Is Lasik worth the cost?

[GMUJenn]

Hi
I am 22 and have been considering Lasik eye surgery. I was wondering if I could get feedback as to whether the cost of the surgery and the results are worth the financial cost. Any horror stories or positive stories on how it has affected you?

[Hating glasses]

GMUJenn,
Wow! What can I say! I got my surgery 1 month and 2 weeks ago and last night, I was crawling into bed when I just glanced into the bathroom at the alarm clock my hubby keeps on his side of the sink in the bathroom. I don't know for sure but, I don't think with my glasses I would have been able to see the time on that clock. Post-op, I could see it. There was a minor pulling feeling in my right eye while reading that clock only because that eye was the worst, 20/50 nearsighted and a slight case of farsightedness with a high level of astigmatism. Given that problem, it is having to learn how to move from near to far and was slightly over-corrected (not a bad thing). So, there is this minor distortion when I am reading something from a distance. My doc has told me that will correct itself and I am not worried. Anyway, your question about whether the cost is worth it? YES! YES! YES! I would pay double or more what I paid to be seeing the way I am. By the way, I am seeing 20/15 as of my last post-op follow up and, I won't know until June but, I think that it may be 20/10 now. I never knew it was possible to see better than 20/20 but, I am living proof that it is! Lasik was the best thing I ever did for myself.
As for problems, your eyes may get dry pretty easily for the first month but, even after 2 weeks post-op, the dryness gets better. I find that my dryness depends on where I am. I have humidifiers at home so, my eyes stay pretty moist there but, at work, they get a little drier. No big deal. It has gotten better since last week and I look forward to how much better it will be next week.

GMUJenn, if you are a candidate, don't opt not to do it based on cost. Just make sure you have a good doctor and let them take care of you. Just imagine not having to put on glasses or contacts. Imagine not having to clean them (the glasses more than once a day if you are like me). Imagine seeing colors the way nature intended you to see them. Imagine looking across the room at a clock and not having to squint to see it. Now you tell me, do you think the cost is worth it? You won't get a no out of me!

[GMUJenn]

Thank you for answering my question! I am getting ready to graduate and after my internship spending most of my time staring at the computer I look forward to that again, and I was hoping that lasik would take care the contacts drying out so bad from the computer that you have to take them out. I also dont enjoy having to clean glasses and contacts daily!

[Hating glasses]

My pleasure GMUJenn! First things first though. You need to go to a good Lasik doctor to find out if you are a candidate. Don't ask your regular doctor as it has been my experience that they will tell you you aren't a candidate because they don't want to lose your business.
Go to LasikPlus.com and see if they have an office in your area. They are where I got my surgery done and they are wonderful. Their doctors are all veterans of the procedure and they have strict guidelines so, they are, in my opinion, the best!
Good luck and keep in touch!

[madera74]

Hi there! I had my procedure done in April of 2000 at TLC Laser Centers. They were absolutely fantastic, my experience was wonderful and I would do it a thousand times over again. The cost at the time was $2400/eye and I received a $400/eye discount for having attended one of the seminars. It may be less than that now, but they have cutting edge equipment and the surgeon I went to was one of the pioneers in the field, and has now done more than 50,000 procedures. It also covered all of my follow-up visits, meds (drops, etc.) and I have a lifetime warranty so if my vision ever changed I could get a free enhancement. I am 30 years old and first got glasses in the 2nd grade. My prescription was -8.75 in each eye (pretty much blind!) when I had Lasik done and I have had 20/15 vision ever since then. The procedure was a piece of cake and I had no discomfort whatsoever. To me this change has been an absolute miracle, and it took well over a year for me to get used to going to bed at night without thinking that I had to take my contacts out. The other poster mentioned the alarm clock - seriously, I used to have to pick it up in the morning and hold it right in front of my face to see the time because it was just a big red blob! It just still amazes me every day that they can correct your vision in this way, and it has just been really freeing to be rid of a dependency on contacts or glasses, especially when my vision was so bad that I was pretty much helpless without them. Good luck to you, whatever you decide, but I would definitely recommend looking into it. It's the best thing I've ever done! And as for the cost, before I had it done that sounded like a lot of money, but afterwards I felt (and still feel) like I couldn't even put a dollar amount on how wonderful it turned out to be.