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Home > Archive > Lasik Eyes Surgery > March 2006 > Dr. Minarik Discusses Activism
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Dr. Minarik Discusses Activism
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| doctor_my_eye@msn.com 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
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From lasikflap
Some Ideas About Activism
Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006
When I joined the memberlist at this website, I also got put "into
the loop" of emails that seem to circulate daily, if not even hourly,
between the most activist patients who have been harmed by LASIK. My
first reaction to the activism was to just sit back and watch the flow.
Now that I have watched these mails go circling for a few weeks, I
thought my 2 cents might be in order.
First, I admire your dedication to the cause. I think that you are
standing up for a noble cause. That being said, I want to help channel
that activism to things that might be changed..not just stabbing at
windmills.
You cannot sue the FDA, any more than you can sue Congress. The
Constitution forbids it. You can only influence the FDA by writing to
their bosses...your Congressmen, or by testifying before them. Elvira's
decision to write to her local representative, who put her letter in
her Congressional Newsletter, was simply a brilliant idea.
For those of you who actually think that most people dislike their
LASIK result, give it a rest. Two million people have had LASIK in the
past 12 months, and I venture to say that 90% are ecstatic about their
results.
Another 5% are a little upset, but "getting over it." The last 5% are
the miserable group. Keep in mind that 5% of 2 million is one hundred
thousand unhappy people. Those hundred thousand are the people you are
trying to help. Don't delude yourself into thinking that you can change
the mindset of the other 1.9 million happy patients.
When I was doing post-operative exams on 20 people per day on patients
who were having RK during the 1990s, there was about a 90% happiness
quotient. If we asked people if they liked their result, 9 of 10 said
yes. When we created a questionnaire that asked if they saw halos at
night or had variable vision through the day, 70% said yes. Once again
you are seeing the power of cognitive dissonance. When we make a
decision, we reinforce the choice we made by making the other choices
less appealing. You can interview husbands and wives that will go down
a checklist that says their spouse is fat, lazy and doesn't make enough
money...but we love them anyway and aren't even thinking about a
divorce.
Activism works. Talk to your local newspaper if you can. When you are
on a discussion group on Google, and see an ad from a LASIK provider,
click thru to their website and sign their guestbook or tell them about
your unhappy result. Let your family optometrist know you had a bad
result, because I am watching a profound drop-off in the number of
optometrists who refer regularly for LASIK. No one likes to send
patients out to have a miserable result.
Write to Oprah, write to Dr. Phil, write to "Good Morning Toledo" and
just talk about all the things you've learned about loose flaps, bad
blades and crappy corneas. You are truly helping...one changed mind at
a time.
_________________
For resources, check www.doctormyeye.com
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| Glenn - USAEyes.org 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| Activism is viable only when the issue is relevant and the facts are
undisputable. Activists lose credibility when they use unnamed or
imagined sources, distort data, defame, hide behind multiple aliases,
and resort to outright lies to promote their agenda.
How many viable "activists" are at LasikFlap.com? Not many, in my
opinion.
Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
USAEyes.org
"Consider and Choose With Confidence"
Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org
http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org
I am not a doctor.
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| Ragnar 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| One thing you didn't mention is that very few of the people who are
happy with their LASIK continue to go to their eye doctor. If 90% of
the post LASIK patients that come into your office are happy with
their lasik... that is amazing. Assuming that 10% of post lasik
patients continue to go in for regualr eye exams, and 90% of those 10%
are happy.. that would be 99% happy.
On 10 Mar 2006 10:52:23 -0800, "doctor_my_eye@msn.com"
<doctor_my_eye@msn.com> wrote:
>
> From lasikflap
> Some Ideas About Activism
> Posted: Fri Mar 10, 2006
>
> When I joined the memberlist at this website, I also got put "into
>the loop" of emails that seem to circulate daily, if not even hourly,
>between the most activist patients who have been harmed by LASIK. My
>first reaction to the activism was to just sit back and watch the flow.
>Now that I have watched these mails go circling for a few weeks, I
>thought my 2 cents might be in order.
>
>First, I admire your dedication to the cause. I think that you are
>standing up for a noble cause. That being said, I want to help channel
>that activism to things that might be changed..not just stabbing at
>windmills.
