Lasik/PRK

[KevDen2005]

Anyone have any recommendations in the north metro? I feel there are so many options out there these days it's hard to tell who is good or not.

[sniper7]

I look at this thread on occasion. When my life settles down lasik and getting snipped are top priorities.

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/134463-Lasik-Eye-Doctors?highlight=LASIK

[DEAGLER]

Got my lasik at Hines Sight. Off Downing and I-25. Worth the travel.

[ray1970]

Lasik was the best money I ever spent on anything. Ever.

[Monky]

I'm in the same boat.. want to get it done. Can't seem to make a choice of where.

[OneGuy67]

Back in the day ('98), I elected to have laser PRK done over Lasik as the doctor could not guarantee the flap would be healed in an acceptable time period for being an officer on the street. They estimated at that time it took 6 months for a total heal and stated the flap could be jarred open if I was hit hard enough. I would ask the doctor if you go Lasik about the healing times given your current occupation.

[KevDen2005]

Back in the day ('98), I elected to have laser PRK done over Lasik as the doctor could not guarantee the flap would be healed in an acceptable time period for being an officer on the street. They estimated at that time it took 6 months for a total heal and stated the flap could be jarred open if I was hit hard enough. I would ask the doctor if you go Lasik about the healing times given your current occupation.

Everyone I have talked to that has had Lasik done recently has had a healing time of 48 to 72 hours at most. Other than follow up visits or maintenance of some kinds. My wife had hers done two years ago and was out and about less than 36 hours later.

[OneGuy67]

That is the time the docs tell you for return to normal activities. We asked spivak the actual healing time in which a flap wouldn't be jarred loose or damaged in some way in a physical altercation and he stated it was about 6 months. Again, ask your doctor about it as it may have changed since then.

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[KevDen2005]

That is the time the docs tell you for return to normal activities. We asked spivak the actual healing time in which a flap wouldn't be jarred loose or damaged in some way in a physical altercation and he stated it was about 6 months. Again, ask your doctor about it as it may have changed since then.

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I was also told by people, not doctors, that PRK is better than Lasik. Can you or anyway weigh in on opinions.

[OneGuy67]

I and others went through with PRK over Lasik due to the flap issue. They basically grind down the front of your eye flat and then zap your eye with the laser and put a bandage contact in. The new cells grow under the contact and the contact is removed after 3 days. If you have an astigmatism, you will most likely have to do PRK. My wife had it done last year. I've had it done twice and may have to go for a third as old age is causing a vision shift.

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[KevDen2005]

I and others went through with PRK over Lasik due to the flap issue. They basically grind down the front of your eye flat and then zap your eye with the laser and put a bandage contact in. The new cells grow under the contact and the contact is removed after 3 days. If you have an astigmatism, you will most likely have to do PRK. My wife had it done last year. I've had it done twice and may have to go for a third as old age is causing a vision shift.

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I have heard PRK recovery time is longer

[OneGuy67]

Yep, that is true. About 9 days total.

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[ray1970]

I already posted quite a bit about my experience in the other thread but will hit a couple of the high points.

First, I was blind as a fruit bat before my procedure and have been pretty much all of my life.

I had pretty bad astigmatism and some corneal scarring.

I am now better than 20/20 in both eyes.

I went with the 20/20 Institute and highly recommend it if anyone is looking for a place.

[KevDen2005]

I already posted quite a bit about my experience in the other thread but will hit a couple of the high points.

First, I was blind as a fruit bat before my procedure and have been pretty much all of my life.

I had pretty bad astigmatism and some corneal scarring.

I am now better than 20/20 in both eyes.

I went with the 20/20 Institute and highly recommend it if anyone is looking for a place.


Thanks Ray. The more I look into the more I can't wait. I have an astigmatism in my left eye. I got glasses for the first time 10 months ago and I just hate them. Especially working patrol in anything other than sunny days. Rain and snow or wind blowing crap on the glasses non stop is really annoying. Taking glasses off to look through scopes or other optics. Working out and needing to remove my glasses, then putting glasses back on and instantly fogging them up from over heating. I just never knew the pain of the people that wear glasses.

[Irving]

Everything OneGuy has said has been correct from both what I've read, and my personal experience. I had PRK done about two years ago and like Ray mentioned, it was the best money ever spent. I probably have 20/20 vision now, but I do see halos on some lights. It doesn't bother me much because I only even notice in situations like watching tv in a dark room where individual LED lights will have a halo. On coming headlights aren't even an issue. Oh yeah, this is MY personal experience, and I bet most other guys don't have this issue.

Anyway, I got PRK because my eyes were so bad that if I went with Lasik, they weren't sure if I'd be able to do even one more correction in the future as I get older. With PRK, they have to remove less material, so I may have enough material left to do as many as 3 corrections in the future. I should probably go back in and see what they think about the halos and see if I can get anything done for free. I thought I'd give it time to see if it would go away.

