Laser eye surgery; What are your thoughts!

[Foztrot]

Hey,
I am crazy about cars and jeep. I often take my Grand Cherokee for off-road rides. It is pretty thrilling, all the adrenaline rush and excitement. I go for off-road rides often through all the dust and dirt. It must have gone into my eyes because I have been experiencing blurred vision for a few months now. I already have myopia of one dioptre. Well, it is not much, but I have a persistent irritation in my eyes now. I was hoping to correct my vision using laser eye surgery. But I was wondering if it would affect my off-road rides through the dust and dirt. Has anyone here done a Lasik surgery before?
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks!

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[Factoid]

I had LASIK in 2002. I had been wearing contacts for being nearsighted and suddenly found myself needing reading glasses in addition. It was one of the best things I have done. Came out of the ten minute surgery with 20/15 vision and still have 20/25 today. Still need readers as I declined considering monovision where you use one eye for distance and one I for up close. Just seemed creepy to me.

 

[Sorbs]

I did the mono vision and my results are a mixed bag. For iPhone use it’s great and for distance it’s okay. It is the vision between the two that I still need glasses, so your results may vary. Think about what you’re trying to fix. Distance or near sightedness.

You’ll need to keep your eyes moist afterwards so you might try using a good “dry eye” solution now to “see” if that clears up your blurred vision.

As to your question on dust causing issues after LASIK; it hasn’t been an issue for me at all.

 

[WanderingTrail]

I had PRK in early 2004. I was 20/450 in both eyes with astigmatism. Came out just over 20/20 with no astigmatism and now I'm at 20/35. Doc says I have plenty of cornea left to do PRK again to restore it to 20/20 if I want. PRK is a little more painful on the healing side, about 4 days to be comfortable as the skin heals over the cornea.

Ron

 

[motorod]

1. Set your expectations that there is no perfect vision, complications do happen and so if you have good vision with glasses/contacts you may or may not get close to that with a laser.

2. Ask for a “mock” procedure on the actual table before you go through the real thing so you know what expect, where to look and a review of common sensations that you could feel. Alignment is everything even with the latest tech.

3. I ride dirt bikes in Texas with some of the dusty conditions around, been no problem with dryness after about 6 months. My doc also used an inverted side cut which may have also helped.

 

[WXman]

My thoughts: They say there is a 2% failure rate with the surgery.

I'd gamble on 2% with a lot of things. My eye sight isn't one of them. For the unlucky 2%, that's a catastrophic life event.

It takes me 30 seconds to pop my contacts in. It takes less than that to put on goggles before hitting a dusty trail.

 

[motorod]

My thoughts: They say there is a 2% failure rate with the surgery.

I'd gamble on 2% with a lot of things. My eye sight isn't one of them. For the unlucky 2%, that's a catastrophic life event.

It takes me 30 seconds to pop my contacts in. It takes less than that to put on goggles before hitting a dusty trail.

I wouldn’t say hindsight is 20/20... but then again I think it’s a serious enough surgery that you have to weigh the pros and cons and be willing to live with the cons. I did just that and I’m comfortable with the results but it wasn’t a walk in the park, I probably would have done 1 at a time had I known the complexity while on the table.

 

[CJ_Scottie]

I'm in a similar boat. My doctor says I'm a great candidate but warned that lasik can cause your eyes to be dryer than normal and that comes with it's own issues. But I notice most people are 50/50 with either doing it or not. Maybe a different type of contact lenses would help for now? Good luck!

 

[Gunrunner72]

Had my eyes done when I was 32, I'm 47 now. Vision is still great and have yet to need readers. I'd have done it 10 years sooner and even paid 10x more that it cost to get the benefit I've had. I was used to wearing contacts, always getting dirt and crud in my eyes then dealing with the painful effects along with eyes watering and irritated. No more of that b.s.

 

[smlobx]

First I would strongly reccomend seeing your eye doctor to make sure there isn’t something else going on.

‘Secondly, my wife wears hard contact lenses and is very susceptible to dust and wind irritation. My son sent us a pair of the glasses he uses downrange and they were terrific but are unavailable to the general public. We ended up buying her these and they have been a godsend. It might be worth a shot for you as well...

https://www.safetyglassesusa.com/el...with-black-frame-foam-and-gray-anti-fog-lens/

 

[Ryan...]

I had LASIK done in 2017. Took about 15 minutes total.

Was it worth it? 100% yes.

Would I do it again? Not a chance in hell. I'm a complete sissy when it comes to anything with my eyes, to the point I couldn't put contacts in. Vision 3 years later is still better than 20/20, so even if my eyes revert back to their original poor state in 10 years it'll have been worth it.

 

[OMTBiker]

I wouldn’t say hindsight is 20/20... but then again I think it’s a serious enough surgery that you have to weigh the pros and cons and be willing to live with the cons. I did just that and I’m comfortable with the results but it wasn’t a walk in the park, I probably would have done 1 at a time had I known the complexity while on the table.

Let me say that having one eye done at a time has it's own issues... I had mine done in 2007/2008, 3 weeks apart. While the end result was 20/15, I had major problems with only one eye done at a time and had/have dry eyes. The first three to four months felt like sand in my eyes every day. One beneficial side affect is that I know when I have not had enough water to drink and am dehydrated (vision turns fuzzy). I did lose contrast which was never presented as a possibility.

I had to get readers a couple years ago, I will not have surgery to correct near vision as there is more of a risk with each additional surgery.

 

[kd1yt]

Make sure you go to a skilled and conscientious Dr. . . . I'd really wanted to get the surgery - I've not only got extreme nearsightedness, but also extreme astigmatism, to extents that even high quality eyeglasses can't give me 'full average good' detail resolution at distance. So I went in really eager to get it. Turns out that in addition to the other oddities of my eyes, I have thin corneas. The Dr. that I went to said that with the extent of correction I'd need plus starting with thin corneas, portions of my corneas would end up dangerously thin after the operation. My disappointment in being a bad candidate for the laser surgery was completely surpassed by my gratitude for a knowledgeable Dr who had the scruples to turn down a paying customer. I've known people who were delighted with their outcomes, but I also have known people who had persistent problems and/or disappointing results. Make sure you put yourself in the hands of someone really, really good.

 

[Slapping_Rabbits]

i had it a couple years ago and it was phenomenal. fixed everything and the eye institute does a touch up when your eyes go bad again around 50. I had some minor irritation for a couple months that you use eye drops for, but thats it. Also, they give you a xanax before the surgery. best thing ever. wish i had some right now.

 

[awraynor]

Speak to your ophthalmologist. Diminishing returns to do it as you get older.

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