Lasik eye surgery?

[Big Racks]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

^^very common, and why you should wait til later in your life (ie late 30-40's).

Your vision will always deteriorate. You got 10 years of glass/contact free life. That's pretty good. the deteriorating should've been explained to you prior to the surgery.

Check to see if there's anything they can do, but more than likely not, back to glasses/contacts.

BTW.. My parents both had the surgery in the 90s, and they are wearing glasses for reading and driving.

My uncle used to perform the surgeries for Gimble, I've discussed the surgery/pros/cons in depth with him, and this issue comes up often.

OP, if you've only had glasses for 2 years DO NOT get surgery.this means your eyes are degrading and the prescription will change more.

Looks like the OP has been banned since this thread was started. I revived it last night after using search for the topic. I'm pumped about the procedure, can't wait to throw these bloody glasses out.

Does Gimble not offer the lifetime touch-ups? Curious if this is not a normal offer now with these clinics. Eye Q is lifetime, which may explain the higher than normal price I guess.

[JB_AOL]

haha..oops..

I'm not sure about the touchups being covered but, touchups really depend on a case by case basis. IE, most can't get touchups because they've removed too much , not by accident, but for the initial procedure. There's only so much material they can remove.

Don't get me wrong, I would get the procedure in a second if my eyes were good candidates. Issues are VERY rare. personally, I'd check all of them out, but don't base your decision on price.

[doetracks]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

...
I'm not sure about the touchups being covered but, touchups really depend on a case by case basis. IE, most can't get touchups because they've removed too much , not by accident, but for the initial procedure. There's only so much material they can remove.

...

Agreed.

I have had Lasik twice, I'm done. If my vision degrades, it's back to glasses. Eyes too dry for contacts now. I think the "touchups for life" thing might be a bit misleading, unless explained fully

[Smasher]

I checked Gimble's website today and it says the "warranty" is only 18 months. If i can get it done a second time i'll definitely do it.

[omega50]

The equipment to perform these procedures was so expensive that many of these clinics amortized the expense over 20-30 years.

Even though there are safer more effective procedures available, it is highly unlikely that these clinics will change horses mid-stream while they have not paid off their initial investment.

I would avoid this procedure.I do not wear glasses, but had a lengthy discussion with my optometrist during a eye exam last week.And he is against this procedure.

[Big Racks]

Originally Posted by doetracks

Agreed.

I have had Lasik twice, I'm done. If my vision degrades, it's back to glasses. Eyes too dry for contacts now. I think the "touchups for life" thing might be a bit misleading, unless explained fully

This is true, the touch-ups are subject to certain guidelines. ie: Eye Q's specifies your vision has to degrade to 20/30 I believe before they'll re-evaluate. Then it's subject to you having enough thickness/material left for the procedure to be re-done. Definitely not guaranteed 100% and it's subject to their call, however they rely heavily on word of mouth due to the cost of the procedure there so I don't think they'd be in the business of dismissing and alienating customers off hand.

Were you flying when you had it done either time? At least that part of it has gotten better over time and TC now only specifies a minimum of 30 days I think for recovery before reinstating an LVC - used to be a year, then 6 months, then 3 months.

[.308]

Im still younger (26) and have had glasses for 2.5 years and to this day cannot get used to them and have gone through 4 pairs, no matter how hard I try and look after them I end up scratching them in some way where it drives me crazy as its all I see all day. So once benefits kick in im getting the lasik as I have a hate for glasses and just cannot get used to them.

Glad I found this thread as it has given me leads as to where I can go for the lasik.

[CaberTosser]

I had Gimbel do the PRK on one eye when I was 28, and the other at about 32-33. One eye was 10 times worse than the other, and I wanted to get to minimum standards to apply for the CPS at the time, which correcting the worse eye achieved.

Only problems have been the noted dry eye, though I would say the left eye has dropped a smidge, but it has been 14 years; right eye's still A-OK

[Charlie1]

Originally Posted by kmore

I had mine done at Eye Q in Edmonton. I thought the staff and the experience was top notch. In one day for both eyes, and drove home the next. Eye's were itchy as hell that first day, but no real pain. Like welders flash i'm told. I've experienced no ill effects, either loss of night vision, dryness, haloing, etc. I'm told the new eye mapping technology reduces the chance of those happening. It was expensive, 4500 for both eyes, but if i had to do it over, knowing what i know now, you could double that, and i'd still pay.

