Terminalcoffee discussion
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Would you get Lasik surgery? (penguins and Kevin's one way mirror)
In another fifteen years, they'll have a Lasik booth at Wal-Mart and some pimply-faced kid will be pulling the switch. It'll probably be next to the liposuction booth...But seriously, I'd be uneasy about someone shooting a laser into my eyes.
I heard that on my way to work this morning.I couldn't get lasik but got PRK about a year ago. (same thing but without the corneal flap). I have some issues with dryness but otherwise I'm very happy. My night vision was awful before the surgery and it's no better or worse after. I was scared out of my mind but it ended up being completely worth it. I'm with your wife, RA. Having said that, I'm glad they're doing the studies and that people are speaking out about side effects. It's always better to be aware of the risks.
I like my glasses. I wear contacts for shows (sometimes) but I've never had an issue with glasses at all. I'm also never going to volunteer for surgery in general. I've heard good stories but also bad - people who cry all the time, or have horrible dryness and itchiness. Not for me!
yeah, sign me up. this is like something off of Saw 2
no one gets to touch my eyes, i don't even wear contacts because i have hay fever, the trees start in january, and the grass takes over from may until september, and i like to be able to at least rub my eyes when they're getting itchy. it's a mirracle they haven't turned into goo yet.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Kevin! Warn a girl!
I became more nearsighted as I spent more and more years working with computers; however, I can read books without glasses. I have two different prescriptions, one for activities where I need to see distances, and one for computer work. If I got the surgery, then I would probably need glasses to read, so it wouldn't totally eliminate my need for glasses. I've also talked with some eye dr's about it and they don't really recommend it for someone like me anyway. In any case, I like my glasses and have adapted to the arrangement. Also, I love all the different styles out there so I have all kinds. They've become as much of a fashion accessory to me as jewelry.
Gross, Kevin. That's them lifting the flap for lasik. Gross. I watched one on the big screen before I had mine done. It made me super happy that I couldn't get lasik. I had a longer recovery but it was worth not having that gross flap.**did I mention that I think the flap is GROSS?
sorry sarahPi - just googled lasik and that is what popped up on images. that dude looks way to wide awake
That's cause they're WORKING on his EYE! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
You ARE wide awake for the procedure, you know. You can even smell your flesh burning.
Oh shit. And they tell you, "DON'T MOVE YOUR EYE!" Oh sure.
Gretchen wrote: "You ARE wide awake for the procedure, you know. You can even smell your flesh burning."
My brother in law had it done, and that freaked him out when he realized the burning smell was him.
My brother in law had it done, and that freaked him out when he realized the burning smell was him.
It is a decison each person must make for themselves; but it is a good idea to learn the pors and cons of any surgery of any kind.When it works, it is great; but there is a small but definite percentage of people who have bad aftereffects.
For a variety of other medical reason, I am NOT a good candidate for Lasik and I would not consider having it done. Not to mention the cost; insurance usually not cover it.
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Sweeter had it done the year we met, and he was given a dvd of the entire procedure so he could watch it again as need be. Ga-ross!
He had horrible vision, his whole family does, they're nearly blind, so he's happy that he did it. I wish that strong eyes were a dominant trait but my sister the optometrist tells me that our kids will have to wear glasses. Boo.
The first time I opened my eyes and was able to see the alarm clock I nearly cried from happiness. Also, lenses only corrected me to 20/40. Now I'm 20/20!!
Sally, apparently her eyes were itchy/irritated for about a week...but I saw her Saturday and she said everything was fine by then.
upset with me? hey, the procedure it what it is. all the gross stuff said and pics on here and i get gigged by sally for a real surgical procedure pic? that's it, i am looking for a pic of the knife version of this procedure :)
speaking of smelling something burning, you also have that sensation while getting a vasectomy. that'll bring you up for air. something you sort of learn while a boy: being naked (basically) and smelling bacon frying is not a good thing
buck buck buckabuck buck buck I've been told I am a very good candidate, since I'm near sighted and have astigmatism. And while I dream of Gretchen's experience, to see without glasses and also to see better than with lenses, I'm not gonna do it.
Maybe when I'm older and no longer need to be a chauffeur for the kid.
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I'd consider Lasik so I wouldn't have to mess with contacts to see fish when I snorkle. Or, I could just get a prescription mask. Yeah, that would be cheaper, and less creepy...
c'mon jacks, let someone shoot a Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation beam into your eye
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!
right. i saw the picture too. no way. i think that is Dr. Lecter doing the procedure
Since the new wave seems to be 3D, anyone with glasses is being discriminated against! Glasses with 3D glasses on top is not very comfortable.
My mother had it done when it was still an experimental procedure back in the 70s. In fact, she still doesn't need glasses... and she's getting up in years (60+).
It's sooooo tempting when I hear of all the good results.
I also heard this on NPR today and the first thing that came to mind was "I wish I'd heard of this before I did it".I waited a while before getting lasik. I thought better let them work out all the kinks before I plunge in. Then one day, my resident made a comment I wil never forget about her lasik procedure. She said "best $1000 I ever spent". That day, I decided I would do it.
Oh it was awesome at first. Honestly, it was like the blind seeing. REALLY. Beforehand, I could not see my hand stretched out before me at arm's length. I was 20/200.
