DaBlaster Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I have scheduled the new wave front guided lasik procedures in 2 weeks for both eyes, has anyone experienced any positives or negative's from it??? Manny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driver8M3 Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 i had lasik 2 years ago, so the technology has advanced a bit since then. my vision went from 20/550 to 20/15 in about 3 weeks. right after the surgery i could see and read things on the wall that i couldnt even see 5 minutes before, but it took a few weeks for my vision to stabilize (it got better at each appointment). my right eye seems to experience more dryness than the left, and the vision isnt as crisp when its dry. there was minor pain after the procedure for a couple of hours, but otherwise it was pretty uneventful. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 How bad is your eyesight? How 'bout your night vision? I had a friend that had it done, but her eyes were very bad and her night vision was already sheeit. Eyesight, overall, is much better, but her night vision still is kinda halo-ey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBlaster Posted February 8, 2005 Author Share Posted February 8, 2005 From what I read, the newest technology is suppose to get rid of the halo effect, and give you better night vision and better overall acuity. but it isn't cheap either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBlaster Posted February 8, 2005 Author Share Posted February 8, 2005 oh yeah, my eyes are currently 20/425 and 20/325 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Aha. She had hers done several years ago. As long as there are no major downsides (which seems to be the case with the current tech), I'd say do it. Smart man scheduling it after the FL Open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokshwn Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Da, Three things to make sure are okey dokey before you go ahead with the procedure. 1) Make sure the laser has software that allows the beam to be larger than the largest diameter of YOUR dilated pupil. If the beam is smaller then your night vision will get the halo effect due to the fact that your pupil has grown larger than the treated area. This results in the light around the edge being focused and directed differently than the rest of the lens in front of the pupil. This is why so many people experienced haloing initially. Many of the "Get em done here two for dollar" joints were taking clients who's pupils were larger than the available laser treatment beams and telling them that halo was a common side effect when in fact it can be prevented by accurate screening. 2) Ask about the facilities rejection rate. Research done by the Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah (largely regarded as one of the best optical related institutions in the nation) has found that approx 20% of the population do not meet the criteria for acceptable outcomes. If a facility claims they can fix everything then be very cautious and seek other opinions. 3) Also make sure your assessment is made over a period of 3 or four visits. You ocular measurements can vary slightly day to day (also if you wear contacts) and several measurements over a 4-6 wk period increases the accuracy of the procedure. If these things are in place have the procedure done yesterday. I went from 20/500 vision when I laid down to being able to read a digital clock when I sat up 10 minutes later. Good luck, Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Your profile says that you are about forty, right? Please remember that techniques that alter the refractive qualities of the cornea (the transparent front portion of the eye which covers the colored iris), whether the old RK procedures, or the newer (and better) Lasik procedures, will not change your ability to change focus near to far. The lens inside the eyeball is what does that. Around forty, the ability to focus starts to go as the lens inside the eye begins to stiffen up, and the eye becomes farsighted (decreasing the ability to see things up close, like the front sight of a Limited pistol - ask me how I know ). The Lasik procedure may give you better than 20/20 vision at 20 feet, but you may still need reading glasses and/or shooting glasses to see up close. 20/20 vision or not, shooting iron sights gets harder as you age, unless you are lucky enough to find a work-around, which works for some but not all, such as contacts or glasses that correct for sharp vision at front sight/reading distance, but allow you to see the target (or a street sign or movie screen) further away. I understand that we are just a few years away from replacing the lens inside the eye with an artificial version that will focus the way the original did when we were kids. More invasive, yes, and still in trials at this time, but it is what I am holding out for. In the mean time, I make do with soft contacts, which I have at different corrections, dominant eye at FS and reading distance, nondominant eye 20/20 for driving (the gun and my car) and for general gettng around. Of course, if you've gone over to the dark side, Open sights don't require front sight distance focussing. Then you only have to worry about reading the WSB's and the computer screen you're using to browse the forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Moore Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 i had lasik done about three or four years ago and went from 20/600 to 20/20 and 20/15. i always tell my friends that if you can drive without your glasses then don't have it done. the risk is not worth the possibility of loosing your eyesight. i know of only one person that had an "incident" and it cost him his vision in one eye. so there is a very slight and i mean slight chance that something could go wrong as in any operation. i understand the equipment is much better now than when i had it done and it'll be the same four years from now. hell i bet in 20 years you'll be able to have an eye ball transplant. also remember this, just like buying a gun, you get what you pay for. at the time i had my procedure done, Canada had a much better laser than the US due to the FDA i guess. in closing, do your homework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed K Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I also had mine done 4 years ago. Went from 20/200 to 20/15 & 20/20. That was when I was 43. The surgeon said that I'd probably still need reading glasses (cheaters) but all was good. I just picked up my 1st pair of cheaters because I found reading starting to give me headaches. I'm not complaining. I'll echo some of the others comments. Do your homework on the surgeon. Stay away from the ads that say they can beat anyones price. These are doctors that rent a Lasik space in a local clinic, fly in for the day, do 10 procedures, and fly back out again. If I had to do it all over again, "damn staraight" I would. