Thinking about Lasik

[Posture Guy]

MisterP...i know you were asking someone else, and someone who had PRK. For me, I had some advanced kind of Lasik (can't remember what it was called) that was supposed to better address night vision, halos, etc.. I have not had an problem with those issues. Night vision is fine.

I had the surgery in 2004. So now, 10 years later, I'm still good. My distance vision is fine. I'm looking out my window easily able to read the license plate numbers of cars maybe 40-50' away. At almost 53, I'm finding I need reading glasses more consistently when I'm reading printed material or material on my kindle, but still don't find the need for reading glasses when using the computer, reading email, writing this response, etc...

 

[MisterP]

MisterP...i know you were asking someone else, and someone who had PRK. For me, I had some advanced kind of Lasik (can't remember what it was called) that was supposed to better address night vision, halos, etc.. I have not had an problem with those issues. Night vision is fine.

I had the surgery in 2004. So now, 10 years later, I'm still good. My distance vision is fine. I'm looking out my window easily able to read the license plate numbers of cars maybe 40-50' away. At almost 53, I'm finding I need reading glasses more consistently when I'm reading printed material or material on my kindle, but still don't find the need for reading glasses when using the computer, reading email, writing this response, etc...

I actually had the initial LASIK screening about 10 years ago, and almost went through with it. But, decided against it because I was worried about the risk, albeit small, of having problems with the flap. Plus, I'd known a couple of people who had so-so results.

Since then, I've met other people like you who have had great results. So, I'm not really sure. I know that with LASIK there is a very short recovery time, as opposed to PRK which can last weeks. But, you don't have to worry about the flap coming dislodged if you get blasted in the face with a tennis ball!

 

[Chas Tennis]

................... But, you don't have to worry about the flap coming dislodged if you get blasted in the face with a tennis ball!

Do you have any references on this?

If it is an issue wear protective sports glasses.

 

[MisterP]

Do you have any references on this?

If it is an issue wear protective sports glasses.

It wouldn't need to be a direct hit to the actual eye. Just enough G-forces to cause it to dislocate, as in a car accident with air bag deployment.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2843572/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17124883

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMicm1204137

http://jms.ndmctsgh.edu.tw/fdarticlee/old/2303165.pdf

http://www.irjo.org/browse.php?a_code=A-10-11-90&slc_lang=en&sid=1&sw=Corticosteroids

I could go on.

 

[Posture Guy]

I've whacked my head on a few things since the Lasik surgery. Most notably my head crashing into my dog's head when we're playing and rough housing. Big dog, very hard head. No issues. Haven't had direct contact to the eye, but I'm not worried about that as a meaningful risk. I've been playing tennis for 40 years and never once been hit directly in the eye. I'll take my chances.

 

[jhhachamp]

Tom,

I'm curious to know if you have had any problems with halos, blurriness, glare, etc when playing tennis at night under bright lights. This is one of the primary concerns I have with getting eye surgery.

Thanks.

I had lasik surgery done about 3 years ago. For the first month after surgery, one of my eyes was very dry to the point where I could not see as well out of that eye. I was using the eye drops all the time and was pretty worried, but the issue went away after 1 month.

The other issue I have had and has not completely gone away is night vision and halos. These problems seem to be going away as well, but much more slowly. I think it also has to do with me getting used to the problems as well and I just don't really notice them as much anymore. I still see halos around car headlights sometimes when driving at night, and I have some difficulty seeing the tennis ball when playing on a court at night without very bright lights. Courts with good lights are no problem though.

Despite these problems, I am still glad that I had lasik surgery. I was also told that I was at a higher risk of having the halo problems due to having larger than average pupils but was still willing to do it.

I suppose there is always a very rare possibility that the flap could be reopened later by a trauma to the eye, but I think such occurrences are very rare. I have also had plenty of pokes in the eye and such and would have to say that my eye feels like it is 100% the strength it was before the surgery. You probably have a much greater chance of being killed in a car accident than you do of having your flap dislocate when the airbag deploys. A few extremely rare occurrences can't dictate your decision making. Heck, you could probably have a flap of your eye open up even without having had lasik surgery in extreme cases.

By the way, in Los Angeles, many of the best lasik surgeons actually charge the least money. I had consultations with many places charging as much as $6,000, but the best 2 that I found were in Koreatown. The places that charged more often had fancier offices, but often had much less experience doing lasik. I ended up paying $1,500 for a guy who has done 40,000+ lasik surgeries and is very well respected.

