Comment My experience has been excellent (Score 2) 741
One more experience to add to your tally...
I wore contact lenses for 9 years, up until this past spring. I always hated the contacts, since they were a nuisance to put in, take out, take care of, etc. I hated glasses even more, though, since they didn't do as much for me (especially annoying was the lack of peripheral vision when wearing glasses).
Last winter, I got an infection in my eye from the contacts, and couldn't wear them for a few weeks. The eye doctor told me that that's not uncommon in contact wearers, even if you've gone for ten years with no problems. He said it can happen again any time, or maybe never again.
After that, I started seriously considering getting laser surgery. I'd thought about it a couple of years ago, but decided that the failure rate (about 3-4% at the time) was too high for me to risk. I did some research into the procedure, and into various doctors. I found an excellent doctor (one of the pioneers of the surgery, considered one of the best at it in the country, yada yada yada), and spoke to him about my concerns. He told me about the recent developments (flying-spot, for example) which addressed many of my concerns, discussed his history with other patients, and his methods. He really set my mind at ease.
To make a long story not-quite-as-long, I decided to get the surgery done. I had the LASIK procedure in mid-April. It was quick and painless, and worked perfectly. My vision went from 20/200 or so to 20/15 in both eyes. There were no complications, my night vision is fine, my eyes are fine, I can sit in front of a computer for hours every day without problems.
I've been recommending this surgery to people who ask me about it, and recommending this particular doctor, who did an excellent job, and takes good care of his patients.
The one thing to consider is that the long-term effects aren't really known. The surgery hasn't been around for very long, so nobody really knows for sure what might happen 20 or 30 years down the road.
I wore contact lenses for 9 years, up until this past spring. I always hated the contacts, since they were a nuisance to put in, take out, take care of, etc. I hated glasses even more, though, since they didn't do as much for me (especially annoying was the lack of peripheral vision when wearing glasses).
Last winter, I got an infection in my eye from the contacts, and couldn't wear them for a few weeks. The eye doctor told me that that's not uncommon in contact wearers, even if you've gone for ten years with no problems. He said it can happen again any time, or maybe never again.
After that, I started seriously considering getting laser surgery. I'd thought about it a couple of years ago, but decided that the failure rate (about 3-4% at the time) was too high for me to risk. I did some research into the procedure, and into various doctors. I found an excellent doctor (one of the pioneers of the surgery, considered one of the best at it in the country, yada yada yada), and spoke to him about my concerns. He told me about the recent developments (flying-spot, for example) which addressed many of my concerns, discussed his history with other patients, and his methods. He really set my mind at ease.
To make a long story not-quite-as-long, I decided to get the surgery done. I had the LASIK procedure in mid-April. It was quick and painless, and worked perfectly. My vision went from 20/200 or so to 20/15 in both eyes. There were no complications, my night vision is fine, my eyes are fine, I can sit in front of a computer for hours every day without problems.
I've been recommending this surgery to people who ask me about it, and recommending this particular doctor, who did an excellent job, and takes good care of his patients.
The one thing to consider is that the long-term effects aren't really known. The surgery hasn't been around for very long, so nobody really knows for sure what might happen 20 or 30 years down the road.
