Lasik, VS ICL vs whatever

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Sludig

Sludig

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Been saving my shekels and would like to try and get my very awful vision corrected this year. Scared of finding someone decent in Tulsa though.

Any input in general? I have a little bit of an astigmitism, and a thing that's not quite a lazy eye but like one eye doesn't quite track right with the other one occasionally causing like close range ish smushy/moving vision until I blink hard and kinda focus consciously.

Want lasik because right now, if I lose my glasses, I can't read a stop sign from 5 feet. I understand I may still be fairly blind after and need glasses for full vision, but it'd be nice to be at a point I could probably drive in a pinch and only wear them sometimes.

Big driver is with my hobby farm, I'm often trying to wear a respirator, night vision, and shooting magnified optics on my land, and glasses kinda fuck w/ all that. and in the winter fog bad wearing any kind of gaiter/mask.
 
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Hatorade

Hatorade

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Got Lasik done in 2017, still have better than 20/20. Down side was the most intense burning almost immediately after procedure was done and numbing drops wore off. It lasted about 7 hours and I ended up taking a fuck ton of meds to pass out for a while. When I woke up it never hurt again was 6 months of eyedrops and a about a year of light halos around light sources at night.
 
sleevedraw

sleevedraw

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  • Basically every insurance product whether medical or vision considers it cosmetic, therefore you will pay out-of-pocket. The insurance company may be able to negotiate 20-50% off the sticker price for you, but they won't directly pay for the procedure itself.
    • If anything does go wrong during the procedure, and you need further surgery or medical care, you will pay this out-of-pocket as well, because most health plans have an exclusion for "services related to non-covered procedures." Said another way, this means any subsequent care for a non-covered procedure is itself non-covered.
  • Because it's considered cosmetic, the field is very "Wild West" with a lot of new technology and variations in treatment protocols, making it difficult to compare apples to apples.
    • You therefore really need to do your research and ask for referrals from friends and family, see how many procedures the surgeon has done, etc.
    • Go to multiple doctors and get multiple opinions. Some may try to push you a certain way just because the surgeon likes one procedure more.
  • People who have larger magnitude prescriptions generally have worse outcomes.
  • People who have visual deficits that aren't "stable" (i.e. their prescription needs to be adjusted every time they go back to an optometrist) generally have worse outcomes (thus why people usually get it done in their mid-20s to late 30s, when their prescription doesn't change or changes minimally).
  • You need to be comfortable with using eye drops. Dry eye is a common complication of all surgical options and can be permanent.
  • Basic types of surgeries: Photorefractive keratomy (PRK), LASIK, SMILE, and ICL.
    • ICL
      • Pros: Technically reversible, can correct higher-power visual deficits than the others can (up to 20 diopters of nearsightedness), whereas LASIK and PRK can only do 8 to 10 respectively), contact lens can be made with anti-UV material, granting the eye some intrinsic UV protection. Old and well-studied procedure like PRK and LASIK.
      • Cons: More expensive, more invasive (therefore longer recovery period and higher risk of complication). Of the options, probably the most technically difficult approach (therefore need an experienced, dexterous surgeon).
    • PRK
      • Pros: From a technical standpoint, the least complicated approach (just rub off the cornea and go). Because no flap is being created, the cornea is stronger and more stable; there is no risk of a flap or lenticular complication like there is with LASIK or SMILE. Old, well-studied procedure that dates back to the 80s. Possibly less long-term dry eye and risk of "starburst" artifacts than LASIK and SMILE, though head-to-head data is limited and inconclusive. Possibly lower risk of overcorrection than LASIK and SMILE. Along with LASIK, usually the cheapest option. Can correct a wider range of astigmatism than LASIK and SMILE can. Has a computerized tracking system available that assists the surgeon and can increase precision.
      • Cons: Longer recovery time; more postoperative pain. Higher risk of a specific complication called corneal haze when compared with LASIK/SMILE which can be long-term or permanent. Higher risk of postop infection than LASIK.
    • LASIK
      • Pros: Widely practiced, therefore not difficult to find a provider. Shortest recovery time of all surgical options. With PRK, cheapest option. 2nd least complicated surgery from a technical standpoint behind PRK. Has a computerized tracking system available that assists the surgeon and can increase precision. Old, well-studied procedure.
      • Cons: You're creating a flap which creates structural weakness in the cornea. This can lead to its own class of complications which may require additional surgery, although rare. Potentially higher long-term risk of dry eye and overcorrection than PRK.
    • SMILE
      • Pros: Second shortest recovery time after LASIK. Creates less structural weakness in the cornea than LASIK does. Possibly slightly lower risk of dry eye than LASIK.
      • Cons: While you can't get flap complications like you can with LASIK, you can get lenticular complications (although they are rarer than flap complications). More expensive than LASIK and PRK; fewer providers specialize in it. Technically complicated surgery that does not have a computerized tracking system that can assist the surgeon. Newer procedure with paucity of longer-term safety data. Requires a very finicky range of how astigmatic an individual must be to be an appropriate candidate for the procedure (requires some, but not a lot, versus the others which can also treat eyes without astigmatism).
 
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Furry

Furry

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I got lasik and was pretty happy with the outcome. Went from 9+ to better than 20/20 in one eye and 20/20 in the other. Downside was some blurred vision in lights at night It got better but never completely went away. I hate glasses so totally worth to me. It's been 20 years and generally not much has changed with the lasik.

