Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Sandman on September 02, 2004, 01:05:39 PM
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Ya know... for the past few days, my glasses just seem to feel like they are pinching my skull. A few months ago, it was the same way... I bought a new pair, extremely light, polycarbonate lenses, etc. These new ones are a fraction of the weight of my old pair...
But now, I'm thinking... surgery. Maybe that'll do it. The downside is that I'll require glasses to read afterwards, but I might be willing to put up with it.
Anyone have this type of surgery? Was it worth it?
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My aunt did it a few years ago, and was very pleased with the results...I'm not sure if she did the Lasik or the other one. Sorry, but I couldn't be more vague than that. ;)
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I had it done monday of last week- Lasik. Apart from a little haziness everythings great! Just stopped wearing the eye protectors at night, still on the steroid eye drops for a while.
I now have 20/20 vision :D. I'm 29, wish I hadn't waited this long.
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Is this only for myiopism(sp?), I'm "hypermetrope" and "astigmate" (sorry don't know the english word for those)... I sure as h** could get rid of those glasses...
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I did it a few years back... 2001 I guess.
Would do it again in a heartbeat. (LASIK)
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Sandman, I had LASIK done and I love the results. 20/15 vision and sometimes I can read most of the 20/10 line. And thats from eyes that were almost 20/500.
But do be warned that there are potential side effects. For instance I ended up with wrinkles in my cornea after my first Lasik surgery and they had to do many followup procedures (which were worse than the initial surgery by far) to correct the problem.
I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat, but realize that its got a very small chance of problem, and sometimes like in bingo, they call your number.
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My sister had it done about 5 years ago. Like a frikkin miracle. All her life she was 20/400, then presto, 20/20.
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Saw: I had astigmatism too, they corrected it. Dunno about the hypermetrope thing.
Vermillion: The wrinkling was something I worried about a lot. I did a lot of internet research (including this board) and remember reading a horror story involving oil on the blade, bits of metal etc. Still glad I went ahead.
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Read up on the risks, there's a site I saw that had hundreds of testimonials including complications, and it might be good to go into this prepared. I wish I had the link, I'll look some more later.
Good luck!
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Originally posted by Vermillion
Sandman, I had LASIK done and I love the results. 20/15 vision and sometimes I can read most of the 20/10 line. And thats from eyes that were almost 20/500.
But do be warned that there are potential side effects. For instance I ended up with wrinkles in my cornea after my first Lasik surgery and they had to do many followup procedures (which were worse than the initial surgery by far) to correct the problem.
I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat, but realize that its got a very small chance of problem, and sometimes like in bingo, they call your number.
Wrinkles in the cornea? Just out of curiosity - what ate the visual effects of such a condition and why/how are the subsequent procedures "worse" than the initial one?
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Originally posted by Sandman
Ya know... for the past few days, my glasses just seem to feel like they are pinching my skull. A few months ago, it was the same way... I bought a new pair, extremely light, polycarbonate lenses, etc. These new ones are a fraction of the weight of my old pair...
But now, I'm thinking... surgery. Maybe that'll do it. The downside is that I'll require glasses to read afterwards, but I might be willing to put up with it.
Anyone have this type of surgery? Was it worth it?
um my g/f had it - don't go near it if you're squeamish about having your eye held open by a metal ring thingy, your eye sliced open, a flap pulled back and then the smell of burning eyeball when the lazer hits..... also hurts like hell for a few days afterwards....
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was legally blind
had it done in summer of 90 (RK) before lasers, used a diamond tipped scalpel
need reading glasses now, for the last 10 months or so. would do it again in a heartbeat
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Originally posted by _Schadenfreude_
um my g/f had it - don't go near it if you're squeamish about having your eye held open by a metal ring thingy, your eye sliced open, a flap pulled back and then the smell of burning eyeball when the lazer hits..... also hurts like hell for a few days afterwards....
No pain on my end. Didnt feel the eyeball holder thingy either.
They give you a relaxer drug orally before the surgery and novicane in eyedrop form as well.
I didnt feel **** and couldnt care less. Good times!
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No pain here either.
