Has anyone had laser vision correction?

[pagerbear]

My sister had it and is thrilled with the results. More and more my glasses feel like they don't belong on my face, and I don't like wearing contacts. I'm thinking of getting it done. Any thoughts? (Of course I know to go to someone reputable and experienced, do my research, etc.)

[Ladyhawk]

1. I had LASIK...and complications. :(

I'm told it's usually very safe, but I was one of the 1 in 5000 who ended up with inflamation after surgery.

The actual surgery isn't terribly painful. The worst part is when the automated circular blade suctions onto your eyeball. Your eyeball really feels like it will pop! Once that part is done, the rest is cake.

However, in my case, white blood cells invaded the surgery site and the doctor had to peel back the cornea to flush them out. After the anesthetic wore off, IT HURT LIKE HELL!!!! It hurt so bad I almost wished someone would have shot me. Part of the problem was that the protective contact lenses placed by the surgeon did not stay put.

MAJOR PAIN!!!

I couldn't see for about six weeks. It was emotionally very difficult because I did not know how the surgery would turn out.

Today my eyesight is pretty good (better than 20/20), although my night vision sucks; I see halos around lights at night; and my eyes still get quite dry. The last one could be due to my raging diabetes.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

2. Thanks for posting this.

I was seriously thinking about the pros and cons of LASIK over the past week and a half- the glasses/contacts thing is getting really old... Of course you hear that there could be risks associated with the surgery... but you don't usually hear how the risks have effected actual people.

Thanks for the warning/heads up!!

[Liberal Christian]

3. I have had a wonderful experience

I had LASIK three years ago at the Eye Institute of Utah. They did warn me about things that could go wrong, but I decided to do it anyway. For me, everything went very well. My vision was corrected to 20/20 or better. I had some halos and starbursts around lights at night for a while, but that has lessened dramatically. I still have a little of that, but I always have had, so I don't know if it can really be attributed to LASIK.

I wore bifocals before the LASIK, and I still wear cheap drugstore "cheaters" for reading and computing. I could have tried the monovision correction, where they correct your eyes to two different focal lengths, but I decided not to do that.

You know all the right things to do. When you're checking into experience, make sure they've done THOUSANDS of procedures and then ask how many people have had negative side effects, whether anyone has lost vision, etc. You do need to know and understand the risks before you go in.