I had it done 8 yrs ago at the lasik vision institute it's like a miricle I was almost blind i'm thankful everyday I can see

"I know the feeling. But for me, it really can't get any worse. I think I'd prefer total blindness over being totally screwed if I lost or damaged the glasses or contacts. I can't see anything clearly beyond 2 inches, and everything is a blurry image. It royally sucks. "


My eyes were the same way. My vision was so bad they couldn't correct it to 2020 anymore. It was terrifying if I misplaced or couldn't find my glasses or contacts. I would have dreams about it. I think many feel people do it for cosmetic reasons. Many of us do it because we are almost legally blind. For us it is nothing short of a miracle.

Stand by that and you will make a good choice!

Not true. First of all they always do one eye at a time and wait to do the other. Second of all there are many different TYPES of lasik, and each type has it's advantages. Most of the bad stories are from people who have had it done years ago, and those methods are not used anymore. Most of the better doctors use cool laser systems, or excimer lasers, and all lasers are computer guided and have eye-tracking technology.

The places I have seen people go to are always told that there is scaring.Even to this day.And a lady I know just got it done.And her eyes are not 20/20 after a year.I know there are lots to consider befoee having this done.Scaring,age,money and risks.

Does anybody here know the procedure involved? Maybe someone who's had it done, or knows someone who did? Do they put you under anethsesia? If not, how do they handle the natural tendency of the person's eyes blinking, moving, and tearing up? I've always wondered about that.

This is a website for one of the local docs who do this. If you flip across the types of lasik, it'll hit a FAQs thing.

http://www.boothelasercenter.com/

Looks like they use anesthetic drops to immobilize the eyeball and go from there.

Doc puts a couple of drops in your eye a few minutes later he does the procedure less than 3 minutes per eye I felt hardly anything I was amazed it was over so fast!!

What do these drops do? Temporarily paralyze your eyelid reflex? Just asking.

Anesthetic. It also depends on if the person used to wear contacts or not. If so then they have to stop wearing them for 6 weeks prior to the operation (that's 6 weeks for each year of use, so if you wore them for 2 years you'd need to stop wearing them for 12 weeks)...

do they not also dilate the pupil?

I'm not aware of that. Before the procedure is performed the eye is 'mapped' via a computer, so there shouldn't be a need for that. I tried to find more information about dilating the eye before hand but couldn't. See this site for general information:

http://www.wolfeeyeclinic.com/lasik/frequently_asked_questions/

thanks, was too lazy to finish looking through google...but you are right, if they map it out, there should not be a need for dilation....unless they are also correcting a certain type of astigmatism...?

edited to add that i am to lazy to look for the info, but i am curious enough to ask tomorrow

Yeah that sounds about right. I think they want to do the surgery that way because the lasers are so small that they don't really need to dilate. It might be different if the area where the lasers need to cut are off to the sides more, but for most nearsighted people it's generally more in the back of the eyes.

This site also has a lot of information on it:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/

Does anyone know the cost of this procedure? I'm reading it's around 299... if that's the case them I'm doing Lasik instead of getting new glasses...

i'm in cananda, so prices won't apply to you...but i do know that it does depend on your Rx...so i'm thinking it's 299 and up type of thing.

First and foremost, Canada rocks!

If it's around 299 then that's amazing because not to long ago it was around a grand. If the price drops any more then I think the eyeglass industry will be going bye-bye...

i dont see them ever going anywhere...there will always be ppl like myself that would never get it done lol

i love Ohio!

I would be very leary of someone offering a surgery for $299.00. Mine was close to $2000 per eye, but that was back in 1997 when it was newer. This is definately not a time to try and get the best deal. Get the best doctor-this is your eyesight after all.

You are given drops to numb the eye. Yes, you would want to blink, but they put a metal ring in your eye socket to hold it open. Having the ring is the most uncomfortable thing of the whole procedure. It stretches the muscles around the eye a little. When the laser is used you will see a red light and you need to try and keep focused on the red light for the best results while they are using the laser. Getting your blood drawn is more painful than this procedure.

One side effect of the surgery is that you could get a halo effect. This means if you see lights and it's dark out you will see a white light around them. Picture Christmas tree lights when you unfocus your eyes and see the light around them.

Of course the surgery is a personal choice. My eye doctor recommended I have it done because my vision wasn't able to be corrected to 20/20 anymore. He actually wanted me to go to Canada to have it done. I waited until it was approved in this country and more studies were done.

I am basically just worried about the night vision issue. Here is a good video about Lasik:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8W7GneF8gI&feature=related

BTW - the new WaveFront technology was designed by NASA. More on that here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCy3zriZDDM&NR=1



LOL... that's funny, that's where I live. Stay warm

Actually that price is from one of Ohios highest rated Lasik surgery companies. I think you only need to worry about the eye doctors that 'travel' around the country. I'll be calling around to get more info on this. New glasses would cost me around 250.00 so it's a no brainer to get Lasik unless you do a lot of night driving (which I usually don't).