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Has anyone here ever gotten (or know someone who's gotten) LASIK eye surgery?

Had it done last June in Mexico and happy I did. Laser eye surgery is substantially cheaper in Mexico. I was assisted by a medical tourism provider called PlacidWay. Used to suffer from myopia and got tired of wearing glasses or contacts. For nearsighted folks I would definitely recommend.

I know the procedure itself seemed quite daunting, but I have done research online, and the hospital had many great success in this procedure. It has been one month since my surgery. My eyes are great! I had my check up here at home for second opinion, and they said I have 20/20 in both eyes.
 
I had mine done (Lasik) 4 days ago. I wanted it done for about 10 years but it was just something I never got around to doing. Then in December I got some new glasses and for some reason the distortion of my new lenses really got to me, so I went ahead with the surgery.

I was -10.75 in one eye but with no astigmatism, and -8.5 in the other with high astigmatism. So I had to go with one of the best clinics available at a cost of £6,500 (around $10,000) plus a bit more for travel+hotel.

I wasn't scared of it, if anything I was excited, but when I finally sat down and they put the eye clamp on I began to panic in my head. Heh. The clinic gave me a stuffed toy to hold during the procedure, and prior to that I had a massage which helped me keep my mind off what was happening.

Now I'm 20/12.5 in my previously -10.75 eye (a record leap for them, they say!). My other eye isn't doing as well. I'd say they've halved it so far but it's a little upsetting. Hoping that they can tidy it up later in the year.

As for dry eyes I think I'm doing okay. I only need to put drops in every couple of hours now but I can't go outside yet without wind+cold drying them up. I'm also taking flaxseed oil tablets to help.

One thing that surprised me was eye muscles! Because my eye was so bad I basically need to train my eye and its muscles to see up close. But on the good side of things I never knew how 3D the world looked!
 
Don't get too discouraged, Dagless. Things will fluctuate over the next few months. While you should be close to your final vision now, that eye that's not really where you want it to be could end up closer.

My eyes still have bad days/times, even 6 months after the procedure but overall I'm happy with my results.
 
hallux said:
Don't get too discouraged, Dagless. Things will fluctuate over the next few months. While you should be close to your final vision now, that eye that's not really where you want it to be could end up closer.

My eyes still have bad days/times, even 6 months after the procedure but overall I'm happy with my results.
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Aye (heh), I'm not too worried. The first 24 hours were phenomenal, I was actually getting a headache over how detailed the world really is. I've spoke to friends who had a bumpy first few months too. And I'm confident I'll be able to get top-up surgery just in case it's not as good as it could be (my surgeon said they under-correct so they can refine later).
 
done it 10 years ago... no real regrets, but had dry eyes for a year after the surgery... and my vision is not as good as it was before, but that's mostly the age to blame not the lasik (but some of it is the lasik).

cheers.
 
Dagless said:
Aye (heh), I'm not too worried. The first 24 hours were phenomenal, I was actually getting a headache over how detailed the world really is. I've spoke to friends who had a bumpy first few months too. And I'm confident I'll be able to get top-up surgery just in case it's not as good as it could be (my surgeon said they under-correct so they can refine later).
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I was also amazed at the immediate results. Of course, I couldn't keep my eyes open for TOO long in the first few hours as the numbing drops wore off.

I guess different surgeons have different points of view, mine would rather not go back in and do a correction so they actually OVER corrected a little bit. They said the second time around has a little more discomfort.
 
hallux said:
I was also amazed at the immediate results. Of course, I couldn't keep my eyes open for TOO long in the first few hours as the numbing drops wore off.

I guess different surgeons have different points of view, mine would rather not go back in and do a correction so they actually OVER corrected a little bit. They said the second time around has a little more discomfort.
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I didn't have any pain afterwards! Just a bit dry the day after but nothing eyedrops couldn't fix. My surgeon undercorrected both eyes because of the high myopia in one and high astigmatism in the other. I think usually they do overcorrect (as all eyes will eventually get worse).

At the time I came out surgery feeling shocked and hated what I went through for hours to come. But now I really can't wait to get the top up. I guess this is what getting hooked on tattoos is like :)

(day 5 for me now. Eyes are clearing up a bit. Maybe I won't need the top up after all)
 
Dagless said:
I didn't have any pain afterwards! Just a bit dry the day after but nothing eyedrops couldn't fix. My surgeon undercorrected both eyes because of the high myopia in one and high astigmatism in the other. I think usually they do overcorrect (as all eyes will eventually get worse).

