| Author | Message | ||
     G234146 |
Fellow Buellers, Anyone who's ever considered laser eye surgery or been on the fence about "should I do it?" I say: DO IT! My insurance and the general perception is that LASIK is an "optional" "cosmetic" choice. I say B.S.  You can't compare vision correction with a boob job, or teeth whitening. Glasses are a crutch that assist in seeing. I have better than 20/20 vision now AND my depth perception has improved tremendously. My opinion: LASIK is off da heezy!  BUELL related question: anybody tried these yet? http://www.buell.com/en_us/gear/apparel/Product.asp?Menu_ID=1&CategoryID=4&Produ ctID=4089 or http://www.buell.com/en_us/gear/apparel/Product.asp?Menu_ID=1&CategoryID=4&Produ ctID=4090 I can wear cool shades now! woohoo!! | ||
| Aeholton |
I've been wanting to get it done for quite a while. Gotta figure out how to pay for it. | ||
| Midknyte |
Still considering it. Sorta wearing contacts for now. Sorta = Hardly (found out in the process of getting my lenses that I'm only a -1 and -1.5). Have found that I can get by with nothing at all 99% of the time - YAAAAY! But that's just me. However you can get rid of glasses - more power to you. It's liberating to say the least. | ||
| Naustin |
I recently got contacts after being an occasinal glasses wearer for years. The new soft contacts are fantastic. I can wear them all day and they never give me problems. I just put them in when I get up, and take them out when I go to bed. And it only costs me .50 per day, plus whatever I spend on a bottle of solution every couple of months. Lasik is not a permenent solution. Yeah, you get to have perfect vision for a year or two - maybe even 5, but eventually your eye will age a little more and your vision will degrade again. People tend to need a new prescription every two years - Lasik doesn't change that. So in 2-5 years you either pony up another bucket of money to have another Lasik treatment, or go back to glasses. I'd rather wear contacts and get a new prescription once in a while than give up that much motorcycle money to have my eyeball sliced open with a razor blade and a laser shot into my cornea every 5 years - but that's just me.  | ||
| Brineusaf |
Please... I'm on the "list" for it... cannot wait. As far as the buckets of money go... it's fully covered. | ||
| Uwgriz |
Actually, if you have a good doctor, they'll advise that you don't get it done until your prescription has stabilized. Through early adulthood, your prescription will change fairly regularly but will stabilize for most people in their mid to late 20s. After that, the muscles of the eyes get tired and begin to weaken starting in the mid 40s, give or take. That's when bifocals become the fix because it's not a basic shape of the eye issue, it's a muscle issue of not being able to focus the eye for different distances. My prescription had been stable for about 8 years prior to my getting LASIK and my vision is still 20/20 after almost 5 years. I've had no indications that I couldn't reasonable expect it to stay that way for at least another 10-15 years when my eyes start to tire. And even then, I may just need reading glasses to compensate for that instead of bifocals to compensate for the basic prescription plus the difficulty in focusing. Take comfort G234146, I spent a healthy sum of pretax cash (it's an allowable expense for most flex spending accounts) and have never felt a single bit a buyer's remorse. Hey Naustin, did your dealer ever figure out your bike problem? | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
I have first hand knowledge of people who have good and bad results..... The bad results were ugly and really screwed up the guys eyes to the point of not being able to drive. He has since got them fixed some what... Just be careful and get two opinions. | ||
| Naustin |
UWGRIZ - No, the lying s.o.b's... Check my profile or the thread in the old school forum for an update... Thanks for asking.  | ||
| Uwgriz |
If your feeling up for it, come on over the SE corner of WI and we'll get you going. | ||
| Stevasaurus |
