Truant -
Thank you and congratulations on your “new eyes”!
I apreciate this play-by-play ad am considering this myself.
I am near sighted in both eyes - one more so than the other - and also have a slight astigmatism in one eye.
Good luck !
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]Truant -
Thank you and congratulations on your “new eyes”!
I apreciate this play-by-play ad am considering this myself.
I am near sighted in both eyes - one more so than the other - and also have a slight astigmatism in one eye.
Good luck ![/quote]
TC,
your condition was exactly what I had. You are known as a ‘perfect candidate’ for LASIK.
If you need any more info, just PM or ask here.
it’s gonna be this year or next for me as well - especially after hearing about another successful op.
one buddy went a little cheap 4 years back and came out the worse for it … that sits in my mind still.
I’m nearsighted in both eyes unevenly and have astigmatism as well. I hate wearing glasses and contacts are uncomfortable in this environment. This thread has really got me thinking.
I didn’t catch the price…
Anytime for me, I hope!
[quote=“canucktyuktuk”]I’m nearsighted in both eyes unevenly and have astigmatism as well. I hate wearing glasses and contacts are uncomfortable in this environment. This thread has really got me thinking.
I didn’t catch the price…
Anytime for me, I hope![/quote]
26K for normal LASIK
43K-45K for Waveguided Custom LASIK
read the post on the previous page about why custom is better.
I had mine done 5 years ago at Da-Xue Yen Ke opposite Tai-Da Univ on Hsin-Sheng S. Rd. in between Roosevelt Rd and Hsin-Hai Rd in Taipei. The head eye guy there was educated in the States, practised there for 10 years and now has various branches of his clinics here.
I am 100% satisfied. Nothing has changed for me since the surgery. I had better than 20/20 vision the next day, serious. Before that, my left eye was -600 and my right -400, if you understand those terms.
I would highly recommend them. I paid $45,000 5 years ago. Don’t know what it is now. I’ve heard prices have dropped. With eyes though, personally, I’m not looking for a deal.
here is a good FAQ from a turkish clinic lasikinistanbul.com/eng/faq.htm
one interesting quote:
[quote]
The safety of LASIK operation is one of the main reasons it has become so popular. Severe complications are extremely rare. The complication rate and the infection rate from LASIK are much less than those with contact lens wear.
The laser has been in widespread use for the treatment of myopia (nearsightedness) and astigmatism over 15 years. Millions of successful procedures have been performed around the world.[/quote]
I know 2 people that got eye infections from wearing contacts. None from Lasik.
It’s been just over a month now, so I might as well write about some of the post op experiences.
the post op visit schedule goes something like this:
op+1 day
op+1 week
op+2 weeks
op+4 weeks
op+ 2 months
(not sure what after that)
So I have been back 4 times since the actual op in the last month. Usually the visits last about 10-20 mins and consist of a few tests. Firstly, a test to determine any near sightedness or far sightedness. And then a general acuity test (the chart test).
All of my visits I have been achieving 20-12 vision. This is better that 20-20 vision, 1.5 times better in fact.
What this means in the Taiwan system is that I can read the 1.5 line…each eye seperately. With both eyes together it is 20-10 pretty much, which according to info I have read is about as good as anyone can possible expect to see.
As you can imagine, I am pretty over the moon about this. 20-20 would have been fantastic, better than 20-20 is amazing really, and makes me feel that getting the custom LASIK with the increased probability of achieving better than 20-20 was well worth the extra 17k.
Another test they have done on a couple of visits is further 3D mapping of my eyes using the VISX Wavefront Machine.
Every visit, the doctor personally looks at my eyes (all the other tests are done by assistants) using a bright light and magnification device, all of which is recorded and relayed to a monitor so the Doc can discuss any problems using the display.
So far all of my visits have been fine, with the Doc saying the flaps are healing normally. On one check, he could see slight dryness so recommended that I use the artificial tear drops more, which I have done. The Doctors actual exam takes less than a few minutes, during which time he reviews the results from the acuity and other tests.
So, it all seems to be fine. Apparently it takes upto 3 months for my eyes to really settle down and in that time I will experience some dryness (for which I use drops several times a day) and some very slight halo/starbursting around very bright ligts at night. Normally, these conditions will be gone after a few months, but for me I hardly notice actually, so it is very minor indeed (and I am pretty fussy).
