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So, after 20 years or so with being blind and needing glasses all my life, I have finally reached the point where I am getting lasik done on January 8th. (that and I am at a point in my life where I can finally afford some nice things for myself). I went in for my consultation 2 weeks ago, and I am apprently a perfect candidate for it. I am fucking stoked.

So my question here is, who has had it done, and what do you think of the results so far? Good/bad..seems okay? I am just looking forward to not being shackled to these damn things on my face for the first time in my waking life since the 3rd grade. I am being told I should be able to go back into work the next night, though my boss knows I may take that off just in case.

I remember GasBandit said that he has.

I'm too paranoid to get lasik, and I look sexy with glasses.

I can't wait to hear how it goes for you, though.

I wouldn't mind getting it one day. We have a family friend who's done LASIK for a lot of people, and he hasn't cooked a single eye. You're lucky to be a good candidate for it. I Enjoy it!

I had it done 4-5 years ago, needed the expensive version since basically super near-sighted for 30+ years, make absolutely sure you're spot on with prescription, I had to go in for second procedure 6 months later left eye was still blurry.

That should be his business motto.

"Haven't cooked a single eye since 1998!" (or whatever year he started)

But you could've rocked a monacle!

My parents got it, and your eyes have to "fix" for a few months (so it is not immediately better), but after that, they've been perfect, from my understanding.

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.

Had lasik back in 2007. I had traditional LASIK (Where they take a razor and slice across your cornea to create a flap, then laser zap it, then fold the flap back for it to heal) while the wife had the PRK where they used acid to burn away her corneal cover and then laser zapped it.

Company paid half of it so it was a good deal for us. I wasn't TOO blind, -3.25 in each eye approximately so the fact I don't have to wear glasses at all is pretty amazing. The wife had somewhere around -6.5 or so; it was a big deal for her to get LASIK and as such saw a marked improvement in her vision.

Unfortunately her recovery period took a long time while mine was nearly instantaneous. I keep promising to post the video of the actual procedure but it's on Facebook and hard to share so I've spoilered someone else's.



Total time elapsed per eye, 4 minutes. It really is a short surgery.

I had Lasik a few years ago myself. The kind where they do cut the flap. Valium, etc.

Best thing I ever did for myself. I don't miss keeping up with/cleaning glasses one little bit. I don't remember my prescription, but I think it was somewhere around -5 or so. I've gone over the plusses and minuses in other threads, but to summarize:

Pros:
AWESOME I CAN SEE WITH NO GLASSES
Quick recovery
Fast and affordable

Cons:
Some short term difficulty with night driving (oncoming headlights look like overdone photoshop lens flares/starbursts)
Your eyes will always be dry. Get some drops, try different brands, see which kind you like best, because you will need them periodically.
Used to have close up vision like a human microscope. That goes away.
Most people report a certain loss of night vision.. not complete... just less

Adam said:

Had lasik back in 2007. I had traditional LASIK (Where they take a razor and slice across your cornea to create a flap, then laser zap it, then fold the flap back for it to heal) while the wife had the PRK where they used acid to burn away her corneal cover and then laser zapped it.

Company paid half of it so it was a good deal for us. I wasn't TOO blind, -3.25 in each eye approximately so the fact I don't have to wear glasses at all is pretty amazing. The wife had somewhere around -6.5 or so; it was a big deal for her to get LASIK and as such saw a marked improvement in her vision.

Unfortunately her recovery period took a long time while mine was nearly instantaneous. I keep promising to post the video of the actual procedure but it's on Facebook and hard to share so I've spoilered someone else's.

Spoiler

Total time elapsed per eye, 4 minutes. It really is a short surgery.

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Whelp, watching that ensures I will never have lasik.

Ravenpoe said:

Whelp, watching that ensures I will never have lasik.

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Google "bris".

fade said:

Google "bris".

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Haha, I'm jewish, you can't fool me.

Thanks for the info guys. I will be getting straight lasik, not PRK. My vision is complete shit, and has been since I was a kid. I am really looking forward to no having to clean/find glasses, fall asleep with them on, etc. Also, ability to get summer sunglasses without having to order them online and what not. Ill let ya know how it goes in a couple weeks.

Had it in one eye, perfectly happy with it. Wear glasses now because of my other eye, with just -2.25 so not worth Lasiking just yet. Kinda silly

So, after 22 years of wearing glasses, basically, all my memory of life after 9 years old. I no loner need them. Holy fucking shit, this is awesome. I can look to the side..WITHOUT HAVING TO TURN MY HEAD!!! Shit is mind blowing when thats what you had to do all your life! But..wait..something went wrong..something isn't right...

OH SHIIIIIIIIIII-