ask me about eyes

[slim]

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Hey slim,

I'm 35 years old now and have been wearing glasses since the 5th grade. I'm just now considering laser eye surgery. I've been wearing glasses for so long now that they don't really faze me. However the thought of being able to see without wearing them is also appealing.

My main apprehension has nothing to do with fear of potential side effects and everything to do with expectation. I don't want to go through the procedure if I'm going to have to wear glasses for distance again in a few years (I accept that I will need glasses for reading).
My eyes are not that bad but just bad enough that I don't function well without glasses - -2.5 and -2.75 with a mild astygmatism - no significant history.

What would you say to a patient with my history and concerns?


BTW Thanks for taking the time to to do this "ask me" thread. It has been interesting and informative.

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If you are not worried about complications, I would say you are an ideal candidate. However the goal of laser eye surgery is to REDUCE the dependancy on glasses/contacts. So if you are going to be unhappy with a prescription of -0.50 in which case you might want to wear glasses for night driving only, then you need to really think about whether you really want the surgery.I can tell you that for your prescription, the chances of you seeing 20/20 after surgery without glasses is over 95%. Any residual prescription can always be re treated.

[slim]

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Good thread. I had laser surgery about 6 years ago. I don't remember what kind. How much regression can I expect over the years? I tend to think that I've regressed a little, but I still see very well - far far better than I did with glasses/contacts prior to the procedure. If the regression continues, how long should i wait before getting an enhancement? 5 more years? 10? After the enhancement, will the eyes continue to regress at the same rate, or will it slow (or speed up)?

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Your eyes may not have regressed at all. By regress, I mean that your prescription has crept back a little. In most cases there is very little or no regression. But if your vision is slightly worse, it may just be normal aging. And if there is a slight change in your RX, it may have nothing to do with the laser....your eyes may have changed whether you had laser or not. Go and see your eye dr and if there is a prescrition, you can get an enhancment at any time.

[Wires]

Thanks for the response, slim.

I see you are from Ontario as well - I'm in Toronto. I've started to research a few places and I see that what you have said in one of your earlier posts is very true. I've seen listings for what appears to be very inexpensive surgery. However when you go for your assessment it actually turns out to be much more expensive than advertised. It seems that very few people could meet the requirements necessary for the cheaper surgery.

With that being said would you recommend any specific facility in the GTA and what are your thoughts on insurance? Also is there anyone is the area that you would absolutely avoid? Finally, what should I reasonably expect to pay for the procedure. Money is not the issue but I do not want to be gouged.

Thanks again.

(if you don't mind I may PM you in the future for further insight on this process)

[Nick-Zack]

I am 41 years old and have never seen any kind of eye doctor. My vision seems as "perfect" as it ever has. Is there any reason that I should be getting eye checkups?

[slim]

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excellent thead,

slim - I like many others here spend A LOT of time on the computer and my eyes simply get really tired.

On top of that, I don't have 20/20 but I can function and dont' see any need to get glasses (I can't see far away objects like the blackboard if I sit at the back of the classroom or bus numbers). Is it true that my eyesight will deteriorate if I dont' get glasses or contacts or should I just go on living cause it's not causing me any discomfort?

Are there eye exercises? How often should one take breaks from the computer? How about reading a book?

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This type of question is asked at my office many times a day by patients. Not getting glasses will not make your eyes worse. Staring at a computer will not make your eyes worse. There are no excercises to make your vision better.

Think about it this way, if not wearing glasses makes one's eyes worse, then all those people you see wearing glasses part time would eventually go to full time wear.....but that isn't the case. Often patients as the opposite...."if I wear my glasses all the time will it make my eyes lazy and therefore progressively worse?". This question and your question are exact opposites and they both intuitively make sense but if either were true, then everybody who wear's glasses will always have thicker and thicker glasses and everybody who needs glasses and don't wear them will get worse and worse as well. That is just not true.

[slim]

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Thanks for the response, slim.

I see you are from Ontario as well - I'm in Toronto. I've started to research a few places and I see that what you have said in one of your earlier posts is very true. I've seen listings for what appears to be very inexpensive surgery. However when you go for your assessment it actually turns out to be much more expensive than advertised. It seems that very few people could meet the requirements necessary for the cheaper surgery.

With that being said would you recommend any specific facility in the GTA and what are your thoughts on insurance? Also is there anyone is the area that you would absolutely avoid? Finally, what should I reasonably expect to pay for the procedure. Money is not the issue but I do not want to be gouged.

Thanks again.

(if you don't mind I may PM you in the future for further insight on this process)

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There are only 3 centers on Toronto that offer LASIK with Intralase. Intralase is another laser that is used to make the flap before the second laser is used to laser away your presciption. Any other center you go to will use whats called a microkeratome to make the initial flap. A microkeratome is basically an automated scalpel (metal blade). There are many benefits to Intrlase over microkeratome however it is a much newer (about 2 yrs). The 3 centers are TLC,Herzig Eye Intitute and Bochner Eye Insitute.Ya you can pm me if you like.

[slim]

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I am 41 years old and have never seen any kind of eye doctor. My vision seems as "perfect" as it ever has. Is there any reason that I should be getting eye checkups?

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I can tell you your near vision is not as good as it was even last year. You may not notice it when reading a book but the closer something is to your face the worse blurrier it gets compared to the previous year. But thats not serious anyways.....you'll need reading glasses within 5 years.

Other than that, you should get your eyes checked at least every 2 years to rule out eye disease which are often painless and insidious (glaucoma)

[fish2plus2]

should you get percription sunglasses or get normal sun glasses and wear your contacts?

[poincaraux]

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slim,

any thoughts on ortho k?

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Yes.....horrible. You will very likely become progressively farsighted.

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can you tell me more about this? my wife is slightly nearsighted (she wears glasses at dusk and in the evening when she's driving, but otherwise, no problems) and is seriously considering ortho k.

thanks,

-poin

[slim]

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Would you prefer Lucentis, Avastin or something else for choroidal neovascularization associated with histoplasmosis?

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Wow you really are an a-hole. The purpose of this thread is to answer general ophthalmic questions that 2+2ers might have. From your other post and this one, you are obviously in the medical field,probably an ophthalmologist. You seem so bitter that I am helping answer people's questions. I am not here to answer your questions to help make you a better eye doctor. Since I am not an ophthalmologist, and I clearly stated that, why would you ask me if I prefer Lucentis or Avastin to treat CNVM? I don't treat CNVM's...I refer them out to good ophthos who spend more of their time caring for patients instead of trying to tell the world how much better MDs are than ODs. And to answer your [censored] question, as far as I'm concerned, Avastin,Lucentis,Macugen ,PDT etc.......are all garbage for cnvm. Every patient I've ever referred for these treatments has not experienced any appreaciable improvement in vision but I send them anyways because there is no other choice and these people are desperate.