Overall, I believe getting this done has been a very worth while experience, and although it is not for everyone, it is certainly a very stable procedure these days.
There is one consideration. They can only correct vision as it stands at this point in time(of teh patient’s life), and eventually, virtually everyone gets long sighted with age. This becomes a factor from about 45 onwards +or- 5 years, so in my view, if you are considering getting it done, then don’t wait too long to do it otherwise you might only realise the true glasses-less experience for a few years.
Just asking around, the procedure here is around about HALF price to what you would pay in most western countries (based on NZ, Australia, Canada and the US). For me, I was mainly wanting to get it done where I live so I could get the follow up visits easily, but there is definitely a real consideration of price benefit in getting it done here. The machines are the same, and the cross checking tests involved these days ensure the evaluation is about as objective as it can get. Most clinics are very concerned with reputation, so getting the best possible results for the patient is in everyone’s best interest, rather than zapping marginal candidates.
Feel free to PM me for further info if reqd.
Do you mean that you are now a little bit farsighted? I’m afraid I don’t understand how you could have better than perfect vision.
I’m really excited about this. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 6 years old. I certainly think I look better without them and now it’s possible to see better without them as well? cool!
[quote=“canucktyuktuk”]Do you mean that you are now a little bit farsighted? I’m afraid I don’t understand how you could have better than perfect vision.
I’m really excited about this. I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 6 years old. I certainly think I look better without them and now it’s possible to see better without them as well? cool![/quote]
Well that is the common misconception.
20-20 is not perfect. It’s a standard. Something like being able to read a 20point letter at 20 feet.
It’s pretty common for people to have 20-20 vision. 20-15 is less common, but happens. 20-10 is really rare.
tedmontgomery.com/the_eye/acuity.html
Because of my astigmtism etc, they told me before surgery that they believe I had a good chance of having eyesight better than what was ever possible with glasses. They were right. I always assumed glasses gave me near pefect vision, but if you think about it, it’s only really possible if you look thru the same point in your glasses lens without looking up down or sideways. LASIK removes all that error.
Truant, you’ve done a great job of writing up all the little details of the operation that I was too lazy to do 2 years ago when I had it done. I’m glad (but not surprised) that you had such a good experience.
I just want to back up everything Truant says. I had exactly the same experience he did and am just as pleased with the result. I did notice the effects of bright lights when driving at night for a month or two, but that was the only ill effect. I also achieved better than 20/20 vision, although I haven’t had it tested for a long time now. They use a different scale here - IO think it was 0.5 is 20/10 and 1.0 is 20/20 etc, and I was getting around 0.7 or something.
Anyway, 2 years on and it’s great. I now can’t imaging not having perfect eyesight.
Brian
I am really excited about this.
I can’t wear contacts in this climate and pollution. I get infections.
I could spend 1000 a month on disposable contact lenses.
I could easily buy 1 or two pairs of glasses a year, because I always scratch them up and fall asleep in them. That’s 5000 a year (big estimate)
so I would basically have 45000 LASIC paid for in about 3-5 years.
And perfect eyesight? For at least a good portion of the middle of my life?
Not to mention all the ladies my unfettered peepers would attract…
I’m sold. My birthday’s coming up. I was going to buy some gadget or something but this is way better.
Also: I could practice san-da again without my glasses getting knocked off my face or my contacts getting fouled with all the sweat.
Simply awesome idea. i’m glad I though of it.
Good for you, I know exactly how you feel.
The important thing is to go and get the evaluation. It’s free and will determine if you can actually get it done. Not everyone can do it. I had to get custom LASIK because I wasn’t ideal for normal LASIK.
The other thing about getting the evaluation is you get a good feel for the clinic and the people you need to trust.
All the best.