At the time I came out surgery feeling shocked and hated what I went through for hours to come. But now I really can't wait to get the top up. I guess this is what getting hooked on tattoos is like :)

(day 5 for me now. Eyes are clearing up a bit. Maybe I won't need the top up after all)
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It wasn't pain so much as the burning/sand in your eyes feeling. Yeah, eye drops were a way of life for the first few days/weeks. I had drops to put in hourly (while awake) for the first 24-36 hours, plus the steroid and antibiotic drops 4x a day. I picked up some artificial tears a couple weeks ago, to have on hand during the coldest/driest part of the winter but I have not yet found a need to crack the bottle open.
 
hallux said:
It wasn't pain so much as the burning/sand in your eyes feeling. Yeah, eye drops were a way of life for the first few days/weeks. I had drops to put in hourly (while awake) for the first 24-36 hours, plus the steroid and antibiotic drops 4x a day. I picked up some artificial tears a couple weeks ago, to have on hand during the coldest/driest part of the winter but I have not yet found a need to crack the bottle open.
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Good to hear, and you answered a question I've just been googling too, heh. I'm curious how long I should be taking these eye drops for. The docs told me how long I should take everything apart from these and I don't want to phone either the clinic or doc over something that should be obvious! My rule was a drop per eye hourly (for a week) and inbetween if necessary. Almost a week later now and I'm up to every 2 hours.

How does rain and snow affect your lasered eyes? I've always hated wearing glasses in the rain because you can't see, but at least they protect the eye from the raindrops. Do they hurt?
 
I got it over 10 years ago. I would have paid $50k for it. So amazing to wake up with perfect vision.

My pupils are large so I get halos around lights at night, but it's a minor trade off.
 
No issues with rain or snow. In fact, it's SOOO nice to be able to go outside and not have to worry about not being able to see because of rain and snow getting on the lenses. I no longer have to rush from the car to a building in the rain or snow, it's now a more leisurely walk. Even better is going outside for extended periods in winter and not having to worry about lenses fogging.

I had mine done in July, if I were you I'd give it another couple weeks before being THAT care-free about stuff getting in your eyes, allow them to heal.
 
hallux said:
No issues with rain or snow. In fact, it's SOOO nice to be able to go outside and not have to worry about not being able to see because of rain and snow getting on the lenses. I no longer have to rush from the car to a building in the rain or snow, it's now a more leisurely walk. Even better is going outside for extended periods in winter and not having to worry about lenses fogging.

I had mine done in July, if I were you I'd give it another couple weeks before being THAT care-free about stuff getting in your eyes, allow them to heal.
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I went out in the snow last night. It was pretty good not having those blobs of water blocking my view! From here on though I'm not going to get anything else into my eyes until my 1-month checkup.

Did I ask what you were before and after? Would you mind sharing?

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luvmymbpr said:
I got it over 10 years ago. I would have paid $50k for it. So amazing to wake up with perfect vision.

My pupils are large so I get halos around lights at night, but it's a minor trade off.
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What's the brightness threshold for you? I see some minor starbursts and haloes around very bright lights (just those HID lights) but nothing around TV screens. I'm curious because the "potential night time disturbances" was my major worry for this surgery with my large pupils. But even if I do have minor disturbances the benefits overwhelmingly negate them.
 
Dagless said:
I went out in the snow last night. It was pretty good not having those blobs of water blocking my view! From here on though I'm not going to get anything else into my eyes until my 1-month checkup.

Did I ask what you were before and after? Would you mind sharing?

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I think I was 20/80 and 20/100 (this is feet, I could see in 20 feet what others could in 80 and 100). I'm now pretty close to 20/20, if not a little better.
 
Booked in for Ilasik design

Hi,

I am booked in for Ilasik design with optical express next week and have made the mistake of reading all the horror stories online. I dont know what to do! I am high prescription -5.25 and -4.75 with -1.25 astigmatism in both eyes. The op could make a huge and wonderful difference to my life but the complications are scaring me and putting me off. Not sure if any of you will reply as I know the feed is old. I am 23 and in the UK

Please Help!
 
I haven't regretted it a bit. I'm FINALLY (9 months later) past the habit of reaching for glasses when I wake up or get out of the shower. I still have some light sensitivity issues but they're definitely not handicapping in any way.
 