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:: has image of laser surgery scene in logans run, shudder :::
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The best recommendation is to be well informed. Here is a site that will give you the "horror" stories of Lasik.
http://www.lasikdisaster.com/ (http://www.lasikdisaster.com/)
This site is definitely ANTI-LASIK. It demonstrates the WORST case scenerios. Use it as a tool to increase your knowledge of what COULD happen. Don't make any decisions based on that site alone.....
I had the procedure performed in Nov '03 and I am now 20/15 in both eyes. I have 2 minor side effects. 1. slight haloing/starbursting around lights at night. 2. minor dry eye when I am tired (which I never had before the procedure). Neither of these side effects would make me regret having the procedure. I am extremely pleased with the results after 10 months. I do recommend the procedure, but I always give the above site out to make sure the person understands the risks involved with this completely elective operation.
Terror
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Wrinkles in the cornea? Just out of curiosity - what ate the visual effects of such a condition and why/how are the subsequent procedures "worse" than the initial one?
Basically, think of it as a bad window tinting job with bubbles/wrinkles in it. Depending on the size/position of the wrinkle, you can have just generally blurry vision ( like me) or you can have just a portion of your vision blurred.
The initial LASIK procedure is just mildly discomforting, like learning to wear contacts for the first time. Afterwards your eyes feel slightly itchy or like you have some dust in your eyes. Goes away very quickly in a few days. The worst you vision was to start, the more "side effects" you feel and the longer it takes for your vision to clear up.
The "Follow Up" procedure..... Nasty.
First, they take the corneal flap, peel it back up like the skin of a grape and then use a small tool to smooth it back down over the eye. Then they basically "squeegie" it down over and over with a tool like the one used to clean windows at a gas station. This greatly irritates the hell of the corneal flap, because it basically bruises the crap out of the flesh as it is "massaged" back into place. This takes about 30-45 minutes of having your eye pried wide open, and staring into a bright light. Not much fun.
Two, they try #1 all over again.
Three, they do #1 all over again, but THIS time they put stitches into the corneal flap (I think it was 6 but can't remember exactly). This was friggin excrutiating. The stitches have to be perfectly uniform and symmetrical in location, so that the corneal flap is stretched tight like the head of a drum. They're suppose to stay in for 2 weeks. Me, I had mine in about 6 hours before one of the stitches popped loose and started scraping the inside of my eyelid. Some of the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced, and I've put nails thru my foot, torn ligaments, and had tons of stitches. I ended up having to call my doctor at 2:00AM. Spent two weeks on pain pills and massive steroids due to the inflamation (gained 15 pounds). And to top it all off, the whole procedure was a waste of time, because once the first stitch popped loose, all the others had to be removed because the tension was not uniform and it would only make the problem worse. Oh and did I mention that it takes about 1.5 hours of staring into the "spotlight" like in a movie where they interogate the spies, and you can't blink the whole time while they put the stitches in..
Fourth, and thank God the last time, they used the laser to burn off the excess tissue in the wrinkle, which made the cornea smooth again.
The Ironic part of it all, is that the eye that had the most problems turned out in the end to be the one with the best vision.
Like I said, it was living hell for the better part of a year. But I'd do it all over again if that was what it took. Having perfect vision, when you couldn't see an alarm clock right next to your face before, is a gift from God.
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Oh.... and FYI
If your looking at getting the procedure done. Make sure you go to a doctor that has the new "Wavefront" Laser machines. This is the one that actually reads the entire surface of your eye, and does a custom ablation (laser application) that fixes the specific deformations of your eye.
With the older procedure, the laser application was pretty generic from person to person, depending on your vision.
This new procedure is especially helpful if you have astigmatism.
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Originally posted by Sandman
Ya know... for the past few days, my glasses just seem to feel like they are pinching my skull. A few months ago, it was the same way... I bought a new pair, extremely light, polycarbonate lenses, etc. These new ones are a fraction of the weight of my old pair...
But now, I'm thinking... surgery. Maybe that'll do it. The downside is that I'll require glasses to read afterwards, but I might be willing to put up with it.
Anyone have this type of surgery? Was it worth it?
A friend of mine is wearing contacts at night that will correct his vision. I'm not sure what it's called. Supposedly he wears them at night and it corrects his vision without surgery.
