Custom Lasik Procedure Yesterday
 

All I can say is...WOW. Less than 18 hours ago I had 20/800+ vision and the PITA that contacts and glasses bring along with them. Today it is around 20/20 to 20/15. I still have some haziness and halos around bright light (like my monitor screen, for example), but, once again, WOW. If this pans out like I have been led to expect, it's probably going to be the best $4k (both eyes) I ever spent.

I went with the Custom over the Standard Lasik because of my age, my fairly aggressive astigmatism and the better mapping characteristics. I also chose to stay within my optometric group because, well, I think the world of them, my doctor in particular (and he drives a 550i, so he can't be bad, right?). The Custom Lasik was an additional $800, but priceless, IMO (Standard Lasik was $3,200). My doctor has been labelled a "perfectionist" by those I spoke to about him. When he did his post-op review, first eye..."perfect," he said. Second eye..."perfect!" So it's safe to say I'm a little optimistic.

I woke up this morning and reached over for my glasses out of habit, and then realized after being able to read the clock, that I didn't need them. That was a real, ummmmm, eye-opener ;)

I will post updates as the healing continues. If you're on the fence, based on my experience thus far, I highly recommend checking into it.

Mike

That's great. Contacts and glasses are a pain. I've been thinking about doing it. My doc says I'm a perfect candidate. I'm just not too keen on someone screwing around with my eyes. Keep us posted Mike!

Good to read, D8!

Glad it was so successful...I've been wearing glasses since
1956 and I'm fookin tired of them; trying to screw up my
courage and, tap the dough to do it. Good to hear it went
so well for you...here's looking at ya!
GL,mD

My wife had it done a couple years ago, and has been thrilled with the results, too. Good decision!

Congrats Mike! My dad did this at 80 and he doesn't wear glasses anymore - looks like a totally different guy!

Congrats, Mike! I had mine done in October 2005 and have loved every second ever since! The hardest part was not being able to wear eye make-up 3 days prior to and 7 days after surgery! :yikes:

BTW...Aren't you supposed to stay away from the computer screen for at least 24 hours? :confused:

I had it done when it first came out, in 2001-2002 I guess. Bad decesion. They screwed up. Before, I had no trouble reading. Well, they fixed my vision problem, but created reading problems. So now I have reading glasses, but no normal glasses.

The several guys I know that have had it done, (all men;weird), all
have had to go to reading glasses after the healing finally settled.

These were all older guys like me that could still read fine print w/out
glasses but can't see much past arm's length. I think I would trade
my crummy distance vision and toss the specs in exchange for some
reading glasses...I just get nervous and figure I'll be one of those
2% ers that it does not work or, screws up on.

It's 2007 now. I'm sure the failure rate has dropped substancially since when it first came out.
The chances of screwing up now are pretty low.
Go for it!

what is the healing time for this I really want to get it done but I do a lot of sports in the summer so I dont want to risk losing that ability for all or a large part of my summer and I also don't want to injure my eyes because of wakeboarding or something

That must be the best mod for yourself. ;) Doesn't BMW call angel eyes as halos?
I have heard some people say that they do one eye at a time to minimize the risk. :dunno:

That is awesome! I want to get my eyes done but am still a little skeptical. Keep us updated and congrats.:thumbup:

That's why my sis and I made a deal 5 years ago to the day to have the procedure done.

(Both of our parents have perfect vision, yet all three of have really bad eyes.)

Anyways, we just talked about this yesterday and we are still scared, but exited nonetheless. (We can't believe our five year "wait" is up already!)

I will be following this thread closely bc I still hear horror stories.
My mom's friend cannot drive at night since the surgery a couple of years ago. :thumbdown

11 years post Lasik here and well happy. Congrats!

I'm a Detroiter, so I fled to Canada in 1998 to have it done with "latest" technology not yet approved in the US. At the time, the guy had done over 18,000 pairs of eyes. I sit here 9 years later, without reading glasses, and seeing great, and I never even went back other than the next day AM consultation (you are supposed to go back every few months). The burning was pretty bad the night of the surgery, but when they helped me up to get to the door out of the chair, I could already see without my contacts/glasses. I have just noticed recently that I am squinting a bit on fine print and distant text (bilboards, etc), but it's guaranteed, so I will probably go back for an adjustment. I was 19 at the time. $4200 US.

Highly recommended, just don't do it for cheap. Treat your eyes like you treat your X--only the best mods.

Not to say that you did not have a bad experience, but for people 40+ who naturally get prespiopia, this is normal...unless you choose the "monovision" approach, that is, having one eye corrected differently than the other...I have a neighbor in his 60s who had this done and he can read a cell phone at night without glasses. I had PRK (see below) done but did not choose monovision...they want to go in and tweak my right eye (left is 20/20, right is 20/50) and I may choose to have it corrected monovision...at lot of folks don't do this because when they dummy up what it will initially feel like in pre-op, the tendency is to shy away, forgetting, as my neighbor said, that the brain adjusts in short order and you no longer perceive the different inputs from each eye. I went from being near sighted and astygmatic to needing reading glasses...but I love the sharp distance vision for sports, etc.

Lasik is where they slice a small flap prior to letting the laser do its thing. PRK, is where they actually chemically abrade the thin layer of cells covering the cornea, then laser it, then put contacts on your eyes for a few days to heal those cells...this way there is no flap that can ever detach under force...all military and sports people do PRK...this also, I am told it reduces halowing. The laser by the way is a highly sophisticated machine that instantly pauses in the event the target area moves (say you sneeze, or whatever). This is not a laser like you see cutting steel on the Discovery Channel.

Also, you will not lose a "large part of" any sports season as you can be back at sports within 2 weeks, 10 days being the very minimum, but 30 is preferred.

