8 ms·

Get LASIK. Having perfect eyesight and not having to deal with contacts or glasses is worth every penny.

by electrum 10y ago

eps 10y ago
A risk of ending up with halos is not worth it.
- xienze 10y ago
  Or worse. It's the reason I'll never have the surgery... the risk is very small but if something were to happen to my eyesight it would be devastating. Glasses aren't so bad.
  - grinich 10y ago
    The complication risk of modern LASIK is actually nearly identical to wearing contacts every day.
    - gambiting 10y ago
      Sure. But halos seem pretty common - every person I know who got LASIK done in the past 10 years experiences got them to some extent, my dad almost had a nervous breakdown because for the first year after the surgery the halos were so bad he couldn't really drive at night - they sort of faded away with time but he said they were always there and in hindsight, he wouldn't have selected surgery.
      - JumpCrisscross 10y ago
        Either of you have sources on these frequencies?
        gambiting 10y ago
        I would be a bit difficult to give source on my personal friends and my dad, it's an anecdote :P Treat it like everything on the internet said by a random person - with caution. Just because everyone I know who got LASIK done has halos doesn't mean it's commonplace - could be just a coincidence.
        grinich 10y ago
        Findings from the Casey Eye Institute: http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/casey-eye/clinical-services/laser-vision-correction/lasikvscontacts.cfm http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/casey-eye/clinical-se... It's also worth noting that LASIK has improved drastically over the past 10 years. Bladeless procedures, wavefront imaging, femtosecond lasers, etc. http://ophthalmologytimes.modernmedicine.com/ophthalmologytimes/news/looking-back-and-ahead-lasik-s-potential http://ophthalmologytimes.modernmedicine.com/ophthalmologyti...
      - wuschel 10y ago
        Was is a particular technique or doctor? Just wondering re the quality of treatment.
        nommm-nommm 10y ago
        This was on HN some months ago. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13024352 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13024352
      - dotancohen 10y ago
        > every person I know who got LASIK done in the past 10 years experiences got them to some extent Were they all treated at the same local clinic perchance? The problem might be with the clinic or doctor.
        gambiting 10y ago
        Nope - in fact, they weren't even done in the same country.
      - phil21 10y ago
        Certainly a risk. This is one of those areas where watching the latest tech development is worthwhile, as it's moving rapidly. I got a laser-only procedure done about 5 years ago now, and it's been the best decision of my life. I had halos for about 6-12mo, but I also had minor halos before the surgery too - so I really haven't noticed much of a difference. One thing you should either really really do, or really really don't do (I still can't decide) is walk the Vegas strip at night the day after surgery like I did. You will have major halos/starbursts at that point, and it's the closest to a random private laser show as I've ever gotten in life. I suppose drugs may be less risky and cheaper though...
    - creshal 10y ago
      And that's why I wear glasses.
  - Freak_NL 10y ago
    It's also just not necessary for most of us four-eyes. The costs of the surgery appear to be about what I would pay for 40 years worth of glasses (I buy a new pair once every four years or so), so it won't safe me money — or not a lot. I'm so used to glasses that I might not even be more comfortable or live a more convenient life (and glasses are simply part of my identity after nearly 30 years of wearing them). So there is very little (to no) incentive to actually get surgery to correct my eyesight. But the surgery is not without risks, as small as they may be, so there is a disincentive. I can imagine that this is different for people who wear lenses because they are slightly more cumbersome.
- jsymolon 10y ago
  I went from glasses and astigmatism to LASIK and halos. I would still do it again and recommend it. The quality of life improvement is tremendous and the amount of money saved on not getting the glasses re-done every year offsets the cost of the LASIK. Halos, really only at night, is corrected by wearing a yellow tint "sunglass" aka shooters glasses while driving. Plus my SO really doesn't like my driving, so i chill out in the passenger seat anyway. They feel more in control and i can get some sleep.
  - nommm-nommm 10y ago
    This makes no sense, unless you were a kid why would you have to get your glasses "re-done" every year? I've been wearing the same prescription for a decade and the same plastic frames for seven years. I go to the ophthalmologist every two years to get my optic drusen looked at and my corrected vision is fine. If I didn't go for my drusen I would have no reason to go. If your vision is so unstable that you were getting a new prescription every year then you are an likely a very poor candidate for LASIK and your LASIK vision would just revert anyways. The only time I had to get a new prescription every few months was when I was a child so my vision was changing rapidly. >Halos, really only at night, is corrected by wearing a yellow tint "sunglass" aka shooters glasses while driving. Please do not wear these glasses while driving. They are dangerous [1] [1] https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=113228 https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=113228
    - ohbleek 10y ago
      I'm not sure where you get your Informaton but for one, in order to re-order contact lenses you must have a current rx (within 1-2 years) and it is standard to get an eye exam every year. Many people have eyesight that progressively gets worse and require a new rx yearly.
      - pc86 10y ago
