Laser eye surgery. Your experience please.

[bosterr]

I went to an opthamologist last December with a "floater" issue and the doctor said I had a slight retina tear as well. I went again to see the doctor yesterday and he said the tear should be fixed very soon as well as the thinning of the edge right next to the tear so I was given an appointment for Friday 4/12 because I wanted a week to discuss this with Wifey. Wifey called a retina specialist while she was at work and was told to get me there ASAP. We're going this Friday. Has anyone been in this position? How did the operation go? Any problems afterwards? My main concern do I have to stop shooting my handguns with huge recoil? Another concern is will Medicare pay for much of this? I actually have Highmark insurance and can't find a thing in the handbook. My next step is to call them to find out what I can. But, it is what it is and will have to pay whatever.

[NSB]

A good friend of mine had it done to both eyes at the same time. He had tears in both eyes. That was over ten years ago and he's been good since then. He doesn't shoot, but he's in his mid seventies and he skis and golfs all the time. He's pretty active. I think he said Medicare paid for it. You can't choose to not do it, you'll end up blind. It won't heal itself.

[gwpercle]

It doesn't hurt. You just see a bright light...no pain .
I've had detached retinas in both eyes. The sooner you get the retina fixed and re attached the better. The right eye started tearing in 1985 , I was 36 years old , ... I didn't realize what was happening , waited two weeks before seeing a doctor .
I let my right eye go untreated too long . The reattachment was only partially successful.
A few years later the left started to detach but I realized what it was and I went immediately to the doctor...he fixed it with the laser , did 3 treatments total and it's been OK ever since .
I'm still shooting anything I want . After the retina's heal up...ask the doctor.
The laser treatments were a breeze and a few weeks of eye drops until everything had healed and the eye pressure was normal again was all there was. He did the laser treatments in his office.. no hospital stuff .

Should be covered with insurance ...but whatever it cost ...your eyesight is worth it.
A few weeks ago , I'm 69 now , found out I have high eye pressure again ( glaucoma) I'm back on the eye drops again but insurance covers them .
Doctor said my old retina's were holding up fine...the high pressure was causing my vision problems...Oh Well !
Gary

[popper]

Depends on what the problem is. Floaters are not bad, I have lots. Partially detached retina can be laser 'stapled' back - friend had it done and was painful. If it is the peripheral of the retina, procedure is not to bad.

[Tripplebeards]

I had lazik done almost two years ago with 2 month left to pay on it right now. I couldn’t see 10 feet in front of myself without glasses but could read perfect without them. Now I can see a country mile clearly but need reading glasses...the opposite. If I hold my phone out about arms length in front of me I’m fine to read. It messes with open sights for me. They’re a little blurry. I use scopes and red dots 99.9% of the time anyways. Insurance didn’t cover it because it was cosmetic. $2300 per eye 2 years interest free. I get dry eye all the time so I need drops. Dry eye is common after surgery. Took about a good month to heal and get used to seeing again. I made the mistake of only getting one eye done as advised by my doctor. Headaches from my eyes trying to focus back and forth. Get both done or done do it all. No big deal, they keep you awake during the 5 minute process and your eyes will sting for a day.

Don’t be shocked when your pistol and rifle open sights look fuzzy after surgery. It’s pretty cool to see deer clearly at a couple hundred yards now and see horns without the aide of glasses that fog up or contacts that dry out.

[Preacher Jim]

Wife had small retina repair done 8 years no problems. Several of my church members have had lazer surgery all did great no down time and grest vision after.

[big bore 99]

The eye doc said I need to have this done. Been putting it off for a couple months now. After 70 everything starts to go, one thing after another. I have medicare and blue cross blue shield supplement. Even with medicare and the supplement it cost me 70.00. I need to get over there soon.

[varmintpopper]

Next to life,,, Give Me sight.
Get it Done !

