Lasik Eyes Surgery - Answer this question for me

Author

Answer this question for me

Chris H

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

Question: Will my vision after lasik be more like I see with contacts or
with glasses?

I'm 47, M, nearsighted ~-2.5 w/ slight astigmatism in left eye only. My
prescription hasn't changed in 4 years. I wear contacts only for
sports-related activities and wear single vision glasses normally. I
probably need bifocals but I get along with lifting my glasses and reading
the fine print very close to my face. I can see computer screens great at
almost any resolution w/ glasses. HOWEVER, with my contacts, I can't read
anything closer than at straight-arm's length. Computer is tough, too.
During bright sunlight, I HAVE to wear sunglasses.

After vision correction, will I see more like w/ contacts or glasses?? I
don't want to be totally dependent on reading glasses as I would if I were a
100% contact lens wearer.

Thanks!

Chris

serebel

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

Chris H wrote:
> Question: Will my vision after lasik be more like I see with
contacts or
> with glasses?
>
> I'm 47, M, nearsighted ~-2.5 w/ slight astigmatism in left eye only.
My
> prescription hasn't changed in 4 years. I wear contacts only for
> sports-related activities and wear single vision glasses normally. I
> probably need bifocals but I get along with lifting my glasses and
reading
> the fine print very close to my face. I can see computer screens
great at
> almost any resolution w/ glasses. HOWEVER, with my contacts, I can't
read
> anything closer than at straight-arm's length. Computer is tough,
too.
> During bright sunlight, I HAVE to wear sunglasses.
>
> After vision correction, will I see more like w/ contacts or
glasses?? I
> don't want to be totally dependent on reading glasses as I would if I
were a
> 100% contact lens wearer.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Chris

Chances are, you will need readers after RS. Having the surgery would
be like having your contacts/glasses on permantely(no more lifting
glasses to read fine print). Your current prescription is well within
easy reach of RS (providing you also meet the other criteria). This
would be a trade off decision that only you can make.

Best of luck in any decision you make.

SErebel

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

Your vision would be more like the contacts.
Before you have LASIK done, you should try monovision with contact
lenses. Your vision sounds like presbyopia has affected you a great
deal.

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 19:15:38 -0600, "Chris H"
<hasek1nospam@airmail.net> wrote:

>Question: Will my vision after lasik be more like I see with contacts or
>with glasses?
>
>I'm 47, M, nearsighted ~-2.5 w/ slight astigmatism in left eye only. My
>prescription hasn't changed in 4 years. I wear contacts only for
>sports-related activities and wear single vision glasses normally. I
>probably need bifocals but I get along with lifting my glasses and reading
>the fine print very close to my face. I can see computer screens great at
>almost any resolution w/ glasses. HOWEVER, with my contacts, I can't read
>anything closer than at straight-arm's length. Computer is tough, too.
>During bright sunlight, I HAVE to wear sunglasses.
>
>After vision correction, will I see more like w/ contacts or glasses?? I
>don't want to be totally dependent on reading glasses as I would if I were a
>100% contact lens wearer.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Chris
>

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

As already discussed, the most you could expect from refractive
surgery is that your vision after surgery would be equal to your
vision with contacts. There is no guarantee of that result and all
surgery has risks. Do your homework and determine if your specific
situation provides a probability of a good outcome that is appropriate
to you.

Your presbyopia (inability to focus on items near when wearing
contacts) will remain after refractive surgery. Currently, your
presbyopia is being accommodated by lifting your glasses and using
your myopia to see things close. As Ragnar mentioned, trying
monovision would be a very wise idea.

You may want to review the following articles:

http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/subjects..._presbyopia.htm

http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/subjects/monovision.htm

http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/do_it.htm

Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance

Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org

http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org

I am not a doctor.

