Laser Vision Surgery for Developers?

cyclops asks: "I have been contemplating about going for LASIK surgery for a couple of years. I want to get rid of my dependency on glasses or lenses because I really find them cumbersome. The main thing that is stopping me now is that like you, programming is my livelihood and thus I spent a major part of my day staring into the monitor. I have readthat there is always a certain percentage of patients not regaining 20/20 vision but it's OK for them since most of them don't need that sharp vision during work. I am about to consult with a LASIK surgeon but I would love to hear anecdotal evidence about your experiences, to hear if it works out for you eventually. (I have stable myopia of -5.50 and astimagtism of -1.00 for 3 years already)." Ask Slashdot has handled this issue in the past in two previous articles: this one from 1999, and a related article from 2000. With at least 2 years since the last time this question was posed, how has medical technology improved in this aspect? For those unwilling or unable to take advantage of Laser Surgery, have other viable alternatives arisen in the past two years?

Sonar

[Grip3n]

Ever considered life as a bat? Well then you should consider forsaking your lousy eyes and getting Sonar [subportal.com]!

My experience

[papasui]

I've found that I don't need any of those expensive methods to fix my eyes what I did is I took a magnifying glass, a mirror, and a Microsoft Optical Mouse and reflected the light from the mirror onto my magnifying glass and stared into it for about 45 seconds. It gets a little hard to look at after the first 20 seconds passes but the burning sensation usually stops after 35 seconds and then your almost home free! Rinse and repeat. Total cost ~$52 USD.

(Disclaimer: Please do not try this.)

Obligatory Simpsons Reference

[Cyno01]

from BABF13 - Bart to the Future

Ralph: Mr. Flanders, your blindedid.

Flanders: Yeah, I never shoulda had that trendy laser surgery, it was great at first, but at the 10 year mark your eyes fall out.

do it yourself

[joe_bruin]

i stared into the fiber coming from our t3 drop, and my vision was miraculously cured. well, except for the one dark spot that has a burned in backwards "NORTEL" logo on it.

You've come to the right place then

[Target Drone]

I would love to hear anecdotal evidence about your experiences

If it's anecdotal evidence, conjecture, speculation, or just good old innuendo your interested in then Ask Slashdot is the place for you.

Alternatives

[guttentag]

For those unwilling or unable to take advantage of Laser Surgery, have other viable alternatives arisen in the past two years?

There have been some amazing advances in the Braille terminal industry.

I can see my wife in the morning

[SIGFPE]

I hope she turned out to be as good looking as you hoped. A low pass filter does wonders for a woman's beauty and having it removed like that can be a shock!

Cyclops is looking for help with his vision!!!

[Gandalf21]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the guy posing this question has the nick cyclops? If I were him, I would be very careful not to damage my lone good eye .)

Re:Don't Do It!

[Timmeh]

We /.ers don't like FUD.

Hogwash. General statements like that are just FUD. ;P

Re:My Experience

[sg3000]

> U iust hsd LASIK seigyry n doth ryes om
> Tjuessay. Sp fsr I hdve rxprriences mo oroblens
> ay all.

Last Thursday, huh? Figures. You misspelled just about everything in your post. ;-)

No...

[Greyfox]

But my brain did supply sound effects. That was disturbing. It went "*SCHLURP*... *POIK*...EEEEZzzztZzztZzttt *ZAPPO* *ZAPPO* *ZAPPO* *SCHLURP* *RRR-RRR0RR*" Really... really disturbing...

Re:Night vision

[tangledweb]

"The St. Louis Anheister-Busch Eye Institute", known to its friends as the St. Louis Beer Goggles Institute.