        > Many people have eyesight that progressively gets worse and require a new rx yearly. And many people have had the same prescription for 4-5 years or more, and don't have eyes that continue to get worse. I think the GP's point was that either your eyes continue to get worse every year, and you need new glasses, and LASIK probably won't last forever, or you don't, and LASIK is a one-time expense that will take quite a while to break even on in a strictly financial sense.
- ada1981 10y ago
  If you get LASEK vs. LASIK halos aren't a problem. I had LASEK done perhaps 8 years ago, and my eyes went from 20/400 to 20/15 overnight. The entire procedure was incredible including an HD prescription profile generated by scanning your entire eye. The process is $4k-$5k but with financing comes down to about the same you spend on glasses or contacts annually. No risk of halos as there is no "flap" cut like with LASIK, no chance it will come loose, and more accurate vision than you could ever achieve with lenses. The quality of life upgrade is incredible, no scratchy eyes, no falling asleep and waking up with stinging eyes, and for sports it's incredible. I can't explain what going from 20/400 to 20/15 is like, but basically I walked around manhattan for 6 months feeling like I was on LSD in awe of being able to see the mortar between bricks on the tops of buildings. I found the best LASEK surgeon in the country and have brought in friends / CEOs from other states and introduced them with incredible results. If anyone wants more info, an intro, etc. let me know and I can probably get you $500 or $1k off if you end up doing it.
  - MR4D 10y ago
    To add to this, not only does the current technology not have halos, but your peripheral vision will increase as well. I had mine done a few years ago on a state of the art machine (at the time), called the Allegretto Wave Laser. No blades - just one laser to cut the flap, and another to shape the lens. Result - in 17 seconds (per eye time of the laser doing it's work), I went from 20/400 with a bad astigmatism to 20/15. A week later it had improved to 20/10 in one eye, and 20/12 in the other. Overall, it took 5 minutes or less of time laying down, including all adjustments. This year celebrates 10 years without glasses, and I am finally needing to start looking at reading glasses for some situations (small print at a close distance). The great thing is that I have thick corneas, and they can actually shape them again to get rid of that as well - which I'll do in a couple years when I hit 50. The only greater miracle I have had is the birth of my son. If you can, I highly recommend it.
  - bsmith 10y ago
    I'm interested in why you think this person is the best. Email in profile.
yourapostasy 10y ago
Presbyopia, and I depend upon both eyes for coding work, so monovision correction is not workable for me (I'd end up wearing glasses for a significant fraction of my waking hours anyways). I'm following the results of the IntraCor procedure, which so far are promising.
feintruled 10y ago
Amen, brother. I struggled with contacts for the longest time, ditching them and getting lasered was the biggest life upgrade I could've imagined. Small haloing at night is a tiny price to pay. Everyone is different of course. My contacts were getting increasingly uncomfortable for me, so it made sense in my situation.
- Humdeee 10y ago
  To this day, LASIK has been by dollar value, far and away the best thing I've ever done. I've been the tipping point to convince a few of my friends to get it done as well. I have no side effects, a few years after.
bognition 10y ago
I did and within a decade my eyes reverted to their original prescription
- pc86 10y ago
  This is not normal by any means.
  - jachee 10y ago
    As someone with average -13 diopter correction, I've been told by my trusted ophthalmologist that I'm a bad candidate for LASIK, due to the fact that my eyes being so long will just push the correction back out over time. Sounds like your parent comment's doc may not have been 100% accurate with their candidacy, or—the more cynical answer—wasn't 100% honest.
    - amalag 10y ago
      Checkout laserfitlens.com. I am not affiliated, but was considering instead of the PRK that I did. Scleral lenses are can be very useful for high corrections like yours.
bussie 10y ago
Side effects include potential dry eye, ectasia and glare at night time.
- _jal 10y ago
  "...but after twenty years, your eyes fall out!"
  - ollie87 10y ago
    Problem solved then.
woliveirajr 10y ago
My surgery was pretty good, but just for 2 years. Then astigmatism returned in a higher degree and instead of myopia I got hypermetropia (but to a much smaller degree). YMMV, of course.
driverdan 10y ago
Myself and many of my former coworkers got LASIK last year. Use or lose HRA = cheap LASIK. Everyone seemed very happy, myself included. Halos are no worse than with contacts (maybe better). After recovery use of eye drops for dryness is no more frequent than with contacts. If you live in the northeast US consider getting it done in Canada. I knew a few people who went to Toronto to have it done for half the price.
- perfectstorm 10y ago
  How much was it in Toronto ? I was quoted $5k+ in the South Bay area.
  - NoNotTheDuo 10y ago
    Christ, come to KC for your surgery. I paid just over $3k for my eyes to be done a few years ago. Was one of the best purchases I've ever made.
    - nojvek 10y ago
      I paid $200 in India for LASIK 7 years ago when I was visiting grandparents. Perfect vision till today, no problems. I generally find US prices 20X for most routine procedures.
      - wayn3 10y ago
        what happens in india when they screw it up?
massysett 10y ago
No way. Too much risk regardless of the reward. My vision is fully correctable. After LASIK, my vision might not be fully correctable. Since I need to see to do my job, this is not a risk I will ever take.
wcummings 10y ago
Meh, glasses are easy and work fine if you're not into sports or something, I don't see any reason to get surgery.

