Fixing eyes, anybody done it?

So, I have my new contacts today.
It's my worst prescription in years and years.
The Dr. says I'm sorry this is the best we can do.
(This has happened before in the past, but then
there will be a little advance in contacts that
catches up and I'm OK for a while)

I have my doubts the contact people will catch up well this time.
My vision is about 20/600+ with astigmatism in both eyes
(new for this year in the right eye)

It's hard to explain - I can drive and see the TV, but nothing is sharp.
I've been fortunate enough to have my vision corrected most years
to sharp. I use my eyes a lot for my job (reading/computer), and
I read at home too. So it's important to me.

Has anybody had their eyes fixed, and by what method?

My fear is I get them fixed, then need correction. I know RK, you can
never wear contacts again. I'm not sure about lasik. Or any new developments.
I've not talked to a dr. because they make money selling a product,
not scaring me away from their product.

I only know one person that has had her eyes fixed (not sure what method,
about 6 years ago) and she lost her night vision. I have the night vision
of a cat, I don't want to lose that.

Any insights?

I had LASIK done about 5 years ago when my vision was +4.50 in both eyes. I had 20/15 vision immediately after with no halos, flares, or loss of night vision. Granted, I already had a pre-existing condition of having larger than normal pupils which gives me awesome night vision (like a cat), but I'm more sensitive to changes in light (my eyeballs feel physical discomfort when transitioning from dark to light spaces).

So far I've had no deterioration in vision at all (though my prescription prior to LASIK had held steady for several years). Having it done at at a relatively younger age (I had it done at 23) probably helps your chances of your corrected vision holding steady. My mother had LASIK done during it's infancy (~15 years ago) and her nearsightedness has never come back, though age rendered her far-sighted so she ended up needing glasses again.

Pros: Waking up at any hour and being able to see the clock. Another plus is having a cleaner rim around my toilet.

Cons: LASIK is perhaps the most terrifying procedure you'll ever go through. You're completely awake and your eyes are numbed but not paralyzed so when they're cutting into your cornea, the doctor informs you not to move your eyeballs (your eyelids are held open clockwork orange style). I believe the newer wavefront procedures alleviate this problem. Getting back to the gore, while you don't feel pain, you feel the sensation of the doctor's blade-like contraption sawing into your cornea (because of the vaccuum suction placed onto the flap, you're completely blind at this point so all you see is blackness while your eyes are open).

Next thing you know, the corneal flap is flipped open. Because of the change in light diffraction between your cornea (or lackthereof) and the liquid aqueas humuor inside your eyeball, when the corneal flap is flipped opened, it appears as if you're under water. Next, the doctor shoots a frickin laserbeam into your half opened eyeball to reshape your lens (all the while the smell of burning tissue permeates around your eyeball). To finish, the "doctor" just flips the flap closed and tells you not to rub your eyes for the next 48 hours else you'll go blind. Apparently the eyeball is self-sealing. Just needs time to heal. The next 24 hours are going to be excruciating pain. It feels like your eyeballs are on fire and someone is pissing denatured alcohol into the scorching coals in your eye socket. After a night of sleep, you wake the next morning and open your eyes (after untaping the plastic eyepatches so you don't rub your eyes in your sleep) and tada! You can see the light! (with clarity).

Is perfect eyesight and no hassles of glasses and contacts worth the terror? Hell yeah!... I just wished someone told me what the procedure was like before I went under the laser.

Another con... you start spending ludicrous amounts of money on sunglasses.

Originally Posted by Jenaimarr

Click to expand...

Cons: LASIK is perhaps the most terrifying procedure you'll ever go through. You're completely awake and your eyes are numbed but not paralyzed so when they're cutting into your cornea, the doctor informs you not to move your eyeballs (your eyelids are held open clockwork orange style). I believe the newer wavefront procedures alleviate this problem. Getting back to the gore, while you don't feel pain, you feel the sensation of the doctor's blade-like contraption sawing into your cornea (because of the vaccuum suction placed onto the flap, you're completely blind at this point so all you see is blackness while your eyes are open).

Next thing you know, the corneal flap is flipped open. Because of the change in light diffraction between your cornea (or lackthereof) and the liquid aqueas humuor inside your eyeball, when the corneal flap is flipped opened, it appears as if you're under water. Next, the doctor shoots a frickin laserbeam into your half opened eyeball to reshape your lens (all the while the smell of burning tissue permeates around your eyeball). To finish, the "doctor" just flips the flap closed and tells you not to rub your eyes for the next 48 hours else you'll go blind. Apparently the eyeball is self-sealing. Just needs time to heal. The next 24 hours are going to be excruciating pain. It feels like your eyeballs are on fire and someone is pissing denatured alcohol into the scorching coals in your eye socket. After a night of sleep, you wake the next morning and open your eyes (after untaping the plastic eyepatches so you don't rub your eyes in your sleep) and tada! You can see the light! (with clarity).

Is perfect eyesight and no hassles of glasses and contacts worth the terror? Hell yeah!... I just wished someone told me what the procedure was like before I went under the laser.

Another con... you start spending ludicrous amounts of money on sunglasses.

I would definitely roll around my eyeball - how can you not?!
And what if the doctor screws up and you become blind??
Losing a finger is one thing - eyesight is another.

Yeah I can't imagine how hard it would be to keep the eyeball still.

LASIK has improved in the past few years. The aftermath won't necessarily be painful. Vision should be improved immediately and probably reach maximum correction (prescription, such as 20/20) by the next day.

