Lasik

[syntax]

why would they say no?
my big assesment is at the end of january, been waiting almost 2 months for an appointment with this guy

[CathJ]

Thanks jewelbox, eek

tau1z, there are a variety of reasons - if my corneas are too thin, for example. But the big one that concerns me is the cause of my irregular astigmatism. I'm pretty sure that there's nothing nasty behind it, but the other opthalmologist I was talking to was very negative and didn't seem to want to believe that it might be nothing; he thinks it is most likely keratoconus. While I think he's wrong, it does make a bit more anxious for tomorrow than I would be otherwise...

Plus, I went for an assessment a few years ago and was turned down because they didn't have wavefront technology then. They do now, but that terribly disappointing experience has been burned deep into my psyche

[syntax]

Thanks jewelbox, eek

tau1z, there are a variety of reasons - if my corneas are too thin, for example. But the big one that concerns me is the cause of my irregular astigmatism. I'm pretty sure that there's nothing nasty behind it, but the other opthalmologist I was talking to was very negative and didn't seem to want to believe that it might be nothing; he thinks it is most likely keratoconus. While I think he's wrong, it does make a bit more anxious for tomorrow than I would be otherwise...

Plus, I went for an assessment a few years ago and was turned down because they didn't have wavefront technology then. They do now, but that terribly disappointing experience has been burned deep into my psyche

he is probably overplaying it, but if ur cornea is thinning then it could be keratoconus, its exactly what i got. However treatment for that is also very optimistic even locally!! Hope it all goes well, i know how u feeling, i am also very nervous about my appointment...the idea that seeing properly again is unbelievable, but i dont think i could take the disappointment of hearing that i gotta live with what i got...

[Sackboy]

Thanks jewelbox, eek

tau1z, there are a variety of reasons - if my corneas are too thin, for example. But the big one that concerns me is the cause of my irregular astigmatism. I'm pretty sure that there's nothing nasty behind it, but the other opthalmologist I was talking to was very negative and didn't seem to want to believe that it might be nothing; he thinks it is most likely keratoconus. While I think he's wrong, it does make a bit more anxious for tomorrow than I would be otherwise...

Plus, I went for an assessment a few years ago and was turned down because they didn't have wavefront technology then. They do now, but that terribly disappointing experience has been burned deep into my psyche

What worries me is that they discover something new every year or so and what if they discover the method is flawed and we will only find out in 10 years time. That's the thing, it's experimental.

[CathJ]

What worries me is that they discover something new every year or so and what if they discover the method is flawed and we will only find out in 10 years time. That's the thing, it's experimental.

I doubt it... look at the history so far. It's been improved, definitely, but they weren't wrong in what they did before. Will there be improvements in another 10 years? Definitely! But I'll have had 10 years of good vision in the meantime, and that's worth a lot to me.

I wouldn't say it's experimental, either. It's been around for at least a decade, and they've done hundreds of thousands of ops. What extra would you want them to do to make it mainstream rather than experimental?

[Sackboy]

I doubt it... look at the history so far. It's been improved, definitely, but they weren't wrong in what they did before. Will there be improvements in another 10 years? Definitely! But I'll have had 10 years of good vision in the meantime, and that's worth a lot to me.

I wouldn't say it's experimental, either. It's been around for at least a decade, and they've done hundreds of thousands of ops. What extra would you want them to do to make it mainstream rather than experimental?

They weren't using only LASERs 10 years ago for this type of thing. It used to be a scalpel job with some LASER work AFAIK. I would ask the doctor.
Perhaps experimental wasn't the right word. We are only finding out the consequences now of work done 10-15 yrs ago. Some of it isn't good.

[marine1]

Have you had your assessment, marine1?

Best of luck - I didnt go in the end, just want to wait a bit and dont feel like spending money ATM. Pitty medical aid doesnt cover it.

[CathJ]

They weren't using only LASERs 10 years ago for this type of thing. It used to be a scalpel job with some LASER work AFAIK. I would ask the doctor.
Perhaps experimental wasn't the right word. We are only finding out the consequences now of work done 10-15 yrs ago. Some of it isn't good.

They used to cut the flap with a blade, and then do the laser work. The difference now is that they use a laser to cut the flap, then use another laser to do the ablation.

I haven't seen reports of long term side effects - there are people who had it done on the early systems that weren't happy, but I think they noticed those effects fairly quickly (within a year at the very longest). I don't think anyone's reported being happy after the surgery, but with problems developing after 5+ years.

