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I'm a professor of biochemistry and a freelance textbook writer, so obviously my eyes are important to me too. Can't think of many jobs that don't need 'em.
Anyway, I took the plunge on October 9, 2000 at age 55. (I'm now 57)
My eyes required the following corrections:
O.D. Sph. -7.00, Cyl. +2.25, Axis 111
O.S. Sph. -7.00, Cyl. 1.75, Axis 067
Add +2.25 tri In other words, I wore trifocals to fix serious (but not super severe) nearsightedness and astimatism.
I elected to have monovision, which means one eye was "undercorrected" for close-up reading, and my other eye was fully corrected for distance viewing. I still need glasses for mid-ranges, like when I work at the computer. The reading eye (undercorrected one) was immediately 20-20. The other eye, that needed much more correction, was 20-30 or 25-30, so I had an "enhancement," which really means a second operation, on Jan 15, 2001. I'm now 20-20 in both eyes for their respective distances.
The monovision works great. I can go out running, see the beautiful (or not so beautiful) scenery and read my sports watch without glasses. I can give my university lectures, read the periodic table and my notes, all without glasses. I love it.
I must mention, however, that I have experienced some of the common side effects:
1. Very dry eyes. I live in a low-humidity environment (Utah) and take allergy medicine, which tends to dry my out, so my dry eye problem has been particularly bad. I still take moisterizing drops a 2-3 times a day.
2. Night vision problems. Sometimes I don't see really well at night, even now. This is partly because of the "halo effect" and partly because of the monovision. But I knew about this risk before I had LASIK and was willing to live with it. I bought some glasses that make both eyes see at a distance, which vitually solves the night vision problem. I don't often need the glasses for driving, but I do like to wear them during concerts and movies. 3. Less than perfect vision from time to time. Everyone experiences vision problems at times of illness, missed meals, and so forth, but such occasions seem to affect my vision more after LASIK. This is probably due to the monovision, because again, if I put on my computer glasses or my nigh-vision glasses, most of the problem goes away. So am I pleased with the end result? Yes, overall. None of the above problems are as bad as it was back when I wore heavy, awkward, inconvenient glasses. So would I do it all over again? In a heartbeat. Would I recommend it to others? Yes, IF and ONLY IF, they read, studied, and talked about the procedure long and hard before hand. I found www.lasikinstitute.org to be most helpful because it takes an unbiased view of the procedure, and even post horror stories of people who've had problems. I fully knew the risks invovled, but I also know of the risks of normal glasses and of contacts. (Many people don't know that there are serious risks invovled in wearing these things, although the risk are statistically small--about the same same as LASIK.)
Hope this helps. E-mail me or reply here if you have further questions.
--Scott
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