Post: #26

Awesome to hear YardDog! This is what I'm looking for!
Was there any follow up needed after the surgery? And if yes, how was that treated?

Looks like a viable option for sure.

Thanks for sharing it man!

Cheers.

(11-25-2014 03:46 AM)YardDog Wrote:  

(11-24-2014 12:14 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  I'm very seriously considering doing Lasik in the very near future. However, I'd rather do it overseas than in Canada. I have a buddy who did in Colombia a few years ago for peanuts and it's been great for him. I also know of many people who did it in Manila for 2k and it has been fine. Same in BKK.

Anyone in here has had Lasik done overseas? Preferably in SEA?

@VP

I got my LASIK (all laser with a new bad ass USA built machine) done in Cebu last January for 90,000 Pesos ($2000 USD).

It was a great experience, top notch staff, and my vision is now 20/10.

I've had zero problems with it. You will get halo effect for about 2 months and some dryness for about 3-4 months in my experience, but after that it's all good.

This is the place I went in Cebu: http://larrazabaleye.com/index.html

There are also comparable places here in Manila.

As others have said, this was the best $2000 I've spent. I always hated glasses/contacts and didn't start wearing them until late in life.

Post: #27

(11-22-2014 09:34 PM)monster Wrote:  One side effect I've had is that my pupils dilate a lot more than they did. This has caused people to ask if I'm on coke more often than you'd think. A few times I was speaking with cops - once I had asked for directions, and 2nd I had witnessed an accident - and they asked me if I was high and during one of these situations I was even detained while the fucker did sobriety tests on me due to my dilated pupils. It never affected my sensitivity to light though oddly enough.

my left pupil is lot bigger then right one none asked though if I'm on drugs

Post: #28

(11-25-2014 03:07 AM)PABeaulieu Wrote:  I got my operation in July of 2013, I went from a pair of glasses with -6.25 on the left and -4.50 on the right to a 20/25 left and 20/20 right vision. Overall it cost me around 5000$ Canadian Dollars but it's definitely the best investment in my life. However, I quickly discovered my eyes are slightly affected by presbyopia, but I can live without glasses.

what prices these are??? $5K??? My lasik cost $1000 there was other option for $2000 but doctor said I don't need it. But what are they doing for $5K???

Post: #29

(11-25-2014 06:22 PM)tawm Wrote:  I had PRK done in late July of this year at supposedly one of the best machines in the nation (US Air Force Academy) and it cost me nothing due to active duty military status. Best decision I ever made. There was a ton of pain for maybe 2 days and 2 nights, and then it dropped off considerably. I got a week off work, listened to audiobooks for much of that time and received conjugal visits to my place.

There were quite a few people in my "queue" that did LASiK instead of PRK. I recall the morning of my surgery they went first and evidently 7 out of 9 of them had some complication or other. I'm told this is pretty rare but hey, take it as it is.

One thing they tell you to do is take a lot of vitamin C afterward. What they should tell you is take ZMA and Omega 3s for months beforehand--I don't have hard evidence to support it, but I'm pretty sure it was the reason for my significantly better recovery than I've seen for other guys and gals my age. Be real careful about direct sunlight or brightness for a few months afterward. I couldn't walk outside without sunglasses for at least a month because it was like that first time in Fallout 3 when your character steps out of the vault--even on cloudy days.

yes fish oil is a must when doing lasik nobody told me that and I discovered it by pure accident I had very dry eyes after lasik nothing helped... then other doctor advised fish oil for better skin after 4H of taking first fish oil capsule symptoms of dry eyes significantly improved

Post: #30

Yes, there is a 48 hour checkup, a week checkup, a month, and then 3 months. The checkups are quick and easy provided everything is going as it should.

If you're worried about having to say at one place for 3 months I think that last checkup could be performed by most professionals. The first 3 I would want to do with the same docs.

(11-27-2014 12:34 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  Awesome to hear YardDog! This is what I'm looking for!
Was there any follow up needed after the surgery? And if yes, how was that treated?

Looks like a viable option for sure.

Thanks for sharing it man!

Cheers.

