Anyone Had LASIK Done? I Am Contemplating, but Scared.

I had the procedure 8 years ago and the it was the best decision of my life! The world is brighter, cleaner and cripser. No fuss with glasses or contacts. No pain, and while waiting outside of the office for my husband to pick me up I could already read the advertisment on the side of a truck!

I had mine done in 2005. I will not lie, mine was very painful for about a month but my eyes were horrible. I had been in glasses since the 3rd grade and could barely see the alarm clock on my night stand. They gave me pain pills and Ambien to sleep, and i slept for 3 days. About 2 weeks my eyes started to adjust and I could see alot better.
Even with the pain, I think it's worth it. I have almost 20/20 vision and can wear sunglasses.
My brother had it done also and was fine after the 3rd day. Guess my case was worse but again worth it. I don't ever want glasses again!!!
Good luck, its a hard decision.

I was very near sighted for most of my life (-14 left eye, -12 right eye). I was evaluated for lasik, was found to be a good candidate and my sight was corrected to 20/20 vision in April of 1999. In Mar 2007 my right eye went a little bit more near sighted again, and I had that eye lasik'ed one more time. It's wonderful! After the 1 year healing period, I have no star burst effects when looking at lights at night. (The effect was kind of pretty - I almost miss it.) Most of the people I know who've had it done have had excellent results.
HOWEVER, I've heard of one person who had it done and they have had some very bad dry eye problems ever since and they will have this problem the rest of their life.
It is important to go to a reputable company who has a good track record, and who will evaluate you honestly. If you are a good candidate, then it should go well. But if the evaluation come back with reasons that make you a bad candidate - then believe them and listen to them and do not find some place who will try it on you anyway. When it works well, it works very very well. But when it goes wrong, it can go very very wrong.

Best money i've ever spent! I know i could have had it done cheaper, but like you I reasoned that these are my eyes we're talking about, so I went with the highest rated doctor here in San Francisco for peace of mind. For about 3 weeks prior to the procedure, they provided me wiht fish oil pills to take.. apparently it helps with keeping your eyes moist for the operation.

It was a very smooth and easy process. Similar to others I was given a sedative and sat in a dim room to 'relax' for maybe about 15-20 minutes. Afterwards they brought me into the room where the procedure would take place. They put something on me to hold my lids open. Like others say, its a little uncomfortable, but not painful at all. And honestly it's not even on you THAT long because the whole procedure took only about 5 minutes.

The laser part starts after. I was instructed to keep my eyes on a red blinking light, while the docs did their thing (laser cutting a flap, etc...) You don't feel any of it even though it sounds scary. They walked me through it as it was happening and told me i'd feel pressure, but I actually didnt feel any. For some reason i felt like the red light was moving however, so my eyes would move too (to follow it) but I think that must have somethign to do with my eyes being worked on (maybe making it LOOK like the light was moving when it wasnt??), because the doctor had to keep telling me to stop moving my eyes!

Anyway, I dont think that affected the results because soon after it was all over. For the few seconds between being done with the operation and covering my eyes, i could tell that I could see things much clearer already. Results are INSTANT. After covering my eyes, I was guided out the door to sit for a while. They told me to keep my eyes closed and covered, and to go home and take a nap (i think they gave me a sleeping pill, but i forget!) My husband took me home, and I slept for about 4 hours. They also provided me with eye drops to keep my eyes moist (and good for healing).

When I woke up, I felt like it was a miracle. I was 20/20 and kicked myself for not doing it a few years earlier when I initially looked into it, but was too scared to move forward. No more hassle with glasses or contacts. It was and IS so liberating. I can't even imagine how much of a pain it would have been if i DIDNT do it and was still dependent on glasses or contacts AND having to deal with waking up at all hours for the baby/kids!

I'd do it again in a heartbeat if i Had to. This was done about 3 years ago, and my eyes are still in great shape. I havent experienced any of the 'halo' effects some ppl mentioneed when looking at lights in the dark.

I haven't, but I have plenty of friends who have and they LOVE LOVE LOVE it! Do your research on doctors in your area and also on the surgery. I actually have another friend who just scheduled his consultation today as a matter of fact. Just make sure you do exactly what the doctor tells you to do after surgery and you will be fine. So far all of my friends say it is the best decision they ever made... I forget what they even looked like before when they wore glasses ;)

Am just turned 31 and had it done about 9.5 yrs ago. I love it! I had tried to different contacts over the years and hated them. I had a bad stigmatism and the contacts hurt. I have a little trouble w/night vision, but I have always been sensitive to light.
My mother had it done a little before I did and had to have it done a second time (for free) because one I did not take it well. I don't know if they did not correct it enough or what...
A friend of mine (probably about 8 yrs older than I) had it done and had night vision trouble.
But everyone I know liked it.

