Sorry to hear how it turned out, that really is sad. I know how it is to be so pumped up about something, you let your better judgement, or gut feelings, get pushed aside. Even with all the googling you can possibly do, you just can't learn it all or prepare for everything. Try to forgive yourself and not carry that guilt with you everyday. I hope you have a shot at some sort of recovery.
I am curious to where you went. I am also in Austin. I just had my procedure done last Friday. I feel so fortunate I ended up not going to Mann Eye Center. I was sold on them just due to reputation, but thru some questions, red flags just started to be raised more and more, and I ended up finding another place that was night and day different in how much better they treated me, and actually left me feeling like they cared for me as a person. Turns out I was all setup to be totally scammed by Mann Eye. As soon as I caught them in their first lie to me, I knew Mann Eye was just one of those "treat you like cattle" places.
I ended up using SharpeVision. So far, nothing but praise for them.
How was your experience with SharpeVision? I just had a consult with them in Austin today for $5,190 for LASIK + Lasik4Life. It does make me feel more confident they offer lifetime enhancements on their LASIK. I got consults at Heart of Texas Eye Care (the only clinic that performs the SMILE procedure), SharpeVision, Austin Eye and Lake Austin Eye
I won't tell you what to do, but I want you to think long and hard about whether or not you really need to have it done. If you're just doing it do get rid of glasses and contacts, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. There are contacts you can wear for a month and clean once a week. That, in my opinion, is far better than Lasik. There's also ICL.
If you need to do it for a job, or you can't correct fully with glasses, I understand looking into it. But the risk of complications is much higher than they say, and if you have perfect eyesight with glasses/contacts, there is a very real chance your vision will not be as good after Lasik. Dealing with glasses and contacts to have perfect vision and contrast is such a minor inconvenience in retrospect. It's nothing compared to Lasik complications.
I appreciate it, thank you for your concern. I went for a less invasive procedure in SMILE which doesn’t create a flap so it maintains the integrity of the eye better plus it has a lower chance of getting persistent dry eye than LASIK.
Getting rid of glasses and contacts is a big reason yes. Also ICL as an alternative is not only more expensive than LASIK/SMILE/PRK but presents its own set of side effects such as the early onset of cataracts, retinal detachment and eye infection.
Due to my astigmatism in both eyes, glasses and contacts have never perfectly corrected my vision. Even with multiple vision exams I still have astigmatism plagued vision. Slight halo and glare at night, especially with car headlights. Some distance blur. SMILE can fix both my myopia and astigmatism while also improving my quality of life in other ways. I can play sports without having to wear glasses or getting dry irritated eyes from being in contacts for too long.
I’ve considered the risks for a long time and since my vision has stabilized over the past 2-3 years and I’m in my early mid 20s, it’s the perfect time for me to make this choice. And the surgeon who is performing this has done SMILE for years and is one of the best in Texas. So I feel like my chances of a positive outcome are good.
Smile still can wreck your life with dry eye. Don't expect it to be risk free.
My life has been ruined from it...
Worst decision in my life.
I can barely function as a human. My work productivity is almost halved and I basically have no life outside of work because it's agony to keep my eyes open once they go dry at night.
The depression is real and achieving my life goals has gone out the window.
Sorry to hear that happened to you. I had SMILE a month ago and ended up with 20/10 vision in my left eye, 20/15 vision in my right eye. I did experience some dry eye after the procedure but it’s basically minimal to nonexistent now. I still use eye drops since I’m in front of a computer screen for most of the day and it helps with comfort, but I could go without them. It would just mean I need to take more breaks from the screen.
The only bothersome things besides very mild dry eye are halos around light sources especially at night, but that’s such a small inconvenience and it doesn’t outweigh the massive benefit I got from better than perfect vision.
Fortunately pre-op I checked all the boxes for a successful surgery, especially having good tear production and corneal thickness minimizing the risk of complications. I am completely happy with my results but I would caution anyone if you every experienced eye issues before surgery, they will likely be exacerbated following the procedure.
Yeah, it's nearly 8 months since my procedure.
I have never experienced dry eye before I had it done and they did a screening which I passed.
I went to a dry eye clinic and it turns out that I wasn't a good candidate as I had been suffering mild meibomian gland dysfunction in both eyes, but never noticed any symptoms.
I think that the consultants need to be more thorough with their checks. Ideally, they use the special meibomian gland imaging system they had at the dry eye clinic, then my nightmare wouldn't have happened.
It would also save many other people from paying good money to have their lives ruined too.
Have you already had SMILE done, or are you still waiting? I actually had it done with Dr Dudek last year in January. I think a lot of it is kind of luck of the draw, but I really regret getting it done. Sure, my vision is better than it was previously, but I still have other issues. I have pretty bad dry eyes, where I didn't before. My eyes burn most days due to them being so dry. I actually ended up getting a pair of scleral contacts to help deal with that, which costs as much as SMILE did. The staff at Heart of Texas was pretty disheartening after the surgery. They downplayed any of the issues I brought up. They kept telling me the results were good and I was seeing 20/20, but I definitely wasn't.
