Laser eye surgery?

[Jaime Valles]

Hey, all. I just ran out of my contact lenses, and am debating whether I should get new ones, or get glasses, or get laser eye surgery.

I'm actually sick of the hassle of contact lenses, so really it boils down to regular glasses or surgery. What do you think?

[Ayoji]

I heard that laser eye surgery is great as long as you qualify for it. My sister and friend got it and they are glad they got it. I am saving up for it myself since my eyes are getting worse and I want to see well without using glasses for shooting. Keep looking and see what is best for you.:thumbsup:

[SilverScreenDreams]

I have been wondering the same thing. I have to get stigmatized contacts, and they cost me a fortune. My doctor said I have to wait till I am over 25 to get surgery, but I think I will definitely get it then. Little worried about it though... I mean, my eyes are my life... lol.

[MattN]

I've known people who have gotten it and can't drive at night now because of the halo's. If you do it, LASIK has the shorter recover time and more risk of halos, while PRK, I think it what it's called, has longer recovery time, but less risk of something going wrong. It's the kind pilot's have to get if they want to fly.

[Peter Majtan]

As ex-military pilot I don't know about USA, but in my country You would not even qualify for the training if You didn't have perfect vision, no exceptions. As such I obviously can't give You any personal advice. But I did read somewhere that laser surgery can have a negative impact at a later age. Don't take this as generalization... If I were You - I would be scouting every corner of the net for all info I can lay my eyes on, such as this:

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/08/03/05/lasik_surgery_what_are_the_risks_vs_the_benefits.h tm

[dvpixl]

halo's?

what about horizontal flares for side effects?

[MattN]

Well it depends if you're talking about being a regular pilot or flying for the military. For a regular pilot's license, by the FAA, you just need to wait a year and show you have stable good vision.

For the military it differs for each branch, but the basics are, you can't get it before you join, but after if they authorize it, you can get a waiver for PRK being the best option. You might not be able to fly fighter jets, but you could probably do cargo runs.

[Peter Majtan]

In my country all pilots were trained in a military school (the only pilot school we have). As I have said - I don't know about the USA and my intention was not to discredit Your post... :D

Also - I think laser can only correct one of the short/long sighted defect (I think logically the short-sighted one), but I could wrong on this one.

[MattN]

I believe they are now able to correct both now, and some forms of astigmatism.

[Jaime Valles]

OK, well, I went to their consultation, and it's going to end up costing a whopping $2800 based on my current prescription.

Ouch. Very ouch.

So I'm thinking about forgetting the whole thing. For the price of LASIK I could buy a new Scarlet, which will actually be used to bring in income. The only drawback to not getting the surgery is having to deal with glasses.

I think I can deal with glasses. At least until Spielberg decides he wants to produce my next screenplay... ;)

What do you think?

[Jerrod Cordell]

My dad got lasik (I think it was lasik) eye surgery 10 years ago and his vision is still good, and he's 60 now. He has to wear reading glasses, but I think that could be an age thing. I know I want to get the surgery. I'm tired of contacts as well and I hate wearing glasses.

[Jason Ramsey]

Unfortunately, I don't qualify for Lasik on the account of I already have 20/20.... :)

Friend of the family actually just had artificial lenses put in his eyes. Cut out his old lenses and put in artificial ones of some kind. Pretty wild.

Later,
Jason

[Jared Caldwell]

This is something that has helped me. I have been a contact wearer for 8 years, and I have had to deal with all of the same problems you are dealing with. It sucks.

Then, my doctor recommended that I switch to "night and day" contacts. I can wear them all day and all night every day without taking them out, and they feel so much more comfortable! I completely forget I have them in my eyes! And they are "better" for your eyes, because they breathe a lot more (because you have to be able to wear them night and day), and you don't have to stick your fingers in your eyes constantly (which = germs in your eye). I cannot recommend these enough. It is like I have never had poor vision.

In our line of work, glasses are a pain in the ass. I wore glasses for 5 years before switching to contacts, and they can really limit what you do. If you can wear night and day contacts, don't go the glasses route.

LASIK surgery scares me. My suggestion: wait. Every year, laser eye surgery gets better, and every year people tell me to go ahead and get it done. If it is getting better and better, waiting will give you the best.

In our line of work, eyes are important! Hope this helps! :D

[MattN]

I wouldn't wear those night and day lenses, I have to take mine out after work most days. Otherwise you get a lot of blood vessel growth in your eyes and then you can't even get the LASIK surgery.

Just make sure to wash your hands before you take out your contacts, but wearing them for extended periods of time is bad on the old eyeballs.

[Jared Caldwell]

I wouldn't wear those night and day lenses, I have to take mine out after work most days. Otherwise you get a lot of blood vessel growth in your eyes and then you can't even get the LASIK surgery.

Just make sure to wash your hands before you take out your contacts, but wearing them for extended periods of time is bad on the old eyeballs.

Well, my doctor says otherwise, but I definitely think it is an option.The night and days are lighter and are made to "breathe" and let in more oxygen to your eyes. You just need to ask your optometrist first. They have worked wonders for me! :D

[lnp25]

Wel.. my Girlfriend had it done a couple weeks ago.. SHe was beyond legally blind before, and now has better than me and I don't wear glasses! but really shes above 20/20 now... Also.. silverscreendreams.. shes only 22 and just had hers done in new jersey... maybe manhattan... but check with another doctor if they said you can't till your 25, i know a couple people that have had it done well under that age.

CB

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

What does 20/20 mean?

[Graeme Nattress]

20/20 means that at 20ft distant from a chart, you can see as clearly as a normal person who is also 20ft from that same chart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity). If you have 20/10 you see twice as clearly as a normal person as you can see at 20ft what a normal person would need to be at 10ft to see.

Graeme

[acoelho1]

I had my laser eye surgery about 10 years ago. Its a lot cheaper now then when I had it done. I definitely do not regret it because my eye sight was bad and I was having issues with eye irritations due to my contact lenses. I do not miss wearing them. My only advice is to find a good doctor to do the procedure.

[lnp25]

but if you keep waiting for it to get better, and yes it does get better all the time (but so do cameras, computers... everything) so... if you keep waiting for the best.. you'll never get anything... Like If I said, oh.. but scarlet mkII will be soo much better, I'm not gona get scarlet.. but then i hear scarlet 3 is gonna be better, so i keep waiting.... never et a camera... .. uhh.. or laser eye surgery

[MattN]

You can buy a new camera, but getting a new eye surgery might not be an option for you.

[Jaime Valles]

I decided to not get the surgery. $2800 is a lot of money, and I'll deal just fine with glasses for now. We'll see in a few years if I change my mind.

[jFrancois]

I did lasik about five years ago. The halo's went away pretty quickly and my night vision is fine. Only now, have allergies started to effect my eyes a bit. Sometimes I get a slight blurred vision, but it was well worth it.

I hope never need glasses again, but I thinking reading glasses will be coming my way in the next couple of years.

On the practical side, it's so much easier to look through the viewfinder without glasses. What a pain in the ass that was. :)