Lasix?

[Stacy 0]

THinking about Lasix in the nearish future. ANyone had it? I've heard good and bad. My eyes are terrible and it's to the point where I'm getting new prescriptions each year. I'm legally blind already at 20/600. Really starting to notice at night driving.

JUst looking to hear what people's experiences are and what maybe to look for when looking around for a clinic.

__

[Jimbo 0]

Quote

Really starting to notice at night driving.

Night driving? Only night driving?

-
Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[tunaplanet 0]

A buddy of mine just got it. He loves it. Night and day for him. Although, he got it because he wanted to be a pilot in the military and wanted 20/20 vision (his was very poor). He had it done, went to the office and then finds out that Lasix surgery is an automatic disqualifyer for joining the military. The funny thing is you can have Lasix once you join, but not before.

Anyways, good luck with it. I've heard nothing but great things about it.

Forty-two

[bobsled92 0]

you are at the same script as my wife.
Get it done. If I where another time or day, others would be saying the same. several folks at my DZ have done it.
That WHITE lettlers on signs at night thing made me get 20/15 contacts and my "SUPER" titanium and glare/scratch proof glasses leave me with that night glare any way.
Heck, I should get it before I move down there!

_______________________________
If I could be a Super Hero,
I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year.
http://www.hangout.no/speednews/

[Michele 1]

I love living without contacts or glasses. It frees you up in ways you won't believe...and I wouldn't have started jumping had I still been in contacts/glasses...

Go for it...

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[atsaubrey 0]

I had it done and started with 20/200 left and 20/400 right. Now im 20/20 and 20/25. I cant say it enough...GET IT!

"GOT LEAD?"

[SkydivingNurse 0]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry. I couldn't help myself. Lasix is the brand name of furosemide, a loop diuretic that will make you pee like crazy, but prolly won't do a thing for your vision. I know, I know, you meant LASIK.

I haven't had that good a laugh in a long time, thanks!

[NightJumper 0]

Quote

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

That is what I was thinking I said I know Stacy and she doesn't have CHF.

[cruzlite 0]

Stacy,

Two instructors at DZ have had it, both happy.
Are you currently jumping with 20/600? If so, w/ glasses, googles ???
Don't know what my xx/xx is but my script is 2.25/-2.0, so I got appointment to see Dr. in March,
will watch & post-
best lu7k
D
edit;
Guys above apparently grounded 6 weeks-to heal without presure changes. (post opp)

[Stacy 0]

contacts. i can't stand glasses. they are such a pain though, esp when travelling. I figure a trip to teh eye doctor and a year of contacts run close to $350. Lasik surgery is ballparked on average at around 1000 here, but mien would probably be slightly higher, as I have an astigmatism as well.

we'll see. I'm just starting to ask some questions now...

__

[North95 0]

Had it (lasik) six months ago. Now 20/20, sometimes 20/15 in both eyes. My eyes are still a little dry, a side effect, but this was a small price to pay.

Never had lasix. Had latex.

[Speer 0]

Stacy,

You might look into PRK as the procedure for vision correction instead of LASIK. PRK reshapes the surface with a laser exactly the same as LASIK, but without the "flap" procedure used in LASIK. I am told that LASIK has less discomfort, but the question of healing / stability of the flap presents some concern for skydiving activities. For those reasons, the DoD will not allow any aircrew or jump qualified personnel (ie paratroop & spec ops) to have LASIK. PRK is the only procedure allowed at this time.

I had the PRK procedure to correct significant astigmatism (trauma induced), and some near sightedness several years ago. I have had some of the astigmatism return, and will have it corrected again only by PRK after discussing potential hazards of dislodging the "flap" with vision correction experts. I have no misgiving recommending vision correction, but be sure to get input from a doctor who provides access to BOTH procedures (LASIK and PRK) so you don't get shoved into the only procedure your doctor performs...

Russ

Generally, it is your choice; will your life serve as an example... or a warning?

[murrays 0]

I was considering Lasik about 4 years ago and I went to an ophthalmologist to get his opinion. He told me he had patients that wish they had never heard of laser eye surgery. He only recommended it to people who couldn't be corrected to a reasonable prescription with glasses alone. Often this resulted in the patient still wearing glasses but a much more reasonable prescription.

