Laser Eye surgery

[deesun]

Well I'm 52 now and the old eyesight isn't what it used to be so I have made an appointment to see the optometrist. I have an idea about costs of Laser surgery and thought I would put the call out on here for those who may have had it and what their experieces were, good bad or ugly. As I haven't been yet I do't know if I am a candidate or not but it's the way I would prefer to go if possible. I have never had glasses and as most do I have been holding off but the mrs hates it when I put my hand on her face to find out who it is so I surrender.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by deesun

Well I'm 52 now and the old eyesight isn't what it used to be so I have made an appointment to see the optometrist. I have an idea about costs of Laser surgery and thought I would put the call out on here for those who may have had it and what their experieces were, good bad or ugly. As I haven't been yet I do't know if I am a candidate or not but it's the way I would prefer to go if possible. I have never had glasses and as most do I have been holding off but the mrs hates it when I put my hand on her face to find out who it is so I surrender.

Laser surgery does not fix "old fella eyes", sorry.
If all you problem is that you can't see things up close then there are two plans.

1) reading glasses
2) not see things up close

[sleek7]

Thats pretty much it, your close range vision will go with age.
I know a bloke who has had laser eye done, said it was the best thing hes done, he is about 27 I think. I will be getting mine done maybe next year I think.
One of the GMs here (at work) is about in his mid 40s, maybe closer to 50 and he went and got assessed for laser eye as he was tired of using contacts. Basically he was told hes too old to have it done, from memory they could do the surgery but they wouldnt be able to get his eyes to as good a condition if say he got it done 10 years earlier (has laser eye even been around that long?).
Anyway, good luck with your appointment, but from my experiences I'm not confident they will recommend you to go ahead with laser eye surgery.

[FTE72]

Originally Posted by sleek7

Thats pretty much it, your close range vision will go with age.
I know a bloke who has had laser eye done, said it was the best thing hes done, he is about 27 I think. I will be getting mine done maybe next year I think.
One of the GMs here (at work) is about in his mid 40s, maybe closer to 50 and he went and got assessed for laser eye as he was tired of using contacts. Basically he was told hes too old to have it done, from memory they could do the surgery but they wouldnt be able to get his eyes to as good a condition if say he got it done 10 years earlier (has laser eye even been around that long?).
Anyway, good luck with your appointment, but from my experiences I'm not confident they will recommend you to go ahead with laser eye surgery.

mmmm exactly the opposite to what my optometrist told me 5 years ago (at 30) I was told to wait until mid to late 40's so you can make it into your 60's before having to wear glasses or contacts again.(laser surgery is not a fix for all time and vision will still degrade with age) My colleague in the office next door had his done 2 years ago at 47, says it is like being 20 again, no glasses or contacts anymore.

[TheSneakiness]

I got told roughly 10-12 years ago that I couldn't have laser eye surgery cause it might not fix the problem I have with my eyes (real bad stigmatism in one eye, starting to get bad in my other eye).

I asked the optometrist when I got my last set of glasses if it would help now given the advances in technology and even then he wasn't certain it would do the job and to go see the specialist to find out.

I've only had glasses for 3 years and I'm over them and don't want the upkeep of contacts, so might give it another year and see what I can do.

[LightningStrike]

Interesting how much opinion varies on a proceedure that involves having your eyes cut and burnt by a (actually two depending on method) laser (s) while you are conscious and aware of your vision disappearing (temporarily) during the procedure. Very quick overall, and recovery wise, not too bad either (a combination of different eye drops for a week, can be back at work very soon after (2 days or so)

I had mine done at 30 by Eye Institute to correct short sightedness.

Best money I ever spent.

Sure, I expect my vision to deteriorate with age, but this can also be corrected.

Do your research, and you'll find not all laser eye surgery is the same!

Best of luck!

[buggerlugs]

Is eyesight your only problem ? I bought a diary this year as I keep forgetting jobs. Now I can't remember where I put the bloody diary..........

[Geez Louise]

I would love to have laser eye surgery but I also have a stigmatism in my left eye (which has always been weaker) and do not qualify.

As I get older I am finding it harder to see. I can no longer drive at night so I am stuck with Glasses or contacts.

Hopefully given a few more years, there will be improvements in technology, until then, I am just going to have to put up with being a blind old bat!

On the plus side though, some people do look better fuzzy!

