thoughts, opinions, experiences?

4/20/2006 12:35:41 PM

That's about as personal preference as you can get.

Me personally--- I wear contacts 99% of the time, and glasses once in a while. I do plan on getting lasik at some point though, probably when my wife is bringing in some income as well.

4/20/2006 12:46:56 PM

Catches in every direction. I have worn glasses, now wear contacts, and know an eye surgeon that will fix my eyes at cost (less than $1000 total). I have opted to continue using contacts, which correct me to 20/13. When contacts start becoming too much of a burden, or my eyes get worse, I will get surgery. In my opinion, best options are to not use the knife/laser until you need to. There will be people here that love the results of LASIC or RK, but there are also people that have chronic eye dryness/halos/etc as a result. Just assume play it safe with my vision until its needed.

4/20/2006 1:03:55 PM

i had lasik 4 years ago (nearly to the day)

it's pretty much the coolest thing ever -- my vision is 20/15 still and i've had no problems

i highly recommend it

4/20/2006 1:06:21 PM

for me.... i'm blind as a bat. as in my contacts are -10s. and my glasses are literally like pop bottles. so i wear contacts 99% of the time. no problems except for the fact that i can only be corrected to 20/30-35. i've heavily researched surgery and see it as a probability sometime in the future, especially if my eyesight becomes a problem license-wise (for now i can still pass). at this point it isn't a great option since i also have a [ocular] muscular disorder that makes my eyes move constantly. the laser tracking systems aren't fast/good enough yet for the kind of success rates needed for me to pull the trigger. if they get better, then i will definitely have surgery. until then, contacts are perfectly fine.

my thoughts are if your vision isn't that bad, i'd stick with contacts or glasses (since they will be pretty and thin) and not risk the surgery. if it is pretty bad, just do LOTS of research and go to a reputable surgeon.

[Edited on April 20, 2006 at 1:25 PM. Reason : er]

4/20/2006 1:11:09 PM

The lazer surgery also isn't up to par if you have bad astigmatism (like me). I can't remember my prescrition, but my ONLY option is glasses, and has been since I was 5 yrs old. The good thing about glasses, is that now they can make them pretty thin and lightweight and still be effective. I'm hoping that in the next 5 to 10 years that lasik will step up to the plate and be useful.

4/20/2006 1:23:35 PM

yeah, my vision isn't horrible. I can still pass the DMV vision test, but I wear glasses anyway when driving cause.....hell, why not be able to see as well as you can when you're speeding down the highway?

more often than not, I forget to take my glasses off of my face cause I forget they're there, so I'm always wearing them.

I've considered contacts in the past, but just didn't want to deal with putting shit in my eye. Now, I'm over that, so I'm considering them again. Yes, even in the midst of the contact lens fungus scarring people's corneas.

My ex g/f had the surgery a couple years back, and she says that every once in a while, she still sees halos at night if she looks at bright lights. Also, I remember helping to take care of her right after her surgery....when her pain meds wore off....and the pain she was in was terrible

4/20/2006 1:46:04 PM

had a horrible astigmatism, but within limits for surgery, and lasik done about 1.5 years ago down in pinehurst at http://www.carolinaeye.com/index.html and i very very highly recommend them, it's a bit more than the cookie cutter surgeons that are on the radio and tv, but heck it's your eyes and you only have one set! PM if you want any more info about Carolina Eye

4/20/2006 4:20:24 PM

"bad" can be different shit. how wany diopters?

4/20/2006 4:21:50 PM

Quote :

"i also have a [ocular] muscular disorder that makes my eyes move constantly"

everyone's eyes move constantly... that's how you see...

[Edited on April 20, 2006 at 4:34 PM. Reason : or do you mean like you look around a lot?]

4/20/2006 4:34:00 PM

^i have congenital nystagmus

Quote :

"Congenital or infantile nystagmus is a clinical sign that may take many different forms. Involuntary, rhythmic eye movements are characteristic, as they are in acquired nystagmus. Waveform, amplitude, and frequency can vary with changes in focal distance, direction of gaze, and under monocular or binocular viewing conditions. Oscillations are usually horizontal in direction but may be primarily vertical, torsional, or any combination of these three. Infantile nystagmus often is associated with other ocular conditions that impair visual acuity and occasionally can herald life-threatening conditions. Prompt assessment by an ophthalmologist with knowledge of infantile nystagmus to establish the need for and urgency of additional evaluation is extremely important. "

http://www.emedicine.com/OPH/topic688.htm
mine move horizontally very quickly pretty much all the time. when i am off in space or deep thought they slow to a steady side-to-side scanning. my mom used to call them "dancing eyes" awwww how cute i know.

anyway, in regards to the "bad" question. imo, "bad" isn't just a diopter. it can be astigmatism (i have that too), near, far-sighted, whatever. if your vision is "bad" enough to cause you problems - driving, playing sports, hobbies, etc even while corrected with lenses, then it is bad enough to warrant surgery. but that is just my personal "meter" so to speak. i'm not one for surgery tho.