 

[red rook]

Nothing significant. Vision with contacts isn't perfect either (wasn't for me). At six months there were still diminishing halos, and at 1 year it was all but gone. Some very slight starbursts at night driving but none on the tennis courts. I have better vision after prk than before with contacts. Still have a little dry eye but not a big deal for me. The main thing is the being patient as your eyes heal, requires great patience and more than a sprinkle of optimism. Vision kept improving even after a year had gone by. I'm now at approximately 1.5 years and glad I did it. Tough to take the plunge though.

 

[Raul_SJ]

I have heard that if one is near-sighted but can read without glasses, he would then require glasses for reading after Lasik. True?

Don't think the trade-off would be worth it...

 

[jhhachamp]

I have heard that if one is near-sighted but can read without glasses, he would then require glasses for reading after Lasik. True?

Don't think the trade-off would be worth it...

I don't think so. As far as I know Lasik has no effect on the need for reading glasses. It cannot fix the problem and it cannot cause the problem (unless the surgeon makes a major error during surgery). The need for reading glasses comes later in life weather or not you have had lasik/have good distance vision. I had lasik and do not require reading glasses.

 

[Chas Tennis]

I don't think so. As far as I know Lasik has no effect on the need for reading glasses. It cannot fix the problem and it cannot cause the problem (unless the surgeon makes a major error during surgery). The need for reading glasses comes later in life weather or not you have had lasik/have good distance vision. I had lasik and do not require reading glasses.

To focus at both infinity and at reading distance, 16", a single eye must 'accommodate', a way of focusing that changes the shape of the eye's internal lens. To accommodate, your internal lens has to change shape to provide extra diopters over its infinity focus diopters. Between 40-50 years of age the eye lens almost always gradually stiffen. The muscles that pull on it can no longer change its shape enough to get the required diopters to focus for reading at 16". Then reading glasses are required.

Light enters the eye through the cornea and then passes through the eye's internal lens above. The cornea is also a lens but it does not change shape. Lasik corrects the cornea's outerside surface and does not work on the eye's internal lens.

I know someone who had Lasik on one eye to correct for reading distance to about 16". He had the other eye corrected for infinity. No glasses for reading or distance.

The brain learns to work much more with one eye or the other whichever has best focus. Research disadvantages...?. He has been very pleased. His tennis has been fine and he has a very strong forehand.

After about 15-20 years of being pleased with his Lasik my friend is having an eye problem where he is seeing double. It is being corrected with glasses that have wedges or prisms.

Cataracts involve the eye's internal lens. For cataract surgery the eye lens is removed and replaced by an artificial lens. Similar reading correction options can be done when cataracts are removed and replaced by various lens options. Research options including Crystal Lens which allows some focusing, even adequate to read.

If you have cataracts learn about options.

Google Images search: loss accommodation age
https://www.google.com/search?site=...0.0....0...1ac.1.37.img..12.9.593.ZvyzgIRy9fw

 

[Posture Guy]

all I can tell you is my experience. I was profoundly near sighted, to the point where if I didn't put my glasses in their set spot when I went to bed, I would struggle to find them. And my vision was so poor that I needed to keep my glasses on when I read.

After Lasik (in 2004 at the age of 43) I no longer needed regular glasses, and I could read just fine. Now at almost 53, I need reading glasses for some material. I'm more comfortable using reading glasses with my Kindle or a book, but I'm not using reading glasses now while I type this, or when I read emails and web pages.

Hope that helps.

 

[Ryebread]

I’m 46
-2.25 in L eye
-1.75 in R eye - this one has astigmatism

money isn’t a concern.
but I’m scared!
I very much want to toss all of my contacts and Rx glasses and just be 20/20 and get to choose ANY sunglasses.
that sounds so goooood.

anyone have astigmatism and had lasik?

 

[HouTex]

I had/have astigmatism but it is not severe. Lasik was no problem. One of the best things I ever did for myself. It’s been about 15 years now and I’m still 20/20. Get a good doctor and you should not have any issues.

 

[Turbo-87]

I'm still 20/20 after 10 years. I still have severe dry eye to this day, which was caused by Lasik. I was a perfect candidate from my pre-surgery qualifying tests, but I knew it was a risk going in so I live with it. I like being able to see.

