PRK eye surgery

[Black02Silverado]

Well I just had the PRK eye surgery done last wed and let me tell you it is great not having to wear glasses.

 

I have the pleasure of getting it for free thanks to the Air Force. A friend and myself drove from NC to Wright Patterson AFB here in Ohio 600 miles together to split the costs. We made it on one tank in my wifes Venture. Since it got 30 miles to the gallon and has a DVD player it made the trip go by fast. The 9 hour drive wasn't to bad some two lane roads.

 

For those of you that are in the service. Check into getting it done. I had the PRK and my friend had the LASIK. There is some pain. But thanks to the percocet, 800mg of motrin and phenagan it made sleeping easier the first two nights. After that it wasn't needed.

 

The plece we are staying is on base and right across from the hospital. I figure when we leave tomorrow the whole trip will have cost me just under $100, that is for room, food and gas. Not to shabby. The time off was free not counted against vacation time, 12 days worth, so that was nice as well.

 

I'm now in need of a good pair of sunglasses. After wearing glasses for 33 years I can finally get a good pair. Any suggestions? Oakely, Maui Jim, RayBan, Bolle'? I know I want poloraized.

 

I have had my eyes saved over the years by my regular glasses while working on the vehicle and around the house so I will get a good pair of safety glasses as well.

 

Life is a little fuzzy now. Had to set the monitor settings to 600x800.

 

But I can say this much, if you are looking to have it done. Go for it, it is well worth it. I just have to get use to not looking for my glasses when I get up in the morning.

 

PRK and LASIK get a big

[RyanbabZ71]

What is all involved with the Lasik? I am 24 and have worn glasses since I was in 5th grade. I have been thinking about the surgery as of late but am leary.

 

Glad it worked for you

[MountaineerTom]

I'm currently on the list at my base to have the PRK done. I wish they hurry up and get me set up, I'm tired of wearing glasses too.

[airbalancer]

I had prk done in 95 and the results were ify, but it was the first generation of machine.

I had Lasik done in 2001, and it was great,

I would go with lasik as it is much less painfull.

I am still waiting for new lazers to come out to repair the PRK eye. Dr said in about 4 years they will able to repair the eye

I am very happy I had it done. From 20/400 to 20/20

[Shaners]

My wife had hers done about 3 years ago. One I regressed slightly and she had it touched up for free.

 

Hers was LASIK surgury I think...

 

She wheres a very very very slight perscription when driving at night, otherwise she is free of wearing glasses.

 

She had worn glasses for about 30 years or so, and it was a powerful perscription.

 

She looks great!!! And can see great!!! And is thrilled with her new life!!!

[The SPEEDY]

Did you get some of them goofy gogles? They make you feel like a pimp don't they?

[tmf6902]

Go for Maui Jims.....I thought about getting Lasik done, but I am so used to wearing my contacts, and they don't bother...so why pay for it? I take them out once every 2 or three weeks....never had any problems with them. Besides I like the 100% UV protection I get from them. Kinda like wearing sunglasses without them. But for the sunglasses....get maui jims....I used to wear Oakleys, but they would break once a year....now I have two pairs of MJ's. I love em

[Black02Silverado]

What is all involved with the Lasik? I am 24 and have worn glasses since I was in 5th grade. I have been thinking about the surgery as of late but am leary.

 

Glad it worked for you

There isn't much to it. I was a able to get either PRK or LASIK and the surgen opedted for PRK due to the fact that I needed little correction and would mean less chance of scareing. LASIK is the less painfull, the only reason my friend had pain was his flap that they cut tore in the process and that made it take longer to heal and had rough edges so to speak. You can get touch ups wiith both, just that LASIK you can get them as early as 3 months where PRK you have to wait a year. It is also important that you wear sunglasses to protect during healing and your eyes are more sensitive to light for a little while afterwards. If you can get several opinions. It never hurts and your sight is, well your sight. There is no second chances. I looked at it if the Air Force was doing it then it has to come to the point that the % of problems is just about 0%, it isn't but they wouldn't spend all that money on everyone that gets it done only to train and put all that money and time into us only to have problems with the surgery and then lose people on medical discharge becasue of it. The three years they have been doing it here at Wright Patterson they have all turned out fine. Trust me in the military the word travels fast with bad news.

