Has anyone here has Lasik surgery?

[Search]

I just thought about this on a thread and wanted to ask a question.

The internet is full of crap so I'm not searching anymore. Too many conflicting reports.

Back in the day I heard Lasik reduced ones night vision. This is a problem for me. I have wonderful night vision. In the line of work I'm entering, I wouldn't want to deal with the loss of it. Would be dangerous.

I hate contacts though. They dry out, they make everything blurry, and when night comes and the street lights are on, mixed with headlights, blurry contacts get aggravating quick. I would hate to get something in my eye or them get irritated when working because trying to deal with a messed up contact while patroling doesn't seem like a good situation. It's a fear of mine.

I don't want to wear glasses for obvious reasons. How some cops manage to wrestle people with glasses is above me.

So after a long unneeded message, has anyone here, who had good to perfect night vision, undergone Lasik surgery in the recent years? If so, can you tell me what kind of affect it has on your eyes at night.

Completely perfect? Like having contacts that are working just right?

Or does it slightly remind you of having blurry contacts? I've heard it makes street lights and what not fuzzy.

Lastly, does it degrade your night vision like it did in the past?

I hope someone has some positive experience.

 

[AlexGT]

I have comments about it posted here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=96241

Edit: Here is an interesting site for you to consider:

http://www.lasikdisaster.com/

Its been about 8 years, my eyes are not so dry anymore, don't need to use rewetting drops, my right eye still not has 20/20, its close but I won't bother doing it again.

AlexGT

 

[gswitter]

I haven't had Lasik myself because...

My wife had it done a number of years ago, and her nighttime vision got noticeably worse. It did improve her daytime vision some, but not enough to make up for the problems she has at night. She avoids driving at night now unless she absolutely has to.

 

[Rudi]

Firstly, are you near or far sighted? The results for far-sighted eyes are nowhere near as good as for near-sighted eyes. With near-sighted eyes the results are generally very good, but there is a small chance of the correction drifting a bit with time, and a small chance of halos with bright lights.

 

[Search]

I'm near sighted.

See, I heard that some type of new technology or new techniques eliminated the negative effects at night.

 

[Search]

I have comments about it posted here:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=96241

Edit: Here is an interesting site for you to consider:

http://www.lasikdisaster.com/

Its been about 8 years, my eyes are not so dry anymore, don't need to use rewetting drops, my right eye still not has 20/20, its close but I won't bother doing it again.

AlexGT

That thread is too old for something like surgery. With technology changing I can't really rely on 4 year old advice.

Sadly I don't believe the internet and I don't think my eye doctor wants to spend a lot of time with the negative side because he gets paid for sending me there, I think.

 

[kaichu dento]

I had mine done back in 1997 and my eyes went from 20/800 to 20/40, which is exactly what I asked for. They did a second correction on my left eye because of the large astigmatism correction needed.

After 10 years of being completely satisfied I had an additional correction done and through it all have retained excellent night vision, very often preferring to not use a light in the woods when others are complaining about not being able to see.

One of the most important things to do is make sure you're choosing a clinic whose specialty is this sort of surgery. I chose PCLI (Pacific Cataract Laser Institute), based in the Pacific Northwest, and they had already been a leading specialist back in the 90's when I had my first operation done.

 

[Search]

I had mine done back in 1997 and my eyes went from 20/800 to 20/40, which is exactly what I asked for. They did a second correction on my left eye because of the large astigmatism correction needed.

After 10 years of being completely satisfied I had an additional correction done and through it all have retained excellent night vision, very often preferring to not use a light in the woods when others are complaining about not being able to see.

One of the most important things to do is make sure you're choosing a clinic whose specialty is this sort of surgery. I chose PCLI (Pacific Cataract Laser Institute), based in the Pacific Northwest, and they had already been a leading specialist back in the 90's when I had my first operation done.

That's what I was looking for, a good story.

According a survey done, most peoples night vision returns before 6 months. So, unless that's a lie I'm good.

 

[BB]

My brother in law had it done about a dozen years ago... And was very happy with the results (had very thick glasses for near sightedness).

Over the last 4 mounts, he is one of the 1-3% that had "serious complications" later... After a serious eye surgery to re-attach his retina and work on his cornea (don't know the details, it may have been the result of a second set of operations for a prescription "up-date"--I have been driving him to the doctors for followups for the first couple months). He can barely see out that eye and is hoping for further improvement over the next year. And before the "complication"--he had problems night driving (glare and halos).

My two cents--if you find glasses/contacts to be intolerable--then it may be worth it for you.

Otherwise the risk and unknowns about the future effects on your eyes makes it a throw of the dice.

I have glasses (mostly for astigmatism--was not bad, could drive and fly without glasses until I got older)... And I justify them as "safety glasses", UV protection, and a handy place to clip-on sunglasses.