I had mine done here as well , and I would do again in a second. The only thing I find now is that is that I have to use eye drops daily.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Another option is the Visian ICL method... Looks interesting, and is an option for those who don't have enough material on their eyes for traditional Laser surgery:

http://visianinfo.com/?siteid=1175

There's a place in Edmonton that does it:
http://www.eyeqlaser.com

Something I'm looking into. I believe it's pretty pricey, though.

Stinky

[doetracks]

Originally Posted by Big Racks

...
Were you flying when you had it done either time? At least that part of it has gotten better over time and TC now only specifies a minimum of 30 days I think for recovery before reinstating an LVC - used to be a year, then 6 months, then 3 months.

Sorry, I didn't see this until now

The first time, yes. I spent 3 months (IIRC) working checkin until I was cleared for flying again. I did not "lose" my medical, per se. There's some accountability that is required.

The second time was a "touch-up". I was not actively flying. No wait time, since I wasn't flying until about 2 months later, ANYWAYS.

I don't have enough material left for another touch up, should it be required. That's ok, though. I certainly got my money's worth!

[Masterchief]

I had terrible vision and an astigmatism with poor depth perception, especially at night. Had the surgery 8 years ago and it fixed everything, after 1 year I had better than 20/20 vision. One eye gets red from time to time, but that may have something to do with the booze

[Jimboy]

Originally Posted by doetracks

LASIK 1998 LASEK 2005.

I think I'm back to about 20/25 now. Still love it, though, even witj eyes being extremely dry now.

USE EYE DROPS , tears its called , the dryness will go away after a while .

[silver]

I dont know if this a derail or not but please bear with me. I was gifted with good vision most of my life, but in my fourties my eyes started to change. I now need reading glasses but I can still count fence posts at a half mile. My job demands good vision, and if there was a vision loss I would be in trouble. If I were to get surgery, would it help me? What would be the best way to go? What are the chances of side effects? Your advice is appreciated.

[Mountain Guy]

Had mine done.
I've had a torn then detached retina since.
Jurys still out as to whether laser surgery could lead to retina problems.
You wouldn't think so as laser is on the front and retina in the back, but i've asked both optometrists and opthamologists if it could have and the educated answer that I gotten is ''can't say one way or the other''.
I was blind as a bat so I was subject to retina problems anyway but it is something to think about...for the really blind folks anyway.

[doetracks]

Originally Posted by Jimboy

USE EYE DROPS , tears its called , the dryness will go away after a while .

I do... Profusely. Last LASIK was 2005, I use drops regularly or suffer corneal abrasion. No getting better for me.

It's okay, though. I see well

[Big Racks]

Found that Costco carries 3 different brands of artificial tears if anyone didn't know. They carry the small single-use (or double-use for me) plastic twist tubes of BION Tears, a three pack of bottles of Systane Ultra, and a third brand I didn't recognize.

I'm a week post-op now. Had my 5 day check up on Tuesday and vision was at 20/15 already . Do still have haloing/starburst at night with headlights and streetlamps, etc... and do have dry eyes but I'm still hitting them hourly with the Systane drops. Only problem is I still am not supposed to rub my eyes, so the drops end up gooping/caking onto my eyelids when they dry and are a bit of a nuisance. Other than that, I had no real soreness past day 2. Have started sleeping without the plastic eyeguards taped on at night, nice relief. Day 1 was pretty nasty for the first 3 or 4 hours post-op. Spoke with two co-workers who had it done and they didn't have this issue, for me I couldn't open my eyes more than a crack without feeling like someone was poring onion juice mixed with tear gas into my eyes. Brutal. Came home, had a nap for a couple of hours, woke up to put in medicine drops at the prescribed time and it felt much better already. Next morning was even better. 24 hours post-op and soreness was gone completely.

Luckily I have lots of sick hours banked because I'm off work for another 23 days - 30 days mandatory as per Transport Canada. I've got a b!tch of a cold this week, but next week I fully intend to take advantage of my "sick time" to get a late start to my hunting season .