 

Thanks for the sunglass advice. I liked what the Maui Jim's had and will get a pair once I get back to NC. The shades they gave us now look good, but don't fit me well. I hate when my eyelashes rake across the lens.

[airbalancer]

My wife got me a pair of Maui Jim's ,she did not like my Blues Brothers shades.

The only drawn back if you are in your 40's you will need reading glass sooner.

But that is only if the the lighting is bad or the print is small. And the only cost $3.99 for the cheap reading glasses.

I can use my laptop without reading glasses 95% of the time.

In Toronto you can get it done for about $1000.00 CDN/eye.

And a good pair of glasses are at least $550.00cdn..

Nothing is better then waking and not looking for your glasses to see what time it is.

Or finially see the mirrors on the cieling lol

[Tungsten]

Sounds like a good deal! That must be a weird feeling though! I have 20/15

[TarheelZ]

I had the LASIK surgery done about 5 years ago and I'd recommend it to anyone. As has been stated before, it is GREAT not to need glasses after wearing them for nearly 40 years! I'm trying to talk my wife into having LASIK but she just can't bring herself to do it.

 

From my experience, there was no pain or discomfort although I certainly experienced some anxiety beforehand. When I had it done, the surgeon 'fixed' one eye on Thursday and the other on Friday; nowadays, they do them both the same day and you have 20/20 vision again. Amazing!

 

[Wingnut]

Sounds like a good deal! That must be a weird feeling though! I have 20/15

Me too.

 

My g/f, and my sister have both had lasik though. They both swear by it. My sister was almost legally blind, now she's 20/20.

[Chris97K1500]

My wife, brother, mother and myself have had LASIK eye surgery within the last few years. I was first in '01. I went from 20/1200 to 20/15 in a week. The day after the LASIK surgery I was 20/20. It's amazing. No pain, took about a minute to do the surgery. Went to sleep for 4 hours, woke up and could see everything clear. Each day after it got better and better. The night driving took a couple days to get used to again. The glares from the lights weren't any worse than what I had before the surgery, your eyes have to "adapt" after the surgery since they reshape your lens basically. One complication my wife has is that her eyes dry out easier now than before. She is constantly putting in eye drops. But, the positives outweigh her negatives. Chris

[asepgrad98]

I have considered LASIK but i am turned off by the side effects and the fact it is permament

 

    *  Infection and delayed healing. Infection resulting from PRK occurs in one-tenth of one percent of patients. For LASIK laser eye surgery, this number is even smaller. If an infection does result from refractive or laser eye surgery, it generally means added discomfort and a longer healing process.

    * Undercorrection or overcorrection. It is difficult to accurately predict the success of refractive or laser eye surgery until the eye has healed properly. Patients may still need to wear corrective lenses even after laser eye surgery. Often surgeries resulting in undercorrections can be adjusted with a second laser eye surgery.

    * Worse vision. Occasionally the vision through corrective lenses is actually worse after refractive or laser eye surgery than it was before. This may be a result of irregular tissue removal or excess corneal haze.

    * Excess corneal haze. Corneal haze occurs as a part of the natural healing process after some refractive or laser eye surgeries, including PRK. It usually has no effect on the final outcome of vision after laser eye surgery and can only be seen through an eye examination. Occasionally, however, this haze may affect a patient's vision. A second refractive or laser eye surgery may be needed to correct it. The risk of corneal haze is much less with LASIK laser eye surgery than it is with PRK.

    * Regression. Sometimes the effects of refractive or laser eye surgery gradually disappear over a period of several months. When this happens a second surgery is often recommended to achieve permanent results.

    * Halo effect. The halo effect is an optical effect that occurs in dim light. As the pupil enlarges, the untreated area on the outside of the cornea produces a second image. Occurring sometimes in patients having LASIK laser eye surgery or PRK, this can affect and interfere with night driving, especially in patients who have big pupils in dark conditions.

* Flap damage or loss. This is a risk factor with LASIK laser eye surgery only. Instead of creating a hinged flap on the central cornea that can be closed, the entire flap may detach, risking permanent damage to the cornea.

 

Refractive and laser eye surgeries require healthy eyes that are free from retinal problems, corneal scars, and any eye disease.

[airbalancer]

Did you also drive?

I heard people have been killed driving

I have one bad eye with PRK that was almost ten years ago, the lasik was great.

The bad eye was still better with the PRK. The new lazers are great.