Had my eyes lasered yesterday so hopefully I will actually be able to see everything and everyone when Im on the water again.

Just wondering if anyone else has had laser eye surgery before and any tips for the first week regarding looking after them and things to do?

So far listening to music and laying on the couch with my eyes closed is my activity of choice. Even writting this is proving to be a challenge as my eyes go in and out of focus.

Had the LASIK version done over 10 years ago, using a second generation Japanese laser. Had to use drops for the first 2 weeks to slow down formation of scar tissue on the cornea(l epithelium). Don't think this is required for PRK though. Kept seeing the words "BUY NIKON" for the first 2 months whenever looking at bright objects...

Still got 4 different types of drops to add 4 times a day.

Are your eyes still good after 10 years?

Yes, the eye that was lased is still very sharp, over 10 years later, in fact it was done around '99. The other one, which wasn't lased, needs lasing now The lasing was to correct myopia (so a concave lens got burnt under a flap that was cut out in the cornea with a scalpel moving on a small jig) as well as astigmatism. Very happy, made a huge lifestyle difference, and there are no problems with close focusing either, despite age. The first few weeks were a bit unpleasant, and I had problems driving at night for a few months. A friend had PRK done at the same time, and is still happy. At the time, the doctor chose PRK or LASIC based on curvature of the eyeball and thickness of the cornea.

Leeds said...


I also had to have PRK cause I'm hoping to become aircrew and LASIK isnt recommended if you fly for a living. Nothing worse than that flap flipping open while flying a plane!

10 odd years since lasik and plenty of high force bumps and my flap has never flipped open

Had PRK in 1995. Best thing I ever did. Worth 10 times what I paid for it. Still got better than 20:20 vision.

Had it done 2.5 years ago, from a pioneer in the field - checked his resume before going.

Far from perfect for afar, barely OK (no need glasses).
Debilitating from up close, suddenly needed reading glasses for anything closer than 3-4 feet, including any computer work.

I'm glad for those who did well with the surgery, and very certainly that will include your experience.
But I certainly wouldn't do it again and don't really wish my experience onto others.
Thought I saw an FDA street survey on the web that had yielded a 75% satisfaction rate. Was done a few years ago, against a 95% industry self-proclaimed rate.

Leeds said...

my experience has been less than flattering to date.

any thing bright and I have to close my eyes, cant focus on things up close or far away for that matter.

seems like it will be worth it in the long run.

I get the contact lenses removed tomorrow so Im hoping that will get rid of some of the discomfort.

Don't be too worried. It does get better. I think with LASIK you instantly get results, whereas PRK takes a while for the eyes to settle down.

At least with me, the glare hurt for a while.

Thanks for that comment formula, can't wait for it to get better.

Been better since contact lenses were removed this morning.

How long should I wait until I kite again?

It will be at least another week going by the forecast!

Best to google it.

LASIK involves cutting a flap on your eye ball then lasering flat surface then putting flap back.

PRK just lasers the eye ball and it takes a while to heal the outer layer.

PRK was better for me cause I got sensative eyes and needed it for work.

But if you can have LASIK cause results are meant to be instant (or very close too)

It was recommended 4 weeks without kiting. My surgeon gave me the all clear after two weeks.

I had radial keratotomy done at age 19- that's 21 years ago. It has worked perfectly with no side effects ever since. I dealt with the 24 hrs of sore eyes at the time by taking a few sleeping pills. Sleeping worked better than painkillers.

Lasik and PRK are both risky. The US Food & Drug Administration bloke who approved Lasik has since spoken out against it. The bloke approved Lasik 'cos it had few reported side effects, but he later discovered a shedload of patients who had bad side effects that were hidden by the Lasik industry (by falsely classifying their problems as temporary effects).

For the scary details, see www.lasikcomplications.com

It takes about six months before everything is finally healed and stabilised, especially if you have worn glasses for a long time and had a strong script. I wore glasses for 25 years and had -5.6.

The steroid drops you use increase the internal pressure of the eyeball, a bit like over inflating a balloon. That helps the eye to heal and stabilise on the final prescription.

They over correct by 18% so that when you are fully healed your eyesight is spot on. If it's perfect from day one then I would be concerned.

the gibbo said...

This isnt funny i know
The reason there are little or no negative comments on here is when it goes wrong you cant bludy see

...

I know of two people who had bad experiences.

One was a Chinese guy with really weird shaped eye balls. They were almost flat. He rubbed his eyes and dislodged the flap from the LASIK. It took an extra 6 months of treatment for him to get his eyes stabilised.

The other was the sister in law. LASIK also. She got mate's rates from the guy downstairs in the building she worked in. Her eyes were not corrected properly (not 18% over correction) so when they healed they were not right. She was re-treated twice until there was not enough meat left for more treatment. She nows wears glasses again. I don't know of any other side effects or long term issues.

It's one of those things though. Even if you do your research, you just never know the outcome.

Before I made my choice, I went and had a consultation with one place, and then another consultation with another. I was a bit surprised that they had different opinions.

The thickness of my epithelium (sp? too lazy to look it up) was marginal, but one place said they could do Lasik, and the other recommended PRK. Thinking through the risks and with my basic understanding, I opted for PRK on the basis that I think it might be more stable. Lasik would be quicker, but potentially not last as long.

The downside is that PRK takes a lot longer to settle down. I didn't take notes, but I sort of wished I could have, in that I can't remember exactly how long it took.

The worst thing is when you do research on the internet, where you only seem to see the opinions that are very strongly one way or the other. It makes for a few scary weeks or months where you imagine the worst.

One complaint I do have, is that there is no way that these companies research the results they produce as much as I expected. They outsource the check ups to an optometrist, and that seems to be as far as it goes. I would have to assume that the optometrist would report back if there was a problem, but I suspect that there is not much they can do anyway.

If they don't check the results, how can they claim any valid figures?

I went to my optometrist only once after this, so I was surprised there was no follow up call to check how my eyes were. To make sure they were okay, I ended up going to another optometrist, but I still wonder why the original company doesn't seem to care.

I had follow up for almost a year after my surgery. My eyes are still excellent 15 years later.

This is the guy that did mine.

www.newvisionclinics.com.au/dr-alpins-experience/

He's a bit of a self promoter but he definitely knows his stuff. Heaps of papers and articles to read on his web site.