There are some jobs (pilots, military) where glasses (for correcting major vision issues) are not acceptable... Otherwise, it is a serious procedure with common side effects that the doctors appear to be sugar coating:

FDA clinical trials demonstrate alarming numbers of patients experience complications such as dry eyes and night vision impairment after LASIK. A published review of data from twelve FDA clinical trials for LASIK, including newer technology, reveals that six months after LASIK, 17.5% of patients report halos, 19.7% report glare (starbursts), 19.3% have night-driving problems and 21% complain of eye dryness. Source: Bailey MD, Zadnik K. Outcomes of LASIK for myopia with FDA-approved lasers. Cornea 2007 Apr;26(3):246-54.

I am not one to talk about contacts (don't use them, wife tried them and just was not worth the problem)--but there seem to be many options out there (hard, soft, gas permeable) and even "hard lenses" that can temporarily correct your eye sight (orthokeratology where at night to shape the cornea, during the day, good vision).

Since orthokeratology is completely reversable--you can try it first before you do Lasik and see if the effect on your life is substantial enough (and the contacts at night such a pain) to justify the surgery.

Again--no personal experience--but I would make eye surgery a last choice for eye correction.

-Bill

 

[kaichu dento]

That's what I was looking for, a good story.

According a survey done, most peoples night vision returns before 6 months. So, unless that's a lie I'm good.

While I sat in the waiting room at PCLI I got to watch peoples reactions as they came out of the operating room. With one exception only (me), everyone that came out exclaimed "I can see" as they looked out the window. My correction being so high, it took til the next morning for me to see crisply for the first time in my life, without aid of glasses or contacts.

Hearing of other peoples bad experiences helps to point out how important it is to not go to a clinic who 'also does lasik' but rather one who specializes in it.

 

[Search]

Hearing of other peoples bad experiences helps to point out how important it is to not go to a clinic who 'also does lasik' but rather one who specializes in it.

We have a Lasik "Center" here in a medium size town 15 minutes from here.

That's all they do. I'm starting to want it more and more.

Except I've got to fully foot the $4000 bill.

 

[kaichu dento]

We have a Lasik "Center" here in a medium size town 15 minutes from here.

That's all they do. I'm starting to want it more and more.

Except I've got to fully foot the $4000 bill.

When I paid for mine it hurt my wallet for about half a year, but I was already fully happy to have finally done it the day after as I drove for the first time in my life with no glasses or contact lenses.

Many of my friends pointed out that I could buy lots and lots of contacts and glasses with the $3,000 it cost me, but I'd been wearing both for most of my life and it really takes someone in the same compromised capacity to understand how much of a drag optical eye wear can be on a daily basis; particularly outdoors.

You might want to initially go to a consultation to assess your candidacy for lasik, then you can ask more pointed questions to the clinic at the same time. If you do anything, please keep us updated here!

 

[Search]

When I paid for mine it hurt my wallet for about half a year, but I was already fully happy to have finally done it the day after as I drove for the first time in my life with no glasses or contact lenses.

Many of my friends pointed out that I could buy lots and lots of contacts and glasses with the $3,000 it cost me, but I'd been wearing both for most of my life and it really takes someone in the same compromised capacity to understand how much of a drag optical eye wear can be on a daily basis; particularly outdoors.

You might want to initially go to a consultation to assess your candidacy for lasik, then you can ask more pointed questions to the clinic at the same time. If you do anything, please keep us updated here!

Unless I get some unforeseen help financially, it probably wont happen as soon as I prefer. I pay almost 70 dollars for contacts every other month so over a couple of years, if I had no problems, it would have paid for itself.

I'm just afraid of talking to the clinic or my eye doctor because they are doing it for the money in the end. If I knew they would just tell me straight up if I appeared to be a good candidate then I would just take out a loan. however I know they wouldn't be as truthful as I prefer.

Googling it doesn't do much. I believe some websites either over exaggerate or just speak too positive for various reasons.

Plus, if I go ahead I just ruined any possibility of joining the Military. Not sure how I would feel about that in future years. That's another story though.

 

[kaichu dento]

I'm just afraid of talking to the clinic or my eye doctor because they are doing it for the money in the end. If I knew they would just tell me straight up if I appeared to be a good candidate then I would just take out a loan. however I know they wouldn't be as truthful as I prefer.

Googling it doesn't do much. I believe some websites either over exaggerate or just speak too positive for various reasons.

Plus, if I go ahead I just ruined any possibility of joining the Military. Not sure how I would feel about that in future years. That's another story though.

I can't address your last concern but you sound just a little overly cynical, and although I won't say you have no reason to be cautious, doctors and clinics are still run by people, and as such, run by a very wide range of driving principles.

Just as you decide who to trust in daily life, you'll also detect differences in doctors and their various approaches to decision making.