Considering LASIK...Any advice?

[de727ups]

Did it.....

Like it.....
One of the best decisions I've ever made was to have Lasik. I wouldn't go to the cheapest doc I could find. Mine was 1K per eye...the guy is an ex-airforce eye doc....very good man.

 

[Pilotadjuster]

Intacs?

I recall reading about another procedure which basically sounds like they implant a permanent contact lens behind your cornea (?). the article was in (I think) Flying last year. Haven't heard much about it since then, but sounded like a much better alternative to Lasik or PRK.

Anyone familiar with this?

 

[bobbysamd]

Dorkism

I wore glasses for many, many years, from the third grade to 1990, which was about thirty years. I went to a regional interview wearing my glasses, which were thick on the left eye because of prisms, which I really didn't need, and bad vision that side. I wasn't hired. I thought that I wasn't hired in part because I projected the wrong image. I found a great optometrist in Prescott who got me into extended-wear disposable contacts. Also, G-d bless him, he straightened out a bogus waiver I was given by an AME in that city who was also an ophthamologist.

I wore my contacts full-time and wore them to subsquent regional interviews. Same result. Not hired. Apparently it made no difference whether I looked like a stud pilot or a dork.

In later years, in my forties I needed reading glasses along with my contacts. In my work I do a lot of reading. It became a real pain in the a$$ to put on and take off my reading glasses constantly. I discussed getting bifocals with my optometrist (based on how that Prescott AME jobbed me with a bogus waiver, I refuse to use opthalmologists). She thought it was a good idea. Now, this year, I've stopped wearing my contacts and I wear my bifocals full-time. By the way, my new AME told me last December I no longer need the waiver (SODA) and asked the FAA on my behalf to drop it.

More importantly, I think I look just fine in my bifocals. They are the kind without lines (not that I cared, particularly), and much less upkeep is needed. In addition, I see plenty of pilots for majors wearing glasses, including Delta pilots.

Just a little more food for thought.

PM me for the name of the great Prescott optometrist and/or horrendous AME.

 

[reaperman]

intacs

pilotadjuster,

Yeah, I've heard of them. I believe they're indicated for MILD cases of myopia, so my -6 diopter eyes don't qualify. I'm not sure of the limit, perhaps -2.5 or less. There's just no hope for me other than trying to stay healthy and cutting the bottom off a new pair of Coke bottles every year.

 

[Pilotadjuster]

Coke Stock

Guess its the same for me--my right eye is about the same as yours (the very top line of the eye chart is fuzzy...). I'll stick with my gas perms and back up glasses. Too many Lasik horror stories.

 

[MartinFierro]

I had LASIK done in October 1999. Went from 20/400 in both eyes to 20/25 and 20/30, correctable to 20/20 in both. One of the best decisions I made. Of course there are risks, always will be, because it is surgery. But there are ways to minimize those risks, including going to a surgeon who has performed many of them, and who requires that potential patients get a thorough pre-surgery exam, to determine if you are a good candidate. This alone will determine if you may potentially have negative post-op conditions. Also, don't go for the cheap route. Pay top dollar. I paid $2,500 per eye, which included a full year of post-operative checkups on a regular basis (also important: go to docs who do this as standard practice).

Getting a Class 1 medical after surgery was not a problem. Good luck with your decision.