Tuesday, June 12, 2012

LASIK and loss of near sighted vision

KD, thanks for the ongoing blog. I am seeing more evidence that one gains back his far vision and the expense of short distance (reading) vision. I have a coworker that just had the lasik surgery about 3 months ago. His vision was pretty bad prior to the surgery but he could read without his glasses up close really well. Post correction, he is now very happy with seeing the clock on the wall and things at distance but tells me that the food on his dinner plate is no longer clear. Reading or computer work is pretty much impossible for him.

I currently wear contacts to correct -3.75 in one eye and -4.0 in another and have no problem reading small print. Making out my finger print pattern is about as fine as i can see with my contacts. With no contacts I can see even better close up. My big worry is close up vision getting worse than i have now with contacts. What do you think?

I am under pressure to do the surgery this year because I signed up for 5K FSA for this year prior to doing the proper homework on the procedure. If i don't do the surgery, i lose the money :(.
Is your coworker over 40? Did he/she have LASIK with either a wavefront-guided or optimized system? I'm curious to know more about this.

In my small sample size of individuals who had LASIK, no one has reported this. However, that doesn't make it non-existent. In my research, I've came across occurrences of this. For many with nearsighted, it takes a while for the muscle in the eyes to adjust. Here is another thread where users reported issue that eventually cleared up. Here's an experience that or may not be similar to your friend's. Then again there are these two who still had blurred vision at 5 months.

I wish I could tell you that LASIK is perfect and you have nothing to worry about. If that were the case, you wouldn't need to research into it. Unfortunately, LASIK is a type of surgery and there are possibilities of complications. The human population is not uniform and there are slight variations in individual's physical attributes. There will always be a percentage of the population whose eyes react differently to the surgery. I wish I can tell you that your LASIK surgery will be perfect and there will be no complications. However, that's not necessarily true. Even my wife's surgery is not perfect even though she's thrilled with the results so far. As far as I  know, her vision is not 20/20 but she doesn't have blurred close up vision.

You should discuss your concerns with your doctor and make the best decision you can with the information available.

What I can tell you is that like you I was concerned about the implications of LASIK surgery gone wrong. I was the one that did all the research. The more I read about horror stories, the more I was hesitant to tell my wife to go through with it. Well, she didn't care and was very gung-ho about it. She was going to do it regardless the potential complications. Ignorance is bliss.

What I recommend is that if you're not comfortable with it, then don't let the money be a consideration. It's better to lose the $5000 than to be pushed into surgery if you're not comfortable with it. For my wife, she could barely see without her contacts so the surgery was worth it and the decision to have LASIK was an easy one. For someone who has good vision nearsighted, it's a more complicated matter and only you can answer that after discussions with your doctor and your family.

References:
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/lasik-eye-surgery/900495-post-lasik-near-vision-blurry.html
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/lasik-eye-surgery/731500-post-lasik-despair-blurred-vision.html
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/lasik-eye-surgery/833757-my-lasik-tale-long.html
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/lasik-eye-surgery/870134-four-months-post-lasik-blurred-vision.html

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Hi there KD thank you so much for this wealth of information. I'm thrilled to hear that your wife is doing well, and that you're happy with your decisions.

    I'm trying to talk my dad into getting his eyes done. But he's extremely skeptical because he had RK done over 20 years ago, and he's fearful of the complications. It was really good to hear all about the waveguide technology.

    Historically my dad trusts the doctors at Stanford, so I wonder why didn't you include Dr. Manche in your lineup? Was he disqualified because of his location, or affiliation with a teaching hospital?

    Thanks again! Very nice blog!

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  3. Hi,

    This was answered in a previous post in the comments section: http://santaclaralasik.blogspot.com/2012/01/our-decision.html

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  4. Well, what many people ignore about LASIK surgery is that; the procedure is only a temporary fix, also people should know that when you are over 40 is more than likely that you will start experiencing Presbyopia, something that cannot be correct by traditional Excimer Laser.

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  5. Hi Juan,

    Thanks for the comments. I agree with you that anyone over 40 should not consider LASIK.

    However, I disagree that LASIK is a temporary fix for those who are young and qualified to have it. The fact is that presbyopia is the effect of old age and it affects EVERYONE. Even though I have 20/15 vision, eventually I will need glasses due to presbyopia. That has nothing to do with LASIK being a temporary solution. Unfortunately, we also lose our youth, our reflexes, as well as our senses...as a matter of fact, my memory isn't what it used to be. C'est la vie.

    There are many reasons to not have LASIK. However, it being temporary should not be a part of it. Go in with the understanding that old age will eventually rob us of many things...but we should enjoy the senses that we have while we still can. 15-25 years without glasses is still a good chunk of your life, especially when you're still young. Cheers! =)

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  6. Hi KD,
    my brother has terrible eyesight and we are thinking about LASIK surgery. But we are so unsure. I am reading blogs about other people's experiences, but I am still afraid of it. But it is still a better decision to take the risk, than having bad vision all his life, right?

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  7. Nick,

    I would answer your question but based on your profile it says you're a LASIK surgeon. So what's your story and why are you asking this?

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  8. What are my chances to get my near vision back after lasik. Im 57

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