Lasik Surgery

I am toying with the idea of having Lasik or some kind of visionary corrective surgery in the next year or so, and I was wondering if anyone would have this done in the UK, or would you dare doing it on a trip home to the states...

Anyone have any experience of this???

There's a big thread on this somewhere... I'll have to see if I can find it for you...

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=28724.0

Strange that this topic has come up again. Since I started that thread, I researched the topic quite a bit, and in the end, decided it was not for me. I simply found too much conflicting information, and the benefits just did not outweigh the risk for me.

I did, however come across an alternative therapy called Orthokeratology (or Ortho-K). It's been around for years, but has never become widespread. It involves reshaping the corneas by wearing special hard contact lenses only at night. Completely reversible if you stop wearing the lenses, and after the first year, about the same cost as wearing regular contacts.

The reason I mentioned the timing of this subject coming up again now, is that I have my Ortho-K consultation tomorrow to see if I am a good candidate.

I still recommend it if you want it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I spent the extra money to go to a reputable place and it was money well spent.

I agree that it's not for everyone though.

I'm not recommending against it. I do understand there are lots of success stories out there.  Everyone is different. 

I unfortunately cannot comment on the UK side of things (as i'm not there yet), but from the simple topic of the surgery, i'd do it again without any hesitation.  I wore corrective devices (glasses and soft contacts) for ~18 years, and had LASIK performed around two years ago.

Even today, i still find myself, as i look around, rub my eyes without worrying, or having to push up my glasses, grateful that i had went through with it.

For me, it didn't have anything to do with cost savings or anything of that, it was all about quality of living.  Seeing clearly, all of the time, regardless of circumstances.

My husband had this done recently and is very happy with the results.

I had Lasik surgery about 8 years ago in the US.  My Dr. was great, and I was very happy with the results.  However, about 3 years ago my vision became blurry again and  an eye exam confirmed that I needed to wear glasses/contacts again.   The same thing happened to my brother.  Although my eyes are not as bad as they were before the surgery, I definitely cannot drive or even watch tv without my glasses. 

A lot of people will need to get a "touch up" after the initial surgery.  Make sure to discuss this with your Dr. as they may or may not offer it for free, or at a discount.  Unfortunately, I cannot afford to get the surgery done again.