ur gonna love it. it was by far the best money i ever spent. and im terrified of doctors. it wasnt what id call fun, but it wasnt bad either. if i had it to do all over again, i woulda done it years sooner. i remember (after i got it done) reaching for my glasses every morning for a month out of habit and then looking around the room, realizing i could see, and just smiling. i was blind as a bat (somewhere in the 20/400) range, now im 20/20. the gift of sight is a good one. good luck!

 

Good luck, you'll love it.

 

I had it done a little more than a year ago, it was the best money ever spent!
even better than the 25k for my truck if that tells you anything!!

good luck

you'll really like it when you smell something burning (no joke!) after the laser is done shooting your eye!

 

Well im done guys

Im home today. Im squemish as heck when it comes to my eyes and so forth so this procedure was pretty nerve racking for me. But in all honesty the most uncomfortable part is simply when they are prepping you. To hold your eyes open with that thing, and then when they press down on them with that disc thing to cut the flap in your eyes. Procedure took about 30 mins with me (due to nerves). Then they kinda move you between the laser that actually does the procedure, and the other one that cuts the flap for the most part. Now after that strong discomfort after the Dr cuts that flap then he lifts it and they prep you for shooting the laser into your eye for a certain amount of time. The whole time that they are doing this you must try and focus on a little red dot that they tell you to watch. HOWEVER the laser is rather failsafe so if you lose your sight or somethin is detected as wrong it will instantly stop. Once all is well and the Dr has pulled the flap, and you are ok to get zapped, All you hear is fire the laser. The best sound comparison i can think of is a mig welder going off. Once they are done with the laser pointing they put cold water drops in your eyes, and you can smell the burning eye, (gross mind you). The dr then goes ahead and puts your flap down and then with a little squeege type deal he kinda smooths out and makes sure that the flap closes well. Complications can arise if it dont. The same thing was done for the other eye...... The left eye was ok but due to my movement i was accidentally cut and teh end result after the successful laser surgery was a bandaged contact lens in my eye.. i was kinda shaken up afer it was over, but i could see much better than before. My first expression was I can see you! i told my mom and dad that. Right after the surgery you cant see that much clearer though, kinda looks like when you open your eyes underwater. But there is no pain, or discomfort anymore. I stuffed my face with bill miller bbq and had my drops three times taht night only to go the next day for a follow up at 10 am.I was also given some sunglasses for outdoors and protective goggles to sleep with to prevent any and all eye scratching. There were two drops, one was an antibiotic, a second one was a steroid to actually promote the healing of the flap. It should heal within 24 hours under normal conditions.

Saturday morning i went back for a follow up. Well it all went well except i had an adeema in my left eye where the contact went. Dr gave me some drops for that and a vision exam, and surprisingly i had a 20/25 vision, and he said it will get better! SWEET!!! I was told to wear some safety goggles when i go outside and always protect my eyes as best i can for two weeks. And i was given more drops for Adeema. So three drops in my eyes, the Adeema one twice a day, and the other ones every four hours. I can watch tv, and spend limited time on my computer. We came home to Laredo at about 1 and got home at 3 and i fell asleep after eating again.

Currently it is sunday 10:15 am, Im using shooter glasses right now to eliminate the glare from the moniter and giving you this, as best a writeup and experience as i can describe. I will be on drops for two more weeks and yes i can drive, the blurriness already subsided and I can see very well, infact better than yesterday.

So far im very happy with the results, it was more than well worth it so far. I feel like a new person with a new look on life, I know it sounds cheezy but i can see everything now, and even better than what i did with my glasses already!

If anyone wants more information on my dr or has any questions, I will be glad to answer them on here, or via PM..

Thanks guys!

Rick

 

Glad to hear all went well. Good write up.

 

Shooter Glasses eh? You didnt mention stopping at the bar???

Congratulations - I (and Im sure others as well) appreciate the write up. I will probably be in touch with ya about this.