(11-25-2014 03:46 AM)YardDog Wrote:  

(11-24-2014 12:14 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  I'm very seriously considering doing Lasik in the very near future. However, I'd rather do it overseas than in Canada. I have a buddy who did in Colombia a few years ago for peanuts and it's been great for him. I also know of many people who did it in Manila for 2k and it has been fine. Same in BKK.

Anyone in here has had Lasik done overseas? Preferably in SEA?

@VP

I got my LASIK (all laser with a new bad ass USA built machine) done in Cebu last January for 90,000 Pesos ($2000 USD).

It was a great experience, top notch staff, and my vision is now 20/10.

I've had zero problems with it. You will get halo effect for about 2 months and some dryness for about 3-4 months in my experience, but after that it's all good.

This is the place I went in Cebu: http://larrazabaleye.com/index.html

There are also comparable places here in Manila.

As others have said, this was the best $2000 I've spent. I always hated glasses/contacts and didn't start wearing them until late in life.

Post: #31

I kinda want to sell all of my video games and my tv and put it towards this. I'm not really enjoying them and I've wanted to wake up and see clearly my entire life.

Post: #32

Do it man. But I would strongly consider ensuring your eligibility first beforehand.

Post: #33

Agreed, quitting computer games and tv was one of the best things ive done. Much more time to sleep, prepare food and focus on gym.

Post: #34

I got a LASIK operation this morning.
I already have my sight improved but with red eyes. I am sure I can attract any emo/goth girl now.

Post: #35

I was given a $4000 per eye quote for those implantable lenses which they would in turn have to do LASIK on after implant (to correct for my astigmatism).

Post: #36

I got LASIK done about two months ago. Took about 3 weeks to recover fully in daytime and about 4-5 weeks to recover fully in the nighttime. Had 20/20 vision within the first week. It feels fucking amazing to no longer be dependent on some object to see clearly. I feel like a burden has been lifted off my chest.

I recommend it to everyone who can afford it. I don't know if other places offer this, but mine offered an 18 month 0 interest payment plan.

Post: #37

I had Lasik done in May. I went from being legally blind to seeing 20/15. I was a little expensive, costing $3900, but still a great log term investment considering they basically gave me the ability to see. Also, the operation was only about 20 minutes and I could see next day. The day of kind of sucks, but once you you get to bed its alright. did see the halos around lights for about a month, but that has been going away steadily.

Post: #38

Eye damage is caused by lack of dopamine in the retina, if I understand correctly.

That means most people do not see enough natural light during the day.

It also means few focus on distant objects. They sit in front of a computer.

Spend a few hours per week, on a frequent basis, staring at something in the extreme distance. Do not blink.

It worked for me.

Edit: Granted, this is most critical as a child and during puberty, but SOME damage IS reversible.

Post: #39

Eye damage is often cause by too much sun as well. UV light tends to damage everything after awhile.

Blue light from computer screens can damage eyes as well.

Post: #40

I had LASIK done 19 years ago, just before I turned 40. Was over 8 diaopters correction before, corrected to 20/20 in my right eye and 20/30 in my left. Over almost two decades I have continued to become more nearsighted, I'm now about 20/35 in my right eye and about 20/50 in my left. Still legal to drive. And, I still don't need reading glasses. Going from everything being blurry beyond 2 inches to being able to live a normal life without glasses has been fantastic.

Post: #41

(11-24-2014 12:56 AM)StrikeBack Wrote:  I got mine done a few years ago. LASEK it was called, not LASIK, and it sounded like what you guys called PRK.

I did LASEK as well. From my understanding the basic difference between that and LASIK is that the cornea is temporarily peeled off with an alcohol solution, while with LASEK a scalpel is used to peel off the cornea.

I did cheap out though - I was a poor student so I went to the cheapest place I could find. At the time I couldn't find any other doctors in Sweden that wanted to take me, since they all recommended that I should be at least 25 before doing the surgery (I was 21 at the time). Considering everything it still went pretty well.

My vision was better than 20/20 for the first couple of years, now it's 'just' 20/20 (as of 2 years ago when I was at the optician the last time). Side effects that I had were/are:

1) It took about a month for my vision to be perfect. It was obviously much better even after a week, but it was gradually improving up until then.
1) At times blurry vision. This took about 6 months to fully resolve on its own.
2) Drier eyes. Still have this every now and then, but this was at its worst during the first 6 months.
2) Halo effects around bright objects at night. I still occasionally have it, but it's much rarer than before.
3) Harder to see things at night - I think this is also something that has improved with time.

