Experiences with Laser Eye Surgery? 1104
GodLessOne asks: "I am about to get my hands on a reasonable lump of cash and I am working on my list of ways to make it an ex-lump of cash. All of the normal geek things appear on the list, but one item that I keep considering is corrective laser eye surgery. Would anyone care to share their real world experiences? I worry that the people selling it are the only ones saying how wonderful it is, and what percentage of people show a marked improvement afterward. Are there any stories out there relating how bad it can be if it goes wrong?"
A few thoughts (Score:5, Insightful)
Second, do you really need it? If you don't really need it, then waiting may be your best option. Medical technology changes so fast that a new, better procedure could be out within a few years. Sometimes, having one of these surgeries disqualifies you from a future surgery.
It basically comes down to how much you're risking. If I had only minor vision problems, I wouldn't have it done. If my vision is already pretty bad, I might be willing to risk more for an improvement.
BTW, you can always invest money rather than spending it. It's a wacky idea, but might be worth your consideration.
WONDERFULL!!! (Score:2, Insightful)
They were very pleased, but I was never able to get it because my astigmatism was too bad to be corrected. Recent laser improvements have greatly increased the correction ranges and I could not be happier.
I have never met someone who would not do it all over again if they had to. And as for myself, I would do it again in a hearbeat and am pushing for others to get it done that are afraid.
The only thing I stress is to NOT go to one of those cheap bargin places where docs come out of med school to practice and use old lasers. The new ones are 5th generation and have "WaveFront Technology" which improve laser accuacy.
So, if you have the funds, FREE YOURSELF!!! You will not miss your glasses/contacts I promise!
Reconsider (Score:1, Insightful)
long term consequences (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:EYE SURGERY (Score:2, Insightful)
A huge risk for what reward? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:If I had money to spend... (Score:2, Insightful)
Real intellectuals don't worry about if they look intellectual, get it?
I'm not (Score:3, Insightful)
On another note, I'm of the age where bi- or tri-focals are the ticket. Different focal lengths for reading, computer, everything else. So lasik 'might' involve still wearing glasses for reading. NOT.
If I still have to mess with glasses part time, I'll mess with them all the time. I don't have to even think about where they are. If I'm awake, they're on my head.
However...I have talked to a few friends and coworkers who have had it done, with pretty stellar results.
These are my eyeballs, though. My only eyeballs.
Re:Get some nice glasses instead (Score:5, Insightful)
I am now 41 years old, and am starting to feel if ever so slightly, the niggling annoyances of age. And I've had surgery of various forms, so I know exactly what that means: If it's one thing I've learned, it's that no surgery comes without a long-term cost.
So as for eyes, even if you don't touch them whatsoever you are still at rist of eventual macular degeneration, cataracts, and all sorts of other nastyness. Given that, sizzling the corneas with lasers in middle age doesn't exactly seem like a smart long term plan.
And so, like my opthamologist, I am wearing $400 glasses in titanium frames and I love it. They're so light I can't feel them, they have stunning clarity, my eyeballs love it, and my odds of getting nasty blinding problems in twenty years plummet.
How much cash? (Score:3, Insightful)
bleh (Score:4, Insightful)
Here is an idea, find some scientific studies and figure the odds. NO procedure is 100% safe.
safety glasses (Score:5, Insightful)
Now THAT'S an advantage of glasses that people often forget. It's nice to always have a layer of tough polycarbonate (or whatever glasses are made from now) protecting your squishy, delicate visual system at all times.
Re:Save your Money & Your Eyes...fix them your (Score:3, Insightful)
Surgery today? Then tell us in a few months (Score:3, Insightful)
a.) your vision hasn't cleared up yet - well I sure hope it does.
b.) keep in mind that many people who encounter serious vision problems after laser surgery, report improved vision at first, followed days, weeks or months later by extreme, possibly uncorrectable, vision problems.
I do hope you'll be one of the lucky majority, but please don't "highly recommend" this procedure based on your same day excitement.
I absolutely agree. (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a beautiful thing.
Make sure you get a good (experienced) doctor and make sure you take the valium if they offer it.
Udachi
-Ben
Status Quo? (Score:2, Insightful)
This is, I guess, the safe approach. I have poor vision, but have no problem taking care of my contacts and they cause me no problems (except for slight discomfort when glaring at a computer display at work). I have briefly considered lasering, but will continue with the status quo for now. Disclaimer - this is subject to change at any time.
Part of me wishes, however, that I could actually see my clock radio without squinting.
Re:If I had money to spend... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Get some nice glasses instead (Score:3, Insightful)
I never had vision nearly as good with glasses as I did with contacts. After lasik, my vision is far better at all times than it was with contacts. I don't get splitting headaches from the frames or increased risk of infection with contacts and I wake up in the morning with perfect vision every day without having to sleep in my lenses. My night vision is absolutely flawless, something I never had with glasses or contacts. Over the remainder of my lifetime my surgery will cost me less than glasses or contacts would and I can travel without supplies to care for equipment.
Re:My experience (Score:4, Insightful)
Check the specs (Score:4, Insightful)
Back on topic. I have friends who've had laser eye surgery and rave about it; I tend to warn people to think carefully first - do NOT just cross your fingers and assume that your surgery will be free from complications. If you're considering the surgery purely for aesthetic reasons, to "fix" mild myopia, etc. but it isn't going to make any significant change in your life, I'd say skip it. Don't forget that you are risking your sight!