I have first hand knowledge of people who have good and bad results..... The bad results were ugly and really screwed up the guys eyes to the point of not being able to drive. He has since got them fixed some what... Just be careful and get two opinions. That's the truth. In So. Cal, I went to a guy who graduated top of his class from UCLA, taught the LASIK procedure for a year, is on the FDA Trials Board, etc. I cost me over $3500 (including wavefront in one eye) and was worth every penny. Then there is my friend's girlfriend who went to a "Chain clinic" in L. A., cost around $2000, and things went fine. Then there is the woman from my work who paid $300 to have it done in Tijuana, almost went blind and had to wear an eye patch for three months.  Moral of the story: When it comes to your eyes, don't take the low bid. | ||
| Naustin |
Hopefully my exhaust is plugged up and I can just rebuild that and replace the intake seals and be 100%. Otherwise, I might have to do that! Nick | ||
| Brucelee |
Lasik for 7 years. No change in RX. Best think I EVER did for myself, next to the XB that is. | ||
| G234146 |
aeholton: get it financed. I had the cash to pay it all upfront, but then I would forgo stuff like Rent, Food, and:  I'm in my 30's so my RX should be stable till I need reading glasses. Which is a whole different situation. plus, the kind folks at the LASIK joint have a "lifetime warranty" so if things change I can always have my eyes zapped again at no charge. From someone who's been wearing glasses since grammar school, it's a real relief! And yes don't lowball yourself with a TJ LASIK or something like that. They may put you to sleep and you'll wake up without a liver!  | ||
| Thespive |
I did it 6 or so years ago before it was FDA approved and it was one of the best things I have ever done. --Sean | ||
| Seth |
What conditions are able to be fixed? Just far and/or near sightedness? How about my white cane and seeing eye dog worthy 20/70 astigmatism? | ||
| Aeholton |
Seth - I have an astigmatism in both eyes. From what I understand it is correctable. However being 43 yrs old, I will probably have to wear magnifiers for reading and close up type work. I would consider that a win as I'm at the point of needing bifocal type of glasses now. | ||
| Cereal |
As Keanu Reeves once said in Point Break, "Vision is highly overrated."  | ||
| Scooterroid |
I had it done a few years ago. Was one of the best decisions I ever made after having to wear glasses most of my life. Financing was interest free for 1 year. I took advantage of that. I tell folks I had it done at the flea market - and got a free ball cap and bumper sticker to boot! | ||
| Midnightrider |
5 years, great results but PRK not LASIK (corneas too thin). Like riding a bike, there is always a risk. Good luck | ||
| Hootowl |
I have had it done. I hate glasses. I'm using the word hate here. I did a bit of research on this prior to my surgery. One thing I would recommend is that you find an eye surgeon that does LASIK and stay away from the high volume LASIK shops. The eye surgeon is more likely to give you an honest opinion of whether you are a good candidate. The LASIK mills are only interested in your money. Some docs have their own machines, some prefer to rent time at one of the large LASIK facilities. The machines cost millions of dollars, and some docs feel that they can better serve their patients by renting the newest machines available when they need them. The ones that own their own equipment will say that they are more familiar with their machines, and are better able to operate them properly. I could agree with either argument, so that's a toss up as far as I'm concerned. Bite the bullet, pay the money, have it done. You'll not regret it. Jeff | ||
| Drift |
Had mine for 10 years now and I'm a 20/20 and 20/15 still. For what that is worth. I love it!! | ||
| Stevasaurus |
Heard on NPR this morning that there is a new process for creating the cornea flap prior to reshaping that uses a laser instead of the bladed "slitting saw" as I like to call it. If you want it (and are in an area that offers it) the price per eye doubles. Go with the slitting saw. No worries. | ||
| Raceautobody |
Had mine done too. Had astigmatism which required what they called intra lasic. Cut a lens flap and lasic the under the flap. I had a bladeless surgery. Used a laser to cut the flap. I wore glasses for over 25years and am loving not to have them anymore. It is going on two years now and no complants. Al | ||
| Hacksaw |
Had Lasik three years ago, went from double thick coke bottle bottom glasses to no glasses at all except occasionally for reading the very fine print. I have monovision. I don't have perfect vision but far far better than before. I had worn glasses or contacts for 40 years. Do it.  | ||
| Brewtus |
I have heard that your night vision is not as good after LASIK. Anyone notice any difference compared to glasses? | ||
