Anyone had LASIK?

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I'm nearsighted and have been wearing glasses since I was in the 4th grade, and contacts since I was a sophomore in high school. I haven't been wearing my contacts much in the past couple of years though because my eyes get really dry and eyedrops don't always help. It was really windy today and my eyes have been really irrited as a result.I've been curious about getting LASIK and have found some good informational sites on it, but I've never met anyone that's had the procedure and I'm curious if anyone here has had it done and what their thoughts are on it.If you have had it done, what side effects, if any have you experienced?Dry eyessensitivity to lightnight vision changesany others?Also, what did you pay for it? I've seen quite a range of prices for it.Thanks!

Well I'm about to turn 24, and I went to my eye doctor's a few months back. I trust him dearly, and he told me to wait a few more years. Apparently your eye sight doesn't stabalize until you're in your mid to late 20's. LASIK only fixees your vision up to your current state. If a year down the road your vision gets worse by just a little bit, the surgery was basically a waste of time. My recent prescription changed slightly as well, and according to my eye doctor, you need to have a couple of years of no changes, in order to be a good candidate. I talked to my dad's eye doctor as well about it and he agreed with my eye doctor. There are some doctors that will do it on teens though, but after talking with doctors and researching some, I think I'll wait until I'm a little older and my vision has evened out. In my area, it's about $3000 total. Cenfath has had it done, so you might want to shoot her a PM.

My vision hasn't changed much in the past six years or so. My prescription has been the same since at least 2000.$3000 seems a little high. A few years ago the health insurance I had a good deal, I think $399 per eye, but I don't have that insurance anymore.

Laser eye surgery info from the NIH.

Eye Surgery Educational Council's site, and their FAQ.

LASIK Eye Surgery: A Consumer Guide
They have a doctor guide at the bottom of the page. I don't know the doctors recommended, but I can say that in the case of Boston, the doctors recommended are at a top medical center (two blocks from where I used to live). (There are a lot of top medical centers in Boston.) I would not have eye surgery in a rural area; I would do it with a doctor who does it a lot. Don't be shy about interviewing whatever doctor you're thinking of letting mess with your eyes.

If you suffer from dry eyes, Lasik treatment can make the condition worse.

Someone I know had it done about four years ago, and he insisted on going to one of the top eye doctors in Boston. It cost him about $5000. You can now probably find a good doctor who will do it for less than that, but I'd be very, very skeptical about $399 eye surgery.

$399 was after insurance paid the rest.I have seen it advertised for as low as $199, but I am skeptical of that.

If you have insurance that will cover that, you have pretty good insurance.

Yeah it was. It even covered birth control, which many people were suprised by. Unfortunately, that was at another job and I don't have that insurance any more.

A lot of insurances do offer a discount on it. I know mine does.

I'll have to check into mine (BC of MA private policy). Here is a good discussion of doctors, and what to expect, message board-style. Someone had a bad experience at Tuft's New England Medical Center, mentioned above. I think it would be hard to beat the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston (adjacent to Mass General). But they'll charge top dollar.

I just had it done, and I turned 21 in February. My eyes have been -5.00 for 3 years, so the doc said I was stable enough. I've been recovering for almost 2 weeks now. They tested my eyes at -1.25 now. It didn't make them perfect, but it help A LOT. They're gonna check me again in a month, and if things havent got better, they're gonna do it again. Sometimes it takes two trys to get perfect vision.My eyes were really sensitive to light for the first week, and at night the lights have a major glare on them. The lasik surgery kills the nerves in your eye, so your eyes dont water. You have to put eye drops in your eyes every 15-30 minutes, and thats REALLY annoying. I'm two weeks out & I only haveta put eyedrops in about twice a day now.As far as the pain/annoyance side compared to the money side I'd say definately have it down. It only hurt a lil bit during surgery, minor pain the next morning, and annoying itching (you cant rub eyes) for the next 2 days. After that it was pretty much over. All you gotta do is put in eyedrops.

There are companies that say they can get your eyes to 20/15 with lasik.

In reply to:they can't get your eyes to 20/15 with lasikYou're right. I checked with the local chain supermarket, and they admitted that they couldn't get my eyes to 20/15 with lasik. But they suggested eating carrots.Do you preview before posting?There have been a lot of successes with lasik (laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis), but make sure you understand the risks and possible side effects before you do it.

No, I don't preview my posts.

It'd be a good idea, so people stop thinking you're drunk.

Crunk? At 1 in the afternoon on a Sunday? Probably not.

That'd be correct. I have had it done. I was 19 years old when I had it done. My brother has had it done and so has my mother. My brother is 18 and he is now 20/25. Considering that he was 20/200 (or something like that...had to look at the doc's eye chart..my bro could just barely see the big E...he said it was fuzzy) prior to surgery I'd say that's pretty good even though he is really young. After the surgery and when I went back for my week check up I was 20/20. The next check up I went to I was 20/15. My mother is 20/10. I've stayed that way so far.I didn't really experience many of the side effects. I have great night vision. Sometimes I have night halos but I can usually fix that with normal saline, wetting drops. Occasionaly they're dry but usually only when the seasons are changing or I'm sick or something like that.My mom's insurance covered most of ours. We ended up paying about $1000 for the both of us. That $199 that is being advertised is someone who's eyesight isn't extremely awful. It's considered "best case scenario". Most people fall in between the best case and the worst case. My younger brother was the worst case scenario. It was worth it to me. If I had it to do over I'd make the same decision.

Eye drops every 15-30 minutes? Is that temporary or something you have to live with for the rest of your life. If that's something you have to keep doing then I'll just stick with glasses. I'm -5.00 right now by the way. I rarely have to use eyedrops now unless it's really windy (dust storm yesterday) and if I wear my contacts too long.There's also a new procedure I've seen advertised whose name I can't recall, but they're only about a block or two from my work which is kind of funny. They don't cut a flap in your cornea. I don't know much about it though.

It's just a temporary thing. For the first couple of weeks or so your eyes are going to feel pretty dry and the doc will tell you it's all about keeping your eyes moist with your eye drops. That help your eyes tons and help your flap heal a lot faster. Most people can start going without the drops after about 6 months (my opthamologist reccomended that long just because of the flap that's created and because they're trying to keep your eyes as moist as possible). Initially it takes 2 weeks for the flap to stay in one place with little to no chance of it becoming wrinkled, folded over, etc., but it's not completely healed. That takes a bit longer. I had my surgery 2 years ago and I have loved every minute of it. I still use the drops but it's mostly just when allergy season comes around and things like that.