Thinking of Lasik eye surgery

[LaloGS]

Anybody had this done willing to recommend it? I'm near sighted and need glasses for reading and close work. Is there any hope of improvement after the procedure? I'd really love to get back to my normal vision which was 20/20 before I turned 40, and began to suffer the over 40 eyes syndrome.

Since I'm a painter (artist) it kind of scares me a little that it could do more damage to my sight.

I can have both eyes done here in Bogotá for about $500 US dollars. I hear it is a lot more expensive in the US though. I also hear that a lot of Americans are coming to Colombia to have it done.

 

[2pourvous]

i had it two years ago and I am very happy since then I can do lots of sports without glasses and especially swimming and I am able to see the guys.....

 

[cynicus]

I had it done about 5 years ago. Best thing I ever did. Still need glasses for close work, but that is because they can't do anything about presbyopia when one grows older. But if they catch it soon enough (in the 20's in the case I know), it corrects all the problems with vision. But to be able to drive, walk, exercise, watch TV and movies without glasses is great! I recommend it.

 

[CDFan]

what's the anasthetic process like?

 

[3nipples]

The near sightedness is due to the shape of your eye and can be corrected with laser surgery. I would be concerned about any possible effects on the eye when you are 70 or 80. I don't know how much sense it makes for someone who is older to have this done...

The changes that have been happening over the past few years that make it difficult for you to read/work are due to a muscle that is losing it's ability to contract as much as it did before and therefore you are no longer able to focus on things that are near. There is no surgery that will fix this.

Since you have lived with being near sighted for so long, my guess is that this is not bothering you as much as your loss of vision due to aging. I wouldn't do it if I were you.

 

[dadbear69]

Had it done 7 years ago I was 48, have occasional bouts of dry eye just use liquid tears. My long vision is now great - although now have to wear reading glasses for everything ~ ah the joys of being 55.
All in all am happy - now if could get rid of reading glasses.

 

[LaloGS]

Thanks for the input guys. It's hard to get any post operative info on this procedure. So I guess the consensus is the older you are the less it works. Right?

 

[drhladnjak]

If you need glasses for near work you're farsighted not nearsighted. In fact, if this only started happening once you turned 40, it's almost certainly presbyopia which eventually everybody gets. Basically, the lens in your eye gets less flexible as you age. Eventually it gets so thick that it can no longer really deform to focus properly. Consequently, you need to get reading glasses to compensate.

Presbyopia is different than other kinds of vision problems like your eye being too long (farsightedness) or too short (nearsightedness) or having an irregular surface shape (astigmatism). Lasik can correct those because it changes the focus of your eye by modifying the shape of the cornea (the clear external layer over your pupil). It doesn't work for presbyopia though because that has to do with the focusing ability of the lens inside your eye. To do otherwise would be like looking through reading glasses all the time across your entire field of vision.