Good to hear the everything is going well. I’m just really curious about post-op care at this point. I know you have to be very careful not to get water in your eyes for some period of time and that makes me wonder about exercise. In the heat of Taipei, i sweat very heavily when I play basketball, so that kind of activity would be a definite no, or is it tap water you have to avoid? I’d hate to think I couldn’t go to the gym for 3 months or whatever the time frame might prove to be. So, can you give us some info. on after care do’s and dont’s?
thanks
You have to be careful for one month. During this period you have to:
wear goggles at night so that you don’t rub your eyes
not shower, or completely protect your eyes from water when you do
wear sunglasses/goggles whenever you are outside to stop dirt/water getting in
not do any kind of sport/activity which may result in a blow or dirt in the eye
take eyedrops regularly (every hour at first, then later 3 or 4 times a day)
It’s a real hassle for this month, but once it’s over you’re home free, and it’s definitely worth it.
Brian
[quote=“formosahoosier”]Good to hear the everything is going well. I’m just really curious about post-op care at this point. I know you have to be very careful not to get water in your eyes for some period of time and that makes me wonder about exercise. In the heat of Taipei, i sweat very heavily when I play basketball, so that kind of activity would be a definite no, or is it tap water you have to avoid? I’d hate to think I couldn’t go to the gym for 3 months or whatever the time frame might prove to be. So, can you give us some info. on after care do’s and dont’s?
thanks[/quote]
I will try to recall exactly the do’s and don’ts.
For 1-2 days I was supposed to wear some form of eye protection at all times. They gave me some safety googles, which were very close fitting and surprisingy didn’t look too bad (think “Ali-G”).
The main purpose of this is to protect your eyes from accidents and objects such as dust, leaves, trash, but also those instances which can’t be predicted/avoided.
On day 2 I was riding an esculator when the woman in front flicked her hair and that brushed my face - probably would have been fine, but I was glad my eyes didn’t come in contact.
For about a 3-4 days, I was supposed to wear some taped on clear plastic eye patches when I slept. This is to prevent the subconcious rubbing of eyes during sleep. It is very easy even when conscious to want to rub your eyes, I did it once without thinking, and felt I had to explicitly tell myself not to rub them, so you can imagine how easy it would be during sleep.
Some people opt to wear some form of eye protection (sun glasses, or the goggles) for the entire week.
They told me not to go swimming, but I can’t remember if it was 1 week or 2.
Showering is a time to be particularly careful to keep water right away from the eyes. When showering, it is very easy to rub the eyes quite agressively, so once again, I had to explicitly tell myself to hold my eyes tightly shut, and VERY gently wash my face. I was careful like that for about a week or two.
Here are some links to some official post op requirements I googled:
eyeny.com/steps/post-op.shtml
johngoosey.com/postlasik.asp
lomaseye.com/pc_lasikpostop.asp
I think the bottom line is you have to be careful for about 1 week, then after that things are pretty much back to normal.
Thanks Truant. You are great! I’m goin in to get zapped! Did they give the 2 person discount at that clinic? If so, I’d like to see if anyone wants to go in there for a double whammy. Any takers?
Maybe we could get a forumosa deal… “Just tell 'em forumosa sent ya.”
Had my eyes zapped 3 days ago for 44k. 20/20 in the left and 20/12 in the right eye. So far, everything is perfect. Just gotta take care of my eyes for a few weeks and eat lots of “eye” veggies to keep em happy. My only advice though…If you are OK with contacts, I wouldn’t do the surgery. My doc wore contacts and I asked him about it. He simply said, the contacts didn’t bother him, so he didn’t feel the need to have a surgery. He mentioned alot of people don’t even feel contacts, so why should they get surgery. I explained to him that I had even tried expensive contacts and still felt like I got sand kicked in my eyes by the beach bully. Of course, he said, then the surgery might be right for me. I know he wants the “sale”, but I appreciated his answer, nonetheless.
Good luck all
I’m lazy. I can wear contacts for a long time without any irritation. I like being able to go surfing and see what I’m doin out there. When I snowboard fast and have my eyes wide open and focused they dry up and fall out. The real thing is that I plan to see better than I did with contacts. Contacts can give you eye infections, headaches, and you can lose them in your eye… I swear I still have a couple floating around in my eye sockets that haven’t been accounted for 
Zappity zap zap! I can wait until I have a machine slice my eyes open and a lazer scar my eyeballs.
One month after laser surgery and I’m very satisfied with the results. Last check up my eyes were at 20-15: Too bad I won’t be back to Vermont in time for the turkey hunt this year!