RFI: Eye Doctor/Lasik/PRK

[JM Campbell]

Request for info:

I have noticed the last few times out on the range shooting rifles that my vision blurs out fairly quickly looking through a optic.
I have a minor script for distance in both eyes and astigmatism in both eyes. I have been told by my regular eye doc that he was suprised that I wanted glasses due to the low script.

I'm not sure why my vision blurs out, I can see objects just not with crisp definition. Optics range from nightforce 1-4, t1, Bushnell elite tactical 1-6 and vortex 2.5-10.

Is this a eye strength issue? Are there exercises worth doing to build up your eye strength/focus?

Can you recommend a specialist/eye doc type I should seek out?

Should I say screw it and seek out dynacorp for new eyes?

Thanks in advance.

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[Willard]

I canprovide some limited info in response to your post. I had terrible vision (very near sighted) and had PRK (twice). It was very painful for a couple of days, but I got to 20/10 or 20/15. After about three years, my vision began to deteriorate again, particularly at night, and I opted for an "enhancement," which was only mildly painful and has held for about 5 years now. You have to have pretty extensive examinations to ensure you are a candidate. One of the criteria is adequate corneal thickness. Unsure on others. I can't speak to lasik, but I am very glad I had the PRK done. One thing you want to be sure you do if you get the PRK is adhere strictly to the requirement to use drops every so many minutes. I followed this religiously. It is inconvenient, but is essential to good results. Also, at the time, there was debate on PRK versus lasik. Thought was lasik created a corneal flap, which could give way in the event of say a sudden hard blow (think car crash). Based on your weak script, I doubt you'd want to take such extreme action as surgery at this point, since your doc was surprised you even wanted glasses. Believe you are heading in the right direction with eye exercises. I've also seen advertisements for eye vitamins, but can't speak to their efficacy.

[Chance]

I have also had PRK. The recovery is bloody miserable, but I don't have to worry about getting hit in the eye rolling and such. My SO had LASIK at the same place - Tylock in Irving.

[MistWolf]

Before getting all crazy, first, make sure to focus your rifle scope correctly. Second, keep in mind that when you've stopped your breathing, your body is using up what little store of oxygen it has. Your eyesight gets worse ass this happens. If your vision starts getting blurry, take a few deep breaths and get fresh oxygen to your eyes

[orionz06]

I have also had PRK. The recovery is bloody miserable, but I don't have to worry about getting hit in the eye rolling and such. My SO had LASIK at the same place - Tylock in Irving.

Part of the reason I am looking at PRK soon, the other being I can't watch videos of the lasik flap without getting queasy as fuck. I can see all sorts of gore and what not but making the flap scares the shit outta me.

[Willard]

As a two time PRK patient, I would say get it done if needed. It is painful for a few days, but results will exceed your expectations if you use the drops as directed. I was (and continue to be despite having to have an 'enhancement') simply amazed. 20/400 to 20/10 or 20/15. You can't make it up. And yes, no flappy thing to worry about.

[Paul D]

I would see you optometrist and get examined again. See if you can correct it with contacts or glasses. Those options are reversible; eye surgery is not. It's like getting a Glock MOS vs. having the slide milled for something that can be obsolete the next year.

[S Jenks]

My vision was so bad I couldn't see near, far, anything really. My corneas weren't thick enough for Lasik, PRK, etc. I had Visian ICL in 2012 and haven't regretted it in the slightest. Expensive but perfect for my situation.

https://us.discovericl.com

[Hot Sauce]

Part of the reason I am looking at PRK soon, the other being I can't watch videos of the lasik flap without getting queasy as fuck. I can see all sorts of gore and what not but making the flap scares the shit outta me.

Never had LASIK so I'm not shilling, but FYI military aviation allows LASIK, and so does NASA. Last I read about it a few years ago, there are now more advanced ways to do the flap which all but negates the "doors open" phenomenon everyone dreads so much.

If you're gonna do PRK, which does leave less to go wrong, make sure you do the Custom Wavefront PRK. Maps your eye out more, for better correction. The Navy agrees (http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcsd/Patients/Documents/RefractiveSurgery_Policy%20Guidance%20LASIK%20Dec% 202008.pdf) on use of wave front method, regardless of whether LASIK or PRK is done, if you read point B on the second page.

"The results of the study are finally in, and the Air Force has found that there was little to no effect on LASIK-treated eyes when subjected to high G-forces of combat fighter aircraft, the wind blast experienced during aircraft ejection, or exposure to high altitude. Due to stresses placed on the eyes during flight combined with the active lifestyle of military members, the recommended refractive surgeries are Wave Front Guided Photorefractive Keratectomy or WFG-PRK, and Wave Front Guided Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis, know as WFG-LASIK, using the femtosecond laser. The eyes are more trauma resistant after surgery using one of these methods compared to other forms of refractive surgeries."
Source (http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/genjoin/a/pilotvision.htm)



I have noticed the last few times out on the range shooting rifles that my vision blurs out fairly quickly looking through a optic. I have a minor script for distance in both eyes and astigmatism in both eyes. I have been told by my regular eye doc that he was suprised that I wanted glasses due to the low script.

