Two years after LASIK eye surgery • Hacker News Board

Re: Two years after LASIK eye surgery

#101

Post by mikeash » Fri, Jul 24, 2015, 4:50 PM UTC

dspillett wrote: post #100

mikeash wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you say that the risk with LASIK is lower than for contacts for younger people, does that take into account different habits? My guess (and this is totally a guess, barely informed) would be that the statement is true for the general population, but that it is not true if you actually do everything properly and consistently. There are a frightening number of people out there who don't wash their hands before the…

IIRC the study I'm quoting (from memory, I can't find a link to it right now to verify unfortunately) they were considering everybody so yes, for people doing things right all the time the risk would be lower and those not (possibly lower than the LASIK risk). It was only looking at people using daily lenses (the variety that I use) so things might be worse for monthly or "permanent" lenses depending on what you clea…

I imagine controlling for human error is hard, because people will lie to you.

I also imagine that patient error is a factor in LASIK risk too, because there's post-surgery care you need to follow, and if you don't do it right you probably increase your risk.

So in both cases, you should look at the risk with an eye (heh) towards your ability to do things properly, and try to be honest with yourself about your willpower in that respect.

Re: Two years after LASIK eye surgery

#102

Post by iN7h33nD » Fri, Jul 24, 2015, 5:25 PM UTC

So I am 23 and have a large astigmatism and a -9 prescription in both eyes. I used to wear contacts but gave it up because they were more hassle than they were worth for me. I was constantly dealing with dry eyes, and shifting vision. Now I use glasses but I have trouble driving at night. I have thought about LASIK and even though the risk is low, I feel that I would rather deal with the problems I have now instead of new ones. Are there any other procedures other than LASIK that are recommended? Would I even be a candidate for LASIK with such bad eyes?

Re: Two years after LASIK eye surgery

#103

Post by cholantesh » Fri, Jul 24, 2015, 5:52 PM UTC

iN7h33nD wrote: post #102

So I am 23 and have a large astigmatism and a -9 prescription in both eyes. I used to wear contacts but gave it up because they were more hassle than they were worth for me. I was constantly dealing with dry eyes, and shifting vision. Now I use glasses but I have trouble driving at night. I have thought about LASIK and even though the risk is low, I feel that I would rather deal with the problems I have now instead o…

PRK is has a higher success rate, albeit with a longer recovery time (IIRC, about a month). There's also ICL, where, to put it simply, a ontact lens is implanted behind your cornea, though it's not really worth it if your prescription is -9, which is pretty midrange...everyone on my mom's side of the family is blind as a bat; my grandpa has a prescription of -15 in both eyes, same as my uncle. I'm sitting at -13 now and I'm 26 so I will probably never beat their high score.

Re: Two years after LASIK eye surgery

#104

Post by anotherevan » Sat, Jul 25, 2015, 2:10 AM UTC

I’ve worn glasses since my mid-teens, and in my mid-forties now. I’m near sighted but also have an astigmatism, so I pretty much need glasses to see anything, be it close up or far away. I’ve also found contacts never really worked well for me. On account of the astigmatism they have to be oriented at just the right angle. They are usually weighted to help this, but I never found them as good as my glasses for staring at my computer screen all day. Too much squinting and dry eyes after a while.

I wear contacts occasionally when going out. (I’m fine putting them in, but digging them out again at the end of the night I find difficult, probably because I don’t wear them often enough to become adept.)

Having grown up before laser surgery was available, the thought of cutting up your eyeball was pretty scary. The 3% dissatisfaction rate another comment cited seems far too high a risk to me when talking about your eyes. And given your prescription changes over time, it seems like an impermanent solution with permanent side-effects.

But at the end of the day, I’m a risk-averse nerd. YMMV.

Re: Two years after LASIK eye surgery

#105

Post by blrgeek » Sun, Jul 26, 2015, 4:34 PM UTC

vog wrote: post #63

blrgeek wrote: post #11

11 years ago. Good results. Halo-ing is present, although not a big problem. I do think my vision is deteriorating a bit now. Although not enough to need glasses yet.

It may be worth mentioning that the Halo-ing is also present with contact lenses, at least for large lens strengths.

Didn't know that! Had -8.5 but never wore contacts. Friend of mine had a severe allergic reaction to contacts, and was advised to never wear them again, and I was scared off of them.