I had laser eye surgery done last summer. I had it done at the Herzig Eye Institute the place obe mentioned above. Beforehand my vision was at -400 in each eye, (nearsighted) I could see well enough to find the bathroom at night but everything was a blur otherwise without glasses.
A couple things that some people seem to have misconceptions about is that your eyesight does not deteriorate as you get older, the muscles in your eyes do and thats why we require reading glasses, because our eyes can no longer focus tightly enough to see the written word or other things up close. Laser surgery only fixes the curvature of your eyes so that the light comes in at the correct angle (which it wont be doing if you require glasses), reading glasses are a totally different issue and that is why they can not be avoided by getting laser.
Now, is my vision amazing now? YES! I don't see the halos that everyone is talking about and it is a great freedom to go to the beach and on roller coasters and wake up in the morning and just be able to SEE!!! I love it personally.
They give you valium for the surgery and it calms you down nice. Afterwards you have to wear a contact lens 'bandage' for about half an hour before the doctor examines you again. After that they give you these sort of eye shield (they look sort of like athletic jocks only they're clear)with tape so that you can cover your eyes at night for the first 2 weeks and dont rub them and mess up the surgery in your sleep.
You cannot rub your eyes for like 2 months and to be honest that was fairly hellish lol but it was worth it looking back. The only thing I would have done differently in hindsight would be to do it during the winter because I have allergies in the summer and I really really would have liked to have rubbed my itchy eyes!!!! (I got it done in late July)
I was out driving the night I had the surgery with no problems.
I am 24 now and was 23 when I had the surgery done.
Any other questions? I hope I answered everyone's well enough and clearly enough.

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*** The Toronto TranceAddict formerly known as abort416 ***

very informative thank u ^^

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"Like a song everlasting, time dances on."
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Originally posted by Superstring I wear contacts. My awake time in a day is typically around 15-18 hours (meaning i sleep only about 6-7 hours a day). To combat the issues of fucking up contacts, I wear 2 pairs: I pair one day, then let them soak for 36 hours while wearing another pair the next day. I find this: a) helps to keep my eyes feelin' good b) helps keeps contacts cleaner c) makes 'em last longer (for example, a typical month's supply lasts about 3 months with me) Cheers, -Superstring

I go long hours of awake time too. That's a very good tip, never thought about doing that, I'll try it.

Thanks!

P.S. ...and by the way, a drawback with some procedures is that you will need reading glasses sooner. IMO wait a while longer.

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Originally posted by k@tie I would be willing to sell one (or perhaps both) of my eyeballs. My eyes are blue, and my vision is apparently better than 20/20. Just PM me and we will discuss details (price, etc.) Katie

I'll do $55.99 per eye.

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Originally posted by abort416

Price??

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TORONTO MUST HAVE JOHANNES HEIL!!!!!

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Originally posted by Sly_Guy see, the thing is in my case, I absolutely hate glasses. A lot of people say I look good with them, but at the perscription strength I'm at, I have to wear them all the time if I'm to do so, and it really gets annoying. First of all, wearing them for long periods of time gives me headaches because of the changed perception of periferal vision, and that same change in periferal vision also fucks up anything I try to do with sports. Being a fairly active person, I gets very annoying, and couple that with chasing your glasses around a gym floor everytime you get hit and it gets to be a very negative thing. So I choose to wear contacts instead, but to combat all these issues, I wear them all the time like 14-16 hours a day. I know it's unhealthy to do so, I know it increases your risk of infection, as well as it can be detrimental to the long-term health of your eyes as it cuts down the air your eyes recieve, but I really don't see any other option which allows me the freedom from headaches, ability to be active, and have a decent level of vision. I have yet to try out the ultra high oxygen permiable contacts that have come out recently, but the laser eye surgery has always been something I've been looking at to correct my vision to the point where I'm free of both contacts and glasses. To me, if the numbers are 95% success rate with no night vision problems, or if a clinic can offer me a guarantee of numbers along those lines, whether it be a $5 or a $5000 per eye surgery, I'll be getting that it. But before I make any solid decisions, I want to amass as much knowledge whether it be by scientific, or personal experience.

im in the exact same boat as you. Except my contact prescription is -5.50 in both eyes :S imagine the blurriness I see!!!! Mind you, i get around pretty good if i absolutely have to. One day, when i was out, a friend went to give me a hug hello and his nose went right into my eye takin my contact out with it and it was gone (we were in a club) I went around half blind for the night..THAT was interesting (especially after a few rev's) I would totally consider getting laser surgery. If I ever could afford it, anyways.

