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Bassslapper said:
> Ace,
>
> As I said earlier, I felt I went as far as I could with NVT and made a
> decision after weighing the risks vs. rewards.
I understand.
> When I poked myself in the eye with the glasses, it was with the part
> of the arm that goes over the ear. I got so mad I threw them across the
> room and left them on the floor. The next day my wife accidently
> stepped on them and broke them. I did not care.
That must have weighed in your decision for lasik.
> I was tired of being a
> visual cripple. IMO, there is no therapy better or worse when it comes
> to soft contacts, glasses, ortho-K, hard contacts, or any form other
> form of corrective removeable device. I wanted to not rely on any
> artificial removeable means to correct my vision.
That would be impossible because of presbyopia. Everyone who isnt
myopic will need
a device to enable them to see clear from near. Monovision itself is a
tradeoff and I personally hate it. Myopia is both good and bad, good in
you see from near, bad in you blur from distance.
> I have been in situations where I lost or tore a contact or broke
> glasses and the gamut of emotions felt (angst, anger, anxiety) was
> something I refused to continue delaing with. I remember saying to you
> before that if the world ended tomorrow, I did not want to worry about
> where to get fluids for my contacts. A more realistic reference would
> be if a disaster such as hurricane Katrina hit, I do not want to worry
> about being able to see. If you drop your glasses into 8 feet of
> contaminated water, forget it. They're gone.
You arent "blind" without glasses. Youll see less but enough that youll
escape any disaster that doesnt require you to read tiny text or see
tiny details from a mile away. Ive broke my glasses before, just fell
back on my spare pair and ordered a new one. Ive even forgotten my
glasses on rare occasions and I was able to get around fairly well.
Perhaps I left my glasses at home when my dad drove us somewhere. I see
far worse than you do and I could easily function in just about any
emergency.
> Now I can see the TV, see the clock in the mroning, and see my 20 month
> old son's faces from across the room. I can drive without correction.
> No more dry eyes or scratches from contacts or limited visual field
> from glasses. If I need readers in a few years then that is a trade off
> I am willing to accept. Better to need readers occasionaly then
> distance correction all the time.
I can see my digital clock too without even squinting, granted its very
blurry. I always wear glasses for TV and driving. I see fine for
reading and eating without glasses(much better without than with!) If
you tolerated contacts, they would not bother you one bit except the
part of inserting/removing them. Ive tried contacts and they dry my
eyes and give a general achiness to my eyes. I havent really noticed
the increased field of vision. The thing I do notice is no minification
and no weight on my ears and nose. You must not do much reading. Dont
forget youll see everything blurry from near which will get worse as
your presbyopia worsens. You may need readers for brushing your teeth,
eating meals, using the computer, telling time on your watch, seeing
someone's face clearly at closer range, everything within about 5 feet
will be blurry. I have simulated this with my old -5.5 glasses(am now
-4.5 due to NVI) and things to about 3 feet were blurry. I placed +1
readers over -5.5 glasses and was amazed to see all the details in the
table 3 feet away from me! Near vision may be less important than
distance for you, but for me, near is much more important. When I get
orthoK, I wont mind being -1 to -2 and probably, ill end up there
anyway as my prescription is a little high for a full correction(will
be getting an oversized zone) which I dont care in the least. Ill take
glasses for driving/movies anyday over reading, eating, computers,
everything nearby.
> The bottom line is I had a profound aversion to any form of removeable
> visual corrective device so my options were whittled down to Lasik if I
> wanted to see without the use of visual aids. I felt the short and long
> term reisks were worth it. I do not dwell on my vision anymore or
> obscess like I did when I had glasses and contacts. My quality of life
> has improved, both physically (I can see) and mentally (I am not
> obscessed/depressed/angry anymore).
There was PRK, a popular alternative, especially for low(er) myopes
like you. Even intacs would have worked and they are considerabily
safer and also reversable via extraction. You may read about them, do a
google search. There also will be other options in the future such as
epithelial thinning, myopic CK, long lasting orthoK, etc. Only you can
decide if the risks are worth it. From what I know about lasik, I
consider it far too risky. I will be trying orthoK once I have the
money for it(you were a success and gave up after losing a lens rather
than buying another) OrthoK sounds simple enough and far less of a
hassle than glasses. What would *you* have done if your lasik didnt go
well? What if complications occur in the future? How would you deal
with it?
> My Lasik experience went over without any complications but I made sure
> to thoroughly research and review all the pros and cons. I also made
> sure to find a surgeon I felt comfortable with. No one can predict with
> certainty how a procedure will turn out but by taking it upon yourself
> to be thoroughly versed in your case, the likelihood of a successful
> outcome is increased.
This is a risk I refuse to take. I am much more tolerant of glasses
than you are and there is orthoK for me to try. I will have a spare
lens for each eye in case of breakage/losage. I can and will deal with
the very slight hassles of inserting, sleeping and removing them every
other night. If for some unlikley reason id rather wear glasses because
orthoK didnt satisfy me, ill stick with glasses till something better
and safer comes out in the future as an alternative or replacement to
lasik.
How long ago exactly did you get lasik? Has it been 3 months yet? What
was your exact prescription before lasik in each eye? You said about
-2.5 but didnt know for sure. What is your prescription now and are you
20/20 or how close?
Thanks sir for your time reading and replying! Keep in touch on the
progress of your lasik. Good luck!
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