Get LASIK. Having perfect eyesight and not having to deal with contacts or glasses is worth every penny.

eps 10y ago

A risk of ending up with halos is not worth it.

xienze 10y ago
Or worse. It's the reason I'll never have the surgery... the risk is very small but if something were to happen to my eyesight it would be devastating. Glasses aren't so bad.
- grinich 10y ago
  The complication risk of modern LASIK is actually nearly identical to wearing contacts every day.
  - gambiting 10y ago
    Sure. But halos seem pretty common - every person I know who got LASIK done in the past 10 years experiences got them to some extent, my dad almost had a nervous breakdown because for the first year after the surgery the halos were so bad he couldn't really drive at night - they sort of faded away with time but he said they were always there and in hindsight, he wouldn't have selected surgery.
    - JumpCrisscross 10y ago
      Either of you have sources on these frequencies?
      - gambiting 10y ago
        I would be a bit difficult to give source on my personal friends and my dad, it's an anecdote :P Treat it like everything on the internet said by a random person - with caution. Just because everyone I know who got LASIK done has halos doesn't mean it's commonplace - could be just a coincidence.
      - grinich 10y ago
        Findings from the Casey Eye Institute: http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/casey-eye/clinical-services/laser-vision-correction/lasikvscontacts.cfm http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/casey-eye/clinical-se... It's also worth noting that LASIK has improved drastically over the past 10 years. Bladeless procedures, wavefront imaging, femtosecond lasers, etc. http://ophthalmologytimes.modernmedicine.com/ophthalmologytimes/news/looking-back-and-ahead-lasik-s-potential http://ophthalmologytimes.modernmedicine.com/ophthalmologyti...
    - wuschel 10y ago
      Was is a particular technique or doctor? Just wondering re the quality of treatment.
      - nommm-nommm 10y ago
        This was on HN some months ago. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13024352 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13024352
    - dotancohen 10y ago
      > every person I know who got LASIK done in the past 10 years experiences got them to some extent Were they all treated at the same local clinic perchance? The problem might be with the clinic or doctor.
      - gambiting 10y ago
        Nope - in fact, they weren't even done in the same country.
    - phil21 10y ago
      Certainly a risk. This is one of those areas where watching the latest tech development is worthwhile, as it's moving rapidly. I got a laser-only procedure done about 5 years ago now, and it's been the best decision of my life. I had halos for about 6-12mo, but I also had minor halos before the surgery too - so I really haven't noticed much of a difference. One thing you should either really really do, or really really don't do (I still can't decide) is walk the Vegas strip at night the day after surgery like I did. You will have major halos/starbursts at that point, and it's the closest to a random private laser show as I've ever gotten in life. I suppose drugs may be less risky and cheaper though...
  - creshal 10y ago
    And that's why I wear glasses.
- Freak_NL 10y ago
  It's also just not necessary for most of us four-eyes. The costs of the surgery appear to be about what I would pay for 40 years worth of glasses (I buy a new pair once every four years or so), so it won't safe me money — or not a lot. I'm so used to glasses that I might not even be more comfortable or live a more convenient life (and glasses are simply part of my identity after nearly 30 years of wearing them). So there is very little (to no) incentive to actually get surgery to correct my eyesight. But the surgery is not without risks, as small as they may be, so there is a disincentive. I can imagine that this is different for people who wear lenses because they are slightly more cumbersome.
jsymolon 10y ago
I went from glasses and astigmatism to LASIK and halos. I would still do it again and recommend it. The quality of life improvement is tremendous and the amount of money saved on not getting the glasses re-done every year offsets the cost of the LASIK. Halos, really only at night, is corrected by wearing a yellow tint "sunglass" aka shooters glasses while driving. Plus my SO really doesn't like my driving, so i chill out in the passenger seat anyway. They feel more in control and i can get some sleep.