 

congrats on a good surgery

 

Hey Rick, Can you see any better now? Does the font seem larger since you got your peepers fixed?

Glad it went well for you

 

Good Ol Lary. Always there to help.

Very descriptive, excellent review. Thanks.

 

I am trying to get it done. I am in the Coast Guard and am prepping to apply for our aviation program to becaome a pilot. Part of that requires me to have vision better than 20/50. They are taking candidates with laser surgery corrected vision, only catch is that it has to be performed by a military eye doc at a military hospital. They aren't doing LASIK either, PRK is the best you can get at a military hospital. The vision requirement is the largest hurdle I have to jump before I meet all the requirements to apply for the aviation program. I hope I can get it done soon.

 

I see no sence in starting another LASIK thread

So I wil call this my two week LASIK update for those of you who are interested in the surgery. So far i cannot complain about it at all for the most part but there are some issues that I kinda deal with day in and day out. Currently i see better than 20/20 in my left eye, and my right eye sees just a couple of steps behind. There are some times where it feels like my right eye wants to squint to try and keep up with the left eye. I understand this is all part of the eye adjustment process as the Dr explained. I still have shades of red in both my eyes as well, and in the mornings I see kind of blurry for about 15 mins, my eyes adjust back to normal and i resume normal activities. All the while my truck warms up outside hehehehehehe.

At night i see very light halos around lights, kind of comparable to those that you guys that wear glasses see when you try and look at lights outside and see the halos. I see the same thing but much clearer with the lights..

I was on drops for two weeks, and i went after 10 days to see the Dr for my adeema and for my obvious lag behind of the right eye, If a follow up is needed it will be done, but in all honesty it is too soon to say for sure. He wants to make sure the eyes heal up well and stabalize before anything else is done. Smart man i say. I do trust him with my eyes, and at least i have more tissue to remove to that they can reshape my eye and get it right...

My drops are done right now and i can see well, I went to target shoot a couple of times, and dont laugh at me, but i like to shoot pigeons outside the house and at the horsepens with a benjamin sheridan pellet gun. OH DOES IT FEEL GOOD!! to know where i can actually hit them. I see them well enough with my right eye to pin point where i can hit them, i can only imagine if i can shoot lefty now! JUST FYI, the drops names were vigomox, which would promote healing and was a steroid, and the other one Econopred plus.. which was an antibiotic to promote the healing process...

For two weeks i was to shower with swim goggles on to minimize water and shampoo entry into the eyes, and i was to sleep with saftely goggles on to minimize eye scratching and so forth. Both techniques worked rather well and were followed..

For outdoor activities i still use a pair of shooter safety goggles just for safety precaution. Im doing the best i can to really take care of my eyes, so that I can see and also give honest reports as to what i see, feel and what goes on... i have another followup tomorrow at 3:40 p.m....

All in all, this surgery is a godsend per say. If you are still in doubt, i will update again within two weeks to a month, Or if you have any questions please PM me guys.. Ill be more than happy to help you... Look for this thread to be bumped again in the future...

Thank you for your time and Interest!

Respectfully

Rick

 

Hey Rick, it's been 22 months. How about that update that you promised us?

 

How much for the operation down there...Way to much here....I have been looking at a Canadian company.

 

Now its been 25 months

Well, long story short. I cannot complain. I see 20/20 with both eyes and resume activities much like a normal person does. I can now use oakley sunglasses, and live life almost without worry of anything for my eyes. Due to my work tho, i do wear shades alot and do take care of my eyes to the best of my abilities still.... But the only reminders that i wore glasses before are my old photographs and shades on my head constantly..

FOR ANYONE CONTEMPLATING LASIK!! find a good doctor and do it..

25 months later. Id do it again in a heartbeat if i had to...

Rick

 

TX, if you don't mind me asking, which Dr. did you use in S.A.? What did the precedure run back then? Thanks, John