Richard

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

"serebel" <serebel@aol.com> wrote in news:1110947448.756465.214480
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

>
> Chris H wrote:
>
> Chances are, you will need readers after RS. Having the surgery would
> be like having your contacts/glasses on permantely(no more lifting
> glasses to read fine print). Your current prescription is well within
> easy reach of RS (providing you also meet the other criteria). This
> would be a trade off decision that only you can make.
>
> Best of luck in any decision you make.
>

If you can tolerate it, there is also the option of monovision. Having
one eye corrected for distance, and one corrected for near vision. Some
people tolerate this well, others do not. You can do the same thing with
contacts, or glasses for that matter, which would allow you to see how it
works for you. You do have to give yourself time to adjust to it.

--
Richard

doctor_my_eye@msn.com

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

All of the above statements are good advice. To answer your specific
question, your eyeglasses act like a pair of prisms that help you read
the words on a computer, the contacts or surgery do not have this
"prismatic effect". To read an extensive old thread on prismatic
effect, look at this link:

http://www.doctormyeye.com/bulletin...wtopic.php?t=46

Chris H wrote:
> Question: Will my vision after lasik be more like I see with
contacts or
> with glasses?
>
> I'm 47, M, nearsighted ~-2.5 w/ slight astigmatism in left eye only.
My
> prescription hasn't changed in 4 years. I wear contacts only for
> sports-related activities and wear single vision glasses normally. I
> probably need bifocals but I get along with lifting my glasses and
reading
> the fine print very close to my face. I can see computer screens
great at
> almost any resolution w/ glasses. HOWEVER, with my contacts, I can't
read
> anything closer than at straight-arm's length. Computer is tough,
too.
> During bright sunlight, I HAVE to wear sunglasses.
>
> After vision correction, will I see more like w/ contacts or
glasses?? I
> don't want to be totally dependent on reading glasses as I would if I
were a
> 100% contact lens wearer.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Chris

Chris H

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

Well, you guys have been very successful at talking me out of pursuing
vision correction surgery!!
I'm an architect and a perfectionist when it comes to seeing things as they
really are, hence I would NEVER consider monovision as it sounds like I
would be compromising my binocular vision. I think it would handicap me
when doing close-up work, and during sports that require a high degree of
depth perception (ice hockey, scuba diving, skiing, cycling,
jetskiing/waterskiing).

The reading glasses don't sound so bad if they were only necessary for
reading fine print up close. But if I would instantly be presbyopic out to
24", then forget it!! That would be a 12" difference between current
glasses and contacts/lasik vision. And I probably have farther to go since
I'm only 47 and have only been presbyopic for 3 or 4 years. That would make
me even more dependant on readers into my 50's and 60's and that just ain't
gonna cut it!!

Chris

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

There are a few people for which LASIK isn't a good idea. You seem to
be one of t hem. As I indicated in my previous reply to you, you
ought to try monovision with contact lenses first.

Since you are a perfectionist, I don't think you are going to be
satisfied with any solutions currently offered. When you get to
cataract age, you might want to consider accomodative IOLs.

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 20:37:19 -0600, "Chris H"
<hasek1nospam@airmail.net> wrote:

>Well, you guys have been very successful at talking me out of pursuing
>vision correction surgery!!
>I'm an architect and a perfectionist when it comes to seeing things as they
>really are, hence I would NEVER consider monovision as it sounds like I
>would be compromising my binocular vision. I think it would handicap me
>when doing close-up work, and during sports that require a high degree of
>depth perception (ice hockey, scuba diving, skiing, cycling,
>jetskiing/waterskiing).
>
>The reading glasses don't sound so bad if they were only necessary for
>reading fine print up close. But if I would instantly be presbyopic out to
>24", then forget it!! That would be a 12" difference between current
>glasses and contacts/lasik vision. And I probably have farther to go since
>I'm only 47 and have only been presbyopic for 3 or 4 years. That would make
>me even more dependant on readers into my 50's and 60's and that just ain't
>gonna cut it!!
>
>Chris
>

Chris H

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

My wife just got put into monovision w/ her contacts and I'm kinda curious
as to what it would be like. She says it's great and loves it so far, so
maybe I'll try it sometime, but it still sounds somewhat twisted!

