Tell me about your LASIK experiences

[AzNooB]

I'm considering LASIK, but I don't know where to start exactly. I know there are a couple of different methods, one where they slice something and one they don't.

 

I know I have pretty bad astigmatism, but I haven't gone to see whether or not I qualify for LASIK.

 

What questions should I be asking? My main concern so far is if LASIK will affect my ability to focus on different objects at different distances quickly.

 

For those of you that did get LASIK done, what have been your experiences in regards to shooting?

[MJinPA]

Had my eyes done about 10 years ago which is before I started shooting uspsa. Vision has been perfect ever since and I feel like I have HD vision when I stare off in the distance on a nice clear day.


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[armydad]

I had mine done 15 years ago. It was great for the first 3 years, but the vision in my right eye began deteriorating. My ophthalmologist said the cornea was too thin and the procedure should not have been done. The cornea is drooping and my vision in that eye sucks.  I don't remember the prescription for it, but even corrected, I can't make out letters/words of normal type. Fortunately, my left eye is fine. I'd never do it again because screwups are permanent. Doc claims a cornea replacement is in my distant future, but I doubt I'd ever do it. My laser doc was extremely well respected and expensive, but it still went sideways. If you do it, I'd at least recommend you get two independent consultations to ensure your corneas are thick enough. Best of luck.

[GunBugBit]

I had LASIK in 2000, when the technology wasn't as good as now, obviously.  My near vision was still good at that time but since then I developed a need for reading glasses for things closer than arm's length.   I was told this would happen and was glad it happened a few years later than predicted.  I get ghosting/starbursting with lights at night because my pupils dilate to 8mm and the treatment zone was 7mm, so the untreated 1mm causes that effect.  It's not horrible.  My right eye was treated with a bias to close-up, and left was treated with a bias toward long distance.  It was not a "mono" treatment but a less severe version of that my ophthalmologist calls "blended."  It works very well for shooting.  My dominant eye sees the sights clearly and the other eye sees the targets clearly.  Things are especially sharp in good light.  I'm less good in dim light.

[Sarge]

1 hour ago, AzNooB said:

I'm considering LASIK, but I don't know where to start exactly. I know there are a couple of different methods, one where they slice something and one they don't.

 

I know I have pretty bad astigmatism, but I haven't gone to see whether or not I qualify for LASIK.

 

What questions should I be asking? My main concern so far is if LASIK will affect my ability to focus on different objects at different distances quickly.

 

For those of you that did get LASIK done, what have been your experiences in regards to shooting?

how old are you? My daughter had hers done when she was 20 I think. We advised her to wait for her eyes to mature but she refused. It was done too early and now docs are telling her there is nothing they can do? I'm an older guy so I just say wear glasses and leave those eyeballs alone.

[EEH]

Had a friend have his eyes done 10 years ago,, hes been back in glasses the last two years.. 

Me I never tried it..

[12glocks]

I had Lasik done about 10 years ago, 2015 vision for a few years but back in glasses again.  I also have halos at night which is annoying.  I would not do it again if I hd the choice to make all over unless your correct is huge now.

 

[jhgtyre]

I was on the fence, leaning towards NOT getting any sort of eye surgery, when my coworker had her eyes done.  After watching her sit at her desk crying because her eyes itched and the bright lights, they were just normal florescent lights, hurt her eyes and gave her a pounding headache; I decided that I'm not letting anyone touch my eyes.  She went to a well respected local doctor that had come highly recommended.
I'm sure there are people who had great results, hooray for them, but I do not feel it is worth the risk.  Maybe your eyes are worse than mine.  Maybe not.  Just read up on the risks and don't blow off the idea that you could be one of those who are adversely affected. 

[CHA-LEE]

I got LASIK done on both eyes about 8 years ago. I wore glasses pretty much my whole life up to that point so I wanted to be free of glasses. For every day life LASIK has been awesome. After the procedure I had 20/15 vision in both eyes and still maintain that level of clarity today. For Shooting it was the WORST decision I could have ever made. LASIK corrects your vision by removing material from your cornea to reshape the lens. The reshaping of the cornea requires that your eye muscles now have to bend the lens more to transition focus from far to close. The additional bending dramatically slows down your focal speed. After I got LASIK done I basically had to relearn how to shoot and call my shots because my focal speed was dramatically reduced. Its never gotten much better either. Even though my eyesight is still 20/15 today I have to wear +0.5 Diopter shooting glasses to force my focus back to the sights. The other issue I noticed is that if the lighting isn't optimal it makes focusing between objects even harder. I can't wear tinted shooting glasses because of this issue.

