This is what worries me the most about taking the plunge, not the videos I've seen of it being done, not the potential side effects, just the fact that I could seriously screw my eyes up by rubbing them after the fact.
There is no surgery without risks but this FUD website caused me a lot of anxiety and had me to delay getting lasik.
I can without a doubt say it has been the best money I've ever spent. I spend a lot of time outdoors and hike and camp. Doing that with glasses or contacts absolutely sucks. Either your glasses get finger oil on them, or your contacts get some dirt and you have to take them out (but first you have to find clean water to wash your hands). I'm so much happier now.
Since then, a lot of friends and family members have also undergone the procedure, and none of them have had any problems, and all of them are extremely happy with the results.
edit: I had super dry eyes for the first 2-3 or so months (specially since I'm staring at the monitor all day), but that was expected and I was told about it by the doctor. Eye drops did the trick, and it went away completely after 6 months.
Anecdotally, I know two people who had minor complications (chronic dry eye; sensitivity to light), but enough that they regretted the procedure. I also know more people who are very happy with it. But that's enough to dissuade me.
I ran into a lot of the complications this article mentions (halos, dry eyes, and for a few weeks afterwords a blurriness from cells dying called something like "superficial protein keratitis"). All of them were temporary though and cleared up after a few weeks/months. (Well, except the halos, but they're not that severe and I already had bad night vision and halos before this, it just made them a little more pronounced) I do think it's a procedure you should really think carefully about before you do it, but I wouldn't want the FDA to ban it or something. Overall I'm currently happy with it.
My suggestion would be, if you're thinking of doing it, make sure the eye doctor who checks out your candidacy is one you trust and hopefully have been with for a while. When it comes down to it, the procedure itself is pretty safe and automated so the part to optimize is screening people before the procedure happens.
It's been at the back my of mind for years but I haven't found the courage to do it. The reason may sound silly: I feel extremely squeamish with anything that involves contact with eyes. It's the same reason I've stayed away from contact lenses and keep wearing stupid glasses instead. If there was a way to fix my eyes without me or anyone else having to come in contact with them (at least when I am conscious), I'd do it in a heartbeat. Anyone else with the same hang-up?
This is also my greatest fear. The lidocaine isn't much consolation as it seems like it could easily wear off or they don't get the dose right and you move you eye.. the stuff of nightmares.
Yup. It may be totally anecdotal but from the last 3 people I know who did it, 1 is happy with the result, another is struggling with bad dry eyes, and another one have had his vision worsened on one eye without possible correction.
I know the operation is statistically safe but risks are pretty real.
These risks make it obvious why an "at home" solution is highly unlikely to come to fruition.
You want to be putting enterprise-grade things into your eye. The only way you'd be able to guarantee that is to source the treatment through traditional channels.
I'm absolutely terrified of anything that comes close to my eyes, be that lasers, contacts, ophtalmologists...
I'm wearing glasses from 1987 and I will start thinking about eye surgery only when I'll stop programming. I'm not satisfied about a minimal risk, I want zero.
Quite hellish. I've done all of the no-no's in here many times in my youth (passing out and peeling lens off the next morning, washing in tap water etc) and must be lucky.
I wonder if those corneal scrapes are safe though.
Anecdotal, obviously, but the only person I know that has had Lasik now has terrible, chronic dry eyes. I took stats with her; she said it never even crossed her mind that it might actually be pretty risky.
My mom did it for about 10 years and had generally good results. I tried it and found the lenses too uncomfortable to wear. Soft contacts don't bother me; just rigid ones.
Give it a shot! The worst possible outcome would be no change.
My mother had it done. Side effects are mostly limited to eyes so dry she needed her ducts plugged to retain fluid and no/ limited night driving due to halos.
With all of that said, compared to the coke bottle glasses she had before, I don't think she would have done anything differently.
Me, I can still comfortably wear contacts (astigmatism is mild enough) so she suggested that I not get it.
I know several folks who have done it, and 75% are really, really happy with it. I know of 4 who have side effects (night glare, starbursts, etc) that they complain about, and 2 who needed one or more revisits.
Personally, I'm a borderline candidate, and glasses have served me well for most of my life anyway!
I had the procedure done almost 10 years ago and it has been a pretty positive experience for me. The biggest negative impact has been dry eyes similar to what lockem mentioned. I can't go without eye drops (just generic Visine) in the morning. Also - my night vision has suffered. Be sure to check whether or not you would suffer from these "halos". In low light, bright points of light appear to have a fuzzy halo around them. I really hate driving at night now due to that.
Other than that, it was a good choice for me. The coolest thing was that the doctor purposely over-corrected my vision, so for the first several months I could see clearly at a ridiculous range. In a few months everything normalized and I still have better than 20/20 vision at this point.
One last thing - invest in a nice pair of shades before the procedure if you decide to go through with it.
I am not going to risk it at this point. Both involve cutting through the epithilium to get at the cornea underneath, and in my case some of the cells that pump moisture through the epithilium were damaged or destroyed, so it's even more of a risk than for most people.
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