Let's talk about healing. As OneGuy said, they completely remove your lens, and it has to grow back. This makes the healing process longer, and more painful. They say it feels like you have sand in your eyes, and while that's true, it wasn't as bad as I thought, that may depend on how sensitive your eyes are though. I've been wearing contacts since the 6th grade, and usually not in good condition, so I have a decent eye discomfort tolerance.

Immediately after surgery, you can see perfectly, but your vision worsens as the day goes on. Over the next day or two as the pain goes down, your vision gets a little better, but then around day 4-5 it starts to get worse. This is because your lens grows back from the perimeter, and meets in the middle. When it meets in the middle, it fuses together like a mini mountain range, right on the center of your eye where your focus is. This is why your vision actually gets worse for a period right in the middle of your recovery. I could still see better during this time than before the surgery, and actually went back to work and started driving. With your profession, I would not recommend starting work again during this time, as you just can't see well enough to do what you do. This secondary blurring was frustrating because it's not the same as not being able to see like before surgery. Before surgery, even though I was nearly blind, if I wanted to see something clearly, I could just hold it closer to my face. During this secondary blurring, everything is the same amount of blurry at all distances, so I would often get my face very close to something, and never be able to see it better. It was frustrating and I felt stupid at the same time. That said, I could still see well enough to drive, and things that were very far away actually looked better, since I couldn't make them out before anyway.

EDIT: You can watch videos of the procedures on YouTube, but I'm not sure if I'd recommend that you do before hand or not. I'm not squeemish, but after watching the PRK video, my first thought was, "Oh man, I probably shouldn't have watched that first..." Once I watched it a few times, I got over it and it added another layer of fun to the surgery. When the doctor said, "Now we're going to put this ring on your eye. You're going to feel a little push, then we're going to fill it with medicine and it's going to be cold." I was thinking in my head, "Puh-lease, I know you're cutting my eye with a razor sharp cookie cutter, then filling it with acid to melt my lens off. Oh yeah, you never even mentioned how the next step is to scrap all the lens sludge off." haha.

[th3w01f]

What kind of prices are you paying for LASIK or PRK these days? I got LASIK at Spivack back in 2000 and it has been awesome.

I have a friend that wants to get it done but doesn't have a lot of $$$ so he's looking for a place that has reasonable prices. :)

[Irving]

Mine was 2100 in 2015.

[Guylee]

My PRK was done by the Army and now my vision is better than 20/20, so I guess it's probably pretty hard to mess up [Coffee]

It's a serious life changer.

[Delfuego]

I have a friend that wants to get it done but doesn't have a lot of $$$ so he's looking for a place that has reasonable prices. :)Please tell him to save up and spend whatever the best doctor cost. I have a friend who's cheap corrective surgery went terrible. After several return visits, his eye are worse that before, still needs glasses and can never have another eye surgery.

[Irving]

Yup. If he wants to save money, he can carpool to the doctor, but eye surgery is not the place to be searching for Groupons.

[th3w01f]

I think that's the big question, what is a reasonable price from a reputable Dr.? I'm sure you can spend $5K+ or more but can you find a good Dr for $500 per eye, $1000? Just trying to give him an idea what he's looking at.

He's probably only able to save $50 - $100 a month so $1000 per eye vs $2000 per eye will make a huge difference timing wise.

[Delfuego]

You only get one set of eyes. Not trying to scare anybody, but wanted to share.

Also, have you ever notice that optometrists all wear glasses? I have heard many would never get this surgery and they can get it for free from the best in the business. This and a couple other concerns are the reason I haven't gone in for it.

[Wulf202]

They also get free frames and lenses. It also sells their product.

I paid $2700 in 03 ish.

There was a guy who wouldn't stop squirming and seriously f'd his own eyes during the surgery when I was going for my second cut.

[nogaroheli]

Yup. If he wants to save money, he can carpool to the doctor, but eye surgery is not the place to be searching for Groupons.

I had the exact same thoughts when my wife showed me the Groupon to Icon. After a bunch of research I ended up using them and have been very pleased. It's been 6 years I think and I have 20/15 and 20/20 now. I wouldn't jump on just any LASIK Groupon blindly though :)

[Ramsker]

I'm not a candidate for lasik . . . I have huge pupils and not very thick corneas, so my eyes wouldn't support how deep they would have to go to go as wide as needed. I might be a candidate for PRK. Have never really looked into it very far (beyond the 2 docs who said no-go to lasik mentioned it might be an option). Part of me says that I've gone this long with glasses and contacts that it doesn't make much difference now and why bother pursuing surgery--from a recovery and risk perspective. My one somewhat irrational fear is that I could get stranded somewhere while wearing contacts and I'm out there long enough and have issues and end up losing/removing the lenses and being blind and screwed. Have thought even doing one eye with PRK, if possible, just as a safety thing.

