LASIK

jemmini6

So we just got home from BF's LASIK surgery today.  As I was driving, he said he could already read the street signs and stuff, so a significant improvement already, only about 30 min after surgery. :-D 

So have any of you had LASIK before?  Would you?

zipis1

I haven't yet but I intend to once I have the money for it. I would LOVE to be able to see without glasses or contacts. I'm kinda jealous of your BF's new vision :P

[Deleted User]

Wow... That's awfully soon to be seeing like that!  Typically everyone I've known that had it done had a rough day or so afterwards seeing wise.. I'm glad it went so good though!  I wish I had the guts to do it..

deburnin

I had it back in July and LOVED it. Right after surgery I was seeing better than I have since I was 14, but it was kind of like I was in a pool with my eyes open at a distance. I had pretty bad pain once the numbing eye drops wore off. After a three hour nap I was fine and could read the alarm clock from bed. It was super exciting.

[Deleted User]

I had Lasik 6 years ago.  It was my 30th birthday present to myself.  When we were leaving the parking lot, I commented to my mom that I could read a sign across the street (I couldn't read it on the way there) - it was hazy, but I could see it.  I chose not to drive the next day for my follow up, even though I could have, but I had some friends who had it before me and they all said they just kept looking at everything they couldn't see before and weren't concentrating on driving.

I was very light sensitive for several days.  I still have pretty dry eyes, but I've found if I put eye drops in right before I go to bed and just after I wake up in the morning, I rarely need them during the day.  I do have a little bit of a halo affect at night around lights and such.  At one point I went for a yearly check-up and the eye doctor said they could write me a night RX for glasses if I wanted, but wasn't bad enough to cause driving problems.  By the next year's appointment, my sight was actually better and the doctor was predicting I wouldn't need reading glasses till at least 45 - good news for me.

Make sure he takes all the antibiotic eye drops and whatever other kind of drops the doctors gave him and if they didn't give him anything to wear at night (or in the shower), make sure to get something to keep him from accidentally rubbing his eyes at night.  It's not comfortable, but so much better than the alternative.

GreenPepperBurger

I've worn glasses since I was 8. I don't mind. The thought of LASIK terrifies me.

deburnin

GPB- LASIK terrified me too. I put it off till the very last minute possible before my health insurance ran out (I was lucky and had all but $150 covered thanks to a otherwise pointless cosmetic rider). Not going to lie, the overall surgery was pretty freaky. I felt like I was being abducted by aliens or something. I opted to not see the surgery before getting it done because I knew I'd back out. But contacts were no longer working for my eyes and I hated wearing glasses so to me the discomfort was totally worth it.

jemmini6

deburnin-  he said his eyes don't really hurt, they just feel dry and scratcy.  He took the Tylenol PM they gave him just to help him sleep.

Angie- yeah, he said it was just pretty foggy at first.  He also did the intralace laser, which they said is a lot more accurate and he shouldn't have any problems with the halo effect at night.  I think that procedure is still fairly new though.  He is also taking his drops like he should (so far).  But he's not one to need to be babysat with that kind of stuff, so I'm sure he'll do fine.

GPB- they can give you a Valume (sp?) to help you relax before the surgery.  BF didn't need it just because he watched all the LASIK videos online, so he kind of knew what to expect.  He said none of it hurt, it was just uncomfortable to have his eyes open that long (about a minute each eye for the flap, then like 30 seconds for the laser).  They recommend waiting until your mid-20's anyways so that your eyes stop changing, otherwise, you might need an enhancement sooner, but I think the glasses suit you

[Deleted User]

I happened to pass by this post and thought I'd drop in a comment.

I'm 22 and I've worn glasses since I was 11. I had LASIK 3 months ago and I would recommend it to EVERYONE! I was nervous at first, but I watched someone do it just before I went in, and once I saw that she came out just fine, I wasn't nervous anymore. It was over in 10 minutes. No kidding, it was so fast. And the only uncomfortable part was when they were making the flap, they put a lot of pressure on my eye...but by the time I thought it was a little uncomfortable it was over. Then I felt like sand was in my eyes for about a week. And that's it!! I saw amazingly better the DAY of my surgery and was driving to work the day after (against doc's orders but hey, gotta make money!). I could read the speed limit signs from way off and everything was so much clearer. I did have some issues with lights being blurred at night for about 2 weeks, but it went away.

Now, I forget sometimes I had it done. I still "take my glasses off" sometimes lol...when I go to put my hair up or wipe my eyes...I reach for my glasses but they're not there!

Point being-- yes it's amazing and well worth the money. And my advice is to get a lifetime plan so that if you need anything it's free.

[Deleted User]

I forgot about the gritty feeling - it didn't last long, though. I remember my eyes looking really bloodshot and having to answer some side-eyes from people at church who didn't know I'd had the surgery. 

I took the valium right before the surgery - didn't help with the procedure itself (they gave me a really soft stuffed animal to hold onto during the procedure), but they said it would help me relax and sleep afterwards, which is what they wanted - let my eyes have a chance to recover for a few hours.

They had a TV showing my procedure, so my mom was able to watch it - they had put some numbing drops in my eyes about 10 min beforehand and my mom said she watched as they put the eye opener thing on my eye and added some more drops - she said my eyes changed from fluttering like crazy to calm and still in an instant - I felt a little pressure, but no pain at all and as other have said, it was over in about 10 minutes.

deburnin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_lasik?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:136Discussion:36fac2e6-0248-4f0e-92e3-b8783883a698Post:f303ccc3-4446-416f-bea9-7649dce5c867">Re: LASIK</a>:
[QUOTE]Now, I forget sometimes I had it done. I still "take my glasses off" sometimes lol...when I go to put my hair up or wipe my eyes...I reach for my glasses but they're not there!
Posted by BDoug713[/QUOTE]

<div><font face="Arial" size="3" class="Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size:12px;" class="Apple-style-span">Shortly after getting the surgery we celebrated a friend's birthday with a few drinks (which is enough to make me very tipsy) and when we came home BF told me to take my contacts out and I spent about 5 minutes looking for my contact case and not understanding why I couldn't find it. I couldn't find it because I had thrown it out weeks ago. Fail. He thought it was the funniest thing ever, jerk. lol</span></font></div>

nottheonlydreamer44

I am super jealous of your BF Jem

 - I want Lasik so bad but I'm a little worried about it. I had a friend who did it and it reversed itself after about 2 years. She had to go back in and have it redone. I've got 800/800 vision (yes that exists and I did not know that!) - I don't even know if I'd be eligible but if I can afford it one day I'd definitely see about it. Congrats to him!

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_lasik?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:36fac2e6-0248-4f0e-92e3-b8783883a698Post:1aedfe96-064c-4271-8795-5ef4ee337437">Re: LASIK</a>:
[QUOTE]I am super jealous of your BF Jem  - I want Lasik so bad but I'm a little worried about it. I had a friend who did it and it reversed itself after about 2 years. She had to go back in and have it redone. I've got 800/800 vision (yes that exists and I did not know that!) - I don't even know if I'd be eligible but if I can afford it one day I'd definitely see about it. Congrats to him!
Posted by nottheonlydreamer44[/QUOTE]

I don't know about any special cases, but I know if you get a lifetime plan, they will do the surgery again for free if you end up needing it. But a lot of people don't.