It's been 7 years or so now. My vision isn't 20/20 but honestly anything less than 20/100 would have been a major improvement. I thought the starbursts I was seeing at night were "normal" until I heard last year that it was because of the flap not extending beyond your pupil dilation circumference. My family and I drove to New York this Christmas and I actually had to pull over at 1am and have my husband take over the wheel because I could not see the road. The lights from oncoming cars were the culprits.
I do wish I could see better at night, it makes it difficult to drive but I compare it to before lasik when I could not see at all and it's much better. I feel sorry for others who have had worse problems. And no, my eye doctor did not tell me I may have night vision difficulties, sure it may have been in the fine print but hello.....I was blind.
Everyone needs to consider the pros and cons for themselves and make the decision that is best for them. I would say if you have ANY reservations, any at all, don't do it. Wait until they iron out the kinks.
For me, it's great when the sun's out. Nothing like waking up in the morning with vision.
Thank you. In truth, I only joined because of your comment. So thanks for bringing it up. I hope this post helps a lot of people who are considering it. I don't know what I would have done had I known these truths but it's definitely better to know.
From my reading, I hear that problems with night vision is the best know major side effect.so should you have a job that requires you drive at night, you must really, really blance that against your needs.
Admittedly, they are working out the kinks as they do more and more of these---just be sure to read all the small print before you decide.
Hey if I could read the small print I wouldn't need Lasik!hee just kidding.
Thank you, Lori, for taking the responsibility to knock that one out of the park:)
I had radial karototomy (spelling?) (RK) about 15 years ago and I desperately wish that I had waited for the laser surgeries. I now have one collapsed cornea (which is uncomfortable but still correctable) and that makes me a non-candidate for any further surgeries. The other problem is that over time I have had not only the night vision issues (which they did warn me about, although I don't find them all that severe and I see pretty well at night) but a significant increase in astigmatism over time which couldn't be corrected by RK. My mother, however, had RK at the same time I did and hers is perfect still. It just depends on your eyeballs and your doctor.And I was awake for the procedure, but they gave me valium to keep me calm. THAT's how you stay still while they are cutting on your eye.
My father had RK as well. He's had issues with his eyes since but all are apparently unrelated.I asked my Dr. for a valium and he said they don't do that anymore. He said, "I used to give valium to every single patient. But you see, the way we get you to keep your eye still is we have you stare at this little light. You give some people a valium and they just cannot focus on that little light."
heh heh.
He did, however, send me home with painkillers and other goodies.
That makes more sense Bun, and not knowing a lot about it before hand I would have thought that this would have been the case.
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"And I was awake for the procedure, but they gave me valium to keep me calm. THAT's how you stay still while they are cutting on your eye."I was also awake and they gave me something, I don't know what it was though. But I know it didn't work. It was still EXTREMELY uncomfortable and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Then again, my physiology is weird, certain painkillers make me feel internally shaky and I always need more shots than the usual person at the dentist. But it went by really fast and I saw an immediate improvement.
BunWat wrote: "The impression I get is that the mapping isn't that extensive yet, but I expect it will get better. I haven't looked into it that closely because I don't have the funds at present, but when I heard..."
I'd kind of dismissed it too because of the randomness of how it seems to work, but this seems like it may cut down on that and make it a more viable option again.
I'd kind of dismissed it too because of the randomness of how it seems to work, but this seems like it may cut down on that and make it a more viable option again.
Even with all the problems that I'm having now, I have to say, those first 10 years were great. I could see amazingly well. I have actually inquired about getting additional surgery but they told me I'm a bad candidate now. I really don't mind glasses, but I prefer being without them. And contacts are mostly quite uncomfortable.Now that I know about corneal mapping, it's amazing to me that they didn't always take that into account when doing the laser surgeries. I understand it with RK, because RK is toughest right on the center of your eye - no amount of corneal mapping will change that. But laser surgery was always different.
Yeah, it just seems reasonable that you wouldn't put scarred or untreated tissue between light and the retina but it only seems reasonable now that you know. I hadn't thought at all about corneal differences beforehand. I just assumed they knew what they were doing. I mean seriously, since they made sure to cut out of the pupil diameter area when it was constricted, why wouldn't they know that pupils dilate and when they do, the place where they cut is now inside the diameter?
only way i am doing it is if they use one of those robot surgeons where someone is controlling it with a joystick 5000 miles away and i am laying on an ice bed in the antarctic with a popsicle in my mouth and a penguin holding my hand
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...
This is particularly timely because I was in Best Buy a couple weeks ago and I ran into one of my wife's friends and she said, "Tell your wife I've had all these problems after Lasik." Apparently my wife recommended Lasik to her but the woman had complications (she's fine now, from what I hear). My wife was a Lasik convert and talked up the procedure to her friends, from what I can understand. She had the procedure a couple summers ago...I drove her to some office, read some magazines in the lobby for twenty minutes (they told me I could watch but I said no), and then drove her home while she wore these big old lady sunglasses and took a nap. The next day she was fine and said she could see everything.
I like glasses, so I'm not getting Lasik. It's kind of expensive, too, and my wife got part of the procedure as a present from her mom. Apparently there are "good candidates" and "bad candidates". I declare myself a "bad candidate".
What do you think? Is Lasik the savior of America's eyesight? Too dangerous? For you or not for you?