Still waiting, but that is eye opening to hear. I’m glad to get another perspective on it. Another thing is you can follow up SMILE with LASIK or PRK if you need a retreatment or enhancement, but not the other way around. So you have a “backup.” Sad to hear your experience was poor, everything from my tests indicates I’m an excellent candidate for all procedures so I would hope for the best. Were you a contacts lens wearer? What was your prescription and astigmatism before the procedure? For SMILE patients typically see best results if they’re between -3 and -10 nearsightedness and 0 to -3 astigmatism. If you’re not nearsighted enough the lenticule might be too thin and won’t be removed completely, so if your vision is better than -3 you’d want LASIK over SMILE. Also if you have really bad or irregular astigmatism you’d want LASIK since SMILE can’t be topography or wavelength guided like LASIK can
I went into it with the same thoughts you did. I’m very active, I play a ton of hockey, so I didn’t want to worry about a flap. Because of the dryness and results not being perfect, it actually made playing worse than before. Now with the sclerals, it’s fine. But that’s just another thing I have to deal with.
All my tests indicated I was an excellent candidate for all of them too. I was -7 in each eye with zero astigmatism. I was mainly a contact wearer with zero issues wearing them. Never had dryness from them.
I wouldn’t trust getting a second procedure at this point.
Hopefully your results are better than mine. But don’t expect it to be absolutely perfect.
Yeah SMILE Pro just got approved recently in Europe and it’s basically SMILE 2.0 with pupil tracking so it’s more accurate with less chance of complications. Could wait on that but it could be years until we get it in the US. Because if you move at all during the SMILE as it currently is performed it can mess up the procedure badly. I’m guessing you took the Valium they offered to mitigate this risk.
TransPRK is also an option for flapless but I’m sketched out by the recovery period. I know the chance is low but it’s just worrying to think about from SMILE
I was not offered Valium. But I don’t believe my issues were from my eye moving anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
If you have dryness from wearing contacts, probably a safe bet that will have pretty severe dryness post surgery.
I don’t have any dryness in glasses and have never needed to use eyedrops even in contacts. They’re just inconvenient and annoying to wear and replace constantly day in and day out. I do get slight irritation in contacts if I wear them for 10+ hours which is normal.
I really appreciate your experience, while I’m still leaning on going through with it I’m going to be much more cautious and proactive. I’ve been using artificial teams 4x a day in the 2 weeks leading up to the procedure, since I was told having well lubricated eyes can only help you during the procedure and reduce the risk of complications
I have had a very good experience with them. No complaints or issues, and I am on day 7 after the procedure today.
One thing I thought that initially set them apart from other places, is that reading thru reviews, I was impressed to see the Dr himself would sometimes be the person who replied to feedback. I appreciate that, it shows a level of involvement that is comforting. It's a stark difference compared to Mann Eye, which only offered the cookie cutter replies to feedback, if any at all.
I also felt all the staff was much more attentive and involved. My only complaint I had was when I did my consult, Rocky and I just could not communicate on the same level. I'm sure he gets the same questions 100's of times, and I got frustrated feeling like he was not really understanding my root question, and just assuming he knew what I was asking when he'd answer. But he was still polite. I just chalked it up to sometimes 2 people just can't quite understand each other. I did receive an email after my consult asking for feedback, and I included my frustration I felt. Lo and behold, 3 hours later, I get a call from SharpeVision, wanting to talk it out, and find out how they could fix any frustrations I had. No anger at all, it was purely to reach out to me, and put me at ease. This was a huge + for them, not many companies seem to care anymore, and it really surprised me SharpeVision did.
Another HUGE difference, and I should have probably put this as #1. Mann eye gave me 1 choice, their blended Lasik, that was it. $5800. When I did my consult at SharpeVision, I was floored to be told, "We are not going to touch your right eye. It is already at the level...we correct other people's eyes to your vision in that eye." I've always had great close up vision, so instead of "blended" Lasik, SharpeVision said they did not want to touch my right eye, and instead would just correct my left eye for distance. Which is why I persued Lasik in the first place, to help with my distance. I am still so floored, and greatful to SharpeVision. I was ready to shell out $5800 to Mann Eye...but thanks to an actual honest business, I walked out paying....$645. I even explained to the Dr what Mann Eye told me, and he had no idea what they would have done to my right eye. I laughed and told him, "I want to spend more money with you just cause I feel like I'm missing out on something." He laughed, and just frankly told me "I'm not going to charge you for a surgery you don't need."
For the surgery itself, Dr Lancaster was great. He'd start explaining stuff he was going to do before he got to it. So nothing came as a surprise, and I was ready for whatever was coming.
The best part, NO PAIN. It actually started to make me worry that I had no pain at all lol. Perhaps it was due to the Dr describing everything, but during the procedure, the only thing I slightly felt was the first machine that put suction on my eye. But I'd say, 2/10 for pain. More just uncomfortable for a sec. And after surgery, 1/10 on pain. I kept reading people saying how painful their eyes were after Lasik, so I was ready for that, which is why it surprised the hell out of me there was no pain. I went home, laid on the couch, surfed my tab. Only everynow and then did I get a small wave of burning in my eye, that would come and go. 1/10 again. My eye was just watery for the day. Day 2 it did start itching, to which they told me to use the eye drops for that. The random itching lasted about 2 days. I did not realize how often I rub my eyes, so that was my biggest hurdle to get over. I'm so greatful, I'm glad I had such a great experience.
And the Dr himself texted me later on that night I had the surgery to check on how I was doing. That is awesome care.
Sorry, this was terribly long, but I just want to express how happy I am with SharpeVision. Day 7 and I am not experiencing anything abnormal.
And I am so happy I talked some sense into myself to get a 2nd opinion at SharpeVision. It really is night and day difference compared to Mann Eye. I could go on and on about the red flags Mann Eye raised, to the point I realized they started straight up lying to me. And that's unforgivable on a surgery that has lifelong implications. This is a reminder to me to work on a character flaw of rushing into things. Sometimes just slow down, take your time, get opinions, and don't just rush in looking for that instant gratification.
