Nss: Lasik

[wrkngirl]

I can see! I can SEE!!! And even better than when I was wearing my contacts!!!! Whoo hoo!!!!!!

Been wearing glasses since 1rst grade. This morning I woke up and could SEE!!! I love Lasik!!!!

[aglio412]

Originally posted by wrkngirl
I can see! I can SEE!!! And even better than when I was wearing my contacts!!!! Whoo hoo!!!!!!

Been wearing glasses since 1rst grade. This morning I woke up and could SEE!!! I love Lasik!!!!

man i want lasik sooooo bad...my gf is so paranoid that i'll be blind forever though...hmm maybe you could talk some sense into her

if you don't mind me asking...how much? and did your insurance chip in at all?

[wrkngirl]

It was fairly pricy, I saw three different doctors when I was deciding, the prices ranged from $1800 to $3300 (for both eyes). My insurance did not cover any of it, but we have a Cafeteria plan which allows us to take out $$ before taxes to cover medical expenses, so I maxed that out and saved about $500. If you have vision from work, you might check into seeing if they cover it, as some plans do.

I'm normally big on deals, but with eyes you just don't want to go with the $499 for any eye type doctors. My doctor had a 98% success rate, with only 2% of patients requiring additional treatment. I had nearsightedness and astigmatism, both were corrected via the procedure. I can't even begin to describe how amazing it is to see this clearly for the first time in my life!!

Tell your girlfriend that a good surgeon will not do the procedure on someone or recommend it if there is the slightest chance of failure. Do your research on the doctor, or if you have friends who have done it, get their recommendations. The doctor I chose had also done the procedure on my boss and two other friends of mine, all with great success.

Good luck! It's definitely worth it!!!!

[hapoo]

any side-effects?

[topane]

Do they knock you out for that?

[ArkiStan]

Originally posted by wrkngirl
It was fairly pricy, I saw three different doctors when I was deciding, the prices ranged from $1800 to $3300 (for both eyes). My insurance did not cover any of it...

that's a small price to pay to see well again. Did your doctor warn you about any possible long term side effects?

[wrkngirl]

Possible side effects- 'haloing' (a ring around lights) and ghost/blurry vision. I've had neither, although was told with my level of astigmatism I should expect it.
They have no long term studies on LASIK, as the procedure has only been around for last 10-15 years. Possible complications can include those listed above, as well as corneal scarring, loss of best corrected vision, and loss of sight. These are extremely rare. A good doctor will not recommend LASIK to someone who is a poor candidate. I had one friend who suffered loss of vision from her procedure, but from what I understand, she was not a good candidate to begin with and her doctor should never have performed the surgery.
RE: knocking out. Two of the doctors offered valium, one did not. I went with the valium doctor (though that was not the only reason). I had two prior to going in, and they offered me more until I was completely relaxed (read: falling out of my chair in the waiting room and drooling on myself). Whole procedure took 7 minutes. I felt nothing, there was a slight buzzing noise and a burning smell, but not awful.
You have to wear protective goggles at night for a week while the flap heals (they cut a small flap in the eye, no stitches). You have to be careful about not rubbing your eyes, squeezing them, or getting hit as you could dislodge the flap and that could cause damage. You could also get an infection, I have three different eye drops that are applied 4 x daily for a week. No eyeball licking, either...
Definitely do the research before going in. See more than one doctor and go with your best instinct.

[brain]

I want this surgery as well... but I have really bad vision and supposedly I have to go back several times to get to near 20/20 vision. Just FYI, my vision is -14.75 in both eyes w/ a 25% stigmatism. If anyone can top that, I'd be amazed.

[Thunder]

my wife and i would love to be rid of our contacts!!!

[wrkngirl]

freakinfreak- nope, can't top that! But have you visited more than one doctor? Mine told me that if they have to do it more than once, they're not doing it right the first time. Good luck!

I LOVE SEEING!!!!

[Grimm]

Originally posted by freakinfreak
I want this surgery as well... but I have really bad vision and supposedly I have to go back several times to get to near 20/20 vision. Just FYI, my vision is -14.75 in both eyes w/ a 25% stigmatism. If anyone can top that, I'd be amazed.

Hmmm... I agree with wrkngirl. Get another opinion. My vision in my left eye was 20/1200 before surgery. It is 20/20 now. I did have to have one touch up, but that is because I went with the $499 per eye clinic. You get what you pay for I suppose.
I should have shopped around more.
I had astigmatism too. Get a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th opinion!