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Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

nytimes.com

131–140 of 239 posts

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#131
post #97

No 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?

There's also a third option which is non-destructive - Visian ICL https://us.discovericl.com/

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#132

I had Lasik done at a university teaching hospital by a surgeon who had done thousands of surgeries. This was in 2003. Every follow-up was by a resident and then the full surgeon. I had significant dry eyes and blepharitis (probably from the dry eyes) for about 12-18 months. 15 years later, I can still see 20/20 in one eye and 20/25-30 in the other. I still occasionally have dry eyes and blepharitis. I wear glasses a…

>>However, folks who ask me about it, I tell them if they can still wear contacts, not to have it done. Contacts carry their own risks. Even if you have excellent hygiene habits, they can cause eye infections. And if you accidentally fall asleep in them...

Just want to stress this point. An infection sounds benign but the eyes are naturally immunosuppressed. An infection can spread rapidly and lead to permanent damage to your eyesight within days.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#133
post #60
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…

My night vision is also significantly deteriorated. I can drive fine at night, as I can see lights and reflective surfaces just fine, but walking around at night is definitely more difficult, and sometimes concerning. I'd had issues with dry eyes for most of my adult life. When I was still wearing contacts, I had a doctor tell me it was likely that I wasn't blinking enough. It seemed silly to me at first, but then I…

Did you use any tricks to make yourselfs blink more? I'm going through the same, getting used to contacts, but I can't think of a way to learn myself this without setting a timer every 2 minutes or so - which is obviously not really an option.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#134

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...

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#135

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…

Many times my glasses have prevented debris from hitting me in the eye. I wear them for the safety aspect alone!

Lasik always seemed risky to me--it's not reversible and if better technology comes along I would be out of luck. I also don't mind being nearsighted that much. It's a handicap at times, but not that big of a deal.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#136
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…

I also had LASIK surgery and feel that my light sensitivity has increased, especially to sunlight. I used to never wear sunglasses before, and now I feel I need to in some situations. Someone pointed out an interesting perspective. Perhaps it was that my glasses and contact lenses had a UV filter on them that sunlight did not bother me. Maybe it is not the brightness, but the amount of UV light hitting the eye that i…

Could it also be the case that the sharper focus due to LASIK itself causes increased sensitivity? Is there a general inverse correlation between bad eyesight and light sensitivity?

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#137
I'm not ruling Lasik out personally, but I'm just giving it another decade or two to see the long term effects. My eyes are the highest bandwidth input by far, it's not a decision to take lightly

In the mean time, I have these contacts that you can leave in for a month or more, the brand is 'purevision' but there are others. They're completely liberating, almost as good as Lasik it sounds like, but with none of the downsides like loss of night vision or halo's. You wake up and don't even think about the fact that you sometimes have glasses

The only issue is remembering not to rub your eyes too much (just wash your face instead) and change them over every month or so

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's because I've been wearing glasses for literally as long as I can remember, but wearing glasses sounds much better than dry eyes and loss of night vision.

I actually like my glasses! I like wearing them, and only rarely do I dislike having them. Maybe it is because my vision is not that bad without them. I can imagine that if it was worse I might hate them more.

You don't have to take them out and put them back in, clean them, etc. You don't have to worry about having the correct lens in each eye.

You don't have to buy them. Regular disposables are very cheap, but toric lenses are not cheap.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#139
post #7
post #6

I 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.

Why doing both? I was considering PRK as it seems safer than LASIK.

After a couple years, I started to have astigmatism in just one eye, so I had PRK done on that eye.

Re: Lasik’s Risks Are Coming into Sharper Focus

#140
post #133
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My night vision is also significantly deteriorated. I can drive fine at night, as I can see lights and reflective surfaces just fine, but walking around at night is definitely more difficult, and sometimes concerning. I'd had issues with dry eyes for most of my adult life. When I was still wearing contacts, I had a doctor tell me it was likely that I wasn't blinking enough. It seemed silly to me at first, but then I…

Did you use any tricks to make yourselfs blink more? I'm going through the same, getting used to contacts, but I can't think of a way to learn myself this without setting a timer every 2 minutes or so - which is obviously not really an option.

Unfortunately, I've no tricks to share. I've just been trying to stay more mindful of my blinking in general, and when I notice my eyes are completely dried out, I take a break.
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