"Ragnar" <ragnarsuomi@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:rbsh31pqkbpic6i9nqjjrn99n6h5djp7bk@4ax.com...
> There are a few people for which LASIK isn't a good idea. You seem to
> be one of t hem. As I indicated in my previous reply to you, you
> ought to try monovision with contact lenses first.
>
> Since you are a perfectionist, I don't think you are going to be
> satisfied with any solutions currently offered. When you get to
> cataract age, you might want to consider accomodative IOLs.

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

One of the best things we can do for someone is help them understand
that LASIK is not for them before they make the mistake of having it
then regretting the result. I personally can identify with your
situation.

Give monovision a try now, but give it at least 3-6 weeks of religious
use before you make a decision and don't make a decision until you try
glasses again.

I hated monovision when I started out. My optometrist was willing and
able to provide me with different strength of contacts until we found
the "off balance" that was most tolerable and provided the effect I
needed. Then we switched brands to find those that were most
comfortable. This took, literally, months.

At first I didn't like the loss of excellent distance vision, but I
sure appreciated being able to see my monitor without reading glasses
and I really liked being able to read my menu without reading glasses
or taking off my single vision glasses and burying my nose in the
menu.

I now consider monovision to provide me better overall vision than
glasses, but I do use glasses when I require excellent distance
vision, such as the cheap seats at concerts.

Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance

Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org

http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org

I am not a doctor.

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

In article <113hraf5391vi7b@corp.supernews.com>,
"Chris H" <hasek1nospam@airmail.net> wrote:
And I probably have farther to go since
> I'm only 47 and have only been presbyopic for 3 or 4 years. That would make
> me even more dependant on readers into my 50's and 60's and that just ain't
> gonna cut it!!
>
With your low prescription, by the time you are in your 60s you may not
need glasses hardly at all! You might only need to wear them for
long-distance activities like driving.

For your lifestyle, you made a good choice.

--
~RT

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

What was his choice? He isn't happy with his current vision, but
wants perfect vision.

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 11:20:27 GMT, RT <RTMD24@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote:

>In article <113hraf5391vi7b@corp.supernews.com>,
> "Chris H" <hasek1nospam@airmail.net> wrote:
> And I probably have farther to go since
>With your low prescription, by the time you are in your 60s you may not
>need glasses hardly at all! You might only need to wear them for
>long-distance activities like driving.
>
> For your lifestyle, you made a good choice.

Ragnar

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

I am too young to worry about monovision yet. I think it would bother
me, but most people who opt for monovision seem to prefer it to their
other alternatives.
Even if you hate monovision, you should at least give contact lenses a
try. Glasses are a nuicance.

By the way, I wonder how many people know that comedian Drew Carey
had LASIK done and only wears his glasses as "decoration" now. There
is no prescription in his glasses. If you ever saw Drew without his
glasses on, you would know why he wears them. Let's just say that
his glasses make him look better.

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 22:35:03 -0600, "Chris H"
<hasek1nospam@airmail.net> wrote:

>My wife just got put into monovision w/ her contacts and I'm kinda curious
>as to what it would be like. She says it's great and loves it so far, so
>maybe I'll try it sometime, but it still sounds somewhat twisted!
>
>
>"Ragnar" <ragnarsuomi@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>news:rbsh31pqkbpic6i9nqjjrn99n6h5djp7bk@4ax.com...
>

Glenn - USAEyes.org

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

His surgeon was Robert Maloney, MD. Dr. Maloney was one of Keller's
surgeons who is now a target of her ire.

Drew did a funny tongue-in-cheek video for Dr. Maloney about how LASIK
has totally screwed up his career. In it he jokes that without
glasses people don't recognize him, he just doesn't look "funny", and
he has lost the whole Jr. High School principal appearance that has
helped pay for his LA house and fast cars.

Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance

Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org

http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org

I am not a doctor.

Chris H

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

My choice so far is to not have a procedure that may cause me to be
presbyopic at 24". What y'all have told me is that surgery will bring my
presby out to arm's length similar to wearing contacts, thereby worsening my
reading, computer and up-close vision.

Yes, the perfectionist's wish is to have the vision I had in 5th grade, but
that won't happen. My beef w/ my current situation is I can't read my
friggin' computer when wearing my contacts, I'm not astigmatic enough for a
toric, and my glasses are the proverbial ball-and-chain when doing fun
stuff. However, my vision is pretty good w/ my glasses and I can see the
puck/water/snow/other cars/boats etc when in contacts. Contacts are just not
very comfortable in the long run which is why I don't wear them daily.

Another question: If I were 20 years younger (i.e. non-presbyopic) and had
lasik, would I need readers as bad as I need them now, or worse???

One more: Is near/farsightedness caused solely by the distorted shape of
the cornea as the person is growing?

Regards,
Chris

"Ragnar" <ragnarsuomi@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:7o8j31p0l6mt8btb6h1r6idefcpnqmaull@4ax.com...
> What was his choice? He isn't happy with his current vision, but
> wants perfect vision.
>
>
> On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 11:20:27 GMT, RT <RTMD24@NOSPAMyahoo.com> wrote:
>
make[vbcol=seagreen]
ain't[vbcol=seagreen]
>

serebel

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

Chris H wrote:
and had[vbcol=seagreen]
> lasik, would I need readers as bad as I need them now, or worse???
>
> One more: Is near/farsightedness caused solely by the distorted
shape of
> the cornea as the person is growing?
>
> Regards,
> Chris
>
>
>
>
If you were 20 years younger and had lasik,you would'nt need readers.
The close up accomidation you are thinking about is a "lens" thing, not
a corneal thing.

SErebel

Richard

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

"Chris H" <hasek1nospam@airmail.net> wrote in
news:113kb7gfvtth0d6@corp.supernews.com:
>
> "Ragnar" <ragnarsuomi@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:7o8j31p0l6mt8btb6h1r6idefcpnqmaull@4ax.com...
> My choice so far is to not have a procedure that may cause me to be
> presbyopic at 24". What y'all have told me is that surgery will bring
> my presby out to arm's length similar to wearing contacts, thereby
> worsening my reading, computer and up-close vision.
>
> Yes, the perfectionist's wish is to have the vision I had in 5th
> grade, but that won't happen. My beef w/ my current situation is I
> can't read my friggin' computer when wearing my contacts, I'm not
> astigmatic enough for a toric, and my glasses are the proverbial
> ball-and-chain when doing fun stuff. However, my vision is pretty
> good w/ my glasses and I can see the puck/water/snow/other cars/boats
> etc when in contacts. Contacts are just not very comfortable in the
> long run which is why I don't wear them daily.
>
> Another question: If I were 20 years younger (i.e. non-presbyopic)
> and had lasik, would I need readers as bad as I need them now, or
> worse???

If you were not presbyopic, and the surgery successfully corrected your
vision, then you would not need readers at all. Being presbyopic, your
problem is that you cannot adjust where you are focusing, so you have
several choices, as you are probably aware. Bifocals to allow you to
focus well at two different distances. Monovision, where one eye is
corrected for far, one for near (whether by glasses, contacts, or
surgery). Some combination of corrective procedures (surgery to correct
either near or far vision, then corrective lenses to use for the other
distance for example).

>
> One more: Is near/farsightedness caused solely by the distorted shape
> of the cornea as the person is growing?
>

As I recall, it's a problem with the shape of the eye, not the cornea per
se. The eye is either too long, causing the focal point to be too far
forward, or too short, causing the focal point to be too far back.

