Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Wilfrid on November 11, 2003, 03:03:55 PM
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Anybody had it done? Specifically LASIK or LASEK Epiflap. I'm looking into it and really want to hear peoples opinions/experiences.
Thanks a bunch.
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I was borne with out eyelids.
I had an operation when i was 8 weeks old using my foreskine.
To make eyelids with.
Works really good although sometimes I get a little cockeyed.
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I checked into it at Tylock Lasik. I've worn glasses since I was 7 and hate them. My eyes are too sensitive for contacts so I'm stuck.There is a lot of "Possible" side effects, including: blindness, sands of the sahara, infection or worsening of vision after a period of time.
Eye regenerate tissue just like hair regrows. After a few years it is highly possible your eyesight will return to it's current state or get worse. The worse your vision is the more it costs. I decided I could buy many sets of glasses for the $3500 it would cost to correct my vision. But each case is different and you may be a perfect candidate for the surgery. Good Luck!
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Thanks for the feedback rpm371. I'm looking at a deal for $1,260 so the cost is less of an issue.
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have to be careful of the cheap deals.....do you really want the cheapest guy working on your eyes?
I have an ex girlfriend that works at a eye place and the stories coming from the cheap places are scarey.
rarely at those places do you even talk to the doctor actually performing it. might see a whole group of people and not one is doing the actual procedure. Then follow up afterwards can be limited.
Remember its your eyes, not like getting a mole removed.
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If you are near-sighted the surgery will correct your vision, but you may then need reading glasses. I opted for the contacts.
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Originally posted by mrblack
I was borne with out eyelids.
I had an operation when i was 8 weeks old using my foreskine.
To make eyelids with.
Works really good although sometimes I get a little cockeyed.
ouch!!
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RPM is wrong or off a bit.
I had it done. Lasic in San Jose did it. I would gladly pay again, to have it done in a few years if my eyes go bad again..
It has been over 3 years and I am still 20/20.
I went in and it was 3600, but they had a deal going on where you nock off 1000$.
They checked my eyes and said my astigmatism was so severe I would need two surgeries 6 months apart to get 20/20. astigmatism means my lenses are way way way mis shaped. They said the most severe that had seen in that ofice and they said the head guy from LA had to fly up to do it.
I was still willing.
I went in, had the surgery and came back thenext day and was 20/20 20/22. No second surgery was needed and it was the best money I have ever spent.
Side efftects?
Yeah my eyes are a bit more sensitive to alergies and dust.
Glare at night was a bit worse, but no worse then dirty glasses.
other then that no problems.
Best money I have EVER spent on anything in my life. Waking up and being able to see if fantastic. Swimming and being able to see if fantastic. Not having glasses to break, scratch or lose is fantastic.
I know 6 people who have had it done and everyone loves it.
P.S there would have been no extra charge for the second surgery. There was no charge based on how bad my eyes where.
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GTO, just repeating what they told me at the consultation. I see lots of happy people that had it... but there is that 1-2% (or whatever the accurate figure is) out there that have problems. I just decided that it wasn't worth the cost or risk, especially since I have sensativity problems already. Trust me, I REALLY don't like wearing specs...and it's astigmatism.
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LOL RPM
I should have worded that Better. Sorry bro.
I was told the risks as well, and I have been exstremly happy...
Astigmatism huh, oops. I always get screwed when I do not check my spelling.
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I had it done in 1999. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Situation: My vision was 20/200 left and 20/220 right uncorrected before the surgery - pretty bad. I could not see the alarm clock when I woke up in the morning at a distance of a few feet.
The surgery: Painless. I went to Kremer in King of Prussia, PA which, at the time, was considered the best in the nation. Since then Im not sure who the 'leader' in the field is. The day of the surgery you show up, they give you some mild medication to calm your nerves and wheel you into a waiting room of sorts to allow the medication to take effect.
After about 45 minutes youre taken into the surgery room and laid down underneath the equiptment. You are fully conscience during the procedure. There is a surgeon and 4 nurses in the room.
The process entails a few eye drops to numb the nerves surrounding the eye and the surgery itself consists of cutting a flap in the lens of each eye and shooting a laser into it to reshape the rear of the eye.
They do one eye at a time and each eye takes about 2 minutes. A contraption is placed into your eye to keep your lid open and you are told to star at a point of light. Starring is difficult once they remove the lens flap as there is now no focusing surface, but its not difficult to keep your eye in the same position.
The 'odd' part of the surgery is when they begin to reshape the rear surface of the eye. You can actually see smoke coming out of that eye with your other eye - but again - the procedure is totally painless.
