Post LASIK- How long to get perfect clarity?

[gavp333]

I had bi lateral laser surgery on the 8th of October and am nearly 20/20 vision, but I have halos and star bursts around lights at night and this is making driving diffacult, the surgeon has told me that these will go in time, can any one tell me if this is the case? as it is now the 4th November and nothing has changed.

Thanks Chris

 

[Gombessa]

Hi Chris,

I don't know what "bilateral laser" surgery is, but typically for lasik, what you see after a couple of days is 90% of final. It takes up to a month for the cornea to totally heal, but people typically do not experience drastic changes or improvements after the first few days. This is what several lasik surgeons have told me and it's very consistent with what I experienced.

 

[Jax]

Had mine done Dec 2002, my eyes still get tired later in the day and the vision gets a little blurry. I was seeing 20/15 the next day, still get some halo's when my eyes are tired. Also, one eye is 20/20 and the other is 20/15 and at times i question the difference between the two, I MAY have the other touched up. Freedom from glasses and contacts just for the last 4 years have been worth it. I have problems reading REAL SMALL print though.
Congrats, Jimbo

Ditto.

Figure 6 months, dude, to full healing. It'll stablize, but still have halos and stuff later on. Do continue to be religious on the drops .. . . even if you do not need them. #1 problem is cornea drying and wrinkling. My vision changed in and out up to six weeks after, and still I get fuzzy when tired.

I went from a -8.5 to plano (perfect) & -1.0, but I also have 'ghosts'. Night driving is not so much fun when you get older.

 

[LVX]

I had mine down a couple of years ago. I had haloing for a few days and each day it got a little better. After about 1 month, everything was fine and the same as it is today. The best decision I have ever made...

 

[Padipro]

I had the halos for several months after the surgery. I worked nights at the time so talk about a PITA to drive and then work with the halos. They should eventually disappear but it's going to take a while. If you have no other complications from the surgery everything should be just fine and a few more weeks to months.

 

[Bobbin-along]

Type A personality isn't your problem. it's you thinking that you are like everyone else!

LASIK is a pretty safe procedure, but it still is surgery and it is traumatic to some very sensitive tissues. There is so much that is a factor on when your vision will heal up that you can't know until you go through it.

1. All LASIK begins with suction of your eye to stabilize it to make the flap. That suction is the part that causes the bruising of the tissue. That bruising is a major contributor to filmy/veiled vision, halos, etc. during the healing process. For some people the suction amount used is small enough, and their usual bruising level is such that the eye recovers fairly quick, but NOBODY has perfect halo-free, film free vision 24 hours after the event. Most people recall how much better they see, but the excitement of the event overshadows any residual bruising. The red eyes is about your bruising, more than likely. Relax. Quit freaking out and give your eyes a rest.

2. Age, healing ability, general health, and how quickly you start using your "vision" after the surgery also have something to do with your post-operative healing. Some studies suggest that the surgery is not traumatic enough to warrant keeping the eyes closed the first 24 hours after the operation. Others reports have found that greater ablation, age, and slow healing ability can be dramatically mitigated if you allow the patient 18-24 hours of quiet rest with the eyes closed and left to heal.

I had LASIK done 5 years ago I did keep my eyes closed the first day, and freaked out that next day that my vision was still awful. 2 weeks later, I was doing better, and a month later I was 20/15, 20/20 but still had the swelling. and it took 3 months for my veiling/filmy vision to completely clear, and I had halos for awhile but those went away as well.

Be patient with your body, you put your eyes through a big deal and now they need to heal. Obviously burning, itching, pain, and excessive or no tearing are issues to be addressed right away. Also the drops you use also can increase the sensation of filming and halos as they not only put a medicated film on the eyes, but they also can affect intra-occular pressure and swelling.

 

[gavp333]

Is there a surgical correction for the halo problem with the Visix laser? Or will fixing the dry eye problem help? I notice the problem is at its worst when I'm driving home at 2 am from work after staring at my computer screen or somebody's gaping open laceration for a few hours.

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post.My concern about these side effects is because I drive a large heavy goods vehicle for a living, so as you can see pardon the pun good vision is very important. Because I live in England we may have different names for the types of lasik, the laser surgery I undertook was where they Manuel y cut a flap. I had high astigmatism and my prescription was Right eye -3 left -4 I have just had another check up 1 month later and thing seem to be settling down a little bit.The surgeon again assured me that the advances in laser technology and the laser they use is second to none and the halo's and star busts will go , but because of my high prescription I must give it time. I have my next check up in two months so will keep you posted.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

Chris England

 

[AkiD]

Hi,
Posting to 6 years old thread.

May I get valuable comments from all those who had halos problem at the time they written their problem in this thread.
There is someone who is still suffering the halos and starburst after 4 weeks of his surgery.

Cheers

 

[mattia_v]

Should be worth noting we're at least 2 or maybe 3 generations 'further along' where refractory surgery is concerned; femtosecond, SMILE, and so on. The type of after effects will differ depending on technique, and your ophthalmologist should be able to inform you fully about currently known risks.

 

[divesergeant]

AkiD,

I'm about 20 years post-lasik in my right eye and 30+ years post-RK in both.

Halos and stars around lights at night are my norm, as is seeing ghost images from the scar tissue on my corneas. Sclerals lenses seem to be promising to alleviate this and I am getting fitted currently.

Bear in mind, as Mattie said, you are several generations past my surgery method.

Many others I know have taken several months for their eyes to settle down and then have little or no problems. Many others have favorable results, as I did, but have to adjust to the halos and star bursts. You get used to it after a while and it is tolerable until it gets too progressed.

Tell your person to be patient and to do all the follow up appointments as recommended. The doctor's office is the best place to get reassured that all will be well.