Laser surgery & shooting

[One of Many]

My vision requires about 10 diopters of correction for nearsightedness, plus correction for astigmatism and doublevision due to muscle imbalance in the eyes. I have had two surgeries (about 20 years apart) to improve the double vision, but I still will see double when I am extremely tired. I had a detached retina in one eye a few years ago, and though I test at near 20/20 with my eyeglasses, I can not focus quickly with that eye. The floaters in that eye are also a big nuisance. I can not use the lightweight lenses due to severe distortion that causes tunnel vision; the glass lenses I am forced to use are extremely heavy.

I currently use two sets of bifocal eyeglasses; one for driving and outdoor activities, and the other for reading and computer work. Trifocals are not an option for me.

I do not believe the LASIK surgery would be able to completely eliminate my need for eyeglasses, due to the double vision and old eyes that can't adapt quickly to changes in focal distance. I wonder if there would be enough benefit in LASIK by reducing the amount of correction (and the weight of the lenses) I need.

I am very interested in the implantable devices. I knew that they are used in cataract cases where the eye clouds up, and the lenses are removed, but did not know that they are now used for general vision correction.

Most insurance does not cover refractive eye surgery, but will cover procedures for cataracts and detached retinas, etc. What is the cost range for the implantable devices for refractive correction?

 

[Soybomb]

About a month ago I went in after wearing glasses for nearly 2 decades and decided to try contacts for the first time. It took 3 tries for me to come up with something I liked since apparently I have dry eyes in contacts, but I have. I've settled on night&day lenses which are approved for up to 30 days continuous wear even when sleeping. My optomitrist isn't thrilled with the idea but loves them over lasik since they are at least removeable. I did ask him what he thought of lasik and he said 10 years ago he loved it, now he doesn't since he's treating the people with lasik problems. He's also worried that it will get worse with all the discount lasik houses running ads in the newspaper for $20 surgery. Now I think he's a little conservative and a little pessimistic with both, but you do only have 2 eyes.

Right now I've been wearing my night & days and generally taking them out before I go to sleep just because it isn't difficult. However I have worn them for as many as 4 nights before I took them out too. Some of my friends do 30 day continuous wear however. They're pretty comfortable and not near as bad as the first 2 pairs of contacts I tried out. If you're considering lasik I'd encourage you to also try out some of the new silicone hyrdrogel style contacts like ciba's night & day and bausch and lomb's purevision. They're sure better than I thought and sure better than the conventional soft contact lenses I tried at first.

At 25 I'm at -3.5d in both eyes, I can't imagine how blind you guys approaching -10 feel without glasses.

 

[Waywardmonk]

One of Many...

The ICL's are pricey at several thousand per eye but consider that against the cost of eyeglasses and the sheer pleasure of not having to wear them anymore. To me it is definitely worth saving for, hell, there are tv's that cost that much without being nearly as useful or life changing.

 

[ArmedBear]

Here's the thing.

I know a few people who have had it.

Loss of low-light vision, and "dry eye syndrome" where you have to use eyedrops a lot when you never needed them before are common. The low-light vision thing can be really bad.

Some of them wear glasses again, since their vision is only 20/30 or so.

But some other people report that it's the best decision they ever made.

I wear disposable contacts, and I have for years. I keep toying with the idea of LASIK, but then I keep hearing feedback that makes me very uncomfortable. The money is not the issue for me; we're not rich, but for truly perfect eyes, we could come up with the money. We did it when our dog needed knee surgery, for chrissakes. The issue is that I just don't trust the procedure or the profit-driven assembly line clinics that perform it. I don't think that they're usually telling everyone the whole story. And these are your eyes you're toying with, not some used pickup truck, where all you can really lose is the few grand you spend.

Some people just aren't very in-tune with themselves physically, either. But those who are, seem to notice when their eyes just don't work like they want them to.

I've chosen not to decide, at this point.

 

[CypherNinja]

I'm quite young by the standards of many members here (23).

I'd decided that I'd wait for a few more generations of development before I had anything done. I'm especially waiting for the adaptive-optic, implantable lenses.

 

[PinnedAndRecessed]

What armed bear said. I don't know who the proponents of this surgery (on this thread) are. They might be employees of the clinics.

But you'd better do your homework. Big time. As in checking on pending lawsuits of your proposed clinic, etc.

And 44Brent gave an excellent link for your perusal.

http://www.lasikflap.com/forum/

Looking at this web page you see countless complications from the procedure. Patients suing doctors. Doctors suing patients. Pain. Suffering.

There's even a thread about different patients who were abandoned by their docs after the fees were paid and the complication set in.

Tuckerdog started this thread. He's obviously having problems.

And anyone (myself included) who is contemplating this procedure better realize that an anonymous internet forum is NOT the place to make a potentially life changing decision.

Caveat emptor.