[Windsor220]

What sort of price are we talking here? I would like to get this done as I wear contacts sometimes.

[deesun]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

Is eyesight your only problem ? I bought a diary this year as I keep forgetting jobs. Now I can't remember where I put the bloody diary..........

Not by a long shot according to my Mrs.

[Turbo6FG]

I got it done a few months back. Over 6k for a 20 min op but it's worth it. I had astigmatism too but they've made a few advances in the technology since it came out & they fixed it. If you can't get laser eye surgery they can also do a thing where they plant a lens inside your eye (like an internal contact lens).

I'd recommend getting it done. If your vision is bad but it hasn't got any worse for in 12 months they normally will do it (unless your corneas are too thin).

Every surgeon does an individual assessment anyway to say whether it's suitable for you. Definitely the best money I spent tho.

[3vXT]

How much for the surgery that turns my eyes into lasers?

[deesun]

Originally Posted by Turbo6FG

I got it done a few months back. Over 6k for a 20 min op but it's worth it. I had astigmatism too but they've made a few advances in the technology since it came out & they fixed it. If you can't get laser eye surgery they can also do a thing where they plant a lens inside your eye (like an internal contact lens).

I'd recommend getting it done. If your vision is bad but it hasn't got any worse for in 12 months they normally will do it (unless your corneas are too thin).

Every surgeon does an individual assessment anyway to say whether it's suitable for you. Definitely the best money I spent tho.

Thanks, is that an omen, If your car is your forum name I have one too.

[XW WA]

Had mine done in Perth and it was 6 k all up . Best money i ever spent . After i got it done two fellas from work got it done too and they are into their 50 s . The doctor said that everyones vision deteriorates with age but if your 80 and have bad eye sight you will walk away from the proceedure with perfect vision or close to it , your eyes will deteriorate quicker obviously being older tho . i had pretty bad eye sight -2. 75 and -3. 25 with a stigmatisim in the right eye and have now have better than 20 / 20 vision for nearly a year and a half . you will be amazed at the options to correct sight now . not only laser either

[montyv8]

My wife had her eyes done a few months back. $5.2k from memory. She has thin corneas, so they did the the surgery where they don't lift the cornea.
Supposed to take a few days longer to heal, and your vision goes bad for a day or two. Hers healed really quick, minimal pain (LOTS of eye drops etc) and vision at 20/20 at no time at all. She's just turned 30. She's beyond happy that she got it done.
She works on mine sites, so the dust was making it too hard to continue with contacts.

[XW WA]

I had the same proceedure . It is the best one to get , recommended for police armed services contact and combat sports. Takes longer to heal but your eyes are as structurely strong as before . The flap proceedure never heals as good as the original eye and can be pulled up by a fingernail or a stick getting dragged across the eye fairly forcefully It can be put back and reattached however if it gets ripped off or damaged to severly your only option is a corneal transplant . saying that the recovery time is about half for the flap option

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by XW WA

i had pretty bad eye sight -2. 75 and -3. 25 with a stigmatisim in the right eye and have now have better than 20 / 20 vision for nearly a year and a half .

Wow. I'm in that boat you were in but I think my stats are a bit worse off from what I can remember.

Might have a word to the Mrs. and see what we can do. The part for me is cash, cause we don't have lots.

[XW WA]

^ If you spend more than 1500 on medical in a year you can claim it on tax .my boss s mrs did it when she had her eyes done . cant claim private cause it is seen as cosmetic / elective . but when you think of cost of glasses $400min for one pair + contacts $200 for 90 days for the rest of your life it starts to make the price a bit more bearable . I am pretty sure most of the places that do it offer finance too

[290GTP]

Got my eyes zapped 5 years or so ago & it was the best money i've ever spent. Not cheap at 6K but when you factor in the cost of glasses, contacts & optometrists over the years its not too bad.

My eyes were shocking at -3.75 & 24 hours after the procedure i was 20/20 & i'm still 20/20 5 years later.

Most lasik places will give you a free assesment to see if your a suitable candidate so you've got nothing to lose. Go for it.

[AC/DC]

It works a treat, , get ready to smell your eye frying !

[jonk]

Geez you're a bunch of tools for wasting money on that crap.

Purchase a set of 'Pinhole Readers'. Learn to use it. Follow the exercises.

When the laser burns you're eye, that 'burning' exist in stasis, forever. So, what looks good now, won't last forever.