Is this a eye strength issue? Are there exercises worth doing to build up your eye strength/focus?


OP, I would try eye exercises (here is some I came across that are shooting specific (https://chrissajnog.com/fix-your-eyes-fix-your-focus-shoot-and-aim-easier-with-two-simple-eye-exercises/)), and a different eye doc's opinion, preferably one who does both LASIK and PRK so that they can tell which is right for you, if any. If the astigmatism is the cause of your troubles, LASIK does better at fixing it (probably because there is more reshaping to do when it comes to astigmatism), but generally PRK is preferentially for lower prescriptions. A professional needs to help diagnose the root issue to figure out which would be more fitting for you.

[JM Campbell]

Thank you for your posts gentlemen, you all have been helpfull.

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[ldunnmobile]

I had an awful experience with PRK. One of the 1% percent (or so they say) that has trouble with Haze. You do not want Haze. Perhaps I am really the 1 percent... a statistical anomaly... but I cannot recommend PRK when the option for LASIK is available.

[Chance]

Part of the reason I am looking at PRK soon, the other being I can't watch videos of the lasik flap without getting queasy as fuck. I can see all sorts of gore and what not but making the flap scares the shit outta me.

I don't know that grinding away the covering of the eye is any better. Especially given that you are, rather necessarily, watching it happen. I would still do PRK again, and might actually need to in the future. The clinic I went to offered to give a valium or xanax or something ahead of time, so most people were pretty mellow going through the procedure.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEYGoVcQvCw


As a two time PRK patient, I would say get it done if needed. It is painful for a few days, but results will exceed your expectations if you use the drops as directed.

I was down for more than a few days. Certainly functional, but I often had to hold my eye open at times. About three days after the surgery, my PayPal account got hacked, and I had to drive myself to the bank to discuss blocking the transaction. Sitting there across from the bank lady having to manually hold my eye open so I could sort of see her must have been interesting on her part.


I got very little work done for about three weeks. Then again, I spend all day staring at tiny text on a computer screen, so that was mostly why.

[LOKNLOD]

My vision was so bad I couldn't see near, far, anything really. My corneas weren't thick enough for Lasik, PRK, etc. I had Visian ICL in 2012 and haven't regretted it in the slightest. Expensive but perfect for my situation.

https://us.discovericl.com

I'm on my last box of contacts, I'm trying to make this happen in lieu of buying more...

[SteveB]

I had LASIK in 2000 and a PRK revision in the left eye in 2010. My presurgery vision was 20/400, and I was doing a lot of open-water swimming at the time. Sucks when you can't see the shore. At that time, the flaps were still being made with a microkeratome or blade; now the flap can be made with either blade or laser. The key is to find a competent surgeon with state-of-the-art equipment. My own experience is that my left eye relapsed to about 20/35 after 10 years, which is why I had the PRK adjustment. PRK is normally painful during recovery and healing, but I had no discomfort as the corneal nerves had been cut during the LASIK. The PRK procedure gave me monovision, which means I have good close vision with my right eye (front sight is in focus), distance vision with the left. I wear 2.5X loupes to do surgery, but pretty much everyone I know does this. Again, my experience was that the surgery was no big deal, the recovery easy, the benefit immediate. I continue to be thrilled with the result. At age 61, I now wear glasses when driving at night, as my vision is not as good in low light. Aimpoint dots bloom a bit; I can sharpen the dot up by wearing a mild corrective lens, but find that I shoot just as well with a bit of dot bloom.

[LOKNLOD]

I My presurgery vision was 20/400, and I was doing a lot of open-water swimming at the time. Sucks when you can't see the shore.

See the shore? I'd be happy to see the water.

[TheNewbie]

I had LASIK done 3 years ago. I couldn't even read a huge label with it shoved in my face......I was basically blind without glasses. The LASIK has been nice, not perfect but nice. I had to have a touch up and my night vision is still not perfect. I can see fine, but lights have odd shapes and halos. It's a trade off though, and I will take it. It's nice not crawling around on the floor at 30 years old feeling for you glasses after not knocking them off.

[orionz06]

Scheduled for 3/2. Anyone else have it in the last year and a half?

[Mitch]

Scheduled for 3/2. Anyone else have it in the last year and a half?

LASIK or PRK? I’m close to getting lasik, I’m just not mentally there yet.


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[orionz06]

PRK. I wanted it for BJJ and other physical stuff, plus the flap scares the hell outta me. They also found that some scarring on my right cornea is bad enough to potentially be a concern so they suggest PRK anyway.