 

[Ryebread]

I'm still 20/20 after 10 years. I still have severe dry eye to this day, which was caused by Lasik. I was a perfect candidate from my pre-surgery qualifying tests, but I knew it was a risk going in so I live with it. I like being able to see.

Is that a risk for everyone?
Sorry you have to deal with that. What does that mean for you? Drops constantly?

 

[zipplock]

Best thing I ever did. Have 20/15 a decade later. Was like being reborn!!!!

 

[Turbo-87]

Is that a risk for everyone?
Sorry you have to deal with that. What does that mean for you? Drops constantly?

It was communicated to me as a risk, but not because of any of my pre-procedure testing. I had never had dry eye even in allergy season, but I was one of the ones that ended up with it post-surgery. I am glad I got it done despite the unfortunate outcome. It was really the whole reason I started playing tennis.

I do use drops quite a bit but it is mainly in the morning. I have been trying an oral supplement called HydroEyes that seems to be working after a month.

 

[mad dog1]

I’m 46
-2.25 in L eye
-1.75 in R eye - this one has astigmatism

money isn’t a concern.
but I’m scared!
I very much want to toss all of my contacts and Rx glasses and just be 20/20 and get to choose ANY sunglasses.
that sounds so goooood.

anyone have astigmatism and had lasik?

Got lasik about 4 years ago. Wish I had done it earlier. I have astigmatism in my left eye. I do have to use eye drops regularly due to some dryness but the dryness is improving over time. As others have mentioned already, get a reputable doc. Don’t shop based on price.

 

[tennytive]

Curious if any of you that have had the procedure by now several years later have experienced "floaters" or does lasik prevent those from happening?
At a certain age they appear and you can learn to ignore them to some degree, but if lasik did away with those it would be an added benefit.

 

[FlamingCheeto]

I've been thinking about lasik for 20 years now, and still too afraid to get it. Many of my friends said it's the best thing they've ever done, but others talk about constant DRY eyes, bad night vision and now having to have MORE surgeries into their 40s and 50s.

 

[mad dog1]

Curious if any of you that have had the procedure by now several years later have experienced "floaters" or does lasik prevent those from happening?
At a certain age they appear and you can learn to ignore them to some degree, but if lasik did away with those it would be an added benefit.

I have not experienced “floaters” or “starbursts”

 

[mad dog1]

I've been thinking about lasik for 20 years now, and still too afraid to get it. Many of my friends said it's the best thing they've ever done, but others talk about constant DRY eyes, bad night vision and now having to have MORE surgeries into their 40s and 50s.

I don’t see any difference in my night vision. I did experience dry eyes for the first 2 years and this condition has improved over time. I was applying eye drops 4-5 times a day a few months after the procedure. Now 4 years later, I’m applying eye drops 1-2 times a day at most.

 

[Turbo-87]

I've been thinking about lasik for 20 years now, and still too afraid to get it. Many of my friends said it's the best thing they've ever done, but others talk about constant DRY eyes, bad night vision and now having to have MORE surgeries into their 40s and 50s.

My night vision has gotten better. I only had halos for a few weeks after surgery and then things normalized. Night clarity is so much better for me. I used to have to wear glasses to play baseball, but only at night. I can still remember what a feeling it was tracking a fly ball playing left field at night for the first time without glasses on. Some people say that LASIK later in life can accelerate the need for reading glasses. My doctor said it is a myth, but I can't remember why. He is a very respected MD in the LASIK arena, so I bought into what he was saying. The dry eyes situation does suck, I'll admit that.

 

[FlamingCheeto]

My night vision has gotten better. I only had halos for a few weeks after surgery and then things normalized. Night clarity is so much better for me. I used to have to wear glasses to play baseball, but only at night. I can still remember what a feeling it was tracking a fly ball playing left field at night for the first time without glasses on. Some people say that LASIK later in life can accelerate the need for reading glasses. My doctor said it is a myth, but I can't remember why. He is a very respected MD in the LASIK arena, so I bought into what he was saying. The dry eyes situation does suck, I'll admit that.

who was your doctor and what was your vision before? Mine is super bad w astigmatism -4.75 -5.00 ish

 

[initialize]

I'm about 4 weeks post-LASIK myself. Left eye is just a tad blurry when looking at distant objects, but overall it's a massive improvement from what it was before. Seeing the tennis ball and driving at night is much easier now (had to wear glasses at night before). Very glad I had it done

