Who's done LASIK?

Bigslug · January 2020

Been in glasses for about 20 years. Made the switch from single vision to bifocals ("Transitions") a bit over a year ago and still not really loving it. OK for most applications, but kicking my butt indoors. Lack of peripheral vision sucks. Astigmatism in the dominant eye making a clear front sight durn near impossible on pistols and carbines even with the glasses. Longing to be back to the only lenses being the ones in my head with the only frames to keep track of being sunglasses.

So. . .some anxiety over letting folks poke and prod the eyeballs, but something probably has to give.

Experiences? Advice?

Jay · January 2020

My only experience is that my ex had it done. She was damn near blind before and had perfect vision after. I watched the procedure on a screen while they did it. It was worse on me than it was her.... Not gonna say it was pleasant. But she survived, no problem. Just have to rest your eyes for a while, use some eye drops and DO NOT rub your eyes. They’ll tell you all that.

They didnt tell me she’d leave me when she could finally see everything... 🤣

And don’t be like my ex and annoy everyone with your newfound ability to read everything out loud without glasses...

zorba · January 2020

I've always wondered how well your eyes age after that procedure, hence I never did it.

Jermanator · January 2020

If you are not liking bifocal glasses, may I suggest bifocal contacts? They took me a day or 2 to get used to, but since then, I haven't had to use my reading glasses at all. I don't even perceive that I am switching between distance and near at all. They are pretty amazing.

JKP · January 2020

Did it about twenty years ago. No issues and no complaints.

That said, my sister is a nurse that works at an eye surgery place. She swears against it.

Maybe look into cataract surgery for a bit more money as you will probably need that anyway?

wddodge · January 2020

I had lasik surgery about 19 years ago when I was in my early 40s. My right eye was set for distance and the left eye was left just a bit nearsighted so I could read without reading glasses. I could read street signs from about half a block away and no problems reading.

After the surgery, I had halos when looking at lights after dark. It wasn't bad but it was noticable. The halos gradually went away after about a year.

Now I notice my distance vision is not as good although the Dr. says my eye still tests 20/20. I'm guessing I may have to get glasses in another few years. Touching up with lasik is not an option as there is only so much material that can be removed.

I would not hesitate to do it again. Life is much better when I can see without coke bottles hanging off my nose.

Denny

JerryBobCo · January 2020

My son had it done when he was in his late teens or early twenties. It seems to have worked for him, although he did experience quite a bit of pain for about a day following the procedure.

I am whatever it is when you can see far away but not close up, and asked my doctor about getting it for me. He told me it would not work well for me. I'm not sure why, but he said it would correct the problem with not being able to see close, but hurt my "far away" vision.

Big Al1 · January 2020

I shoot a lot of open sights and an issue with not being able to see both sights at he same time! Lasik will correct for one thing only, usually they correct one eye for reading and one eye for distance. This would not cure my issue. I went with multifocal contac lenses and love them. Can read and see distance, sights are clear!! Sometimes I have to wear cheater reading glasses for close up work or in dim light!

GunNut · January 2020

My son just had it done. Procedures have come a loooong way in the last few years. He loves the results and had no complications or pain. No halos or other vision issues either. Go to a well rated place and talk to them and you’ll learn a whole lot.

knitepoet · January 2020

dammed draft

Jayhawker · January 2020

I know a couple of folks who had it done years ago....they are both back to wearing glasses nowadays...

CHIRO1989 · January 2020

I have tons of patients that had it done, a few complications, nothing severe, most see a lot better without glasses, all see better, quite a few still use cheaters but lower strength ones, everybody says your vision degrades again over time, nobody comes to mind that regretted doing it, I am not sure on the long term effect of altering the eye

wddodge · January 2020

Jayhawker said:

I know a couple of folks who had it done years ago....they are both back to wearing glasses nowadays...

That's where I'm heading. I've been without glasses for almost 20 years but my eyes are changing with age.I'm sure I'll be wearing glasses again in a few more years but they won't be coke bottle lenses.

