Lasik

gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Has anyone had this done? My eye doctor told me I am a perfect candidate for it, but I'm kinda weary about it. I do like the part about not having to pay for contacts, especially since I use the daily wear contacts that I throw away each day.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
my sister in law and a friend both had it done .both of them wore some thick a++ glasses.my sis in law got a small infection but it was taken care of with antibiotics.both of them have great site now and no more glasses.
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
I wear glasses - I have thought of Lasik - because now when I try to read my glasses for near siteness affect my reading, I have to take my glasses off to read smaller stuff, old age I guess, or maybe bi-focal would help.
 
bionicarm

bionicarm

Active Member
Had it done over 15 years ago. I did the 'Flap and Zap'. They put this device on your eye that essentially sucks your eyeball into it with a vacuum. This surgical razor then goes over your corneal area with computerized precision, and slices the corneal tissue to make a 'flap' that is folded over to expose the cornea. A precision laser is then used to 'zap' off areas of the cornea that were previously mapped using a computerized program that analyzes the eye. The flap is then returned over the cornea, and you're done. The entire process probably takes 5 - 10 minutes per eye. Sounds scary, but you honestly don't feel a thing. Kinda weird when they do the vacuum part. They have you looking at this red dot in the distance, and when the suction begins, your vision goes to black, only seeing this faint red dot. When the flap occurs, the red dot goes completely blurry. When it's over, the dot is sharper. They normally give you a ****** to 'cut the edge off' before you do the procedure. After it's over, the doc tells you to go straight home and go to bed. The eyes heal faster during sleep periods. They give you these goggles to wear while you're sleeping that have small holes in them. You wear them to keep from accidentally rubbing your eyes while you sleep. You don't want to move that flap while it's healing. That was the worst part of the entire procedure. Your eyes burn and feel like there's sand in them for around 24 hours. When I woke up after about 10 hours, I could already see long distances better. I went from a vision of 20/150 to 20/40. Only side effect is star burst patterns sometimes when driving in the dark, and little 'floaters' in your eyes. What weird is the last time I got an eye exam (about 6 months ago), the doc said my vision is now 20/15. Seems my eyes got better over time. Of course at my age, I need reading glasses. But I was told that was to be expected. I hear noe the same procedure can fix astigmatism, and both far and near sightedness. Just try and find a reputable eye specialist to get it done. I know some people that did the 'discount LASIK' procedure, and got their eyesight completely screwed up. Expect to pay around $1000 - $1250 per eye.
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
hmmm i didnt read all that cuz for me that was way to much info lol. Know i dont know if i even want it lol....I believe with my insurance its only like $500 an eye and over awhile the contacts and glasses add up!!!! Believe me ive gone through like 3 pairs of glasses and now just do contacts that i leave in and change once in awhile. I also think you can do a payment plan! if im not mistaken?
Thats was like 15 yrs ago like u said!!!! I would hope its better now lol
 
bionicarm

bionicarm

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1guyDude http:///forum/thread/385259/lasik#post_3377910
hmmm i didnt read all that cuz for me that was way to much info lol. Know i dont know if i even want it lol....I believe with my insurance its only like $500 an eye and over awhile the contacts and glasses add up!!!! Believe me ive gone through like 3 pairs of glasses and now just do contacts that i leave in and change once in awhile. I also think you can do a payment plan! if im not mistaken?
Thats was like 15 yrs ago like u said!!!! I would hope its better now lol
My understanding is the procedure is pretty much the same. However, new technologies allow for much more accuracy and the capability of 'repairing' other eye impairments that weren't available when I did it. Trust me, it's not as painful as it looks. When I had it done, the doctor I went to actually had a viewing area where a potential patient could sit and watch the entire procedure. If my vision were to degrade to the point where I needed glasses or contacts, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I get tired of having to have a pair of reading glasses everywhere I go. Couldn't imagine having to mess with refgular glasses or contacts on a daily basis.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by bionicarm http:///forum/thread/385259/lasik#post_3377903
Had it done over 15 years ago. I did the 'Flap and Zap'. They put this device on your eye that essentially sucks your eyeball into it with a vacuum. This surgical razor then goes over your corneal area with computerized precision, and slices the corneal tissue to make a 'flap' that is folded over to expose the cornea. A precision laser is then used to 'zap' off areas of the cornea that were previously mapped using a computerized program that analyzes the eye. The flap is then returned over the cornea, and you're done. The entire process probably takes 5 - 10 minutes per eye. Sounds scary, but you honestly don't feel a thing. Kinda weird when they do the vacuum part. They have you looking at this red dot in the distance, and when the suction begins, your vision goes to black, only seeing this faint red dot. When the flap occurs, the red dot goes completely blurry. When it's over, the dot is sharper. They normally give you a ****** to 'cut the edge off' before you do the procedure. After it's over, the doc tells you to go straight home and go to bed. The eyes heal faster during sleep periods. They give you these goggles to wear while you're sleeping that have small holes in them. You wear them to keep from accidentally rubbing your eyes while you sleep. You don't want to move that flap while it's healing. That was the worst part of the entire procedure. Your eyes burn and feel like there's sand in them for around 24 hours. When I woke up after about 10 hours, I could already see long distances better. I went from a vision of 20/150 to 20/40. Only side effect is star burst patterns sometimes when driving in the dark, and little 'floaters' in your eyes. What weird is the last time I got an eye exam (about 6 months ago), the doc said my vision is now 20/15. Seems my eyes got better over time. Of course at my age, I need reading glasses. But I was told that was to be expected. I hear noe the same procedure can fix astigmatism, and both far and near sightedness. Just try and find a reputable eye specialist to get it done. I know some people that did the 'discount LASIK' procedure, and got their eyesight completely screwed up. Expect to pay around $1000 - $1250 per eye.
I got as far as 'Flap and Zap' and fainted.
 