 

From a procedure perspective, when I got it done they offered two methods for cutting the flap on the lens. One was mechanical using a knife and the other was with a laser. I chose the laser method as it promoted quicker healing. The thing that the LASIK doctors will not tell you is that cutting the flap severs the nerves to the flap which never heal. Since the flap no longer has "feeling" this can cause extreme dry eye issues. If you have any dry eye condition before getting LASIK then you will be crippled with congenital dry eyes after getting it done. The other thing that the doctors don't tell you is that the flap never fully heals back to your cornea. If you need a second LASIK procedure they simply dig up the corner of the flap and pull it back. There is no need to cut it again because its already cut and never heals back like a common skin cut or scar. This is why you need to be extra careful about rubbing your eyes or having things impact your eyes well beyond the normal "Healing" process. Lastly you need enough cornea thickness to handle the correction needed. They will measure your cornea thickness and tell you if there is sufficient thickness to perform the procedure successfully. Some cheap LASIK providers will push the limits on this and perform procedures on people without enough cornea thickness which leads to big problems later.

 

I am still on the fence about getting LASIK done. So far I am able to deal with the disadvantages it produced while shooting. But for every day life I think its absolutely worth it. I just turned 42 this year so we will see how the next few years go for focusing on close stuff. I am sure that at some point I will need to get some "reader" glasses to focus on close fine print.

[RangerTrace]

4 hours ago, CHA-LEE said:

I got LASIK done on both eyes about 8 years ago. I wore glasses pretty much my whole life up to that point so I wanted to be free of glasses. For every day life LASIK has been awesome. After the procedure I had 20/15 vision in both eyes and still maintain that level of clarity today. For Shooting it was the WORST decision I could have ever made. LASIK corrects your vision by removing material from your cornea to reshape the lens. The reshaping of the cornea requires that your eye muscles now have to bend the lens more to transition focus from far to close. The additional bending dramatically slows down your focal speed. After I got LASIK done I basically had to relearn how to shoot and call my shots because my focal speed was dramatically reduced. Its never gotten much better either. Even though my eyesight is still 20/15 today I have to wear +0.5 Diopter shooting glasses to force my focus back to the sights. The other issue I noticed is that if the lighting isn't optimal it makes focusing between objects even harder. I can't wear tinted shooting glasses because of this issue.

 

From a procedure perspective, when I got it done they offered two methods for cutting the flap on the lens. One was mechanical using a knife and the other was with a laser. I chose the laser method as it promoted quicker healing. The thing that the LASIK doctors will not tell you is that cutting the flap severs the nerves to the flap which never heal. Since the flap no longer has "feeling" this can cause extreme dry eye issues. If you have any dry eye condition before getting LASIK then you will be crippled with congenital dry eyes after getting it done. The other thing that the doctors don't tell you is that the flap never fully heals back to your cornea. If you need a second LASIK procedure they simply dig up the corner of the flap and pull it back. There is no need to cut it again because its already cut and never heals back like a common skin cut or scar. This is why you need to be extra careful about rubbing your eyes or having things impact your eyes well beyond the normal "Healing" process. Lastly you need enough cornea thickness to handle the correction needed. They will measure your cornea thickness and tell you if there is sufficient thickness to perform the procedure successfully. Some cheap LASIK providers will push the limits on this and perform procedures on people without enough cornea thickness which leads to big problems later.

 

I am still on the fence about getting LASIK done. So far I am able to deal with the disadvantages it produced while shooting. But for every day life I think its absolutely worth it. I just turned 42 this year so we will see how the next few years go for focusing on close stuff. I am sure that at some point I will need to get some "reader" glasses to focus on close fine print.

As usual, you go to great lengths to explain things to shooters and I greatly appreciate the details you added to this post.  I've been on the fence about having LASIK, but will just let father time take it's natural toll on me.

 

Thanks Charlie!!

[3gunDQ]

So far so good... haven’t needed it. 

[Hi-Power Jack]

Had cataract surgery (similar to Lasik, I believe), and my eyesight in that eye

improved greatly at a distance, but not up close (can't read with that eye).

 

Over the past ten years, vision has gotten a little worse than right after

surgery, but still quite a bit better than before.

 

And, the surgeon improved my astigmatism in that eye, also - much better still

[MemphisMechanic]

I have been so insanely tempted to get LASIK done.

 

Man, between a few of you offering experiences and things @CHA-LEE provided as far as technical details? I’ll pass. I keep hitting 20/15 in contacts each year, anway.  

 

 

Edited March 22, 2018 by MemphisMechanic

[Nathanb]

I’ve been close multiple times. What’s keeping me is the same thing. The bad experiences. It terrifies me to think about 

[bwikel]

8 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

I have been so insanely tempted to get LASIK done.

 

Man, between a few of you offering experiences and things @CHA-LEE provided as far as technical details? I’ll pass. I keep hitting 20/15 in contacts each year, anway.  

 

 

I am in the same position. I have the funds set back for it but was unsure of the long term effects. Thanks for the insight @CHA-LEE I think I am going hold off as well as the main reason I considered it was for competitive shooting sports. 

[AzNooB]

@CHA-LEE

 

I appreciate your detailed explanation of your experience and that's what I'm worried about happening to me. I think I will hold off until technology improves to the level of almost guaranteed perfect long-term results. Being a C class shooter on my way to A class (yes, I know), I am quickly learning how important it is to be able to shift my focus from target, to front sight, to gun, and back. 

