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Off Topic: LASIK
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aspyrebodyworks
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:13 pm    Post subject: lasik Reply with quote

Wow! Thank you for taking us with you on that journey. I am much more comfortable considering this now. I have contacts, but they get expensive after awhile. You are a wonderful writer, by the way! And if those flowers are part of your portfolio, a great photographer, too!
Sincerely,
Lin
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That was very informational and useful. I have been considering it for a while but like you, I'm a person who is afraid of doing anything to my eyes and never had contacts for that reason.

Some have told me after 40, it's perhaps too late for it. We'll see. Your post helped, though.

Thanks!
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MacedonianElida
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:58 pm    Post subject: Your Lasik play by play! Reply with quote

Hello,

I have your website link on my SBC homepage and of course i peek in everyday. You certainly painted a very exact albeit nerve racking picture of Lasik! I appreciated the play by play style because i dont know too many people who've had the procedure done.

I will be looking into that for myself as part of my own personal
"make over".

Heres to seeing clearly, all that life has to offer!

Elida Shock
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Michael
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 1:10 am    Post subject: Systane Reply with quote

Huge tip for LASIK recipients and anyone.

My eye doctor just told me to try an over the counter drop called Systane as it is the best eye moisturizer available. He said it will literally improve vision especially when the eyes are tired, after work, driving home.

Ever skeptical, but impressed by his enthusiasm (he did not even sell the stuff) I bought a dual-bottle box for about $9 on my way home from work a few days ago.

I dropped in one drop in each eye and found the stuff was a bit "goopy" in my eye. That lasted for a couple minutes then my vision cleared and (how do I do bold here?) WOW! It really worked! My vision was truly sharper. I could literally see individual twigs on trees several blocks away. Of course, the vision potential was already in my eyes, but this stuff brought it out to its best.

My next stop was ebay where I found 12 bottles for $20.

Great stuff!
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mjheil
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 2:01 pm    Post subject: actually, LASIK is not so offf topic on this site Reply with quote

this article on LASIK was posted on cooking for engineers, and actually that's not too off-base.
I once had the opportunity to interview the inventor of LASIK, and he told me that the idea for the technique came to him over thanksgiving turkey. He had been wondering about a laser's cutting properties on different types of materials, and while he was at dinner it strck him that the laser might be used to cut flesh. So he wrapped a drumstick in a napkin and took it into the lab the next day. After that, he experimented on beef eyes -- er, cow eyes.
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Jim
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:51 pm    Post subject: Good luck Reply with quote

I had the same surgery 2.5 years ago. I couldn't be happier. Be prepared to use a lot of saline drops the 1st 3 to 4 months after because your eyes may be easily irratated for a while. Also, I had this experience (no one else I've talked to seems to have had) that sometimes in the morning I had to pry my eyelids apart with my fingers. If I tried to do it the normal way with the appropriate face muscles it was very uncomfortable, painful even. The only thing that I could figure was that my eye mucus became more viscous for some reason. But don't worry, like I said, no one else I spoke with seems to have had that experience & it eventually passed.
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:29 pm    Post subject: Long term effects Reply with quote

About 8 years ago, my company (who I wasn't with at the time) had an awesome deal for LASIK surgery. It only cost about $100 per eye (ridiculous, I know) and at least half the company got it done. There are 5 people in my group who had it done at that time and would reccomend it to anyone. All of them have had relatively little side affects, the most common being halo's, but they have said it goes away. One of the guys who had it done at the time was over 40 - he may only have 10 years of perfect vision, but the most he'll need after that is reading glasses. I'd say that's a good investment.
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rhapsody



Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 1
Location: Fremont, CA

PostPosted: Mon Feb 27, 2006 12:21 am    Post subject: My great lasik experience (also with Dr. Furlong) Reply with quote

First I've got to say, Michael, I LOVE your site and your recipe format and really enjoy your writing style and point of view. Smile
I also had Custom Lasik (aka Wavefront) performed by Dr. Furlong in Campbell, CA on Jan. 6, 2006, and am extremely pleased with the results. Let me say right at the start that I have absolutely no connection to Dr. Furlong except that of an incredibly happy patient.

I am 52 years old and have been nearsighted (20/400) for most of my life, wearing contacts since age 16.

After age 45 I needed reading glasses, also. I opted for a procedure called monovision, which has worked perfectly for me, where one eye is corrected to be used for reading and the other for distance. My brain does the sorting out, and I see perfectly, near, far and in between (meaning my computer screen), without realizing I am using one eye or the other.

I have friends who used Dr. Furlong years ago who were thrilled with him, and after talking to him, checking into his experience, education and reputation, as well as looking at other doctors, I am very glad I went with him. His very skilled, experienced, calming, confidence-inspiring "bedside" manner, soothing voice and step-by-step explanation of what was happening and what I would be experiencing put me at ease as we went through the surgery.

The procedure itself was very brief and relatively painless. I followed his instructions exactly, going home and keeping my eyes shut for the rest of the day, using drops as instructed, and then was able to drive myself (!!!) back to his office the very next morning for my checkup. Today, exactly 51 days after my surgery, I have experienced no discomfort or complications and I am still thrilled with my results. I have perfect night vision, no halos at all, no sensitivity to headlights or bright sunlight. I think the risk of those problems is greatly lessened with the new Custom Lasik or Wavefront technology.

I hoped I would be one of the patients who ended up happy with the lasik results, but never dreamed that I would be one of those who came out with better than 20/20 vision - mine is now 20/15!!! I ride horses and bicycle, and have no problems with wind, rain, dust or dryness.