Post: #42

This may not flow too well because I'm on mobile, but I just had LASIK done earlier today.

I walked out of there seeing great, as if I still had my glasses on. I was wearing some sunglasses they provided. My right eye was getting a burning sensation by the time I was home, so I popped two ibuprofen, took a nap (as the clinic instructed), and woke up feeling fine.

Right now my eyes have the same feeling like as if I've been crying like a baby all day. My eyes, especially the right, leak tears quite a bit, but subside after I put drops in. Right eye feels sort of like a piece of grass is in it.

I was given two (anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory) drops to put in 3 times a day for a week, and lubricant drops to put in every hour for the first two days, then only as needed. I hope I won't be needing them much.

There is a fuzzy hue around anything that emits light, but it certainly isn't debilitating. My distance vision and up close vision seems great. I think one of the reasons I'm doing so well is because my prescription was already quite mild, so maybe the procedure didn't have to be as invasive (?)

I chose a male doc to do it, who has over 15000 procedures under his belt. We first met in a room to talk about the procedure while an assistant gave me two Valium. After waiting I was brought into the surgical room where he had maybe two assistants with him. We had earlier joked about him securing my eyelids open to that one scene from a clockwork orange lol. The actual device is nothing like that, it's a sort of round thing that goes around the whole eye. Its a strange pressure-like suction feeling when it goes on. In the meantime he tapes down the other eye. To create the flap he used a femtosecond laser. He plants it right in top of your eye and the laser does the job to make the inscision. He then moves the flap over to expose the underneath. At this point your vision blurs significantly. Afterwards, he rotated the table I was on to the actual lasik machine. Looking up into the device, its basically 3 vertical ovals made out of light, all side by side. The two on the outside are red and the one in the center is green. All you do is look at the green one. You'll hear a buzz when he starts and then it only takes a few seconds. After that he closed the flaps and personally helped me up.

After that I was brought to a small room where a different doc looked into my eyes with a light, took my questions, and gave me the ok to leave.

I go back in tomorrow for a checkup. So far I'm really glad I went through with it. I'll update overtime.

Post: #43

Anyone else had experiences getting LASIK or PRK done overseas?

I was planning on doing it before leaving, but I'll be in Cebu in January.....might just save myself 3k and do it there.

Post: #44

Worth it 100% during mine the guy fucked up and we had to refloat one of the flaps so that was unnerving. A bit of soreness for a day or two but now it is all good. You'll not regret it.

Post: #45

I had lasik done almost 16 years ago. Best money I ever spent. Seriously, I went from not being able to see further than 6 inches from my face to perfect vision overnight. My vision's started declining since about age 45, but they tell you up front Lasik doesn't fix aging. In some cases they can do a followup correction, but in my case they had to remove so much due to the high correction that I can't get a touch up. Though tech has advanced a lot in 16 years. Maybe they can do something now, but honestly I need glasses only for driving at night or when I'm in a meeting at the back of the room and they have slides up, so at this point it's not worth another few thousand, whatever it costs.

The advice back then was to look at how long the doctor's been doing lasik and how many procedures they've done. There's a very strong correlation between experience and success rate. Nowadays, I understand that the procedure is even more automated and it sounds like the doc has less to do with it, but I'd still recommend going with someone with more experience.

Cost was around $4000. If your employer offers an FSA, use it. It's like a tax-sheltered payment plan. I spent the 4K in January and paid it off all year with pre-tax money. Next best thing is an HSA but you have to pay into it and then withdraw the money when you've saved enough.

Post: #46

How to choose between LASIK, LASEK, PRK?

Post: #47

(11-02-2016 03:49 PM)polar Wrote:  How to choose between LASIK, LASEK, PRK?

Probably been mentioned already but in LASIK the corneal epithelium (the clear skin over your eye) is cut in a circular shape around the iris but stays connected via a hinge - just an uncut portion of the circular flap. The flap is then moved to the side and re-positioned over the iris after you've been zapped. Recover is extremely fast.