Denny

Gila · January 2020

JerryBobCo said:

My son had it done when he was in his late teens or early twenties. It seems to have worked for him, although he did experience quite a bit of pain for about a day following the procedure.

I am whatever it is when you can see far away but not close up, and asked my doctor about getting it for me. He told me it would not work well for me. I'm not sure why, but he said it would correct the problem with not being able to see close, but hurt my "far away" vision.

I'm far sighted. Many years ago I went to a Lasik center to learn what they could do for me. I was told the surgery is basically for nearsightedness, and they could only do one eye if I wanted to retain my distance vision. My solution is to wear trifocals, with the second lens adjusted to give me perfect vision on a front sight. I tried the progressive lenses, and like anything progressive, it was a disaster. I also have a shooting prescription with the entire lens for my dominant eye focused for a front sight and the other lens set as a bifocal with half of the lens focused for a front sight.

Linefinder · January 2020

My sister and her husband both had it done about 15 years ago. My BIL swears by it. No issues at all. My sister doesn't actually swear at it, but she's had 3 tweaks over the years, the last being less than a year ago. She's not thrilled about that, but she's glad she hasn't worn glasses in years.

My take is that you pick a straw.

Mike

Bigslug · January 2020

Jermanator said:

If you are not liking bifocal glasses, may I suggest bifocal contacts? They took me a day or 2 to get used to, but since then, I haven't had to use my reading glasses at all. I don't even perceive that I am switching between distance and near at all. They are pretty amazing.

Can't see me doing contacts. That's even less appealing to me than letting someone zap away at me with lasers. I hate the idea of stuff in my eyes, and just over the course of my usual day frequently get stuff in my eyes. The biggest issue I'm having with the progressives is the separation between the glasses and the eyeball, so in theory contacts would deal with this. . .but GYAAAAAACH!

KSUFirefighter2 · January 2020

Had mine done in 2010. LOVE it! Still have to use reading glasses for up close work. Made getting up and driving fire apparatus in the middle of the night a simpler prospect.

Diver43 · January 2020

If you don't like the idea of Lasik, can't wear contacts, talk to your eye doc about Freestyle progressive lenses. Each millimeter of each lens is custom cut exactly to your eye. The doctor can write your script for where you are comfortable. I was measured holding a handgun and a rifle with open sight, each distance measured so no i can see while shooting again.

Bigslug · January 2020

KSUFirefighter2 said:

Had mine done in 2010. LOVE it! Still have to use reading glasses for up close work. Made getting up and driving fire apparatus in the middle of the night a simpler prospect.

That's gonna be my big question - I'm fine up close with no glasses. Once the astigmatism and distance issues get corrected, will that still be the case?

Jermanator · January 2020

Bigslug said:

Can't see me doing contacts. That's even less appealing to me than letting someone zap away at me with lasers. I hate the idea of stuff in my eyes.

I have heard that from a lot of people that are now contact lens wearers. It takes a bit to get used to, but after that you are golden.

zorba · January 2020

I wear contacts when I'm performing - it was more than a little bit of a learning curve, but I got through it.

wddodge · January 2020

Bigslug said:

KSUFirefighter2 said:

Had mine done in 2010. LOVE it! Still have to use reading glasses for up close work. Made getting up and driving fire apparatus in the middle of the night a simpler prospect.

That's gonna be my big question - I'm fine up close with no glasses. Once the astigmatism and distance issues get corrected, will that still be the case?

I'm going to guess that you'll need reading glasses if both eyes are cut for distance. That is the reason for leaving your non-dominant eye a little bit near sighted. Before my lasik, I could read great but I couldn't see 10 ft in front of me. Now I can read most anything without cheaters and still see distance. For the most part that works great.

The down side that I've run into is my dominant eye can't see pistol sights anymore. My left eye can see the sights perfect but the target is fuzzy. I'm using safety glasses with the bi-focal on the top of the lense so I can use my dominant eye but the target is still fuzzy. It really sucks getting old but this is not the fault of the lasik surgury.

Denny

Bigslug · January 2020

Jermanator said:

Bigslug said:

Can't see me doing contacts. That's even less appealing to me than letting someone zap away at me with lasers. I hate the idea of stuff in my eyes.

