Lasik Surgery
 

Hey, had the LASIK Surgery done on these old eyes of mine, fixed the distance vision and this is great. I only need glasses for reading. I would recommend the procedure to anyone, I have been wearing bifocals it seems like forever. I had the surgery done at 1730 moday and at 1530 tuesday I had 20/20 in the right eye and 20/25 in the left eye. The doctor said the eyes would continue to adjust for a while and but the vision should remain at 20/20 both eyes when things settle down.

Good deal. I'm being told by eye docs around here that they won't do the lasik on people over 50. Did they give you a hard time about it?

I was all set to have LASIK done but then I found out that my cornea's were too thin and no reputable eye Doc would even think of trying it. The only other alternative is PRK and that won't address my astigmatism and chances are I will need to still wear reading glasses. Not to mention that PRK requires a much longer healing period and is much more painful. I am glad to hear yours worked out well for you and I am a little green with envy.

That is because of a condition named Presbyopia aka old sight. You will still need reading glasses anyway and your reading Rx can change by ,25 diopter every 3-5 years.

For you old timers out there there is another option which may be needed anyway if you spent lots of time in the sun sans eye protection, i.e. FOG SF. Cataract surgery may be required. The new lens implants will give you at least 20/30 vision and in most cases 20/20. The new implants even correct for astigmatism. I had cateract surgery 5 years ago and no longer use glasses except for reading.

Responsible surgeons should advise their patients/victims that they will begin to need reading glasses around age 40. This is a natural condition due to ageing. The occular lens gradually becomes stiffer and not as able to flex and change focus from far to near. In the relaxed state it is focused on distant objects. If you want to have fun go to the supermarket. You can spot those who either need reading glasses or multifocal lenses because they stand across the aisle to read the labels on the shelves. :munchin

BamBam, glad to hear it worked out well for you. I had mine done a couple of years ago, and am happy with it. The future need for reading glasses is an acceptable trade-off for me. I definitely don't want to stand across the aisle to read the labels! :)

As far as being over 50 goes, I was 55 on 3 June, the Docs didn't question the age. Yeah I need reading glasses but I can put up with that. I considered having them do one eye for distance and the other for closeness and not needing glasses at all. The Doc said they could do it but he didn't recommend it with the activities I enjoy and the work I do. It would not cure my slice on the golf course, it could affect my shooting, and would loose some of my night vision, so I took his advice and just corrected the distance. It has been 3 days and I can tell a difference each day, went for the first check up yesterday, the Doc said my eyes were doing great and they would continue to adjust for awhile.

BamBam. You have a good Dr. I would always advise against the mono-vision solution you mentioned since your need for reading glasses will increase about every three to five years. IOW the near vision will not be sufficient in five years.

The other solution I mentioned was cataract surgery with intra-occulkar implants. This is feasible if you will need to have cataracts removed and the results are as good or better than laser surgery.

Eye correction surgery is GREAT! I had PRK done back in 2002. I was told that PRK would be extremely painful and the healing process was going to be long and that I would not see 20/20 for a couple of days, at least, but I was seeing 20/20 the next day and was healed in less than a week. And as far as the pain was concerned, I didn't really think it was that bad, at least it was well worth the eyesight...lol.

-skipjack

My brother here at Bragg also got it done. Now he won't shut up about how great it is.

is there any info on those of us who want lasik/prk done before we go to SFAS? I believe I read that you have to wait a to attend after you have the surgery performed, but I might be mistaken. One guy once talked about guys going off on a friday afternoon after training, getting the surgery and being back in training monday morning. Said this was done sometime in the pipeline of training. I know in the AF they where picky about which surgery flyers could get, does the Army have the same policy?

Wait till you are done with the Pipeline.

How would you feel if you went in for elective surgery, it was botched, and you were reclassed, pulled from training, and shipped off to legland?

Plenty of time to get it done after you are tabbed.

TR

Take TR's advice. The risks are real. The stories you've heard are from guys who paid out of their own pocket to have it done in a civilian facility. (That invites a "Line of Duty NO" if anything screws up.) LASIK can close up that fast but it still takes weeks before the Army considers you deployable. Anything that dislodges the corneal flap (the proverbial stick in the eye) can cause serious complications. That's one of the reasons Womack does PRK on deployable soldiers, they can throw you to the wolves as soon as the pain goes away. The Group Surgeons can give you a good brief on everything you need to know to make an informed decision. FWIW - I had PRK almost four(?) years ago. 20/15 far vision both eyes and it corrected mild astigmatism (as part of the procedure). I now have to wear reading glasses if I spend too much time at the computer or reading (all the time now) but I can still see the front sights. The best part - now I can scan for intermediate/long range targets without reaching for my glasses first so I think it was well worth it. Critical point - If you wear glasses don't forget to keep wearing some type of eye protection even after the corrective surgery. We get used to having something in front of our eyes just so we can see to the point it's taken for granted that we're protected from that aforementioned "stick in the eye". Does anybody else remember the stink when Gargoyles first became available? Thankfully a lot of the leadership is more enlightened now. FWIW - Peregrino

wow, great info and advice gentlemen. I am just tired of the hastle of wearing glasses all the time. I'm planning on buying a set of WileyX's with perscription lenses for protection when i wear contacts and change out the lenses to wearthem as glasses at drill/training.

So, i'm understanding that PRK is the route to take for the line of work I will be getting into as a SF troop after I'm tabbed?

Here's my .02 - Live with what you have for a while, finish training, and go to your unit. Then research your options with competent medical authority. The truth has been known to change. What is true today may not last until tomorrow, let alone a year from now. The longer you wait - the more data they collect, the better they get at performing the proceedure, the more latitude they may have in types of procedures, etc., etc. Right now - for most operators - the Army will do PRK for FREE! I do know of guys who got LASIK at Womack but it was special circumstances and IIRC they were not immediately deployable. Beats the $1200 we paid to get the wife's eyes fixed (worth it after putting up with her insane jealousy for months after I got mine fixed). The bad news - the civilians didn't do as good a job on her LASIK as the Army did on my PRK - she just didn't have the painful recovery. HTH - Peregrino

ahhh i see i have much to learn, thanks sounds like great advice, i'll take it in and put it in my lil bag of knowledge