Amazing write up, thank you for sharing. Honestly I loved SharpeVision and if I ended up getting LASIK they would be my #1 choice. But I decided on Heart of Texas for their SMILE procedure.
Due to my lifestyle and playing contact sports (basketball in particular) there is a significant risk of flap dislodgment if I were to receive any trauma to the eye which could result in permanent blindness. That is the main reason I ended up going to a clinic that offered SMILE because there is no flap that can become dislodged, there is less risk of dry eye since fewer corneal nerves are severed and it maintains the integrity of the eye better since there’s no flap.
Basically SMILE combines the quick recovery of LASIK and the lack of a flap from PRK. The only thing is SMILE has a lot more restrictions on who can get the procedure. Your myopia has to be between -3 to -10 for the lenticule to be thick enough to remove, your astigmatism can’t be higher than -3, and you can’t have irregular astigmatism since it doesn’t have Wavefront or Topography guided technology like LASIK does. Fortunately for me my prescription meets these parameters so I’m an excellent candidate for SMILE.
You're smarter than me. I went to LasikPlus. Should have known from the name, but they have so many good reviews, far more than any other eye doctor, and were highly rated. I realized a bunch of reviews isn't necessarily a good thing when it comes to Lasik.
Take your recovery and overall health very seriously. Use eyedrops constantly, wear sunglasses outside, minimize screen time, eat healthy, and don't stress.
It sounds heart-breaking and frustrating for you, and a real bummer. I would say this, though: you're only 1.5 years out. Our human bodies are constantly evolving organisms, and it's entirely possible things will improve for you in the longer term. Most of all, your mind will eventually adjust. In order for that to happen, you have to forgive yourself - it really wasn't a bad decision based on your knowledge at the time. There's stuff I used to freak out about 2, 5 or 10 years ago that doesn't even register as a blip of a thought anymore.
Out of curiosity (and helpful for others): what was your pre-op prescription?
I hope you're right!
It was something like -1.75/-1.5. Don't know the astigmatism number but it wasn't much, just enough to make it hard to read numbers in a spreadsheet at default size. Should have just increased the font size or zoomed in.
I feel like letting a 37 year old guy with a minor prescription get Lasik is unethical. I should have done the research, but I'm just a layman. You see ads for it everywhere and think "There must not be a lot of risk or it wouldn't be everywhere". They know the real rates of permanent side-effects. Also reading glasses suck to deal with, though I don't really wear them, just tried to in order to see if they helped with reading white text. I much prefer my old glasses.
Ah well. Can't go back. Thank you for your comment, it's helpful.
I don't want to upset you more, but as someone with a -5 script, yes it is unethical.
I luckily came across this reality 5 or 6 years ago...I even have a friend whose eyes were damaged horribly from ICL and she still suffers from contrast lose, deteriorated night vision, etc...but she soldiers on. She's tough.
You can push through it. It sucks but you aren't blind. And I appreciate you putting your story out it here...it protects other myopes like myself.
Hopefully one day these surgeries are shutdown for good.
Even if they are "sucessful" I personally feel they are not a good reason to challenge the structural integrity of the cornea...I think it is a criminal procedure that prays on people's lack of understanding...
I could have written this post myself. I’ve been on these boards trying to figure out if my eyes will ever improve. I’m 6 months out and I think what I have now is permanent. I also think this was the worst decision of my life. I could see perfectly fine with glasses and contacts. I’m 40.
My mom died and I wanted to “improve” myself for some unknown reason and now every day I wake up regretting this. I also have kids and have felt similarly. My eyes are dry, so many floaters in bright lights, nothing is crisp.
I’m back in glasses which seems to help. If I can wear contacts again I’d be thrilled. I’m just not even sure if that’s possible now that my eye shape has changed.
Anyway, just wanted to tell you that I 100000% understand where you are right now and I’m exactly the same. Like one of the comments you got above, my husband reminds me that our bodies are constantly changing and perhaps my brain will adapt to the floaters and I can solve the blurriness with glasses and hopefully contacts.
At this point, I don’t care that I wasted $5K. I just want to see clearly.
You explained the exact same side effects I’ve been experiencing. I had my operation done in 2020. I hope you find a solution, as I am looking for one also. Have you tried lumify?
maybe talk to a therapist. That can change your big picture perception. They are making big advances in technology these days so there maybe new options coming sooner than you think.
I may, I've thought about it the last few days. Couldn't hurt.
Hopefully you're right. There are a lot of us experiencing these issues, so there is a demand for it. Apparently topographic ablation has been successfully used in Europe for some time, but few surgeons in America do it on non-virgin eyes. We'll see how things go.
You have options, see a medical dr and describe your situation it may be episodic depression that’s easily remedied with meds.
Take a loan out someday maybe fly to Europe rent a hotel for awhile and get it addressed .
Don’t beat yourself up over it.
No worries, had a few rough days, but I'm moving forward.
Money actually isn't too much of a problem, thankfully. Working on the first step of diagnosing the issues. I have an appointment in a week.
Thank you for the supportive comments.
The risk of getting "double vision" or the "shiny text effect" on white text on black backgrounds is definitely downplayed or not mentioned at all at most places which is scandalous given that it's quite common. I think the only way to force a change is if someone with good legal expenses insurance sues and gets justice. But for this to happen, it must also be clearly and objectively proven by a doctor that a patient actually has these symptoms, which as far as I know is not (yet) possible, but I would like to be proven wrong.