In PRK they grind off the entire corneal epithelium and leave it to heal in its entirety over the course of several weeks after the procedure. I believe the initial week or so you wear a contact lens-like cover over your eye. The recovery process is much more debilitating, but once you're healed your entire corneal epithelium is in one piece.

I believe LASEK is an alternative procedure if either PRK or LASIK are not a viable option. Its sort of a mixture of both procedures.

You're typically a candidate for both procedures, or one or the other. There is always a recurring discussion over the displacement of the corneal flap from the LASIK procedure, but I figure if I get nailed with something hard enough to displace the flap, my eye is going to need medical attention anyways. I mentioned earlier that MMA fighters have fought their entire careers after getting LASIK, so that's good enough for me.

An update:

Left eye is doing pretty great, I have good vision at all distances. My right eye is not good for distance yet, but great close up vision. I certainly won't be satisfied if its poor distance vision were to stay this way. However, it's only my fifth day since surgery so I anticipate it improving at least over the next month. Have two more days of anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory drops, then should be smooth sailing (and further visual improvement hopefully) till my check up on the 18th.

No real dryness issues in either eye but I'm still putting in lubricating drops from time to time because it can be beneficial with the healing process. I find by the end of the day my eyes are pretty fatigued, but they feel rejuvenated after I put some drops in.

Post: #48

I did Super Lasik about year and a half ago. Apart from discomfort the first few days and adjustment and slight blurriness during the first month I have now forgotten that I have ever done it.

I am really satisfied with the whole thing.

Although I am not doing contact sports (anymore) I did some wake-boarding and once I fell really awkwardly smashing my face against water on high speed. That forced my eyelids open and it felt like my eyes filled up with water in spaces between eyes and top eyelids. That felt pretty terrible. I thought my cornea is gone and I will have to search for it on the bottom of the lake, not mentioning that this was in Indonesia with fresh water full of bacteria. Surprisingly nothing happened. Nothing changed and I felt totally normal. I did not even feel dryness the next day.

As far as I understand Super Lasik is only different in how they map the shape of the cut on the computer. It also removes astigmatism.
I was hesitant to make this operation, now I regret it. Should have done it earlier.

Post: #49

Colombian prices in regards to medicine is freaking cheap. I had an idea a while back to sell medical services abroad, but didn't went through with it.

For example, my father in law is a sub specialized ophthalmologist with a sub specialization on lasik and prices are nothing compared to the US.

US medical services are just damn expensive.

Post: #50

(11-02-2016 10:33 PM)Vinny Wrote:  Surprisingly nothing happened. Nothing changed and I felt totally normal. I did not even feel dryness the next day.

As far as I understand Super Lasik is only different in how they map the shape of the cut on the computer. It also removes astigmatism.
I was hesitant to make this operation, now I regret it. Should have done it earlier.

The problem with lasik is the flap never heals and can be dislodged at any time; say, in a more serious accident than just hitting water with your face. Think a car accident with an air balloon hitting your eyes. There were registered cases when both corneas came off in such accidents.

Also, many complications are delayed in time, occurring like 5 years later.

The following is worth noting:
Ray Tsai, M.D., who was the leading Lasik surgeon in Taiwan, recently announced he would no longer do the procedure because he is seeing people developing serious complications 8-10 years after having had it done. According to the China Times, “Tsai said that many patients receiving Lasik surgery have suffered significant losses in eyesight 10 years after the surgery, suggesting that the surgery led to keratitis, inflammation of the cornea.” Tsai said it was a matter of medical ethics that he stop performing the procedure. But rather than immediately launching a retrospective study of patients who’d had Lasik performed ten or more years ago, which would have been both the ethical and medically correct thing to do, Lasik surgeons in the United States circled the wagons and have tried to label this doctor as a misguided alarmist, and to encourage potential Lasik customers to believe the fallacy that the procedure is perfectly safe.

Before you let them cut on your eyes spend an hour at http://www.lasikcomplications.com/.

Bottomline, don't risk it, imho. It's your only pair of eyes.

Glasses are a mush safer option and in fashion now.
Anyways, chicks 'dig' dorks. ))