Good Shooting

Lindy

[gwpercle]

The eye doc said I need to have this done. Been putting it off for a couple months now. After 70 everything starts to go, one thing after another. I have medicare and blue cross blue shield supplement. Even with medicare and the supplement it cost me 70.00. I need to get over there soon.
If you are having retinal detaching...don't wait too long. Two weeks and my retina reattachment wasn't successful. I can only see big E on the eye chart.

Cataracts are another story...they can wait because the doc is going to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an clear implant. No rush to keep from going blind.
Gary

[owejia]

Had a detached retina and lost complete sight in right eye one Saturday while bushhoging, went to urgent care on Sunday and they made an appointment in Memphis on Monday to have it reattached, was told have it done within 72 hours or it wouldn't work. Had a bubble of gas inserted into the eye and couldn't look up for a couple of weeks, had to sleep on my stomach on a massage table, looking down, hard on an old fat guy. Treatment was successful and I shoot any thing I feel like now. Had a BAR 7 mm mag that I hunted with, no problems. This was 20 years ago so am sure there is a better way to treat it now.

[bob208]

during a eye exam they said I had some bleeders. I have diabetes. they said they could seal them up with laser. I was scared they did the first eye next day I could see clear out of that eye. then I could hardly wait till the next week to get the other eye done. same results. I have 20/20 vision at 69 years old.

[Eddie17]

Went through PRK surgery , a little painfull but would do it again in a heartbeat. This happened 15 years ago, have 20\20 now but need readers at 61 years young.

[abunaitoo]

Like an surgery there are risk.
I've heard of a number of people who are almost blind now.
I also know people who said it worked great.
I wouldn't do it. To me the risk is just to high.

[RED BEAR]

I am a little afraid to get it done. Been debating for a while now. The people i know who have had it done have all had good results. I would suggest that you check on how many the doctor has done and the results. From what i have seen if the doctor is experienced the chances of a bad result are very very small. I wish you the best with whatever you decide.

[Kraschenbirn]

Had laser 18 years ago for AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration)...was the only treatment available back then. Was successful at the time but had recurrence several years later however different (and improved!) treatment had become available by then and (at age 74) that eye tests very close to 20/20 today. I can recall no problems/negative side effects from the laser and I know for a fact that hardware and procedure have improved greatly since that time.

Bill

[Chainsaw.]

My deck hand just had lasik done several month ago on both eyes, said it was easy peasy. They stuff yer head into the device, tell ya to hold on and DONT MOVE YOUR EYES. Took aboit 20 mins. His biggest complaint was dry eyes for a couple weeks, but that normal l, they give you drops.
It was funny, I always complained that he let stuff get too dirty, once he has his eyes fixed, he realized how right I was!

[gwpercle]

Like an surgery there are risk.
I've heard of a number of people who are almost blind now.
I also know people who said it worked great.
I wouldn't do it. To me the risk is just to high.

A detached retina = blindness . No if's , and's or but's . Wait more than 72 hours like I did and you are blind in that eye, like I am. Do not put off retinal surgery....the world , when seen in 2D , which is how you see with one eye sucks ...but is still better than being blind. I lost the sight in one eye and now know how valuable having two working eyes is .
Gary

[gwpercle]

My deck hand just had lasik done several month ago on both eyes, said it was easy peasy. They stuff yer head into the device, tell ya to hold on and DONT MOVE YOUR EYES. Took aboit 20 mins. His biggest complaint was dry eyes for a couple weeks, but that normal l, they give you drops.
It was funny, I always complained that he let stuff get too dirty, once he has his eyes fixed, he realized how right I was!
Lasik is not retinal surgery...it's on the exterior and is considered elective because it only replaces wearing glasses by changing the shape of the eye.
If you have a detached retina all the Lasik in the world will not restore your sight...if it did I would be all over that procedure and have two working eyes again....but it doesn't correct a detached retina...no way .

[MT Gianni]

My wife had it done 20 + years ago. her eyes have aged to where she needs glasses again but it was a life changer. Her vision now is still good enough to read a digital clock at night which she couldn't do at age 20.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Repairing the retinal tear or a detaching/detached retina IS NOT elective surgery if you like to see ANYTHING over time. My sister had a detached retina 'welded' back, saving her sight in her eye.

