A few questions about lasik

Trinity05 · 03-04-2005, 02:26 PM

Hi, I'm new here, I've been lurking for a while. Well anyway, I am set to have Lasik on 3-17 and I have been freaking out ever since. According to my eye doctor I am a "slam dunk correction", I am guessing that is a good thing. My prescription for both eyes is -3.25 and I have a slight astigmatism in both eyes. My vison has been stable for over two years. So, here are some of my concerns: How many of you have a severe problem with dry eyes due to lasik? I currently do not have dry eyes (used to wear my contacts for 16 hours a day w/o using drops). Will that change due to the surgery? I know there is no way to tell if someone is going to have chronic dry eyes after surgery. Just want some reassurance that it will get better over time. Another concern is halos or night glare: This really freaks me out. The thought of not being able to drive at night really scares me. I have read that pupil size has a lot to do with this. If so, what is a good size?

Stats:
32yrs
-3.25 both eyes
slight astigmatism both eyes
pupil size 5.5-6.0mm

Sorry this is so long!

Hating glasses · 03-04-2005, 03:20 PM

Trinity05,
If you don't have a problem with dry eyes now, that is a good sign. I had a problem with it when I wore contacts and have experienced some dryness since my procedure a month and a little over 2 weeks ago. But, it isn't anything I can't handle and continues to get better and better every day. There is a test your doctor can, and maybe even did give to see if you have dry eye syndrome. If your doc isn't worried, you shouldn't be. I have spoken with some other people who have had the procedure and there have been a few that never had any dryness. If you already have healthy eyes you should be just fine. And, like I said, the little bit of dryness (which is worse the first 2 weeks post-op) you may experience is well worth the annoyance when you are seeing like an eagle!
As for the halos and glare, I think that people who already have it pre-op are most likely to have it. I had it before my surgery and had it for a little while post-op but, it is getting better and I find that as long as my eyes aren't tired or dry, the haloing/glare is nothing terribly disabling. I actually have less of that effect now than I did in glasses. It isn't a permanent problem as far as I know so, even if you do experience it post-op, it will probably go away soon enough. That was probably one of the things that scared me the most when the surgery first started hitting the news.
If your doctor is positive about your surgery, listen to him or her. As long as they are a reputable lasik specialist, you should have nothing to worry about!
Good luck and let us all know how it goes and if you have any other questions, you have picked the right board to ask! This board was very calming for me before my surgery and also with all of my questions post-op!

Trinity05 · 03-04-2005, 03:48 PM

Hating glasses,
Thanks for the words of comfort. I am glad to hear that it will be temporary, hopefully. I just don't want to be one of the unlucky ones in the 3-4% range. I was tested for dryness at my pre-op exam and results were 9.5 for both eyes. I hope that is good. Doc said it was. Oh, and I have never had any problems with halos or night glare, so hopefully it stays that way. I received my exam at my regular eye doctor and then he referred me to a lasik surgeon at the Michigan Eye Institute. So, if anyone else lives in Michigan and knows anything about MEI, please let me know what you think. I will be meeting with the surgeon sometime next week. I don't want to wait until the day of surgery before I meet the man who will have my eye's fate in his hands. Thanks again!! I will keep you posted.
Trinity

madera74 · 03-10-2005, 12:32 AM

Hi Trinity.. I am a 30 y.o. female and had Lasik in the spring of 2000. My prescription was -8.75 in each eye (yes, awful!). My procedure went beautifully and I've had 20/15 vision ever since. I just wanted to respond about the issue of dryness and halos, since I have experience with both. The dryness -- I wore contacts for years before my procedure and never had any problems with dryness. I did experience some dryness following my procedure (not right away), and probably for the first couple of years even, but it was never anything really bothersome. There are a lot of great lubricating drops and so I used those as needed and if they ever felt especially dry I used some of the Refresh PM ointment before bed at night and they'd feel great again in the morning. It was a minor inconvenience at most, and I eventually seemed to get over it altogether. I still keep a bottle of drops around but couldn't even tell you the last time I had to use them.

About the halos, I have large pupils and since I had such a big correction to be made in both eyes, there was a question as to whether or not I would be a good candidate. I met with the surgeon a couple of times actually and even on my procedure day wasn't sure if I would be having it or not. They had warned me of halos, etc. and I had no idea what to expect. I trusted my surgeon though, who was highly experienced, and he felt confident that I would be happy with my result. A few days after my procedure I went to do some errands in the evening and I drove because I wanted to see what it would be like, with the headlights and all. It was actually a little weird at first, there were some kind of elongated starbursts coming off of the headlights, but it wasn't distracting to the point where I couldn't drive comfortably. Your eyes go through various stages of healing and your vision fluctuates for awhile. The starbursts subsided and now I feel like I'm not seeing anything different than anyone else with perfect, unaltered vision. I do have a slight bit of what they call "ghosting" at times, which would be say, if I'm in a movie theater and there is white text on a stark black screen, sometimes I see a bit of a faint white outline around the text. I'm used to it, and it's only in these half- or low-light situations and doesn't bother me at all.

Sorry so long.. I just hoped to reassure you, coming from someone who was not an "ideal" candidate, and almost didn't have the procedure because of pupil size and correction needed -- I have found the side effects to be extremely minimal and I would put up with 1000 times more than that to have this perfect vision. It was an amazing change in my life, and I'd do it over again and again

. Good luck!

Trinity05 · 03-10-2005, 10:29 PM

Madera,
Thanks for responding to my post, but I have since decided to not have Lasik at this time. MEI sent me my consent form, and after I read it and thought about it, I decided that I did not want to risk my eye sight at this time. Maybe when they come up with something with less side effects and risks. Thanks again, and I'm glad to hear that you had such great results.

Trinity