, etc.) Well I hope this forces me to spend more time outside then... Thanks again mister
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Aug 25, 2010 11:52
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If anyone in the UK has used ultralase, can you tell me if you think their top shelf "3rd generation wavefront" is worth the extra money compared to what they describe as standard wavefront? Is it really a difference?
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Sep 7, 2010 13:25
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Trent-Easton posted:Well, this is kinda reassuring. I use the drops like 2-3 times a day, and the other bottle before sleep once (like they told me). For several months after my surgery I had to apply drops every two hours or so. After about 8 months or so I relied on them less and less and now I never use them so it does get better over time.
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Sep 7, 2010 20:27
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Trent-Easton posted:Well, this is kinda reassuring. I use the drops like 2-3 times a day, and the other bottle before sleep once (like they told me). Sorry I missed your post. Pretty much what furushotakeru said, you'll see a massive improvement. I still use drops in the morning and before bed, but I have always done that. I would say my eyes are a bit more prone to dryness, but I believe that is because I used to always wear contacts, which protected them from the air.
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Sep 7, 2010 22:56
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You know, fixating on the technology isn't always the best idea. I had the cheapest possible LASEK, but I'd held out on more expensive places not because of the price, but because of my feelings about the clinic/doctor. I finally found a place that had a great doctor and it just happened to be cheap. I now have 20/20 vision. Experience is everything and you can have a successful surgery on any of the machines, as long as it's right for your eyes and the doctor is good.
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Sep 8, 2010 00:53
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I just had LASEK on wednesday. The operation itself was totally painless, all they used were eye drops that numbed up the area, you can feel the pressure and its a little wierd having it done but really the most uncomfortable part is when they used a cold water wash to clean the eye, because it was reeeeally cold. I have had haircuts more traumatic than getting it done. However, after the surgery as the numbing started to wear off the pain started to build up and up over the course of an hour or two. It grew to a point where it felt like my eyes were being burnt out while someone shoved needles into them. I haven't cried in years but at the worst of that I was screaming into a pillow because it was agonising. After I somehow managed to get to sleep for a couple of hours I woke up and the pain was totally gone, but the few hours I had to deal with it were hell. I realise that the pain people feel varies but if you are getting LASEK prepare yourself for some hurting, "Like chopping onions" it most certainly isn't. Mr Teatime fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Sep 18, 2010 |
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Sep 18, 2010 15:52
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Trent-Easton posted:Well, this is kinda reassuring. I use the drops like 2-3 times a day, and the other bottle before sleep once (like they told me). In the first 3 months or so I had to use the drops 2-4x/day. By 6 months out it was once a day in the mornings when I woke up. It's been a year and a half and I now rarely need them. Staying hydrated also helps -- drink a glass of water before bed, and your eyes will feel better in the morning. Also, ask your doc about Restasis to help the dryness. I had an enhancement done a year after the original surgery and using Restasis for a couple months afterward was pretty helpful compared to the first time through.
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Sep 18, 2010 21:47
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I'm now a little more than 10 months out with my lasik and I haven't used any eye drops since March. The first week, I used three different eye drops 4 times a day. The next three weeks was two drops 3 times a day. After that it was one eye drop whenever I felt that I needed it. I used it off and on but by February, I was only using the eye drop maybe once a week. And by March I had stopped completely. Dry eyes was never an issue for me.
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Sep 19, 2010 09:16
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I tried to get lasik after reading this thread some time ago and booked in to see my eye doctor first to have my script rechecked thinking that at 22 it may of finally settled. I am now at -18.75 for each eye which is at least more even then it was but I cant get lasik cause he says that my eyes are still growing? Im a little miffed to be honest. I was so excited after reading this thread. Ive worn glasses since I was 8 years old and I cant wear contacts cause I work in an air conditioned office and it just dries my eyes out too much. Oh well, another two years of waiting I guess 
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Sep 20, 2010 01:08
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insidius posted:I am now at -18.75 for each eye which is at least more even then it was but I cant get lasik cause he says that my eyes are still growing? He's right, the last thing you want to do is drop thousands on LASIK surgery only to have your eyes worsen over the next 3-7 years. Both you and your doctor made the right choice. Just stick it out for 3-4 more years and when you find your glasses/contacts prescription hasn't changed for 2 years or so, go back in and consult with your ophthalmologist. Question: does anybody have any experiences/advice regarding getting LASIK and participating in  activities? I know it's supposed to reduce intraocular pressure, and cause injection (redness) and dryness, but is there any contraindication? Anybody actually speak to their surgeon about this? How about some of your anecdotal experiences?
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Sep 29, 2010 00:11
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Stroke Volume posted:
I talked to my doctor when I had LASIK and he said to abstain 3-4 days before and after, and then be super heavy with the eyedrops when I do. I followed that advice and just generally took it easy until I didn't need the eyedrops at all anymore and I'm 100% recovered and seeing 20/15. YMMV though. Only real way to be sure is to ask your doctor about you specifically.
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Sep 29, 2010 00:33
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Soopafly posted:I talked to my doctor when I had LASIK and he said to abstain 3-4 days before and after, and then be super heavy with the eyedrops when I do. I followed that advice and just generally took it easy until I didn't need the eyedrops at all anymore and I'm 100% recovered and seeing 20/15. If you don't mind me asking, how bad was your vision before? Do you recommend the procedure now that you're on the other side of the knife?
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Sep 29, 2010 00:38
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Stroke Volume posted:If you don't mind me asking, how bad was your vision before? Do you recommend the procedure now that you're on the other side of the knife? -5.50 or so in each eye, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I love waking up in the morning and just being able to see.
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Sep 29, 2010 06:23
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So this is something I've been considering for quite a while, and I believe that my insurance can cover part of it. I don't remember the specific numbers of my nearsightedness and do plan on consulting an eye doctor relatively soon for the basics and what not. But I've heard that there is a 100% chance for degenerated vision and perhaps a need for reading glasses later in life. Is there anyone here who has had the operation quite a while ago who has information about this? It might just be scare tactics, but I want my miracle cure, damnit! <  >
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Oct 15, 2010 21:29
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Libandano Urfam posted:But I've heard that there is a 100% chance for degenerated vision and perhaps a need for reading glasses later in life. Is there anyone here who has had the operation quite a while ago who has information about this? It might just be scare tactics, but I want my miracle cure, damnit! < I'm pretty sure that there is a 99% chance for degenerate vision from old age.
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Oct 15, 2010 21:37
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