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Old 01-27-13, 08:34 AM  
isebelleg44
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Massachusetts
Lasik

I tried to get LASIK 8 years ago and was turned down due to my astigmatism. I am considering it again and hoping that I might be a candidate for something. I am scared about having permanent damage to my eyes, since I am not the greatest of candidates.

I never wear my glasses and have been in gas perm contacts for 24 years, so I know I will have to wear my glasses for awhile so my corneas adjust. I am considering trying this again, because I know reading glasses is on the horizon. And the thought of not being able to see near, as well as far really scares me.

Anyone with really bad vision have some sort of vision correction? And most importantly when could you work out again?
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Old 01-27-13, 09:36 AM  
Joni O
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I think the key is to go to an eye specialist, and stay away from the cheapies that may be people who've gone through the training but aren't specialists. The specialists know eyes, not just Lasik. If something were to go wrong, they could fix it right then.

I had mine done years ago and have monovision - one eye sees distance; one eye reads. They would only do that because the contacts I had worn for a long time were monovision and my brain was used to seeing that way.

I think I also had a touch of astigmatism on one eye. This was over 10 years ago and they were correcting astigmatism then - I know there was a time when they couldn't.

Do your research. Find a specialist and you should be fine.
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Old 01-27-13, 09:49 AM  
patrice
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I regret having it done. I was near sighted (-1.75). I was told I might need readers afterwards. Well..now I do need readers (+2.50). I traded one bad vision for a worse "bad" vision. LASIK can not fix farsighted.

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Old 01-27-13, 10:13 AM  
Joni O
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That's what they told me, too. If I had both eyes corrected so I could see distance perfectly, I'd probably eventually need readers. That's why I had the monovision done. They didn't correct my right eye as much as they corrected my left eye so that eye can still read (although the other eye can too, just not as well). They now work together so I can both see distance and read. They can't fix farsightedness (or maybe they can now?)
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Old 01-27-13, 10:17 AM  
preklbt
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: upstate NY
I had it done about 8 years ago, I think that's how long it's been. I live in upstate NY & the place to go at the time was Canada, Lasik Vision, they were THE ones to go with. I had severe astigmatism & they were able to do mine, I had to choose a different option because of that & it still allowed me enough if he ever had to redo 10 years later. I am thrilled I did it, I was so excited to be able to see right away w/out any glasses or contacts! Well worth the money I spent. I did have to wear my glasses for a period of time before the surgery, can't remember now how long.

Good luck!
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Old 01-27-13, 10:35 AM  
eyefit
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It wouldn't hurt to get evaluated again because with the new intralase and wavefront guided lasers (allowing "custom cornea" surgery) the parameters are sometimes increased as far as what they can do. Also, PRK is sometimes an option if you aren't a candidate for LASIK, although that is actually an older procedure so they probably would have offered it at the time if it were an option for you. There is also the Visian ICL http://www.staar.com/html/refractive-products.html. That is MUCH more expensive than LASIK or PRK (probably about double), but that is an option that wasn't available years ago. To put it simply, it's sort of like surgically implanting a contact lens inside the eye. When they do this surgery, they leave your natural lens in your eye, unlike cataract surgery where they remove the natural lens and replace it with an intraocular lens implant. It preserves whatever focusing at near (accomodation) that you have if you are younger than 40. They can also do what is called "clear lens extraction" where they basically do cataract surgery on you (minus the fact that you don't actually have a cataract) and then they can implant an IOL that is "multifocal". That is, there is some correction for presbyopia (not perfect, people sometimes have to reach for readers in low light, etc). Depending on your degree of astigmatism, that may not be the way to go though.

Presbyopia is what Joni-O and patrice were talking about. It's the inevitable post 40 decline in the ability of our natural lens to accomodate, or change focus, at near. It is different from being farsighted, but has the same effect essentially in that it becomes difficult to read. People who are nearsighted because of their myopia can simply take their glasses off to read when they reach this stage of their life (when presbyopia sets in) because their eyes don't actually have to adjust focus with the lens...their nearsighted focal point is right there at close up. Monovision (leaving one eye nearsighted) is one way to preserve reading, like Joni-O had done. It's not for everyone and it's not perfect, but it can be an option.

