Tell me about your Lasik experience...

[Anonymous]

I've been considering LASIK recently too. From friends and family who've had it in the past few years, it seems like it's under $2000 per eye. Not cheap, but totally worth it if you consider what you save from contacts and glasses over many years. I have astigmatism myself, so my contacts run me several hundred dollars a year, and I'm pretty picky about glasses, so that's another $500+ every few years. What's most attractive to me though is not having to fumble around with all that gear everyday. Still scared about the rare horror story you hear every once in a while.

[Anonymous]

4 of the 7 close people I know who've had it done have not been candidates for LASIK, but rather had to get prk. (Me included.) like others, I inly wish I'd done it sooner. I'm close to 2 years out. My first appt, at 1 year, my vision was nearly perfect. Now I feel it's slipping a little and I wonder if it's somehow related to me stopping vitamin c (which they suggested I take 1000 mg daily to prevent halos). Also, unexplainedly, I have serious eye pain at certain times. When an eyelash gets caught in my eye, it now feels like a knife stabbing me. No one has explained this so I attribute it to flap of my eye still healing??

[Anonymous]

I had prk on one eye and Lasik on the other. The prk was extremely painful and it took years to fully heal. I would wake in the middle of the night with intense eye pain for 30 seconds. It's been about 3 years and those episodes are have almost completely subsided. My eyesight is great. LASIK was great, but think long and hard about the prk. I not sure the pain was worth it.

[Anonymous]

I was tested in my late 40s to see if I would be a good candidate. The doctor said I would probably need to wear reading glasses, but otherwise I would be good. Didn't like the idea of reading glasses, so I didn't have the surgery.

Now in my late 50s, it's really too late. Wish I had it done sooner. Now, I can't get contacts to see at all distances or all type sizes. I hate having such bad eyesight and I'm sure it will only get worse. I see better with prescription glasses, but feel ugly in them. Bottom line, get the surgery done as young as you can. Wait too long, and it's too late.

[Anonymous]

This earlier post describes my experience too. I got mine done about 10 years ago in NYC. Probably about 4K total

>>>>>It's a funny thing, lasik. My eyesight is not as good (at least not consistently) as it was with glasses or contacts. I think it would be a bit better if I took drops more. But the relief at not having to deal with glasses or contacts more than makes up for it. (I was pretty blind without my glasses on.)

[Anonymous]

Best.Decision.Ever. Dr. Sonny Goel did the procedure, awesome doctor, painless procedure. My vision has been perfect, I do have dry eyes which means in winters I may need to use eye drops once in a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone with large pupils have a success story?

Yes. I'm the PP who saw Dr Holzman at TLC 10 years ago. I wasn't a candidate until then because my pupils were too big and I have a wicked astigmatism. The technology changed and by 2005 or 2006 I could. Thrilled with outcome though I am just this year no longer 20/20. I just became 20/40. But I used to be 20/800 so 20/40 after 10 years of perfection still seems perfect enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was tested in my late 40s to see if I would be a good candidate. The doctor said I would probably need to wear reading glasses, but otherwise I would be good. Didn't like the idea of reading glasses, so I didn't have the surgery.

Now in my late 50s, it's really too late. Wish I had it done sooner. Now, I can't get contacts to see at all distances or all type sizes. I hate having such bad eyesight and I'm sure it will only get worse. I see better with prescription glasses, but feel ugly in them. Bottom line, get the surgery done as young as you can. Wait too long, and it's too late.

Why too late?

[Anonymous]

This article is enough to keep me trekking to the eye glass store...

http://www.doctoroz.com/article/hard-look-lasik-surgery

Besides, eye glass frames hide my wrinkles!

[Anonymous]

I did it last year and am very happy I did BUT the pain in one of my eyes afterward was so intense that it felt like my eye was being stabbed. DH had to call the on-call physician who okayed me to take a dose of Nyquil on top of the pain meds. I fell asleep and thankfully when I woke up, the pain was nearly gone. It was still worth it but just so you are prepared, it's not always completely painless. Use the drops religiously afterward and don't worry if you initially feel like things look a little fuzzy at the edges or you have halos. Mine went away within weeks. I now have 20/20 vision and used to have 20/600!

Good luck!