I know people who've ended up with dry eyes as a side effect for life after LASIK. I don't have to wear glasses all the time, so not really worth it for me.

Anonymous wrote:My doctor said they couldn’t correct my vision to 20/20 (I’m profoundly nearsighted) and I figured if I would still need correction with glasses or contacts, it wasn’t worth the risk.

+1 I so wish this was an option for me

I have a severe astigmatism. I'm not a candidate. I've worn glasses forever -- I actually like them. Maybe this is in my head, but I'm 42, and I now think I look older WITHOUT my glasses.

Not everyone is a good candidate. I have dry eye, and LASIK can exacerbate dry eye to the point of making it painful.

Anonymous wrote:I wish I had done it in my 20s. But when I was newly employed after grad school it just seemed like so much money and I had no idea how to get a good surgeon. I spent a good chunk of my 30s being pregnant, nursing or taking care of young children so that never seemed like a great time. Now I'm in my 40s and figure I'm to old. I have been wearing contacts since I was 13 and don't find them that annoying or expensive.

This is me, exactly.

My mom has horrible dry eye after LASIK and still has to wear a contact in one eye after 2 revisions. No thank you

i got PRK 3 years ago.

very near sighted, really bad astigmatism

crazy surgery. on your eyes WHILE you are awake! painful recovery as advertised. but the doc was good, my recovery went smooth and it feels SO GOOD to not need contacts or glasses anymore!!!

I don’t mind contacts. I have trouble seeing T night with lights and glare sometimes and I’ve heard lasik can make it worse.

My sister and I both got it in our twenty and are back in glasses now. RX not as strong as it was back then though.

I have dry eyes that are very very dry. Also an astigmatism so I was told I could not do it. I also saw a former neighbor have very severe side effects that were very unusual but made me think the risk was not worth it.

I did recently ask my eye dr about cataract surgery (I’m in my 50’s) but she told me it is very expensive to do if you don’t have cataracts and she thought it was a crazy idea.

I was scheduled for LASIK twenty years ago but cancelled it the day before. The thought of doing surgery on my eyes ended up being too much for me though I was seeing a well established doctor. I didn't regret it at the time and I only regret it a little bit now.

I would consider getting a new lens inserted instead

After wearing contacts since I was 12, my eyes couldn’t tolerate them anymore at 40. My eyes were pretty bad too -8.5. I got lasik and had severe dry eye … Dr said it would last a year but I was skeptical bc the symptoms were so bad. I used restasis for a year. Magically after a year the dryness went away. My eyes feel dry sometimes but not any different from when I wore contacts. I don’t need eye drops during the day.

The surgeon also recommended mono vision which is slightly undercorrecting one eye to delay reading glasses. I was skeptical of that too since I could fine at the time. I’m 44 now and can still read fine. We’ll see how long it lasts

In the end it all worked out and I’m glad I went with the surgery. My glasses were too thick to wear every day.

Contacts are pretty cheap and 99% of the time I don't even feel them.

Of course, the rare time a contact gets lost in my eye I wish I got Lasik. In my 20s I was just too cheap and spent all my money on vacations instead. Then as I got into my 30s I figured it was a matter of diminishing returns and now I'm in my 40s I just figure I'll stick with what I know.

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you not get that many people who got it in their 20s might need glasses and/or reading glasses in their 40s and beyond?

This is why I didn’t get it in my mid-late 20s. Someone pointed it out to me and I’m already a medical procedure hesitant person so that was enough for me to decide against it.
I’m now 46 and have entered the reading glasses world.