[Default.mp3]

Got PRK about a year ago. Less than happy with the results, due to poor low-light vision, particularly with lots of starbursting and halos (maybe should have looked at ICLs harder), but c'est la vie. I still have some mild astigmatism in my left eye, which I might be able to get touched up, but 20/20 otherwise in normal lighting. I actually haven't felt that big a lifestyle change; I had horrible vision before (prescription was ~9.0 diopters), but I guess I was used to putting on contacts the first thing I woke up, so meh. No noticeable issues related to optics/RDSes, nor any issues with dry eye.

[orionz06]

Starbursts and halos were a concern but I see them now with glasses and contacts so I'm not sure what to hope for or expect there.

[Mitch]

BJJ is one of my main concerns with LASIK.


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[TGS]

I personally know two guys who got PRK in the last year. Both are full proponents of it and love the results. The recovery for one guy wasn't too bad, the recommendation very for the other was excruciating. He locked himself in his closet for 3 days before coming out, turned it into an opium den because any presence of light was excruciating. By the end of the week the pain went down.

Both had dramatic improvements in vision, and neither had blurs, halos, etc for longer than a month.

If this new version of Lasik is as rugged as PRK, I might try that instead.

[1911nerd]

I would see you optometrist and get examined again. See if you can correct it with contacts or glasses. Those options are reversible; eye surgery is not. It's like getting a Glock MOS vs. having the slide milled for something that can be obsolete the next year.

I was told by the opthamologist that the life time risk for LASIK/LASEK is better than that for contacts due to the risk of infection. Not sure if the numbers bear that out, but contact lenses introduce a risk of infection if you are not very careful and eye infections can result in permanent vision loss relatively quickly.

[LOKNLOD]

My vision was so bad I couldn't see near, far, anything really. My corneas weren't thick enough for Lasik, PRK, etc. I had Visian ICL in 2012 and haven't regretted it in the slightest. Expensive but perfect for my situation.

https://us.discovericl.com

I'm on my last box of contacts, I'm trying to make this happen in lieu of buying more...

This is an old post, so since 2016, yes, I did get ICLs. I got them January 2017, so it's been over a year.

I can't believe it took me so friggin' long and I wasted money on so many other things first.

It's amazing to see without help. Although I do occasionally miss being able to take off my lenses and have a super macro lens for eyes to look at tiny/close things.

[BillSWPA]

This is an old post, so since 2016, yes, I did get ICLs. I got them January 2017, so it's been over a year.

I can't believe it took me so friggin' long and I wasted money on so many other things first.

It's amazing to see without help. Although I do occasionally miss being able to take off my lenses and have a super macro lens for eyes to look at tiny/close things.

The b st advice I can give regarding vision correction surgery is DO NOT GET IT!

When my son (now almost 8) was 18 months old, he accidentally poked my wife in her eye. She had LASIK 10 years prior to the incident. Because the cornea was still weakened from the surgery, she was more prone to injury, and multiple layers of the cornea were removed by the accidental poke. After multiple dr visits and a very painful healing process, she still does not see as well as she did previously. Years later, she was still having separations of the layers of her cornea if, for example, they stuck to her eyelid at night.

Regardless of what your eye dr may tell you, the cornea is permanently weakened.

I wore contact lenses for 49 years without any issues, and now wear glasses. I will very happily wear glasses for the rest of my life before risking what my wife went through.



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[Jim Watson]

My optometrist always tells me that if I can see with glasses, don't get the surgery.
Should I get cataracts, I will go with the best available technology, even if I have to pay extra above what Medicare will cover.

[BillSWPA]

The b st advice I can give regarding vision correction surgery is DO NOT GET IT!

When my son (now almost 8) was 18 months old, he accidentally poked my wife in her eye. She had LASIK 10 years prior to the incident. Because the cornea was still weakened from the surgery, she was more prone to injury, and multiple layers of the cornea were removed by the accidental poke. After multiple dr visits and a very painful healing process, she still does not see as well as she did previously. Years later, she was still having separations of the layers of her cornea if, for example, they stuck to her eyelid at night.

Regardless of what your eye dr may tell you, the cornea is permanently weakened.

I wore contact lenses for 49 years without any issues, and now wear glasses. I will very happily wear glasses for the rest of my life before risking what my wife went through.



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I thought I typed 30 years.


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[LOKNLOD]

I thought I typed 30 years.


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Maybe you need your eyes fixed. :cool:

:p


I didn't get lasik, and they didn't mess with my corneas. Technically ICL is actually reversible, even. I was a -12.0 in contacts (like -14 in glasses, I think) and had been since grade school. Glasses were thick and miserable. Contacts were limiting. I'll take the trade off.

No, I probably wouldn't get Lasik to fix a -2.0 or something minor, either though. But I was completely non-functionally helpless without correction. That was always a layer of vulnerability I wasn't comfortable having.

[orionz06]

My reaction so far...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlLMlJ2tDkg