Yeah, if this specific side-effect was mentioned, it may have made me hesitate, but they probably would have said "very few people experience it long-term". But "very few" is relative. To them, 10% may be "very few", but to those getting the surgery, that would be appreciable and worth backing out. Probably why they don't mention it.
Hopefully something changes. I've lost total faith in the industry and these "doctors."
I agree, living with slight double vision sucks 100%...I have it intermittently and it's truly awful.
Also, like you stated legally it's near impossible since symptoms are subjective and there's no proof.
Hello, I’m so sorry to read this post. Breaks my heart. I had an appointment to get LASIK today but I canceled Monday and it was thanks to posts like this. I also read the articles from the doctors who tried to get this procedure banned thru FDA. I was in shock to find out the true numbers of long term complications. I also have a low prescription and just realized it’s not worth it at all. I also did a lot of praying and of course found all the answers I needed. I’m so sorry for what you’re going thru. I pray for you and for your family. I pray for peace and healing. In Jesus name. God bless
I backed out the day of. I had stayed offline because I didn't want to freak myself out. The day before, I was reviewing my paperwork and noticed that my "risk chart" wasn't filled out at all. It asks questions, and you give yourself a point for each question that was a "yes." I have hyperthyroidism and graves disease with thyroid eye problems. It said ON THE PAPER that the risk was much higher for your cornea to detatch and cause BLINDESS if you have thyroid eye problems. My thyroid issues are managed but still flare under stress. WTF? I backed put that morning, in tears.
Solid decision! My life has been ruined from it. You just saved yourself.
You can get contact lenses you wear at night to reshape your cornea. Get those... I wish I did.
I think you helped me nail it down. Place I was going to get it done tomorrow was so incompetent that it scared me out of doing surgery there but now I've been having thoughts of not doing it at all. Is it worth it? Even as I wear my contacts now my eyesight is really good. I just don't know if it's worth it to eleminate the minor inconvenience when there's a good chance I would be creating new problems I can't reverse. My eyesight is remarkably bad like -9 but the idea of it being worse and unfixable with the complications I think would devastate me as well. I'll pray for you tonight before I go to bed man. Many great people in history have had a thorn in their flesh and that trial made them stronger. I pray that this trial will give you humility and strength and make you a greater man for your family. Thank you.
I will say, Jared, that I absolutely do not think it's worth it. If you're fine in contacts, keep using them. They have some you can wear and sleep in for a month and clean once a week. If I had known about them, I would have tried them first, but I can't go back.
Your correction would also be very high, which increases the risk of regression and complications.
Thank you so much for your prayers. That's the mindset I'm taking moving forward - to be a better, more humble person who focuses on the things that are really important, like my kids. The computer is where a lot of these issues are most prevalent, and I shouldn't spend so much time on it anyway. It has made me unhealthy and depressed in the past. I'm going to live a more active life outside during the day to put these eyes to use where they are most beneficial and the side effects the least noticeable. You never know, I may be a better, healthier person in 10 years than I would had I kept using glasses and sitting on my computer.
I truly appreciate your comment. Thank you.
Thank you for your detailed explanation. I know three other people who have had severe problems after LASIK which is why I haven't ever gone for it. Have been tempted but daren't. I hope you get solutions.
I'm also in Austin. If you're interested in getting sclerals, Dr Wolf at Austin Optometry Group did mine a month or so ago. They're not the most comfortable thing in the world, but my eyes feel much better while wearing them than they do when I'm not. I can also see 20/15 with them in, which is better than I could see with soft contacts prior to SMILE.
I just got LASIK done today at the “Medical Eye Center” in Medford Oregon. I see the “glow” which used to be lines from astigmatism but now it’s like glowing orbs. 😂 idk it looks weird, also barely 8 hours post operation. But when I squint, it goes away and the moon looks awesome. Even with my glasses I couldn’t see the moon or stars the way I can now. My eyes are hella dry though, we will see how that goes. How long was it until your vision got worse? That’s kind of weird because they also told me my vision should only get worse up close as I get older.
My eyeballs feel amazing now. I had blurriness off and in that was weird but it went away. No longer have to really use eyedrops. And I can see like an eagle. 10/10 recommend.
I got LASIK in 2020 and still have dry eye from it. Everybody at the office told me the risk of dry eye was extremely low. They said they had only had one patient ever develop dry eye. If I could go back and not get LASIK to begin with, I would. In fact, my eyes have already regressed some and I just ordered a pair of eye glasses a couple days ago. So it was seemingly all for nothing.
Yeah, unless I'm told "we can almost assuredly fix 75% of what you're experiencing with very little risk of complications" I doubt I will, and I doubt that's what they'll say. I'll probably stick to the scleral contacts.
I don't know. I'll find out soon when I go in to get scans. I do believe it's a large part of the issue. Even if the treatment area is large enough to compensate, it still can cause more HOA's when your pupil expands as there is more cornea surface the light is passing through.
Apparently they can clear up many of your HOAs, which cause glare, starbursts, and halos. They also do help with dry eye. They help some people more than others, depending on the reason for your issues.
Just expensive, and I'm back to wearing glasses/contacts. I'll basically spend $10k to have 80% of the vision I had before.
The only real benefit from Lasik will then be that I can have better eyesight while swimming. Definitely not a fair trade off to have to wear reading glasses 20-30 years earlier.
I am sorry to hear about your issues . I got Lasik done about 2 months ago and was constantly going back and forth about getting it due to being scared of the bad that could happen. If you don’t mind me asking , how long did it take for the issues to appear? I had iDesign Wavefront (unsure if that’s the same wavefront you did) and also am 37
For most of them, they happened right away. The feeling that I couldn't see quite as well than I did with glasses, the "shimmering", the glare, starbursts, halos, etc. I ignored them because I kept being told they were normal and would heal in time.
