Pre-lasik, my eyes were 20/600. I had 20/20 to about six inches in front of my nose. Post-lasik I have better than 20/15 and 20/20, but 20/400 from my nose to about six inches in front of it.
I got both eyes done, one at a time, for $1800 in Los Angeles, Dr. Joseph Lee. I think they're up to $2500 or so now. I got four opinions, by university docs, long-time lasik docs, and so on, and was most comfortable with Dr. Lee. I choose him before I knew the price.
I did one eye at a time because one can still get a medical with one good eye. If the doc botched the job, that would suck, but it wouldn't be career ending. I waited two weeks then did the other eye.
Doing the surgery, take the happy pill and go sleep for about 5 or more hours. The more you sleep, the less pain you'll experience.
You are trading glasses for glasses... Coke bottles for sunglasses. Older folks might find themselves needing reading glasses immediately instead of in another 1-10 years.
I do get a bit of a starburst at night, if I really concentrate on it I can still seem some of it, but, when one eye was lasiked and the other still behind the glasses, the starburst at night is far far far less than what the scratches and dust on the glasses were producing.
I carry wetting drops in my flight bag and occasionally use them, have yet to actually need them.
Having had to do contrast sensitivity testing for an unrelated reason, I've found that the eyes have a bit of contrast sensitivity lost, most likely due to the lasik. As my life does not depend on picking out a series of dots at 5300 K versus the other dots at 5310 K, I don't notice nor care about any slight losses. I lost much more with a pair of glasses that no matter how many times you clean them, within a few seconds they are dusty again.
It took a month before I stopped constantly reaching for my glasses. It took another month before I stopped poking myself in the nose after a sneeze or other head movement, trying to push up non-existent glasses.
It's nice being sighted.
