I finally fixed my sh*tty eyes - LASIK surgery

[Firmus_Anguis]

As the title says, I got my eyes fixed yesterday. I'd already made my peace about any future symptoms, because in my mind it couldn't possibly be worse than it already was, so I went for it. In my experience, best money I've ever spent.

Just to preface, I love being outside... I really do - But as nerd, I have to say - video games have never looked better.

 

[CitizenVectron]

Good for you

 

[Waggles]

Gratz!

Had mine done in college a few years back. Best decision ever.

 

[Wrexis]

I suppose it's too early to tell, but any night time side effects? That's what freaks me about the most about getting it.

 

[Reckheim]

you must of had some out of date glasses, things were still quite blurry for me the day after.

 

[Koukalaka]

I've thought about this for years (don't like contact lenses) but I've never gone for it.

 

[Teusery]

How much was it/how much did insurance cover?

Lasik is the good one and Lasek is the iffy one?

 

[SecondNature]

Im gonna do it soon

Are there any major side effects

 

[MrCibb]

How was the actual operation, and what are the potential future symptoms? I've got terrible eyesight and hate wearing glasses or contacts so kind of just live with the blurriness. It'd be nice not to.

 

[EssBeeVee]

ive thought about it for years but then i remember i can't afford it. but maybe next year i'll be able to.
but hopefully im able to get it. i don't think i have any immediate issues and my eyes are okay for it? we'll find out.. maybe.

 

[Ssyem]

I hate that my eyes are good enough that I can't justify LASIK but bad enough that I can't watch TV without glasses or contact lenses.

Went to the optometrist and he basically said "not yet fam".

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

I suppose it's too early to tell, but any night time side effects? That's what freaks me about the most about getting it.

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None whatsoever. No ghosting, no blur, nothing. I was lucky... 😅

you must of had some out of date glasses, things were still quite blurry for me the day after.

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My right eye isn't as sharp as my left as of right now, but that's because of the greasey stuff they put in my eye after the surgery.

My left eye is already almost perfect, even they were a bit surprised... It's just been about 25 hours or so. 😅

Again, I must've been incredibly lucky and the surgeon and everyone at the clinic were quite awesome actually. Everything was very reassuring.

If I may ask, for how long was your vision blurry?

 

[Vashetti]

I would really love to have it done, but I also have a squint in my left eye (which I'm still perplexed why my parents didn't have me get fixed as a kid) and was told the surgery wouldn't fix that, and would need separate surgery.

What I don't get is my glasses fix the issue, so why wouldn't this?

 

[DarkSora]

Welcome to the club! 1 year this month for me!

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

How much was it/how much did insurance cover?

Lasik is the good one and Lasek is the iffy one?

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Wasn't handled via my insurance - But might still get something there as well.

I had saved up for it, just in case I ever wanted to take the plunge... But the moment my workplace offered us about 500 euros off on any type of eye surgery, I took it as a sign.

About 3500 bucks (would've otherwise been 4000). 10 year insurance plan (I can correct my eyes if they worsen, free of charge) and 20 % off of any future eye surgery (for when I get older).

LASIK is supposed to be better, yes (the recovery time is much faster and there are less drawbacks)

 

[Applesauce]

Welcome to the club OP. I got mine done in December , still seeing 20/15 as of my most recent follow up visit.

 

[Reckheim]

None whatsoever. No ghosting, no blur, nothing. I was lucky... 😅


My right eye isn't as sharp as my left as of right now, but that's because of the greasey stuff they put in my eye after the surgery.

My left eye is already almost perfect, even they were a bit surprised... It's just been about 25 hours or so. 😅

Again, I must've been incredibly lucky and the surgeon and everyone at the clinic were quite awesome actually. Everything was very reassuring.

If I may ask, for how long was your vision blurry?

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I had it done about 3-4 months ago, my prescription was very high so it takes a bit longer to heal. I was driving 48 hours after the surgery but had some blurriness off and on for about 2 months. My Right eye still seems to be just a tiny bit blurry (we're talking very miniscule)

 

[LProtagonist]

I can't go through with it. My eyesight isn't so bad, so I can manage at home with my glasses off unless I want to watch TV or something. I otherwise don't mind wearing glasses. Just too worried about the side-effects, plus I like how I look with glasses.

