Lasik?

All I know is that some people aren't good candidates for the surgery, due to astigmatism, etc - I think it depends on the shape of your eye/cornea. I think you would need to go to your eye doc and have them evaluate whether or not you would be a good candidate. I know a few people who have had it done and say it was the best decision they ever made.

I would like to do it myself except that 1.) lasers in my eyes freak me out, esp. since you're conscious while they do it and 2.) it concerns me a little that there's not enough long-term data. It's my vision, and all. I wouldn't want to have any problems 30 years down the line because of the surgery.

My mom had it done at 50 after wearing glasses all her life. One eye was perfect that same day, she had issues with her other one for about 2 weeks. It made her a little nervous but then it was fine.

She wishes she had done it sooner and is going to pay for my brother to get it done as well.

slight hijack that I hope is in the OPs ballpark...

Anybody know about corrective surgery for farsightedness?  I wear glasses for close up correction. I believe standard Lasik can't correct for this, but I think I heard about lens replacement that can.

 One of the best decisions I have made. My cousin went to this guy first and was happy with her results. Mrsmdg went next and then I went in. I referred a co-worker after I had mine done. So far we are all extremely pleased with the results. I have some dry eye issues. I put in OTC drops when I wake up and am good to go for the day. The halos at night were a major concern for me, but I have not experienced any. My understanding is the laser technology used can affect that outcome. Shop around because they don't all use the newest laser technology and that might affect your results. If you qualify for lasik, find someone who does interlase. It is bladeless and basically the doctor holds your head and the laser does all the work.

 I did not qualify for lasik and had PRK done instead. My cornea thickness was 1/2 a micron too thin and the Doctor would not budge on his decision. PRK is a little more invasive since they scrape off the top layer instead of making a flap like Lasik. I could not see very well for about a week while the layer grew back. My vision fluctuated for 1 year just like he said it would and has since stabilized. It was never bad enough that I needed corrective lenses to do anything. We are all happy with the results we have gotten from this guy. I don't know anyone in the Dallas - Fort Worth area, but if you come down to SA, Edward Rashid is the guy we used.

I'm no expert but as far as I know there are very, very few (if any at all) options for farsightedness.  It's much easier to remove depth from the eye/cornea (as is the case for Lasik) than add it.

I had it done about 14 years ago and was by far one of the best decisions on my life.  My vision was so bad that I couldn't read the E on the eye chart.  The morning after the surgery I was able to see the alarm clock without glasses, it was life changing for me.  I had to go back about 6 months later for a slight correction to get even closer to 20/20.  I'm now at 20/20 and 20/25.  I had a short while where my eyes were dry and needed natural tears drops, but that went away.  My only issue is that glare can sometimes be a problem.  I end up wearing sunglasses even on overcast days to reduce glare, but I can see really well.  I see even better at night, go figure.

As for astigmatism, it's no longer true that if you have it you can't get Lasik and it hasn't been true for a long time.  I had mild to moderate astigmatism and I could still have it.  And...the process has improved quite a bit since I had it so even people with more severe astigmatism can still get it.  Of course, there is a limit so just find a reputable doc and have an evaluation.

Good luck!

It amazes me how easily some ppl give in to marketing. Yes, it might work in a percentage of cases, but also it has been known to induce complications that made some other ppl blind. Thats it, blind. So as with anything experimental, there is far far too much unknowns in this field, while all doctros try to persuade you the other way - it's harmless, it's this, it's that. Now, when there is something as sensitive as vision and as eyes in q, I would not trust anyone who has their sights set on performing the procedure for money. And that is for a lot of money.

Too much unexplored sideffects, the operation is known for actually worsening some aspects of seeing, and last, the structural stability of the eye is in danger if there is even a slight mistake by the doctor.

Thanks, I'll take contacts over this any day.

 Nice to have the option to wear contacts. My astigmatism was so bad that the toric lens I had to wear in my right eye felt like  a hubcap. In my wife's case, she came to a point where she was advised that she would not be able to wear contacts again. She had some complication after wearing them for years. And no, the doctor who performed the lasik was not the same doc who said she could not wear contacts anymore, nor was there a referral.

My lasik was "less than perfect" but I still see better than I ever did with glasses, plus I now have an expanded field of vision.  I would recommend it.

With any surgery, there are risks.  Being an active kid, I had wire rimmed glasses driven into my cheeks twice playing pick-up sports.  Another 1/2" up, and it would have been my eyes, and would have been the victims of the trauma.  So glasses could have also made me blind.  And I hated contacts!

It has been about 2 years for me.  And I fall into the camp of incredible.

I did a lot of research too, but at some point, you just need to go with your gut.

I spoke to everyone and anyone.  Couldn't find anyone that did it that did not think it was spectacular.

This is correct, another set of eyes does not grow on trees, and there is no procedure needed that would require working with blades and lasers on anyone's eyes.

The fact that ppl tell you that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, does not nessecary means it really is. Long term effects are little understood, there has been a great percentage of complications basing on what I saw when I typed "lasik complications" into google. Also, the procedure is very invasive to your eyes, which I believe to be a very very bad thing. What will happen 30 yrs down the line, noone can tell. Also, there had been sucess stories, there had been tragic failure ones. And the stake here is your VISION. Do ppl sometimes forget it or what, I do not know, but I do know that those who lost their vision, probably didn't think it would happen to them.

Burning away eye tissue with a high powered laser? That must be a joke, right? No, that's lasik. And that is something I most definitevely DO NOT think about getting done, ever. Try to read the FDA page on lasik procedure - someone posted it here before. It gives a pretty objective view on the procedure, and that view is not pretty at all.

Yeah, next thing you know they're going to come out with a procedure where they slice you open, use an industrial saw to splay open your chest, rip veins out of your leg, and sew them into your heart that's been frozen to make it stop.

BTW, you don't sound that objective.  Hopefully the report you quote is though.

Denise2003 - 2008-12-01 3:00 PM I was just talking to my friend the other day about Lasik (she was considering it). She said a mutual ex-coworker of ours got it done and the procedure went wrong and the doctor did not know what to do about it. This person then couldn't find another doctor that would fix it because nobody wanted to deal with another doctor's mess. Lesson from this incident is try to find a doctor who have encountered complication during the procedure and knows what to do with it. Don't mean to scare anybody or anything, just want to throw someting into the pot of discussion, that's all.

All surgery carries inherent risks. I think with this, just like anything else, you need to do some research into it, and find doctors with excellent credentials, track records, etc. I personally am a little weirded out by the fact that this is a fairly new procedure and we don't have a 50 year record of what happens as your eyes age after having had the surgery. But I suppose it's the same with any innovative surgery, so I would never say "Don't Do It" to anyone.