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Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

nytimes.com

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Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#141

Post by nomocrypto »

gameshot911 wrote: post #40

I 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…

Heh, I do this too. It’s great after I’ve been staring at a screen for hours, although I also take my glasses off when using a computer because I really only need them For distance. I definitely feel like it helps my eyes relax a bit more to have my glasses off.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#142

Post by pretendscholar »

OrwellianChild wrote: post #100
toast0 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect a lot of people who have these procedures and don't like the results don't make a big fuss about it, because it's not like they can undo it. And they usually spent a bunch of money on it. You might as well try to be happy with the results. For me, it never seemed worth it to deal with the permanent change leading to potential side effects for a temporary benefit. If my corrective lenses were big and heavy,…

It helps to understand the benefits of the procedure to understand why folks would undertake the risk... I had correction at -6 diopters, which is equivalent to about 20/500 vision. My near vision uncorrected was bad enough that the focal distance was closer than the distance needed to resolve 3D vision. This means that to read my phone without correction, I had to close one eye and hold it in front of my face. Furth…

Hows your night vision?

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#143

Post by amorphous »

gameshot911 wrote: post #40

I 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…

You are under 40 I assume? That's not gonna last forever

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#144

Post by 3pt14159 »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #99
3pt14159 wrote: post #20

I had completely shit vision. I couldn't swim safely for long distances because of how bad it was. Got Lasik in Lithuania (same complication rate; 1/6th the price of Toronto) and it was completely, totally worth it. That beings said, my eyes are itchy sometimes. Just because there is a complication doesn't mean that the tradeoff wasn't worth it. I was under no illusions that I wasn't risking permanent damage, but the…

Wow, looks like I could fly to Lithuania and have Lasik done, while spending less money than getting Lasik done at home. How does that work with follow up appointments? Did you just stick around for a few weeks?

If you want to contact me privately by email I'll send you detailed instructions, including who I hired to communicate / bring me back to the Airbnb. Because I work remotely I just rented a beautiful place in Vilnius for a month and worked from there.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#145

Post by teh_klev »

Shikadi wrote: post #134
gameshot911 wrote: post #40

I 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…

I don't think near sightedness means better than 20/20 up close...

Personal anecdote...depends on your age. I'm near sighted (blind as a bat since my teens) and up until I was ~45'ish still had perfect 20/20 near sight vision. Up close I could read the tiniest of print and perform tasks and repairs on very small assemblies (I'm talking sub-millimetre PCB work and modelling). As I've gotten older this has gotten harder and these sorts of tasks now demand the use of a magnifying glass. This could probably be corrected with the use of varifocal lenses but for now I get on fine with a magnifier.

Apropos the Lasik treatment, in my early 20's vanity got the better of me and I wore contact lenses for a time. There were also practicality reasons because I'm a biker and ruined several pairs of glasses trying to stuff the legs into my helmet. Anyway, I contracted an eye infection which over the period of a month affected both eyes and could have resulted in loss of sight in one eye. The doc reckoned I'd picked this up from the lenses despite me being totally anal about keeping them clean. I never wore contacts again. Despite the annoyance sometimes of having to wear eyeglasses, my eyesight even with its less than perfect capabilities, is too valuable a sense to lose. Despite all the Lasik success stories it bothered me enough that I might just be that unlucky sod it doesn't work on and could end up worse just for the sake of convenience and vanity.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#146

Post by otterpro »

We should also "focus" on preventable myopia, which is so common, especially in Asia (For example, in Korea, 96% of younger population suffered from myopia, which is insane). If I have kids, I will make sure to let them play outside in the sun daily, in order to get enough exposure to the bright sunlight. As for me, I didn't get a lot of exposure to sun when I was in my early teens, when I developed myopia. I should've had more balanced lifestyle, instead of spending all my time playing with C64 in my room. I don't think it was hereditary because both of my parents and my siblings had normal vision. I was the only one in my family to wear glasses.

* [The myopia boom : Nature.com](https://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120)

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjdkbcOx05A

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#147

Post by notacoward »

I looked into LASIK a long time ago, but I wasn't a candidate at the time because of my large pupils. Even then, the starring and glare-sensitivity issues were well known, and the recommendation for PRK instead almost as much so. I know several people who've had LASIK and love the results, but not for me thanks. At my age (53) the only option I'd even consider is ICL, because it's easily redone as eyes continue to change, but even that doesn't really seem worth the risks.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#148

Post by tormeh »

titzer wrote: post #130
dilap wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. :(

What about Lasek? Generally has less complications and less invasive, but takes more time to heal.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#149

Post by gtufano »

oldgeezr wrote: post #43
deedubaya wrote: post #28

I had LASIK two years ago, and it was the best money I have ever spent. It was made clear that I will likely return to glasses as I age, but I’ll hopefully make it another 20 years.

> two years ago Ok, so let us know how it goes in 20 years.

I had LASEK 13 years ago and it still goes smoothly. I'm now 52 so I have presbyopia but, beside that, I still have almost perfect vision. The only drawback is that, as other also said, the pain in the immediate after surgery was horrible.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#150

Post by greedo »

navs wrote: post #34

YMMV of course. But I got LASIK done just over a year ago. I'd worn glasses since I was a kid and don't remember a time without them. Things I love after having done LASIK: - Being in the rain - Boxing - Not fumbling for my glasses after a shower, waking up - Being able to just rub my eyes - Wearing 3D glasses Things I don't like after having done LASIK - night vision is really quite bad. Low lit streets, driveways c…

Boxing? As in punches thrown at your head? Can't imagine that's safe for someone who had LASIK since the chance of corneal flap damage would be quite high.
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