5 ms·

Have any of you people who work as software developers (or similar professionals who spend most of their days looking at a screen) gotten Lasik eye surgery? Hav

by briga 9y ago

Have any of you people who work as software developers (or similar professionals who spend most of their days looking at a screen) gotten Lasik eye surgery? Have you noticed any regression in vision after the treatment as a result of your screen usage?

walterbell 9y ago
disclaimer: not medical advice, please consult opthalmologist If you are nearsighted and wear your full distance prescription for extended near (computer/reading) work, there is some chance that your eye will adapt to the most dominant distance, eventually requiring a stronger prescription for distance/driving. Rinse/repeat = ever worsening glasses for some people. To avoid this problem, ask your optometerist for a separate (weaker) prescription for computer glasses. You can get a ballpark idea from http://computerglassesrx.com http://computerglassesrx.com. Glasses are cheap these days, e.g. online from Zenni for less than $50. Lasik carves a lens onto your eyes. If that lens strength is your distance prescription, the same issue exists as with glasses. To reduce close-up strain on your eyes, you can use plus lenses for close-up work, which reduces the lasik/contacts "minus" prescription for near distances. Look at the calculator above for an estimate, but consult an eye doctor, as there are variables like age/presbyopia/convergence. Previous HN thread on Lasik: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9941566 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9941566 Non-mainstream discussion of plus lens therapy: http://forum.gettingstronger.org/index.php?topic=1115.0 http://forum.gettingstronger.org/index.php?topic=1115.0
- nitemice 9y ago
  I can second the advice about the 2nd set of glasses. Last time I upgraded my prescription I asked my optometrist about working in from of a computer all day, and he said "If you can see the screen without wearing any glasses, do that. Otherwise use your old ones (with the less powerful lenses)." Since I've been doing that, my eyes have felt a bit better. Maybe I could get away with an even weaker set, but I haven't really looked into it.
- geowwy 9y ago
  Since getting some computer glasses my eyes have gone from deteriorating every year to getting slightly better. Might be a coincidence but I suspect not. Next time I'm in Asia I'm going to get an even weaker pair and see if my eyes can keep improving.
  - walterbell 9y ago
    Cliff Hayes successfully went down that unsanctioned road, he published some videos [1] and a PDF [2]. We need more scientific studies [3] to figure out why undercorrection works for some people. When it works, the key seems to be relaxing the eyes and surrounding muscles while viewing objects at a distance which causes just enough blur. Within a minute or two, the brain's visual cortex figures out a "software compensation" for the signal coming from the eye, which lets the eye stay relaxed instead of straining to focus. More info on Vision Therapy is available from behavioral opthalmologists, but it takes time, motivation and may not be covered by insurance. [1] https://youtube.com/user/cliffgnu https://youtube.com/user/cliffgnu [2] https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5REdzibAJQ4VFJuWnZCU3dLcHc/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5REdzibAJQ4VFJuWnZCU3dLcHc... [3] https://dspace.mit.edu/openaccess-disseminate/1721.1/105363 https://dspace.mit.edu/openaccess-disseminate/1721.1/105363
    - keypress 9y ago
      This is purely anecdotal. I have a bad astigmatism. I tend to not wear glasses until I have to. In the garden I don't bother. And oddly, when I do use my glasses everything becomes too much. In my mind scenery becomes unpleasantly cluttered/dirty. It's quite horrible. I prefer the soft focus - but can't read the laptop, watch TV without.
      - walterbell 9y ago
        If your astigmatism (cylinder) and/or spherical diopter numbers are very high, your glasses may have significant distortion when looking through any point other than the optical center of the lens, e.g. for peripheral vision. Have you compared contacts with glasses? They provide a much wider field of view. If you like soft focus, you can try on different drugstore reading glasses (e.g. +0.50) over your normal glasses, to find a reduced strength which lets you see at the desired distance without super-duper-sharp edges. Then ask your optometrist to provide you with a reduced prescription for non-driving or near work tasks. Otherwise, they will prescribe driving-strength glasses to avoid legal liability.
severine 9y ago
I got it done 10 years ago, no regressions or problems, very happy about it!
jasonkostempski 9y ago
I had Lasik in 2003 and was wearing glasses again by 2008. My mom had it done at the same time and took about the same amount of time to get back to glasses. She's in front of a computer a good chunk of time but not nearly as much as I am. Not sure what that says about lasik or screen use, it's just what happened.
- EADGBE 9y ago
  I've heard of different "kinds" of Lasik. Do you know which "kind" you had done? (That's a loaded question as I'm not even sure I'm asking the question correctly). Also, what did it correct? Did you wear glasses 24/7 before? Genuinely intrigued. Being as I'm 100% dependent on my glasses/contacts I'd really like a solution, but feel like it'll be the same sort of outcome.
  - jasonkostempski 9y ago
    If you gives you any hint about which "kind" I had, my procedure involved cutting and folding back of the lens. I've heard they don't always need to do that now. I'm nearsighted. I always wore glasses before and now I'm back to always wearing them. Again, I'm not sure my results are common. I think everyone else I know that has had it still don't need glasses.

