Has anyone had Lasik Eye Surgery?

[mikemortal]

I've had glasses for about 10 years now, and I’m comfortable with them. I'd love to move on to contacts, but my mom and dad (my dad is an ophthalmologist, an eyedoctor)said I should just have Lasik done. My dad friends with one of the top lasik people in the country that he'll take me to.But I want to know I do have Osteoporosis disease is it good to treat my eye now.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Has anyone gotten the surgery done? I'm wondering what it's like; do you like it better than contacts? And did it hurt when they cut your eye open?

[Rebecca Petris]

I've had glasses for about 10 years now, and I’m comfortable with them. I'd love to move on to contacts, but my mom and dad (my dad is an ophthalmologist, an eye doctor) said I should just have Lasik done. My dad friends with one of the top lasik people in the country that he'll take me to.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Has anyone gotten the surgery done? I'm wondering what it's like; do you like it better than contacts? And did it hurt when they cut your eye open?

Mike,

This is a forum for people with dry eye, and since dry eye is the #1 side effect/complication of LASIK, about 25-30% percent of our members have had LASIK (including me) and - for the same reason - few of them are likely to recommend it to you. Specifically, many people here had it done because they could not tolerate contact lenses.

Since you're here, is it safe to assume that your eyes are dry? You would really need to get that fully diagnosed, sorted and addressed before considering any kind of elective eye surgery. - To answer the last question, a topical anaesthetic is applied at the time of surgery so no, it does not hurt when they cut.

[Rojzen]

look carefully at what dry eye can mean

Welcome, Mike! As Rebecca observed, you probably brought an awareness of dry eye to the Zone, when you inquired about LASIK experiences. Excellent move, on your part, to come here to explore!

I have only one tip, which is that as you survey people's experiences, here, pay close attention to the subjective experience participants have with dry eye. People who have never experienced severe dry, which some LASIK survivors have developed, often have no idea just how potentially disabling this disorder is. . .It is in a class completely different from an annoying gritty, sticky, itchy sensation that one might get from occasional blepharitis or low tear production. For many of us, it is in the nature of something that will require us to wear prosthetic products for the rest of our lives, which products will not suffice, moreover, to eliminate our pain and discomfort fully. Medications will be required for many of us, too, on a lifelong basis. . .

And so apart from the whole question of the measure of the risk of dry eye one accepts when undergoing LASIK, please consider what the dry eye experience could be, if it developed, in your case. . .Accounts of this experience fill the pages here. . .

And, as Rebecca said so clearly, avail yourself of every resource in determining whether you may already have any ocular surface/tear issues, which absolutely must be factored in to any decision. . .understanding, however, full well, that there are patients who go on to develop severe dry eye after LASIK who presented with no ocular surface/tear issues when they were screened for LASIK. . .

[dianat]

Hi, Mikemortal.

Wow. Your ophthalmologist dad is telling you to have LASIK and can send you to a great surgeon, and still you do your own research out of concern for the procedure?! You are very astute and I applaud you for it.

I am in my mid-thirties and had LASIK done almost exactly 5 years ago. My outcome was not a good one. I had a pre-existing dry eye condition that nobody predicted to be a problem when I went for my pre-surgery assessment. Two of the top doctors in a large city, incidentally, labeled me a great candidate for surgery.

What ensued was a long, long road of painful LASIK-exacerbated dry eye. It has changed my life in so many ways by making it impossible to tolerate moving air, difficult to read extensively, it limits computer use...the list goes on.

I will post a link below for you so you can read a more formal and complete version of my LASIK story. Please know that since I wrote it, I have found manageability with my eyes. It's nothing great as I am extremely dry still, follow a strict eye care regimen and wear foam-sealed goggles outside and sometimes inside. But I have moved on with life and am doing better.

I'm trying not to sound too dramatic here because I want you to see that I am a reasonable, average person that simply had a really, really bad LASIK outcome. Refractive surgery experts will tell you that statistically LASIK complications are considered rare. I would argue that they really aren't that rare; there are thousands of us out here, Mike. I would also add that it sucks to high heaven to be "the one" it happens to.

Though I cannot fault your father for believing in his industry, I can tell you I will never EVER condone anybody cutting, slicing, LASERing or in any way altering the healthy flesh of any one of my children. Elective surgery is not worth the risk.

Thank you so much for being here. Please read on before you make any decisions.

http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showthread.php?t=53

[mikemortal]

Thanks!
I don't think it's a good idea, as I’m only 18, but my dad says it doesn't matter. I mean, I believe him (since he is an eye doctor, after all), but I’m sill not sure.

[dianat]

Gut feelings are often correct. Best of luck to you.

[Rebecca Petris]

If you ever end up feeling differently about it and decide you want to go ahead, make sure you thoroughly check out surface ablation (PRK etc) as a safer alternative to LASIK. You don't get the instant gratification of lasik and it's by no means risk-free (lots of prk and lasek and epi lasik patients on this board) but at least it eliminates the flap-related risks, and PRK generally speaking can have superior vision results.

Having said that, personally I think any refractive surgery at your age is crazy . Even if your vision has been stable for a year as the requirement states - I'm sure mine probably was at that age - it may easily change several more times in the next ten years (mine sure did). Then the surgery will have been not just a waste of time and money but the loss of precious never-grows-back corneal tissue for no lasting benefit.

[Lucy]

The Lasik procedure does not hurt because you're numbed by drops, but you can smell the burning of flesh.

Lucy

[mikemortal]

Where is the best place to get a LASIK eye Surgery? Factoring in both the quality of the procedure and cost.?

[Rebecca Petris]

Mike,

This is a dry eye forum, not a lasik forum, and we request that posts here be on topic. We cannot help you with doctor recommendations much less questions about osteoporosis and lasik. Since your dad is an ophthalmologist and you say he knows good lasik surgeons, I suggest you discuss your questions and concerns with him.