I had LASIK back in 2002, for severe nearsightedness. The procedure was painless (the valium helped with that, I'm sure), and aside from the "weird factor" of being completely conscious while someone was first cutting and then burning your eyeball, not terribly unpleasant.
Back then, standard procedure was to overcorrect the first time, to allow for regression in the first few months. They didn't overcorrect me enough, so I had to go in for a second procedure, after which all was well for about eight years.
I'm back in glasses now, but that's probably more because I changed jobs about three years ago, and less because of LASIK. I went from lots of middle-distance work to lots of computer, electronics, and other near-focus work, which has shifted me back toward nearsightedness. The procedure package I got came with free adjustments for life, but after one tweak I didn't have enough corneal tissue left for another. I'm not nearly as bad as I was, though, and could easily enough get by without them for a few days. I can even drive (no restriction on my license), but I stick to areas where I know the roads since I have trouble with exit signs and the like at highway speeds.
Lots of people I know who have had it done complain about "lens flare" from oncoming headlights and the like at night, but that was only a problem for me during the post-procedure adjustment period. It's still there a bit, but I have to actively work to notice it, and it never causes a problem.
All in all, I'm glad I did it, even with the regression back to glasses. The cost of it in 2002 averaged out to about what I would have paid for glasses over the eight years, so nothing was gained or lost in terms of money, and I got to live without the hassle of glasses.
One last thing: the adage "you get what you pay for" is especially true with LASIK. You don't want some fly-by-night guy with a refurb laser and a one-year lease on an office in a strip mall. Prices can be ridiculously low or ridiculously high, since this is an elective procedure not covered by insurance (and therefore not subject to much of the Medicare quality assurance regulation), so be sure to do a lot of research, interview your doctors, and take your time making a decision. I ended up driving to Charlotte to have mine done, even though it was three hours out of the way. You only have one set of eyes, best not to screw them up.