If I had to do it again I'd demand being unconcious for it or having my head strapped in or something. The experience is weird, but I moved a little on the first eye, so they restrained me anyways for the second.
 
Cutlery

Cutlery

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AIR OPTIX® Night & Day® AQUA Contact Lenses | Alcon

AIR OPTIX® Night & Day® AQUA contacts are designed to be worn continuously as determined by your eye care practitioner. Learn about extended wear contacts.
www.myalcon.com www.myalcon.com

I change my contacts 12x a year. Maybe a couple extra times during allergy season. I cannot fucking imagine trusting anyone enough to shine fucking lasers into my eyes.

I'm good on that shit. Oh, and my script is -6 and -9. I'm probably as blind or blinder than you. This shit changed my life, with no side effects, no chance of failure.

My buddy that offed himself two years ago said if he had to do it again, he wouldn't. His eyes were permanently dry after.
 
Hatorade

Hatorade

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Cutlery said:

AIR OPTIX® Night & Day® AQUA Contact Lenses | Alcon

AIR OPTIX® Night & Day® AQUA contacts are designed to be worn continuously as determined by your eye care practitioner. Learn about extended wear contacts.
www.myalcon.com www.myalcon.com

I change my contacts 12x a year. Maybe a couple extra times during allergy season. I cannot fucking imagine trusting anyone enough to shine fucking lasers into my eyes.

I'm good on that shit. Oh, and my script is -6 and -9. I'm probably as blind or blinder than you. This shit changed my life, with no side effects, no chance of failure.

My buddy that offed himself two years ago said if he had to do it again, he wouldn't. His eyes were permanently dry after.
Click to expand...
It is a robot that lasers your eyes, they smash a cup over your eye and then the premapped program zaps your eyeballs. It is so fast you can even look around while it is doing it. They even plane your eyeball with a machine so only thing doctor really does is move the flap around with a blunt pick.

The permanent dry eye thing would absolutely suck though. The amount of eye drops I had to use was a lot.
 
Cutlery

Cutlery

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Oh, I'm sure it's machine assisted, but that's not really the point. I also didn't get a great vibe from the short interaction I had with one.

I had a viral infection when I was 19 that left me with scars on my retina. They're particularly bad in my left eye, real close to the optic nerve. As such, my vision in that eye deteriorated pretty badly. When I brought that up as an option, my eye doc said "well, if I was you, I wouldn't mess around with anything that changes the shape of your eye or you could be seriously fucked, but they're the experts on that shit, go see what they say."

When I tried to schedule a consult, they said "no problem, but you cant wear contacts for 2 weeks before you come in." No, I'm not getting the procedure done, I just wanna talk about what's going to happen and what they think. "No, they do the procedure same day, so you can't wear contacts for 2 weeks."

Bitch, you're not fucking listening to me, and if your practice is this pushy about this, then I've got zero interest in this shit anymore.

That was at the place that did the most LASIK in the state, and was probably 10 years ago, so I wrote it off forever as definitely not for me based upon the fact that my doc didn't think it was a great idea, and then just the general pushiness. Anyone who can't take some time to talk to you about it first isn't worth hiring.
 
Animosity

Animosity

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Got lasik done about 7 years ago and best decision I ever made. The procedure takes literally 30 seconds and youre done. Its a pretty intense experience but there was no pain or any discomfort during the procedure or after. I was completely fine to drive the next day. The only annoying part is how bright every thing is and having to put in eye drops every hour for a week. Like Furry said the lights at night are very bright and make it a bit hard to see. But you can get glasses for night driving that help reduce that. I havent had any issues since nor do I have dry eye. Highly recommend it, especially if you have a active lifestyle.
 
Sludig

Sludig

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Cutlery said:

AIR OPTIX® Night & Day® AQUA Contact Lenses | Alcon

AIR OPTIX® Night & Day® AQUA contacts are designed to be worn continuously as determined by your eye care practitioner. Learn about extended wear contacts.
www.myalcon.com www.myalcon.com

I change my contacts 12x a year. Maybe a couple extra times during allergy season. I cannot fucking imagine trusting anyone enough to shine fucking lasers into my eyes.

I'm good on that shit. Oh, and my script is -6 and -9. I'm probably as blind or blinder than you. This shit changed my life, with no side effects, no chance of failure.

My buddy that offed himself two years ago said if he had to do it again, he wouldn't. His eyes were permanently dry after.
Click to expand...
One drawback to contacts other than my dailies I'm a bit of a bitch sometimes getting them in/out feel like I dry out too bad after 8 hours. Is they are a bad mix if I get in pepper spray supposedly will melt them onto your eye sometimes. Kinda an occupational risk for me.
 
Cutlery

Cutlery

Kill All the White People
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Sludig said:
One drawback to contacts other than my dailies I'm a bit of a bitch sometimes getting them in/out feel like I dry out too bad after 8 hours. Is they are a bad mix if I get in pepper spray supposedly will melt them onto your eye sometimes. Kinda an occupational risk for me.
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah. I get that.

I guess stop using pepper spray on your burritos!
 
Jovec

Jovec

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Had my eyes done about 25 years ago, paid out of pocket (~$5,600 IIRC). Doc who did it was the same one who operated on my dad's eye when a nail he was hammering (w/o safety glasses) ricocheted point-first into it. Supposedly the doc was top in his field. Before that I had glasses that I hated to wear and contacts that I hated putting in my eyes. No complaints ever since.
 
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