>
>You cannot sue the FDA, any more than you can sue Congress. The
>Constitution forbids it. You can only influence the FDA by writing to
>their bosses...your Congressmen, or by testifying before them. Elvira's
>decision to write to her local representative, who put her letter in
>her Congressional Newsletter, was simply a brilliant idea.
>
>For those of you who actually think that most people dislike their
>LASIK result, give it a rest. Two million people have had LASIK in the
>past 12 months, and I venture to say that 90% are ecstatic about their
>results.
>Another 5% are a little upset, but "getting over it." The last 5% are
>the miserable group. Keep in mind that 5% of 2 million is one hundred
>thousand unhappy people. Those hundred thousand are the people you are
>trying to help. Don't delude yourself into thinking that you can change
>the mindset of the other 1.9 million happy patients.
>
>When I was doing post-operative exams on 20 people per day on patients
>who were having RK during the 1990s, there was about a 90% happiness
>quotient. If we asked people if they liked their result, 9 of 10 said
>yes. When we created a questionnaire that asked if they saw halos at
>night or had variable vision through the day, 70% said yes. Once again
>you are seeing the power of cognitive dissonance. When we make a
>decision, we reinforce the choice we made by making the other choices
>less appealing. You can interview husbands and wives that will go down
>a checklist that says their spouse is fat, lazy and doesn't make enough
>money...but we love them anyway and aren't even thinking about a
>divorce.
>
>Activism works. Talk to your local newspaper if you can. When you are
>on a discussion group on Google, and see an ad from a LASIK provider,
>click thru to their website and sign their guestbook or tell them about
>your unhappy result. Let your family optometrist know you had a bad
>result, because I am watching a profound drop-off in the number of
>optometrists who refer regularly for LASIK. No one likes to send
>patients out to have a miserable result.
>
>Write to Oprah, write to Dr. Phil, write to "Good Morning Toledo" and
>just talk about all the things you've learned about loose flaps, bad
>blades and crappy corneas. You are truly helping...one changed mind at
>a time.
>
>
>_________________
>For resources, check www.doctormyeye.com
| |
| Ragnar 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| LASIK is so successful that there is no way that any activism on the
part of a few lunatics is going to have any effect on anything.
There are plenty of REAL problems in this world that don't get any
action. There certainly is no sense in pursuing problems which do not
exist.
On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 19:24:07 GMT, Glenn - USAEyes.org
<glenn.hageleSTOPSPAM@USAEyes.org> wrote:
>Activism is viable only when the issue is relevant and the facts are
>undisputable. Activists lose credibility when they use unnamed or
>imagined sources, distort data, defame, hide behind multiple aliases,
>and resort to outright lies to promote their agenda.
>
>How many viable "activists" are at LasikFlap.com? Not many, in my
>opinion.
>
>Glenn Hagele
>Executive Director
>USAEyes.org
>
>"Consider and Choose With Confidence"
>
>Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org
>
>http://www.USAEyes.org
>http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org
>
>I am not a doctor.
| |
| Glenn - USAEyes.org 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 21:24:37 GMT, Ragnar <ragnarsuomi@yahoo.com>
wrote:
>LASIK is so successful that there is no way that any activism on the
>part of a few lunatics is going to have any effect on anything.
I agree that the "lunatics" don't do much more than create problems,
but there are some activists who provide excellent services and
support for people with problems. They should not be lumped in with
the loonies.
Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
USAEyes.org
"Consider and Choose With Confidence"
Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org
http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org
I am not a doctor.
| |
| doctor_my_eye@msn.com 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| Patients who are "trained well" by their optometrist or ophthalmologist
know that they still need regular eye examinations even if they see
well. Kirby Puckett was the perfect example. As you know, normal eye
pressure is under 21 mm of mercury. When Kirby Puckett "woke up blind
in one eye" and called 911, when they got him to the hospital the
pressure in that blind eye was over 50! The eye they saved had a
pressure of 35.
All of his money, all of his team physicals, all of his handlers...no
one told him that people who see well still need eye exams.
It cost him his sight, his career, and eventually his life.
