Laser eye surgery

[granite_grrl]

I haven't been around for the past few days here. I've been recovering from laser eye surgery that I had on Wednesday. I had epi-lasik, which is more like PRK than lasik.

Things are still rather blurry, I go in to get the contact lens bandage off tomorrow and I hope the healing will really spead up then (the blurriness is because they couldn't cut a slean flap like they do in lasik, my corneas have to heal and things will get clearer). Has anyone else gotten this done? PRK or lasik? Care to share your healing experiances?

[Shawn B]

I haven't been around for the past few days here. I've been recovering from laser eye surgery that I had on Wednesday. I had epi-lasik, which is more like PRK than lasik.

This explains the drastic drop in posts over the weekend Fred.

I had my eyes zapped over 3 years ago now. I had lasik. Eyes were a bit scratchy feeling and maybe a bit foggy for the first day or so. My follow-up the day after surgery went well and I think I was 20/20. I had a small wrinkle in one flap but that smoothed and it was nothing I noticed. By my one month check up my eyes had improved to almost 30/20 (better than 20/20). Now after 3 years I have settled out just better than 20/20 and it's one of the best things I have ever done. I had to be careful to not want to take out my contacts at night or when I got up early in the morning thinking I forgot to take them out the night before. My only issue now is that my eyes sometimes get dry when I run or bike and they get blurry until I use some drops...especially when it is cold out.

[dcentral]

How long does it last for?

[thicks]

I heard the moncton eye clinic had a sale on, 1k instead of the 4k for both eyes. dont have details though as my eyes are still changing.

[martha]

I want to get mine done too thought the eye doc suggested I wait until I am done having babies as the hormones can change your prescription.

I know a few people who have had great success with it and others who still need glasses at night or have trouble with light sensitivity etc.

[granite_grrl]

My right eye is very clear today. Ironically, it was the left eye that was the clear one a few days ago, so I'm just chalking that up to the healing process of my corneas. Thus far I'm pleased with the results, and I know the blurriness is just a result of the procedure. I don't think I'll have to wear glasses again, but I don't think my vision will quite reach 20/20 either.

Bummer about the biking, I was really hoping to start that again this week. The weather has become so nice out here. I'm seeing the doctor again today, I'm hoping for the thumbs up to head outside and climb again, though that dirty enviroment worries me a little. I'll have to deal with driness for a while, but it can't be any worse than what I'd get from contacts I think (I never could wear contacts for very long). I'm supossed to wear sunglasses whenever I go outside during the day for the next 3 months, which is cool 'cause I have a nice pair of Nike shades.

I keep watching Steep and Cheap for more sunglasses too! I'm going to be such a sunglasses whore now!

[The Teth]

Never had any vision (focussing) problems myself, but I do have sensitive eyes. I even have to ware sun glasses when I use a computer. I get lots of comments at work. Those old CRT monitors on the default refresh rate will give me eye strain in 45 seconds and a splitting headache in 15 minutes without the glasses. The new LCD monitors are better but still bright, although the laptop LCD’s do not seem to give me trouble. The up side of the light sensitivity is that my night vision seems to be way better than average. I have always liked driving at night as a result.

Teth

[Andrew]

I haven't had Laser-Eye Surgery, but I've had an interest in it since college.

I use computers all day at work and then at home quite a bit. I have found that CRT monitor's set at anything below 85Hz bothers my eyes to the point of a headache in a few minutes. I also dim down the contrast and brightness of my CRT monitor at work to 50% and it keeps my eyes happy.

At home I have a 20" WS-LCD with 2000:1 contrast ratio. It's extremely bright (enough to use as a TV from living room distance). I generally use it with my face 1-2 feet from the display, so I've dimmed it contrast and brightness down to 35%. It runs at 60Hz refresh rate, but on an LCD, that is not a concern. Very little eye strain, except if I am tired.

I want to get the surgury done and I would even take out a loan to get it done, but I'm still waring of the procedure. I'm worried that I might have the flap detatch or my vision be flussy or blurred. I've heard that at altitude or in a plane or different extreme temperatures, there can be problems. I'm also concerned that my eyes may be too sensitive and be overly sensitive after the surgery to computer screens, light and possibly have trouble seeing the dark.

