Anyone here get LASIK eye surgery? - Page 2

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Anyone here get LASIK eye surgery? (Page 2 of 2)

Posted: 4/6/2012 11:33:34 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
I was considering using my tax refund to get lasik eye surgery. I'm a mild doomsayer and if the SHTF, I'd rather not be stuck with glasses. Plus I hate contacts and really wish I could wear sunglasses. 10 mins of research is looking like it's gunna be about $4000. It's a lot of cash, but an investment in the long run, whether the SHTF or not.

Wife had it done 8 years ago and wish she hadn't waited as long as she did. Her final results were 20/25 even though she had heavy astigmatisms in both eyes. The cost seems high for today, both her eyes were just a tick under $4K with a top-rated doc; I can only imagine it's cheaper now due to the advances and competition. Do your research but that's one of those things you want a top doc with a LOT of experience under his belt not some Lasik place in a strip-mall somewhere running a Earl Scheib operation....

Posted: 4/6/2012 11:36:17 AM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
I've had multiple eye doctors over the years. Almost all of them wore glasses when they've had every opportunity to get fixed. Everytime I ask "why didn't you" the answer was always: "You only get one pair of eyes.]

That was sort of the point I was trying to make earlier about how I don't know a single opthamologist who has had any sort of LASIK done, and how all of the ones who need vision correction wear glasses. I think that speaks volumes.

Posted: 4/6/2012 11:43:38 AM EDT

[#3]

Remember there was a member here, I think he was from Nevada, he had bad eye surgery had constant halos and headaches. Kept posting for advice since the doctor could not help him then ended up committing suicide? I would find the threads but I cant remember his username...

Posted: 4/6/2012 12:12:09 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
Remember there was a member here, I think he was from Nevada, he had bad eye surgery had constant halos and headaches. Kept posting for advice since the doctor could not help him then ended up committing suicide? I would find the threads but I cant remember his username...

Yes, he lost his vision I believe and later committed suicide

Posted: 4/6/2012 1:57:20 PM EDT

[#5]

It was one of the best decisions I ever made. My only mistake was going to dinner afterwards instead of home as per Dr.

Posted: 4/6/2012 4:47:35 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Very encouraging responces guys. Thank you.

Quoted:
I paid $2500 about 4 years ago, best thing I ever did.

ETA, this is the company I used http://www.lasikplus.com/, Just noticed this.

Yes Lasikplus.com is the site I scheduled my appointment through in Albany, The surgeon has over 22,000 opporations under her belt. Haven't decided if I should "shop around" or not yet.

Fuck LasikPlus. They fucked my eyes up real good..

Keep what you have!

I was legally blind prior and would struggle to count fingers at 3 feet. There was a 99%+ change I would be able to see without corrective lenses, so I went for it. I am now 20/15. If your don't have bad bad vision prior, consider your options carefully. Follow the eyedrop schedule religiously.

Posted: 4/6/2012 4:47:37 PM EDT

[#7]

I had mine done a little over a year ago. Almost $4K.

Best decision I ever made. 20/15 now in both eyes.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Posted: 4/6/2012 4:50:19 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
I'm looking more into PRK. The dry eye thing about LASIK scares me a little.

If I do corrective surgery to fix my astigmatism, will the dot in my red dot actually be round, instead of a sparkle? This is the question I always wanted the answer to, lol.

Depending on the level of perfection of the surgery, yes. I had astigmatism prior and now dots are dots with the tiniest bit of comet tail. But it is still 100% better than before.

Posted: 4/6/2012 4:53:20 PM EDT

[#9]

Do it OP! I had the iLASIK procedure done just over a week ago and went from 20/200 to 20/15! The dry eye thing isn't as bad as it sounds. I've been using drops every now and then and only really experience it when I wake up.

Posted: 4/6/2012 4:55:52 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
It was one of the best decisions I ever made. My only mistake was going to dinner afterwards instead of home as per Dr.

I did that too. It seriously kicked ass to be able to watch the TV across the restaurant though.

Posted: 4/6/2012 4:56:38 PM EDT

[#11]

I had it done. One of the best things I ever did for myself. My vision was pretty bad, and I couldn't do anything without my glasses (except read). Now, at 52, I just need reading glasses for marathon book reading. Not so much menus and stuff like that. It was freaky and I don't like stuff near my eyes, but all the valium took care of that. Piece of pie and easy as cake.

Posted: 4/6/2012 4:58:16 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Remember there was a member here, I think he was from Nevada, he had bad eye surgery had constant halos and headaches. Kept posting for advice since the doctor could not help him then ended up committing suicide? I would find the threads but I cant remember his username...

Yes, he lost his vision I believe and later committed suicide

His name was notsubby

Complications are rare, but if you are one of those that have them it would suck hard.

