Eye Can See Clearly

[RetireAge50]

Someone mentioned in the cable tv thread their eyesight not as good with age.

Thought I would start a new thread on the subject.

I had the typical bad vision and fumbled with contacts and glasses for about 20 years.

Then I made the best decision I have ever made and got laser surgery. Literally was the easiest thing ever and took less than a minute.

The whole world is crystal clear at all times day and night. This is NOT expected to change with age.

Everyone has to make their own decision on this but it sure is amazing to have perfect vision!



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[Midpack]

I've been on the fence re: Lasik for many years, glasses are a PITA even though all I've ever needed since age 44 is "cheaters" for reading.

No one I know who's undergone Lasik has had problems, or any regrets.

And I assume today's procedures are safer/better than 10 years ago, much better than 16 years ago.

However, there are risks (loss of vision however unlikely) and it's a still a relatively new procedure so the long term outcomes are unknown. I can't count the number of foods, medical procedures, etc. that were deemed "safe" and then later found partially or completely otherwise, and some deemed "safe" again! Where a success rate of 'high 90's' would be more than acceptable for many things, I'd be looking for close to 100% where my eyesight is concerned. YMMV

I look forward to following this discussion (honestly).

What are the risks and how can I find the right doctor for me?

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/lasik-eye-surgery/basics/risks/prc-20019041

Lasik Success Rates are High, but Be Aware of Risks | Angies List

The industry boasts a success rate in the high 90 percent range, but not everyone is happy with Lasik.

A small study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology in 2008, found about one in five who had Lasik to correct nearsightedness underwent another procedure within 10 years because of undercorrection, overcorrection or regression.

John Ciccone, a spokesman for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, puts the overall number for touch-up surgeries at closer to 7 to 10 percent.

The best candidates are adults with a stable prescription — their eyes aren't worsening. [Me: my vision has very gradually deteriorated for 15 years, may never be "stable?"]

"It's not an iffy procedure," says Dr. Brown, who had it done on his eyes 10 years ago. But because Lasik was only approved in 1998 by the FDA, the agency says the long-term safety and effectiveness of the procedure is unknown.

 

[Corporateburnout]

Excuse my limited knowledge with LASIK surgery but is it true that it will help rectify nearsightedness or farsightedness but not both. Is this your experience?

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[W2R]

I'm waiting for cataract surgery. Shouldn't be too long before I'm ready for that, I'm told.

I am not going to have any surgery on my baby blues until I feel the need for it simply cannot be denied. Having a 100% blind family member will do that to you, I guess, especially since he became blind due to surgery that was supposed to be perfectly safe. And it was, for almost everyone.

 

[Walt34]

I'm with W2R on this - if it isn't 100% safe I don't want anything done to my eyes. I only have two and I'd like to keep them, thank you.

 

[RetireAge50]

When I had it done several years ago they could fix either the far vision or near vision but not both. Not sure if this is still the case.

I had the far sighted fixed so everything about 2 feet and farther is perfect. Near sight may get worse with age but far sight should remain perfect.

Without the surgery would still have to correct the far sight with contacts and wear reading glasses for near. Or bifocals or something.




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[Likes_to_Lurk]

I had cataract surgery on both eyes in the last 3 months. It went great and I now have AWESOME distance vision. (I do need glasses to read.) I wore glasses for distance since I was in high school, so I am tickled with the result!

One thing I learned in my research was that those patients who have had Lasik may have a harder time receiving the correct lens in cataract surgery. Lasik affects the ability to accurately calculate the best prescription.

It's a tradeoff. Everyone has to make their own decision.

 

[omni550]

Question: Does everyone (if they live long enough) end up needing cataract surgery?

omni

 

[nuke_diver]

my understanding is that surgical techniques for Presbyopia are not great but I would imagine with the greying of the nation there is ongoing work. This is my problem and while my distance vision is still good I need either readers or progressives (used at work) because of the difficulty seeing things up close. I don't like glasses in general and the progressives make my eyes sore since the area for proper focus is so limited I invariably look in out of focus areas.

If there is a technique to lose the glasses for me I would love to hear it. My SIL got LASIK and was very happy but now she is starting to have trouble close up without glasses just like a normal farsighted person...so I guess you can't avoid it.

 

[NW-Bound]

Thread title reminds me of this song.

Jimmy Cliff - I Can See Clearly Now With Lyrics - YouTube

 

[sengsational]

I have glasses for distance, but take them off to read and sit at the computer.

So for me, if I got Lasik, I'd be switching out one pair of glasses (distance) for another pair (reading/computer).

If the day comes that I need reading glasses anyway, I'm going for Lasik....but not until that day.

 

[stepford]

Like most our age DW and I in our mid-50s are starting to have issues with poorer vision. She and I, however, had unusually good vision in our youth (I tested at 20/13 well into my 40s and she was nearly the same).

I expect little sympathy, but the issue with fading eyesight is, if anything, a more bigger adjustment for us than those who've lived with glasses for years. No surgical improvements available - just a daily reminder that the habits of a lifetime no longer work quite as well. I still manage pretty well without glasses (though I did break down recently and buy a pair of readers for little type in the evenings when I'm tired, and DW makes deserved fun of me for having a "head-sized" Galaxy Note 3 cell phone which makes reading a bit easier). She, however, now needs bifocals pretty constantly and it "majorly bums her out".

 

[Derslickmeister]

I know quite a few people that have had LASIK surgery, NONE of them have been satisfied with the results. As a matter of fact two of them have vision worse than before they had the surgery...

 

[photoguy]

My brother had this done and is quite happy with the results.

What I would like to know is what percentage of ophthalmologists that do NOT offer the surgery have this done on themselves?