 

[ByeByePoly]

Had Lasik twice (90s) ... once in Windsor Canada a few years before it was legal in US, and then a 2nd one in US after a couple of years later because I had ended up around 20/40 after first one. 2nd Lasik got me to 20/20 and corrected astigmatism. I was 10.5 diopters in both eyes (20/1000+) before the first one ... and some astigmatism. I was told a couple of years ago by one Lasik surgery office that they no longer do Lasik for that much myopia ... instead opt for lens insert. My cornea thickness checked out fine at the time ... cornea has to be thick enough to accomodate the amount of layer they need to remove with laser. Both surgeries done with Microkeratome blade to cut flap. Found out many years later they quit cutting new flap on 2nd Lasiks ... and pried up the flap instead.

I had zero pain or issues (dry eyes, halos, etc) with either procedure. I had worn hard contacts (pre-gas permeable) for 20ish years starting at age 15 ... first Lasik mid 30s. I have used Systane Ultra twice a day for decades because eye doc says I have minor dry eye ... but I would not have known without them checking.

I had 20/20 vision for around 25 years ... pretty amazing considering how nearsighted I was. Yes ... way cool waking up and reading clock on other side of room. Actually ... when the surgeon placed the flap back down on first eye I immediately saw the ceiling pretty clearly ... never forget that moment.

20/20 faded a couple of years ago ... just got a new prescription (-1.50ish myopia and astigmatism in both eyes). The bigger issue is some moderate irregular astigmatism caused by Lasik that can't be corrected with soft contacts, or even standard hard contacts. Glasses until new prescription corrected both eyes to 20/20 ... but now left just corrects to 20/30. I can get best correction now with a $1500 scleral lense (larger hard contact that sits on white part of eye) ... and would have for tennis if I was still playing a lot (particularly if I was playing indoor tennis).

Yeah ... wish the 20/20 lasted forever ... but 25 years of 20/20 without contacts or glasses was one of the best gifts I ever gave myself. No regrets. Also ... my hand was forced ... had developed scarring/callous on white part of eye from all those years wearing hard contacts (particularly outdoor windy tennis), so my contact wearing days were about to end.

Regarding reading glasses ... I was still seeing 20/20 and no need for reading glasses until 57-58ish. I now just order progressive lenses ... but I can still read pretty good without any glasses at 63.

btw ... do have some floaters, showed up 3-4 years ago and have not gone away. They do move around faster now ... the gel in our eyes becomes more liquid when we age.

 

[Rubens]

Don't do it. You'll pee like crazy.

Edit: I thought OP said Lasix. Nevermind.

 

[puppybutts]

I've been thinking about lasik for 20 years now, and still too afraid to get it. Many of my friends said it's the best thing they've ever done, but others talk about constant DRY eyes, bad night vision and now having to have MORE surgeries into their 40s and 50s.

just to add another anecdote, my coworker got lasik. said she didn't regret it but did get dry eyes and had to get her tear ducts plugged to help with it. my vision has been relatively stable but still changes slightly year to year so lasik doesn't seem worth it to me at the moment

 

[Turbo-87]

just to add another anecdote, my coworker got lasik. said she didn't regret it but did get dry eyes and had to get her tear ducts plugged to help with it. my vision has been relatively stable but still changes slightly year to year so lasik doesn't seem worth it to me at the moment

I'm actually thinking about the plugs myself. I'm at the point that I just can't stand it anymore ... after 10 years. With allergy season AND dry eyes, I look stoned most of the time. I think if I got pulled over, they would do a sobriety test on me and I don't drink.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I'm actually thinking about the plugs myself. I'm at the point that I just can't stand it anymore ... after 10 years. With allergy season AND dry eyes, I look stoned most of the time. I think if I got pulled over, they would do a sobriety test on me and I don't drink.

That’s what I looked like all the time at work on software contracts at the end of my hard contact wearing years.

 

[Demented]

I didn't want to get Lasik either so I eventually went with Ortho-K. They make you some custom hard contacts that mold your corneas over night back into the correct shape. It costs about 2 grand but supposedly will continue to function at a high level all the way into your 50's. I put them in when I'm ready to go to sleep and take them out when I wake up. 20/15 or better vision. Depending on the severity of your prescription, you can skip days completely. I currently do 2 days on and 1 day off and have been continuously using them for about 5 years now.

