Hello All:

I have been to two board-certified doctors in order to be evaluated for lasik/lasek/prk. My current prescription is:
R SP -4.5 CYL -3.5
L SP -3.0 CYL -3.25

cornea thickness and pupil diameter allow me to be eligible for either prk or lasek.

My questions are:
Can the VISX CustomVue Laser using Custom Wavefront Technology be used to treat my prescription?

What amount of nearsightedness and astigmatism can this laser correct?

Can any other custom wavefront procedures work for me based on my astigmatism? I believe my astigmatism is myopic.

Based on my prescription, what procedure (Lasek or PRK) will likely produce the best result?

If, because of my astigmatism, a custom wavefront procedure is not available to me, are there any other options available?

Based on my prescription, what is the likelihood of needed an additional surgery in the future?

Just to let you know, I am leaning toward the PRK procedure using custom wavefront technology, if possible.

Thank you for your help.

first,. i’m NOT an eye doc, or in really any way qualified to give a medically correct answer.

however, i’ve had friends who have experienced miracles with refractive eye surgeries.

i’d go with the wave front technique, as it is more advanced and accurate.

My friend who is 68 noticed her distance vision getting blurry a couple of weeks ago. Then a few days ago she noticed double vision while looking at a turning arrow traffic light. We went to the optometrist today and was told her vision had changed for the better, so the far sighted segment of her tri focals were now too strong and causing the current vision problems. Other two segments of her glasses seem to still work fine. Her vision has gone from a 2.50 needed correction in both eyes to a 1.25 needed correction in both eyes. Being trifocals they are expensive glasses and due to changes occurring in last 3 days we are wondering how wise it would be to immediately get the new glasses. If her eyes are still in transition then wouldn’t we risk having to get yet another pair of glasses in the near future? As an expierament we went to the dollar store and got a single vision pair of 1.50 glasses and she drove home seeing better (while driving) than she had since her visin began to change a couple of weeks ago. She has been wearing her current prescription glasses for past five years. So what to do? Get prescription glasses now or wait awhile and continue using the new "driving" glasses as needed? If she needs to wait awhile, then how long should she wait? Thank you in advance for your help.
PS, This is not real important but I am curious. The eye doctor asked her if she ever saw "lightening". She hasn’t, but why did he ask her that and what does seeing "lightening" just within you individual field of vision mean? Thanks again !!
You are right about the cataract!!! Doc told her she had a small one just getting started, but its nothing that needs to be immeadiatly dealt with. Are you suggesting that the presence of the cataract is reason her vision improved? It is my understanding that cataracts are relatively slow growing when they are first starting, so is first responder correct in suggesting that we go ahead and get the glasses now?
Sorry, got the answers mixed up in my head withouy being able to look at them while writing. Thanks for the information I will tell her about this and any other info that may come in! Thanks Again!
I will also be asking her the questions asked by first responder and post the info in here. We were both kinda baffled by what Doc said, and he is a well known and highly reputable Doc so I believed him. There is normally about a 2 week wait for a new patient to get in to see him, but when she told them what was happening they got her the very next day. I think he may have been a little rushed or would have explained more. She will be seeing him again and the information and questions from these answers will help tremendously in the list of questions she is taking with her on the next visit!! Thank You!

Changes towards shortsightedness in the elderly are often (but not always) an indication cataracts are on their way. She should get the new glasses and have regular checkups.

The question over lightning would probably relate to what is known as a ‘vitreous detachment’ a very common and nearly always harmless condition in older people. The optometrist would have been checking for indications the vitreous detachment had progressed to a retinal detachment. Don’t worry about it.

Contrary to the previous post, optometrists are highly trained in diagnosing eye disease, in fact it is the main part of their job.

I had PRK laser eye surgery almost 2 years ago. I had 20/20 for about 6 months and then it got bad again. I was pregnant shortly after my surgery, so the hope was that maybe hormones were causing some of my vision problems but my daughter is almost one now and it’s still the same.
I’ve considered having surgery again, but i don’t know if I’m just wasting my money and possible complications. Or that I’ll get pregnant again and it’ll happen again.

Any experience or thoughts on this?

Hi, Jackie.

I know when I was pregnant with each of my kids, my vision fluctuated more than a bouncing ball and finally, three years after my last one, I had PRK since I had a stable prescription for 2 years.

Pregnancy itself can cause vision changes…even without having had the laser vision correction surgery, so if you are thinking you might try again for another baby, you really might want to consider holding off on the PRK until you know you’re done creating your family, then wait for the 1-2 years after your last delivery and have your enhancement. Perhaps, by then, your vision may also have gone back to where it was just prior to your daughter. Mine did…almost 7 years and three kids later, I was where I was with my prescription when my hubby and I were married, so I went ahead and got my PRK done just this last June.