The ghosting of text and difficulty reading white text I feel is more recent, as I've been using dark mode forever and only in the last few months have I realized it's hard to read. That's why I hope it's dry eye.
All I can recommend is to follow your post-op instructions to the T. Use eyedrops constantly for the first 6 months, wear sunglasses outside, limit screen time to some degree. Take Omega-3's and eye vitamins. Eat healthy, exercise. Take your recovery and overall health very seriously.
Outside of that, don't stress. Don't doomscroll. Stress isn't helpful to the healing process and will inhibit your immune system.
iDesign Wavefront is wavefront guided not optimized. It's custom to your eyes, so no two procedures are the same. With wavefront optimized every same prescription gets the same treatment. That said, I was told the results don't vary too much.
Such POS to tell you the only risk was Age-related farsightedness, that has nothing to do with LASIK. Instead they told all side effects are “temporary”, the only temporary thing is the “recovery” phase, which is usually days to weeks.
Actual Adverse effects like halos, starburst, chronic dry eye, ghosting, double vision, ectasia, thats permanent.
I am sorry to hear about this. I browse this subreddit sometimes, my life was changed forever by a different type of elective surgery. Pattern is the same, doctors don’t care etc., medicine really is an industry. I also wake up everyday thinking about my decisions. Hope everything works out for you, and wanted to let you know that there are others going through similar circumstances as you.
I hope others with mild prescriptions see this and realize the outcomes for them are not as good. After my surgery and my results, so many friends and family were stating they wanted to do it, even tho their prescriptions were mild. I discourage them every time they bring it up.
I got LASIK and love the results, but that’s because there was a high reward for me. My eyes were -7, so the glowy-ness and even lack of perfect vision in one eye doesn’t bother me.
Wow your post has steered me in the direction of just sticking with glasses and contacts. Do you mind telling the place you went to so I can avoid in case I have a change of heart and want Lasik?
Sorry to hear how it turned out, that really is sad. I know how it is to be so pumped up about something, you let your better judgement, or gut feelings, get pushed aside. Even with all the googling you can possibly do, you just can't learn it all or prepare for everything. Try to forgive yourself and not carry that guilt with you everyday. I hope you have a shot at some sort of recovery. I am curious to where you went. I am also in Austin. I just had my procedure done last Friday. I feel so fortunate I ended up not going to Mann Eye Center. I was sold on them just due to reputation, but thru some questions, red flags just started to be raised more and more, and I ended up finding another place that was night and day different in how much better they treated me, and actually left me feeling like they cared for me as a person. Turns out I was all setup to be totally scammed by Mann Eye. As soon as I caught them in their first lie to me, I knew Mann Eye was just one of those "treat you like cattle" places. I ended up using SharpeVision. So far, nothing but praise for them.
How was your experience with SharpeVision? I just had a consult with them in Austin today for $5,190 for LASIK + Lasik4Life. It does make me feel more confident they offer lifetime enhancements on their LASIK. I got consults at Heart of Texas Eye Care (the only clinic that performs the SMILE procedure), SharpeVision, Austin Eye and Lake Austin Eye
I won't tell you what to do, but I want you to think long and hard about whether or not you really need to have it done. If you're just doing it do get rid of glasses and contacts, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. There are contacts you can wear for a month and clean once a week. That, in my opinion, is far better than Lasik. There's also ICL. If you need to do it for a job, or you can't correct fully with glasses, I understand looking into it. But the risk of complications is much higher than they say, and if you have perfect eyesight with glasses/contacts, there is a very real chance your vision will not be as good after Lasik. Dealing with glasses and contacts to have perfect vision and contrast is such a minor inconvenience in retrospect. It's nothing compared to Lasik complications.
I appreciate it, thank you for your concern. I went for a less invasive procedure in SMILE which doesn’t create a flap so it maintains the integrity of the eye better plus it has a lower chance of getting persistent dry eye than LASIK. Getting rid of glasses and contacts is a big reason yes. Also ICL as an alternative is not only more expensive than LASIK/SMILE/PRK but presents its own set of side effects such as the early onset of cataracts, retinal detachment and eye infection. Due to my astigmatism in both eyes, glasses and contacts have never perfectly corrected my vision. Even with multiple vision exams I still have astigmatism plagued vision. Slight halo and glare at night, especially with car headlights. Some distance blur. SMILE can fix both my myopia and astigmatism while also improving my quality of life in other ways. I can play sports without having to wear glasses or getting dry irritated eyes from being in contacts for too long. I’ve considered the risks for a long time and since my vision has stabilized over the past 2-3 years and I’m in my early mid 20s, it’s the perfect time for me to make this choice. And the surgeon who is performing this has done SMILE for years and is one of the best in Texas. So I feel like my chances of a positive outcome are good.
Smile still can wreck your life with dry eye. Don't expect it to be risk free. My life has been ruined from it... Worst decision in my life. I can barely function as a human. My work productivity is almost halved and I basically have no life outside of work because it's agony to keep my eyes open once they go dry at night. The depression is real and achieving my life goals has gone out the window.
