So i went to the eye doc and it looks like the health issues are catching up with me. The eye doc noticed some damage to the retenas in both eyes. Lucky me. I am going to a specialist soon t discuss laser surgery. I was wondering if anyone here has had laser surgery (either for medical reasons or just to fix a perscription)? Whats it like? any discomfort? I have watched videos and its not supposted to hurt as everything is frozen. How long are you blind from the freezing? how long does healing take? I know the doc will be bale to awsner all these questions I guess im just anxious, worried, and intreaged. so what was your lasering like?
I had RK surgery about 20 years ago. This was b4 laser was available. They used a scalpel to cut my retinas to flatten them out to improve my vision. And it worked. I went from very thick glasses worn 24/7 to no glasses at all. The surgery will not (did not) prevent my reading vision from getting worse due to aging, but that's a normal process. I know this doesn't answer your question but I just wanted to tell you that, even cutting my eyes did not hurt one bit due to the eyedrops they used. So don't worry about pain, you'll feel nothing.
Not to worry you are SUPER MODERATOR. I agree with heatgain. my neighbor had lazer sugery and said it was a piece of cake.
I had laser surgery a year ago and it was painless. I spent more time in the waiting room than in the actual surgery. They don't freeze your eyes, they use an eyedrop anesthesia that numbs your eyes. All you feel is slight pressure/weight on your eye from the holder that they use to hold your eye still. Best way I can describe it is to sit on your hand and imagine that level of pressure on your eyeball. That's pretty much the only thing you feel during the entire process. Takes 30 seconds per eye and all you see is a psychedelic light show during the procedure. They send you home and recommend that you sleep for the rest of the day with an eye patch on (so you don't rub or touch your eyes). For the first week or so, you will see 75-80% better but have to put eye drops in every 2 hours. The glare from daylight and bright lights will sting a little for the first week but otherwise you can continue your life as normal. Your vision should stabilize within the first 30-60 days and you should see your final results (after the "deep" healing has completed) within 6-9 months. Only side effect is that your eyes will dry out more than normal for the rest of your life. Especially on dry, hot days, my eyes dry out fairly quickly and I carry eye drops with me most places. I read up on what causes this and the act of cutting through the cornea of the eye severs some nerves in the eye that tells your body when your eyes need more tears. Depending on how many tears your body produced normally before the surgery, you may or may not notice the difference afterward. I had dry eyes even before the surgery so they bother me even more afterward, but it's a small price to pay.
thanks everyone, i guess it was just the shock of it that had me worried... sounds like its a simple enough thing... its not for sure yet but there is enough damage to my retna to need it within the next few months... i guees i can stop worrying and wait to see the specialist thanks everyone
That's a great write up another_geek :thumb: I have a co-worker that went through the surgery as well, his was to no longer use contact lenses and I dropped him off and picked him up from the clinic..it really doesn't seem to take that long...I say that because I dropped him off and by the time I got to the parking lot he phoned me saying to pick him up, so I never even left the parking lot :shrug: Any who, let us know how it goes Calgary...oh and by the way it's all down hill from here :giggle:
I knew someone that had it done and they had a hard time driving at night due to glare. Granted, that was probably 10 years ago but it's something to ask about.
Mike..I never had it..but I wish you all the best when you have it done.... I do know people who had it done and said it was a breeze..noting to worry about...they wish they had it done years ago..and no discomfort after AL
Buddy consider this the only warning I'll give you. Everyone here is free to express them self as they see fit, just as long as they abide by the rules I've set out and the one I stress the most is respect. I expect everyone to treat each other with respect. So to me your post here is being disrespectful, I don't see anything wrong with what was posted. There is no need for you to be disrespectful. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Next time I see you post something disrespectful I'll have to take action.
Dr.Mercola doesnt recomend it, I think because its like putting permanate glasses in your eyes so if they get worse you need glasses again. thats what I heard.