In fact, the only thing to do feel is a slight pressure on your eyeball when the flap is cut. The vibration from whatever tool they use to cut the flap is a challenge to ignore, as your first instinct is 'oh ****, someone is sawing into my eyeball - close it' but the metal contraption prevents your eyelids from closing and the eye drops dont afford you much muscle control to move your eye.
After the cut and reshaping they relay the flap and you can immediately see again. The vision is immediately sharper, but it looks as though you are underwater - there is a 'haze' over everything and detail and light decrease with distance.
Post-surgery: After the procedure, you have someone drive you home and relax for the day. I was given a pair of goggles to wear during that first day (they dont want you opening your eyes during the first 24 hours) and you end up sleeping alot because you cant do much else without eyes.
The goggles were then to be worn at night for the next two weeks. They dont want you touching the eye(s) at all during this time as the flap needs to set and heal perfectly - the risk of scratching your eye at night is avoid this way.
The day after surgery, I went back to work. My vision was still 'cloudy' but very sharp - I could see immediately that it was much improved. Driving at night is a challenge for the first 3-4 months as you get 'halo's around lights, but they diminish with time.
Today, some years later, my vision is the same as it was when I had my eyes checked after the surgery - 20/15 in both eyes - better than 'perfect.'
No complaints, no problems with tearing, no problems with night vision, no problems with sunlight sensitivity.
All said and done I wouldnt have it any other way. For those of us that wore glasses or contacts for years, this procedure is a godsend - seeing while swimming, never looking for lost contacts, no dry eyes, no cleaning, no rain drops on lenses, etc, etc, etc.
Do some research, find the right surgeon, and go for it! You wont regret it.
Any questions, PM me.
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Much better said Saur then mine, but I agree with just about everything you said.
Nice isn't it?
For me, the coolness of it really hit the first time I swam. diving in and coming up and seeing everything clear as could be... Simply awsome.
Shooting is much nicer now as well.
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had it done in August. Two thumbs up.
I had lasek. I belive it takes longer to heal, but if you have job where you run the risk of getting hit in the head that's what I'd do.
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Wow thanks for the great feedback GtoRA2, Concho and Saurdaukar. The offer I'm looking at is a 'two for one' where I friend or colleague gets theirs done for free. Essentially I end up paying for one eye as opposed to two - they defray the cost.
I'm a game designer so the only time I get hit in the head is when a programmer deems that necessary. Which is quite often, actually.
Now that I think about it, the only other time I've had a 'two-fer' was in an....erm..."exotic club" in LA last year - I got stiffed. Not in a good way.
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Just out of curiosity, will this procedure require hospitalization? Never heard about this before, interesting.
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Originally posted by mrblack
I was borne with out eyelids.
I had an operation when i was 8 weeks old using my foreskine.
To make eyelids with.
Works really good although sometimes I get a little cockeyed.
...and ever since, you've been the winky-wanky man. Every time you wink, you wank. Every time you wank, you wink. Hey boy, stop throwing sand in Mr.Black's eyes. :lol
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MrCoffee
No hospitalization. I was home two hours after I left for the appointment and back to work after the weekend.
I had it done on a saterday I think.
Hell it didn't even hurt.
My only bad experiance was they forgot to give me liquid tears along with the other eye drops so my eyes where a bit dry at times.
I never even took any of the pain killers they perscribed.
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Make sure you only have done on ONE eye. If they screw that up at least your not blind for life.
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I have poor vision also. I like everything I've heard EXCEPT for reduced night vision. That I cannot handle. I work at night, and also run at night.
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David
My night vision is fine. Better then I remember it being with glasses.
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My sister had Lasik several years ago. She had always had bad eyesight ever since she was a kid. The procedure was over in 30 minutes, her boyfriend drove her home and she took a nap as recommended. When she woke up she fumbled for her glasses before realizing she didn't need them anymore. She tests at 20/20 now.
If I needed glasses I would get this surgery in a second.
ra
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Can you guys talk about the night vision bit a little more? Do the halos around lights go away, or is that a permanent side effect?
In the line of work I intend to be in I can't have poor night vision, especially if it affects driving. But I'd love to get rid of my contacts; I hear they don't go well with pepper spray.
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The recent technical advances in laser vision correction are astounding. Doctors use innovations, like the tracker guided laser system, to make treatment exceptionally predictable and precise. Recently, three of the latest technologies, including the tracker system, have come together in LADARVISION.
LADARVISION is a new excimer laser in which a laser tracking system allows precision and accuracy never achieved before. During the procedure the infrared laser beam automatically tracks the patient's eye 4,000 times each second. This advance virtually eliminates any concern over patient eye movement.
The tracker guided laser system has what is termed, flying spot precision. The flying spot allows laser spot placement to a resolution of 37 microns, a level of accuracy not previously possible.