High myopes who have LASIK still have the retinas of high myopes. They
still need regular dilated fundus exams to prevent retinal tears or
other undiagnosed problems.
| |
| Glenn - USAEyes.org 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| This is a most important point.
Additionally, eye exams are able to diagnose much more than refractive
error and glaucoma. Changes within the eye can be one of the first
signs of MS. Regular examinations can document baseline parameters and
changes throughout life. These changes can sometimes indicate other
medical problems.
Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
USAEyes.org
"Consider and Choose With Confidence"
Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org
http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org
I am not a doctor.
| |
| serebel 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| Any so called optometrist who throws his lot in with the loons of
"flappie" are just desperate to keep their practice afloat. The proof
is in his own site in which no one posts.
This crap about cognative dissonance and post traumatic stress is just
that, crap. Miserable people just can't handle the fact that people are
just plain happy.
| |
| doctor_my_eye@msn.com 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| Once again, Mr. Rebel, your comments are so far off in left field that
they don't really deserve an answer. But, I'm in a good mood today,
so I'll answer your trumped-up comments. First, the practice is still
going great...thanks for asking. I'm still booked out three weeks in
advance at 20 minute intervals, and the practice has sold two and a
half million dollars worth of glasses and contacts each of the last 7
years. There is no "business" to be achieved by helping the post-op
refractives who are in trouble. I have put at least 4 hours of work
into each "long distance traveler" who comes to see me from the web,
and on average I make about 200 dollars helping them. So, I make 4
times as much when I DON'T see a complicated post-op refractive. I
help them because its the right thing to do.
The web site is an information resource for refractive surgery. I like
to think that it doesn't need any daily dialog to send its message.
Oh, yes...every time you trash my website I get about 500 new hits.
Thanks again.
I actually think that you help the injured patients too, in your own
sick and twisted way. Your comments are always so vile, and mean
spirited that anyone with half a brain will see you as the
mean-spirited prick that you are. What's that old adage, what doesn't
kill us makes us stronger? Seeing your poison builds a thick skin on
the walking wounded, and I assure them that no normal human being could
ever treat them like you and Ragnar do. You perform great aversion
therapy.
serebel wrote:
> Any so called optometrist who throws his lot in with the loons of
> "flappie" are just desperate to keep their practice afloat. The proof
> is in his own site in which no one posts.
> This crap about cognative dissonance and post traumatic stress is just
> that, crap. Miserable people just can't handle the fact that people are
> just plain happy.
| |
| serebel 2006-03-22, 4:21 pm |
| Okay, anyone can trump up their numbers on the internet. You are still
a screwball who feeds off the weak of mind. And since you spend so much
time on the web, it's obvious that your practice is in the toilet.
| |
| doctor_my_eye@msn.com 2006-03-22, 4:22 pm |
| My laptop is on all day, sitting right next to my retinal camera. I
talk to idiots like you between patients. See, I just spent 45 seconds
of the "all day" I spend on the internet. Do YOU have a job?
| |
| lasiksucks4u@yahoo.com 2006-03-22, 4:22 pm |
| >I help them because its the right thing to do.
which is the most commendable one can do!!!
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| Lasik Complications 2006-03-22, 4:22 pm |
| doctor_my_eye@msn.com
My compliments to you! Believe me when I tell you, that you are
getting a little ahead of your time. I do not know if any of the mean
people in this group have been to a Veteran's Hospital or Veteran's
clinic lately.
All the doctors there no longer write hand written notes on their
patients. As a patient sits there, the doctor is entering all the
patients symptoms, diagnosis, etc. into the computer. At the same
time, they submit information to the pharmacy for any medications they
prescribe. Everything with the military hospital and clinic here and
in Albuquerque and I am sure across the nation has become computerized.
So a patient can see a cardiologist and then walk over one hour later
and see his podiatrist and all his medical information is on-line. Dr.
Minarik by having your labptop sitting next to your retinal camera,
your are moving in the direction of probably one day filling in the
patient's forms on the computer. And I can assure you that the
software developers will be moving in that direction. Even the
informed consent form is on the computer and after the doctor explains
it to the patient, the patient signs and then the doctor asks a witness
to also sign. It is amazing, no misread prescriptions, no illegilble
doctor's writing. And I am willing to bet that it took you less than
45 seconds to post your message!