I do not have the option of enhancements, but a coworker of mine had LASIK, then had three children, has noticed that her vision has gotten bad. Our youngests are the same age and she is considering going for a consult for an enhancement now that she’s had stable vision for the last 2 years, as recommended by her optometrist (she was my touchstone when I was considering the procedure).

Check with your optometrist for their ideas…and I’d also contact the surgeon who did your original surgery with the same questions.

I just went to the aviation school today here in Omaha,NE and its $11,000 for 40-60hours to get you’re PPL, is there any club or perhaps a way to befriend a pilot, to help defray these costs versus going to an "all in one flight school" I only ask because i want to make a career out of aviation but i don’t come from a rich or well to do family witch it seams most pilots i have talked to before do, thanks any advice/tips is much appreciated., I have also considered the military route , I just got out of active duty a year ago and am currently in the national guard but it doesn’t look like they will pay for license/ certifications, I also just found out I am not yet eligible for PRK since i do were glasses and my eyes are still changing.(if that helps any) Im not sure if i can nor want to pursue MIL aviation, primarily because of my eyes but there is a small part of me that may not whant to make that time commitment as well.
PS: Yeah NO SS i know i pay for my trainig i just want it to be more affordable.
if it can be done for less than half that please tell me were @ t u g a moto @yahoo.com (w/out spaces) i would highly appreciate it

Get a job. Don’t own fancy vehicles. Live within your means in other words.
Oh, don’t get MARRIED. If you date, make sure you hood the little guy.
And go to college. You pay for your own training.

I know that to be an Optometrist, he/she must pass the Boards exam however Florida has its own exam. What are differences if any between these two tests?

You just need to pass the Florida Board of Optometry Exam. Go here and read about it. It should not be too much different from any other exam. You should be able to see sample exam questions from all of these exams and you can compare them yourself.

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/mqa/optometry/op_applications.html

i have – 1.5 power. i am bored of wearing glasses and contact lens r giving me an infection.

Its very safe. All people who undergo this operation are safe except those who not follow the dos and donts.

i am going to have an eye laser correction surgery.please describe your experience if you have done that surgery.do patients are admitted in icu after the eye surgery for some minutes.is the operation done in operation theatre.how many drips are given during eye surgery and hospital admitted time ?

HI Ash,
Laser eye surgery is a surgical procedure used to correct myopia [near sighted vision], astigmatism and hyperopia, [farsighted vision]. In the laser eye surgery procedure the cornea is operated and the surgery procedure takes only few minutes, depending upon the present state of health of your eye(s). In the laser eye surgery procedure an intense, high quality and high precision ray of light through a microscope is used. It is called the Excimer which is used to carve the corneal tissues of the eye in order to help the light rays to get refracted correctly and fall precisely on the retina of the eye.
Information you need to know on Laser Eye Surgery

Like every other surgery, the laser eye surgery is also not for everyone. While it can assist the greater section of people who have troubles with their eye sight, there are few people for whom laser eye surgery procedure cannot be used to correct their visions. In order to confirm whether you belong to the greater segment of people for whom the laser eye surgery procedure can help, you need to consult your laser eye surgeon to find out exactly what is wrong with your eyes and whether the vision could be corrected using this eye surgery procedure.

The other important thing in eye laser surgery that you should know is, this method of eye surgery is not performed on anyone until the ‘eye degree’ of the individual has stopped varying. Often, as we grow older, our eyes achieve a state from where they can not get worse all of a sudden & normally this state is maintained for quite some time. At this point of time you can undergo laser eye surgery procedure which suits you best. It allows you to see normally again without the use of contact lens or spectacles. A note of caution is, If you have the laser eye surgery procedure done on you yourself before the ‘eye degrees’ have stopped changing (especially in cases of astigmatism) then the vision may continue to get worse even after the eye surgery and after a period of time you may notice that you are unable to see clearly and need to go back to either contact lens or glasses. So, understanding your ‘suitability’ for laser eye surgery is a very important factor which your laser eye surgeon can guide you through.

OK.

i want make laser operation to correct my vision , but i’m afraid to have harmless desease can you help me ?

doctors are explaining the procedure to be done to their patients.. don’t be hesitant to ask your concerns , you doctor can answer your concerns..nothing to be scared off

Here ya go, Josh!

Lasik: Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis

Lasek: Laser Assisted Sub-Epithelial Keratomileusis

The link below is a link to a chart that compares them for you!

I heard some people said about 11 years… but is there anyone who actually IS an eye surgeon or at least knows how long it will take? . By the way, I am in high school but I’m not including it- just the years in university and stuff.

It’s a long, long road to do almost anything in the medical field. In the United States you have to go to 4 years of undergraduate school. Then another 4 years of medical school. Then it’s usually a year as an intern. They 3-5 years training in a residency program before you are a full fledged surgeon. So that’s about 11-13 years, give for take depending on if you graduate early/late, etc. Good luck!