Modern Buddy

I've worn glasses all my life, and now being shy of 50 Im getting kinda tired of them. So I look into Lasik. Oh boy. After going thru 2+ hours of eye test I get the go ahead. This young lady "simulates" the results before I meet with the doctor. She does one eye near sighted, and the other far sighted. It tricks your brain into using the eye that is predominantly being used. WOW, it worked GREAT! VERY IMPRESSED! Then I meet the eye doctor thats doing the surgery. He's going to "blend" my vision and I get to wear reading glasses!? Oh, and my night vision will be affected!? Final nail in the coffin, it was $3420 AFTER the $1200 off for spring AND after VSP insurance covered a whopping 5%/$180. Im in a permanent holding pattern right now, meaning I will pass.

So, this victim is my cousin, and every word of this article is true
and desperately trying to be suppressed by all entities involved on the supply side of vanity laser eye surgery.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/well ... n.amp.html

My wife and my brother-in-law both have had Lasik surgery. The surgery went well and both were corrected to 20/20 or better (from 20/400 or worse). This was years ago and no real long-term complications for either of them. They both wear reading glasses now, but so do I. My wife has less trouble with flaring and other night vision problems than I do (reading glasses and night vision issues are to be expected for all of us as we age). These experiences would not cause me to argue against Lasik surgery. And one more interesting observation. As we age, many of us will have cataract surgery. The surgical process is similar to Lasik surgery and the common procedure is to correct your vision at the same time, as needed.

Should everyone get Lasik surgery? Of course not. My understanding is that it is critically important that you are determined to be a good candidate for this kind of correction. Many are not. The above article said 10 million people have had the surgery (that number seems low to me, if anything). So how many individuals had subsequent complications? How many of those actually showed symptoms that made them poor candidates for the procedure in the first place? I could write a scare story about knee surgery. Many possible complications, especially with individuals where there is bone deterioration. Does that mean no one should receive knee surgery? These are personal decisions and should be made with as much information and consideration as you can bring to bear.

What I found weird is they asked if I work with computers, sometimes-yes. They seem to think I sit at a desk all day in close quarters with monitors, hence the "blended" vision/reading glasses. No one took the time to listen, and if your charging me that kind of money they should listen. Also, my night vision is fine right now, and I work nights. Oh, and go to a bunch of concerts, leaving at 1am or later. I may have went to the wrong Lasik place, but judging from my initial experience I dont see myself going back. I do know several people who had it done and had great results, but I dont want to jump into reading glasses and diminished night vision just yet.

sc00ter wrote:I may have went to the wrong Lasik place, but judging from my initial experience I dont see myself going back. I do know several people who had it done and had great results, but I dont want to jump into reading glasses and diminished night vision just yet.

Sounds like what you need is more information and at least 1 more consultation before making your decision. The more information about any medical procedure the better in my experience.

I would love to have Lasik surgery but it's way too expensive for me and my current insurance won't cover any of it. I screwed up because about 20 years ago I worked for a company who's insurance would have covered the surgery almost 100%. People I know who have had it done are very happy about it. I think they too have to wear reading glasses but I think it's a fair trade-off.
Oh well, guess I'll have to suffer wearing thick glasses for however long I have left.

My general rule of thumb - Don't mess with your eyes.

If you can get by just fine with glasses, keep doing it and don't complain. Many people have Lasik done simply for vanity. That's a very poor reason in my opinion.

There are some people whose eyes are so effed up, nothing works well for them. In those extreme cases, I could concede Lasik might be an option. But for most people, don't mess with your eyes. Cutting on them just isn't worth the risk.

I'm also a swimmer/surfer/whitewater kayaker. You can't have Lasik when you're always thrashing about in the water.

k1dude wrote:I'm also a swimmer/surfer/whitewater kayaker. You can't have Lasik when you're always thrashing about in the water.

Hmmm, wouldn't you find it difficult to be a swimmer/surfer/whitewater kayaker wearing heavy glasses which correct extreme nearsightedness (say 20/400, the examples I offered above), or face the problem of being unable to see more than 6-8 feet away under extreme conditions? Sometimes the issue is something other than vanity.

Dooglas wrote:

k1dude wrote:I'm also a swimmer/surfer/whitewater kayaker. You can't have Lasik when you're always thrashing about in the water.

Hmmm, wouldn't you find it difficult to be a swimmer/surfer/whitewater kayaker wearing heavy glasses which correct extreme nearsightedness (say 20/400, the examples I offered above), or face the problem of being unable to see more than 6-8 feet away under extreme conditions? Sometimes the issue is something other than vanity.

Yeah I don’t get that sentiment either. Heavy physical activity would be a reason to especially consider, not reject, it. I understand it is now acceptable for Navy pilots - didn’t used to be.

In my case, the limit of my vision without glasses is about 6" (152mm) so Lasik would be great. Too bad it's priced for only the rich. I guess that's about par for all breakthrough medicines and/or cures.

Kayakers/Swimmers/and surfers have been doing those activities for ages with glasses/goggles/contacts. Long before Lasik came about.

Previously the military would dishonorably discharge pilots who had RK or Lasik done. That was a travesty. Fortunately, it's now allowed. But I still don't think you can have it done prior to entering flight school. I could be wrong about that though since they need pilots badly.