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_22/259474_.html

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_8_22/322833_.html

http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=8&f=22&t=467598

Posted: 4/6/2012 5:22:20 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I could smell my eyes burning and the power tool they used to remove the top layer was....disconcerting to say the least. Now after saying all that I'd do it again in a heart beat.

Sounds like you got PRK, not LASIK. I had the same thing done, but my wife got LASIK. Military paid form mine, so definitely the best money I ever spent

. Went from 20/400 to 20/20.

Same here, except I got the ICL procedure instead.

Posted: 4/6/2012 5:27:27 PM EDT

[#14]

I had an old friend call me. "Hey, AFM, you know, I had Lasik done on my eyes. They do one eye, let it heal up completely, then they do the other eye. That way you aren't completely out of commission."

"Yeah, I know. How are you doing?"

"Funny you should ask that. I just got back from the doctor after having the final checkup on the second eye. He asked the same thing you did, and I'll tell you same as him....

... before the surgery I was seeing spots before my eyes. Now I can see those spots perfectly clearly."

Posted: 4/6/2012 5:33:07 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Didn't a member here kill himself due to complications from LASIK?

yes

Posted: 4/6/2012 6:55:15 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
FYI: I had LASIK done about 14 years ago when I got into LE. It was great...till I needed reading glasses for up close work. Then my stigmatism began to slowly return. Now I am back with full time glasses.

It was great while it lasted but once you get up into your years... you may need glasses again, but YMMV.

You may have gotten it done too young.

I had it done, but I was 42 when they did it. One thing I don't like about the practitioners is that I think they hurt themselves by pushing it on people in their 20s. You continue to become more nearsighted after the procedure at that age. The change after you hit 35 is much less. Virtually everyone winds up needing reading glasses at some point in their life.

My vision is now 20/15.

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:00:47 PM EDT

[#17]

I had LASIK but I would look into the iLASIK that is available now.

There is also a lens implant available that my brother had done and it worked great.

BigDozer66

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:02:02 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:

Quoted:
FYI: I had LASIK done about 14 years ago when I got into LE. It was great...till I needed reading glasses for up close work. Then my stigmatism began to slowly return. Now I am back with full time glasses.

It was great while it lasted but once you get up into your years... you may need glasses again, but YMMV.

You may have gotten it done too young.

I had it done, but I was 42 when they did it. One thing I don't like about the practitioners is that I think they hurt themselves by pushing it on people in their 20s. You continue to become more nearsighted after the procedure at that age. The change after you hit 35 is much less. Virtually everyone winds up needing reading glasses at some point in their life.

My vision is now 20/15.

I'll take 20/15 vision @ 24 and have a touchup later than wait @ 20/400 til 35.

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:08:25 PM EDT

[#19]

My wife got hers done about ten years ago. She had horrible vision before and has 20/10 now. Go for it. You'll never buy glasses again. You can pop pmags glasses free.

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:27:30 PM EDT

[#20]

I had Lasik surgery in Mexicali Mexico in Sept 2000 for $600 an eye. It would have cost $5400 an eye back then

in Little Rock AR. I would do it again! I wore glasses for 28 years before that.

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:39:27 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
I had Lasik surgery in Mexicali Mexico in Sept 2000 for $600 an eye. It would have cost $5400 an eye back then

in Little Rock AR. I would do it again! I wore glasses for 28 years before that.

mexican eye surgery

shit son

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:41:40 PM EDT

[#22]

Had lasik over 1 year ago. pretty dope. around 4k. corrected to 20/15-20/20 respectively. i dont know my before x/20, but it was not great. also had astigmatism.

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:56:29 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I could smell my eyes burning and the power tool they used to remove the top layer was....disconcerting to say the least. Now after saying all that I'd do it again in a heart beat.

Sounds like you got PRK, not LASIK. I had the same thing done, but my wife got LASIK. Military paid form mine, so definitely the best money I ever spent

. Went from 20/400 to 20/20.

LASIK is a little different than PRK, but they're still burning away tissue with a laser. It smells like burning hair.

I'm glad to hear the mil pays for it now. When I enlisted (1986) the military still considered it "experimental". You were barred from enlisting if you'd had the procedure. I wanted to fly helicopters but wore glasses, so asked if I could get my vision re-evaluated if I paid for PRK on my own. I was given very stern warnings at MEPS not to. I was already in the Reserves, I went to MEPS to transfer to active duty. I was also warned I'd get discharged from the Reserves if I had the procedure done. I transferred to active duty with an ugly set of BCG's on my nose.....

I finally had LASIK in 2000. It was still $5,000 in the US but only $1,000 for both eyes up there. LASIK was still fairly new here but Canadian companies had been doing it for years. I went to a company called LASIK-VISION, they had offices all across Canada. Montreal was the closest but instead we drove to Nova Scotia and made a week long vacation out of it, I had the procedure done the day before we came home. They were partnered up with many optometrists down here so the follow-up visits to local eye doctors were still covered.

I'm in my forties and vision is still 20/20.

