does anyone get 20/20 after lasik?

Originally Posted by DW123

Can anyone tell me how long the surgery lasts, is it permanent? I have been considering having it done. My eyes just keep getting worse, I had 20/20 vision until I hit age 40 and it been going downhill ever since.

Yes, it is "permanent", meaning you cant undo the changes introduced into the cornea. Lasik does nothing to prevent or slow presbyopia or any other eye maladies. But, the larger question is, what do you mean your vision has been going downhill since reaching 40? Do you mean you can not read as well as you used to or see distance? What is your current prescription?

What I meant was about every 3 years i have had to get new glasses with more strength. If I'm reading my prescription correctly it's 325 in left and 275 in right eye. Otherwise my Doctor said my eyes are normal. IT sure would be nice to see like I did when I was 30, I am now 60 yrs old. Thank you for your response.

Thank you for the information.

Originally Posted by DW123

What I meant was about every 3 years i have had to get new glasses with more strength. If I'm reading my prescription correctly it's 325 in left and 275 in right eye. Otherwise my Doctor said my eyes are normal. IT sure would be nice to see like I did when I was 30, I am now 60 yrs old. Thank you for your response.

DW, at age 60, you are needing reading glasses because your lenses have stiffened and become less pliable(happens to everyone with age). Your prescription is divided into two basic categories: Far vision correction and reading correction. It could be that your reading prescription is changing every few years and the doctor is adjusting this aspect of your glasses. Your current myopic prescription(I am guessing you meant -3.25/-2.75 and not +3.25/+2.75?) is middle-of-the-road...neither mild nor severe myopia.
If you are looking for vision as if you were 30, I am afraid LASIK will not work. Nothing will, short of new eyeballs. LASIK can be very nice when done carefully and correctly but can be very nasty when something goes wrong.
With all due respect, at your age and expectations and current prescription(not bad at all), I would just say NO to LASIK. Far too risky. Just my 2 cents.

Thank you for your response. I guess I was under a misconception about lasik eye surgery. I had perfect vision until I hit the magic 40, although my brother who is 63 doesn't need glasses and has good vision. I guess I am the unlucky one in my family, anyway thanks for the information.

I had that problem before I got lasik and it didn't get worse after. I thought it was just the aging process, just like it became more difficult for me to drive at night as I got older. Lasik didn't make that worse either. Lasik worked well for me overall. I'm happy I did it.

Originally Posted by Norby2009

Laser surgery seriously screws up your contrast sensitivity. If you want to be able to do something as simple as picking out a pair of matching socks from your sock drawer don't get lasik! Never again will black be black. Navy will never be navy. You'll not be able to tell the difference between a navy sock and a black sock unless you're in bright light. No more reaching in the dresser drawer and grabbing at socks without needing to turn the light on. Colors will never be what they were before surgery.

I have had no problems with colors. In that regard, nothing has changed before and after Lasik. But everyone is different in their perception, I guess.

Originally Posted by Norby2009

Everything seems a little bit duller to me after lasik but the worst thing is when I'm in dim light, then the contrast sensitivity loss is really noticeable. My socks don't match too often anymore.

Did you have a contrast sensitivity test done anytime BEFORE you had Lasik?
I now remember my doc giving me this test during the pre-Lasik exam, although at the time, I was not sure what it was. I asked about it and was told it was to check for low-light sensitivity which could show the onset of cataracts.
Now that I have done some research, contrast sensitivity seems to be related to glare, the scattering of light, and I get this mostly around fluorescent and sodium lights. When I put on a pair of polarizing sunglasses the glare mostly goes away and I can see much sharper. Have you yet tried a pair of good polarized lenses? If not, you should. I think you will be impressed with the improvement. They help even w/o Lasik issues.

Originally Posted by Norby2009

Putting aside all of my visual problems, the biggest problem is pain! 24/7 eye pain since my surgery 4 1/2 months ago, this is my biggest concern, only thing the docs tell me to do is to keep using the moisture drops but they don't help. The pain is the thing that really is going to drive me nuts. I can't get any relief.

20/20 means nothing if you are in constant pain when trying to use your eyes.

If you still have that much pain after 4 1/2 months, I would be wondering if they left some kind of foreign object or debris under the flap. And I would be setting up an appointment with another specialist. I know its gonna cost you some $$, but its your only pair of eyes. I had pain for a while, on and off for the first few weeks but it is largely gone and my eyes feel pretty natural now though still plenty of halos. For a short while, the pain made me want to claw out my eyeballs! Yours that bad?

Originally Posted by DW123

Thank you for your response. I guess I was under a misconception about lasik eye surgery. I had perfect vision until I hit the magic 40, although my brother who is 63 doesn't need glasses and has good vision. I guess I am the unlucky one in my family, anyway thanks for the information.

I think your doctor didn't do you any favors by not telling you that lasik doesn't correct presbyopia. Mine did and I was aware of it, so that's why I had monovision. Most people GET this. I'm surprised you hadn't heard that? I am getting an enhancement though, cause it's just too blurry after 3 months....

Originally Posted by Norby2009

Just ordered new glasses, they are costing 650 bucks, i had my lasik 4 months ago. Hopefully they will eleviate some of my problems with headaches and dizzyness. I don't think they will do much to help with the dry eyes, blurry vision and difficulty with night driving, excruciating facial pain, and visual distortion.Unfortunately, the clinic I went to "LASIKMD" in Canada does this procedure in bulk rather than on carefully-selected patients. They now refuse to acknowledge my problems, the optometrist I saw last week told me my vision is clear and crisp after I had just told him about all of my problems. They don't listen to me and just rush me through the post-op check-ups as quickly as possible because they don't want me to cost them anymore money.I've put in a complaint with the FDA and will do so with the locally as well.

Originally Posted by julieone

I had it done to both eyes a week ago and have better days and worse days - near and middle is Ok but distance is so blurry I can't drive. Trying to stay calm and tell myslef it'll get better - but am quite worried that it won't. Any good stories around to hear?

Mine hopefully. I will be getting an enhancement at the end of the month.

HOPEFULLY I will be 20/20 in my right eye (left is for close up)

LASIK IS NOT PERMANENT, IT IS HOWEVER IRREVERSIBLE!

Whoever stated this, it is not true with everyone. I had severe farsightedness & stigmatism & wore glasses since I was a child. Spent $1500 on lasik surgery many years ago, my vision improved to 20/25 and it has been that way ever since. The doctor was shocked my vision even improved that much as bad as my vision originally was.

Aftermath of the surgery is not that pleasant, but it goes away with time, or so it did for me.

How old were you when you had your surgery, if you don't mind me asking? Your story sure sounds like a success story compared to others that did not have a perfect ending.

Neveragain444
May I ask how long your sight took to get better - I am 5 weeks post op and my far vision is still quite blurry - good first thing but by the end of the day isn't too good. I am wondering how logn it will take to settle down and be consistently good. U have no bad side effects at all!