Glare can still be a problem if you go with the $299/eye specials that you see ads for. Those still use the older techniques and laser machines that only correct the eye in 2 dimensions (horizontal / vertical). There is a newer technique that corrects in 3 dimensions to account for the varying shape of your eye (goes by a number of different names -- wavefront lasik, custom lasik) that minimizes the chance of permanent glare and also enables for correction for astigmatism (where your eye isn't perfectly round or symmetrical). Also, in the old days, once you had laser surgery, they wouldn't touch your eyes again for fear of complications. Now days, they are able to correct your vision even if you have previously had lasik or the older RK surgery. Your choice of doctor obviously is a factor on how well the results may be in the end. For me, I wanted it done right the first time so I went to one of the best doctors in the world (he helped perfect the laser machine itself in the early years and supposedly has done more eye surgeries than all but one other doctor in the world) for this type of surgery. His fee reflected his expertise of course! :gasp: One thing I forgot to mention in my original post CalgaryDetail -- I assume that you are a pro detailer and work outside. If so, I would highly recommend that you schedule your surgery in the "off-season" because I think you will find that for the first week, and probably longer, you will find that the glare from working outdoors (even with sunglasses on) will be unbearably painful. Also, for the first month or so, since your body will still be adjusting to your "new" eyes, close-up detail work (finding swirls) will be difficult because you won't be able to focus correctly for more than a short period of time. Your normal distance vision will be fine. Just close-up work will be difficult.
:hug: Sorry to hear you are having issues! :itsok: I have not had the surgery myself, however my friends have. Everything worked out perfect for them and I am sure it will for you too! Take care and keep us updated, please.
Thanks everyone for the info and encourging words. I guees it was just the shock of knowingn i could go blind if i dony get the surgry but it sounds like its a quick trip and recovery is not bad at all... plus that light show does sound cool so bascily whats happened is a combination of my diabities and high blood presure have causesd my retna to start to deteriorare. So they have to go in to repair the dmage to prvent more damage to my retna. Eye surgry in canada, i guees, is diffrent then that in the states. I had to go tom y regular eye doctor who has to decide if its needed. Then he sends a form to an ocular sugern who contatcs me about an apoointment. They go do losts of test to make sure everything is ok then they do it. I guees becasue of my situation and the reson for getting my eyes zapped its all covered by healthcare and insuance . No 299 special for me lol Thanks again everyone for the info and kind words, i really do this is was just the shock of a doc saying you need it or our going to go blind. Its one thing to ask about it its another to be told you have to have it. ohh well dosent look like i need to worry so ill just hury up and wait for the doc to call. Thanks again everyone, you have really helped me relax. Looks like everything is going to be good
Um..Mike..if anything goes wrong I promise I'll take good care of your wine collection along with your wax collection :whistle: But no promises on the cigar collection :whistle: Hey that's what friends are for :giggle: I'm just teasing of course.
1. you know the two wordsim going to say to you, the first is not alloud on the forum 2. i would be bllnd i could still taste. I could still enjoy the simple pleasure that is wine. ohh btw the 05's are amazing, go pick up a case (there is one for 24 a bottle). It was well worth the hype and wait to get t them....
Whatever the reasoning was I don't know since my comment was actually a side effect Calgary should be aware of. Anywho, apology accepted.
so quick update, (im putting off studying anyway i can) So it turned out needed the laser, I have diabetic retinopathy. What i means is that blood is slowly leaking into my eye causing blindness. The good news is that I can get shot with a laser a few thousand times and help slow down the damage. I ended up having 5 sessions in each eye as well as a shot with a drug that prevents the growth of new blood vessels (the ones that leak) The lasering I got down is different from the kind that corrects vision. For mine I sit in a chair, the doc puts a lens on my eye. She moves the laser around and shoots each shot with a foot pedal. Each time I went we would do between 500 and 750 shots. It only takes 10 min but hurts like hell. I would given some t3 just to be able to sit through it. So I had all this done and things are looking up, I have no new damage and no new swelling in the retina. Im not out of the woods yet, I have to go back every 2 months to see if anything has changed. After its all said and done I can say that I am very thankfully we can do this, I was a few months away from perminate blind spots and only a few years from full blindness. So moral of the story, go to an eye doctor. Thanks for reading my ramblings, I just thought I would give a quick update so I dont have to study.