Hi Halux! How high was your prescription? I don't know personally of anyone who has ever had an issue and they obviously have more successes without any complication than complications
 
I don't know what mine was in the format you're using but I think mine were 20/80 and 20/100.

My sister used a different place and they corrected one more than the other where mine were done equal.
 
Kirstya said:
Hi,

I am booked in for Ilasik design with optical express next week and have made the mistake of reading all the horror stories online. I dont know what to do! I am high prescription -5.25 and -4.75 with -1.25 astigmatism in both eyes. The op could make a huge and wonderful difference to my life but the complications are scaring me and putting me off. Not sure if any of you will reply as I know the feed is old. I am 23 and in the UK

Please Help!
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Wife got it 15 years ago. No issues, no halos (which primarily associated with the knife). She wears cheaters for reading but has 20/20 distance. If offered, I would not do one eye far and one close.
 
As another data point, your eyes can be VERY susceptible to drying out, causing redness. I just finished a long day of travel and am now at elevation (8500+ feet to be exact) and my eyes were DRY. Actually used drops for the first time in a long time. We'll see how it goes tomorrow, the smog here may be causing it also.
 
dry eyes

I used to work at an ophthalmology office and lots of our patients got LASIK. The most common side effect was dry eyes. I hear lots of patients having to put eye drops in their eyes because their eyes are constantly dry! I have friends that are trying to become dentists and oral surgeons and most of them do not want to get lasik for one reason. When you get Lasik, supposedly its harder for you to look at smaller details. If you think about it, many doctors wear glasses. Its not cause they cant afford LASIK, its probably because they dont want to ruin their vision.
 
Regarding the dry eyes. This week I had my worst episode of it since I had the procedure in July last year. I travelled to Mexico City for work last Wednesday and the combination of the atmosphere and the elevation (8500 ft. Vs 400 at home) caused some severe dry eyes. Fortunately I was prepared with my Blink drops and after being here 3-4 days I didn't need them anymore.

I fly home tomorrow, looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.
 
Thought I'd post an update!

Hayfever wasn't a problem. I was worried I'd rub my eyes too much but even my autopilot didn't do it!
Whilst swimming (which is so good! I'd live in a pool now if I could) I accidentally let go of my goggles whilst putting them on, causing them to smack into one of my eyes. But! It was fine, it did hurt but it hasn't affected anything. I'm confident in the LASIK flap's strength.
I had a checkup last month where they ran some tests. I might be getting further corrective surgery on my astigmatism and to refine one of my eyes. As weird as it sounds I'm looking forward to the actual procedure. First time was scary but now I don't mind it at all.
No dry eyes at all. I took Flaxseed tablets twice a day but I don't know if that had any effect. I stopped using eye drops completely a couple of months after surgery.

eko91 said:
dry eyes

I used to work at an ophthalmology office and lots of our patients got LASIK. The most common side effect was dry eyes. I hear lots of patients having to put eye drops in their eyes because their eyes are constantly dry! I have friends that are trying to become dentists and oral surgeons and most of them do not want to get lasik for one reason. When you get Lasik, supposedly its harder for you to look at smaller details. If you think about it, many doctors wear glasses. Its not cause they cant afford LASIK, its probably because they dont want to ruin their vision.
Click to expand...
Yes! This is something nobody told me about!
If you're short sighted then you have excellent close-up vision. With or without glasses I could see the tiniest things just centimetres from my eyes. After correction that has completely gone. I can see things about 2-3 inches away now. It wouldn't have changed my mind if I had known this before surgery, and it can be fixed by wearing reading glasses.
From talking with my surgeon though this is how most people see. Anything under a few inches generally gets blurry.

There's also a loss with (I think he called it) relaxed focus. Where if you relax your eye and let things go blurry, before correction I was able to see things up close in perfect focus without even trying. Post surgery and if I let my eyes lose focus everything gets blurry, there's no "default" focal distance.
 
Kirstya said:
Booked in for Ilasik design

Hi,

I am booked in for Ilasik design with optical express next week and have made the mistake of reading all the horror stories online. I dont know what to do! I am high prescription -5.25 and -4.75 with -1.25 astigmatism in both eyes. The op could make a huge and wonderful difference to my life but the complications are scaring me and putting me off. Not sure if any of you will reply as I know the feed is old. I am 23 and in the UK

Please Help!
Click to expand...
Hi Kirstya, did you go through with it? Everyone I know who has had Lasik has gone to Optical Express. They couldn't do mine so I had to go to a specialist place. I was 28 when I had mine done.
 
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