Lasik sight correction - is it worthwhile?

wyawot

wyawot

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Does anyone have any experience of sailing after laser sight correction? I am about to retire and plan to spend a lot of time sailing, but find wearing glasses (varifocals) when there is a lot of spray or rain about a real nuisance. I am tempted to have my long range vision corrected but would still need to wear reading glasses at the chart table etc. Does anyone have any advice as to whether the trade off of spectacle-less long range vision against loss of close-range reading ability is worth it?
 
Had it done about 9 years ago now, best decision I made. But it is an operation and like all operations things can go wrong. They make me sign a long list of disclaimers explaining the various things that go wrong from slight soreness to death.

I believe the procedure is easier now and you vision returns to normal fairly quickly, mine took 3 months but I do now have near perfect long vision.

As to wearing reading glasses have no problems, have picked up lots of cheap pairs which I leave lying around various places. If I had to make the decsion again would still do it - best wishes
 
Sister in law had it done, swears by it.

I have worn glasses for 45 years, no risk is too small as far as I am concerned, wouldn't risk it. I fly, sail, ski, operate power tools and ride a motorcycle ( usually not simultaneously /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ) but you are not burning my eyes with a laser!
 
Burning your eyes with a laser brings back the memories. During the procedure I smelled burning and jokingly said I suppose that smell is my eye burning, to which the operator said 'yes' /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif They gave me some painkillers and a sleeping tablet, but the nest 24 hours was painful. Then went back 3 months later to get the other eye done, sucker for punishment.

Think the procedure is more advanced now though
 
I had it done about 2 years ago and it is one of the best investments I have ever made.

I was sore for about 24 hours so spent most of that time in bed, within one week my eyes 98% perfect but I still has some halo's around lights when sailing/driving at night but not enough to cause a problem. After 6-9 month the eye has completly healed and no more halo's.

I would recommend this to anyone, it is so much better than glasses or contact lenses in day to day life and especially when sailing.
 
Had mine done some 10 years ago, although I understand that the process is much easier and quicker now. At a recent eye test my vision was still up to 'driving' standards. Like other posters here, I have a few pairs of magnifying (reading) glasses laying around the house and boat.

No regrets at all.

Alan
 
Interesting to hear many positive comments but I would like to know:

1 - How many diopters of focal mis focus did you have before the op or put another way how much of your eye went up in smoke?

2 - Who did the op, independent eye surgeon of your choice or a national brand name?
 
I can understand your concern to have good long range vision for sailing. Like many others, it's my close up vision that needs glasses, but the LR is holding up well, if not perfectly. Like others I have standard glasses all over the place to let me read charts etc.

One consideration to seek advice on - as we age, light sensitivity declines. You need more light to read a page than others do, and see less at night etc. This affects folks differently and is all to do with the retina. No laser treatment will make any difference to this limitation.

I can offer not my own experience but that of the numerous crews I have entertained on board over a number of seasons. A surprising number used chuckaway lenses and appeared to get on well with them. Worth a further thought before you decide.


PWG
 
I am lucky in that one eye is long sighted, & the other is short sighted so the brain selects the better vision. However, as I age (now over 60) I find I need reading glasses more & more. I did ask an aquaintance who carried out the Op for a living for advice & he pointed out that, for me, it would be a waste of time as I would need to keep going every few years as my eyes deteriorated - it would not ba a long-term solution for me.

So I now buy dozens of Pound shop reading glasses to drop on the floor, lose & sit on as the rest of my faculties deteriorate too.
 
I read of one middleaged man with myopia who chose to have just one eye corrected by lasr treatment - he could then see clearly at a distance with that eye and read without spectacles using the other eye. He claimed to have no difficulty with this technique.
I have experimented with the technique, using one contact lens to correct my own myopia in only one eye- and guess what, it works quite well!
 
For years now, on my optician's advice, I have had contact lenses correcting one eye for distance and the other for reading. It works very well for me though, I understand, not for everyone. However, as a cheap, non-invasive and reversible solution it might well be worth a try.
 
Almost exactly a year ago both my wife and I had the treatment in Cyprus. She being long-sighted (with a severe astigmatism) and me being short sighted. At age 62, we have both had our right eye corrected for distance vision and our left eye corrected for near vision. We now seem to be perfectly adjusted(!) and do not need glasses for everyday vision. I have had 2 cheap pairs of glasses made up, the first for night driving so that I have full depth perception - and also for picking up distant lights/ships at night, and the second for work at the chart table at night under a red light. Can't remember what my wife's dioptre reading was before correction, but mine was left -3.8 and right -4.5. Hope this helps.
 
I have sailed and worn glasses all my life. Keep a few cloths in your pocket to wipe the spray off now and then and dont gamble on ruining your sight if it goes wrong. The operation isnt risk free and some people bitterly regret having ruined their sight.
 
Had mine done about 4 years ago, like most on here that have had the surgery.... best cosmetic surgery I've had, actually it is the only surgery I've had.

It has moved on in the last couple of years and the best laser treatment is the wavefront. It is even accepted by the forces, it is more expensive but if you can afford it ask.

My eyes are one long and one short and the brain works it out. It isnt perfect but I would say 95% and if I had to I would have it done every year.

There will always be the ones who say I wouldn't due to this and that, non of them have had the surgery, most who have are very positive about it. That to me is the only answer you need. Speak to the surgeon who will be doing the operation and voice your concerns he will talk you through it.

I had mine done at Optimax Manchester and they were fine, in fact I didn't think I would be treated as well as I was. My son is now in the process of organising wavefront for himself.

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Tom with his laser guided eyes! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
There was another thread on this a while back

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2018346/page/0/fpart/all/vc/1/nt/2

with a link to a very long thread on pistonheads

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=141&t=422661&i=560

which gives quite a lot of information and experiences.

There never seem to be any comments from people who did not find the surgery successful so it is difficult to gauge the impact when it doesn't go right. It's the extent of problems however small the likelihood of them occuring that has stopped me going ahead with any form of eye surgery thus far.
 
Ferry interesting subject!!! My man wouldn't do Lasics at my age as the onset of cateracts is likely (over 60) and would require repeat surgery, consequently I opted for an "early cateract removal" which entails a new lens that works very well down to about 8 ft and then you need a form of (possibly varilens) reading glasses. Only had the op 3 weeks ago so eye has not yet settled - may take a while as with all eye surgery I believe.
 
You make a very important point. Lazer correction may well not be the last time you go under the knife in your life, and it is as well to consider the whole life of the eye rather than just a present convenience. Having just guided my mother through 4 cataract operations which all delivered improvements, I wonder if the outcome would have been as good had the corneas already taken surgery.

And the chances of cataracts are higher than one would suppose, and are of course, age related.

I would not wish to dissuade any forumite from what could be valuable treatment in their cases, but it is as well to ask all the questions before the green gown goes on!

Having just received yet another junkmail for lazer correction, I fear that the marketing of this procedure, and the level of information that folks actually get, could lead to disappointment.

PWG
 
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