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Lasik

edited September 2007 in Suggestions
I've been on the interview circuit for the past couple of months. A lot of the jobs I've been trying for are with Federal or State agencies (Federal or State benefits - sweet!).

I'm really hopeful that I'll get a job that has decent benefits. If I get a vision program, I'm gonna have to try Lasik. I've had to have vision correction for longer than most of you on this board have been alive. I was able to wear contacts for a number of years, but my eyes are so dry now I have to wear glasses.

Glasses can be a fun prop. Nothing puts someone in their place as fast as an older guy looking down at them over half-frame glasses. I have a pair just for that. However, the costs of glasses often outweigh the benefits. You have to clean them, they get scratched, you don't have good peripheral vision, they slide down your nose when it's hot, they can hurt your nose and ears if they're not adjusted correctly, etc.

So Lasik looks pretty good. The only thing I'm hesitant about is I've followed the industry enough to know that it has a motto: "20/10 by 2010", meaning that they expect that, by 2010, procedures will be advanced enough that they'll be able to promise most people 20/10 vision. Imagine that. That would be SO COOL! How much would I love to have 20/10 vision after a lifetime of 20/400 in my right eye and 20/600 in my left eye? So I don't know if I want to do it now or wait a couple of years to make sure that I can get the 20/10. I want the 20/10 pretty bad.

Have any of you had Lasik?
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Comments

  • Is that the one where they effectively use a laser to turn your cornea into the lens in your glasses?
  • Eyes have lenses in them. People with crappy vision can't see because the muscles that squeeze and stretch the lens to bring stuff into focus don't work properly. Glass lenses just bend the incoming light the right amount so your lazy eye muscles can focus right. So your corneas already are effectively the lens in your glasses. Just a poor version.
  • your lazy eye muscles
    . . . or your lens itself is misshapen.
  • Personally I have not looked into Lasik, as I am still able to use contacts without any problems. I do, however have 2 friends who had this procedure a while back. One of them had no problems with it and he is now enjoying life without glasses. My other friend however had to go back several times to get corrections made but as far as I know he is perfectly happy with his vision now.
    I've been wearing glasses since I was 13, that's about 10 years now, and I'm guessing you've been using much more longer, so I think you should do it. Being able to wake up in the morning and actually see everything without stumbling to find your glasses that would be priceless.
  • Being able to wake up in the morning and actually see everything without stumbling to find your glasses that would be priceless.
    I know! It doesn't sound like much, but it really would be great. Also, just imagine 20/10 vision!

    Really, just 20/20 in both eyes would make me happy. My glasses can't quite get me there, so even with my glasses, I get something like 20/30 in one and 20/40 in the other.

    Would I sound too paranoid if I said I want to get this done soon so I won't have to bother with glasses after the apocalypse?
  • Would I sound too paranoid if I said I want to get this done soon so I won't have to bother with glasses after the apocalypse?
    This sounds perfectly sane and logical to me. I'm going to give it a few more years to let some people have it for three or four decades. Then maybe. I think I look better with glasses anyway. Even when I wore contacts I usually wore glasses with null lenses (100% UV protection is a good thing for your eyes anyway).
  • Would I sound too paranoid if I said I want to get this done soon so I won't have to bother with glasses after the apocalypse?
    Not at all. Every end of the world or jungle/adventure movie I see I keep thinking, "Damn, I just know I'd lose my glasses and be of no use".
  • Ahhh, it feels good to have natural 20/15 vision.
  • I had lasik in 2000 at a hefty price. I have been happy with it. Be aware that your eyesight will continue to worsen as you age.

    I would suggest you wait a little bit until the 20/10 is available. It should keep decreasing in cost and it may go down even faster if more people opt in at the 20/10 level.

    Good luck! Keep us updated with what you choose.
  • Ahhh, it feels good to have natural 20/15 vision.
    *envies* I have no idea what I have. We don't use the 20/xx standard really. I have a -2.50 with +.50 cylinder, and the other is -2.00 with -.50 cylinder. At least it's not -8.00 like an acquaintance of us has.
  • Be aware that your eyesight will continue to worsen as you age.
    And that, my friends, is the problem with Lasik.
  • . . . or your lens itself is misshapen.
    Yeah, because the lazy eye muscles can't pull it into the correct shape.

    And I *think* those +/- numbers are the number of diopters.
  • . . . or your lens itself is misshapen.
    Yeah, because the lazy eye muscles can't pull it into the correct shape.
    You're discussing a certain kind of problem that is not the reason most of us wear glasses.

    Astigmatism is a defect of the eye, where vision is blurred by an irregularly shaped cornea. The cornea, instead of being shaped like a sphere, is ellipsoidal (like an egg) and reduces the cornea's ability to focus light.
    Hyperopia, also known as hypermetropia or colloquially as farsightedness or longsightedness, is a defect of vision caused by an imperfection in the eye (often when the eyeball is too short or when the lens cannot become round enough), causing inability to focus on near objects, and in extreme cases causing a sufferer to be unable to focus on objects at any distance.
    Myopia (from Greek: μυωπία myopia "near-sightedness"[1]), also called near- or short-sightedness, is a refractive defect of the eye in which collimated light produces image focus in front of the retina when accommodation is relaxed. With myopia, the eyeball is too long, or the cornea is too steep, so images are focused in the vitreous inside the eye rather than on the retina at the back of the eye.

