Lasix?

[North95 0]

I looked at the Orth-K web site. It doesn't sound very exciting to me. Why would you want to have to regularly wear special contact lenses, on a schedule, to reshape your cornea? You might as well just wear regular contact lenses all the time, or am I missing something?

The beauty of lasik, when it works, is that you never wear glasses or contact lenses, or at least until you are older and need reading glasses.

North

[Chute 0]

I have not had lasik but I did get the PRK. I love it. The only differance is that with Lasik you have good vision right after and with PRK I had to wait about a month till mine was crystal clear. But unlike lasik. With PRK. I can get it done later in life if my eye site changes. Lasik is a one time thing.

I rec you read on Lasik / PRK / RK. Figure what is the best for you. Not which is cheaper or right near by. Remember it is your eyes they are Fn with. I read tons of stuff on the internet.

Bottomless Beers and Blue Skies!

* Brother_Brian *
D.S.W.F.S.B. #2

[MarkM 0]

Quote

I looked at the Orth-K web site. It doesn't sound very exciting to me. Why would you want to have to regularly wear special contact lenses, on a schedule, to reshape your cornea? You might as well just wear regular contact lenses all the time, or am I missing something?

Right before you go to bed you put the lenses on and then you take them off the first thing in the morning when you wake up. So basically you're not wearing anything during your waking hours, yet your eyes keep the corrected vision.

It works because our eyes are elastic so you can mold them, but they retain thier shape for a day or so after you remove the force that's holding them.

If you want to ditch the glasses/contacts permanently, then Ortho-K really doesn't do anything for you because you still wear them each night while you sleep(you gotta clean them, store them, etc). But if you're mostly interested in not having to wear the stuff while you're running around awake and Lasik isn't doable for you for whatever reason, then it's an option.

I normally had 20/30 vision so Lasik wasn't something I could really do, because I didn't want to risk it making my vision worse. But with Ortho-K I got my vision down close to 20/15 without any risk. And as I age and my vision naturally gets worse, my doctor can just adjust the lenses every few years.

[skydivingchad 0]

Ortho K is also an option, less invasive than lasik, as your eyes change, the ortho k can change with you, less risky than lasik, but also not perfect.

It is really only good for those with a -3.00D of nearsightedness or less, there are limits to how much molding a cornea can safely take, so for someone with double that to try it would be too much.

Definitely check all options before deciding on one. Personally I wear one day contacts, you can do anything with them, extremely safe, and will never damage the eye the way lasik can. They are the only lenses you can swim in and as another person posted, who cares if you lose or rip one when there are a zillion left in the box for you.

Good luck with your decision.

Jen

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

[jceman 1]

Stacy,

I've read all the replies so far and let me tell you me experience.

I had LASIK in 2000; my pre-op vision was off the charts -- we extrapolated it out to about 20/1600. That is not a misptrint or typo; my eyeglass prescription was -13.75 left and -13.50 right, with a -1.50 sphere (for astigmatism). Whenever I got a new pair of glasses, a major observatory had to be shut down! The only contacts I could wear were rigid gas permeables and then for only 8-12 hours at a time.

I had of course been interested in surgical treatment and had been told it was not (yet) an option for me. Around 1999, that picture changed and severe myopes like myself were given a tentative okay.

I went to one of the Jax surgeons who had done many LASIK procedures, got examined, tested, measured and then was ushered in to see the surgeon himself; he looked a the charts, peered into my eyes, talked with me, looked back at the charts, pulled out his PDA and did some calculations. He looked into my eyes again, reran a test or two, checked the entrails of a few sheep then said he thought he could help me. He told me what caused him to take so much time to make the decision, what the FDA required for cornela size/thinkness pre and post-op and how it was an extremely close call but doable.

I talked with another friend who had had the procedure and she practically begged me to go see her surgeon (who advertises like crazy in JAX). My experience there was not good. I was dismissed summarily with no explanation and never even seeing the "great man".

At this point I was confused to say the least, so I did even more research and found a third surgeon who was known to not only have taken part in the first FDA study, but who specialized in difficult procedures, not only LASIK, but had a great reputation for treating severe vision problems. My experience in his ofice was like the first one -- I saw the surgeon on the first visit, he took much time in deliberating the advisability of doing surgery on me and told me what he was thinking at all stages. I decided to have him do it.

Due to my preop vision, I didn't expect the miracle they talk about on the infomercial, I simply wanted to reduce my dependency on corrective lenses. My post-op experience showed me why the second clinic wanted nothing to do with me -- they were a surgery mill, in/lase/out check back the next day, see ya in a few weeks, etc. My case needed followup. Lots and lots of followup. (if anyone wants more details, do a google search on me and LASIK in rec.skydiving)

My vision now? 20/40 left eye, 20/15 right eye, and I've not had a corrective lens of any sort since July 2000. As for starring, well, I wondered about that, and deliberately drove around a bit before surgery so I could make a comparison; I have less starring now then I did with either glasses or contacts!

My advice is simple and has not changed one bit since I first had my surgery: research the surgeon, reearch that he has the latest VISX tracking laser equipment and if, when you go for that first free consultation, if a tech does all the tests then leaves the room telling you that he/she will be back with the answer, don't be in that room when they get back -- run away from the surgery mill and find a clinic run by a surgeon who thinks you are worthy of his/her time.

Faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, more money.

Why do they call it "Tourist Season" if we can't shoot them?