louddrummer69

Hey guys, I've been milling around for a while the decision about whether to have Lasik surgery or not. I currently have a astigmatism and never go hunting without my glasses. In fact, driving at night without my glasses scares me. I don't have contacts because I can't stand to put anything around my eye. I was just wondering if any of you have had Lasik surgery and if you thought it was successful. I would love to wake up and run out the door without worrying about wearing my glasses. Thanks guys and good luck with the upcoming rut.

NJ/PAbwhunter

Did it last summer.... best thing I ever did for myself. My vision is better now than when I was 20!
I would recomend it .... but research it well and go with a reputable Dr. not an outfit who offers it at a bargan price. Wave front is the procedure I went with.... look it up.
DW

tmontgo1

My buddy got it done last summer and he loves it. He had terrible eye sight with a bad astigmatism. He said it was like a 20 min in and out operation then he was ordered to keep his eyes shut and go to sleep for about 4 hours. He said he woke up with 20-20 vision and no complications. Yea Like NJ/PAbwhunter said, make sure u get a reputable and good doctor.

btomlin

Successful??? I would have to say a resounding YES!!! I went from a 20/600 to a 20/15!!! My sister went from a 20/800(i think) to a 20/20. For those of you that don't know what 20/600 is like, I would have to hold my hand approx. 6" from my face before I could see the details of my handprint without my contacts!! It sucked!

My advice would be not to go to a "billboard doctor" that offers cheap lasik...I mean you only have 2 eyes.

The procedurewe were recommendedwas called Wavefront ASA (advanced surface ablation), because our corneas are thin. The "wavefront" is the process of creating a "figerprint" of your eye so the laser only treats the areas that need fixed. Our doctor indicated that some doctors(he called them billboardsurgeons) would go ahead and do lasik on people with thin corneas and that's where the horror storiesoccur. Actually, my sister could have done "flap" lasik or ASA, but decided to do ASA after the success I had. My doctor indicated that ASA offers better quality and quanity of vision vs. "flap" lasik, but the main downfall is it takes your eyes longer to heal. With "flap" lasik, most people are good after a day or so and with ASA my recovery time was 4-5 days. I also had to take 4 prescriptions and put an ointment in my eyes every night for 6 mos., but IT WAS WORTH IT!!!

Are you close to Des Moines, Ia?? I could give you the info of the doctor that did ours. He's very picky and if you are not a candidate, he's going to tell you. Just ask my mother! She was just sick about it!! I thought it really said something about him that if he did not think you would have positive results then he wouldn't do it!!

JNTURK

for me personally. my step father had an astigmatism and had the surgery (this was a few years back..think in 2002)....regardless he had problems and the vision got worse (still had to wear glasses and had other issues with eyes after the surgery), this may havefallen in the <1% of all surgeries done that year that showed complications...but, that would be enough for me.....hunting is my life and passion and until it is 100% i don't want to risk my vision and hunting lifestyle on a <1% chance of problems.

just my 2 cents on the subject.

louddrummer69

Yeah that is like me. I'm afraid of the <1% that might occur but I hate wearing glasses.

RackLuster

January 5th 2001 I had it done. No looking back for me. It was the best money I ever spent. Since then I’ve talked my brothers and mom into getting it done too.

wihunter402

DO IT man. I had it done May 30th this year. Best thing I have ever done. I was NOT real bad but I did need contacts. I grew up with 20/15 vision and now I am back to that. I swear I couldSEE a mouse fart at 50 yards right now. As for the <1% thing I guess I figure I have a <1% chance of getting a stick in my eye and going blind so it is worth it. To each their own but I for me it is GREAT. Good luck either way.

bigangrychicken

My best friend is an opthamologist. He hates LASIK. He says he sees tons of people that develop scars several years post-op and says there is nothing he can do for them. Immediate results are great, but 10-15 years down the road, things seem to get pretty hairy. Think twice.

Austin/WI

My father had Lasik and is extremely pleased with his results. It took about a week for him to really notice the improvements (which I'm told is common) but now his vision is on par with mine 20/15 or 20/10 depending on which eye doc it is I'm seeing (I've been given each label a couple different times).