Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why is that?
Because it might dislocate the flap
Good luck with that. That’s really quite hard to do, ask your surgeon how hard it is to find the original cut when they’re looking for it to do a touch-up.
Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
121–130 of 239 posts
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#122I think this is a unique view, but I've come to appreciate nearsightedness. Partially because I like having the ability to soften the external world by removing my glasses (like wrapping myself in a warm fuzzy blanket), but even more so because it grants me the ability to see things near me in sharper focus than someone with 20/20 vision. I can put on contacts or glasses to see something at a distance just as clearly…
As a person who recently wore contacts every day until dry eyes and an injury forced me to switch back to glasses, I have almost entirely the opposite experience. It bothers me to wear glasses again. My prescription is quite strong, so it creates a pretty significant distortion, stronger towards the edges of the lenses. It's hard to do sports, as I now have a background fear about losing/breaking them, and the distor…
not a candidate for lasik?
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because it might dislocate the flap
Good luck with that. That’s really quite hard to do, ask your surgeon how hard it is to find the original cut when they’re looking for it to do a touch-up.
You don't need to find the flap, finger to the center of the eye sideways will suffice.
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why is that?
Because it might dislocate the flap
This is what worries me the most about taking the plunge, not the videos I've seen of it being done, not the potential side effects, just the fact that I could seriously screw my eyes up by rubbing them after the fact.
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#125No mention here of SMILE which seems to be gaining ground in much of the world, but pretty rare in the US. https://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/smile.htm Seems interesting, no flap like with LASIK and it may result in fewer cases of dry eyes. Has anyone here had it?
I have. I had the SMILE procedure done just under 2 months ago now so I can't speak on the long-term effects yet.
The procedure was really quick (+- 5 minutes) and painless. I was told that it might feel like I have sand in my eyes for the rest of the day after the numbing eyedrops wore off but I only experienced very minor discomfort, not anywhere near as close as having sand in your eyes.
The first hour after the surgery it looks as if you are looking underwater (slight white haze) due to the eye drops they put in your eye during the procedure but that quickly fades. My vision was improved directly after the surgery and it only took around 2-3 hours to reach 100% (or close). I watched some TV that night and even answered some emails although it took 1-2 seconds to really focus on my small laptop screen.
Next day my vision was perfect and I could see everything close and far away without issues and even went back to work. I had slight starburst at night (there is a picture with an example in the article) on small and direct light sources like a street post but that I was told that would disappear in a few months and so far it has been improving every week. I now only see it slightly on tiny light sources like the stand-by LED of a TV or monitor. With the rate of improvement after the surgery I expect that the starburst is soon going to disappear completely but even if it would stay like this I would 100% choose to get the surgery again.
They gave me eye drops for eye dryness. You take them every half hour for the first week, every hour for the week after that and then switch to 6-12 times a day depending on your needs and stop completely after 3 months. In the beginning I really felt like I needed to follow that schedule closely but now I sometimes forget because my eyes don't feel dry anymore.
Everything considered this has been one of the best decisions of my life and the quality of life improvement is huge.
Although SMILE was significantly more expensive (3300 vs 2300 for Lasik) I don't think you should try to cheap out on eye surgery. Not having a flap like LASIK makes a huge difference in terms of recovery speed and risk of complications.
If anyone has any other questions I would be happy to answer them.
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#126I've worn glasses for almost forty years now, and I'll probably wear them for the rest of my life. I actually like having something between my eyes and flying objects, in spite of the annoyance of always having to clean my glasses (or having to wear bifocals for that matter). I never liked the idea of undergoing a very new surgical procedure on eyes that are otherwise healthy. Not to mention, I'm old enough now that…
Same here. Unfortunately I can not read a thing on my phone anymore if I don't have my glasses on. That can be a serious hazard in some situations. But, since I've been wearing them so long I feel naked without them so, it's rare I'm glassesless.
Why's that a serious hazard? I can't (and could never) read anything off my phone without my glasses, but I never considered it any sort of hazard.
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#127So, this poorly written article at least sparkled a good discussion here on HN. I have an "Ask HN" for you here: it's the year 2018, I am 41, live in Bay Area, have myopia (~2 sx and ~3 dx), and have pondered doing surgery. What's the absolute best option I have? Is it LASIK? Are there different types of LASIK? I spoke with two eye doctors in the past 5 years, and none of them managed to either convince me, or to cla…
The best option available when I started looking into this a year ago was ReLEx SMILE(Trans PRK being second, LASIK third). I have since had the procedure done (see my other comment in this thread for my experience but TL;DR is I highly recommend it).
From what I remember LASIK is the oldest method with the highest chance of complications and side-effects and longest recovery period.
Trans PRK is the least-intrusive procedure because they don't touch your eye during the procedure but is more painful after the procedure and you have to wear protective contacts for 2 weeks.
ReLEx SMILE is 'latest and greatest' and has the quickest recovery period but is the most expensive option.
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#128I had Lasek/PRK 4 years ago with one of the UK's top surgeons. Happy with the results.
In my understanding, Lasek/PRK is the method whereby instead of cutting and lifting a 'flap' to laser beneath it before replacing the flap, the surgeon basically obliterates the surface of the eye, which then heals up over a week.
With Lasik (flap method), you're supposed to be back to normal within hours, which makes it a more popular method. Lasek/PRK had me in bed for a week and virtually blind for the first 3 days while the eyes were healing.
Nonetheless I have 20/20 vision, 4 years later, with no complications. I went from -9 (severely myopic) to perfect vision.
Best decision I ever made and I'm so happy I didn't go with the more popular Lasik option.
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#129I had LASIK and PRK. Dry eyes? Check Can’t see shit in low light? Check Weird itchy feeling? Rare, but check It’s still a huge improvement over glasses or contacts. I probably ha e 5-10 years left before I need glasses again due to old age but I’ll enjoy it until then.
I’m curious, what’s better compared to contacts? I idly considered surgery for a long time, but then I tried contacts and they’ve been great. I realize they’re not great for everyone, is it just that?
I've been mildly curious about this question as well. I appreciate that not all people can or are comfortable wearing contacts. And glasses are a pain for a lot of active pursuits, at least for me.
But I've been wearing contacts for decades and they're still improving. (The type I was wearing for ages stopped being manufactured a couple years back and I switched to new highly permeable lens. What I had been wearing was fine but the new ones were even more comfortable.)
The only downside for me is that I now need reading glasses when I'm wearing contacts--which I don't when I'm not wearing them. May look into multi-focals next time I'm getting checked.
Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a person who recently wore contacts every day until dry eyes and an injury forced me to switch back to glasses, I have almost entirely the opposite experience. It bothers me to wear glasses again. My prescription is quite strong, so it creates a pretty significant distortion, stronger towards the edges of the lenses. It's hard to do sports, as I now have a background fear about losing/breaking them, and the distor…
not a candidate for lasik?
No, given that my eyes are already so dry, and this plus contacts led to me injuring my corneas on more than one occasion, one of which meant I spent ~2 weeks in a dark room, essentially blind. So doctors recommend I do not do Lasik. :(