 

[Teiresias]

My eyesight is horrible, but I still haven't had this done. I just entered my 40s and my eye doctor says changes start happening again now so it might not be as effective, plus I'm paranoid about picking a place to do it and making sure they're good.

 

[gozu]

Im gonna do it soon

Are there any major side effects

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YES! I got a ton of floaters now in my vision. I would much rather get my glasses back.

I have had at least 4 or 5 people find my post about it on Reddit and ask me if they got better or if I found any treatment. They had the same problem…so it's common.

The answers are no and no. They got worse and the only "treatment" is replacing all your eye gel (vitreous) with water and your replace your eye lens because of the cataract that forms because that gel isn't protecting your lenses anymore.

Get some other eye surger like PRK LASIK is garbage.

Oh and of course my night vision is half as good as it was. This is a guaranteed side effect but who really gives a fuck about night vision? I don't mind that, or the light glare at night. Or the eye dryness (this last one appears to have gotten better).

Those are perfectly acceptable trade offs. The fucking floaters though? Imagine you have glasses you can't wipe AND a bunch of cobwebs are constantly moving in the center of your vision ruining your enjoyment of things.

And to be precise, I don't care about 90% of my floaters, but there is one right near the center of my eye and it is a terrible terrible thing to have.

You've been warned. Now do as you wish.

Oh and I did this at a top notch high end place. The dude did lasik surgeries for celelbritiez including several players from the miami dolphins.

I got lasik in my 30s. Perhaps when you're 20, your vitreous is in better health and can withstand the procedure better…but one of the redditors was 22 and still got the damn floaters.

Anyways, the release you'll have to sign will say that they can ruin your sight all the way to blindness (they never mention the floaters because why? Blindness warning covers it…)

 

[Petruccis Biceps]

I have my LASIK appt with my surgeon coming up this Monday, was already cleared by my normal eye doctor and referred over.

 

[Kyuuji]

Congrats! I had it done about 4 years ago and agree on it being the best money I've ever spent. Completely life changing.

 

[Kudo]

If games got that sharper for you, why didn't you get new glasses earlier? Not that it matters now, enjoy.

 

[y2kyle89]

I wanted to but my optometrist was saying that my it works basically by flattening your eyes but since my eyes are naturally pretty flat Lasik would, at best, totally ruin my night sight and since my night sight is pretty shit as is, I decided not to do it.

 

[Oliver James]

Since they cut a flap any possible issues when swimming, especially at sea?

OP congrats!

 

[Kharybdis]

Congrats! I had mine done in 2004, and continues to be a positive life changing decision. I went to 20/15 after the surgery, and it stayed sharp for a long time. I had a PRK correction done in 2014 after some degradation, and my eyes are still going strong afterwards.

 

[stumblebee]

LASIK was the best money I ever spent. I had something a little worse than a -6 in both eyes and opted for bladeless LASIK. It was blurry, but I was able to read a clock from across the room when I got up from the table.

Recovery was a bit long. Took me about a month to stop doubting that my vision was actually good. I was pretty lucky and got away without any floating artifacts, but looking at screens was probably the toughest part for about a week. Night vision got better over time. Took about a month for that to come back fully online.

Now I don't need to worry about putting on glasses in the morning or breaking them or maintaining them.

However, with all the stories of negative side effects going around I do feel a bit lucky that I got away as scot-free as I did.

 

[julia crawford]

i should probably think about doing this eventually but i actually like wearing glasses 😢

 

[Tortillo VI]

I got mine a few months ago and it's amazing. I feel much better without glasses in many senses, and just see objects and text from far away without glasses makes me feel like a Deus Ex augment almost!

Since they cut a flap any possible issues when swimming, especially at sea?

OP congrats!

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I guess during the first months you should avoid it but after a time you are as good as new I think!

 

[Reckheim]

I can't go through with it. My eyesight isn't so bad, so I can manage at home with my glasses off unless I want to watch TV or something. I otherwise don't mind wearing glasses. Just too worried about the side-effects, plus I like how I look with glasses.

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I agree with this, if your vision isn't that bad and you don't mind glasses, It's not worth the risk.

My surgery went fine but I wouldn't say its 'life changing' since i never minded wearing glasses or contacts.

I quess the biggest plus is; I don't have to look for my glasses at night when I have to go to the washroom.

 

[I_love_potatoes]

I'm with you there OP, money well spent.

I had mine done not too long ago and wow, the difference for me was just insane. I have a slightly crooked nose so when I wore glasses, it was uncomfortable but I couldn't wear contacts because they were uncomfortable too.