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Originally posted by tha_broad my contact prescription is -5.50 in both eyes :S imagine the blurriness I see!!!!

...beat ya -7.50, blind as a bats asshole

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Originally posted by apri_peel consider this.... there are shit loads of famous people that i see that wear glasses once every blue moon, meaning that even though they are insanely rich, they still opt out for the more traditional glasses and contacts option. if they wanted to, they could get the best surgeon in the world do the operation, but they dont go thru with it.

Many actors also own glasses that do not have a prescription just so that they have a different look. Doesn't mean that they really need them. Most of the people my sister suits up with glasses (she is a propsmaster in Film) she says ask her for them afterwards so that they have them to wear around after the film.

I have many friends (5 in total) who have had the surgery. Some paid top dollar and paid slightly less. All have better than 20/20 vision (20/40 in most cases) now. A few experienced temporary problems with night vision and the halo affect but that didn't last for long. They all have recommended the surgery but have done so by telling me that what they have experienced so far from the surgery is great but because there is no real long term historical data on the surgery they cannot assure me that you would not experience any future problems.

I am considering the surgery myself as my eyes are -6.75 and -7.25. My poor eyesight does not prevent me from doing every day stuff but it is a pain in the ass with watersports etc so it would be nice not to have to worry about them anymore.

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Originally posted by angelgirl Many actors also own glasses that do not have a prescription just so that they have a different look. Doesn't mean that they really need them. Most of the people my sister suits up with glasses (she is a propsmaster in Film) she says ask her for them afterwards so that they have them to wear around after the film.

I want to smack such people.

Glasses are all fun and games until you actually lose your eyesight.

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Not Everyone Understands House Music, It's a Spiritual Thing, a Body Thing, a Soul Thing

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Originally posted by Sly_Guy I want to smack such people. Glasses are all fun and games until you actually lose your eyesight.

I hear ya. I do whatever I can not to have to wear my glasses and depend on my contacts far too much because the coke bottle glasses are not so attractive. I bought an expensive pair of frames in hopes that it would make me wear them more...they looked great on in the store when I tried them on with my contacts but once the real lenses were in them I didn't want to wear them as they look totally different.

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^^^
I actually don't even own a pair of glasses with the correct perscription anymore. I have never had a problem finding a good looking pair that worked well with my perscription [I guess as I'm finding out now that my eyesight isn't as bad as some other people's], but the last pair I bought never fit me correctly, and the screws always fell out of the hinges. What was worse, is that the only glasses that I found looked somewhat decent on me [in my own vain, opinion] were small wire frame glasses with smaller lens surfaces. The problem with those glasses is that with high perscriptions, the curvature of the lens adds a really nasty distorted periferal vision, as well the actual area you look out through them is smaller, leaving a larger area of a blurred image outside of the lens that your mind has to work hard to either ignore or try to process. Plus, a certain amount of double image from the periferal vision on the outside of the lens surface, one being clear, the other being the real blurry image you'd observe without glasses. The result is a really really nasty headache if you wear them all day.

So I've opted for contacts exclusively.....And I'm so damned happy that I never get eye infections.

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Not Everyone Understands House Music, It's a Spiritual Thing, a Body Thing, a Soul Thing

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Originally posted by zookeeper ...beat ya -7.50, blind as a bats asshole

holy fuck....and i thought i was bad


my right eye is -3.25

my left eye -4.75

but still...it is still such a pain in the ass.
as for glasses i have 2 different pairs so I can switch it up...and I am pretty happy with the look...but still having to wear them can be a pain in the ass.


as for coke bottles....noone beats my old best friend....hers were I swear like 3 inches thick....poor thing wore them since she was like 4.

now she only wears contacts....she will never wear glasses again I am sure.

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"Like a song everlasting, time dances on."
"So while you struggle to catch the rhythm with your feet, ask yourself..can u really DANCE2MABEAT"