lasik

[leslieb 0]

Has anyone had the surgery? How long ago have you had it? Any reactions? Recommend it? Don't recommend it?

[unformed 0]

I had lasek (essentially the same thing, but a slightly different operation, better for people with astigmatism and myopia)...and it was the best things i've ever done. I had the op done 3-4 years ago, and my eyes are still fine. At last checkup (about a year ago) I was 20/20 and 20/25 whereas before I was nearly blind....

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[willard 0]

I also had the Lasek. Mine was a year ago last summer and the only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. It has, literally, changed my life. My vison now is 20/20 both eyes.
Do plenty of research before deciding and talk with more than one doctor or clinic.
One option offered is monovision where one eye is corrected for distance, the other for close up. If they recommend this give it a try with contacts first Some people can't make the adjustment since it messess with the way your brain proccesses vision. I have friend who had it and love it, and one who lost his job driving truck because he couldn't adjust. He has since had the "close eye" redone for distance and is ready to go back on the road.
The surgery a miracle to those who have spent their live struggling with glasses and/or contacts. But it is still your decision and your eyes...don't let anybody push you into something you aren't sure of.

[Shell666 0]

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Has anyone had the surgery? How long ago have you had it? Any reactions? Recommend it? Don't recommend it?

Search for Lasik in the forums as there have been LOADS of threads on it.

Had mine in May of last year. Wish I had done it sooner. Couldn't get the regular Lasik due to some astigmatism so I had Wavelength Zyoptix. 20/20 in one eye, 20/15 in the other. Could see clearly the next day. I HIGHLY recommend it!

'Shell

'Shell

[floridadiver81 0]

ok this is prolly a dumb question but i heard somewhere that skydivers shouldnt get laser eye surgery..something about the constant pressure change during freefall. Is this true?

"Age has absolutely nothing to do with knowledge, learning, respect, attitude, or personality." -yardhippie
"Fight the air, and the air will kick your ass!!! "-Specialkaye

[ladydyver 0]

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Has anyone had the surgery? How long ago have you had it? Any reactions? Recommend it? Don't recommend it?

My fiance' had lasik...loved it. Is now needing a correction done but he had it done a long time ago.

DPH # 2
"I am not sure what you are suppose to do with that, but I don't think it is suppose to flop around like that." ~Skootz~
I have a strong regard for the rules.......doc!

[Shell666 0]

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ok this is prolly a dumb question but i heard somewhere that skydivers shouldnt get laser eye surgery..something about the constant pressure change during freefall. Is this true?

Nope. Not true, as far as I know. There are TONS of skydivers that have had it without any problems!

'Shell

'Shell

[peregrinerose 0]

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ok this is prolly a dumb question but i heard somewhere that skydivers shouldnt get laser eye surgery..something about the constant pressure change during freefall. Is this true?

Not as far as I know either, and I'm an eye doc There were some issues with high altitudes and RK in mountain climbers... a couple of corneas decompensated and got really ugly, but LASIK isn't remotely the same procedure.

To the original poster, do a search, you'll find a lot of information.

I personally won't do it, as I wouldn't jump for a couple of months afterwords to let the flap heal solidly and I'm perfectly happy with my extended wear contacts (I sleep in them probably 90% of the time) so see no reason to take the risk for little to no benefit. But that is just my decision.... I do a lot of LASIK pre/post op work and see beautiful results every day.

I've also seen really crappy results, if you decide to have refractive surgery (there are far more options than just LASIK), BE PICKY!!!!! Chose your surgeon well.

I had a patient yesterday who was told by 2 surgeons her cornea was too thin for LASIK, so she got a 3rd opinion and is now talking about going to a laser mill that just wants her money and doesn't care that she's not a good candidate.

Jen

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Taikoen 0]

One of the best decisions I ever made was getting LASIK. I had -8 in one eye, -7 in the other, now I have slightly better than 20/20 vision. It's more so a luxury thing since I could wear glasses or contacts, but I'm still amazed sometimes by how well I can see. I'll see something so clear in the distance when I first walk outside or while I'm driving and think, "Damn, that's cool. It's so clear." Of course myopia might eventually set in, but I have 20 years of perfect vision until then. It's interesting the way the whole things work, too, in that one eye was slightly undercorrected, so they slightly overcorrected the other eye because as I age, the overcorrected eye will slowly get worse (which actually means better) and closer to 20/20.

Before the surgery, I was approximately 2000/20, which means that if you put a big letter in a field at some distance away someone with good vision could read it when it was 20 feet high. For me to read it, it would have to be almost half a mile high. Now I can read the one that's only 20 feet high no problem :P

If you can stand someone using a little saw to cut your eye open, hold it that way, then shoot a laser inside it, you'll be fine. You, however, are very f-ing aware that someone has opened your eye when it happens. They asked me to wait an additional week after the surgery before I jumped out of any more airplanes.

[DavidST 0]

Actually had it done last friday the 12th.

I am loving it.

The procedure it self was alot more painful then i was lead to believe though. But according to the Doc. the pain i had is the exception not the rule. Either way it is worth every pit of pain and money i spent to get it.

As a general rule, the better it felt when you said it, the more trouble it's going to get you into.

[peregrinerose 0]

It's presbyopia that sets in around age 40 (myopia is just another word for nearsightedness), and visual acuity would be 20/2000 uncorrected (not 2000/20).

It isn't a saw that is used. The device is called a microkeratome, more like a very very very fine razor blade, and some centers now use a laser for this part of the procedure. The eye is never cut open.. a flap is created in the cornea and peeled back, the tissue under the flap is molded with the laser, and the flap replaced... the eyeball itself does remain intact.

