Thinking About Laser Surgery!

[Stu W]

Leicabug, I am at the point where I have to take my glasses off to see things close up. That's a relatively recent development-last 2 years or so. I think that I'd rather wear reading glasses than have to wear glasses for driving and such. Boy, I don't feel so bad after hearing some of the other members scripts! Messing with your eyes is a bit scary though. A family friend had Lasik and he has had several procedures since to get his eyes somewhat back to what they were before! Still think I'm going to give it a go.

 

[suckerpunch]

i had my eyes lasered to perfection..(actually, better than perfect) 5 years ago and it was the best thing i've ever done. i think the procedure itself was less than 5 minutes, and painless. plus at $300-$400 a pair every other year..it just made economic sense... i have to admit..i do miss shopping for glasses..especially now that they're so many hip styles.

asides the freedom from glasses, being able to wake up and SEE clearly, is one thing that makes me smile every day. no regrets, and if you go through with the procedure, i'm sure you'll feel the same.

 

[Xmas]

Stu

If you are old like me and have similar correction one can read ok by sliding the specs down your nose a little, the power of separated compound lenses is dependent upon separation. My optician keeps wanting to throw in a dog with the specs.

I'd only consider the laser treatement for the width of vision (angle of view) and if I could not wear contacts. Good luck if you go for it.

Noel

 

[RObert Budding]

I was really fortunate during my younger years - my bad eye was 20/15. But now I'm older and I need reading glasses. I can compose without them, but I have to pop them on to see the camera controls.

 

[kevin m]

...being able to wake up and SEE clearly, is one thing that makes me smile every day.

Funny, I feel the same way about taking my glasses off at the end of the day and having the world go slightly soft and blurry on me. 😀

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I am a chicken

Funny, I always pictured you as a cat 😉

 

[srtiwari]

I have Astigmatism, and struggled with the same decision, and have dragged my feet out of hesitation. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the right 'fit' with contacts. I am now told that "Oasys" lenses (and other improvements over the last few years) may be the answer. Has anyone else done this ?

 

[Trius]

Funny, I feel the same way about taking my glasses off at the end of the day and having the world go slightly soft and blurry on me. 😀

Aaah ... non-photographic bokeh!

 

[Keith]

I have been wearing soft contacts for 20+ years now and I am one of the lucky sods who never has any trouble with them .... I now wear the disposable type! My lenses correct my near sightedness but due to the natural aging process I have now become far sighted as well and for close work have to wear glasses as well as the contacts. I find that looking through the camera viewer is no problem but reading aperture scales or shutter speeds is a pain in the arse ... I have to put my readers on to adjust settings then remove them to take the photo. My optician told me that if I wanted to I could have one lens in one eye for close work and one in the other for distances. Seemed strange to me but he said the brain will automatically switch dominance from one eye to the other without you being aware of it as you change from near to far objects! 🙂

 

[visiondr]

Keith,
What your optician told you about is called Monovision. Your brain will make a choice between the clear and blurry images (depending on distance and what you're attending to). In my experience, the majority of patients adapt to this quite well. The main drawback is the potential for nearpoint depth perception issues (you may have difficulty threading a needle, for example). The human brain uses the trianguation from two eyes to determine depth for objects in space within about 4 feet (1.5 meters). Beyond that distance we use other cues to determine depth. In fact, it is legal to drive in most jurisdictions with only one eye!

Ron

 

[Keith]

Keith,
What your optician told you about is called Monovision. Your brain will make a choice between the clear and blurry images (depending on distance and what you're attending to). In my experience, the majority of patients adapt to this quite well. The main drawback is the potential for nearpoint depth perception issues (you may have difficulty threading a needle, for example). The human brain uses the trianguation from two eyes to determine depth for objects in space within about 4 feet (1.5 meters). Beyond that distance we use other cues to determine depth. In fact, it is legal to drive in most jurisdictions with only one eye!

Ron

Aha ... you're obviously an optician. Thanks for that, my next contact lens script may head in that direction!

Is it just me or do we seem to have a plethora of dentists and opticians on this forum?

😀 😀 😀

 

[awilder]

As another optometrist, I'd be wary of a $300/eye Lasik procedure. Consider consultation with at least two surgeons with good reported outcomes from friends or local magazine reviews before picking one. Sometimes a bargin is too costly. If your Rx is -2.25 it shouldn't be too complicated a procedure but prices vary depending on Drs. reputation and possible future "tweaking" of surgical results.

 

[visiondr]

As another optometrist, I'd be wary of a $300/eye Lasik procedure. Consider consultation with at least two surgeons with good reported outcomes from friends or local magazine reviews before picking one. Sometimes a bargin is too costly. If your Rx is -2.25 it shouldn't be too complicated a procedure but prices vary depending on Drs. reputation and possible future "tweaking" of surgical results.

Good point Alan.

 

[awilder]

One last point. A -2.25 spherical Rx is ideal for reading by your late 50's. Why not consider a -2.0 diopter eyepiece correction for the camera unless taking your glasses on and off will be a hassle via this route.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Funny, I feel the same way about taking my glasses off at the end of the day and having the world go slightly soft and blurry on me. 😀

I agree Kevin.

Another nice side-effect is that I always seem to be in better shape when I look in the mirror with my glasses off. 😀

 

[thanatos]

Good grief there's a lot of optometrists on here. And all with sound advice.

I'm a medic and know of only a few ophthalmologists or perhaps more tellingly, ophthalmologists' relatives who have had refractive surgery. However, I know quite a few medics who have had it done and the majority (but not all) are happy, some extremely so. And the technology is improving all of the time.

DoI: I trained initially as an optometrist, then went back and did medicine and did an ophthalmology residency then switched to pathology. I have never myself performed any form of refractive surgery other than manipulating refractive error with cataract surgery.

Russell