[th3w01f]

I'm not a candidate for lasik . . . I have huge pupils and not very thick corneas, so my eyes wouldn't support how deep they would have to go to go as wide as needed. I might be a candidate for PRK. Have never really looked into it very far (beyond the 2 docs who said no-go to lasik mentioned it might be an option). Part of me says that I've gone this long with glasses and contacts that it doesn't make much difference now and why bother pursuing surgery--from a recovery and risk perspective. My one somewhat irrational fear is that I could get stranded somewhere while wearing contacts and I'm out there long enough and have issues and end up losing/removing the lenses and being blind and screwed. Have thought even doing one eye with PRK, if possible, just as a safety thing.

My wife had to do PRK for the exact opposite reason, she has thin corneas. Spivack did it about 10 years ago and she is still at 20/20 and continues to rave about how life changing it was.

[kidicarus13]

What happens after you have surgery in your 20's or 30's and your vision naturally starts to deteriorate (for most people in their 40's). I would guess glasses/contacts would become an option again.

[Irving]

What happens after you have surgery in your 20's or 30's and your vision naturally starts to deteriorate (for most people in their 40's). I would guess glasses/contacts would become an option again.

Yes, that is part of this. I had to go PRK so ther layer in life. e would be enough room for corrections later in life. One optometrist tried to talk me out of it by telling me my eyes would change when I got older anyway. I thought, "So don't see perfectly for the next 30 years just because I'll eventually end up with low prescription reading glasses at some point? No thanks."

[th3w01f]

What happens after you have surgery in your 20's or 30's and your vision naturally starts to deteriorate (for most people in their 40's). I would guess glasses/contacts would become an option again.

This is exactly what I'm dealing with now, it sucks getting old. :)

I had LASIK in 2000 when I was 30 and over the last year or so my near vision has started to suck, especially in low light. My distance vision is still 20/20 so I've taken up wearing 'computer' glasses that give me good sharp focus from about 18" - 8'.

[Ramsker]

This is exactly what I'm dealing with now, it sucks getting old. :)

I had LASIK in 2000 when I was 30 and over the last year or so my near vision has started to suck, especially in low light. My distance vision is still 20/20 so I've taken up wearing 'computer' glasses that give me good sharp focus from about 18" - 8'.

I've added these to my EDC. Keys . . . check. Shield . . . check. Knife . . . check.

Readers . . . check. Ugh.

https://www.amazon.com/ThinOPTICS-Anywhere-Everywhere-Universal-Strength/dp/B00OJ9BDI6/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1490043922&sr=1-1&keywords=thinoptics&th=1

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSK36xLvCrD8Mc0wkd7VFqfkjyzUMJdi NEqkZl3hBe-qLgdyYkk

[clodhopper]

What happens after you have surgery in your 20's or 30's and your vision naturally starts to deteriorate (for most people in their 40's). I would guess glasses/contacts would become an option again.

Think of lasik as zeroing your scope. You aren't changing the span of your vision, just moving it down into the range where you use it most. The effect of age will happen no matter what, so with lasik you end up needing readers later in life, without you end up in bifocals. Wearing readers for less than 5% of my life vs glasses 100%, pretty simple decision.

My wife and I went Icon nearly 10 years ago, about $1000 per eye. Doesn't look like the price has changed much since then. She had regular lasik, was 20/20 out of the chair after surgery, no pain. My eyes mapped outside of lasik ranges and I had PRK. Maybe it is different now, but basically burned right through the membrane to adjust the lens and let it heal back. Pretty effing painful the first night and I was functionally blind for 3 or 4 days. Still believe it was worth it. I am 20/15 and need readers, but only 1.0 which is the lowest power reader you can find.

Before you get all worked up about the importance of a high quality doc, understand that nearly every aspect of lasik is computer controlled. Sure, the doc's experience comes to play if something goes wrong, but the rate of error is super low, and even that error means you just need a re-cut, not going blind. When I say there is little human input, I mean it. Not unlike a CNC machinist putting the slug in the machine and standing there to watch the process to make sure the program runs as expected. Your eye is computer mapped, the computer calcs the adjustment, the computer runs the laser. The human cuts the flap and has to input/adjust the anticipated heal-back of your eye that will adjust your vision slightly.

My anxiety about the whole thing was pretty high, so my wife did hers first and it still took me a few months to get mine done. Once in the chair, they put so much pain med in your eyes you go blurry really quick and just stare at the little red light, which is about all you can see anyway. You do smell burning, which is disconcerting since you know it is your eyeball smoke. They will have small stuffed animals for you to hold during the procedure if that helps calm you. The happy pill was good enough for me.

[kidicarus13]

since you know it is your eyeball smoke.

They there is funny [emoji12]