bionicarm

bionicarm

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/385259/lasik#post_3378298
What happens if I sneeze? Or get a spasm?

Uh, don't. The "zapping' part of the procedure lasts about 10 - 20 seconds at most. The doc did tell me "Look at the red blob, and ONLY the red blob. Don't flinch, don't move." You tend to pay attention when it comes to what happens to your vision.
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by bionicarm http:///forum/thread/385259/lasik#post_3378348
Uh, don't. The "zapping' part of the procedure lasts about 10 - 20 seconds at most. The doc did tell me "Look at the red blob, and ONLY the red blob. Don't flinch, don't move." You tend to pay attention when it comes to what happens to your vision.
I think I'm going to go through with it in the next couple of months. I mean why not my insurance covers some of it.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
didnt they used to just pop your eye out and use a bread roller to shape it?then pop it back in.oh wait that was sammy davis jr.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by bionicarm http:///forum/thread/385259/lasik#post_3378348
Uh, don't. The "zapping' part of the procedure lasts about 10 - 20 seconds at most. The doc did tell me "Look at the red blob, and ONLY the red blob. Don't flinch, don't move." You tend to pay attention when it comes to what happens to your vision.
At that instant...my heart would freeze in place.
I'm with you Cranberry...everyone has a bad day...I don't want to even take a chance on it falling on my time. bad sight is always better than no sight at all.
 
pezenfuego

pezenfuego

Active Member
My dad got prk (if I remember right photorefractive keratomeliosis or keratectomy). Basically he is a bad candidate for LASIK because for whatever genetic reason his eyes would reject the flap and it would not have healed properly. So he got the scrap and zap. The literally took a scalpel and scraped his epitheliums off. It took longer to heal of course but he had perfect vision for a while before old age kicked in. What happens there is the lens inside your eye hardens and the muscles around it weaken so that you can't properly focus light. This is called presbyopia. They have a surgery for that too. Its called PreLEx (presbyopic lens exchange). If I remember right (and maybe I'm just confused) they use sound waves to break up your lens first. Then they make an incision and take out the old lens fragments. I like to think they do it slowly, but they might do it like a bandaid. 1-2-3 tug! Anyway, they put in a synthetic lens and your problem is solved.
I am down for getting this surgery. I am only 18 though, so I will have to wait a few more years for my eyes to stop growing and changing. It will definitely save some dough over the long run.
 
bionicarm

bionicarm

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by PEZenfuego http:///forum/thread/385259/lasik#post_3378956
My dad got prk (if I remember right photorefractive keratomeliosis or keratectomy). Basically he is a bad candidate for LASIK because for whatever genetic reason his eyes would reject the flap and it would not have healed properly. So he got the scrap and zap. The literally took a scalpel and scraped his epitheliums off. It took longer to heal of course but he had perfect vision for a while before old age kicked in. What happens there is the lens inside your eye hardens and the muscles around it weaken so that you can't properly focus light. This is called presbyopia. They have a surgery for that too. Its called PreLEx (presbyopic lens exchange). If I remember right (and maybe I'm just confused) they use sound waves to break up your lens first. Then they make an incision and take out the old lens fragments. I like to think they do it slowly, but they might do it like a bandaid. 1-2-3 tug! Anyway, they put in a synthetic lens and your problem is solved.
I am down for getting this surgery. I am only 18 though, so I will have to wait a few more years for my eyes to stop growing and changing. It will definitely save some dough over the long run.
Looks like you've been on top of all the latest LASIK procedures. I'd heard they'd progressed passsed 'flap and zap', but wasn't sure what those changes were. My 16 year old keeps bugging me about getting LASIK because she's sick of the glasses/contacts debacle. I thought they'd let you get it done once you hit 18, but based on your response, that doesn't appear to be the case. When is the earliest they let someone have the procedure?
 
gemmy

gemmy

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by bionicarm http:///forum/thread/385259/lasik#post_3379073
Looks like you've been on top of all the latest LASIK procedures. I'd heard they'd progressed passsed 'flap and zap', but wasn't sure what those changes were. My 16 year old keeps bugging me about getting LASIK because she's sick of the glasses/contacts debacle. I thought they'd let you get it done once you hit 18, but based on your response, that doesn't appear to be the case. When is the earliest they let someone have the procedure?
They have to wait until the vision stops changing. My vision did not stop changing until I turned 27.
 
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