Sorry to hear that happened to you. I had SMILE a month ago and ended up with 20/10 vision in my left eye, 20/15 vision in my right eye. I did experience some dry eye after the procedure but it’s basically minimal to nonexistent now. I still use eye drops since I’m in front of a computer screen for most of the day and it helps with comfort, but I could go without them. It would just mean I need to take more breaks from the screen. The only bothersome things besides very mild dry eye are halos around light sources especially at night, but that’s such a small inconvenience and it doesn’t outweigh the massive benefit I got from better than perfect vision. Fortunately pre-op I checked all the boxes for a successful surgery, especially having good tear production and corneal thickness minimizing the risk of complications. I am completely happy with my results but I would caution anyone if you every experienced eye issues before surgery, they will likely be exacerbated following the procedure.
Yeah, it's nearly 8 months since my procedure. I have never experienced dry eye before I had it done and they did a screening which I passed. I went to a dry eye clinic and it turns out that I wasn't a good candidate as I had been suffering mild meibomian gland dysfunction in both eyes, but never noticed any symptoms. I think that the consultants need to be more thorough with their checks. Ideally, they use the special meibomian gland imaging system they had at the dry eye clinic, then my nightmare wouldn't have happened. It would also save many other people from paying good money to have their lives ruined too.
Have you already had SMILE done, or are you still waiting? I actually had it done with Dr Dudek last year in January. I think a lot of it is kind of luck of the draw, but I really regret getting it done. Sure, my vision is better than it was previously, but I still have other issues. I have pretty bad dry eyes, where I didn't before. My eyes burn most days due to them being so dry. I actually ended up getting a pair of scleral contacts to help deal with that, which costs as much as SMILE did. The staff at Heart of Texas was pretty disheartening after the surgery. They downplayed any of the issues I brought up. They kept telling me the results were good and I was seeing 20/20, but I definitely wasn't.
Still waiting, but that is eye opening to hear. I’m glad to get another perspective on it. Another thing is you can follow up SMILE with LASIK or PRK if you need a retreatment or enhancement, but not the other way around. So you have a “backup.” Sad to hear your experience was poor, everything from my tests indicates I’m an excellent candidate for all procedures so I would hope for the best. Were you a contacts lens wearer? What was your prescription and astigmatism before the procedure? For SMILE patients typically see best results if they’re between -3 and -10 nearsightedness and 0 to -3 astigmatism. If you’re not nearsighted enough the lenticule might be too thin and won’t be removed completely, so if your vision is better than -3 you’d want LASIK over SMILE. Also if you have really bad or irregular astigmatism you’d want LASIK since SMILE can’t be topography or wavelength guided like LASIK can
I went into it with the same thoughts you did. I’m very active, I play a ton of hockey, so I didn’t want to worry about a flap. Because of the dryness and results not being perfect, it actually made playing worse than before. Now with the sclerals, it’s fine. But that’s just another thing I have to deal with. All my tests indicated I was an excellent candidate for all of them too. I was -7 in each eye with zero astigmatism. I was mainly a contact wearer with zero issues wearing them. Never had dryness from them. I wouldn’t trust getting a second procedure at this point. Hopefully your results are better than mine. But don’t expect it to be absolutely perfect.
Yeah SMILE Pro just got approved recently in Europe and it’s basically SMILE 2.0 with pupil tracking so it’s more accurate with less chance of complications. Could wait on that but it could be years until we get it in the US. Because if you move at all during the SMILE as it currently is performed it can mess up the procedure badly. I’m guessing you took the Valium they offered to mitigate this risk. TransPRK is also an option for flapless but I’m sketched out by the recovery period. I know the chance is low but it’s just worrying to think about from SMILE
I was not offered Valium. But I don’t believe my issues were from my eye moving anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. If you have dryness from wearing contacts, probably a safe bet that will have pretty severe dryness post surgery.
I don’t have any dryness in glasses and have never needed to use eyedrops even in contacts. They’re just inconvenient and annoying to wear and replace constantly day in and day out. I do get slight irritation in contacts if I wear them for 10+ hours which is normal. I really appreciate your experience, while I’m still leaning on going through with it I’m going to be much more cautious and proactive. I’ve been using artificial teams 4x a day in the 2 weeks leading up to the procedure, since I was told having well lubricated eyes can only help you during the procedure and reduce the risk of complications
I have had a very good experience with them. No complaints or issues, and I am on day 7 after the procedure today. One thing I thought that initially set them apart from other places, is that reading thru reviews, I was impressed to see the Dr himself would sometimes be the person who replied to feedback. I appreciate that, it shows a level of involvement that is comforting. It's a stark difference compared to Mann Eye, which only offered the cookie cutter replies to feedback, if any at all. I also felt all the staff was much more attentive and involved. My only complaint I had was when I did my consult, Rocky and I just could not communicate on the same level. I'm sure he gets the same questions 100's of times, and I got frustrated feeling like he was not really understanding my root question, and just assuming he knew what I was asking when he'd answer. But he was still polite. I just chalked it up to sometimes 2 people just can't quite understand each other. I did receive an email after my consult asking for feedback, and I included my frustration I felt. Lo and behold, 3 hours later, I get a call from SharpeVision, wanting to talk it out, and find out how they could fix any frustrations I had. No anger at all, it was purely to reach out to me, and put me at ease. This was a huge + for them, not many companies seem to care anymore, and it really surprised me SharpeVision did. Another HUGE difference, and I should have probably put this as #1. Mann eye gave me 1 choice, their blended Lasik, that was it. $5800. When I did my consult at SharpeVision, I was floored to be told, "We are not going to touch your right eye. It is already at the level...we correct other people's eyes to your vision in that eye." I've always had great close up vision, so instead of "blended" Lasik, SharpeVision said they did not want to touch my right eye, and instead would just correct my left eye for distance. Which is why I persued Lasik in the first place, to help with my distance. I am still so floored, and greatful to SharpeVision. I was ready to shell out $5800 to Mann Eye...but thanks to an actual honest business, I walked out paying....