--
Richard

doctor_my_eye@msn.com

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

The fact that your glasses work better at near than your contacts is
just a temporary event. We often tell people that are about 45 years
old that they need bifocal contacts for 1 to 3 years before they need
bifocal glasses, but the bifocal glasses are still coming up soon.

I have had some success with the new Bausch & Lomb Multifocal soft
contact lens for patients like you. Iy is available in a power they
call "low add" which acts like putting a pair of +1.00 readers over a
normal contact.

If you want to consider getting rigid gas-permeable contacts, there are
absolutely wonderful lenses available that are progressive addition
aspheric, so they give stable acuity at far, middle and near. As you
may have already read, it takes about a month of wearing RGPs to "get
over" how they feel under your eyelid.

Don't take this "presbyopia stuff" too hard. Remember that when the
ancient Greeks first coined the term "presbyopia" they had been living
on dirt floors with no heat and no indoor plumbing for 40 years. Yes,
their vision was blurry when they were "old men." But, their life was
so hard by then that they had survived 40 years of monthly bathing in a
community bath, so they smelled bad enough that they wanted to die. ;)

Chris H wrote:
> My choice so far is to not have a procedure that may cause me to be
> presbyopic at 24". What y'all have told me is that surgery will bring
my
> presby out to arm's length similar to wearing contacts, thereby
worsening my
> reading, computer and up-close vision.
>
> Yes, the perfectionist's wish is to have the vision I had in 5th
grade, but
> that won't happen. My beef w/ my current situation is I can't read
my
> friggin' computer when wearing my contacts, I'm not astigmatic enough
for a
> toric, and my glasses are the proverbial ball-and-chain when doing
fun
> stuff. However, my vision is pretty good w/ my glasses and I can see
the
> puck/water/snow/other cars/boats etc when in contacts. Contacts are
just not
> very comfortable in the long run which is why I don't wear them
daily.
>
> Another question: If I were 20 years younger (i.e. non-presbyopic)
and had
> lasik, would I need readers as bad as I need them now, or worse???
>
> One more: Is near/farsightedness caused solely by the distorted
shape of[vbcol=seagreen]
> the cornea as the person is growing?
>
> Regards,
> Chris
>
>
>
>
> "Ragnar" <ragnarsuomi@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:7o8j31p0l6mt8btb6h1r6idefcpnqmaull@4ax.com...
wrote:[vbcol=seagreen]
That would[vbcol=seagreen]
> make
just[vbcol=seagreen]
> ain't
may not[vbcol=seagreen]

Chris H

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

>
> The fact that your glasses work better at near than your contacts is
> just a temporary event. We often tell people that are about 45 years
> old that they need bifocal contacts for 1 to 3 years before they need
> bifocal glasses, but the bifocal glasses are still coming up soon.

I'm 47 and I probably could use bifocals, but I "cheat" by looking under my
lenses to read small stuff. My presby w/ glasses isn't that bad. With
contacts, it's unacceptable. But what I'm trying to determine is if my
presbyopia will worsen x2 w/ surgery. I'm simply using my "contacts" vision
to simulate what vision would be like after surgery.
I've never heard of bifocal contacts!
>
> I have had some success with the new Bausch & Lomb Multifocal soft
> contact lens for patients like you. Iy is available in a power they
> call "low add" which acts like putting a pair of +1.00 readers over a
> normal contact.

The problem w/ my current contacts is that I don't have enough astig. to
warrant getting a toric, so says my OD. But w/ current contact (left)
vision is not acceptable due to astigmatic "blur" on all images.

C.H.

CatmanX

2005-03-19, 6:24 pm

Then get the cyl corrected. Find a new OD if the current one can't
satisfy you.

All he needs to do is get you a trial and see if you find that better.
If it isn't, stick with spheres.

The monovision option for the left CL is also good. Modified monovision
is going to give near and intermediate vision for that eye. Again get
your OD to get you a trial.