Who else has had surgery? SteveA? What's everyone's experiences?

Andrew

Never had any vision (focussing) problems myself, but I do have sensitive eyes. I even have to ware sun glasses when I use a computer. I get lots of comments at work. Those old CRT monitors on the default refresh rate will give me eye strain in 45 seconds and a splitting headache in 15 minutes without the glasses. The new LCD monitors are better but still bright, although the laptop LCD’s do not seem to give me trouble. The up side of the light sensitivity is that my night vision seems to be way better than average. I have always liked driving at night as a result.

Teth

[granite_grrl]

I want to get the surgury done and I would even take out a loan to get it done, but I'm still waring of the procedure. I'm worried that I might have the flap detatch or my vision be flussy or blurred. I've heard that at altitude or in a plane or different extreme temperatures, there can be problems. I'm also concerned that my eyes may be too sensitive and be overly sensitive after the surgery to computer screens, light and possibly have trouble seeing the dark.

If you go in for a consultation you can bring your list of questions along. Remember there are different procedures. Different procedures will be diffrent with altitude, but I don't know the details here. With what I had done no flap was made, so there is nothing to detach. A week later the cornea surface has healed and it would be as hard to damage my eye as it would be to damage yours (no increased chance of infection or flap movement). I have also read that in the long term I will have less problems with haloing and night vision issues with the Epi-lasik.

The flip side is it may be a month before I get my final vision because the cornea is stil healing (heals from the surface down). Lasik you get results the first day.

There are no guarentees with the procedure, and you have to walk in there knowing that. There are also chances that it could screw up your vision worse and you'll have to undergo more sugery. You have to know that. Most people can undergo the procedure a second time if the first didn't do enough, again no guarentees either.

The question is, do you want to get rid of glasses enough to take those risks? If I had no problems wearing contacts I proboly wouldn't have done it. But contacts drive my eyes crazy and I've almost lost my glasses more than once while climbing, so its worth it to me.

[jnnfr]

Like granite_grrl was saying, there are different procedures and techniques in refractive surgery. In NB, I believe your options are only PRK or Lasik.

For Lasik, they cut a thin flap in the top of your cornea, do the laser, and put the flap back down. With PRK, they scrape the top layer of your cornea off, do the laser, and then put a bandage contact lens on to protect your eyes while your corneas heal. There are different benefits to both types of surgery.

With Lasik, there is very little pain, and much less healing time. But, there can be complications with the flap. Usually if there are going to be any problems with the flap, they happen in the first few days after surgery. But people who are in jobs/sports that put them at high risk of eye injury usually have PRK instead. Also, usually pilots can only have PRK as well, due to the altitude issues.

PRK eliminates the flap, leaving you at a lower risk for complications, but the healing time is much longer. You can expect your vision to fluctuate a bit for the first 1-3 months as your corneas heal. It is a lot more painful as well.

As far as night vision goes, it isn't as big an issue as it used to be, because new laser technology allows surgeons to treat a larger area of the cornea, so you cut down on the difference between pupil size and treater area. EVERYONE after the surgery is going to have trouble seeing at night (glare and haloes) for the first few weeks, as the eyes heal. Usually it clears up, but there will always be a risk that it may be permanent.

If you go in for a consultation at a laser clinic, they can do some measurements and give you an idea of what your risk of night vision trouble would be, and they can recommend the best procedure for your eyes. Where ever you go, make sure you ask lots of questions!!!

[Chris]

I had Lasik done in 2000. My last check up was 8 months ago and I am still at 20/20.

The dryness will be the annoying part of the healing process. I remember still using drops 3 or 4 weeks after the procedure. I was always really cautious especially around my cat. However, 2 months after it was all said and done I was playing rugby.

[granite_grrl]

Its funny, there are a lot of people complaining about dryness, but I'm not really getting too much excapt for first thing in the morning when I get up. I spent all day Sat and Sun out at the crags and only once did I want to put eye drops in. Its only been a little under two week and I'm still using medicated drop so may be that's making the difference.

Still, the eyes are on hell of a lot less dry than when I'd wear contacts, so a definate trade up!