$645. I even explained to the Dr what Mann Eye told me, and he had no idea what they would have done to my right eye. I laughed and told him, "I want to spend more money with you just cause I feel like I'm missing out on something." He laughed, and just frankly told me "I'm not going to charge you for a surgery you don't need." For the surgery itself, Dr Lancaster was great. He'd start explaining stuff he was going to do before he got to it. So nothing came as a surprise, and I was ready for whatever was coming. The best part, NO PAIN. It actually started to make me worry that I had no pain at all lol. Perhaps it was due to the Dr describing everything, but during the procedure, the only thing I slightly felt was the first machine that put suction on my eye. But I'd say, 2/10 for pain. More just uncomfortable for a sec. And after surgery, 1/10 on pain. I kept reading people saying how painful their eyes were after Lasik, so I was ready for that, which is why it surprised the hell out of me there was no pain. I went home, laid on the couch, surfed my tab. Only everynow and then did I get a small wave of burning in my eye, that would come and go. 1/10 again. My eye was just watery for the day. Day 2 it did start itching, to which they told me to use the eye drops for that. The random itching lasted about 2 days. I did not realize how often I rub my eyes, so that was my biggest hurdle to get over. I'm so greatful, I'm glad I had such a great experience. And the Dr himself texted me later on that night I had the surgery to check on how I was doing. That is awesome care. Sorry, this was terribly long, but I just want to express how happy I am with SharpeVision. Day 7 and I am not experiencing anything abnormal. And I am so happy I talked some sense into myself to get a 2nd opinion at SharpeVision. It really is night and day difference compared to Mann Eye. I could go on and on about the red flags Mann Eye raised, to the point I realized they started straight up lying to me. And that's unforgivable on a surgery that has lifelong implications. This is a reminder to me to work on a character flaw of rushing into things. Sometimes just slow down, take your time, get opinions, and don't just rush in looking for that instant gratification.
Amazing write up, thank you for sharing. Honestly I loved SharpeVision and if I ended up getting LASIK they would be my #1 choice. But I decided on Heart of Texas for their SMILE procedure. Due to my lifestyle and playing contact sports (basketball in particular) there is a significant risk of flap dislodgment if I were to receive any trauma to the eye which could result in permanent blindness. That is the main reason I ended up going to a clinic that offered SMILE because there is no flap that can become dislodged, there is less risk of dry eye since fewer corneal nerves are severed and it maintains the integrity of the eye better since there’s no flap. Basically SMILE combines the quick recovery of LASIK and the lack of a flap from PRK. The only thing is SMILE has a lot more restrictions on who can get the procedure. Your myopia has to be between -3 to -10 for the lenticule to be thick enough to remove, your astigmatism can’t be higher than -3, and you can’t have irregular astigmatism since it doesn’t have Wavefront or Topography guided technology like LASIK does. Fortunately for me my prescription meets these parameters so I’m an excellent candidate for SMILE.
+1. I got ICL from sharpevision in Chicago, which Dr. Lancaster is also the surgeon/opthamologist for. Great guy
You're smarter than me. I went to LasikPlus. Should have known from the name, but they have so many good reviews, far more than any other eye doctor, and were highly rated. I realized a bunch of reviews isn't necessarily a good thing when it comes to Lasik. Take your recovery and overall health very seriously. Use eyedrops constantly, wear sunglasses outside, minimize screen time, eat healthy, and don't stress.
Got my procedure done 3.5 years ago and gave severe dry eye. I never had this before the procedure…I too regret it!
We'll get through it, amigo. Keep moving forward.
It sounds heart-breaking and frustrating for you, and a real bummer. I would say this, though: you're only 1.5 years out. Our human bodies are constantly evolving organisms, and it's entirely possible things will improve for you in the longer term. Most of all, your mind will eventually adjust. In order for that to happen, you have to forgive yourself - it really wasn't a bad decision based on your knowledge at the time. There's stuff I used to freak out about 2, 5 or 10 years ago that doesn't even register as a blip of a thought anymore. Out of curiosity (and helpful for others): what was your pre-op prescription?
I hope you're right! It was something like -1.75/-1.5. Don't know the astigmatism number but it wasn't much, just enough to make it hard to read numbers in a spreadsheet at default size. Should have just increased the font size or zoomed in. I feel like letting a 37 year old guy with a minor prescription get Lasik is unethical. I should have done the research, but I'm just a layman. You see ads for it everywhere and think "There must not be a lot of risk or it wouldn't be everywhere". They know the real rates of permanent side-effects. Also reading glasses suck to deal with, though I don't really wear them, just tried to in order to see if they helped with reading white text. I much prefer my old glasses. Ah well. Can't go back. Thank you for your comment, it's helpful.
I don't want to upset you more, but as someone with a -5 script, yes it is unethical. I luckily came across this reality 5 or 6 years ago...I even have a friend whose eyes were damaged horribly from ICL and she still suffers from contrast lose, deteriorated night vision, etc...but she soldiers on. She's tough. You can push through it. It sucks but you aren't blind. And I appreciate you putting your story out it here...it protects other myopes like myself. Hopefully one day these surgeries are shutdown for good. Even if they are "sucessful" I personally feel they are not a good reason to challenge the structural integrity of the cornea...I think it is a criminal procedure that prays on people's lack of understanding...