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  This makes no sense, unless you were a kid why would you have to get your glasses "re-done" every year? I've been wearing the same prescription for a decade and the same plastic frames for seven years. I go to the ophthalmologist every two years to get my optic drusen looked at and my corrected vision is fine. If I didn't go for my drusen I would have no reason to go. If your vision is so unstable that you were getting a new prescription every year then you are an likely a very poor candidate for LASIK and your LASIK vision would just revert anyways. The only time I had to get a new prescription every few months was when I was a child so my vision was changing rapidly. >Halos, really only at night, is corrected by wearing a yellow tint "sunglass" aka shooters glasses while driving. Please do not wear these glasses while driving. They are dangerous [1] [1] https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=113228 https://trid.trb.org/view.aspx?id=113228
  - ohbleek 10y ago
    I'm not sure where you get your Informaton but for one, in order to re-order contact lenses you must have a current rx (within 1-2 years) and it is standard to get an eye exam every year. Many people have eyesight that progressively gets worse and require a new rx yearly.
    - pc86 10y ago
      > Many people have eyesight that progressively gets worse and require a new rx yearly. And many people have had the same prescription for 4-5 years or more, and don't have eyes that continue to get worse. I think the GP's point was that either your eyes continue to get worse every year, and you need new glasses, and LASIK probably won't last forever, or you don't, and LASIK is a one-time expense that will take quite a while to break even on in a strictly financial sense.
ada1981 10y ago
If you get LASEK vs. LASIK halos aren't a problem. I had LASEK done perhaps 8 years ago, and my eyes went from 20/400 to 20/15 overnight. The entire procedure was incredible including an HD prescription profile generated by scanning your entire eye. The process is $4k-$5k but with financing comes down to about the same you spend on glasses or contacts annually. No risk of halos as there is no "flap" cut like with LASIK, no chance it will come loose, and more accurate vision than you could ever achieve with lenses. The quality of life upgrade is incredible, no scratchy eyes, no falling asleep and waking up with stinging eyes, and for sports it's incredible. I can't explain what going from 20/400 to 20/15 is like, but basically I walked around manhattan for 6 months feeling like I was on LSD in awe of being able to see the mortar between bricks on the tops of buildings. I found the best LASEK surgeon in the country and have brought in friends / CEOs from other states and introduced them with incredible results. If anyone wants more info, an intro, etc. let me know and I can probably get you $500 or $1k off if you end up doing it.
- MR4D 10y ago
  To add to this, not only does the current technology not have halos, but your peripheral vision will increase as well. I had mine done a few years ago on a state of the art machine (at the time), called the Allegretto Wave Laser. No blades - just one laser to cut the flap, and another to shape the lens. Result - in 17 seconds (per eye time of the laser doing it's work), I went from 20/400 with a bad astigmatism to 20/15. A week later it had improved to 20/10 in one eye, and 20/12 in the other. Overall, it took 5 minutes or less of time laying down, including all adjustments. This year celebrates 10 years without glasses, and I am finally needing to start looking at reading glasses for some situations (small print at a close distance). The great thing is that I have thick corneas, and they can actually shape them again to get rid of that as well - which I'll do in a couple years when I hit 50. The only greater miracle I have had is the birth of my son. If you can, I highly recommend it.
- bsmith 10y ago
  I'm interested in why you think this person is the best. Email in profile.

