Share your LASIK experiences please.

FlyCFII

Active Member
Can anyone share their experience with LASIK? primarily:

1) What was your prescription before?
2) What were you corrected to after the procedure?
3) How long did you experience halos and starbursts?
4) What was your general hearing time, and how quickly did you get back to flying?

(any other information you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated, I am trying to weigh LASIK's pros and cons. I have a -7.00 in one eye and -6.50 in the other, astigmatism, 39 years old, currently have a 1st class medical but in my last exam I did miss one letter, so I am not a perfect 20/20 with glasses or contacts, yet want to keep my 1st class for airline jobs next year!

Cheers and thanks for sharing your experiences.
 
Can anyone share their experience with LASIK? primarily:

1) What was your prescription before?
2) What were you corrected to after the procedure?
3) How long did you experience halos and starbursts?
4) What was your general hearing time, and how quickly did you get back to flying?

(any other information you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated, I am trying to weigh LASIK's pros and cons. I have a -7.00 in one eye and -6.50 in the other, astigmatism, 39 years old, currently have a 1st class medical but in my last exam I did miss one letter, so I am not a perfect 20/20 with glasses or contacts, yet want to keep my 1st class for airline jobs next year!

Cheers and thanks for sharing your experiences.

1) I have no idea, it wasn't huge though. -2 I wanna say in the worst eye, a little better in the other?
2) Initially 20/10 in one eye, and very close to 20/10 in the other (couldn't quite get every letter on the line, but could get 4 outta 5). Then 20/15 a few years after. It's been 8 years, and I'm 20/20. One eye I did get a minor glasses prescription for driving as the astigmatism is back, I haven't really used it yet though as it's hard to get used to. It's like -.25 or something for the astigmatism and I don't need it, it's just "helpful" for the computer/driving in theory but, also so hard to get used to again and it's not bothersome enough that I bother. But the glasses were basically free with insurance, so, figured I Might as well grab em. If it gets seriously worse, I might look into a touch up at some point.
3) Officially, never! The FAA does not like it if you experience halos and starbursts. I had some a day after the procedure and my AME made me go back and get a letter saying they had gone away. Realistically, your night vision is going to be not exactly what you're used to for about 6 months to a year, especially when your eyes are dry. I carried eye drops around for about 6 months and if my eyes were tired or dry, they helped immensely.
4) I'd personally try to take a week off. Less is doable as long as you don't have any complications, but it takes a hot minute to get "used to" your new vision and your eyes are tired and dry at first, as well as it's just a bit intense if you're going from bad contacts 20/20 vision to 20/10. Felt like my brain almost had to rewire and your ocular muscles are getting re-used to focusing on stuff that's far away. You can drive the next day after the procedure, but I'd still take it easy as your body is healing. I felt like "full full" recovery where I never needed eye drops etc took like 8-9 months. Just be cool with having to use eye drops for a long awhile, other than that you'll be set.

It's really no big deal, the surgery itself I was in and out in about 8 minutes, and only a few seconds of that was "laser on eye, look here, okay now look here, okay that one's done". You'll be shocked at how fast the procedure is for something that costs roughly 4k...
 
I am not a professional pilot, but rather a nerdy engineering type with the stereotypical refractive deficiencies to suit, on the order of -6 each eye. I previously considered LASIK and other corrective surgeries (intraocular lenses, PRK, etc.). Nobody likes glasses and contacts irritate my eyes after wearing them consecutively for a few days. Unfortunately, it turns out both the high level of correction and contact lens irritation are risk factors for unfavorable surgical outcomes. I decided against it -- I find life is pretty good seeing well out of both eyes and alternating between glasses and contacts to avoid irritation.

I would not move forward until you have spoken to several people at your level of correction that have done the surgery. I am also curious about your motivation. You stated that you cannot get to 20/20 with glasses and contacts. What is surgery going to do to overcome that problem? As I understand it, LASIK is making refractive adjustments on your cornea just like glasses do in front of your eye. A surgeon would have to thoroughly explain to me how surgery is going to solve the problem where a safer and in principle similar treatment will not (glasses).

If this is something that is medically necessary to maintain and achieve 20/20, then that makes sense so you can keep pursuing your career. If it is all about convenience, then maybe better timing is when you would be covered by adequate loss-of-license insurance should it not go as well as you hope.

Finally, several friends and family have done it. No horror stories so far. Everyone sees better without glasses than they used to. But, nobody has been perfect in the long run. They have either needed additional surgery or glasses / contacts to maintain 20/20 as the years go by.

Best of luck as you sort it out -- only you can make the right decision for you.
 
Can anyone share their experience with LASIK? primarily:

1) What was your prescription before?
2) What were you corrected to after the procedure?
3) How long did you experience halos and starbursts?
4) What was your general hearing time, and how quickly did you get back to flying?

(any other information you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated, I am trying to weigh LASIK's pros and cons. I have a -7.00 in one eye and -6.50 in the other, astigmatism, 39 years old, currently have a 1st class medical but in my last exam I did miss one letter, so I am not a perfect 20/20 with glasses or contacts, yet want to keep my 1st class for airline jobs next year!

Cheers and thanks for sharing your experiences.
Best thing I've ever done!

