Lasik Surgery

Whootsinator said:
However flap detachment is, regardless of whether it makes sense or not, there are certain things on the mil side LASIK (anything flap-causing) disqualifies you for. No one seems to know the right answers about how disqualifying, but everyone seems to agree that PRK is the safer option in that regard. I don't want to shut any doors.
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That was true like 5 years ago but I don't know of any military occupation today that would be closed to you because you had LASIK. I had my procedure done at a military medical facility and they pushed LASIK pretty hard over PRK. They even shared results of some of the more notable flap incidents that they've had to deal with and the doctors said that in nearly all cases even a complete loss of the flap (very unusual) did not measurably negatively impact visual acuity.
 
I'm in the process of contacting SORB to get it straight from the source.

Will report back
 
In 2005-2008 I was told Lasik meant automatic disqual from any flight assignment due to the flap thing, but PRK was ok.

I got Lasik done September, 2001, literally the week they let people fly again after 9/11. I flew from TX to CA to have it done, as the guy who did it had previously worked on my brother (who was damn near legally blind, and a year later was 20/20). Same guy had been doing Lasik since it was experimental (early to mid 80s?) and had done thousands, as well as being an adjunct instructor at various hospitals worldwide.

So aside from all the nervous fuckers on the plane ride, I was nervous, but not TOO nervous. I went from 20/400 and 20/450 and wearing glasses since 1985 to 20/10 and 20/15. By 2008, my vision at night had degraded a tiny amount, just enough to need glasses to help focus on distance stuff (sharpen up text on street signs not illuminated, etc).

USAF optometrist guesstimated staring at a PVS-14 for 3 years didn't really help the vision much.

Lasik was still the best thing I ever did vision-wise, and I wore glasses 1985-1994 and contacts 1994-96 then glasses again 1996-2001.
 
Best thing I ever did. I did it 18 years again and made a world of difference. I still have some haloing (I have astigmatism in both eyes) on RDS and headlights as others have mentioned. But I'm very happy with it. Glad you had a positive experience.
 
Anybody experienced this? I had lasik about 5 years ago and had a weird thing happen when shooting 294 meters with red dot and 3x fixed prizm scope. I would have to aim at the bottom of the reduced BC zone steel target to get a hit. Once I figured out where to hold I was 5/5 for accuracy so fill like fundamentals were ok once I master my hold. Other people shooting would have to hold the head or just over to make a hit.
 
Thought I'd chip in my experience for others that come across the thread. As a baseline I wore contacts at work and glasses at home, -2.25 in both eyes. I went in for my consult and was told that I wasn't a candidate for Lasik as my corneas aren't symmetrical. The Dr. said that even if they were he would have still recommended PRK. He recommends PRK for LE/Mil and anyone involved with sports. He is one of the leading surgeons in the country and has performed over 100K procedures, the next closest in my state was around 10K.

Anyway, I had the procedure (5/19/16) and the day of was very straight forward/easy. I went in the back with a nurse for some numbing drops. 10 min later I was on the table, 10 mins after that I was walking out. There was 0 pain during the procedure, I was just super sensitive to light after leaving the office. Going to the pharmacy was almost impossible as I could hardly open my eyes due to the light (not pain). After the numbing drops started to wear off it got somewhat uncomfortable, but I wouldn't call it pain. The worst part was how much my eyes watered, it would wake me up they were so full of water. I went back the day after and he gave me some drops for the light sensitivity and I've been fine since. I really didn't think the recovery was that big of a deal, I was off work for 7 days then back to working the street. My vision was 20/40 the day after and is now 20/15 6 months later. The biggest thing to be aware of with PRK is fluctuation in vision during recovery. There were times where I'd see 20/15 and then an hour or so later my vision was blurry, a little frustrating.

A note about the flap, I actually scratched my cornea at work about a week ago and during the exam he said I was lucky I went with PRK because the scratch overlapped where he would have cut the flap. He didn't say it would have for sure dislodged the flap, but the possibility is there and at 0300 on a saturday when it happened, that would have sucked, A LOT. If anyone has PRK specific questions feel free to PM.

ETA: I have no issues with close up vision, seems to be the same as before the surgery.
 
Like scsu, I did prk. I'd recommend it to anybody. The recovery time is longer than Lasik, but you don't deal with some of the problems dealing with pressure differentials that Lasik does I.e. Scuba. And if you're eyes degrade over time you can still get Lasik done later on in life. I was told I'd probably need reading glasses later on in life. Dont worry about pro/cons to either too much If you're job is combat related, get it done. Totally worth it
 
My eye doc strongly recommended the PRK after I voiced my concerns with BJJ & cop work. He said that flap issues are rare with LASIK, but that it can come loose. He also mentioned that the LASIK flap has the potential to get microscopic wrinkles when it's replaced that can cause the results to be slightly impaired. Not a huge concern, but the chances of getting the absolute best result were better with PRK. The recovery is longer and there is more discomfort involved, but the end result is what I'm looking for. Going to max out the HSA at work next year and go for it. I've only been wearing contacts for a few years, but they are incredibly annoying.
 
Mike Erickson said:
My eye doc strongly recommended the PRK after I voiced my concerns with BJJ & cop work. He said that flap issues are rare with LASIK, but that it can come loose. He also mentioned that the LASIK flap has the potential to get microscopic wrinkles when it's replaced that can cause the results to be slightly impaired. Not a huge concern, but the chances of getting the absolute best result were better with PRK. The recovery is longer and there is more discomfort involved, but the end result is what I'm looking for. Going to max out the HSA at work next year and go for it. I've only been wearing contacts for a few years, but they are incredibly annoying.
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An added benefit of PRK is reduced chance of halos at night. Luckily I haven't noticed any, which is awesome since I work 2030-0630..
 
I got PRK a few years ago. It made a big difference, I no longer have to squint to see plates but I do still have some astigmatism. Surgery hurt like a mean sun burn on my eyes, I was crying like a bitch the next day. I highly recommend it.
 
fmxmyway said:
I got PRK a few years ago. It made a big difference, I no longer have to squint to see plates but I do still have some astigmatism. Surgery hurt like a mean sun burn on my eyes, I was crying like a bitch the next day. I highly recommend it.
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Have you had any issues with eyelids sticking upon waking up? Just started having that happen, fun times...
 
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