yourapostasy 10y ago

Presbyopia, and I depend upon both eyes for coding work, so monovision correction is not workable for me (I'd end up wearing glasses for a significant fraction of my waking hours anyways). I'm following the results of the IntraCor procedure, which so far are promising.

feintruled 10y ago

Amen, brother. I struggled with contacts for the longest time, ditching them and getting lasered was the biggest life upgrade I could've imagined. Small haloing at night is a tiny price to pay. Everyone is different of course. My contacts were getting increasingly uncomfortable for me, so it made sense in my situation.

Humdeee 10y ago
To this day, LASIK has been by dollar value, far and away the best thing I've ever done. I've been the tipping point to convince a few of my friends to get it done as well. I have no side effects, a few years after.

bognition 10y ago

I did and within a decade my eyes reverted to their original prescription

pc86 10y ago
This is not normal by any means.
- jachee 10y ago
  As someone with average -13 diopter correction, I've been told by my trusted ophthalmologist that I'm a bad candidate for LASIK, due to the fact that my eyes being so long will just push the correction back out over time. Sounds like your parent comment's doc may not have been 100% accurate with their candidacy, or—the more cynical answer—wasn't 100% honest.
  - amalag 10y ago
    Checkout laserfitlens.com. I am not affiliated, but was considering instead of the PRK that I did. Scleral lenses are can be very useful for high corrections like yours.

bussie 10y ago

Side effects include potential dry eye, ectasia and glare at night time.

_jal 10y ago
"...but after twenty years, your eyes fall out!"
- ollie87 10y ago
  Problem solved then.

woliveirajr 10y ago

My surgery was pretty good, but just for 2 years. Then astigmatism returned in a higher degree and instead of myopia I got hypermetropia (but to a much smaller degree). YMMV, of course.

driverdan 10y ago

Myself and many of my former coworkers got LASIK last year. Use or lose HRA = cheap LASIK. Everyone seemed very happy, myself included. Halos are no worse than with contacts (maybe better). After recovery use of eye drops for dryness is no more frequent than with contacts. If you live in the northeast US consider getting it done in Canada. I knew a few people who went to Toronto to have it done for half the price.

perfectstorm 10y ago
How much was it in Toronto ? I was quoted $5k+ in the South Bay area.
- NoNotTheDuo 10y ago
  Christ, come to KC for your surgery. I paid just over $3k for my eyes to be done a few years ago. Was one of the best purchases I've ever made.
  - nojvek 10y ago
    I paid $200 in India for LASIK 7 years ago when I was visiting grandparents. Perfect vision till today, no problems. I generally find US prices 20X for most routine procedures.
    - wayn3 10y ago
      what happens in india when they screw it up?

massysett 10y ago

No way. Too much risk regardless of the reward. My vision is fully correctable. After LASIK, my vision might not be fully correctable. Since I need to see to do my job, this is not a risk I will ever take.

wcummings 10y ago

Meh, glasses are easy and work fine if you're not into sports or something, I don't see any reason to get surgery.