So, you wanna finance that LASIK?

[Marquette]

Sorry... I got a kick out of this. They've been running this radio spot for a month or so now and I am just in shock every time.

If you qualify, you can go get LASIK and pay nothing for the first year. Blah blah blah, cue the quick talk at the end. You must pay in full after the first year or negotiate a payment plan. The balance starts accruing interest at the time the operation is performed at a variable APY, currently 29.5%. The interest is still charged even if the balance is paid in full.

Let's not even talk about some of the inherent issues with LASIK that they're seldom forthcoming about.

 

[Martha]

Sounds like it could be a violation of local usury laws.

 

[FUEGO]

For some folks (like me) it drastically improves quality of life. Sometimes it is hard to function when you are blind. I paid cash but worth every penny and then some. Funneled the $$ through the HSA so the gov't picked up 1/3 the cost.

 

[retire@40]

Let's not even talk about some of the inherent issues with LASIK that they're seldom forthcoming about.

I've talked with dozens of people who have had LASIK and I don't know one person who has had a problem, including myself.

 

[Walt34]

I do. One of the people I worked with had LASIK surgery done and he had serious problems for months seeing halos around bright lights, especially at night. He said it made it impossible for him to drive at night during that time.

 

[retire@40]

For some folks (like me) it drastically improves quality of life. Sometimes it is hard to function when you are blind. I paid cash but worth every penny and then some. Funneled the $$ through the HSA so the gov't picked up 1/3 the cost.

Funny how some people look at this.

I would say you paid 100% of the cost for LASIK. Because some of your income got put in a pre-tax medical account, you didn't have to pay taxes on that part of your income.

 

[FUEGO]

Funny how some people look at this.

I would say you paid 100% of the cost for LASIK. Because some of your income got put in a pre-tax medical account, you didn't have to pay taxes on that part of your income.

I know what you mean - it's my money no matter how you look at it, it was just a matter of doing something to avoid the government taking it.

In effect I had a choice of either having LASIK for $2000 out of pocket or having $2000 cash in hand and bad vision (after tax effects are considered).

I may have made a different decision if the gov't wasn't allowing a pre-tax cafeteria plan deduction for the whole surgery. If I valued the surgery at an amount less than $3000 but more than $2000, I would not have underwent surgery absent the tax break. Before the fact, this was the case for me. After the fact, I would gladly pay the full $3000 w/o tax breaks for the same outcome/satisfaction.

 

[Marquette]

I've talked with dozens of people who have had LASIK and I don't know one person who has had a problem, including myself.

I had a friend who got LASIK because he didn't want to be dependant on glasses or contacts when the world ends. Even though he kept asking questions about it, it wasn't until after the procedure was done and he actually talked to the doc that he was told "no, that cut will never heal to more than a few percent of it's prior strength, that's why we can correct it down the line, the flap never fully re-attaches". That's also why you're not supposed to engage in certain physical activities if you'd had LASIK. You're at risk for dislodging the flap.

 

[CCdaCE]

Three more payments and this eyeball is mine!

-CC

 

[simple girl]

I've talked with dozens of people who have had LASIK and I don't know one person who has had a problem, including myself.

I am very, very happy I had Lasik done, but I did have problems. I had severe pain after the surgery. Also, my eyes felt very scratchy and dry for the first month or two, and the dryness didn't fully go away until about 9 months to a year later. I had to use extra thick eye drops quite often. I also had bad halos with difficulty driving at night during that time (I still have mild halos, but not so severe I can't drive safely.)

They also overcorrected one eye which thankfully only seems to affect my ability to see the computer screen clearly. I have corrected for it by buying $5 reading glasses at Walmart (lowest strength) and popping out the R lens. I look silly when I'm on the computer and people at work make jokes about my "glass", LOL.

This, IMO, was a very small price to pay for the tremendous improvement in my quality of life. I was very, very nearsighted (-9.5 glasses prescription) and was on the high end of the "bell curve" for those who can have Lasik. So I think I have an awesome result. I can go snorkeling and swim without worrying about losing a contact lens, and I no longer have the chronic dryness I had from wear contacts.

My DH had Lasik with no troubles at all, but his vision wasn't very bad to begin with. My suspicion is that the more of a correction you need, the more apt you are to have some difficulties.

 

[bright eyed]

I do. One of the people I worked with had LASIK surgery done and he had serious problems for months seeing halos around bright lights, especially at night. He said it made it impossible for him to drive at night during that time.

yup, a friend of mine can't drive at night anymore because of it!

i've also heard spots down here (where every 3rd commercial is for a different plastic surgery center) about buy one eye, get the other free - that just sounds funny... wonder if they'd ever give that offer for boobs.