I have heard that from a lot of people that are now contact lens wearers. It takes a bit to get used to, but after that you are golden.

It's not just the contacts apprehension - it's the hanging out in Santa Ana winds; making dust shooting rifles prone; cleaning guns with compressed air. All that seems REALLY incompatible with contacts.

jbp-ohio · January 2020

I got zapped in Dec 2000. About 2 years ago I was still 20/20 & 20/15..

This past year I started losing close up..... Use 1.5x readers

Bigslug · January 2020

wddodge said:

Bigslug said:

KSUFirefighter2 said:

Had mine done in 2010. LOVE it! Still have to use reading glasses for up close work. Made getting up and driving fire apparatus in the middle of the night a simpler prospect.

That's gonna be my big question - I'm fine up close with no glasses. Once the astigmatism and distance issues get corrected, will that still be the case?

I'm going to guess that you'll need reading glasses if both eyes are cut for distance. That is the reason for leaving your non-dominant eye a little bit near sighted.

I would probably do exactly the opposite - distance with the non-dominant eye and close with the one I aim with. Which would basically just be a clarified version of what I've already got.

Probably going to take a consult to resolve the question - I THINK astigmatism is the primary reason why vision in the right eye has trouble with distance (the dot in my Aimpoint is football-shaped, not round, even with the glasses on). If they can make that eyeball think it's round again, maybe I'll be good to go.

And yeah, contracting the age virus sucks. . .

Jermanator · January 2020

Bigslug said:

It's not just the contacts apprehension - it's the hanging out in Santa Ana winds; making dust shooting rifles prone; cleaning guns with compressed air. All that seems REALLY incompatible with contacts.

I have been doing construction work for the last 25 years, with the dust, sawdust, dirt, mud, grime, and all the other stuff while wearing contacts. Obviously, you still need to wear eye protection like everyone else but you can wear sunglasses again. I actually use safety rated sunglasses when I do. With today's contact lenses, the maintenance on them is a minor inconvenience. For me, they are hella less trouble than wearing glasses. Especially when I get sweaty and glasses want to fog up, slide around, or I drip sweat on the lenses (I sweat like a fat guy).

It is typically just a matter of getting your eyes used to them which only takes a few days. Worst case? Lasik is still there as an option and you are out a couple hundred bucks for the exam and lenses.

shotgunshooter3 · January 2020

I know a lot of folks who have done PRK (uses a laser instead of a blade), which is the DOD approved procedure to meet vision standards to become a pilot. No complaints from any of them yet, but your vision will still degrade with time. It's no magic bullet, but does seem to work as well as most of us keep hearing.

Bigslug · March 2020

Might as well throw out an update for the interested parties:

I had the left eye corrected for distance on the 13th, which makes this 13 days in. The left eye was fine for up close (where my front sights live) so we left that alone. This is the program known as "monovision", and it's pretty much the only option for folks over 40. You can correct the outer lens for near or far, but not both, and the inner focusing muscle becomes an inflexible rock with time.

Since my left eye was already the better one for distance anyway, the adjusting isn't going too badly. They gave me a pair of cheater glasses with a mild distance prescription for the right eye - mainly for driving at night. Those may or may not be a permanent fixture. Hard to tell at this early date - not doing a lot of driving day or night with the Covid-19 hunkering.

The distance vision past about 30 yards isn't as crisp as I'd like - really dependent on having good lighting - but that should improve over time. Since my right eye is the dominant one, and it's primarily being used for 48" and less, it remains to be seen how well the brain will adapt to the left side being the primary input for distance.

But I'm out of glasses, and more importantly OUT OF BIFOCALS! Going through an obscene amount of lubricant drops in these early days, but well-pleased thus far.

wddodge · March 2020

Your results and the same as when I had mine done. It takes 6 months or so before the eye is completely healed. I think you're going to be happy you had yours done.

Denny

Bigslug · March 2020

Jeez! Brain fade and edit failure! Right eye was good close and is good close. Left eye got the business. Pheeef!

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