Laser eye surgery

[Rye]

Ever had it? Do you know anyone who has had it/will have it?

I'm seriously considering doing it soon, now that I'm covered under my parents until I'm 26 and now that I'm 20, which means my eyes should be done developing. I'm nearly legally blind and I'm getting frustrated with needing contacts and glasses. My eyes hurt once and a while from my contacts, which means I need a day or two as a break, but if I wear my glasses to work, I get a migraine since I stare at the computer all day at my desk while reviewing orders. Grrrrrrr.

I'm SO SCARED.

[Raistlin]

I first started asking around when I was about your age. Most legit places then wouldn't seriously consider anyone for surgery until after 23 or so. Your eyes do stop growing around 18-20, but from what I was told, they like to put a few years of buffer to be absolutely sure, because if it's done even a little too soon, you may end up slightly near-sighted, which wastes the whole procedure. Regular eye-exams will help them see when your eyes stop growing, so they might be willing to go a little lower.

I don't know anyone who's had it, but I'm considering getting it. I have no real extra money right now with law school, but I could see myself getting the surgery around when I graduate.

[NorthernChaosGod]

When I went to get a prescription for contacts my doctor told me that he wouldn't even consider it for me until I was 25. I want to do it, but he says I'd need reading glasses afterward. =\

[Rye]

I know my eyesight has stabilized, as I've had the same glasses for two years and they're still just as good for me now. So I may go see. I might have to wait a while though, as you guys said. =O

[Peegee]

It's well worth it though you'll get your share of 'omg people will go blind' stories. It and orthodontics are probably the best investment you can make on your body.

(I plan to get it later)

[theundeadhero]

I've known a few people who had it. They have to wear uberthick dark sunglasses anywhere bright for near to a month and then their eyes never bothered them again.

[Bunny]

I want to do it because my eyes are absolute crap but I can't even put eyedrops in my eyes without freaking out.

[escobert]

My eyes are only crap when I'm drunk. dammit no wonder I can't ever see!

[Rodarian]

I would love to get laser eye surgery done in the near future...

I hate wearing contacts after an incident a few years back...

But I'm content with wearing glasses and usually skip wearing them at times....

But be warned, because its for distance, I wouldn't be able to recognize anyone so no one should be offended if I don't notice them...

[Mo-Nercy]

I'd probably never get laser eye surgery even though I have horrendous vision (I have bad cases of both myopia and astigmatism) because the idea of laser eye surgery scares the jebus out of me.

Luckily for me, I actually like wearing glasses.

[Breine]

For now I'm more than happy with using contacts, I'd love to wear glasses from time to time too, but I don't since I'm near-sighted enough for my eyes to appear smaller.. and it just looks silly - at least to me xD

As for laser surgery.. I've thought about it, but I wouldn't be able to get the money for it any time soon anyway, and I'm not sure I'd dare to do it. The result might not be a good one, y'know.

[Loony BoB]

My mum, boss and work colleagues have all had it done and all rave about the wonders of it. However I would agree that you should wait until you're closer to 23 than 20 as it is a procedure that you don't want to rush into early - the main reason people rave on about it is because they weren't 20 when they go it done and the risks are much lower as you age.

I'm hoping to get it done when I have the cash, but when I did have the cash at the age of 22 I decided against it based on advice from opticians who make money out of getting the procedure done. They had nothing to gain by telling me to not get it done until I was 23, but they told me anyway - this, to me, means that they is genuine reason behind not getting it done early and it's not just about eye stability.

It should also be noted that while I can still see what I consider to be fantastically with my old glasses, my eyes have still adjusted mildly over the past four years. Not to the point that it would cause a problem with laser eye surgery, but it does show that just because you don't notice anything doesn't mean that your eyes aren't still changing.

Of course, the best thing to do would be to seek advice from professionals to find out if there is any reason you should wait until you are 23 in your particular case. Personally, I would first seek an appointment with your optometrist and request information on your eyes that you can pass on to laser eye surgeries to see if it is in your best interests. That way you will get the advice of an optician as well as a surgeon, and you also have the information to go online to optician forums in order to find out impartial advice from other opticians/surgeons, too.

EDIT: The fact that you get migraines from staring at a screen when wearing glasses is something you should bring up to your optometrist first, though - because if you're wearing the correct perscription glasses then you should not get that problem regardless of whether you wear contacts, glasses or have laser surgery. It could be that your screen is not suitable for you, the screen settings are not suitable to you, you may need to make a point to leave your PC for a while every now and then, or it could be something else altogether that is causing the problem aside from your eyes. But if you are correct in saying that your glasses are fine then I would certainly say it's a sign that there is something wrong that will not be fixed by laser eye surgery.

To summarise: Go to your opticians about your screen/migraine problem as soon as you can, and mention that you are interested in advice regarding laser eye surgery.

[Christmas]

(SOME BORING LONG POST)

To summarise: Go to your opticians about your screen/migraine problem as soon as you can, and mention that you are interested in advice regarding laser eye surgery.

Ya, it is best to get advice from the professionals!

[Chris]

Even though my eyes are practically worthless, I'm too much of a coward to do it. I only use my glasses at home, and when I'm at the movies. I guess I don't like how they look on me, so I never wear them in public. But they will suffice.

[Old Manus]

Laser eye surgery looks cool, calm and clean on the adverts you see on TV, but the actual procedure isn't pretty at all.