    You'll notice that there are no mentions of the muscles of the eye that focus the lens and light. The defect lies in the shape of the cornea or length of the eye itself (distance from cornea to retina).
  • And I *think* those +/- numbers are the number of diopters.
    They are. If I recall correctly my eyes are too long. Though the other eye doc said my lens was funky. I don't care... as long as they prescribe the same glasses and they make me see good, I have no reason to complain. Besides them glasses getting all gross from time to time.
  • edited September 2007
    20/10 sounds awesome, and I admit, I don't know too much about Lasik, but while I was at my most recent eye exam and I was getting new glasses, I opted not to get the prescription that lent itself to better eye sight. It gave me a headache and it felt like the lenses were "pulling" too much on my eyes.
    Post edited by snookernet on
  • Hyperopia: the lens cannot become round enough
    The lens is flexible and its curvature is controlled by ciliary muscles
    Myopia is the opposite: the lens cannot flatten enough. I'll admit I don't really know too much about astigmatism beyond that it exists.

    If the eyeball is too long or too short, ideal eye muscles would adjust the lens to accommodate the longer/shorter focal length. That said, it is possible that no human has ideal eye muscles.
    What is the reason most of us wear glasses if not near- or far-sightedness? Does astigmatism make up that big of a percentage of people with bad eyesight?
  • edited September 2007
    Be aware that your eyesight will continue to worsen as you age.
    And that, my friends, is the problem with Lasik.
    Not so much, that is the problem with getting older.

    I'm getting PRK done next week, my doc said my cornea was too thin for lasik. The procedure is pretty similar but they use a laser to rub off the surface instead of using a blade to cut a flap. I'll let you guys know how it goes when I get back from the Baylor College of Medicine.
    Post edited by Kite on
  • edited September 2007
    Kite, are you sure that's PRK? My understanding of PRK is that they cut the eye itself with a blade. I've heard horror stories about PRK, but it's an old procedure. ***edit*** the horror stories were about "RK."

    I had Lasik done about 3 1/2 years ago. I wasn't happy about it at first b/c I felt that my vision with contacts was better, but I've become quite happy with it over time.
    Post edited by Thaed on
  • edited September 2007
    Hyperopia: the lens cannot become round enough
    The lens is flexible and its curvature is controlled by ciliary muscles
    Myopia is the opposite: the lens cannot flatten enough. I'll admit I don't really know too much about astigmatism beyond that it exists.
    The defect is in the lens though, not the muscles. Typically the muscles are just fine but due to inconsistencies in the flexibility of the lens and, more commonly, the length of the eye, the perfectly healthy muscles cannot focus the light on the retina.

    The problem is not lazy eye muscles, perfectly capable muscles are affected.

    To answer your other question, about 32% of adults have astigmatism of the eye.
    Post edited by cosmicenema on
  • edited September 2007
    My wife Carole really likes the comedian Kathy Griffin, who describes a bad Lasik experience on her website. She went to a doctor that also does a procedure called JewelEye in which a stone is placed in the eye as jewelry. Would any of you do that?

    I wouldn't, but what if you could have your eyes surgically altered to make it look like you were wearing those cat's eye contact lenses all the time? That might be cool. I'd be even more likely to do it if they could make your eyes look like Gary Mitchell's eyes from the TOS episode Where No Man Has Gone Before.
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • A guy I work with has a wife that lost an eye to cancer. She now has a glass eye.

    When she had this glass eye "installed" she had them match her other eye and it is attached to the eye muscles so that it moves in sync with her other eye.

    Just like a woman to get a matching glass eye. If it were me I would have a white orb with a red reticule painted on it with some sort of paint that was partly luminescent. Then I would just tell people it is a war wound and that I now have a bionic eye.

  • The problem is not lazy eye muscles, perfectly capable muscles are affected.

    To answer your other question, about 32% of adults have astigmatism of the eye.
    Well then. A pwned is me.
  • JewelEyein which a stone is placed in the eye as jewelry. Would any of you do that?
    Neh, I wouldn't want to fuck up what nature gave me. Besides, that sounds painful too!
    A guy I work with has a wife that lost an eye to cancer. She now has a glass eye.

    When she had this glass eye "installed" she had them match her other eye and it is attached to the eye muscles so that it moves in sync with her other eye.

    Just like a woman to get a matching glass eye. If it were me I would have a white orb with a red reticule painted on it with some sort of paint that was partly luminescent. Then I would just tell people it is a war wound and that I now have a bionic eye.
    Lately I though about what would I do if I lost an eye. I know this sounds weird but I think I'd do the eyepatch. Who said I would have to have a plain black one. I could sew so I could make lots of cool looking ones to match outfits.

    If I did go the glass eye route I'd get a red one. Hey, by the time things get more advanced I could have a Batou eye.
  • JewelEye in which a stone is placed in the eye as jewelry. Would any of you do that?
    Ewww, no. Looks painful and bad for your eyes.