Lasik surgery to correct vision so you corrective lenses are not needed is a completely different matter, Lasik surgey can improve vision but it is risking your visionin a healthy eye, though the risk is small. My sister-in-law has had Lasik surgury to do away with glasses, she has her eyes set, one focuses close for reading, one regular distance vision - she says it works fine but she is not an outdoors person.

If you shoot, reload, do 'handyman' chores, ride an ATV or spend a great deal of time outdoors in places where the sun is strong, you will/should normally be wearing safety glasses or sunglasses, maybe reading glasses. It is just too easy to walk to the sander, or pick up a drill for 'just a little job' with out safety glasses. My prescription glasses REQUIRE my eyes to be protected for most tasks, so I never considered Lasik or even contact lens.

[bosterr]

Update: I had my torn retina repaired yesterday by a Retina Specialist. I went to the original doctor back in December to investigate floaters in my left eye. It was then that he found a "slight tear" in the eye. Yesterday the Specialist asked why in the world didn't the first doctor repair it that first day. He said this is something you don't mess around with. What can happen is the fluid from the vitreous (the jelly part of the eye) can pass through the tear or the thinned part of the retina (both of which I had) and get between the retina and the eye wall causing the retina to detach. The 3 months between discovery and getting it fixed could have been a disaster!

I was laid down on a table and the doctor used a hand held device. My eye was both numbed and dilated. The flashing green light was super bright, pretty uncomfortable by itself and the zapping at first wasn't too bad. I'm guessing I got between 15 and 20 zaps total. Near the end it hurt enough I gave out a couple of groans. Actually zapping time I think was about 20 seconds. He would stop and have a look at the progress I guess. For about 5 hours afterwards it felt like I got a real hard poke in the eye, but after that and before I went to bed the discomfort had completely went away. This morning I have no sensation of eye poke at all. I go back next Friday for a check up. I was told I can't drive there myself because I'll be dilated again and there's a slight chance I'll need more laser. The assistant told me not to do any shooting until at least I have the check up. Doc said the flashes will take a little while to go away.

For those that may have some symptoms and not know what's going on, this is from the paper I was given. An increase in floaters and flashes of light in your vision (I had both). There may be waviness in their vision or a dark shadow coming from the side, above or below vision. If a detachment develops further, blurred central vision and significant sight loss in one eye occur. Doc says this more often occurs in old people like me( I'm pushing 69 now). Doc also said there's a chance the same thing could happen within the next 2 years to the other eye. That's not something I wanted to hear!

For those that described their lasik experience, lasik is nothing like retina problems at all. Just like in a few of the previous posts, this could have had a dire ending for me. For anybody that's on the fence with conditions that I just described, don't delay, get checked out.

Now the wait to find out what the out of pocket expense will be. Since I'm in pretty good health and don't have even the slightest health issues, I have the basic coverage which dosen't cost me at all. $30. for the office call yesterday but there will be a bill for what the insurance dosen't cover.

Take care everybody and thanks for all the input!

Bob

[owejia]

Glad to hear the good news.

[gwpercle]

Awesome news....
Insurance should cover the bulk of it...don't worry. A detached Retina is a serious condition that requires immediate attention and in no way shape or form is anything like Lasik to correct vision instead of wearing glasses.

If the bill looks high go down and talk to them...a lot of times costs can be reduced simply by sitting down with someone from the hospital and dickering with them.
Prayers sent for you,
Gary

[bosterr]

This is unexplored territory for me having issues now. I'm pushing 69 years old and don't have a single health problem that's typical with people my age. I'm not bragging, just acknowledging that I'm extremely lucky. Good genes in my family tree I guess. I'm not ready to upgrade my insurance to the level of $100 taken out of my social security just yet. Yes... I know I'm rolling the dice here.

Thank you everybody for all the good info!