Well now I’m morbidly curious
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Prayers to St. Lucy.
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I have looked in to it a lot too. There is one risk that I don’t see discussed much… the flap can come loose. This is certainly rare but it’s a big problem if it happens. Participating in rough sports and that sort of thing increases the risk. People who get hit in the face a lot may be better off with PRK, which reshapes the outside of the cornea. (Oh, now I see @cdw has mentioned that.)
I am Of A Certain Age and need bifocals which I am stubbornly delaying… But I thought our need for bi/trifocals was due to the lens stiffening and focus muscles weakening with age. Getting zapped is like getting a permanent set of single-focus glasses, isn’t it? How can it let you focus at all distances if you can’t with single-vision glasses?
There is mono-vision and stereo-vision procedures. Mono-vision means one eye is optimized for distance and the other for up close. Stereo means both optimized for the same focus.
I did stereo to keep my peripheral vision consistent. I just did not like how people who had the mono-vision responded to their surroundings and as I talked with them, their eyes did not focus on me like those who have not had the procedure.
Reading glasses are needed for things closer than arms length and beyond 4 feet I see everything clearly. That 12 to 15 inch space just has me lean in or out to see things.
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That makes sense, thanks!
And then there is me, having the ‘old lady’ version of this procedure. When time to have cataract surgery, my husband and I were give the option to have Toric lenses used for the replacement of the normally generic lenses, which are free to Medicare folks. Torics came at a cost of $2,400 per patient, but would give you good distance vision and leave you with poor close up and needing reading glasses. We both chose the Torics. It was wonderful to be able to see distance again, though like some have commented, my eyes are now more sensitive to bright light and oncoming headlights at night. That happens with just regular cataract surgery, though. My vision was so poor in my left eye, that even after the surgery, being able to read and work on the computer became a huge hassle…even with one of the many pairs of cheap reading glasses I now have. I finally broke down and ordered an inexpensive pair of progressive lens glasses that now make both my close up and distance vision even better. I don’t need to wear them for driving, though. After all that is said and done, the surgery itself was amazingly simple and easy…so, millersw.628…that’s my long-winded 2¢ worth! Best of luck to you!
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Even though ophthalmology is not my specialty, I can tell you that is always good advice, even without having LASIK…
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Are your eyes Proofgrade? I guess they will be when you’re done! Good luck!
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Now that made me laugh.
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[quote=“PFI-Guy, post:44, topic:6358, full:true”]
There is mono-vision and stereo-vision procedures. Mono-vision means one eye is optimized for distance and the other for up close. Stereo means both optimized for the same focus.
I did stereo to keep my peripheral vision consistent. I just did not like how people who had the mono-vision responded to their surroundings and as I talked with them, their eyes did not focus on me like those who have not had the procedure.[/quote]
Interesting, I frequently wear a single contact lens and nobody has ever mentioned that.
I switch eyes with each new lens to let them reset between contact changes. Although I’ve been wearing glasses lately since I don’t like the latest batch of contacts. Next round I’ll be going back to the Acuview 2 lenses.
I had LASIK done in 2001. In fact I was home recuperating the next day when my wife called from work to tell me to turn on the TV. 9/11/2001. We both had cataract surgery three years ago.
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I should also mention that I had Custom Lasik since I had astigmatism in one eye.
Here are the differences as far as I understand them to be:
Regular Lasik - cut a flap, cut a curve, it should all work out ok
Custom Lasik - pre-surgery check makes a map of your eye with all the ridges and valleys (the fingerprint of your lens). At Surgery, cut a flap, cut a custom curve on your lens taking into account all the ridges and valleys that were previously mapped.
PRK - Grind the lens into a predetermined curve, OW until healed.
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It messes with you depth perception…one of my eyes is very slow to focus at distance …my brain has adjusted for it, but if I put glasses on, everything looks more 3D, but I’m so used to no glasses that my depth perception with glasses just messes me up too much. The effect is similar to when the better graphics cards came out in the 90s (loved 3dfx voodoo 2s). Every once in a while I put my glasses on and it’s like uhhhh 3D how cool 
I had it done a few years ago, it’s amazing! sucks for a few days, but worth it for years of no glasses (until I get old enough for reading glasses).
16 years of contacts, then nothing. pretty frickin’ cool.
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That’s not like “Cow pies” is it? 
You’ll be fine!
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There are two definitions of cow pies where I’m from. It’s like neither.
I had Lasik done before it was approved in the U.S. (It was approved in just about every other country though). Had appointment with the doc in U.S., then flew on chartered flight to Bahamas with the doc to have the surgery done there. I don’t remember the exact year, but it was in the early 90’s.
24 hours after the surgery I was 20/05 in one eye and 20/10 in the other. Before the surgery, my eyes were so bad, I had to wear really thick glasses or hard contacts.
Just last year (20+ years later) I thought things were starting to look fuzzy and would need glasses again. I went to the doc and my vision had changed. It was now 20/15 and 20/20.
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)Yes. I have a driver who can see, so no one has to worry about staying off the roads 
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