I'd advise anyone interested in lasik to find the most experienced surgeon he can. Dr. Furlong's website at furlongvision dot com has a lot of technical information on the procedure for anyone interested in researching it.

I would say I was sorry I didn't do this sooner, except that I think my great results are to be credited to my surgeon's years of experience and the relatively new Wavefront technology, which has only been FDA-approved in the US for a couple years, I think, though used in other countries for much longer.

Sorry this has been such a lengthy comment, but it's hard to contain my enthusiasm!
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Chris Moorhouse
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:51 pm    Post subject: Keeping you focused Reply with quote

I too, had LASIK surgery, with a very similar experience to you, right down to the double dose of Atavin. While on the table though, I had each hand held by an attractive young nurse/assistant (yes , I'm male, and I was in my early twenties at the time), whose only apparent jobs in the OR were to mutter in my ear that everything was just fine. Either they had both been recipients of the procedure, or they had been thouroughly briefed by other patients, because both communicated to me exactly what I should be seeing and feeling, and when I should be seeing and feeling it. It was great knowing that there was two people for whom nobody in the universe mattered more at that point in time.

The downside to this was going into recovery with a light blindfold on. The room was dark, and while there may have been other patients in there, nobody said a single word. After being spoken to constantly for a half an hour, the contrast was marked. A toddler left at preschool for the first time would likely have felt no less abandoned.

But seven years after the fact, I'm still 20/15 using both eyes; there has been no regression at all. And halos haven't been an issue, since I had them in a pretty bad way before the surgery, and LASIK seems actually to have improved them.
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funkyvision
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:06 pm    Post subject: Lasik stinks Reply with quote

I had lasik several years ago, and I went to one of the most highly recommended lasik surgeons. Lasik is far worse than glasses and contacts in every respect. My eyes are less comfortable because of the dryness than they were with either glasses or contacts.

My eyesight is terrible now too. Halos, starburst, smeared and blurry images, unstable refraction that changes throughout the day. I wear contacts now all the time just to get by. My vision will never be the same, and I'll always be uncomfortable. There is no cure.

When people make an irrevocable bad decision they tend to rationalize it. Before I had lasik everyone I'd talked to that had the procedure said they loved it and there were no side effects. But now that I've had it and I mention my side effects I find that others admit they have terrible side effects too. You'll find people who rave about it putting on glasses so they can drive home at night, or that later admit that they need punctal plugs just to deal with the dryness.

Don't be fooled. Contacts are more comfortable, and the vision is much much better.

It's too late for me. Save yourselves. Disbelief
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simonf_71



Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Posts: 1

PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wore glass for more than 20 years now. I would like have a clear vision without having to depend on glass. After reading some of the horror experience, I guess I can wait for few more year until they improve the procedures.

-------------------------------------
Lasik Eye Surgery Latest News
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:06 am    Post subject: Lasik was awesome for me Reply with quote

I had terrible vision, to the point that a book 1' from my face was readable, and 18" was not. Luckily I qualified for LASIK, (just) and had it done as a 21st bday present. 9 years later, there _is_ some degradation, but it was expected. The doctor (whose name escapes me now) had layed all this ot before hand. I do have some haloing at night, but not dramatically.

My eyes do get somewhat dry after a long day at the keyboard, but so do other peoples, and I can get by with standard eyedrops for tired eyes, and need them only very infrequently (ie, have none at moment, havent needed them in months)

This, and changing asthma medications around the same time (seretide is awesome) had a dramatic impact on my life. Playing rugby, which I had done for years, became fun again, as I could see the ball, not just follow the pack. I also had a lot more confidence with women (my glasses were hell dorky). I reccomend LASIK, and the new computer assisted LASIK (which an ex-gf of mine had) heartily.

Also, the valium I had was great! ^_^
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 12:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

your experience is really great!! congratulations to you... as a 21yr old tired of wearing heavy specs and messy contacts, i am so tempted to go in for lasik.

however, i came across a few no-so-lucky cases in my research too. one is right here in the message board. few are even worse, with hazy (double and triple) vision all the time (which still happens to be 20/20 and hence, technically, they have perfect vision!), extremely severe dry eyes and what not...

i have decided to put a hold on my plans for lasik. i hope people realise the risks involved in going for this (or any other procedure, for that matter). and i hope they understand that probability for risk is not just a number... and they don't end up as a statistic ("the rare 2-3%") themselves.
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PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 12:28 am    Post subject: PRK Reply with quote

I had a very similar experience, but I went through an alternate procedure called PRK. They told me on the day of the surgery that the shape of my eye was too flat for the flap to stay in place, so PRK was the best option. The difference is that instead of using the flap, they just scrape off the surface of the eye and let it heal back. They could only do one eye, as the other was not usable for a while.
It hurt more, it took longer to heal, and I still sometimes have dryness issues (two years later), but I don't regret it.

Great site, by the way!

-t.
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off task writer
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 6:05 am    Post subject: LASIK - ask lots of questions Reply with quote

My 64-year-old dad has awful vision, the kind where he can't get out of the bed until he puts on his glasses. He was supposed to have LASIK a few years ago. Imagine his excitement after wearing super-thick glasses his entire adult life thinking that he would be free. The day of the procedure, the doctor mentioned for the first time in the consultaion processthat because of his particular situation, the results were not likely to last even 5 years. He ended up cancelling, but was unbelievably disappointed. So check and double-check on this issue before you go under the red dot!

Great site...but not for someone who has a book chapter draft due tomorrow and can't seem to get back on task...
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