Wiki page

The fear argument about corrective eye surgery is a bit overdone. Many of the same people have a higher chance of contacts-related infection, albeit the risk of very sudden worsening of vision likely is less.

I had lasik performed back in the year 2000, I was 35 years old at the time. I'm sure the procedure has changed with the advancement of technology, but basically all I had to do back then was look through the scope and focus on the red dot (laser). It seemed to me a very simple procedure, they gave me a little shot to settle your nerves beforehand, and it was all over in minutes. It was the best money I ever spent. I was near sighted and had a stigmatism. I was seeing 20/15 the next day, and I think I've minimal if any degradation in the seven years since.

Originally Posted by sonick

Click to expand...

Yeah I can't imagine how hard it would be to keep the eyeball still.

Haha, yeah that would be tough lol. Don't wince you *****!! Actually the microkeratome they use to cut the eye actually sucks it up to hold it in place. I felt like I was moving my eye a crapload, but the doctor assured me this wasn't the case. The procedure actually wasn't that bad. The pre-surgery fear was much much worse. When they lift the flap, everything turns kind of a dark green and looks like you are underwater in a murky swamp. I experienced minimal discomfort afterwards. The hardest part was sleeping with goggles on for a week and then not rubbing your eyes for 6 months afterwards.

I was seeing 20/15 the next day (almost 20/10) and I was 20/80 before. I am about 20/20 now, and this is with dry eyes I've found. I put some eye drops in the other day and vision was way better, so I am guessing it is a little better than 20/20 on a good day and about 20/20 on average, which is fine with me.

One thing to watch out for is to make sure the doctor only uses German mechanical devices. They are the most expensive and my Dr. says he spends 100k a year servicing them. Many doctors will cut corners by using cheaper mechics, but the failure rate is too high on them.

I also got the custom lasik, which uses two lasers and is supposed to improve night vision, which it did for me.

I read a bunch on that site listed above.

Now I'm afraid.

I'm not sure what to do.

I'm currently having the worst corrected vision
year in memory.

But I sure don't want it worse....

Good news in my life for once.

I'm not sure what that other dr. sighted me for.
Maybe its a bad time in his life, or maybe he has
to choose from lenses that Sam's carrys.
I just don't know.

But what I do now know is my vision is 100% correctable.

I just got back from the second opinion dr. The trial set
which was just close, is the best I've had in memory.

The real set is supposed to give me F16 pilot vision.

I had lasik 7 years ago.

I still have 20/15 vision in one eye and 20/20 in the other.

One of the best things I ever did.

My father had lasik and it work great for him too. Of course there are always risks associated with surgery but its suppost to be very safe.

I recently had lasik and i think the joy of being able to get up and see everything without reaching for the galsses is worth the trouble.

My glasses had a power of minus 9 and i tell you the joy of not having lenses and spectacles is so worth it!

Talk to you doc about it. The cost will even out over time as opposed to buying lenses etc.

All th best
peace be
GK

I've worn glasses since I was 10 and got lasik when I was about 25. I'm really happy with it.

Jenaimarr's description is accurate except that I had the "custom lasik" procedure which includes NO cutting! You are awake and wearing the clockwork-orange eye-openers the whole time but you are numb (plus they gave me a mild sedative as well)

My post-op experience was less painful than Jenaimarr. Immediately after the surgery they had me sit in a recliner with my eyes closed for about 15 minutes. I was still feeling the sedative so I was not in pain. Afterwards they sent me home with some Tylenol PM and advised that I take a long (3+hours) nap.

The ride home wasn't painful but it was very uncomfortable (itchy, scratching feeling). I wore sunglasses but kept my eyes closed most of the way. I took my nap and woke up feeling pretty good. No pain and I was able to see pretty well.... over the next few weeks my vision was as close to 20/20 as I could get (they offered another surgery to make it perfect but I passed)

if you want to avoid lasik, they have a new option. A new type of hard contact lens that you wear while you sleep. At night the lens help re-shape your eyes to the correct shape but they only last for about a day so you have to wear the contacts every night - this might not be practical for everyone but it's an option.

Originally Posted by Condor

Click to expand...

So, I have my new contacts today.
It's my worst prescription in years and years.
The Dr. says I'm sorry this is the best we can do.
(This has happened before in the past, but then
there will be a little advance in contacts that
catches up and I'm OK for a while)

I have my doubts the contact people will catch up well this time.
My vision is about 20/600+ with astigmatism in both eyes
(new for this year in the right eye)

It's hard to explain - I can drive and see the TV, but nothing is sharp.
I've been fortunate enough to have my vision corrected most years
to sharp. I use my eyes a lot for my job (reading/computer), and
I read at home too. So it's important to me.

Has anybody had their eyes fixed, and by what method?

My fear is I get them fixed, then need correction. I know RK, you can
never wear contacts again. I'm not sure about lasik. Or any new developments.
I've not talked to a dr. because they make money selling a product,
not scaring me away from their product.

I only know one person that has had her eyes fixed (not sure what method,
about 6 years ago) and she lost her night vision. I have the night vision
of a cat, I don't want to lose that.

Any insights?
My wife had PRK done 2 years ago...she was 20/800 with an astigmatism in her left eye. With a new baby and waking up in the middle of the night to nurse, etc., she was miserable every day.

After the procedure she improved to 20/15 and 20/20 and has been thrilled with the results.

She knows she'll need reading glasses when she is in her 40's, but for the next 12 years...she will be able to see clearly any time day or night.

That fundamentally affected her attitude toward life...she says we should never be miserable or compromised every day of our life when there is something we can do, even if there is some pain/sacrifice in the short term, that will alleviate that condition! Why go through life that way?