[Frankie]

I had mine done in 1999 - I was far sighted.

Now I use prescription reading glasses.

I'm not convinced that any new technique can address the problems with night driving (lights causing star-bursts etc) - they use a special eye drop before the procedure to dilate your pupils and can only treat the exposed part.
The first year night driving was really bad for me, and only bearable now.

It's not just lights causing star-bursts at night - vision is very poor in low light even with my reading glasses.

I work in an industrial environment which is not always well lit, and this is a bugbear for me.

It's nice to go swimming and be able to see and wear whatever sun glasses you find on the shelf - I only use polaroid sun glasses and these would be very costly if prescription lenses.

If I was faced with the decision today, I'd not rule out having it done, but would need a lot more time to weigh up the pros and cons.

[Hosehead]

I'm going for my initial assessment tomorrow (long story, but ended up going with Prof Kruger in Tygervally rather than Dr Hill). They said I can go for an initial short assessment tomorrow, without having to leave my lenses out; then if that goes well I can do the full assessment in 6 weeks or so (and they'll give me soft lenses to wear in the meantime! So my vision won't be great, but will be better than with glasses).

Now I'm nervous. Not because of what they'll do, but because it could all be over tomorrow if they say no.

Have you had your assessment, marine1?

I'm pleased you ended up going with Prof Kruger! He is the best we have in SA, and just so you know, he was doing custom ablation/zyoptix long before Dr. Hill was!!
I have sent many overseas patients to check out Kuger since 2001 and have never had a complication complaint yet. Good luck with that surgery- he's a perfectionist. you are in great hands and He's the ONLY eye doc I'd consider going to for my own eyes.

[CathJ]

So far so good!

Next step is switching to soft lenses for 4 weeks, then glasses for 2 weeks, then a full assessment. And if that goes well, a day or two later I'll be having the surgery!

Does anyone know if I can use my hard lens prescription to get soft lenses, or do I need to go to my optometrist to get soft lenses fitted?

[syntax]

So far so good!

Next step is switching to soft lenses for 4 weeks, then glasses for 2 weeks, then a full assessment. And if that goes well, a day or two later I'll be having the surgery!

Does anyone know if I can use my hard lens prescription to get soft lenses, or do I need to go to my optometrist to get soft lenses fitted?

i needed to go to optometrist to get them fitted, it could be because of my condition though....but i am pretty sure you would need to go in...

[AcidRaZor]

I had lasik done. Best thing I could've done for myself. (I love my Xmas pressies to myself, they're always exactly what I wanted!)

My eye sight was better than 20/20 the next day, but it does "depreciate" over time and settles into 20/20 or a bit worse. Depending on how your eyes react.

Not sure what synergy was on about the 2nd surgery. Usually thats only needed to readjust the "flap" in case it moves (thats why they encourage you to sleep)

There was absolutely NO PAIN and it felt like I was sleepy (DONT RUB YOUR EYES!!) and didn't suffer from headaches or anything.

When i asked the Doc what his successrate was (about the movement of the flap) he told me the odds, and then he told me that in the 8 years he was doing this didn't have 1 case of it.

Asked him worst case scenario and he said they made a mistake once by doing the wrong eye (swopped left and right) but was corrected quite easily and soon after. They once did a cornea (? the flap bit?) transplant on a patient that was too thin and then lasik'ed it.

He said the person had -6.4 or something insane like that and they corrected it to the legal driving sight (which is astonishingly low, no wonder there's so many accidents!)

Anyway, just my experience. I had a failure chance of about 3% according to the doc and a 95% chance of having 20/20

I don't regret a thing. Thinking back now, i wish i did it sooner, but if I did I would have had the halo effect with the night driving thing.

First thing I did was buy myself sunglasses

[CathJ]

So I went through the whole process... wore soft lenses for 4 weeks (which wasn't nearly as difficult to adjust to as I thought it would be, and my vision was much better than I thought it would be), then switched to glasses for 2 weeks.

I went for the assessment yesterday, and the verdict was... yes! So I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning They think they can improve my vision to the point where I'll see as well as I currently do with contact lenses, but without contact lenses. Which would be absolutely awesome.

Now I'm a bit scared, of course, but I've done all the research and know what to expect. Wish me luck

[blunomore]

Now I'm a bit scared, of course, but I've done all the research and know what to expect. Wish me luck

Holding thumbs for you ! ! !