He told me that because I could be corrected with glasses to 20/20 he would never recommend that I go ahead with Lasik. I didn't and I'm not sorry. Glasses are a pain (especially up here in the cold when they frost up when you come in from outside) but getting rid of them wasn't worth the risk of harming my vision.

Just a note of caution....They are your only eyes. I would suggest going to an ophthalmologist that isn't going to try and sell you a laser procedure to get a more objective opinion.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[Brian425 0]

I had laser eye surgery four years ago. It has been one of the best things I ever did. Research your doctor VERY carefully. If you get turned down because of pupil size, etc. Be VERY CAREFUL of any doctor that says that they can do it for you.

I went to Dr Barry Soloway in NYC. He also did two of my friends. I would recommend him 100%.

The only time you should look down on someone is when you are offering them your hand.

[garef001 0]

i had lasik done, there is nothing better than not having to wear glasses/contacts. i HIGHLY recommend it.

Thanasi

[bshl 0]

I went from 20/400 to 20/15 in one eye and 20/25 in the other in a total of 32 seconds (21 seconds for one eye, 11 for the other). My wife can now see better without glasses than she ever could with them. Most doctors give free exams to see if you're a viable candidate for LASIK.

A key is to ask about follow-up care. Does the doctor who does the surgery do the care or is it a tag team? Try scheduling an appointment and see how difficult it is. Ask whether they sanitize and reuse the blades that cut the flap in your eye. That's a key factor in not getting perfect results. Some doctors try to cut costs by using the same blade for a couple of patients. My ophthalmologist charged a little more than some of the other doctors in the area but he uses all brand new stuff to get the best odds of success he can. How often do they update their laser? Does it have a 3-D tracking system that maps your eye and locks onto it in case you get a little jittery? That's been out for a couple of years so there's no excuse not to have things like that. You definitely want state of the art.

Go get it. It'll change your life.

Blue skies and happy landings!

[skygal3 0]

Your buddy davewhatshisname had his eyes done..there is a link to it here:
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=119510#119510.
As of right now he has bionic eyesight, and the only side effect (3 years later) that he experiences is dry eyes -- way dry eyes that hurt a lot at times (usually mostly when he is tired at night) but he had partially dry eyes before anyhoo.

[TitaniumLegs 8]

I had LASIK in '97. Best $4200 I ever spent. Of course it's way less now.
In response to opthalmologists who have so many LASIK horror stories: Of course they are going to talk trash about it. They COMPETE with it.
As for PRK vs. LASIK: PRK requires each eye done separately ~6 months apart, because the recovery is way longer per eye.
I only know two people with "bad" experience. One had a blood cell or clot or something trapped under the flap. They simply opened the flap and cleaned it out. The other case was my sister whose procedure was a "failure" merely because she didn't achieve the desired correction of 20/40 or better.

Give it at least two weeks before you jump.

(>o|-<

If you don't believe me, ask me.

[mjosparky 3]

Quote

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry. I couldn't help myself. Lasix is the brand name of furosemide, a loop diuretic that will make you pee like crazy, but prolly won't do a thing for your vision. I know, I know, you meant LASIK.

I haven't had that good a laugh in a long time, thanks!

You beat me to it. Lasix is also used by PM's in the field to treat CHF.
Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[skymedic 0]

Umm...Lasix is the stuff I give people to pull fluid off there lungs...LASIK is the thing where they melt your cornias away...

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....

[MissMelly60436 0]

i didnt read the whole thread so this may have already been said:

its worked wonders on a LOT of my friends, but be REEEAAALLY careful where you go. there have been specials run on the major tv networks about bad procedures and clinics. they're everywhere, and a lot of the "doctors" are performing the procedure without really examining the client;not everyone can benefit from it. make sure you go somewhere reputable... by word of mouth, not advertisement. but im sure you would do that anyway. just wanted to give a heads up..apparently theres some pretty shady shit going on.

mel

[Luna 0]

Start by finding out if you even qualify. If you are getting new prescriptions every year as you say, you may not. One requirement for Lasik is a stable prescription for X number of years (stable meaning only very small corrections year to year are allowed).