    Hmmmmm... if I ever lost an eye... what would I do... Most probably just put a glass eye in place of the lost eye, even if I would wear an eye patch. But, I don't see myself wearing an eye patch though. Even though they're awesome, I just don't think I would bother with an eye patch. It would definitely annoy me. The glass eye would probably be just white, with a (lighter) copy of my other iris. Lighter as to indicate that something is wrong with said eye.
  • I thought that there was a new procedure where they put permanent contacts under your lens (or something like that). It is attractive because they can be swapped out if your vision changes as you get older.
  • Kite, are you sure that's PRK? My understanding of PRK is that they cut the eye itself with a blade.
    I'd better be sure about the procedure I'm about to undergo :p
    link
    The primary difference between PRK and LASIK refractive surgery is that in LASIK, the vision correction occurs under an epithelial flap, while in PRK, the vision correction is performed on the surface of the cornea after the epithelium has been removed.
  • edited September 2007
    I have just recently thought about getting LASIK. I'm not sure about it, but I think it would be amazing to not have to get up and put on glasses, not to have to worry about them breaking, etc.

    It wouldn't be so bad for me, but at the age of 17, I'm considered legally blind by my eye-care specialist, with a vision of 20/2000 (yes, 2000) in both eyes, with astigmatism in both. (I actually think that it's worse than that, but when I asked, they told me that it's not really measured past that.) I think that it's somewhere around -6 or so. I have no idea, seems like I remember seeing that on the paper.

    Anyway, I've also had to have surgery on my right eye. They had to straighten out my retina because it had gotten pulled on the edges, and I'd have gone blind in less than six months in that eye. I was told I will always see random floaters (black/white dots, somewhat large in size, that obstruct my vision mildly) in it, and that someday I will eventually develop a cataract in the eye because of the surgery. I also can't see colors as vibrantly in it as I used to be able to.

    On top of all that, I can't get contacts, because the eye doctor told me my corneas were too large for the contacts he knew of, and they couldn't stay on my eye and would just slide down it.

    In conclusion, I would LOVE the LASIK stuff.

    By the way, does anyone have any idea if insurance will cover LASIK surgery at all? I was hoping that because I'm legally blind that they might pay for part/all of it.
    Post edited by Vhdblood on
  • I had the lasik surgery done about 3 years ago, and I have to say that life is better in ways you really didn't think could be better. I live in chicago, so things like scarfs in sub-zero weather would just fog up my glasses because my breath would be contained near my face. Even if I didn't wear a scarf, coming in from the cold to my warm house would fog my glasses up for at least 5 min. i couldn't enjoy myself fully in any kind of amusement park for fear that I would drop my glasses while on a roller coaster. If I didn't wear my glasses on the ride though, I would miss out on the feeling you get when you get to the top of the roller coaster and see just how far you are from the ground rushing up at you. So many little annoyances and inconveniences that I just lived with because I knew no other life
    Being able to see effectively sans glasses totally negated the fact that I would have to stay awake through a surgery that had a small chance of going wrong if I couldn't keep my own eyes still while doctors cut and burned them with their fancy doctor stuff.
    The first week after I got the surgery done I had to wear a pair of sunglasses to go outside as a precaution. I had a hard time focusing my vision for a while and my eyes seemed to dry up without any warning. Even so, the first time I actually went outside and just sat down on my steps without glasses was like nothing I could have imagined. Normal eyesight is nothing like what I saw through my old glasses. The phrase " infinite horizon" actually had a meaning now. I can only describe the feeling as having lived my whole life with my eyes under murky water I would have to try my best to make anything out through, with one day getting pulled out of the murky water and allowed to see life through a 1080 high def superscreen that wrapped around my head for full 360 degrees of vision.
    If it's safe for you, get the surgery. Don't worry about 20/10. I can assure you that you won't regret missing out that first day you go to the park and actually SEE things.

  • Just like a woman to get a matching glass eye. If it were me I would have a white orb with a red reticule painted on it with some sort of paint that was partly luminescent. Then I would just tell people it is a war wound and that I now have a bionic eye.
    I'd always thought the same exact thing. I'd get a cross-hair, like grown up Enzo from Reboot. Or get it a weird color. I mean, if I'm going to have a wound or a scar, I might as well do something cool and cyberpunk-ish with it. Also, for more formal occasions, I could get a fancy Eyepatch, and I would look like the girl from Kill Bill. Also, what'dya mean "Just like a woman?" Both men and women can be sensitive about their appearance, and get reconstructive surgery. If you think that women worry more about their appearance, it's because our culture places more weight on their physical attributes than they do on that of men. Look at magazine covers. It's rich older men, and pretty women. Not so many rich older women with grey hair.

    Anyway, I do agree with you about getting a cool eye.
  • edited March 2009
    Ahhh, it feels good to have natural 20/15 vision.
    Yea, my vision actually improved to this recently without glasses.. Too bad my vision problems have nothing to do with distance viewing :-p
    Post edited by Cremlian on
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