 

[Achiever51]

I had Lasik five years ago and it truly changed my life. As I mentioned in another thread, my uncorrected vision was 20/400 --- with severe astigmatism in my left eye -- and even with hard contacts, my vision never was crystal clear. Until Lasik that is. Overnight, my vision was corrected to 20/15 and has not changed.

I was concerned about the possibility of "halo vision" as I did experience that with my contacts due to the fact that my pupils are pretty large to begin with, and they would enlarge in the dark and I would in effect see the edge of the contact. I discussed with with my surgeon and he made the correction area a little larger than normal. I had dry eyes for about a week or so afterwards, but that was the only after effect.

As I've said, this surgery changed my life. Not a day goes by that I don't see something and marvel at the clarity of my vision...and thank God for the skill of my surgeon!!

 

[amy5708]

I love my Lasik.

Of course, being a little chicken, DH went first....

 

[retire@40]

I love my Lasik.

Of course, being a little chicken, DH went first....

Somebody had to go first.

Although a few people mentioned the dry eyes and temporary "halos", every person I have met has been really happy with their new eyes.

People that never had to wear glasses or contacts don't realize how much of a pain it is not to be able to see in the shower, or having to worry about not falling asleep with contact lenses on, or having to take your glasses off before putting on a sweater, or not being able to put your head on a pillow while wearing glasses, or having to worry about some snot-nosed kid you are holding decide to pull your glasses of your face, etc, etc, etc.

It really is amazing that a 10 to 15 minutes procedure can change your life forever.

 

[Redbugdave]

I have worn hard contacts, (gas permeable), since the late 70s. I'm blind as a bat otherwise. I like my contacts, but have wondered about Lasik, Radial, and whatever other there is. My question is...have any long term studies been done on these procedures? What will your eyes be like in 20 or 30 years? After you have been cut on, no more contacts, only glasses if things go downhill?

 

[amy5708]

After you have been cut on, no more contacts, only glasses if things go downhill?

DH had his 4 or 5 yrs ago, no problems. I grilled my optometrist before the procedure, and she admitted that if they use special contacts in the event of complications.

We do have a friend that was unsuccessful with his Lasik; he could see far away, but had really bad reading sight right after. He was operated on 3 times over 2 years, and now has to have glasses.

So you can have multiple procedures, and wear contacts.

There is another procedure where they implant a lens, similar to a contact. But it's newer and more expensive

 

[aaronc879]

Unfortunetly i've been told i'm not a good candidate for conventional laser eye surgery. There is a newer version that costs about $8000-$9000 that "might" work. There's no way i'm paying that much for surgery that may not work. I've had glasses since I was 10 so I don't really remember a time when I didn't have them so I think i'll just keep the glasses. Elective eye surgery is obviously not something I would ever consider paying for with credit.

 

[retire@40]

Unfortunetly i've been told i'm not a good candidate for conventional laser eye surgery. There is a newer version that costs about $8000-$9000 that "might" work..

Have you considered PRK instead of LASIK? Cost is about the same, but PRK involves a longer and more uncomfortable recovery time than LASIK.

 

[aaronc879]

Have you considered PRK instead of LASIK? Cost is about the same, but PRK involves a longer and more uncomfortable recovery time than LASIK.

Sounds great Seriously though, I never heard of PRK but will look into it.

 

[Achiever51]

Sounds great Seriously though, I never heard of PRK but will look into it.

PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) is a procedure that uses the excimer laser to reshape the cornea, such as with LASIK. The difference between LASIK and PRK is instead of a corneal flap; the top protective layer of the cornea called the epithelium is removed. The epithelium will regenerate in about 3 days. A contact lens is placed in the eye and the doctor sees you daily until the epithelium is healed. PRK was mainly performed prior to development of LASIK. However, it is still used in select cases for example, where the cornea is too thin for LASIK or if there is a pre-existing scar that can be eliminated through the procedure.

I had Lasik and as I've said before, it's changed my life. You cannot imagine the incredible thrill of looking at a tree from some distance and seeing the individual leaves and branches and maybe a bird or two -- where the day before all I could make out was the general shape of the tree and some movement of green. And the first time I could open the dishwasher and not have a burst of steam cloud up my vision...well, that's just amazing, I tell ya.

But OK, here's the worst part of having Lasik. It is really a painless procedure and the actual laser beam part takes only a very small fraction of a second. But, when the surgeon makes the flap from your cornea at the beginning of the procedure, you do lose all vision in that eye for maybe 2 or 3 seconds. Everything simply goes black -- and although I knew it was going to happen, I felt a real panic. Then the procedure is over and while my vision in that eye was blurry (the doctor puts a gel type med in your eye to lubricate it), I knew I could see. Oh yeah. Then they do the other eye and again, everything simply goes black for a second or two. By the time I sat up (probably no more than 10 minutes after the procedure started), I already could see the time on the clock on the wall.