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Now I believe they have an all laser blade-free procedure. I have wanted to do this for years but just couldnt afford it. Now with the new job, I think I might do this sometime in the next year or so.
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Or you could just wear contacts.
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Originally posted by midnight Target
Or you could just wear contacts.
Depending on your job it's not a good solution. Try painting new homes in contacts. Latex on the contact is no good.. and latex on the safety glasses means you can't even see your wet line for the overlap.
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Originally posted by midnight Target
Or you could just wear contacts.
Gave that a try for awhile. Unfortunately, they were never comfortable. Even the 'extended wear' stuff hurt after 8-10 hours.
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Sandy
I had it done 4 years ago. When I went in they said I had the worse astigmatism they had ever seen, they showed me a #D shot of my eyeball lense( cornia?)
It looked like a pointy cone lol.
I used the Lasic people in San Jose, they had to fly the head surgeon out from LA, they told me up front I would prolly have to have 2 surguries, one to get me in the 20/100 range and the next 6 months later to get me 20/20.
2600 bucks later, and the very next day I was 20/24 and 20/20.
By the end of the second week I was 20/20 both eyes as longs as I had enough tears.
4 years later and I am still fine, and do not need glasses or anything.
Best money I have ever spent on anything in my life. I would do it again in a second.
What really brought it home for me was swimming, I was so used to everything being blurry swimming, I dove in and came up and the world was crisp and clear, it was shocking!
Bright sunlight was bothersome the first year, but now it does not bother me much.
I say go for it man, my best buddy, and sister have had it done along with 2 people I work with and everyone loves it.
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I've been thinking about it myself, and know a number of people who had great results. But, I also know one woman who had both her eyes screwed up and can barely see (a reputable place too). It was a woman I met at a party so I don't remember the details.
It's tempting, but...
Charon
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Originally posted by Sandman
Anyone have this type of surgery? Was it worth it?
Yes.
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Originally posted by Sandman
Anyone have this type of surgery? Was it worth it?
I had it in 98. I know someone that had it prior to me, and another friend had it a few years after. All of us have said at one point it was one of the best self investments we ever made.
Since you're local, I can refer you to the Dr. that did mine if you like. I had the bladed lazik. They've since gone to the all laser version.
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I had RK on one eye about 91 or 92. It lasted for better than 10 years and was very satisfying. At this time I cannot have any further corrections done to that eye since lasik and RK are incompatible. I had no problems with the RK other than from the FAA.
At least now the FAA is tentatively blessing the lasik.
I am using glasses now and plan to stay with them simply because I need coreections for both eyes and I can't do surgery on one eye again.
If you're interested in it Sandy, go for it. It's nice to not need glasses again. Make sure you get a full briefing on night vision changes. RK gives a "starburst" effect on lights at night. It's annoying at first but you get used to it.
I've had surgery on both eyes to correct crossed eyes at about 13 and RK much later. It's not bad so don't let the stories about pain discourage you.
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Yeah it did not hurt much for me. None in the actual surgery, a little after for about a week, but only because they forget to give me liquid tears and my eyes were to dry.
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Thanks guys... I'll definitely consider it.
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I wouldn't waste my money Sandy, even after the surgery, you'll still see everything with a liberal slant.
:p
Denise had the surgury back in Jan 2000, and she has no regrets. Her eyes were for **** before (hell, she married me), but no she sees perfectly (but for some reason didn't run away).
-Sik
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have you tried pulling those stupid plastic things at the end of the arms off?
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Sandman, I had it done in early 2000. Only felt like sand in my eyes for the rest of the day (of the lasik procedure) The eye protectors and drops are no big deal. Went from 20/200 to 20/20. I had mostly astigmitism, some near sightness (couldn't see far away) Almost 5 years later, still 20/20. Only down side is bright light bothers me, and flouresent lights give me a head ache. By a good pair of sunglasses for afterward, don't go cheap, they will just screw up your eyes.
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Eagler how bad was your astigmatism before the surgery? What was your vision corrected too?
IKON
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A guy at our church had it done about 10 years ago - somebody messed up, and now he is 100% blind!