 

[blakesq]

I have been wearing contacts for about that long too. Except for the first couple of years I had them, I have always only worn them for tennis. My first job after college was working in chemical and power plants where contacts were not allowed (supposedly dangerous gases could get between your eyeball and contacts and cause damage), so I got out of the habit of wearing contacts often. Luckily I have not developed an allergy--maybe because I wear them for only 2 to 2 1/2 hours for 2 days a week.

I may need Lasik.

After 35 years of wearing contact lenses, I have developed an allergy to my contact lenses. Now I can only wear them a few hours here and there. I use them to play tennis and that is it.

My ophthalmologist has been working on this by prescribing antihistamines and periods of rest. He is also going to try me in daily lenses.

If that doesn't work, then LASIK is my only hope. I am not enthusiastic about this idea because of the risk and cost, and also because it would probably cost me what is left of my ability to read without glasses.

Poor pitiful me. . . .

 

[Power Player]

How does Lasik help with night vision? Or does it? I struggle with that sometimes in matches and am trying to figure out the best solution.

I currently wear soft contacts that adjust for near and far sightedness, which can be tricky at times on the court as well.

 

[Turbo-87]

I just visited my eye doctor to talk about dry eyes. I still tested at 20/20, thankfully. She said that we are going to try Xiidra first and if that doesn't work, she has a steroid drop that is the next step. She told me that tear duct plugs used to be the "go to" but now is seen as a last resort. As far as night vision goes, I think mine got better after getting Lasik years ago, but that might also be because my eyes were so bad anyway that anything would seem like an improvement, night or day. I see just fine at night, even in the rain with glaring headlights. I actually prefer playing outdoor tennis at night under nice LED lights. I think my eyes are a bit more photo-sensitive now, meaning I like my sunglasses.

 

[18x20 ftw]

I had PRK in 2012. One of the best things I ever did. Scary going into it and also a longish healing time but so worth it now. I was -5.5 and -6.0 with astigmatism, so was using the contacts with the little weights. When looking up/down etc they would get all off-center. Very minor dry eye and night vision issues. Was I think $4000.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I had PRK in 2012. One of the best things I ever did. Scary going into it and also a longish healing time but so worth it now. I was -5.5 and -6.0 with astigmatism, so was using the contacts with the little weights. When looking up/down etc they would get all off-center. Very minor dry eye and night vision issues. Was I think $4000.

Great to hear about your good results. Did your doc/surgeon talk much about PRK vs LASIK? The reason I ask is when LASIK showed up 30+ years ago it was considered superior to PRK ... flap instead of spoked cuts. But I haven’t kept up and technology and opinions change over time.

 

[18x20 ftw]

@ByeByePoly At the time I wanted PRK because of my job in law enforcement and a possible dust-up with someone. Not sure of its superiority or inferiority to LASIK but I liked the fact that supposedly after a period of time an eye doctor would not be able to tell if you had eye surgery, and there was no flap to be possibly injured. With LASIK though you get to wake up the next morning with much less trauma to the eye, and folks like Lebron have had LASIK who routinely come into rough contact with other competitors without incident. The main downside to PRK is the pain and recovery time.

 

[ByeByePoly]

@ByeByePoly At the time I wanted PRK because of my job in law enforcement and a possible dust-up with someone. Not sure of its superiority or inferiority to LASIK but I liked the fact that supposedly after a period of time an eye doctor would not be able to tell if you had eye surgery, and there was no flap to be possibly injured. With LASIK though you get to wake up the next morning with much less trauma to the eye, and folks like Lebron have had LASIK who routinely come into rough contact with other competitors without incident. The main downside to PRK is the pain and recovery time.

Law enforcement ... guess I better keep my secrets.

Yes ... the lifetime flap “feature”.

I think I posted above ... I had a 2nd LASIK because ended up 20/30-40ish after 1st, and wanted the 20/20. It did raise the blood pressure deciding between having flap pried back open or recut. Just the fact you can pry the flap open gives one pause. Went with recut ... microkeratome blade slightly thicker than 1st. Yeah ... I was more worried about 2nd surgery flap cut than the 1st. I heard later everyone changed to only prying up flap for 2nd LASIK.

