Hi everyone! I've been enthusiastically reading every little thing I can find about lasik, including all previous posts. I was wondering if some of you might add how you've been doing now since some time has passed from when you had lasik, how it's going with the diving, etc. Also, has anyone had wavefront lasik? Would you recommend lasik? How long did you wait before diving and how long did you have your contacts out before having the surgery? There is such a wide range of what is recommended. I'm going to Australia for 3 weeks and want to fit in diving and lasik. Thanks!
Lasik personal stories after some time has passed
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Just out of curiosity, why are you going to have lasik done while you are in Australia?
Greg
Greg
They want the contacts out for 2 weeks to allow the cornea to return to normal dimensions. Around here diving is about a 3 week wait after surgery but that turns into 6 or 7 as the preference is to do one eye then the other. And then if any repeat of the procedure is required there will of course be more delays.
My friend and frequent dive buddy had it done. He ended up with 3 repeat procedures, is as good as he will get and is still not happy with it as he has only about 20/30 vision in one eye. The other downside is that for many people they will require reading glasses when they are done.
I get 20/10 to 20/15 vision with contacts and no reading glasses are required. Consequently I have decided not to go with Lasik at this point.
If you decide on Lasik, be very selective in the doctor you use, ask a lot of questions and explore very carefully their success and complications rates and determine exactly how those rates are defined and how applicable they are to your specific situation.
I also heard earlier this week that the stats indicate a lower rate of repeat surgeries for procedures done in the fall as opposed to spring or summer. I have not followed up on this yet as to why this is theorized to occur.
My friend and frequent dive buddy had it done. He ended up with 3 repeat procedures, is as good as he will get and is still not happy with it as he has only about 20/30 vision in one eye. The other downside is that for many people they will require reading glasses when they are done.
I get 20/10 to 20/15 vision with contacts and no reading glasses are required. Consequently I have decided not to go with Lasik at this point.
If you decide on Lasik, be very selective in the doctor you use, ask a lot of questions and explore very carefully their success and complications rates and determine exactly how those rates are defined and how applicable they are to your specific situation.
I also heard earlier this week that the stats indicate a lower rate of repeat surgeries for procedures done in the fall as opposed to spring or summer. I have not followed up on this yet as to why this is theorized to occur.
DA Aquamaster:
Ditto on the above. Going with the cheapest deal in town is not a good idea in general unless your very comfortable with their program.
I had mine done two years ago in July. One of the best things i have ever done for myself. My eyes have never been terrible, 20/60 & 20/80 with an astigmatism, but i got tired of hassling with glasses after 20 years.
It was worth it to me, i'm 20/20 & 20/15 now. A couple downsides, i lost a little night vision. Driving at night is a little harder. I have a little haloing of lights at night. My reading vision is a little worse now and i'll probably need reading glasses sooner.
But IMO the pluses outweigh the minuses. The biggest plus i noticed right away, besides trashing the specs, was improved visual acuity. Colors where much brighter, and more vivid. As you can imagine, that was a pretty big deal on the first post surgery trip to the carribean. I was blown away!
I agree the contacts have to be out for 2 weeks at least and no diving until I returned to the doctor and he said that I was fine--I think it was about 2-3 weeks. I chose not to go with the cheapest and absolutely believe it was the best money I've ever spent. I had mine done 3 years ago and still don't use reading glasses or anything and I work at a computer all day. My doctor also gave me eye exercises to keep my eyes strong and that seems to have been one of the secrets to keeping my sight so strong.
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I am also interested in getting my eyes done. I have noticed that my eye sight has changed alot in the past 1 1/2 years (seeing better in the distance, but now have to take my glasses off to read) . Should I wait till it stablizes or can I get it done at any point in time?
Had surgery in Nov of last year. Outstanding. Was near sighted and wore -4.50 contacts. Now, 20/20 and 20/15. As mentioned earlier by gedunk, reading glasses are needed for small print now but will probably required earlier than before surgery. The night vision for me is now better than with contacts. Late at night I got halo's with contacts. That is now gone.
Dove mid Dec. with no problems. Doctor wanted me out for three weeks and nothing deep for a month. After that no limits.
I had my contacts out for about 2 weeks.
If your going for 3 weeks and want to dive I would think your out of luck.
Ditto on the Doctor selection. I would not save a few bucks when your talking about your vision. I paid more for a very reputable doctor. Could have been done cheeper but $700 was not enough to lure me. Glad I made the choice. Good luck and you'll be glad you did.
Dove mid Dec. with no problems. Doctor wanted me out for three weeks and nothing deep for a month. After that no limits.
I had my contacts out for about 2 weeks.
If your going for 3 weeks and want to dive I would think your out of luck.
Ditto on the Doctor selection. I would not save a few bucks when your talking about your vision. I paid more for a very reputable doctor. Could have been done cheeper but $700 was not enough to lure me. Glad I made the choice. Good luck and you'll be glad you did.
gj62
Contributor
Had Lasik done in 2001. Here are my ongoing thoughts - 3 years later.
Vision is good, but not perfect - 20/20 in one eye, 20/30 in the other - which is a tremendous improvement over what I had. However, glasses used to give me perfect vision. I did not get my eyes redone, because the slight near-sightedness in my one eye will help delay my need for reading glasses.
I have glasses in my car for driving at night when I'm tired. I tend to get halos around lights, which is due to a remaining astigmatism. Not a big deal, but enough that I feel more comfortable with glasses.
I live in a very dry climate. My eyes are dry due to the lasik procedure (one of the possible side-effects). When I am in a humid climate, I see much better.
Overall, I would do the procedure again, even if the results were the same. It's so great not having to deal with glasses. I can't wear contacts in CO, they dry out and fall out of my eyes...
Vision is good, but not perfect - 20/20 in one eye, 20/30 in the other - which is a tremendous improvement over what I had. However, glasses used to give me perfect vision. I did not get my eyes redone, because the slight near-sightedness in my one eye will help delay my need for reading glasses.
I have glasses in my car for driving at night when I'm tired. I tend to get halos around lights, which is due to a remaining astigmatism. Not a big deal, but enough that I feel more comfortable with glasses.
I live in a very dry climate. My eyes are dry due to the lasik procedure (one of the possible side-effects). When I am in a humid climate, I see much better.
Overall, I would do the procedure again, even if the results were the same. It's so great not having to deal with glasses. I can't wear contacts in CO, they dry out and fall out of my eyes...
justleesa:
I would suggest that question be answered by a qualified Opthamologist.............JMO
All three doctors I spoke to said that no one should have procedure until their eyes have stabilized. If your eyes are still changing your NOT a good candidate at this time.
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