1) I was approximately -5.00 in both eyes with a mild astigmatism in my left.
2) I was corrected to 20/15 in my left, 20/20 in my right.
3) Tough to say; I was back at work in 3-4 weeks, but it was important to keep my eyes moisturized for about the first year. Dry eyes can bring about halos and starbursts, as well. @Dphoenix has it right: Make sure your FAA form says that you do NOT have starbursts, halos, etc.
4) See above; I drove myself back to the office the next day for a follow-up without glasses.

My surgery just happened to coincide with my next FAA medical, so I had the office optometrist fill out the FAA form, which I took to the AME (Dr. Forred before he retired, actually). Quick and easy.

Now, I should say this: I do wear glasses for night flying/driving again. It's a very mild prescription to correct a slight astigmatism in my left eye, and my right eye has a -0.50 correction now. It's been 8 years since my surgery, so there was bound to be some drift. If it gets much worse I could always go in for a touch-up.
 
Your experience with LASIK can also depend on your AGE. Here's how my LASIK experience played out:

(1) I had my procedure the same week I hit 50.

(2) Prior to LASIK, my distant vision was pretty poor, about 20/100 in my right eye and 20/400 in my left eye. I don't have much astigmatism. My distant vision was correctable to 20/20 or better with a set of "kind-of-expensive" prescription glasses. I never had any issue with my near (reading) vision. Even at age 50 I didn't have any particular problem reading charts or small print without glasses.

(3) After LASIK, my left eye stabilized at 20/10, my right around 20/20 to 20/40. The tradeoff? I lost my ability to read small print. Actually, I lost my ability to read even medium-sized print. I can get by without glasses for most day-to day stuff like the gym and working around my apartment. I still need glasses for work. My extremely talented optometrist was able to make me a set of "no-line" progressive trifocals with near, intermediate, and distant corrections. These are very light and I can wear them all day without even noticing that they're there. They are also PHENOMINALLY expensive. I have two pairs of prescription glasses (spare pair required for work) and one pair of prescription sunglasses.

(4) You should NOT experience halos or starbursts (this is so 1983's technology). You may notice some blurriness or light sensitivity for a day or two after surgery. Also, you may have some variation in your visual acuity even several weeks after your procedure. Stock up on artificial tears. These can help a lot with your recovery.

(5) I took about 8-10 days off after my procedure. Part of this was spent trying to find a pair of inexpensive reading glasses I could use for work. My optometrist told me to wait 3-4 months prior to spending a ton of money on new prescription glasses.

(6) The FAA paperwork is very simple. If you decide to get LASIK, you will go in for a follow-up appointment after your procedure. Take the forms in and get the doctor to fill 'em out. You may want to talk to your AME ahead of time to find out what is required (and the exact wording that will appease the FAA).

(7) Not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK. Even if you are, you should recognize that the procedure is kind of a "trade off". I'm happy to have great distant vision, but I miss my (formerly) excellent near vision. I still have to have glasses for work. My cost for replacement glasses averages around $800 a year.

(8) Overall, I'm glad I had the procedure, but it may not be the answer to all your problems. See (3) and (7).

Good luck,
Fearless
 
I am 40 years old this summer.
Went for a consultation with a specialist yesterday. I am a good candidate for the surgery. As for night halos, it may be a thing of the past but the surgeon did mention up to 5% of patient have those as a long term side effect, which can be greatly reduced by using Alphagan, which is an eye drop used to treat glaucoma, the side effect is it shrinks the pupils and thus minimize or eliminate the halos.

Got in touch with AMAS today, they mentioned that the FAA won't scuff and halos that are minimal and will not pose a problem to anyone's night vision, but stopped short of saying that the FAA will accept Alphagan as a solution. Currently, it is approved by the FAA for said glaucome.

Fearless, what class medical do you hold? and what do you fly? 20/40 won't be enough for a first class medical. I assume you trifocals fix that issue, however, are these approved by the FAA?
 
I guess I should have mentioned that my UNCORRECTED vision is 20/10 in my left eye and 20/20 - 20/40 in my right eye (post-LASIK). With my prescription trifocals, I'm 20/15 or better at all distances and in all light conditions. Seriously, these glasses are amazing. Considering the cost, I should be able to see through tree trunks. Yes, they're FAA-approved (and required, see below).

I have been a captain at a regional airline for ten years. I hold a Class I physical. My medical states "Must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision".

Good luck!
 
Not sure about that. I've heard people with severe astigmatism are not good candidates for LASIK. I don't have much astigmatism. My left eye was 20/400 prior to LASIK, but now my distant vision in that eye is 20/10. If you are interested in getting LASIK, find a place with a good reputation and go in for a consultation (free).
 
I believe mine was around -2.75 or so for each eye, but it's been 20+ years since surgery so wanted to chime in for the longevity side of it. Still 20/20 to this day and I had zero issues with halos (even back then). My wife had it about 10 years ago and she had slight complications with dry eye but since we live in a dry environment that's more of an issue in these parts, but no other issues.

Definitely go to the most reputable joints around and get the best opinions/options, this is obviously not something you want to see Dr. Nick for at the $999 today only type places.

dr-nick-riviera-1024x579.jpg
 
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