If anyone has any questions about this or any other eye related question, feel free to pm me.
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Old 01-27-13, 10:43 AM  
diggerholliday
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Hi there,

I just got this done on 12/28 and only regret not having done this sooner.
I got mine done at LasikPlus which, as I understand it, is part of a franchise but privately owned. 4 out of 6 people I know who got Lasik got it there so I figured that was a good endorsement.

I have very bad eyesight with astigmatism and myopia. I was told that the most important factor in whether or not they could perform the surgery was my eye health. They checked that my corneas were sufficiently thick enough, thin corneas or uneven thickness in the corneas would have disqualified me from Lasik but I was told there were other options.

Since I wore toric lenses I had to wear glasses for 7 days prior to the surgery. As far as exercise I was told not to do anything where I would have sweat falling in my eyes for at least 2 weeks but closer to a month. The same thing goes for rubbing or putting any pressure on my eyes. Also no eye make up for at least a week.

I hope this helps. You should definitely go back and see if things have changed.
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Old 01-27-13, 11:10 AM  
isebelleg44
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Massachusetts
Quote:
Originally Posted by eyefit View Post
It wouldn't hurt to get evaluated again because with the new intralase and wavefront guided lasers (allowing "custom cornea" surgery) the parameters are sometimes increased as far as what they can do. Also, PRK is sometimes an option if you aren't a candidate for LASIK, although that is actually an older procedure so they probably would have offered it at the time if it were an option for you. There is also the Visian ICL http://www.staar.com/html/refractive-products.html. That is MUCH more expensive than LASIK or PRK (probably about double), but that is an option that wasn't available years ago. To put it simply, it's sort of like surgically implanting a contact lens inside the eye. When they do this surgery, they leave your natural lens in your eye, unlike cataract surgery where they remove the natural lens and replace it with an intraocular lens implant. It preserves whatever focusing at near (accomodation) that you have if you are younger than 40. They can also do what is called "clear lens extraction" where they basically do cataract surgery on you (minus the fact that you don't actually have a cataract) and then they can implant an IOL that is "multifocal". That is, there is some correction for presbyopia (not perfect, people sometimes have to reach for readers in low light, etc). Depending on your degree of astigmatism, that may not be the way to go though.

Presbyopia is what Joni-O and patrice were talking about. It's the inevitable post 40 decline in the ability of our natural lens to accomodate, or change focus, at near. It is different from being farsighted, but has the same effect essentially in that it becomes difficult to read. People who are nearsighted because of their myopia can simply take their glasses off to read when they reach this stage of their life (when presbyopia sets in) because their eyes don't actually have to adjust focus with the lens...their nearsighted focal point is right there at close up. Monovision (leaving one eye nearsighted) is one way to preserve reading, like Joni-O had done. It's not for everyone and it's not perfect, but it can be an option.

If anyone has any questions about this or any other eye related question, feel free to pm me.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this info!
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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
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Old 01-27-13, 11:14 AM  
isebelleg44
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Massachusetts
Please excuse my ignorance for asking the following question, but I am extremely nearsighted. I always thought that as I age that I would lost the ability to see close and I would eventually need bifocals. Is that true?

This is one of the main reasons I am considering trying LASIK again. I hate the fact that I won't be able to see near or far.
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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
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Old 01-27-13, 11:15 AM  
isebelleg44
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Massachusetts
Quote:
Originally Posted by diggerholliday View Post
Hi there,

I just got this done on 12/28 and only regret not having done this sooner.
I got mine done at LasikPlus which, as I understand it, is part of a franchise but privately owned. 4 out of 6 people I know who got Lasik got it there so I figured that was a good endorsement.

I have very bad eyesight with astigmatism and myopia. I was told that the most important factor in whether or not they could perform the surgery was my eye health. They checked that my corneas were sufficiently thick enough, thin corneas or uneven thickness in the corneas would have disqualified me from Lasik but I was told there were other options.

Since I wore toric lenses I had to wear glasses for 7 days prior to the surgery. As far as exercise I was told not to do anything where I would have sweat falling in my eyes for at least 2 weeks but closer to a month. The same thing goes for rubbing or putting any pressure on my eyes. Also no eye make up for at least a week.

I hope this helps. You should definitely go back and see if things have changed.
I think that is why I was disqualified. My corneas were too thin.
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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
~Attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson
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