This made me Google ... from brief search looks like re-lifting flap can be done years after LASIK but if a decade+ later ... PRK can often be done for enhancement. I had not heard/read that before

 

[FIRETennis]

I didn't want to get Lasik either so I eventually went with Ortho-K. They make you some custom hard contacts that mold your corneas over night back into the correct shape. It costs about 2 grand but supposedly will continue to function at a high level all the way into your 50's. I put them in when I'm ready to go to sleep and take them out when I wake up. 20/15 or better vision. Depending on the severity of your prescription, you can skip days completely. I currently do 2 days on and 1 day off and have been continuously using them for about 5 years now.

Any reason why they do not work as good over 50?
Do they help age-related presbyopia (aging eye seeing close print), genetic myopia (short sightedness) and astigmatism?

 

[Demented]

They only fix myopia and astigmatism. The reason I said late 50s is just because you will need glasses for reading by that point. They can fix up to -6 myopia and -2.5 astigmatism. They also stabilize your decline. They were originally designed to stop kids myopia from progressing. My results were particularly impressive. If I wear them every day with no breaks, I end up with 20/10 and slightly overcorrected to + .25.

 

[Nostradamus]

is there a age limit on getting lasik ?

 

[FIRETennis]

They only fix myopia and astigmatism. The reason I said late 50s is just because you will need glasses for reading by that point. They can fix up to -6 myopia and -2.5 astigmatism. They also stabilize your decline. They were originally designed to stop kids myopia from progressing. My results were particularly impressive. If I wear them every day with no breaks, I end up with 20/10 and slightly overcorrected to + .25.

Impressive.

 

[Turbo-87]

@ByeByePoly At the time I wanted PRK because of my job in law enforcement and a possible dust-up with someone. Not sure of its superiority or inferiority to LASIK but I liked the fact that supposedly after a period of time an eye doctor would not be able to tell if you had eye surgery, and there was no flap to be possibly injured. With LASIK though you get to wake up the next morning with much less trauma to the eye, and folks like Lebron have had LASIK who routinely come into rough contact with other competitors without incident. The main downside to PRK is the pain and recovery time.

One other complication you can experience with LASIK is scar tissue where the cuts are made in the cornea. I had to have two flap lifts to clean out scar tissue. On the second one, he put a stitch in the cornea so it would heal correctly. The stitch wasn't a fun experience since your eye is clamped open and you watch the gear coming right at you ... as you are thinking "how in the heck do you stitch a cornea?" This is very rare, so don't let it scare you. Luckily, that took care of the healing process and it was covered as part of the surgery followup, i.e. no additional charges. Once it healed correctly, no further issues with that part. Dry eyes are still killing me, but I have only been in Xiidra for two weeks.

 

[ByeByePoly]

One other complication you can experience with LASIK is scar tissue where the cuts are made in the cornea. I had to have two flap lifts to clean out scar tissue. On the second one, he put a stitch in the cornea so it would heal correctly. The stitch wasn't a fun experience since your eye is clamped open and you watch the gear coming right at you. Luckily, that took care of the healing process and it was covered as part of the surgery followup, i.e. no additional charges. Once it healed correctly, no further issues with that part. Dry eyes are still killing me, but I have only been in Xiidra for two weeks.

That was bad luck ... I was lucky with both Lasik surgies with quick healing and no complications. You read where on rare occasions there is improper flap cuts ... flap cut completely off and cuts they call button hole cuts where it is too thin in the center. Both my surgeries were with the blade (microkeratome) ... early years of LASIK pre-laser flap cutting. This thread me read about blade vs laser ... I had assumed the laser is now always superior. At least based on information I read ... not 100% laser like I assumed. The blade cutting exposes your eye to the suction device/pressure for only a few seconds, the laser 20-30 seconds.

I got 20+ years of 20/20 vision from batsh.!.t blind/nearsighted from LASIK ... I consider it a huge life improvement win. Now I am at the frustrating post 20/20 ... with moderate myopia and astigmatism showing up. No big deal ... always figured I might end up wearing soft contacts. It's irregular astigmatism part that is the problem ... soft contacts ... even toric can't correct it. Back to glasses ... which luckily is giving me good corrected vision, but now my sharpest vision can only come from scleral contacts ( larger gas permeable lenses that vault the cornea and sit on white part of eye). My eye doc specializes in them ... and says I would see my best with them ... supposedly as comfortable as soft contacts. If I was still playing a lot of tennis (particularly indoor), I would have already tried them ... but $1500+ not worth it at this point.