| Spectrum |
I have heard that your night vision is not as good after LASIK. Night vision is only a problem for the first few months after Lasik. This is due to starburst effect off of lights. It's caused by the space and extra fluid created under the flap. As the eye heals this effect gradually diminishes. For most people that is. There are a low percentage of folks that have persistent starburst effect in one or more eyes. By the way I had extremely high astigmatism along with near-sightedness. This is correctable, but a high degree of astigmatism makes it more difficult to get you to 20/20. I had 20/400 vision prior to Lasik and now have 20/25 in each eye. | ||
| Brewtus |
Spectrum, Thanks. I am in the same boat as you were with the high astigmatism. I can't see $hit in front of me without my glasses. How is your night vision now compared to when you wore glasses? | ||
| Buellzebub |
i was far sighted and astigmatic (one eye was real bad), i was also one of those people who could not be fitted with contacts. i had the lasik proceedure done in 2001. haven't looked back, it is amazing what a difference it has made. the only issue i found was when travelling in the mountains on a moonless night there was a very slight halo effect arround the headlights of oncoming traffic, but this only happened in a pitch black situation. otherwise night vision was unaffected. | ||
| Spectrum |
How is your night vision now compared to when you wore glasses? Night vision is fine and startburst/halo effect faded rabidly after about 6 weeks. Keep in mind the astigmatism can cause too much light to get into the eye. This is evident if you have an unusually high sensitivity to bright sun light. But this can also be a benefit in that the eye has a greater light gathering capability that results in better night vision. I think this is the only upside to astigmatism. I had this high sensitivity to bright light before Lasik, but haven’t really noticed any significant decrees in night vision. I do find it more difficult to read small print in low light. But that's the only time I've found a need for reading glasses. I'm 49 and had progressive lenses (no line bifocals) prior to Lasik. They told me I would still need reading glasses after Lasik. But as it turned out I only need reading glasses for the one situation (small print in low light). The doctors explained this in that I still have a small degree of astigmatism 1 quarter cyl. This is what kept me from getting to 20/20, but it also is what has helped me no longer need reading glasses. I've considered another round of Lasik to make the final adjustment, but while that would get me to 20/20 it would also mean having to wear reading glasses. By the way, I had 15 to 16 cyl quarters of astigmatism before Lasik. I feel fortunate that I have the best of both worlds. Even though I have 20/25 in each eye, I have combined 20/20 vision and don't need reading glasses. In other words the stereoscopic effect of using both eyes improves slightly on the 20/25 of each eye measured individual. I tried mono vision contacts before Lasik to see if I wanted to go that route and I'm so glad I decided not to. I concur with the comments about having an eye surgeon perform your Lasik. Although mine was done at one of the big Lasik shops, it was done by an eye surgeon that travels around the country for a large Lasik chain performing the procedure and training the resident Doctors. I could have had the procedure done by the resident Doctor at the chains local store, but opted to wait 8 weeks till the specialist was scheduled to be in town to do my procedure. The bottom line is you want the newest machine you can find. It's really the machine and the software that corrects the vision, not the doctor. The doctor is important only in creating the flap and securing the eye in the machine. Creating the flap and securing the eye in the vacuum cup is where most of the risks occur and obviously this is where the skill of the Doctor comes into play. | ||
| Brewtus |
Thanks for the information! Here in New Mexico we are supposed to have one of the best surgeons in the US. (DR Coleman) He has one of the top of the line machines so I am going to get it done! You guys have really helped me through my fear of this surgery. THANKS!! Rob. | ||
| Wht_jackyl |
This appears to be a very informative site for those who are interested in learning more about Lasik. http://www.seewithlasik.com/ |