by briga 9y ago

walterbell 9y ago

disclaimer: not medical advice, please consult opthalmologist If you are nearsighted and wear your full distance prescription for extended near (computer/reading) work, there is some chance that your eye will adapt to the most dominant distance, eventually requiring a stronger prescription for distance/driving. Rinse/repeat = ever worsening glasses for some people. To avoid this problem, ask your optometerist for a separate (weaker) prescription for computer glasses. You can get a ballpark idea from http://computerglassesrx.com http://computerglassesrx.com. Glasses are cheap these days, e.g. online from Zenni for less than $50. Lasik carves a lens onto your eyes. If that lens strength is your distance prescription, the same issue exists as with glasses. To reduce close-up strain on your eyes, you can use plus lenses for close-up work, which reduces the lasik/contacts "minus" prescription for near distances. Look at the calculator above for an estimate, but consult an eye doctor, as there are variables like age/presbyopia/convergence. Previous HN thread on Lasik: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9941566 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9941566 Non-mainstream discussion of plus lens therapy: http://forum.gettingstronger.org/index.php?topic=1115.0 http://forum.gettingstronger.org/index.php?topic=1115.0

nitemice 9y ago
I can second the advice about the 2nd set of glasses. Last time I upgraded my prescription I asked my optometrist about working in from of a computer all day, and he said "If you can see the screen without wearing any glasses, do that. Otherwise use your old ones (with the less powerful lenses)." Since I've been doing that, my eyes have felt a bit better. Maybe I could get away with an even weaker set, but I haven't really looked into it.
geowwy 9y ago
Since getting some computer glasses my eyes have gone from deteriorating every year to getting slightly better. Might be a coincidence but I suspect not. Next time I'm in Asia I'm going to get an even weaker pair and see if my eyes can keep improving.
- walterbell 9y ago
  Cliff Hayes successfully went down that unsanctioned road, he published some videos [1] and a PDF [2]. We need more scientific studies [3] to figure out why undercorrection works for some people. When it works, the key seems to be relaxing the eyes and surrounding muscles while viewing objects at a distance which causes just enough blur. Within a minute or two, the brain's visual cortex figures out a "software compensation" for the signal coming from the eye, which lets the eye stay relaxed instead of straining to focus. More info on Vision Therapy is available from behavioral opthalmologists, but it takes time, motivation and may not be covered by insurance. [1] https://youtube.com/user/cliffgnu https://youtube.com/user/cliffgnu [2] https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5REdzibAJQ4VFJuWnZCU3dLcHc/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5REdzibAJQ4VFJuWnZCU3dLcHc... [3] https://dspace.mit.edu/openaccess-disseminate/1721.1/105363 https://dspace.mit.edu/openaccess-disseminate/1721.1/105363
  - keypress 9y ago
    This is purely anecdotal. I have a bad astigmatism. I tend to not wear glasses until I have to. In the garden I don't bother. And oddly, when I do use my glasses everything becomes too much. In my mind scenery becomes unpleasantly cluttered/dirty. It's quite horrible. I prefer the soft focus - but can't read the laptop, watch TV without.
    - walterbell 9y ago
      If your astigmatism (cylinder) and/or spherical diopter numbers are very high, your glasses may have significant distortion when looking through any point other than the optical center of the lens, e.g. for peripheral vision. Have you compared contacts with glasses? They provide a much wider field of view. If you like soft focus, you can try on different drugstore reading glasses (e.g. +0.50) over your normal glasses, to find a reduced strength which lets you see at the desired distance without super-duper-sharp edges. Then ask your optometrist to provide you with a reduced prescription for non-driving or near work tasks. Otherwise, they will prescribe driving-strength glasses to avoid legal liability.

severine 9y ago

I got it done 10 years ago, no regressions or problems, very happy about it!

jasonkostempski 9y ago

I had Lasik in 2003 and was wearing glasses again by 2008. My mom had it done at the same time and took about the same amount of time to get back to glasses. She's in front of a computer a good chunk of time but not nearly as much as I am. Not sure what that says about lasik or screen use, it's just what happened.

EADGBE 9y ago
I've heard of different "kinds" of Lasik. Do you know which "kind" you had done? (That's a loaded question as I'm not even sure I'm asking the question correctly). Also, what did it correct? Did you wear glasses 24/7 before? Genuinely intrigued. Being as I'm 100% dependent on my glasses/contacts I'd really like a solution, but feel like it'll be the same sort of outcome.
- jasonkostempski 9y ago
  If you gives you any hint about which "kind" I had, my procedure involved cutting and folding back of the lens. I've heard they don't always need to do that now. I'm nearsighted. I always wore glasses before and now I'm back to always wearing them. Again, I'm not sure my results are common. I think everyone else I know that has had it still don't need glasses.