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Lasik... Who's done it and what kind did you do? (1 Viewer)

Mr. Cheese

Mr. Cheese

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I told myself 7 years ago when I bought my last set of glasses that it was the last pair of glasses I would buy before I bite the bullet and had Lasik done. Well its come to the point where my glasses are so scratched up that I have decided I am going to have Lasik done.

I did some research on different places and found two that I was interested in. Both had excellent reviews across many different review sites etc.

My first free consultation was yesterday and they said my eyes would qualify me for two different laser treatment options. One was Customvue which comes with 24 months of free correction and 1 year of unlimited post op exams etc. Cost was $1470/eye and this was one of the blade-less procedures (they use a small laser to create the flap in the cornea vs a blade to create the initial flap).

The other option was Wavelight Optimized which comes with lifetime free corrections (likely useful being I'm only 30). Again blade-less and with 1 year of unlimited post op exams. Cost was $2199/eye.

Money is a factor however I am not going to skimp on my eyes so I'm willing to pay for whatever is the best for me. I was told by the doctor that the Customvue laser makes more plateau like steps when reshaping vs the Wavelight which makes much smaller smoother transitions when reshaping. The result is that Customvue can cause people to get halo's at night if they had a bad astigmatism. I was told mine was minimal to none and she didn't think I would have any issues going with the cheaper Customvue procedure vs the more expensive Wavelight.

Just looking for personal experience with your Lasik and what type you had done and if you had any issues?
 
Mr. Cheese said:
I told myself 7 years ago when I bought my last set of glasses that it was the last pair of glasses I would buy before I bite the bullet and had Lasik done. Well its come to the point where my glasses are so scratched up that I have decided I am going to have Lasik done.

I did some research on different places and found two that I was interested in. Both had excellent reviews across many different review sites etc.

My first free consultation was yesterday and they said my eyes would qualify me for two different laser treatment options. One was Customvue which comes with 24 months of free correction and 1 year of unlimited post op exams etc. Cost was $1470/eye and this was one of the blade-less procedures.

The other option was Wavelight Optimized which comes with lifetime free corrections (likely useful being I'm only 30). Again blade-less and with 1 year of unlimited post op exams. Cost was $2199/eye.

Money is a factor however I am not going to skimp on my eyes so I'm willing to pay for whatever is the best for me. I was told by the doctor that the Customvue laser makes more plateau like steps when reshaping vs the Wavelight which makes much smaller smoother transitions when reshaping. The result is that Customvue can cause people to get halo's at night if they had a bad astigmatism. I was told mine was minimal to none and she didn't think I would have any issues going with the cheaper Customvue procedure vs the more expensive Wavelight.

Just looking for personal experience with your Lasik and what type you had done and if you had any issues?
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I had mine done about 15 years ago. I don't recall the specific type but it was Lasik and blade free. Although when I did it they cut a flap in the cornea before the laser so recovery time was much longer. My wife had hers done about three years ago for $3200 total (no flap cut, 99% less than 24 hour recovery time.) We had a 0% financing option (Care Credit thru Synchrony financial) available they didn't really market so it might not hurt to ask again.
Both 20/20 now. Definitely worth the $. Unless the $ is coming from the chip budget, then... Still worth it!
 
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I had lasic in the mid 90s (I was about 30 also). I don't recall there being different surgeries to choose from. Surgery went fine, flaps healed, no issues, no side effects. Perfect vision until I started needing reading glasses (a separate physiological issue that goes with aging). So got 17 or so great years with no glasses.

At the time, I was very apprehensive, but had worn glasses or contacts for a long time and I wanted to be free of them. Lots of research which directed me mainly to finding someone with experience and expertise. I ended up going to a very well-known doctor in Chicago who was one of the earliest doctors to do the surgery, had a ton of them under his belt. It was expensive.

The freedom of being without glasses for that time was well worth it for me.

At the time I did it, the vast majority of people who had the surgery had outstanding results (I was one of those people), but if it went bad, it was really bad. Hopefully your research will point you in the right direction if there are now different types of procedures now. Good luck and do your homework!
 
I got Lasik done in Las Vegas about 6 years ago, I went with the all laser option. I dont think I had the other choices like you do. I did have a 3 year warranty with free eye visits all throughout for $3600 total.

I used my FSA through work so that I got to pay over the year and get it tax free! My work FSA allows you to the entire years amount immediately.

My results were a bit atypical. I went from 20-100 to slightly better than 20-15 and my oddly enough my night halos were drastically reduced. The only side effect I had was really dry eyes for the first 9 months or so. It probably didn't help that I lived in the desert.

6 years later my vision is just as good and I dont have any dry eye issues anymore. The only regret I have is not doing the surgery earlier.
 
Lasik here as well. The times not having to fumble around with glasses and contact lenses is well worth the money.
 
I did it about 6 years ago. Bladeless. Got it done in the morning. Went home and slept till 6pm. Got up to eat supper and things were pretty clear, the Christmas light were all little starbursts, as well as every other light. Went back to bed,woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, remember reaching for my glasses on the nightstand and the clock was clear as a bell (usually could read it but was pretty blurry). Life was pretty much back to normal in 24 hrs with eye drops. I never used eye drops before lasik, and used them pretty religiously for the first year after, and when needed after that for about 3 years. Best $4600 I ever spent, I was also able to use FSA money, that's I did it in December as they offered 12 month interest free financing so I was able to pay half one year and pay it off letter the next. For about 4-5 years after had some light sensitivity,esp driving at night. I wear sunglasses almost all of the time when it is sunny


ETA: my lasik resulted in better vision than with glasses as well. 20:15 and 20:10 now
 
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I looked at this several years ago, but ultimately chickened out and decided to wait until I started to need bifocals. Now that I'm starting to need bifocals, I think I'll chicken out again. Glasses just don't bug me enough to take on the (small) risk of an unsatisfactory outcome.
 