Also can one take out insurance on the outcome of the surgery?

 

[donheff]

I am with W2R on this one. I have two siblings with retinitis pigmentosa and don't want to risk screwing up my eyesight. Also, IIRC lasik is one way or the other, they do not recommend setting one eye for distance and the other for reading which is what I do with contacts. My monovision contact approach enables me to spend my days without glasses whether I am reading, driving, whatever. I wouldn't consider surgery unless it would do something similar. I do have a small cataract and will eventually need the lens replaced.

 

[braumeister]

I was never a candidate for the surgery, since my myopia was too severe.
But a friend (physician) was talked into RK a number of years ago (the old, scalpel-based surgery used before lasik). He let an ophthalmologist friend do it to him for free, just to get some extra practice at it. The result was a complete disaster.
Now he has to carry half a dozen pairs of glasses around with him, because his vision varies so much between waking up and the end of the day that he can only see properly with the custom prescription for each particular couple of hours. Frightening.

 

[Ally]

I love my sight after cataract surgery. Plus, my insurance paid the bill, being medically necessary. And by the way, I asked my doctor how much it would have cost for me to have had the surgery just for vision correction and he said about $5000. He said some people choose to do that over LASIK. My eyesight was so bad that I couldn't do LASIK, but if I had known I could have paid for it and thrown out my glasses, I would have paid and done it years earlier.


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[KrissK]

I had the Lasik procedure in my left eye. The results were great, but unfortunately they didn't last. At my last eye appointment my Dr. remarked that "your left eye is just along for the ride."

 

[Al in Ohio]

"Not expected to change with age"?

Where did you get that idea? Age stops for no one.

I did lasik back in 1997 and yes it was awesome. But don't expect the 20/20 or 20/30 to last forever. Your eyes change no matter what and the eyes lense becomes less pliable, gets cataracts, changes shape etc. No stopping that. Now you did set back the clock perhaps many years doing the procedure so enjoy the younger vision correction now. I used to get new glasses almost every year when younger, after the lasik I went at least 5-7 years before I got glasses again.


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[Al in Ohio]

Oh by the way. Before surgery my eyes were 20/800. After they were 20/20. Huge difference, so I know your exuberance.


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[RetiredAndFree]

"Not expected to change with age"?

Where did you get that idea? Age stops for no one.

I did lasik back in 1997 and yes it was awesome. But don't expect the 20/20 or 20/30 to last forever. Your eyes change no matter what and the eyes lense becomes less pliable, gets cataracts, changes shape etc. No stopping that. Now you did set back the clock perhaps many years doing the procedure so enjoy the younger vision correction now. I used to get new glasses almost every year when younger, after the lasik I went at least 5-7 years before I got glasses again.


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+1

DH had Lasik about seven years ago, approx $3,000 for both eyes. His eyesight improvement lasted about three years, at which point he once again needed corrective lenses, though to be sure, at a much lower correction level than before the surgery.

 

[Buckeye]

Question: Does everyone (if they live long enough) end up needing cataract surgery?

omni

DH saw the ophthalmologist (one of my all-time favorite doctors) on Tuesday and the Dr. said that no one 'needs' cataract surgery unless the cataract is negatively affecting your lifestyle to the point you feel that something needs to be done. We made the appointment for DH because, about a year ago, an optometrist commented he saw some clouding in one of DH eyes and recommended he get a cataract exam sometime in the next year.

We were treating cataracts as something to catch early but Dr. said that's not the case. How often do you have an eye surgeon discourage you from getting surgery? He said if your cataracts aren't causing you lifestyle issues, do nothing. The presence of cataracts is not a reason to have cataract surgery, in his opinion.

 

[donheff]

We were treating cataracts as something to catch early but Dr. said that's not the case. How often do you have an eye surgeon discourage you from getting surgery? He said if your cataracts aren't causing you lifestyle issues, do nothing. The presence of cataracts is not a reason to have cataract surgery, in his opinion.

My doc said the same thing. I assume because all surgery has risk.

 

[MichaelB]

How often do you have an eye surgeon discourage you from getting surgery? He said if your cataracts aren't causing you lifestyle issues, do nothing. The presence of cataracts is not a reason to have cataract surgery, in his opinion.

I visited three eye surgeons. One discouraged surgery, one said to do it now, the third said to do it when I was ready.

They all made it clear that I could wait, there was no compelling need to immediately remove the cataract. Of course, even a change in prescription wasn't enough to see better than 20/40 in my right eye. I wouldn't pass my next eye exam at the DMV, which happens in 2 years. Even with glasses everything was blurry in my right eye, and it was still progressing. So, yes, this might qualify as a lifestyle choice, but it was not a desire to replace the glasses, it was a desire to continue to drive at night and see a movie screen clearly.

My left eye, OTOH, is more of a financial choice. The deterioration isn't as bad, I could put it off for a couple of years. My out of pocket cost for the right eye however, will be over $4.5k, with ophthalmologist visits I've reached my $6k total OOP for the year, so the remaining eye will cost me nothing if I do it this year, vs $4-5k if I wait. A perverse incentive to be sure, but even the surgeon (the one that said to take my time) agreed.

 

[donheff]

Of course, even a change in prescription wasn't enough to see better than 20/40 in my right eye. I wouldn't pass my next eye exam at the DMV, which happens in 2 years. Even with glasses everything was blurry in my right eye, and it was still progressing.

I haven't taken an eye test at the DMV in decades. Do they accept monovision contacts? I see fine but each eye is different. If I used standard glasses I could correct for distance but could not read. I would hate to have to buy bifocals to pass the dumb test.