My husband's eyes finally settled out after years of getting steadily worse, and he decided to have it done. Just so you know, when you read the list of things that can go wrong, and you say to yourself, sure, but those always happen to other people...well, he said the same thing. In the long run, it turned out fine, but he had one eye that they cut the flap for and couldn't do the laser on because the flap was too small. It was their screw up. He still had to go through all the drops in it because it had been cut, and he had to get fitted for a contact for that eye until it healed. The weekend before getting the contact, and the week before his second surgery where you cannot wear contacts were a nightmare. Try seeing 20/15 out of one eye and 20/400 out of the other. Not much fun.

Anyway, like I said, in the long run, he's much happier without glasses and glad he had it done, but just keep in mind that the horror stories that you hear about (his problem was one of the best case scenarios for having a problem), they really could happen to you, and like in skydiving, you just have to be willing to accept the risk. As many other people have stated, he also has had some dryness problems, and more problems with starbursting at night than he used to have, but it's nothing that is really bothersome.

Good luck!

I'm walking a marathon to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Click Here for more information!

[skydivingchad 0]

Stacey,

I'm an eye doc. First of all, you are NOT legallly blind. Legal blindness is 20/200 or worse vision in the better seeing eye WITH best possible contacts or glasses. This is a pet peeve of mine since my specialty is low vision rehab and my patients are truly legally blind.

You have problems with night vision now... your night vision will be worse after lasik.. maybe not now, if you are young, but in the future. It decreases contrast sensitivity, increases glare, and increases dry eye. Everyone experiences this to varying degree. The older you get the more you will notice the effects.

Lasik's goal is not 20/20 vision. Yes, a lot of people do see that post op, but the goal is actually 20/40 or better.

Lasik is not a permanent procedure. Your eyes are a soft tissue of the body, so they change your entire life. Just like getting a facelift now won't prevent more wrinkles in the future, getting lasik now won't prevent your prescription from changing as the eye changes shape each year. You will be back in glasses/contacts eventually, bare minimum at the age of 40 when you need reading glasses. If you are looking for perfection, this isn't it.

You are a skydiver, this puts you at increased risk just from the changes in elevation. The cornea of the eye has no blood supply of it's own. As a result, it heals very very very slowly, over the course of years. The flap procedure is very invasive, it won't heal fast. Any trauma to the eye in the next few years could be complicated by the fact you had lasik.

My honest opinion (and keep in mind I could make a small fortune doing lasik workups and post op care) is that it is unethical to operate on a perfectly healthy pair of eyes knowing that there is a risk of never seeing a perfect 20/20 again. Many opthalmologists chose against performing this surgery for the same reason. It is a huge money maker, and that is too tempting for others to turn away.

If you do decide to go for lasik, call several eye docs in you area, preferrably optometrists... we see the best and the worst of surgical care. Ask for recommendations in your area. Don't go looking for the $299 cheapo surgeons. Would you go to the cheapest cardiologist on the block for your triple bypass or the best? Don't cut corners with your eyes either, you only get one set of them. Be careful about the huge laser mills, they are almost as scary as the cheap places with how fast they send folks through and the care is often inadequate. Make sure that your pupils are measured in bright and dim light. If your pupils are fairly large, they will be bigger than the zone of surgery and you will experience truly debilitating glare at night, possibly even some during the day. Once you choose a surgeon based on referrals from area docs, interview the surgeon yourself. If you are not totally comfortable with the doc, find another one. Doctors are on your pay roll, not the other way around, it is up to you to hire/fire them.

Take a good hard look at what your goals are, assess the risks, and decide what is best for you. For every good outcome, there are just as many negative outcomes. It isn't a perfect procedure. Do your own risk/benefit analysis and go from there.

Jennifer Galbraith, OD, MS

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.
Pelt Head #3

[cruzlite 0]

Once again,

(And I sure Stacy & everyone here agree),

Thanks for sharing your time & knowledge!!!!!

Don

[MarkM 0]

Another option is Ortho-k: http://www.ortho-k.net/

It's perfectly safe, the effects are reversable, they're just hard contact lenses you wear during the night while you sleep. They reshape your eye so you have corrected vision and your eye holds that shape when you remove the lenses for the next day or two. And as you age and your eyes change, the contact lenses can be adjusted to keep your vision correct.

I've had this done in Fort Lauderdale by a Dr Kennith Maller who's an extremely good contacts guy. It's all he's done for the past 10 years or so and it's what he specializes in. He's a perfectionist too.

If you wouldn't mind wearing contacts just while you're asleep, then Ortho-K is something you might want to look into.