I had PRK surgery in 2004. It's simply a different type of Lasik that uses a solution to dissolve the outside layer of the eye instead of cutting a 'flap' with a laser. Once the outer layer is dissolved, the same type of corrective laser (as with Lasik) is used to reshape the lens

My eyes are deep-set and fairly narrow, so the flap laser could not get in and cut the flap. PRK is the answer for people like me who have narrow and deep-set eyes. One difference with PRK is that the healing process is longer than Lasik at about 5-7 days due to the necessity for the outer layer of cells to regenerate. Despite the outer layer of the eye being the fastest healing cells in the body, Lasik is a much faster healing process than PRK.

I did the left eye in 2004, and the right eye in 2003. I didn't want to do both at the same time primarily due to a fear of something going wrong, and finding myself blind in both eyes. I figured if something went wrong with one eye, then I'd at least still have the other since I was only doing 1 eye at a time. The cost (at about $4k per eye) was another factor in deciding to do one eye at a time.

I had my surgeries done at Oregon Health Sciences University (Casey Vison Correction Center) on the recommendation of my eye doctor (who is also an eye surgeon). It took a couple of years to get the recommendation from him, as he subscribes to the medical creed of "do no further damage". He refused to recommend a location to have the surgery done, as he firmly believed that the benefit realized from the surgery was not worth the risk. He finally relented, and recommended OHSU as the place he'd have the surgery if he was so inclined to have it himself.

After my first surgery, I accidentally scratched my eye by rubbing it in my sleep the 2nd night after surgery. It hurt so bad I thought I was going to lose the eye. The injury added to the healing time, but once healed I could see perfectly out of it. The 2nd surgery and recovery period went perfectly, and I could see 20/20 out of it in 1 day. I've heard that Lasik results in perfect vision as soon as the surgery is complete.

Doctors at OHSU warned me that the onset of farsightedness may come on earlier than I would experience if I didn't have the surgery, and I would thus probably need reading glasses sooner. They explained that while nearly every adult will likely need reading glasses at some point, some studies suggest that PRK and Lasik both can result in needing reading glasses sooner than those who did not get the surgery. Within about 5 years after having the surgery (about 45 years of age), I found that newspaper print was starting to get blurry. Within 10 years, I had purchased cheap reading glasses at Costco.

My only regret in having the corrective surgery was that I didn't do it sooner.

Hope this helps.
 
This is the year I get my eyes done. I almost did it a few years back, but chickened out afterwards. I was a little scared. Let me know how this goes and I look forward to reading more comments.
 
Jeff said:
I had lasic in the mid 90s (I was about 30 also). I don't recall there being different surgeries to choose from. Surgery went fine, flaps healed, no issues, no side effects. Perfect vision until I started needing reading glasses (a separate physiological issue that goes with aging). So got 17 or so great years with no glasses.

At the time, I was very apprehensive, but had worn glasses or contacts for a long time and I wanted to be free of them. Lots of research which directed me mainly to finding someone with experience and expertise. I ended up going to a very well-known doctor in Chicago who was one of the earliest doctors to do the surgery, had a ton of them under his belt. It was expensive.

The freedom of being without glasses for that time was well worth it for me.

At the time I did it, the vast majority of people who had the surgery had outstanding results (I was one of those people), but if it went bad, it was really bad. Hopefully your research will point you in the right direction if there are now different types of procedures now. Good luck and do your homework!
Click to expand...
was it Lakeshore Eye by any chance?
 
Kraff Eye Institute. At the time is was Father and Son. I believe the father has retired. He would have been in his late 50s then.
 
Personally had it down in 2004. When they dropped the flap (cornea I think) back down, it didn't seat properly. Fluid collected underneath it. I could barely see out of one eye for a week. Makes you realize how bad it would suck to have your eye screwed up. Worse than just wearing an eye patch as it was uncomfortable and vision was like looking through someone else's glasses.

Next week, doctor cut the flap again and removed the fluid. All good ever since. Should have had it done earlier. Glasses are a real pain in the ass in playing with your kids.

Mine was actually covered by insurance at the time. 3 of us had it done, and they sent out a letter that would not be covered anymore lolz
 
Hoping to get my eyes corrected in the next couple years. Haven't really researched the options, but I think PRK is the way I'll go. Being in the military, shouldn't cost me a dime :D
 
Well as a little update I had Lasik done this last Thursday. I went with the lifetime corrections option which also used the more modern Wavelight wavefront technology.

Procedure was very quick and I'm happy with the results. On my 1 day follow up I was seeing 20/20 with the 20/15 being a little hazy. They said over the next few weeks the haziness should clear up in which case I'll probably be able to read 20/15 then.

No issues with night driving and headlight glare or anything. With super bright background whites and stark black lettering I get some occasional minor ghosting I guess it could be described as but that is supposed to go away as my eyes heal over the next month or so.
 

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