LASIK <Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis>

my step-mother had this done over a year ago. Last I heard she's still waiting for a settlement.

enjoy.

i did it. best thing i ever did. i need a re-do though, cause its been a while.

mmm... typically, how many months go by until you need to have a touch up?

also, does the ophthalmologist you go to give you a lifetime of free touch ups?

I had mine done (nearsighted) about three years ago. I still have 20/20 and not a single complaint.

I went and had a consult done and I decided not to go with it. I'm nearsighted and am stuck wearing glasses almost all the time. So I was thinking that it would be great not to have to worry about them when doing outdoorsy stuff especially. What was explained to me by the Doc I saw is that I have near perfect vision to about 5 feet which should never degrade. However if I chose to have the procedure done they would almost guarantee that I would need reading glasses in 10-15 years plus the tendency for the effectiveness of the procedure to gradually wear off possibly requiring another procedure or even glasses. For me personally I went with the 'Bird in the Hand vs Bird in the Bush' paradigm.

Instead I always take my time to shop for good glasses. I also bring in a pair of 'Designer' sunglasses (don't make me look like Bill Gates Circa 1984) and have a pair of polarized prescriptions put in albeit pricey its worth it. Amazingly a $250 pair of prescription sunglasses almost never disappear. I've seen many a party where someone slyly picked up my sunglasses, put them on and within seconds set them down once the vertigo set in.

InfectionConnection: i did it. best thing i ever did. i need a re-do though, cause its been a while.

Holy meep, you need re-dos? I didn't know that.

As if getting your eyeballs cut open with lasers while you're still trying to see out of them didn't sound stomach-churning enough already, now you can look forward to a steady diet of same!

Blech. Freak me out, man.

They don't cut your eyes with lasers. They cut the lens almost all the way off with a razor, fold it back and burn the underlying eyeball material away with a laser. The corrections are minute and completely painless. It's scary as meep but they dose you with Valium before the procedure. You'll be pretty relaxed, believe me.

I was also told that I will one day need reading glasses because my eyes will age at a normal pace. I will never again need glasses to drive or whatnot but when I'm in my late 40's or 50's I'll most likely be slightly farsighted like most older people who had perfect vision as young fellas.

You CAN choose to have this corrected but I doubt I'll care to. Just leave a pair of reading glasses on the desk and one at home and be done with it.

There isn't a tune up needed to re-correct your vision at some regular interval. The procedure is permanent. As long as it's done correctly, you'll be fine. There is, however the possibility that they will under-correct your vision with the first treatment. In that case, you'll have to go back and have it fine tuned before you'll have 20/20.

Anyone considering this should get references and be super choosy about who you choose to use for the procedure. Don't shop around for the best price, go with the guy that has the most experience.

That said, it is a life changing procedure. I meeping love being able to see the world around me without the meeping goggles.

Wotak: They cut the lens almost all the way off with a razor, fold it back and burn the underlying eyeball material away with a laser.

Jesus meep. JESUS meep.

they now have an all-laser option so that the procedure doesn't involve any blades. apparently they shoot light at some frequency that causes small bubbles to form between your cornea and the main part of the eye, then they take a super high frequency beam to make a small incision in the bubble, and finally they blast the stuff underneath the cornea.

so im going to another ophthalmologist on thursday for another consult. the first guy i went to looked buzzed while he was talking to me, and his wife/nurse/attendant had a terrible boobjob... they seemed kinda shady.

Beta eye surgery is a bad idear, yo.

This is the procedure I had. It looks freaky and you'll be scared as meep before it begins but there is zero pain. It takes less than 5 minutes per eye and by the time you're done with the first one you're thinking; "meep, that's it?".

How do they get the lens to stay in place afterwards do they glue it with something or do they leave it to heal on its own?

The lens, or flap, is super thin. It stays in place once it is positioned properly. There is no adhesive used. Just the eyes natural moisture. It sticks like an onionskin to a wet counter top.

You leave the hospital with some darkened goggles on that keep you from touching your eyes. You sleep with these on for the first week, but the majority of the healing for the flap happens in the first 48 hours. You are dosed with Valium again before leaving and asked to return home and sleep for 4 to 6 hours. I had no problem doing this.

You return to your doctors office the next morning for a checkup and again after a week. Then again in two weeks.

After you wake from your first nap, your eyesight is already better but it's a bit fuzzy for the first few days. Kind of like when your tired, or you've been swimming for to long. By the end of the first week, your vision should be clear and sharp. It's really quite amazing.

Regulator: How do they get the lens to stay in place afterwards do they glue it with something or do they leave it to heal on its own?

Staples, Mcmeepa.