The one thing I hated when I got my eyes done was they said "Oh, your eyes will feel heavy for the first hour or 2" and they were not lying. I was in my friends car as she was driving me home and I shit you not, I couldn't even open them because of how heavy they were. Lol

I went to sleep, woke up a couple hours later and boom, perfect vision. I actually have better than 20/20 vision so I'm even more chuffed.

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

Just as a side-note:

I didn't make this thread to try to promote eye surgery. It's a very personal and very individual thing, no one could (or even should) make that decision for you.

I want to be clear and say that, again, I seem to have been lucky regarding my symptoms. The last thing I want is for anyone to read this thread, go through with the surgery and have regrets.

I was aware of the risks and decided it was worth it for me. I was lucky it paid off as well as it did. I'm happy though and thanks for the kind words everyone! :)

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

If games got that sharper for you, why didn't you get new glasses earlier? Not that it matters now, enjoy.

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I mostly used lenses, but they still weren't quite as sharp as this (very, very minor differences). In the last days before surgery though, I had to rest my eyes (no lenses). So had to use my old glasses.

 

[Maz]

I have had bad eyesight my whole life (since I was 7), my eyesight got so bad by the time I was 20 that I might as well be blind without my glasses. I wouldnt be able to tell if the person next to me in the car was a doll or person. Everything was just a blurry mess, if i lose or break my glasses I was hopeless. My insurance covered the lasik surgery, and it was the best thing I ever did in my life. I will never forget lying down in the chair to get the lasik done, the doctor was talking to me and all i can see is barely a smudge of color where he was. The moment the lasik started, the whole room went from 5p to 4k in what felt like 10secs. I walked out of that room staring at everything like I havent been able to see my whole life.

Its been 10 years since I did the surgery and I dont have any side effects. I've used contact lenses and its just not the same.

 

[Maz]

Since they cut a flap any possible issues when swimming, especially at sea?

OP congrats!

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After its heals, there are no restrictions as far as I know. I went diving 2 years after without issues, and I go to the beach all the time.

 

[Ravelle]

I hate glasses, dumb smudging and cleaning them all the time but lasik just seems too scary,

 

[SecondNature]

YES! I got a ton of floaters now in my vision. I would much rather get my glasses back.

I have had at least 4 or 5 people find my post about it on Reddit and ask me if they got better or if I found any treatment. They had the same problem…so it's common.

The answers are no and no. They got worse and the only "treatment" is replacing all your eye gel (vitreous) with water and your replace your eye lens because of the cataract that forms because that gel isn't protecting your lenses anymore.

Get some other eye surger like PRK LASIK is garbage.

Oh and of course my night vision is half as good as it was. This is a guaranteed side effect but who really gives a fuck about night vision? I don't mind that, or the light glare at night. Or the eye dryness (this last one appears to have gotten better).

Those are perfectly acceptable trade offs. The fucking floaters though? Imagine you have glasses you can't wipe AND a bunch of cobwebs are constantly moving in the center of your vision ruining your enjoyment of things.

And to be precise, I don't care about 90% of my floaters, but there is one right near the center of my eye and it is a terrible terrible thing to have.

You've been warned. Now do as you wish.

Oh and I did this at a top notch high end place. The dude did lasik surgeries for celelbritiez including several players from the miami dolphins.

I got lasik in my 30s. Perhaps when you're 20, your vitreous is in better health and can withstand the procedure better…but one of the redditors was 22 and still got the damn floaters.

Anyways, the release you'll have to sign will say that they can ruin your sight all the way to blindness (they never mention the floaters because why? Blindness warning covers it…)

Click to shrink...

Wtfff

I am canceling 😱

 

[BlackJace]

I got mine recently and it has been the closest thing to magic I've experienced. Not to sound like I'm shilling lol, but I've had beyond terrible eyesight and now seeing like how I would with contacts WITHOUT contacts is wild.

Be warned however that there can and likely will be some side effects encountered. For me personally, I have dry eyes when I wake up. Pretty noticeable and I have to use eye drops. Sometimes it happens at night too after a long day. Furthermore, I get halo glare at night from light sources such as streetlights and lampposts.

Overall I think it was extremely worth it, but as always, do your due diligence and consult with professionals!

