My wife had it done about 15 years ago. She couldn't get out of bed without her glasses. Loves it. She is getting a little older and now needs reading glasses. She could see the clock on the wall before she got out of the chair and could read license plates on the way home. Late at night, she can see what looks like a halo around street lights. Kinda like after you have been in a swimming pool for a while.
Lasik surgery?
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rlmiller10
Well-Known Member
I had lasik 12 years ago and have loved it. But I will say that the last year or so my sight is getting fuzzy in the distance. My driver was when I was climbing a mountain in RMNP. I was up about 300 ft leading the climb and snow started filling my glasses so I could not see. I finally brushed off my glasses and finished the climb but soon after that had an appointment for lasik.
I would think it could help your "good" eye to allow you to see distance clearly again. Other things to consider though is some people get dry eyes after lasik. So if you already have dry eyes it could make it worse. The other is starburst at night. Newer equipment seems to have reduced that, especially over the old radial PRK surgery. I have a little starburst when driving but it is minimal and I soon got used to it and now have to think about it to even notice it.
I would think it could help your "good" eye to allow you to see distance clearly again. Other things to consider though is some people get dry eyes after lasik. So if you already have dry eyes it could make it worse. The other is starburst at night. Newer equipment seems to have reduced that, especially over the old radial PRK surgery. I have a little starburst when driving but it is minimal and I soon got used to it and now have to think about it to even notice it.
cernst151
Well-Known Member
Getting lasik was the best decision I ever made, including marriage and taking up homebrewing. That sounds bad but my wife, who sadly is ineligible for lasik, says getting her eyes done would definitely outweigh marrying me as a positive. I highly recommend it if you're eligible.
That said, the sight issues you mention don't sound like things lasik can fix. Lasik is only really good with issues with your cornea or lens. Issues with the nerve or muscles are unlikely to be improved with lasik.
If you can do it, go for it. The place I went gave a pretty much perfect prediction of the recovery time. It took 1yr for full recovery but I was ready to drive the next morning. I had bad dry eye issues for a few months and periodic dry eye issues for the next year. My vision was generally 20/20 or better but I would occasionally get double vision, especially when driving at night so I'd get 4 headlights coming at me from an oncoming car. Luckily they were close enough together that I could still drive but I certainly limited my night driving for a while. I also had to wear sunglasses any time I sat in front of the computer for a few weeks.
The procedure is a very weird experience. The place I went offered Valium but I didn't take it because I wanted the experience. I had no pain at all during the procedure but I did smell my eyeball being burned away with lasers. Like I said, very weird experience.
That said, the sight issues you mention don't sound like things lasik can fix. Lasik is only really good with issues with your cornea or lens. Issues with the nerve or muscles are unlikely to be improved with lasik.
If you can do it, go for it. The place I went gave a pretty much perfect prediction of the recovery time. It took 1yr for full recovery but I was ready to drive the next morning. I had bad dry eye issues for a few months and periodic dry eye issues for the next year. My vision was generally 20/20 or better but I would occasionally get double vision, especially when driving at night so I'd get 4 headlights coming at me from an oncoming car. Luckily they were close enough together that I could still drive but I certainly limited my night driving for a while. I also had to wear sunglasses any time I sat in front of the computer for a few weeks.
The procedure is a very weird experience. The place I went offered Valium but I didn't take it because I wanted the experience. I had no pain at all during the procedure but I did smell my eyeball being burned away with lasers. Like I said, very weird experience.