 

[Turbo-87]

I am just happy to still have 20/20 after a decade. I will be very frustrated if I can't resolve dry eye AND have to go back to glasses someday. I guess even if that happened, I can't be too upset since having LASIK got me into tennis in the first place and improved quality of life. It's good to hear other stories @ByeByePoly.

 

[ByeByePoly]

I am just happy to still have 20/20 after a decade. I will be very frustrated if I can't resolve dry eye AND have to go back to glasses someday. I guess even if that happened, I can't be too upset since having LASIK got me into tennis in the first place and improved quality of life. It's good to hear other stories @ByeByePoly.

LASIK got you into tennis? That's cool ... does anyone say cool anymore? My tennis and hard contacts started about the same time ... age 15. This was the pre-gas permeable hard contacts. I never really thought about it ... but my high school tennis and singles tournaments in my 20s probably never would have happened with my -11.5 glasses. Hard contacts + tournaments + windy state took a toll on my eyes. LASIK at 34 came just in time.

Did you have dry eye issues before LASIK? According to my eye doc ... I have moderate dry eye. I would not have known ... but after almost 20 years of hard plastic in my eyes ... it takes a lot for me to even notice eye discomfort. Systane Ultra twice a day seems to suffice. fyi ... if it ever comes to correction later ... the Scleral lenses supposedly work great with dry eye. The lense vaults the cornea (doesn't touch it) ... with liquid solution between lense and cornea. The lense basically just replaces your cornea surface for vision.

 

[Turbo-87]

LASIK got you into tennis? That's cool ... does anyone say cool anymore? My tennis and hard contacts started about the same time ... age 15. This was the pre-gas permeable hard contacts. I never really thought about it ... but my high school tennis and singles tournaments in my 20s probably never would have happened with my -11.5 glasses. Hard contacts + tournaments + windy state took a toll on my eyes. LASIK at 34 came just in time.

Did you have dry eye issues before LASIK? According to my eye doc ... I have moderate dry eye. I would not have known ... but after almost 20 years of hard plastic in my eyes ... it takes a lot for me to even notice eye discomfort. Systane Ultra twice a day seems to suffice. fyi ... if it ever comes to correction later ... the Scleral lenses supposedly work great with dry eye. The lense vaults the cornea (doesn't touch it) ... with liquid solution between lense and cornea. The lense basically just replaces your cornea surface for vision.

It sure did. I somehow was a great baseball player without spectacles, but it eventually got to a point where I really needed them, especially playing at night. When looking for new sports later in life, I decided that tennis would be it but I couldn't bring myself to wear glasses while playing. I only wore glasses if I absolutely had to ... not a great idea but I was stubborn. I got LASIK and then started playing tennis immediately. The only reason I really did it was because it was a work benefit since the owner of the IT company I worked for was an eye surgeon. (he had many business interests) I had no symptoms of dry eye at all and passed all qualifying criteria for surgery. Oh well. Thanks for the info on Sclerel. I hope 20/20 stays around a few more years.

 

[Turbo-87]

Just an update on my dry eye from LASIK. I have been on Xiidra eye drops for three weeks and it has definitely changed things for me. My dry eye has gotten significantly better and that has been a godsend. I still suffer a bit if I have been out boating or jet skiing, but not as bad. Before, they would be so dry afterwards that if my eyes did actually tear up at all they would sting incessantly.

 

[ByeByePoly]

Just an update on my dry eye from LASIK. I have been on Xiidra eye drops for three weeks and it has definitely changed things for me. My dry eye has gotten significantly better and that has been a godsend. I still suffer a bit if I have been out boating or jet skiing, but not as bad. Before, they would be so dry afterwards that if my eyes did actually tear up at all they would sting incessantly.

Boating and jet skiing ... there's your problem ... you have a life. Good to hear Xiidra works that good. Whoa ... that is expensive.

 

[Turbo-87]

Boating and jet skiing ... there's your problem ... you have a life. Good to hear Xiidra works that good. Whoa ... that is expensive.

I have pretty good insurance, so the copay isn't that much. I don't mind paying for it if it improves my quality of life. I know dry eye isn't a major health issue as far as QOL is concerned, but it is definitely an annoyance I can do without.