You are absolutely mad for wasting money on laser stuff. All your doing is lining the pockets of some, ophthalmologist who decided to go for the more 'value added' routine career slant.

You lot are really rank, for promoting that stuff.

[deesun]

^^^^^^ A bit strong.

[BIGJB]

I would love to have this done as I am blind as a bat without my glasses. Unfortunately I don't qualify for it
as the stigmatism in my eyes are to bad for corrective surgery. Fingers crossed give it a few years and they maybe able to do it.

[290GTP]

Originally Posted by jonk

Geez you're a bunch of tools for wasting money on that crap.

Purchase a set of 'Pinhole Readers'. Learn to use it. Follow the exercises.

When the laser burns you're eye, that 'burning' exist in stasis, forever. So, what looks good now, won't last forever.

You are absolutely mad for wasting money on laser stuff. All your doing is lining the pockets of some, ophthalmologist who decided to go for the more 'value added' routine career slant.

You lot are really rank, for promoting that stuff.

Are you a ****ed off spectacle maker who lost a lot of business due to Lasik?
You certainly sound like one.

One of my mates had it done over 10 years ago & guess what? He still has
perfect vision.

When my eyes were done i was told they only had to burn x amount of microns of my retinas (sorry i dont remember the exact figure) leaving me with enough scope for 2 possibly 3 further treatments if needed in the future. So far so good, i can still see perfectly well.

Your the only rank one round here mate.

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by BigRed220

Most lasik places will give you a free assesment to see if your a suitable candidate so you've got nothing to lose. Go for it.

That would be good.

I remember now I've been thinking about it, being told when I got my new glasses that they could do it but my right eye could still be bad and it would take some getting used to cause I depend waaay too much on my left eye to see.

Anyone know of some places on the Gold Coast I could check out?

[TheSneakiness]

Originally Posted by jonk

Geez you're a bunch of tools for wasting money on that crap.

Purchase a set of 'Pinhole Readers'. Learn to use it. Follow the exercises.

When the laser burns you're eye, that 'burning' exist in stasis, forever. So, what looks good now, won't last forever.

You are absolutely mad for wasting money on laser stuff. All your doing is lining the pockets of some, ophthalmologist who decided to go for the more 'value added' routine career slant.

You lot are really rank, for promoting that stuff.

Ease up turbo. Technology advances means people can do other things rather than get glasses and contacts.

[XW WA]

Originally Posted by jonk

Geez you're a bunch of tools for wasting money on that crap.

Purchase a set of 'Pinhole Readers'. Learn to use it. Follow the exercises.

When the laser burns you're eye, that 'burning' exist in stasis, forever. So, what looks good now, won't last forever.

You are absolutely mad for wasting money on laser stuff. All your doing is lining the pockets of some, ophthalmologist who decided to go for the more 'value added' routine career slant.

You lot are really rank, for promoting that stuff.

ill tell any one who wants to know

[XW WA]

Originally Posted by Rapid_Axe

That would be good.

I remember now I've been thinking about it, being told when I got my new glasses that they could do it but my right eye could still be bad and it would take some getting used to cause I depend waaay too much on my left eye to see.

Anyone know of some places on the Gold Coast I could check out?

Check out the Laser Sight web site they have a gold coast location . Id suggest google it and do heaps of research and choose the place you feel most comfortable with

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by jonk

Geez you're a bunch of tools for wasting money on that crap.

Purchase a set of 'Pinhole Readers'. Learn to use it. Follow the exercises.

When the laser burns you're eye, that 'burning' exist in stasis, forever. So, what looks good now, won't last forever.

You are absolutely mad for wasting money on laser stuff. All your doing is lining the pockets of some, ophthalmologist who decided to go for the more 'value added' routine career slant.

You lot are really rank, for promoting that stuff.

Probably a bit over the top there jonk in getting your point across....

Other than that though i might look into these Pinhole Glasses as i had never even heard of them, certainly not from the Optometrist who is now buying a new Merc on the money i spend on Contact lenses.....

[spebgtsprint]

Hey XW WA, I am thinking of getting this procedure done soon. As I live in WA (NOR) can you please tell me where you had yours done please? Thanks mate....

PS "jonk" If I choose to be a "tool" for wanting to do this type of surgery to MY eyes, then so be it.....tell your mates at Laubman & Pank to sell their over rated under performing glasses to some other blind freddie.....