Lasik Complications
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| serebel 2006-03-22, 4:22 pm |
|
That moron minarik wrote:
"My laptop is on all day, sitting right next to my retinal camera. I
talk to idiots like you between patients. See, I just spent 45 seconds
of the "all day" I spend on the internet. Do YOU have a job?"
Yes, I have a job that does not involve defrauding people.
| |
| Ragnar 2006-03-22, 4:22 pm |
| I know that patients SHOULD go to their optometrist every year. I
don't think they need to go to an expensive ophthalmologist unless
they have a known problem. I don't think it's appropriate to go to an
ophthalmologist for a routine eye exam.
Anyway... most people tend to not go to a doctor unless they have a
reason to. I am guilty of the same thing. That isn't an entirely bad
idea... there are doctors that will say you have problems that you
don't just to get you as a regular patient. My dad has a blood sugar
that ranges from 120 to 140.. and his doctor has convinced him that
means he has diabetes. I had a doctor that would tell me I had high
blood pressure everytime I went to her office. She took my blood
pressure herself. She was lying.
Sounds like Kirby is one of those people who had a horrific experience
with glaucoma. He was at 4 times the risk of glaucoma since he is
black. It seems he died just 2 days ago at the age of 45 from a
stroke. He was also color blind. All of these things could be
related. I bet he had high blood pressure. HBP will destroy one's
vision by damaging the capillaries that nourish the eye with blood.
I bet Kirby had a lot of salt in his diet also.
On 10 Mar 2006 14:01:33 -0800, "doctor_my_eye@msn.com"
<doctor_my_eye@msn.com> wrote:
>Patients who are "trained well" by their optometrist or ophthalmologist
>know that they still need regular eye examinations even if they see
>well. Kirby Puckett was the perfect example. As you know, normal eye
>pressure is under 21 mm of mercury. When Kirby Puckett "woke up blind
>in one eye" and called 911, when they got him to the hospital the
>pressure in that blind eye was over 50! The eye they saved had a
>pressure of 35.
>All of his money, all of his team physicals, all of his handlers...no
>one told him that people who see well still need eye exams.
>It cost him his sight, his career, and eventually his life.
>
>High myopes who have LASIK still have the retinas of high myopes. They
>still need regular dilated fundus exams to prevent retinal tears or
>other undiagnosed problems.
| |
| Ragnar 2006-03-22, 4:22 pm |
| Remember to turn your brain on before you start typing Kenny. You
are treading on thin ice again.
On 10 Mar 2006 17:52:24 -0800, "doctor_my_eye@msn.com"
<doctor_my_eye@msn.com> wrote:
[vbcol=seagreen]
>Once again, Mr. Rebel, your comments are so far off in left field that
>they don't really deserve an answer. But, I'm in a good mood today,
>so I'll answer your trumped-up comments. First, the practice is still
>going great...thanks for asking. I'm still booked out three weeks in
>advance at 20 minute intervals, and the practice has sold two and a
>half million dollars worth of glasses and contacts each of the last 7
>years. There is no "business" to be achieved by helping the post-op
>refractives who are in trouble. I have put at least 4 hours of work
>into each "long distance traveler" who comes to see me from the web,
>and on average I make about 200 dollars helping them. So, I make 4
>times as much when I DON'T see a complicated post-op refractive. I
>help them because its the right thing to do.
>The web site is an information resource for refractive surgery. I like
>to think that it doesn't need any daily dialog to send its message.
>Oh, yes...every time you trash my website I get about 500 new hits.
>Thanks again.
>
>I actually think that you help the injured patients too, in your own
>sick and twisted way. Your comments are always so vile, and mean
>spirited that anyone with half a brain will see you as the
>mean-spirited prick that you are. What's that old adage, what doesn't
>kill us makes us stronger? Seeing your poison builds a thick skin on
>the walking wounded, and I assure them that no normal human being could
>ever treat them like you and Ragnar do. You perform great aversion
>therapy.
>serebel wrote:
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