Well I didn't have the blephharitis before so it's weird it happened at the same time. I had lasik, I couldn't handle the long recovery of pro and the docv said after my vision would have turned out worse with prk. With glasses I always had 20/15 in both eyes. Now my right eye is 20/20 and left is 20/30. To me this is bad because I have always had 20/15. The doctors have said I am picky about my vision. My left eye can't be fixed because the corenea isn't completely even which all my consults said it wasn't uneven enough to matter however it definitely was cause that eye is blurry now. I guess my situation may be unique and if your eyes are perfect and your not picky about your vision it would probably be a god move for you.
Experience with Lasik?
- Thread starter nnnnnate
- Start date
I thought I'd bump this thread with an update for posterity sake.
Since first posting up here I had two more consults, Eye Institute and Moran. I was happy with both of them and both doctors suggested that I have PRK done. I was told I had mild-ish dry eyes which could potentially become worse with LASIK but it seemed the bigger reason to go with PRK was my extra curricular activities and the potential risk of getting poked in the eye while taking part in those activities. I played water polo through high school and played one season at a junior college before temporarily moving to over seas. The doctors said that if you do martial arts or boxing or sports where hands and fingers get close to your face you ought to do PRK because the flap from LASIK can become dislodged from a poke potentially causing big issues. I had forgotten but was reminded by my brother that at a game in Park City years ago he had gotten poked which gouged his eye causing damage and discomfort. Luckily enough it didn't happen on his pupil and there was no effect on his vision long term. I don't remember if I had told Hoopes that I played water polo or not so maybe they didn't suggest PRK because they didn't have that info but they are the only one out of the three consults that suggested LASIK.
In the end I have decided to have the procedure done at Moran. I don't think that price played any affect on my decision since I plan to use my flex spending money and I set that up before I made my final decision. That said I've elected to take part in a study which has reduced that overall cost a fair amount. I read through the documentation again last night so its fresh in my mind, they are studying two medications that have been on the market and in use for several years now. The study is to determine if one is better than the other. There isn't an elevated risk because both have been approved by the FDA already, and again, have been in use for years. If anyone is interested I can give you more info on the study.
I'm going to have it done next Thursday (1/22/15) and I'm pretty excited. I know that recovery will take longer with PRK and it will require me to take more time off from work and activities but I think PRK will be better in the long term for me and my eyes and thus worth the extra effort.
Thanks again to everyone giving feedback. I appreciate the comments and help and direction you gave that encouraged me to go to a few more consults to become better educated to make an more informed decision.
Since first posting up here I had two more consults, Eye Institute and Moran. I was happy with both of them and both doctors suggested that I have PRK done. I was told I had mild-ish dry eyes which could potentially become worse with LASIK but it seemed the bigger reason to go with PRK was my extra curricular activities and the potential risk of getting poked in the eye while taking part in those activities. I played water polo through high school and played one season at a junior college before temporarily moving to over seas. The doctors said that if you do martial arts or boxing or sports where hands and fingers get close to your face you ought to do PRK because the flap from LASIK can become dislodged from a poke potentially causing big issues. I had forgotten but was reminded by my brother that at a game in Park City years ago he had gotten poked which gouged his eye causing damage and discomfort. Luckily enough it didn't happen on his pupil and there was no effect on his vision long term. I don't remember if I had told Hoopes that I played water polo or not so maybe they didn't suggest PRK because they didn't have that info but they are the only one out of the three consults that suggested LASIK.
In the end I have decided to have the procedure done at Moran. I don't think that price played any affect on my decision since I plan to use my flex spending money and I set that up before I made my final decision. That said I've elected to take part in a study which has reduced that overall cost a fair amount. I read through the documentation again last night so its fresh in my mind, they are studying two medications that have been on the market and in use for several years now. The study is to determine if one is better than the other. There isn't an elevated risk because both have been approved by the FDA already, and again, have been in use for years. If anyone is interested I can give you more info on the study.
I'm going to have it done next Thursday (1/22/15) and I'm pretty excited. I know that recovery will take longer with PRK and it will require me to take more time off from work and activities but I think PRK will be better in the long term for me and my eyes and thus worth the extra effort.
Thanks again to everyone giving feedback. I appreciate the comments and help and direction you gave that encouraged me to go to a few more consults to become better educated to make an more informed decision.