I'd recommend waiting a lot longer than a week to jump... the cornea has no blood supply so takes a long time to heal... blood supplies the raw materials to heal any cut... a cut on your hand requires more than a week to heal, so imagine that a cornea, without the same access to raw materials would take much longer. By 2 months post op you are at about 80% original corneal strength. 100% doesn't happen for even longer after that.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Shell666 0]

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I'd recommend waiting a lot longer than a week to jump...

The recommended time I received was 1 month after surgery to resume activities such as skydiving (WITH eye protection, of course!).

'Shell

'Shell

[DJL 235]

NEW QUESTION

Has anyone had a problem with night vision? This is the most important issue for me. And I'm not talking about halos on lights, but one's ability to see in reduced lighting.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[peregrinerose 0]

LASIK and other refractive surgeries have been shown to decrease contrast sensitivity in clinical tests. For most patients, this change isn't really noticable on a functional basis, but if yours is already poor, it may decline.

As you brought up, halos can be an issue... this is worse in people with larger pupil sizes, but there's a lot of variabilty on this. The newer wavefront technology seems to improve this over the previous version of LASIK.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[unformed 0]

Well with LASEK they don't cut a flap on your eye, and instead just burn the top of the ball off. The result is that's its not possibly to fall out during freefall. The downside is that it takes about three days to heal. (LASIK you can see as soon as you get out of the op.)

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[peregrinerose 0]

I think you are thinking of PRK, not LASEK. LASEK does involve a flap still, only a more superficially located flap than LASIK.


PRK removes the top layer of cells on the cornea. It takes longer for the vision to hit 20/20 (like you said, about 3 days), it's also more uncomfortable than LASIK... it feels like a corneal abrasion post op for a couple of days. Advantage is no flap, so the cornea will return to it's original strength much more quickly than with LASIK.

Edited to add this link....
http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/other.htm Gives a decent summary of most of the different refractive procedures. The one not mentioned is ortho-k... molding the cornea with RGP contact lenses worn overnight.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[DJL 235]

My night vision is very good and I do a lot of nightime hiking without the aid of artificial lights. Yeah, I could just turn on my head lamp, but that's no fun.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[Shell666 0]

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LASIK and other refractive surgeries have been shown to decrease contrast sensitivity in clinical tests. For most patients, this change isn't really noticable on a functional basis, but if yours is already poor, it may decline.

As you brought up, halos can be an issue... this is worse in people with larger pupil sizes, but there's a lot of variabilty on this. The newer wavefront technology seems to improve this over the previous version of LASIK.

I haven't had any problems with night vision. In fact, when I wore contacts, I had really bad night vision (and halos). Now, not a problem at all!

'Shell

'Shell

[Broke 0]

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ok this is prolly a dumb question but i heard somewhere that skydivers shouldnt get laser eye surgery..something about the constant pressure change during freefall. Is this true?

I talked to my doctor about it when I was getting my consult. He said as long as I waited two weeks I should be good. This doctor in question also guarentees the procedure for life

Divot your source for all things Hillbilly.
Anvil Brother 84
SCR 14192

[peregrinerose 0]

Keep in mind that the non jumper doctor is likely only thinking about the altitude change... NOT the risk of getting hit in the eye/head by another jumper... it's just not a risk factor that crosses their mind. THAT is the reason to wait longer than 2 weeks.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[aardvarkeater 0]

So if you were not jumping with anyone else and only doing solos would jumping after 2 weeks be ok?

Muff Brother #4026
Loco Zapatos Rodriguez
SCR #14793

[Johnsisland 0]

How about if your eye is exposed to the wind? I wonder if that would be nearly the same as a hit to the eye?

Jeff

Arch? I can arch just fine with my back to the ground.

[peregrinerose 0]

I wouldn't suggest it... you can have a weird open and smack your goggles/eye on a riser. If you've ever seen a dislocated flap and the excrutiating pain it causes, you'd understand why I'm pretty emphatic about making sure the cornea has plenty of time to heal post-op

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[peregrinerose 0]

120mph wind would not be too friendly on a new flap... a freshly post op eye doesn't make many tears, to dry it out even more with that would be unpleasant at best.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Johnsisland 0]

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I personally won't do it, as I wouldn't jump for a couple of months afterwords to let the flap heal solidly and I'm perfectly happy with my extended wear contacts (I sleep in them probably 90% of the time) so see no reason to take the risk for little to no benefit. But that is just my decision.... I do a lot of LASIK pre/post op work and see beautiful results every day.

I agree 100%...the risk outweighs the benefits. I am not saying I would enjoy tossing contacts, but I can live with them. I wouldn't enjoy life nearly as much (understatement) if I had little or no sight. I know and accept the risk I am taking jumping out of planes, and I just am not willing to accept the risk of somebody opening my eye, considering the benefits, given the alternatives...contacts work pretty good for me.

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I had a patient yesterday who was told by 2 surgeons her cornea was too thin for LASIK, so she got a 3rd opinion and is now talking about going to a laser mill that just wants her money and doesn't care that she's not a good candidate.

Jen

Now that's good method, keep going to different Dr.'s until you find one that is willing to perform the procedure. If she hadn't found a Dr. in the states, maybe there would have been a Dr. in a third world country willing to perform the procedure.

Given all that, I have question...are Focus Monthly contacts extended wear?

J

Arch? I can arch just fine with my back to the ground.