Tell me about your Lasik experience...

[Anonymous]

Got it done 8 years ago. Best decision ever. I still see great. I couldn't wear contacts for any lengthy of time bc my one eye is very dry and no drops really helped. The procedure was quick and painless. I used dr whitten from tlc (did many friends and many celebrities).

My only two "issues"- my eyes are dry in the morning. I use regular drops and its fine. My extra dry one sometimes needs another one or two throughout the day. Right afterwards I thought I noticed halos on headlights while driving at night. That was either psychosomatic or it improved. I don't notice it now.

My favorite things are no glasses to worry about while exercising or during yoga.

[Anonymous]

I just had it done several months ago. I wish I'd done it years ago. I went through TLC Laser Eye Center in Rockville MD and the optometrist was VERY thorough -- I had multiple screenings to determine if I was a good candidate and multiple discussions before we decided on straight-up Lasik as opposed to other options.

My eyes were definitely dry for quite a while but the regimen (both before and after surgery) of eye drops really helped not only get my eyes in shape for the procedure but also ameliorate dryness after.

The day of I was not expecting how unpleasant the several hours after surgery would be. The surgery itself was....interesting. A bit freaky but over quickly. I was given a Xanax (I think? Some sedative) and the advice was to go home and go to bed right away. I couldn't get to sleep as quickly as I would have liked and there was burning and uncontrollable tearing. It was unpleasant but over relatively quickly and the recovery time was short.

I really do not regret it for a second as I too was blind as a bat my whole life. What really pushed me over the edge was getting to the point of not only being extremely nearsighted but also needing reading glasses -- I couldn't see coming or going. Now I still need reading glasses and Lasik can't fix that -- in fact it can accelerate the need for reading glasses as myopia apparently has some ameliorative effect on presbyopia. But needing reading glasses is pretty much an inevitable consequence of aging so I'm overjoyed to have gotten rid of my contact lenses in favor of occasional use of reading glasses.

[Anonymous]

Is there an age limit of when you can get Lasik? I am 45 and interested in getting it done.

[Anonymous]

Those who have had it, were you told not to rub your eyes for a period of time? When I take my contacts out at night the first thing I feel the need to do is rub my eyes. I think that would be my most difficult issue.

[Anonymous]

Anyone with large pupils have a success story?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got it done 8 years ago. Best decision ever. I still see great. I couldn't wear contacts for any lengthy of time bc my one eye is very dry and no drops really helped. The procedure was quick and painless. I used dr whitten from tlc (did many friends and many celebrities).

My only two "issues"- my eyes are dry in the morning. I use regular drops and its fine. My extra dry one sometimes needs another one or two throughout the day. Right afterwards I thought I noticed halos on headlights while driving at night. That was either psychosomatic or it improved. I don't notice it now.

My favorite things are no glasses to worry about while exercising or during yoga.

Yikes, you are lucky. Dr. Whtten has been involved in at least one lawsuit where the patient's vision got worse:

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/17948109/woods-lasik-surgeon-dr-mark-whitten-to-pay-pa-man-1m-plus

[Anonymous]

Any updates- referrals for good service? How was the recovery?

[Anonymous]

I had it 10 years ago at TLC in Tysons near the Ritz, can't remember his name right now. Excellent results. I was 20/1600 in one eye and it was 20/20 right after. Amazing. Uncomfortable ride home but that's it.

[Anonymous]

Pp here- just looked it up - it was Dr Holzman. Excellent.

[Anonymous]

I think Dr. Holzman rides circuit around the TLC sites -- he did mine in Rockville. You only see him once, the day of -- your main point of contact for the screenings, evaluations, check-ups afterwards, etc. is the optometrist. I was very comfortable with both of them though.

[Anonymous]

OP or others who have had it done recently--can you give a ballpark estimate of the cost?

[Anonymous]

I did it about 3 years ago and I can't believe I waited so long. I was 47 at the time. I did PRK because my cornea was too thin. Perfect eyesight still. I went to Dr. Sonny Goel who has done about 70,000 procedures. It was about $3600.

[Anonymous]

I did it about 6 months ago and I can't say enough good things about it. It's just so freeing not to worry about glasses/contacts, etc. The recovery was super easy and except for dry eyes for about a month (which is normal), I had no issues at all. Honestly, one of the best things I ever did. I used Dr. Clinch at Eye Doctors of Washington and I'd highly recommend him and the rest of their practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did it about 6 months ago and I can't say enough good things about it. It's just so freeing not to worry about glasses/contacts, etc. The recovery was super easy and except for dry eyes for about a month (which is normal), I had no issues at all. Honestly, one of the best things I ever did. I used Dr. Clinch at Eye Doctors of Washington and I'd highly recommend him and the rest of their practice.

This is PP - I think mine was around $3500 for both eyes in early 2015, perhaps a bit more but definitely under $4K. I maxed out my flex spending account at work (my max is $2500) and then just paid cash for the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those who have had it, were you told not to rub your eyes for a period of time? When I take my contacts out at night the first thing I feel the need to do is rub my eyes. I think that would be my most difficult issue.

Yes. I couldn't rub for a while, so LASIK in fact cured me of rubbing my eyes. Fifteen years later I still never rub my eyes.

IThey was life changing for me. Twenty-five years of almost-blindness undone in 3 minutes. However, as PPs notes, there are still a few things to be aware of:
1) halos and night driving - this is a big problem for a few weeks or months (can't remember), so keep it in mind when going places
2) have someone accompany you to the appointment and also the next day for your follow up. Have a supportive, kind, empathetic person to hold your hand (I panicked a bit).
3) I needed to rest my eyes a lot over the two weeks following the procedure. I was wide awake, but my eyes hurt and wanted to close, so I was sitting in a conference in NJ looking like I was sleeping. Basically, your body just had surgery and is healing. Even though you look perfectly normal, your body will need more rest for a little while while it heals.

Good luck!