With the study that Moran is doing right now I paid $2400 two weeks ago. FWIW $3500 was the average cost I found at Hoopes, Eye Institute of Utah, and the non study at Moran.
I've got another followup today, I'm two weeks out from the surgery date today and things are going pretty well. My right eye is clear and good, my left eye is a bit more blurry. I had an "oops" moment on Tuesday while fishing for my sunglasses in my Jeep on the way home from work. I flipped open the flap on my bag and the edge got me in the eye. Bugger watered like crazy and hurt pretty good for ten minutes then cleared up but it seems to be more blurry than it was before I did that. I called into Moran to ask about it and my nurse set me up with a time to have it checked real quick today. *** I should add I had PRK done which is why my vision is still adjusting, it takes longer to heal from PRK than LASIK. With LASIK you are good to go basically the day after surgery.***
I have been super happy with how I've been treated at Moran. Everyone on the team has been awesome and my nurse has been giving me periodic phone calls checking in on me to ensure everything is normal and that I understood how everything was going to work. I can't say enough good things about them or give them a higher recommendation.
I've got another followup today, I'm two weeks out from the surgery date today and things are going pretty well. My right eye is clear and good, my left eye is a bit more blurry. I had an "oops" moment on Tuesday while fishing for my sunglasses in my Jeep on the way home from work. I flipped open the flap on my bag and the edge got me in the eye. Bugger watered like crazy and hurt pretty good for ten minutes then cleared up but it seems to be more blurry than it was before I did that. I called into Moran to ask about it and my nurse set me up with a time to have it checked real quick today. *** I should add I had PRK done which is why my vision is still adjusting, it takes longer to heal from PRK than LASIK. With LASIK you are good to go basically the day after surgery.***
I have been super happy with how I've been treated at Moran. Everyone on the team has been awesome and my nurse has been giving me periodic phone calls checking in on me to ensure everything is normal and that I understood how everything was going to work. I can't say enough good things about them or give them a higher recommendation.
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That's about what I've heard as well. This is for a "specialized" procedure that also smooths out your eye to help with glare for night driving and stuff. They also have a conventional procedure priced right at $3500 and even with my 15% VSP discount it will only be ~$400 less than the specialized one. Not a big deal. That study cost does interest me though, they still doing it?
Yeah they are still doing it. From what I understand it is for X amount of patients and will continue until they have had enough people participate. The study I am in is for after care medications and seeing if one of the two provided better results (both have been approved by FDA and available for several years). I'm pretty sure the study for LASIK is different but I'll ask when I'm at the office this afternoon.
Awesome, thanks
The lady I usually talk to wasn't there when I had my apt this afternoon so I wasn't able to ask about the lasik study.
On the other front the doc said I scratched my eye ball. With lasik they cut a flap, laser your eye, then fold the flap back over to heal up. PRK removes the whole flap and it regrows over 4-6 weeks. I guess the layer of my eye that had grow back was about 3 cells thick and I scrubbed about 2 of those cell layers off. I've got to start using my antibiotic drops again for 5 days but everything should heal up well on its own. I'm now super anxious about doing something else and messing them up. You don't think about how tender things are until you screw something up and it gets real. I've got another apt in a week to see how its doing. My right eye looks perfect which was nice to hear.
On the other front the doc said I scratched my eye ball. With lasik they cut a flap, laser your eye, then fold the flap back over to heal up. PRK removes the whole flap and it regrows over 4-6 weeks. I guess the layer of my eye that had grow back was about 3 cells thick and I scrubbed about 2 of those cell layers off. I've got to start using my antibiotic drops again for 5 days but everything should heal up well on its own. I'm now super anxious about doing something else and messing them up. You don't think about how tender things are until you screw something up and it gets real. I've got another apt in a week to see how its doing. My right eye looks perfect which was nice to hear.
I forgot to update this. I ended up going with PRK from Davis Vision. At my consult they said I'm a much better candidate for PRK due to my corneas being "thin" or something. I got it done on Thursday and it was weird. My eyes hurt pretty bad after and they put a protective contact on them for a week (get it removed this thursday). I was glad for the pain pills and sleeping pills for sure. I pretty much slept all day Thursday-yesterday and it was nice. Today I came back to work and my discomfort from bright lights is all but gone and my eyes don't feel like they have sand in them as much. The biggest I thing I overlooked is the discomfort from the contacts. I hate contacts, that's why I did the surgery and I didn't think about needing to have them in my eyes for a week straight.