I've had vision problems for most of my life (I'm now 28), and underwent 3 fairly major eye surgeries this year, for cataracts, glaucoma, retinal detachments, etc., most recently this past Wednesday, and things are looking up now (woohoo!), but trust me, it sucks to have dicey vision. I've been able to read (and hence work) most of the time, but I couldn't drive for a while. I'm currently waiting to see how night driving will be with implanted lenses (I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though it's actually useful to have an excuse to *never* be the designated driver!). When I was a kid I was pretty athletic... and ran track through HS and college, since I sucked at any sport involving catching anything.
Summary - diminished vision really does affect your life, and can't be corrected w/ glasses... so make sure you have a valid reason (and experienced doctor) before you risk it. If you're undecided -- just wait a few years. These procedures are still getting better and safer, and more doctors are gaining experience performing them every day.
Re:If you're already 20/20 .... (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:A pox on bureaucrats! (Score:3, Insightful)
For what it's worth, it can be. My brother and sisters and I all caught chicken pox in the winter of 1977. I had a pretty mild case as did my brother older sister. My little sister, though -- she was 10 months old at the time -- ended up getting meningitis (inflammation of the brain) and died from it. Having complications that severe might be uncommon but it still happens. I still get a knot in my stomach when I hear that a friend's child has chicken pox. I understand (intellectually) they'll probably be fine... but it doesn't stop me from getting a little freaked.
Re:My experience with laser eye surgery (Score:4, Insightful)
Seriously, not to make you feel bad or anything, but what would possess you to ignore post-op orders on your *eyes*?
Ever notice... (Score:3, Insightful)
I almost had Lasik, but opted for a new Mac instead. My reasoning:
1) I have a high degree of astigmatism, which often (according to all the waivers they ask you to sign before surgery) needs more than one surgery to correct. People who had more than one surgery were more likely to experience poor night vision and other problems.
2) You can replace a bad pair of contacts, but side effects are forever.
3) There have been no studies on the long-term effects of all of this.
4) Since wearing contacts, my prescription has changed many times. I know my vision will alter again as I age. But the changes to my cornea will be permanent. 4000 dollars later, I will still need glasses.
5) As far as I can tell, my contacts only prevent me from skuba diving and responding to a sudden attack in the middle of the night. Since I live nowhere near an ocean, and would most likely die in a knife fight, I feel my lifestyle is not seriously compromised.
6) Sometimes 20/20 vision is an ugly thing.My uncorrected eyes are better than beer goggles.
7) Hey, new Mac.
Why bother? (Score:3, Insightful)
Unless your vision is so bad that you're effectively incapacitated without glasses, why bother? Is wearing glasses so terrible? I don't think so -- I prefer glasses to contacts or any kind of surgery. They're relatively low-tech (thus reliable), and they make you look more distinguished and sophisticated.
If you want to spend a pile of money on your vision, go out and buy a really good pair of glasses. Get lenses with all the added extras (UV-resistance, scratch-resistant coating, lightweight material), and get a pair of fashionable frames (Slashdot readers, bring a fashion consultant to help with the frames). Even really laying it on will be cheaper than the surgery, and then in a few years when the surgical technology has improved, you can consider it again.
Re:And the short answer is... (Score:3, Insightful)
Heh, no real surprise there.. you will find that quite some medical equipment is controlled by machines running DOS or DOS+Windows 3.x
Since such a controlling computer is almost always a dedicated machine that runs a very well defined set of software, that is no problem whatsoever, and actually, it is a better idea then running this on more modern windows versions.
Why?
In case of DOS and DOS/Windows you can very well tell what the machine + software are going to do in each and every situation you can think of, with modern windows versions that is impossible.
That said, Linux or *BSD would be able to offer this and offer a nicer environment then DOS.
Anyway.. when you want to make something that is easy to use well, and hard to use wrongly, then start by making the design of the thing easy to udnerstand and eliminate any unpredictability in your software.
Havign a decent GUI is not needed for this, alltho it can help, depending on the task at hand.
Re:And the short answer is... (Score:2, Insightful)
This project fits the bill for Realtime OS stuff. He should be looking into QNX or something. That said, I'm betting that the way that the laser works is such that causing serious harm would be virtually impossible. I imagine a seperate computer for controlling the laser that bounds the possible commands, whereas the computer just hands out the overall game plan, and optimizes the routing. I'm sure the watch dog makes sure that the laser doesn't do anything too bad as well. Win3.1 probably isn't going to cause someone to be permanently injured, but it might make the procedure take an extra visit.
Linux is not realtime, it was not designed to be used in that way. DOS doesn't do scheduling, so you can do whatever you want.
If you really want something to worry about, think about the possibility of an insect causing a problem. What if there is a power surge/loss? What if lightening strikes the building?
The best advice I ever got about the stuff is to do one eye at a time. I may bet depth perception that they can fix one eye. If it works, then get the other done, and you'll at least have sight out of one eye. It's not that I'm skeptical as it is that I, like most people, depend on my vision. I'm in the legally blind group, but thankfully my vision was correctable with lenses. (I have learned to rely on hearing quite a bit though... I can tell about how far a wall is away from the way sound bounces, and I can hear when a cup is full.) I really wished I had periferal vision, which contacts won't work for someone like me, so it's on my TODO list, but I've come to love my vision. I've formed some interesting things in my head from the experience though. I really don't judge people by how they look, and don't really understand all the "Am I hot?" BS. In exchange for that though, my bad habbit is to judge people by how they sound, which I'm trying to not do.