 

I've worn glasses since early childhood anyway and my glasses are essentially a part of my identity. 

[p7fl]

My Lasik lasted 15-20 years. Getting rid of glasses and contacts was Great just Great. Got up the next morning with 20/20 and zero side effects.

As my eyes naturally aged, I had PRK done on my strong side eye so am back to 20/20 vision at age 69. That was unpleasant for a few days but 100% worthwhile.

 

It is a question of your eyes plus really how good your Dr is. All surgeons are NOT the same and their results are not the same.

 

 

[Joe4d]

My wife was a Lasik surgery tech ,  she had hers done, but told me to many story of screwups that the doctor then lies to patients about. Nooway Jose. Id have to be blind and incapable of having quality of life any other way before I would do it.

[ParaLarry]

I was wearing +.25” thick glasses when I got my LASIK done in 2001. What a blessing to not have to wear 2 lb glasses all day. No more headaches!
My only regret is having the “standard” procedure done with the dominant eye treated for distance and the non dominant eye treated for reading. So I still need prescription shooting glasses to see iron sights. After 15 years the prescription was changed slightly to sharpen it up and I had my best Western States Single Stack finish.
At age 65 I’m having the most fun shooting carry optics. Imagine my delight when I discovered the Deltapoint 7.5 triangle was perfectly sharp without prescription glasses! I can wear any plano tinted glasses for daytime and clear for indoors.
At the time I was so afraid of the procedure I did visit several providers and settled on the most expensive one who had endorsements from pro baseball and football players. Plus he guaranteed enough Valium to insure I wouldn’t care about having my eyes cut.
I do use eye drops (Systane) 1 or 2 times a day, maybe more at a dusty match but it’s an ingrained habit plus it lets me sit out a few rounds of taping and resetting and give my knees a rest. That’s the next issue.
I would encourage you to find a doctor who is not hoplophobic and can help you keep your dominant eye focused on the front sight.


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[ChuckS]

3 hours ago, ParaOrdnanceLarry said:

--- snip ---
At age 65 I’m having the most fun shooting carry optics. Imagine my delight when I discovered the Deltapoint 7.5 triangle was perfectly sharp without prescription glasses! I can wear

--- snip ---

The "dot" is focused at "infinity" so your distance only on your dominate eye is the perfect setup for open/CO/PCC. When the guy did my cataract stuff, I had both set to distance. Cheap RiteAir readers are used for close work. I have managed to start shooting with both eyes open because my Non-RX vision is so good!

 

[Southpaw]

I had Epi-LASIK done this past January. My vision is now 20/30 in one eye and 20/40 in other. They're not sure yet if they can do an "enhancement" (i.e., re-do the procedure) but at this point at least my vision no longer appears to even be correctable to 20/20. I could see 20/15 before the procedure with contacts. I would not recommend it...

[shopgun]

I would strongly suggest looking into multifocal lens implants. Alcon is the maker. Both I and my wife had then done 8 years ago. The results have been fantastic. We now have perfect vision at any distance. We were 66 at the time and both needed cataract surgery. since these are implants , there is never any degradation with age.

[jmaples71]

On 4/3/2018 at 1:26 PM, Southpaw said:

I had Epi-LASIK done this past January. My vision is now 20/30 in one eye and 20/40 in other. They're not sure yet if they can do an "enhancement" (i.e., re-do the procedure) but at this point at least my vision no longer appears to even be correctable to 20/20. I could see 20/15 before the procedure with contacts. I would not recommend it...

 

This is exactly what my optho told me. I have 20/10 in one eye and 20/15 in the other with HARD contacts (which allow ever greater correction than soft). Doc said he couldn't even guarantee 20/20, so I'm sticking with the hard contacts.

[AzShooter]

I had my right eye done about 8 years ago and It went to 2.0/30.  A real big improvement.  The VA paid for most of it and that was a big advantage.  The operation is nothing.   I think it took one hour and there was no discomfort other than the eye drops I had to put in.

 

I had my left eye done about a year ago.  I was totally blind in my left eye.  Another doctor did the work and the VA paid everything.  There is a new procedure where you don't have to take any eye drops.  I think it cost $50 ( again VA paid it) and they put some liquid in you eye after the operation and you are good to go.   I now have 20/20 in my left eye.

[Southpaw]

6 hours ago, jmaples71 said:

 

This is exactly what my optho told me. I have 20/10 in one eye and 20/15 in the other with HARD contacts (which allow ever greater correction than soft). Doc said he couldn't even guarantee 20/20, so I'm sticking with the hard contacts.

 

I wore soft contacts before the surgery.  They definitely did not tell me that I likely wouldn't get to 20/20 or better with the surgery or I wouldn't have done it.  Before the procedure when they measured my vision I was reading the 20/15 line and that's how they set the laser, but surgery didn't go well for me and I got a bad result...