PS Anybody with a BCBS PPO has a discount built in to their policy.

Exc Info, FLN8!
You sir, are a wealth of good knowledge...

It, getting eyeballs fixed, crosses my mind with
some regularity, but am lacking in courage and resisting
the need to skip several wine shopping trips, to cover the cost.

Maybe you & SG & JV can hold me down at
SunFest with DrDrex taking a pocket knife to my situ,
while I bite on someone's Bluetooth gizmo?!
BR,mD

[email protected]

:worthless:

Now THAT would be a picture!!

You sir, are not wrapped too tight. :rofl:

You mean she stuck around after the Lasik, doc?:D

L, Did you ever, for a moment, think that I was?! :confused:

:rofl:

Good to hear your precedure went well. Looking forward to your updates.

I've been a fence-sitter for a while now. My brother had it done and has experienced reduced night vision. Not being able to drive at night is something I can't live with. I'm also dreading the onset of prespiopia and the need to wear glasses anyway. :rolleyes:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: That's a classic.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Rack It, Big JV!

A Fookin Classic! :bustingup

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Oh, I forgot to mention the Valium that comes with the procedure....

Post #2000 for you!! Congrats!! Confetti everywhere!!!

One day, I'm lookin forward to getting it done once I'm old enough.

Best thing I have ever done. I had it done about 5 years ago and I am still at 20/10 yet. I can still read a newspaper. The only drawback is that I need lots of light to read. I have a hard time reading in minimal light. Enjoy your new freedom and tell me what those swim suits look like with no glasses when you swim...

I didn't have you pegged as a wimp, mD.

I did it back in '02. It was money well spent. If you get it done, you might actually see your next hole in one. :nanana:

Ah...thanks, I think, Mike!

No wimpazz, but not a fan of Doc visits, hospitals, etc., etc.

I've had 3 chalazion mini cut/fixes done on my eyes and
it was not a fun deal. Not analogous, but in the ballpark.

There is a money consideration, but only briefly...but it is
a consideration at $4-5Gs. And, the unrelenting cloud that
I'll be the 10th of a percent idiot that gets a C+ job done.

I was actually just looking for L, Mich, CatVega, Juan's CEO,
FLN8's CEO, JV's CEO, Tijinaw's CEO, et al, to give me hugs
while we discussed eye jobs at the SunFest Meet! :rofl:

:rofl: :rofl: Good one! ;)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Congrats Mike! I had wavefront lasik done a little over 4 years ago and I'm still 20/15. Best $3500 I've ever spent. My wife did not qualify for lasik but ended up doing Phakic IOL (implanted lenses). Although it was pricey at $9000, she went from a -9 to 20/20. The miracles of science!:thumbup:

i had lasik done about 7 years ago? went from -6.5 in both eyes with heavy astimagtism to 20/15 in 1 day... still 20/15 like J man.... the guy before me was done in about 5 mins flat, real minor and quick session of the crackling sound... i was there for about 20-30 mins and lots of crackling... lol

life sure is great not having to fumble in the dark for glasses when you wake up in the middle of the night aint it?

I had my surgery on October 20, 2005 by Dr. Anthony Kameen in Maryland. The cost was $5,000. My vision insurance covered 10%, so I paid $4,500. I went from -4.25 in my left eye and -3.75 in my right eye to 20/15 in one day. Driving at night was hard for the first few weeks. I saw a lot of glare from headlights. But that eventually went away and everything is perfect now.

I go to the eye doctor on Tuesday for my one year check-up (it was supposed to be in late October/early November, but I was busy moving). I still have perfect vision.

Question for everyone who had the surgery...how long did it take before you broke the habit of reaching for your glasses in the morning?? Took me a few months! :rofl:

ha.. real fast cause I had to wear the eye shields!

i m looking to get it done too. can anyone recommand a good doc? and price wise. if you think about it.. contacts are like 100 a box plus all the hassle and the possibility of eye infection and things.

Hi all - Well, today makes 48 hours post-surgery. I'm doing pretty well. The doctor was very pleased with the outcome yesterday in my exam. I tested between 20/25 and 20/20 in both eyes (I got 4 our of 6 on the 20/20 chart), with an expected final acuity of around 20/15 in both eyes. Yesterday afternoon and last night I noticed a fair amount of glare (after being awake since 4am) and my eyes were pretty tired, so I started getting some haze and dry eyes. I've been very diligent about hitting all my steroid and Zymar drops on time and using the saline eyedrops whenever my eyes get dry. So far so good. The doctor told me to expect some variability in vision clarity and that has occurred from time to time. All things considered, I think I'm right where I should be for being 48 hours out from the procedure.

If you're thinking about doing this and are still on the fence, I can tell you that the sense of freedom I've gotten from not having to wear glasses or contacts is simply amazing. I've accepted that I may need reading glasses at some point, as some have suggested, but I'm really surprised at how good my up-close vision is after the surgery. Additionally, my doctor and his staff went well above the call of duty in terms of easing my stress and worry and were very gentle at EVERY step of the process. Of course, the two pre-op Valiums didn't hurt things either :)

Someone mentioned the BC/BS connection and possible discount. My plan didn't offer that, so I'm biting the bullet to the tune of $4k out of pocket, but hey, you can't take it with you, right? Enjoy the ride!

Mike

I had my Lasik March 2004. I also experienced halo's etc but it went away after a month of two. I agree with the others, best $$ I ever spent.

Chalazion could be a disqualfier since it could disturb the healing process.

Bea reminded me it was Jan '01, not '02 when I had it done and I paid $3300 before insurance reimbursement. It seems like the price has gone up? My cousin, who is a professor of opthamology at the USC Doheny Eye Center, did the deed. If anyone ever needs retina surgery, he's is the man - #1 in the world.