The ability to control the size of the treatment zone so precisely has, until now, not been possible. While all lasers allow doctors to precisely control the amount of correction, only LADARVISION allows the doctor to customize the size of the treatment area.
Customized astigmatism correction available only with LADARVISION allows for maximum sharpness of vision.
Thanks to the capability to match the treatment size to the patient's pupil, we can maximize the quality of vision both during the day and night. The vast majority of patients have minimal if any night vision complaint following LADARVISION laser vision correction. For the patient for with an unusually large pupil at night, customizing the treatment size only with LADARVISION can greatly reduce any night vision symptoms
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The LASEK system allows for laser vision correction without making an incision to the cornea. With the earlier, LASIK, a thin layer of corneal tissue is lifted to allow the laser to reshape the cornea surface. With LASEK, the epithelium (a thin layer of skin on the eye) is lifted instead and then the cornea is reshaped with the laser.
What does this mean?
Well, for starters if you have been previously discouraged from having LASIK, you may now be an excellent candidate. LASEK technology opens the door for many who thought they would never be rid of cumbersome glasses and high maintenance, uncomfortable contacts.
Patients, who in the past were hesitant to have Laser Vision Correction because of fear of having incision, now have this new option. With LASEK only a thin layer of epithelium, a tissue, which re-grows as predictably as hair, is elevated prior to Laser Vision Correction. No incision is made in the cornea.
Only a laser vision correction professional can tell you which procedure is right for you.
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Originally posted by Tarmac
Can you guys talk about the night vision bit a little more? Do the halos around lights go away, or is that a permanent side effect?
I had halos around street lights and headlight for about 3 months after the surgery. Nothing you cant deal with - just different. The best way I can describe the 'halos' is the way a poorly waxed car looks against sunlight - that 'haze' where the light hits.
After the 90 days or so, they went away.
I have had no reduction in my night vision whatsoever.
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Haven't had it done, but have worn glasses since I was 4 and a half years old, and I had needed them since birth.
I know personally 3 people who have had it done, and they all LOVE it. No complaints from any of them.
Seriously thinking about it now. Eyes are "hardening" with age and my prescription is getting worse/tending toward bifocals.
I did the contact thing from age 19 to about a year ago when the hard lenses scratched my eye. I've been reluctant to go back, and soft lenses are not an option with my astigmatism and farsightedness combination.
Fear of losing sight is diminishing with the advances and reports of people who are happy with the procedure. Just gotta save up the cost.
BB
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While I don't need glasses, Dr Blue wrote this review of his LASIK surgery a few years ago.
http://www.avweb.com/news/aeromed/181599-1.html
He talks about side-effects, possible problems, recommendations for doctors, along with the whole shebang of recovery. Keep in mind the article was written in 2000, so both techniques and the hardware have improved.
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Flakbait [Delta6]
Delta Six's Flight School (http://www.worldaccessnet.com/~delta6)
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Watch Minority Report before thinking about going to the cheap surgeon. :eek:
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Originally posted by beet1e
...and ever since, you've been the winky-wanky man. Every time you wink, you wank. Every time you wank, you wink. Hey boy, stop throwing sand in Mr.Black's eyes. :lol
LOL:rofl
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Fantastic, thanks a lot Flakbait.
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my vision was allways 20/15 but.. as I got older I couldn't correct anymore. With glasses it is still 20/15 but I hate the damn things.
I have had a lot of medievel things done to me by doctors and allways just toughed it out but the thought of somebody cutting on my eye while I am awake and watching is beyond scarry for me. Maybe I have too good an imagination... anyhow... I just can't seem to work up the courage to have it done. When they figure out a way to do it without cutting on my eye Im in.
lazs
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Originally posted by lazs2
my vision was allways 20/15 but.. as I got older I couldn't correct anymore. With glasses it is still 20/15 but I hate the damn things.
I have had a lot of medievel things done to me by doctors and allways just toughed it out but the thought of somebody cutting on my eye while I am awake and watching is beyond scarry for me. Maybe I have too good an imagination... anyhow... I just can't seem to work up the courage to have it done. When they figure out a way to do it without cutting on my eye Im in.
lazs
Lazs ... I too always had 20/10 in both eyes ... such is not the case these days. The eye doctor told me that I suffer from presbyopia ...
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Presbyopia is a vision condition in which the crystalline lens of your eye loses its flexibility, which makes it difficult for you to focus on close objects.
Presbyopia may seem to occur suddenly, but the actual loss of flexibility takes place over a number of years. Presbyopia usually becomes noticeable in the early to mid-forties. Presbyopia is a natural part of the aging process of the eye. It is not a disease and it cannot be prevented.
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which cannot be corrected with this type of surgery.
Lazs ... were just gettin' old ... simple as that.