lasik surgery

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-10-2009
lasik surgery
10
Fri, 01-22-2010 - 8:18pm

Has anyone had lasik surgery on this board? Do you regret it? I am going under the lazer next friday. It is kind of last minnute but I just realize that I qualify after thinking I didn't for the past 4 years (I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding). I have been planing on doing it for the past 10 years. So, the reason why I really want to do it now is we are going to a warmer climate end of febuary and I really want to be able to wear sunglasses. Financially speaking when we made our budget this year we didn't plan for it because we thought that I didn't qualify. It will work out because we will be reimburse from our health care plan but we will have to front the money.


Any thoughts or regrets?


TIA,


Liz

Liz

student loan paid off 2010

Bathroom remodel loan paid off 2013

Pending Car loan to be paid by the end of 2014!!!!!

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
In reply to: mizliz23
Fri, 01-22-2010 - 8:40pm
Hi!
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-14-2008
In reply to: mizliz23
Fri, 01-22-2010 - 11:02pm
My DH got it about 6 years ago. He has no regrets. I think you should go for it, even if you have to front the money. It was pretty cool watching my husband realize he could see.





iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-1999
In reply to: mizliz23
Fri, 01-22-2010 - 11:09pm

I have had lasik surgery on both eyes.

I would **not** do it a month before going on holiday. It takes a good few days before you can really even wash your face/touch near your eyes at all. You aren't supposed to have a shower for a week after your surgery, you can't let the water from the shower in your eyes because it can disturb the corneal flaps. You really, really, really have to be so careful to let the corneal flaps heal.

Lasik is not a quick and simple and everything is wonderful 48 hours later. It is serious and does take time to heal and to get used to everything. I had to use eye drops pretty much all day long and during the night for months afterwards. I had eye strain and pain afterwards too.

I had my first surgery (both eyes) in January 2008. My prescription was well over minus 6, close to minus 7 with astigmatism factored in. There is about 30% chance of serious regression with that strong of a prescription. That is what happened to me...I had pretty good vision from about a month after the surgery for the first few months, but by the end of Aug. 2008 I couldn't see well enough to drive without glasses anymore.

I had a revision surgery on one eye in Nov. 2008, which resulted in flap wrinkles in my corneal flap when I was examined the next morning. I can't tell you how careful I was, and I was pretty devastated. It meant they had to lift the flap *again* that day and re-smooth the corneal flap. I was supposed to have a "touch up" on the other eye, but I didn't follow through after going to my optometrist and having him explain all the possibilities. One thing he made me aware of that the people at the eye surgery centre didn't was that I have significant scarring on the cornea of the eye that had three surgeries.

Please don't be upset, I am **not** trying to rain on your parade at all. I just want you to know that it takes a long time for your corneal flaps to heal enough so that you don't panic if you rub your eye, or, heaven forbid, get a grain of sand in your eyes soon after surgery. My eyes got a lot of strain for quite awhile after the surgery too, so it does have a recovery time that the infomercials do not address.

Even after all the heartache and pain and hassle (and expense) of having to have three surgeries on one eye, more than $3K on the surgeries/travel/post-op checkups, and that I **still** have to wear glasses for distance, and will probably wind up with reading glasses in the next five years or so, I WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN. No doubt in my mind, I would still do it, even if I knew it was going to be a ways from perfect. I won't have any more touch up procedures, but I would still do the first surgery again.

I just wouldn't do it before a vacation or a trip. If your main reason is that you would really like to be able to wear sunglasses, I would suggest getting a decent pair of prescription sunglasses and then taking the next year to save and plan for the surgery. I had to have weekly checkups for the first three weeks and then monthly checkups for the next six months. Make sure you know all the risks-do you know what epithelial ingrowth is and are you prepared for the possibility? Oh, and one more thing the infomercials don't tell you is that there is a good likelihood of bruising on the sclera (white part) of your eye. I had really bad bruising in the whites of both eyes. It looks like huge hickies on your eyeballs and I promise you, they do attract alot of attention. The bruising I had on my eyes lasted for about three weeks before it faded significantly.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-15-2005
In reply to: mizliz23
Sat, 01-23-2010 - 9:15am

I had LASIK done in October of last year.

Jennifer


 


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-10-2009
In reply to: mizliz23
Mon, 01-25-2010 - 8:18pm

Thanks everyone for the info. I talked about this with DH. Normally when we go to Costa Rica we go to the beach. We go every year because this is my DH homeland. So, we decided that we are going to go ahead with the surgery but if my eyes are feeling to dry for the beach we will go to a climate that is cool. For example a cloud forest. There are lot of fun things also to do there so we won't feel like we are missing out. I probably would have post poned it if it wasn't a place that we don't go to on

Liz

student loan paid off 2010

Bathroom remodel loan paid off 2013

Pending Car loan to be paid by the end of 2014!!!!!

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-1999
In reply to: mizliz23
Mon, 01-25-2010 - 9:32pm
Let us know how you do and please make sure that you are very very careful with your eyes afterwards.
Avatar for sohappilyme
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: mizliz23
Mon, 01-25-2010 - 10:47pm
I had it a few years ago. 2002 maybe? I went from blind as a bat (20/200 or something crazy like that) to no correction whatsoever. It was AWESOME. I don't regret it a bit, even though the colored contacts were fun. =c)

Photobucket









FLINGING DEBT:
Sarah
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-01-2008
In reply to: mizliz23
Tue, 01-26-2010 - 8:48am

I had RK surgery over 12 years ago.

Norma


"Patience is the best remedy for every trouble"- Plautus


iVillage Member
Registered: 11-14-2008
In reply to: mizliz23
Tue, 01-26-2010 - 2:44pm

Just wanted to jump in on this one. I had it too.

I love it! It is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I had it done in 2004. My prescription was -5 and -5.75 in the other eye. I had to have my left eye redone because my prescription changed about a year later.

I did have a problem with it at first. My corneas were swollen. It made my vision worse at first LOL! I was scared. But after two weeks the swelling went down and it was fabulous.

So I would do it again even after the swelling problem and getting the left eye redone.

I know some people think it is expensive but I know I have saved on glasses and contacts since enough to pay for the procedure. I also got to keep it after my divorce!

I always promised myself I would buy some fancy sunglasses but have not done it yet. Maybe next year!


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-10-2009
In reply to: mizliz23
Tue, 01-26-2010 - 9:36pm

Thanks everyone for you thoughts! I am going under the lazer Friday AM at 7:15. Kind of creapy but very exciting! I need to go and get a new pair of sun glasses soon! I am not looking forward to the dry eyes that everyone has mention. But I am going to make friends with eye drops and do a lot of resting to help them recover. My DH is going to take the girls all day friday and 1/2 of sat. which will be interesting since he hasn't ever been in charge that long and we are getting ready for our 4 year old birthday party this week.

Liz

student loan paid off 2010

Bathroom remodel loan paid off 2013

Pending Car loan to be paid by the end of 2014!!!!!