Anyone had laser eye surgery for myopia (short sighted)? Thinking of getting it and there seems to be a wide range of opinions. Everyone claims their machine is the latest/greatest. How much should I pay?
Yes had it done 2 years ago after a bad corneal infection made me give away the contact lenses.
Initially I got tested at the standard lasik sweat shops but I decided to have the op done by an eye surgeon even though laser surgery is pretty simple apparently.
I went to Brian Harrisberg in Newtown and recommend him 100%.
Cost is about $5500 and the first $1000 is tax deductable
If you're an old barstad like me it might be an idea to have your non-dominant eye "under corrected" otherwise you may need reading glasses after the op - the lasik people don't tell you this!
The op itself is all over in 15 seconds then you've got about 6 hours of your eyes being extremely light sensitive. After that its plain sailing! I think I was out of the water for 8 weeks.
Yes. Had mine done Feb 09. I couldn't wear contacts for long without irritation, so only used them for water sports.
I was very myopic -9/-8.5 but fortunately have very thick corneas. Slight astigmatism.
Perfect Vision, city and Hornsby. $7.5K. iLasik. Star Visx machine. Expensive but highly recommended.
Quick and easy surgery. No pain. Freaky momentary loss of vision from the machine that applies a vacuum to the eye. Somewhat perturbing smell and noise from the laser.
The next day was like seeing in high definition. Amazing. Much better vision than I'd ever had from contacts or glasses.
I chose not to under correct one eye, but rather have perfect long distance vision and wear reading glasses when needed.
Halos, star-bursts, and slight cloudiness in low light for about 2 months. Dry eye from month 2-3. Perfect vision from then on.
I had mine done in 1995. It's the best thing I ever did. The summary above is pretty accurate. $7500 seems very expensive. Mine only cost $4500 but I would gladly pay 3-4 times that for the result I got. My vision is still excellent even thogh I am now an old ****.
I had mine done here:
www.newvisionclinics.com.au/newvision-clinics-director-dr-noel-alpins-am-receives-order-of-australia-medal/
I had ICL's (internal contact lenses) and LASIK to correct -24 myopia. Biggest difference to kitesurfing is my eyes aren't so red sore from the salt water anymore. So good.
Done in Brisbane.
I got mine done 3 years ago at australian eye institute in sydney (www.aies.com.au) after another friend got his done there. I was -3.5 in both eyes and have had perfect vision since and not side effects.
Went kiting everyday in brazil for 24 days about 3 weeks after the operation with no dramas. I've had worst trips to the dentist.
The price is the best thing about this mob. $190 consult, $1250 per eye + $50 for medication on the day. thats $2740 for both. If you need a touch up in a few years its another $500. bargin. best thing ive ever done for myself.
No contact lens while kiting...ahhhhh
get it done, you wont regret it. had mine done whilst living in london so cant compare really. it did cost me 1500UK for both eyes.. seems like its FRIKKING expensive down under..
I know you can get this done in Thailand as well but do some extensive research if you do it overseas. maybe could even done in Dubai, or Abu dabi ie. arab countries are known to have the latest and greatest in technology.
so you could actually maybe fly out to middle east for a few days, have a bit of a holiday and save money. potentially at least as prices here seem much higher than other countries.
Eric
sounds like everyone is impressed, you guys are seriously making me wonder if I should do it too!?
Do you know if there is a risk of makibng it worse, or even getting blind from malfunctioning machine (or surgeon!)?
How come some people seem to pay under $3000 for it, while other pay over $7000?
Yep - best 5k I've ever spent. The freedom from years of wearing glasses and contacts is priceless. I had Lasik surgery in Brissie 4 years ago and like someone mentioned, the worst part of the op was the smell of the laser cutting into my cornea - the pressure on the eyeball was temporarily unpleasant but the whole thing was over in 15min.