OP
OP
Ha- I'm not a hypochondriac, but I do sound like your dad! I had some tests done a few years ago by an eye doctor who did it for interest, not to make money off of me, (perhaps he was researching a paper). Anyway, I never did get expensive tests done but I always knew that glasses screwed up my vision instead of fixing. So about 5 years ago, I lost some vision in my "good" eye and at that time this eye doctor did some testing that proved I really was using monovision, and had been for a long time (since birth, likely). I had 0 issues with this, until I became a bit nearsighted in my good eye and needed vision correction for driving. Now, I'm taking the glasses off to see anything in my immediate range, but I need them for driving and distance. I really do have one eye for reading, and those tests showed that. Somehow, they used different color text and different colored googles and mapped which eye was seeing and processing what text and photos. Anything close up is 100% done by my left eye, and anything further than about 4 feet is processed by my right eye. Using the computer is interesting, because it's right in the middle and I do use both eyes (that is why I have to take my glasses off to use the computer).
That's what I'm worried about. If the right eye is corrected, would it be like wearing my glasses? Then, I would be unable to read the computer properly and unfortunately I spend WAY too much time on computers. I did try one contact lens on that eye, and it seems that the computer was not an issue at all, and I assume that is because it is directly on the eye and not away from it like glasses are, but I need to find that out for sure. That's really my biggest fear.
That's why I only want one eye done- I "know" my left eye, and that I use it for reading. I read a LOT- about 4 books per week, and generally in the evening, in bed. It may be legally blind when measured, but I do get some peripheral vision out of it (not much) and when I played hockey, I just didn't like being a left defensemen as I couldn't see the boards on that side as well when right up against them. But otherwise, there have been no issues with that eye, and it's not getting worse. Maybe, with age it may worsen, and if that is the case I may have to deal with it in the future.
Thanks for everybody's input!
I was really expecting to hear a horror story or two, and and wondering if there are people who really are sorry they did it.
For the most part what I have heard is that it behaves more like a contact lens only you see better. I am not a dr, let alone an eye dr, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I always noticed that I saw more cleanly? with contact lenses than glasses, it seemed like an upgrade, I can only imagine that it is more of the same having a properly shaped eye.
Reindeer
Well-Known Member
I agree 100%. Except my wife has 20/20 vision, so she can't sympathize. I've worn glasses since I was 9, and couldn't come close to seeing the big "E" on top of the eye chart. Now I'm 20/15. Best money I've spent in my life (my Harley is a close second...) and I'd recommend it to anybody who is eligible.
The procedure is super weird, and amazingly fast. For a few hours after its done it burns like crazy, but the next morning I drove myself to the eye doctor for a re-exam without glasses or contacts, which would have been absolutely impossible before the surgery. The guy who did mine, Dr. Whiting, has done like 95,000 procedures to date.
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Right. Again, amazing that insurance doesn't cover this (at least my experience).
iaefebs
Well-Known Member
If insurance covered this it would be half the price. I think we need some kind of national health care.
I sympathise because I was exactly in the same boat. It is the best money I've ever spent in my life. You simply can not put a price on your vision and being free from glasses is one of the biggest improvements in quality of life that anyone who needs glasses can hope for. People who don't require vision correction simply can't understand just how big of a deal this is.
I hear these type of claims frequently and I always call bullshiot. If he did 30 per day, which would mean working like 12 hour days, working 300 days a year (no doctor is going to work 12 hours a day, 300 days a year), that's 9 thousand operations per year. Working 10.5 years back to back with this same schedule to reach 95000 is insane - no business is capable of that sort of sustained back-to-back long term booking. And unless you just had yours done today, that would mean that he had gotten started like 13 years ago or something - a time when laser eye surgery was incredibly rare and most folks were waiting to see how it turned out for other people (catch 22).
Haha, if you consider creative accounting (a doctor who would count each eye as a seperate procedure), then they double their numbers...
Those counts are for the group. The Dr, and the others in his practice together add up to that 95K procedures.
I had mine in 2000 and have had no issues since. No eye exams, but I pass driving eye exams, so I can see well enough 
I hated hated hated glasses and contacts, so it was perfect for me. Of course now glasses are cool, but I'm so glad to not have to deal with them anymore.
I hated hated hated glasses and contacts, so it was perfect for me. Of course now glasses are cool, but I'm so glad to not have to deal with them anymore.
PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
I want to get get rid of my reading glasses. Is lasix ok for someone over 55? 60?
OP
OP
The one thing I know is that tell you right over the phone that it is NOT for close up, and that most people over 40 will need reading glasses. They fix only the distance things (nearsightedness) and to a very small extent farsightedness, and some astigmatism.
That's one reason I only want one eye done- I should never need reading glasses as my eye doctor explained my monovision as "built in bifocals"!
Oh no! I'm not too far off from that (almost 37).
Oh no! I'm not too far off from that (almost 37).
Sucks man. I remember at just about 40 or so my near vision went south quickly. I used to be able to just about stick my eyeball on something to see it up close. Now there are issues reading fine print, and of course all the computer manufacturers put tiny stickers with part numbers on them so when I have to look something up online I have to take a picture of it on my phone and zoom in on it!
I mean, it's not THAT bad that I have to wear bifocals for daily use, but next time I get glasses I will definitely consider getting a pair to try them out.
cernst151
Well-Known Member
HA! I went to Dr. Whiting too. He does good work. I did it when he was over by Penn Ave. Looks like he's moved since then.
rlmiller10
Well-Known Member
Lasik is for your distance vision. It will not correct and in fact can make your close in (reading) sight worse. So no, not the right treatment to help get rid of reading glasses.
cernst151
Well-Known Member
HA! I went to Dr. Whiting too. He does good work. I did it when he was over by Penn Ave. Looks like he's moved since then.
PackerfaninSanDiego
Member
Hmmm. Then how come when I read about Lasix, it tells me it works on those that are farsighted?
Just came from eye exam/questions. damn dilation .....
If you want both corrections to eliminate all glasses you would have to have one eye corrected for distance and one for close up. Before they would do the surgery, they would give you contacts that simulate the end result. If you like that, then you can choose the lasik. Personally, I tried that contact method years ago and could not handle it....many cannot...because of the off-balance feeling. My brain would not adjust to that condition. (Insert approriate joke here. ) I would still need reading glasses so given the cost of lasik vs contacts and extenuating circumstance of beginning stage of cataract, the doctor and I both agreed I was not a good candidate. It's not that the cataract condition affected the situation for surgery, but that if I develop cataracts and have to have cataract surgery, then they can do a multi-focal lens replacement that does eliminate any need for glasses....and this could possibly be covered under medical insurance. So he advised against the lasik on that basis.
So yes, it can work to correct both.
If you want both corrections to eliminate all glasses you would have to have one eye corrected for distance and one for close up. Before they would do the surgery, they would give you contacts that simulate the end result. If you like that, then you can choose the lasik. Personally, I tried that contact method years ago and could not handle it....many cannot...because of the off-balance feeling. My brain would not adjust to that condition. (Insert approriate joke here.
) I would still need reading glasses so given the cost of lasik vs contacts and extenuating circumstance of beginning stage of cataract, the doctor and I both agreed I was not a good candidate. It's not that the cataract condition affected the situation for surgery, but that if I develop cataracts and have to have cataract surgery, then they can do a multi-focal lens replacement that does eliminate any need for glasses....and this could possibly be covered under medical insurance. So he advised against the lasik on that basis.So yes, it can work to correct both.
OP
OP
Farsightedness isn't the same as needing reading glasses. Most people over 40 have presbyopia. It sort of seems like farsightedness, as the focusing on close objects is impaired, but it has more to do with the stiffening of the lens and the loss of elasticity of the eye muscles from what I understand. That's why lots of people over 40 need reading glasses or bifocals.
My optometrist described it as a the lens not being as flexible and therefor not able to shift into close vision mode.
Future medicine will have a prescription drug, called Retinax V, that can reverse this trait. Unfortunately, Jame T. Kirk will be allergic to it, so Dr. McCoy will have to gift him a pair of reading glasses.
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