A friend of the family had it done in Boston a couple of years ago, went blind in one eye. As with any medical procedure....there are risks.

Posted: 4/6/2012 7:57:49 PM EDT

[#24]

I had it done and it was soooo worth it! If there's anyway to make it out to AZ to have it done - I would highly recommend Dr. Petelin. Dr. Petelin and his staff were so amazing and made me feel comfortable the whole way thru the process.

His website is below... Good Luck!!!

http://www.eyemdaz.com/

Posted: 4/6/2012 8:03:26 PM EDT

[#25]

Best decision I might have ever made. Had it done over 12 years ago. Jeez it was great to loose the glasses.

Posted: 4/6/2012 8:15:09 PM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

I had it done and it was soooo worth it! If there's anyway to make it out to AZ to have it done - I would highly recommend Dr. Petelin. Dr. Petelin and his staff were so amazing and made me feel comfortable the whole way thru the process.

His website is below... Good Luck!!!

http://www.eyemdaz.com/

Great first post new guy.

Posted: 4/6/2012 8:16:20 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
I had it done and it was soooo worth it! If there's anyway to make it out to AZ to have it done - I would highly recommend Dr. Petelin. Dr. Petelin and his staff were so amazing and made me feel comfortable the whole way thru the process.

His website is below... Good Luck!!!

http://www.eyemdaz.com/

Interesting thread to have a first post on... Welcome to ARFCOM

Thanks everyone for the continued responses, though it was very saddening to read about notsubby

Posted: 4/6/2012 9:21:05 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
I had Lasik surgery in Mexicali Mexico in Sept 2000 for $600 an eye. It would have cost $5400 an eye back then

in Little Rock AR. I would do it again! I wore glasses for 28 years before that.

WHOA! You're braver than I am.

Posted: 4/7/2012 3:21:19 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Very encouraging responces guys. Thank you.

Quoted:

I paid $2500 about 4 years ago, best thing I ever did.

ETA, this is the company I used http://www.lasikplus.com/, Just noticed this.

Yes Lasikplus.com is the site I scheduled my appointment through in Albany, The surgeon has over 22,000 opporations under her belt. Haven't decided if I should "shop around" or not yet.

Fuck LasikPlus. They fucked my eyes up real good..

Keep what you have!

Details?

My procedure came out great, but I spent lots of time talking to the Dr making sure I understood everything, he also said I was a very good candidate for it. There was a lady there, getting her eyes fixed, we sat down and talked.. what I got out of it was that she was a bad candidate but still really wanted to get it done, went to a few Drs and finally found one that would do it... now she has terrible dry eyes and her vision is a little screwy.

Posted: 4/7/2012 3:39:38 AM EDT

[#30]

Best $3700 I've ever spent! Whent from 20/200 to 20/15. After surgery the halos do suck at night.

Posted: 4/7/2012 4:08:50 AM EDT

[#31]

I had it done in February, it was the best $600* I ever spent. Went from 20/200 to 20/15, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

*: So, I used my flex spending account to pay for the $3790 procedure. After I paid 600 back, my entire division got shitcanned. So, thanks for the "Free" Lasik, Harris! But seriously, if you can put the whole thing on your FSA, DO IT! It's basically a 12 month interest free loan...PRE TAX. It's awesome.

Posted: 4/27/2012 1:44:14 PM EDT

[#32]

UPDATE: I decided to go ahead with it. I had my surgery yesterday afternoon. I just got back from my next day post op exam and I'm already 20/20. The first two hours after the surgery were very painful and discomforting. I was very apprehensive prior to surgery, but now I have no pain or discomfort, I'm seeing clearly and I'm very happy I went ahead with it. I do show some slight brusing in the eyes, but that should disappear within the next few days. Thank you all for you input. I hightly recommend this to anyone who's interested. Final price was $3588.30 including medicated eye drops, this is after 15% insurance discount.

Posted: 4/27/2012 1:46:01 PM EDT

[#33]

I paid $3500, after a VSP discount, about 11-12 years ago. It was originally $5k

Posted: 4/27/2012 1:48:52 PM EDT

[#34]

Had mine done in 2008. Cost: $0. (.mil)

still working just fine, no problems.

Posted: 4/27/2012 1:50:23 PM EDT

[#35]

I am going to get it done in the next couple of years.

It seems like very year my eyes get worse.

Posted: 4/27/2012 2:43:08 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

It seems like very year my eyes get worse.

One of the requirements (atleast for where I got my procedure done) is that you must have an unchanged perscription for at least one year.

Posted: 4/27/2012 4:34:30 PM EDT

[#37]

I had it, but I didn't get big red blotches in my eyes! Nearly 4 years ago, and still see clear and crisp.

Posted: 4/27/2012 5:22:34 PM EDT

[#38]

Congrats, make sure you keep up with your eye drops!

The only problem I have is that my eyes tend to be a little dry, so I constantly carry around some drops.