If you are considering LASIK Surgery here is a account of my experience and advice.

1st -Are you nearsighted or farsighted.  I was told that farsighted people who get the surgery done have a tendancy to relapse back into having bad vision.  If you are nearsighted, it is something for you to consider and know that he may have to have the surgery done again in the future.  From the age of 40+, I understand that the procedure itself becomes less effective.

2nd - Has your eyesight stablilized?   Barring slight changes, it is preferred that your presrciption hasn't changed that much in the last couple years.  If it has, it may be a problem and your vision may get worse, even if slightly so, after the procedure.

3rd - Does anyone in your family have a history of glacoma or cataracts?  They will test you extensively for both and other things, but a history of either may disqualify you.  They can work with astigmatisms, and thin corneas (which I am close to having).

The reason I went with the clinic I chose is because they offered me a procedure called "Custom Cornea" which not oly corrects your vision to 20/20 but ti a clear 20/20 and the treatment targets preventing blurriness and and light sensitivity at night.  If the clinics you check out don't even mention that procedure I highly recommend that you find one that does because they try to solve the whole problem not just part of it in my opinion.

Cost.  The procedure costs anywhere from $2000 - $6000.  I actually got a 15% discount 10% for military and 5% becuase I paid for it all at once.  I was willing to pay the $5500 that another clinic wanted me to, but they didn't offer Custom Cornea like the one I went with did and I actually ended up paying $3750 with the discount, and I chose the cheaper one before I even knew what it cost.  Their info was a lot more infomative, they offered a better package and experience, and they are available 24-7 and are friendly, patient, and thorough when you seek help from them.

Since my corneas were leaning toward being considered thin, they went with Epi-LASIK versus LASIK, which simply means that when they shave a layer off of your corneas it's 1/10th as deep as they normally go.  It results in a better result but it takes longer to heal.  I actually had 3 straight days of pain.  After the surgery it was the worst.  It hurt so bad it gave me "the worst" splitting headache I have ever had.  The pain killers and sleep medication they gave me helped, but not a lot.  The pain was only 1/2 as bad the next day, and then 1/2 as bad the 3rd day as the 2nd.

The prep.  A few days before you get the pre-testing, you can't wear your soft contacts for a week and if you wear hard contacts you can't wear them for a month prior.  When you go in for the pre-test, they dialate your eyes, so you won't be driving home if you are the patient.  They started me on 1500 milligrams of Glucosomine, 1500 milligarms of Chondrotin (those 2 usually come together) and 1000 milligrams of Vitamin C - both a daily dose. I only took the vitamin C pill once a day to equall 1000mg, but the Glucosomine and Chrondrotin pill had to be taken in 3 doses.

Surgery.  I was taken in my eyes very steralized and I was given a Valium to help me relax.  Then I was taken into the surgery room.  Laid on a table.  I doubt it will be differentm but I was awake for the entir procedure.  They then numbed my eyes.  They fired up the laser which sounds like a crackling laser.  So this procedure is not for the faint of heart by the way.  They covered one eye.  Taped my eyelids back and brought one of those sci-fi-movie looking grips over my eye and under my eyelids. The Doctor then cranked it open and I could feel my eyeball stand out by itself.  Then they put another device dircectly on my eye.  I felt some uncomfortable, but not too painful pressure as it tightened down and I heard a whirring sound and my vision went to black as I beleive then that It did a micro-cut and a flap of my cornea was shaved and the doctor flipped it over.  Then I had to focus on a red blinking light, which was the laser.  I heard it crackling and I swear I smelt burning flesh like I have smelt in the war.   Then the team was talking, working together, and the coumputer voice of the system confimring how far along the procedure was, what was going on etc...  Each eye took about 2 minutes tops.  They flipped the flaps over and put a contact lens merely to act as a "band aid" for the healing process.

Post-Surgery.  I was given several eyes drops.  Two I had to take twice a day (I did it when I woke up and when I went to bed).  One prevented infection and the other was "supposed" to help the pain.  I also had to take one eyedrop every hour (a steroid based medication to help the healing) and use non-preservative, re-wetting (fake tears) to help my eyes stay moist.  The steroid drops, re-wetting dropps, and vitamins will continue for another month.  The first 3 days you really shouldn't move, though I helped a friend with some minor moving the day after my surgery, there was some discomfort but not a big deal -the numbing drops they give you uually give you relief for 30-45 mins, but slow down the healing process.

One last thing to remember, just because you get the surgery done, there is no guarantee that you will not have problems, that you will not need glasses or contacts anymore and also you must keep in mind that just like anything you do there is a degree of risk.

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