Lasik Eye Surgery.. Is It For Me?
December 31, 2009 by admin
Filed under FAQ on advance for astigmatism
I have very bad astigmatism (5 diopters in each eye, plus I am extremely nearsighted). I not only get the blurred vision, but the double vision and starbursts without corrective lenses. I am 25, currently I sometimes wear glasses, and sometimes wear contacts (I am amazed that they found a contact lens to hold my prescription).
My glasses fall apart almost every day, and my contacts are hideously expensive. I am tired of it.
Does the cost of the surgery depend on how bad your eyes are? How much leave do you have to take off work to have the surgery done? Anything you can tell me will be appreciated.
I had Lasik surgery last year. I too had really bad astimatism and nearsightedness. I didn’t know whether or not I would be a good candidate, but I went in for the consultation and they said they could do it (they will let you know if they cannot and what other options you have). The consultation was free, and the surgery was $1299/eye. I think it was one of the best decisions that I have made. It was amazing how sharp my vision was. I now have 20/20 vision in one eye and 20/15 in the other.
I say go for it if they do say you are a good cadidate. (I remember having to pay almost three hundred dollars for the featherweight lenses for my glasses because they were so thick and almost 400 dollars for contact lenses).
You would at least have to take a few months off and if you are wanting to get the procedure done then you need to visit more than one doctor to find the one you most trust. Also you should get others opinion on the doc. You don’t want to just go to one doctor because you think he is the best and he is the only one who you think can perform the surgery. Becauseyou do not want to think you will be better the next day when you awake and find that another problem arose from their mistake.
Think about the effects and that when you come out of surgery you will be wearing patches for the first couple of days and won’t be able to see as clear for a lil bit.
We are talking about your eyes so think cautious of what the odds and ends are of your choices.
Chances are that you can’t but you should see a surgeon to determine this. Don’t go to those cracker jack ones. They’ll tell you whatever you want to hear and you might end up screwed. I had some specific issues. I went to a specialist. He did it and I need a revision. I’m fine with that because he was very upfront about it
My son had it done and was thrilled with it. The cost is nothing to do with how bad they are – its just whatever the doctor normally charges. My son paid $6000 and said it was definitely worth it, even though it took him a couple of years to pay off the bank loan.
You would only need a couple of days off work…depends on what you do for a living. I guess if you were looking at a screen all day you might want a few extra days off.
The surgery works pretty much instantly – my son said it felt like someone lightly rubbing his eyeball with a pencil for a minute. He’d had a light sedation, so he was quite relaxed about it. Then he got up, and the doc said to look around. He could immediately see clearly. He was ecstatic !
He wore a dressing for one night, then saw the doc the next day, the dressing came off and that was that. He used lubrication drops for a few weeks, then saw the doc again, and that was the end of it.
He can now do everything that he wants to do, and is really happy that he had it done.
Is your astigmatism (or cyl) -5.00? If so, then you are probably not a good candidate for lasik. But to be sure you should check around locally to find a good surgeon. They should all do free consultations. And if you want, have consultations with a couple of places to get 2 opinions. They will have to check the thickness of your cornea. You have to have enough tissue to work with – and of course, the more prescription you have the more you need. But they are getting more and more advanced these days so if you are not a good candidate now – you might be in the future. Hope this helps!! Good Luck!
My Mother used to work with a young guy who had the Lasik surgery. It made his vision clearer but at night he can no longer drive as the head lights from the oncoming traffic overwhelm his vision. He highly regrets having the surgery performed.
The bottom line is you need to consider really how bad it is now and how bad it might get if the surgery does not go well. You were born with two eyes… that’s it. I vote to get new glasses and not to risk your eyes if you can live with it the way it is now.