We'll see how things go on Thursday, fingers crossed for 20/15
We'll see how things go on Thursday, fingers crossed for 20/15
Thats good to hear. At my month out last week I was still a little off from my eye getting scratched but unless I had my right eye covered I couldn't tell. My vision is same old same old and I like it. I still get phantom glasses every once in a while and go to push my glasses up which is weird.
My eyes weren't at 20/20 for a couple weeks though and they will get worse after the contact is pulled out. Its like you go back a few days in progress when that thing comes off and the light sensitivity returns.
I'm still nervous about hurting my eyes and have been really good about wearing safety glasses in the garage. I bought a couple pairs at industrial supply that have been comfortable to wear.
My eyes weren't at 20/20 for a couple weeks though and they will get worse after the contact is pulled out. Its like you go back a few days in progress when that thing comes off and the light sensitivity returns.
I'm still nervous about hurting my eyes and have been really good about wearing safety glasses in the garage. I bought a couple pairs at industrial supply that have been comfortable to wear.
Getting the contact out was weird. My eyes felt really sensitive but it was fine after a little bit. I'm at two weeks today and my right eye is still really blurry. They told me it's totally normal and happens to a lot of people. My next appt isn't until after EJS, April 7th I think. That will be 5.5 weeks out so hopefully everything is stellar by then. I'd love it if my right eye cleared up before EJS but I can still see plenty well due to my left eye being super BA for lack of a better term
- Location
- The Village of Kay
bumping this from the dead. I have 2 consults setup later in January. I am going to Hoopes and Moran. Any others that are recommended by the group?
Jinx
when in doubt, upgrade!
- Location
- So Jordan, Utah
Davis in South Jordan.
Granted its been 6 years from me, but Hoopes and Moran seemed REALLY assembly line ish...
- Location
- The Land Northward (Bountiful), Utah
I'd like to look into this again. I was told a number of years ago I was borderline to do PRK or nothing at all. I said, "I'm not ok with borderline," and decided to stick to glasses/ contacts... but it's such a pain to wear contacts and glasses suck with goggles.
is Davis Vision that much better than Hoopes? I thought they were like the top of the heap on technology.
is Davis Vision that much better than Hoopes? I thought they were like the top of the heap on technology.
Jinx
when in doubt, upgrade!
- Location
- So Jordan, Utah
I felt Hoopes has a bunch of equipment so they could say they have it. But the majority of the stuff looked like they didn't use it.
I did consults at Hoopes, Moran's, LASIK plus, and Davis.
Felt like a number at Hoopes. Moran's wanted a fortune unless I let a student do it.
lasik plus was nice easy second choice, but I felt like a person at Davis, real people, great results. Glad I did it.And when you say a student you mean a Fellow who is a totally and completely qualified Ophthalmologist right? Because that is who does the studies which get you a discount. They have completed all of their normal school work and have decided to do extra training so they can get extra letters next to their name and call themselves specialists. So its like doing a post doctorate work which is perfect for me because that tells me that the dude is extra driven and had to go through a rigorous application process beyond normal med and eye doctor school.
Maybe they do themselves a dis-service by not better explaining how qualified these "students" are but there is a difference between these post doc fellows and a first year eye doctor student cutting into your eyes which is what most people make them sound like.
I made it a point to ask exactly where the guy was at in his training which got me the info I listed above. I absolutely loved that he took a lot of time to explain his education as well as all the other things that were going on with my eyes and the healing process. I never felt like he was in a rush to get out of the room with me and I actually had a few extra appointments because I ended up hitting my eye a few weeks out and needed some extra attention.
Maybe they do themselves a dis-service by not better explaining how qualified these "students" are but there is a difference between these post doc fellows and a first year eye doctor student cutting into your eyes which is what most people make them sound like.
I made it a point to ask exactly where the guy was at in his training which got me the info I listed above. I absolutely loved that he took a lot of time to explain his education as well as all the other things that were going on with my eyes and the healing process. I never felt like he was in a rush to get out of the room with me and I actually had a few extra appointments because I ended up hitting my eye a few weeks out and needed some extra attention.
Jinx
when in doubt, upgrade!
- Location
- So Jordan, Utah
That sounds like a 100% 180* from my experience in 2010. The "guy" at moran's who did the evaluation was a complete smuck, with no customer service skills. He seemed ticked to be doing the evaluations and was pushing the spendy actual doctors...
Glad is worked out for you.