 

[BarcaTheGreat]

I hate glasses and would love to get Lasik. But someone mentioned floaters. Is Lasik a brand? I see it all the time so thought it was a procedure. Are there better brands?

 

[hwalker84]

As the title says, I got my eyes fixed yesterday. I'd already made my peace about any future symptoms, because in my mind it couldn't possibly be worse than it already was, so I went for it. In my experience, best money I've ever spent.

Just to preface, I love being outside... I really do - But as nerd, I have to say - video games have never looked better.

Click to shrink...

Best money I've ever spent is my feeling too!!! Congrats on the vision.

 

[Mórríoghain]

Too many horror stories about dry eyes and floaters after lasik. I'm cool with my glasses for now.

 

[Deleted member 2595]

My eyesight is horrible, but I still haven't had this done. I just entered my 40s and my eye doctor says changes start happening again now so it might not be as effective, plus I'm paranoid about picking a place to do it and making sure they're good.

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I think ~46 is the age with the highest degradation of eyesight on average. So if you're gonna wait, wait until after those big changes!

 

[Funkybee]

Congrats,
But..Why the hell are you on ERA one day after lasik surgery?
You're supposed to rest all day and avoid any screen for the first 5 days and use disposable eye drops continuously.
Unless some new tech happened 4 years after I had my Lasik done.
Best money ever spent.
Bear with the halos and side effects for the 1st year, it's normal if you have them.
One thing that is not the same as it was is that your eyes might be more sensitive to wind and you might feel slight discomfort even at a time when your are are supposed to be fully healed.
Riding a bike without glasses is not fun for me unfortunately but it's not a big deal anyway.
Congrats again and enjoy.

 

[nightstalker962]

I'm blind as a bat, I should pay for this with my HSA.

 

[maximumzero]

Jealous. I've been wearing glasses since, I believe, the age of seven and while I like the way I look with them, sometimes they're a real pain...particularly when stumbling out of bed in the middle of the night to comfort a crying toddler.

 

[Culex]

I got this done in 2005 and never looked back (pun intended). I'm now about to hit 40 and my left eye has gotten worse but still good enough!

I think I got my moneys worth.

 

[Firmus_Anguis]

Congrats,
But..Why the hell are you on ERA one day after lasik surgery?
You're supposed to rest all day and avoid any screen for the first 5 days and use disposable eye drops continuously.
Unless some new tech happened 4 years after I had my Lasik done.
Best money ever spent.
Bear with the halos and side effects for the 1st year, it's normal if you have them.
One thing that is not the same as it was is that your eyes might be more sensitive to wind and you might feel slight discomfort even at a time when your are are supposed to be fully healed.
Riding a bike without glasses is not fun for me unfortunately but it's not a big deal anyway.
Congrats again and enjoy.

Click to shrink...

I was instructed to rest my eyes the first day (which I did) and was basically told I could bingewatch an entire series today, if I wanted to.

I had surgery in Sweden, no idea if it's any different in any other countries, but I have eye drops which I use 6 times a day (and I also wear sunglasses, sometimes even inside just to be sure, eventhough I don't have to).

 

[Reckheim]

Congrats,
But..Why the hell are you on ERA one day after lasik surgery?
You're supposed to rest all day and avoid any screen for the first 5 days and use disposable eye drops continuously.
Unless some new tech happened 4 years after I had my Lasik done.
Best money ever spent.
Bear with the halos and side effects for the 1st year, it's normal if you have them.
One thing that is not the same as it was is that your eyes might be more sensitive to wind and you might feel slight discomfort even at a time when your are are supposed to be fully healed.
Riding a bike without glasses is not fun for me unfortunately but it's not a big deal anyway.
Congrats again and enjoy.

Click to shrink...

there are a few different techniques, the one that is the most common (where they use a knife to cut the tissue), usually you can watch TV and play video games the second day.

I had it done on Saturday morning and was back at work on Monday (9 hours in front of a computer screen). It wasnt pleasant but I survived.

 

[Cbrun44]

I had LASIK around 5 years ago at this point. Still perfect vision and absolutely zero side effects. Highly recommended.

 

[Oghuz]

Welcome to the club OP . You made a great decision.

Too many horror stories about dry eyes and floaters after lasik. I'm cool with my glasses for now.

Click to shrink...

I kept delaying the surgery for the same reasons. Finally decided to do it last year and it is one of the best decisions I've ever made. My brother went after me and he is also very happy about it.