I was very nearsighted with astigmatism in both eyes. Had it done 11 years ago and I'm still 20/20. No problems whatsoever, and the technique is even better now. Don't cut corners here - you get what you pay for. I don't know where Anna, TX is, but I'm in Austin and went to Dr. Shawn Wong with Eyes of Texas. My husband, brother, mom and dad have all also had surgery with him with great results.

My daughter had it done about 5 years ago, I think. She had no problems and loves being able to shave her legs in the shower and actually see what she's doing. She was wearing -800 lenses---very nearsighted! She recommends you KNOW your doctor. Be sure he/she does her own measurements and doesn't rely on an assistant. Also, she said her doctor didn't turn out 50 surgeries a week like so many do. She prefers a woman doctor---more conscious of detail. That's her advice.

I have been considering it for a long time, too. I recently asked a friend of mine, who is a pain management doctor, about it and his IMMEDIATE response was NO. He told a story of one of his colleagues, a surgeon, who is no longer able to perform surgery since his LASIK surgery. He said that the long term effects are still relatively unknown, and that the number of times things go wrong is fairly high, and he reminded me that I have only one set of eyes. He was so adamant that I changed my mind about having it done.

I had them done almost 6 years ago shortly after I had my daughter. It was my husband's birthday present to me but I think, really, he got sick of me fumbling around in the dark for my glasses each time my daughter woke up in the middle of the night.

Let me tell you, it was one of my best birthday presents ever. I highly recommend getting the procedure done but, here's the thing: you want to go to doctor or lasik surgery center that comes highly recommended. As you correctly pointed out, we are talking about your eyes and you don't want to entrust them to just anybody.

Because I had it done a while ago and they may have updated the procedure since then, I won't bore you with the details but the actual procedure itself took what seemed like maybe 3 to 5 minutes max and it was a little bit uncomfortable but it definitely didn't hurt. Because they did give me one or two valiums to relax me prior to the procedure, it did take me the better part of the day to sleep it off but, by the next morning, my vision was perfect. It was so amazing! And I still have great vision to this day.

Hope this helps.

P.S. My night vision is fine.

Hi,

I had it done last summer with Dr. Beebe at Cornea Associates of Tx. It was great! I had glasses/contacts since I was 16 and had the surgery at 29. Right after the procedure it is painful, but you can see :). It took about a week to see computer good (the bright light bothered me). It took me 4 years to get up the nerve to do the operation! He is about $4,000, but that covers everything. First visit, procedure follow up at 10 days, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and a year. He will retreat if needed within a year. You are in an operating room by yourself with him and two nurses. They talk you through the entire thing! He is a little more expensive than some of the doctors, but from what I hear alot of the big named doctors "run cattle" through their offices. They do alot of procedures so I'm sure they are perfectly fine, but it just wasn't for me. If you have any more questions please feel free to send me a message. I'm sure you will love it and wished you had it done earlier! Just make sure your eyes have leveled out and are not continuing to get worse every year as they will still continue to and you don't want to be in glasses 3-4 years later. Good luck!

Hi K.,
I have heard that Lasik can affect night vision from a lady at work whose husband had the procedure, so just wanted to share that with you.

I love mine..had it 5 years ago and have had no problems...I do know of one person who wasn't satisfied...out of about 20 that I know that have had it...so not everyone loves it, and my mom had to have a small correction done after hers, so also keep that in mind. Although a reputable doctor will do corrections for free. Like a lot of things you get what you pay for so don't try to cheap out on this, put some time and research into who you use.
Every doctor is different but here is how mine went. \
I got there early in the morning, they gave me one sedative that calmed me but didn't put me to sleep. I wore my own clothes and was in a dark room in a reclining chair with two others also getting the surgery. An assistant puts a deal on your eyes that hold them open..it is slightly uncomfortable definitely not painful. they keep putting drops in your eyes to keep them lubricated, then they put in drops to numb the eye, then the assistant uses a device to cut the eye (don't freak out!) and push the flap back so the laser can then reshape the eye. That was the most uncomfortable part for me...still didn't hurt just felt like a lot of pressure. then the doctor came over and got the lasik machine posistioned and then had me look directly at the red blinking light that was directly above my eyes for 15 secs (approximately) then the assistant put the flap back in place, they took the eye openers (as I call them) out and sat me up. the lights were turned on and i could already read the clock on the wall. Total time: 5 min. Different dr. do it differently for afterwards too, mine wanted me to stay awake for a couple hours and do a series of drops, I've had friends whose docs told them to go to sleep, so depends on who you use. Afterwards you might be sensitive to bright light for a bit, and you have to stay on using the drops they give you, helps you heal and prevents infections, avoid gusts of wind in the eyes, etc. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Ask your ophthalmologist first whether you are a good candidate before going to a surgeon for their opinion. Also, any surgery to the eye, including Lasik, can cause dry eye. Lastly, depending on your age, it may be best to just wait it out. When we get older and eventually have cataract surgery the results can be skewed on patients who've had lasik. Only you can weigh the risk depending on how badly you are wanting out of your glasses/contacts. Good luck!