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gun Geek Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 i had lasik 2 years ago, so the technology has advanced a bit since then. my vision went from 20/550 to 20/15 in about 3 weeks. right after the surgery i could see and read things on the wall that i couldnt even see 5 minutes before, but it took a few weeks for my vision to stabilize (it got better at each appointment). my right eye seems to experience more dryness than the left, and the vision isnt as crisp when its dry. there was minor pain after the procedure for a couple of hours, but otherwise it was pretty uneventful. good luck. I had mine done January 2000 and the above almost exactly mirrors my experience. The technology then wasn't as good as now, and I get some halos at night. However, I had some halos with my contacts (along with general irritation). To me it is a very small cost for lots of gain. I don't know the numbers when I started but now I'm about 20/15 in both eyes. I have an alarm clock that I keep as kind of a reminder. The numbers are about 3" high. I could not read that clock if it was more than arms length away. Now I pick deer out of a tree line at 1000yds. I'm soon to turn 39, so in the next few years I will be looking at reading glasses, but from my understanding the LASIK doesn't really affect the timing. Do your homework, pick a quality surgeon, and go for it if they say you are a good candidate. PS: The procedure makes makes me very aware of my eyes and I am very protective. Not just when shooting, but when doing just about any kind of work I'm wearing some sort of protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehli Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 PS:The procedure makes makes me very aware of my eyes and I am very protective. Not just when shooting, but when doing just about any kind of work I'm wearing some sort of protection. Heh...now that there's an extra couple grand in each one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmshtr Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Must be nice! I wish that had been available back when I had it done. Mine was done back in the dark ages of eye surgery. Ain't I pitiful??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 I had mine done in November of 04, I had an astigmatism (sp?) and the next day my vision was 20/15 and its been there since. It the greatest thing, you can't believe it. I have no regrets at all. I had no side effects or any of the issues they say can happen. I was religious with all the drops and keeping my eyes closed all day after the procedure, but thats a small price for not having to wear glasses anymore. It so great to be able to wake up and see everything in the room without having to find you glasses. I know it sounds cliche after seeing some of the commercials but its true. The most amazing thing to me was I was in the operating room for only 10 minutes, I didn't even take my coat off. It takes so little time and make such a big difference. Finding a qualiy doctor is a good recomendation. I passed on the high volumne places and went to a small office with state of the art equipment and upt to the minute software. It was about $1,000 more but I didn't care, these are my eyes and I only have one set. Don't price shop. The high volumne places were more interested in how I was going to pay and did I need financing and do I want to set an appt. now. Not what I was looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBlaster Posted February 8, 2005 Author Share Posted February 8, 2005 The new procedure is $1795 per eye, but I'm like you guys, you only have 2 eyes, I was debating whether or not to go through with it, but after the comments, I'm all in!! I've wore glasses since I was 9, and I'm sick of em'!!!! Thanks for the info!! soon to be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caspian_45 Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 DaBlaster thanks for starting this thread. I too have been thinking about getting Lasik done. I am going to talk to my eye doc soon. Lotsa good advice guys. THANKS I've wore glasses since I was 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wakal Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 I wore glasses since I was six. When I had the procedure done (almost exactly a year ago), I was 20/600 (estimated) in both eyes. Now I'm 20/10 and 20/15. That was my rating the morning after, when I drove to the DMV and got my new (unrestricted) licence ( ), as well as during all the checkups. There was some haloing for the first few months, but it faded and I'm back to normal (or what passes for normal around Stately Wakal Manor). I'd recommend Lasik to anyone! Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 I can't even come to grips with contact lenses, so the concept of having the top layer of my eyeball sliced and folded back so a laser-powered eyemilling machine can recontour underneath makes me want to vomit. I can barely keep my eye open for the "puff" of air for glaucoma testing (and the optometrist almost punched me once trying to get me to let him put the other type with the pressure transducer that comes in contact with your eye). I wear glasses and it's inconvenient at times, but elective surgery on them just isn't worth the risk to me, regardless of the chances of something going wrong. The stakes are too high and thus skew the overall risk assessment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMC Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 I can't even come to grips with contact lenses, so the concept of having the top layer of my eyeball sliced and folded back so a laser-powered eyemilling machine can recontour underneath makes me want to vomit. I can barely keep my eye open for the "puff" of air for glaucoma testing (and the optometrist almost punched me once trying to get me to let him put the other type with the pressure transducer that comes in contact with your eye). I though the same and put if off for years. The beauty of the procedure is you can't see anyting. They numb your eyes with drops, they put this little suction cup thing over one and everything goes black, you feel a little pressure and hear a vaccum motor, then they remove the sution cup thing, at that point you can see but everything is really blurry. The laser comes on an there's purple light (and the worst part, the small of burning flesh) for about 10-15 seconds, then the doc rolls the flap in place at which point you can see, he'll shine a bright light in your eye so he can see who it look then then they cover it up with a patch and start on the other eye. Simple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Moore Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 rhino, they don't cut a flap anymore. the new lasers can contour the eye through the cornea. a co-worker just had the new porcedure done two week ago and she loves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cking Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 They can't fix the over 50 problem of not being able to focus close. What I'd like to hear from is somebody who is over fifty and what they think of it in relation to iron sights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIIID Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Do it, you know you want to do it, everyone does it. I just did it and want to do it again. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 It too ... oogey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmd Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 hmmmm you got me thinking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmshtr Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 RIIID, You may want to look into Interocular Lense Replacement. That's what I would do, if I could. Cool story. You'll like this one rhino. On my 2nd RK surgery on my left eye (RK was done with a diamond bladed knife), the anestetic wore off, AND the scalpel had to be replaced, because it started going dull during the surgery. I could actually feel it cutting my cornea, then pulling it as it went dull! Those numbing drops wear off almost as fast as they start to work! It sucked! MAN AM I HUNGRY!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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