 

[ExtinctBird]

I just had lasik done 2 months ago. For anyone considering the procedure, here is my experience.

I had been wearing rigid (gas permeable) lenses for nearly 30 years due to approx. 20:400 vision and astigmatism. My corrected vision with contacts was about 20:15. I am 43, and my near vision has always been very good.

I had put off getting laser surgery for quite awhile; waiting until I was comfortable with the technology evolutions and the long term data. I finally got fed up enough with the hassles of contacts, especially getting any small grit under the contact that drives you crazy until you can get the contact out and rinsed off. In the end, I researched all the nearby doctors, and resisted any thoughts of using a low-cost provider or going to Canada for cheaper costs. I wanted a doctor that I could reasearch easily, that I would be able to go to for all pre-op and post-op visits, and one that had a long history of verified success with the equipment. (I certainly paid more than most, but price was definitely not the primary concern in this situation.)

- I attended a free informational seminar and 2 pre-op appointments with the doctor doing the procedure, as well as a pre-op visit to the laser facility.
- I went over one month before the surgery without wearing my contact, so that my eyes would go back to their natural shape. This was to assure that the cornea mapping remained stable between pre-op visits, so that the laser mapping was precise.
- After the surgery, I had a 1-day, 1-week, and 1-month post-op visit with the doctor. I still have a 3-month appointment scheduled.
- I was given all the warnings about possible complications, but I had the success background of the doctor. He told me that I was an excellent candidate, with the possible exception of my larger than average (7mm) pupil size. This meant that I was more likely to have some night glare and halo issues when night driving.

For the procedure itself, I arrived at the center with my 2 small Valium pills with me. After making sure I had all the paperwork complete, I was instructed to take 1 pill. This really helped to calm down any anxiety I was having, especially after hearing screaming from a room when we first walked in. (It turned out to be the young child of a patient in a waiting room.) I had no trouble at all during the procedure, other than some discomfort as the doctor pushed to get the suction cup attached to my second eye. I was a bit surprised at how long it took for the actual laser procedure to actually run: about 2:14 per eye.

Immediately after the procedure, I felt a bit of the grainy feeling in both eyes. I also was quite light sensitive, since they dialate the pupils for the procedure. I was instructed to go home, take the second Valium, and rest. When I woke up about 3 hours later, I no longer had any grainy feeling. I can honestly say that I have not had any pain or discomfort whatsoever since.

My wife drove me to my 1-day post-op appointment, since I was not sure if they would be dialating my pupils again or if my vision was really good enough to drive yet. I think my vision was about 20:30 or 20:40 that first day. My close up reading vision was not nearly as good as it was before the surgery. I was told to avoid windy or strenuous activity and to avoid my dogs for the first week, since there was a higher risk of messing up the flaps that were cut.

I started driving after that first day. On my first night-time trip, I was surprised to find that my night vision was at least as good as it was before the surgery. I'm not sure why I did not have glare or halo issues, but it really has not been a problem for me at all. At my 1-week post-op appointment, my vision was 20:30 in 1 eye and 20:20 in the other. My up close reading was still not as good as I would have liked.

I knew that my vision was supposed to stabilize more and possibly improve over the first month after the procedure. Some days I would be a bit more foggy than other days. However, at my 1-month appointment, I was very happy to find that my vision was 20:15 in both eyes, and my reading vision was back to what it was before the surgery. I could read over half the 20:15 line with each eye individually, but I could clearly read the entire line with both eyes uncovered. The doctor told me that I have no activity restrictions anymore, except that I should avoid rubbing my eyes. (You aren't supposed to rub your eyes anyway, but the flaps they cut on the corneas for this procedure apparently never fully heal 100%.)

As far as medications, I was instructed to take a particular supplement for a month before and 2 months after the surgery, in order to help increase tear production. I was given 2 different perscription eye drops to use 4 times/day after the surgery. I am also using an OTC eye wetting drop a few times/day, which helps to clear my vision whenever the vision gets a bit fuzzy. I am supposed to be able to slowly reduce my need for these drops now too.

Overall, I am EXTREMELY happy with my results. I wanted better than average results, although I was prepared to have night driving challenges for a month or two. I did also expect to have discomfort from dry eyes for awhile. My vision is now at least as good as my previously corrected vision, and the only dry eye issues are infrequent fuzzy vision. This is immediatly relieved with the eye drops though.

 

[retire@40]

Here is a great summary of someone's LASIK experience. It does an excellent job of summarizing what you can expect to go through when you have LASIK done.

My LASIK experience