4/20/2006 4:42:55 PM

I've worn contacts since 5th grade (and had glasses before that). My eyes can't tolerate them as well as they used to now though (I wore them 99% of the time at least which is probally why). My glasses are pretty thick (even my dad makes fun of me) but my eye doctor told me that they have a thinner lens out now than they did two years ago when I got the current glasses. The current contacts I have give me really bad headaches so I'm calling them back and I can't wear them much over 8 hours although they do correct me to 20/20. Its a lot easier to roll out of bed and put on glasses but I miss sunglasses when I wear my glasses (don't have perscriptions, I'd probally lose or break them). If you have up to -5s (thats what my eye doctor told me is the cut off) and there are probally some other stipulations for it, you may be a candidate for corrective contacts you put in at night and take out in the morning (takes about a year to work). Personally, I would want those over surgery but my vision is too bad. My eye doctor also said that they have a lens (basically a contact kinda) that can be surgically implanted in your eye and its reversible. I had a bad experiance with another surgery and had something irreversible happen that I was assured would never happen to me because of my age and the fact that the two partners were both operating on me. So I am too scared to get lasik even though the risk is small I just couldn't handle anything happening to my eyes (too permanent). And my eyes haven't stabilized yet so I'm not a candidate for it but I would seriously consider getting the permanent contact lens thing put in but only after much more research on the subject.

4/20/2006 4:44:58 PM

I wear contacts 99.99% of the time. Its a whole lot easier on me now that I was able to get two week lenses in my prescription. I have pretty bad allergies (already had sinus surgery and 5+ years of shots) so monthlies just werent cutting it. I had to quit wearing contacts when I could only get them in 3 month lenses in my Rx back in the 7th grade, but newer contacts are the shit. I would never go back to glasses unless I had to. Price could be an issue.....I dont have to worry about that though as my mom works at a large optometry/opthamology practice so I couldnt give you any advice there.

4/20/2006 6:05:44 PM

I started contacts in the third grade. I am at -5.25 right now on the contacts. For those of you who are reading this thread, that don't have bad eyes, that is 20/2800 or so. With my contacts in, I have 20/15 vision. I wear glasses for about 5 minutes before I sleep, and 5 minutes after waking up. The rest of the time is contacts. I have two week sleep in contacts, but I take them out most nights to give my eyes a break.
My mom had a very bad, and costly, experience with Lasic, so I will deffinately not be getting it within the next 5 years or more. (leave plenty of time for improvements in the technology)

4/20/2006 6:31:58 PM

Anyone have any experience with extended wear gas permeable lens? Like cost or comfort after multiple nights of wear? I spend a lot of time mountaineering and it sucks to deal with your contacts on a nightly basis when it is freezing.

4/20/2006 6:33:30 PM

Contacts ...PERIOD...

4/21/2006 12:29:12 AM

I'm not a candidate yet for surgery b/c my eyes are two extremes from each other (??)
sad... because I'm the type of person who isn't afraid of surgery and would just like to go on with my life without glasses

I just recently needed to get glasses but b/c one side is really strong they told me it would be about a year before I could do contacts.

they are cute glasses though - even if i never wear them!

4/21/2006 12:31:59 AM

hey lisa!

4/21/2006 12:33:24 AM

howdy

4/21/2006 12:35:16 AM

Definitely contacts.

Surgery is just as expensive, and much more of a risk than I'm willing to take. Even the soft 2-week disposable contacts like the ones I use you can wear 24/7 without a problem. My last set last a month until it finally occurred to me to change them, and it's fine.

Glasses are too much of a hassle, and when they break you have to ghetto repair them so you can make it until you have time to go and get new ones.

4/21/2006 2:10:02 AM

Glasses. I would wear my contacts for way too long each day and it started warping my corneas, etc. I had to have the kind you take out every day since I have such terrible astigmatism, too. Anyway, it would be a pain in the ass to take them in and out for naps, etc. And I'm scared of lasers anywhere near my eyes. So glasses it was.

4/21/2006 2:24:24 AM

contacts are easy and comfortable
if they arent comfortable you got fit poorly and need to go somewhere else or try another brand.

4/21/2006 7:49:07 AM

oic

4/21/2006 1:01:13 PM

Quote :

"Definitely contacts. Surgery is just as expensive, and much more of a risk than I'm willing to take. "

i agree with this statement

-ZiP!-

4/21/2006 1:20:52 PM

i do glasses because i can't force myself to shove something into my eye and i'm waiting for some halo-free lasik

4/21/2006 1:25:39 PM

I mean, I've been flipping my eyelids over since like 3rd grade.....I guess I'm over shoving things into my eye now

but damn, that was a horrifying scream that my ex g/f let out when her meds wore off after the surgery.

at the same time, I'm tired of wearing glasses......all I hear is "EMCE, you ain't a thug.....thugs don't wear glasses"

4/21/2006 3:19:51 PM

glasses

4/21/2006 3:20:15 PM

I want Lasik...but my parents have a lot of friend back home who had it done and got fucked up.

4/21/2006 4:12:44 PM

the after isn't that bad... light sensitivity sucks.. but other than that I had no "pain" just some discomfort... never really was on pain killers... total healing I would say took about 3-6 months... which is normal... now night driving sucked for the first month or so... but got better as time went on.. now... i hardly notice anything.. perfect 20/20

4/22/2006 11:01:57 PM

I'd suggest just sticking with glasses unless your vision gets worse. Then check contacts out. No reason to pay extra for contacts you may get tired of using.

Think about convenience - do you want to spend time in the morning and evening to put contacts in and out, or do you want to just slip glasses on when you're driving or reading.

4/23/2006 12:38:26 AM

I have minor astigmatism. I don't need glasses to drive, by law, but they help in class. My dad wore glasses his whole life but had surgery in 1999 and hasn't touched them since. At the time it was an elective surgery (don't know if it's still elective); I'm sure he wouldn't have it any other way. I, myself, find contacts too cumbersome since my vision isn't that horrible to begin with. I would go with glasses if you don't "need" improved vision.

4/23/2006 12:54:27 AM