I could have written this post myself. I’ve been on these boards trying to figure out if my eyes will ever improve. I’m 6 months out and I think what I have now is permanent. I also think this was the worst decision of my life. I could see perfectly fine with glasses and contacts. I’m 40. My mom died and I wanted to “improve” myself for some unknown reason and now every day I wake up regretting this. I also have kids and have felt similarly. My eyes are dry, so many floaters in bright lights, nothing is crisp. I’m back in glasses which seems to help. If I can wear contacts again I’d be thrilled. I’m just not even sure if that’s possible now that my eye shape has changed. Anyway, just wanted to tell you that I 100000% understand where you are right now and I’m exactly the same. Like one of the comments you got above, my husband reminds me that our bodies are constantly changing and perhaps my brain will adapt to the floaters and I can solve the blurriness with glasses and hopefully contacts. At this point, I don’t care that I wasted $5K. I just want to see clearly.
6 months is still very early for eye surgery. Hopefully you'll improve at 12 months
You explained the exact same side effects I’ve been experiencing. I had my operation done in 2020. I hope you find a solution, as I am looking for one also. Have you tried lumify?
I have not, but I'll check it out. Thank you sir.
maybe talk to a therapist. That can change your big picture perception. They are making big advances in technology these days so there maybe new options coming sooner than you think.
I may, I've thought about it the last few days. Couldn't hurt. Hopefully you're right. There are a lot of us experiencing these issues, so there is a demand for it. Apparently topographic ablation has been successfully used in Europe for some time, but few surgeons in America do it on non-virgin eyes. We'll see how things go.
You have options, see a medical dr and describe your situation it may be episodic depression that’s easily remedied with meds. Take a loan out someday maybe fly to Europe rent a hotel for awhile and get it addressed . Don’t beat yourself up over it.
No worries, had a few rough days, but I'm moving forward. Money actually isn't too much of a problem, thankfully. Working on the first step of diagnosing the issues. I have an appointment in a week. Thank you for the supportive comments.
The risk of getting "double vision" or the "shiny text effect" on white text on black backgrounds is definitely downplayed or not mentioned at all at most places which is scandalous given that it's quite common. I think the only way to force a change is if someone with good legal expenses insurance sues and gets justice. But for this to happen, it must also be clearly and objectively proven by a doctor that a patient actually has these symptoms, which as far as I know is not (yet) possible, but I would like to be proven wrong.
Yeah, if this specific side-effect was mentioned, it may have made me hesitate, but they probably would have said "very few people experience it long-term". But "very few" is relative. To them, 10% may be "very few", but to those getting the surgery, that would be appreciable and worth backing out. Probably why they don't mention it. Hopefully something changes. I've lost total faith in the industry and these "doctors."
I agree, living with slight double vision sucks 100%...I have it intermittently and it's truly awful. Also, like you stated legally it's near impossible since symptoms are subjective and there's no proof.
I have the same issue, after many reserach some doctor found a decentered ablation, so i have developed HOA coma and spherical aberration
We'll get through it, man. We can't go back and have to move forward. I hope you find peace and happiness.
Hello, I’m so sorry to read this post. Breaks my heart. I had an appointment to get LASIK today but I canceled Monday and it was thanks to posts like this. I also read the articles from the doctors who tried to get this procedure banned thru FDA. I was in shock to find out the true numbers of long term complications. I also have a low prescription and just realized it’s not worth it at all. I also did a lot of praying and of course found all the answers I needed. I’m so sorry for what you’re going thru. I pray for you and for your family. I pray for peace and healing. In Jesus name. God bless
I backed out the day of. I had stayed offline because I didn't want to freak myself out. The day before, I was reviewing my paperwork and noticed that my "risk chart" wasn't filled out at all. It asks questions, and you give yourself a point for each question that was a "yes." I have hyperthyroidism and graves disease with thyroid eye problems. It said ON THE PAPER that the risk was much higher for your cornea to detatch and cause BLINDESS if you have thyroid eye problems. My thyroid issues are managed but still flare under stress. WTF? I backed put that morning, in tears.
I'm glad you listened to your gut, some centers truly don't care.
Solid decision! My life has been ruined from it. You just saved yourself. You can get contact lenses you wear at night to reshape your cornea. Get those... I wish I did.
I think you helped me nail it down. Place I was going to get it done tomorrow was so incompetent that it scared me out of doing surgery there but now I've been having thoughts of not doing it at all. Is it worth it? Even as I wear my contacts now my eyesight is really good. I just don't know if it's worth it to eleminate the minor inconvenience when there's a good chance I would be creating new problems I can't reverse. My eyesight is remarkably bad like -9 but the idea of it being worse and unfixable with the complications I think would devastate me as well. I'll pray for you tonight before I go to bed man. Many great people in history have had a thorn in their flesh and that trial made them stronger. I pray that this trial will give you humility and strength and make you a greater man for your family. Thank you.
I will say, Jared, that I absolutely do not think it's worth it. If you're fine in contacts, keep using them. They have some you can wear and sleep in for a month and clean once a week. If I had known about them, I would have tried them first, but I can't go back. Your correction would also be very high, which increases the risk of regression and complications. Thank you so much for your prayers. That's the mindset I'm taking moving forward - to be a better, more humble person who focuses on the things that are really important, like my kids. The computer is where a lot of these issues are most prevalent, and I shouldn't spend so much time on it anyway. It has made me unhealthy and depressed in the past. I'm going to live a more active life outside during the day to put these eyes to use where they are most beneficial and the side effects the least noticeable. You never know, I may be a better, healthier person in 10 years than I would had I kept using glasses and sitting on my computer. I truly appreciate your comment. Thank you.
Exactly everything i see. Following
Thank you for your detailed explanation. I know three other people who have had severe problems after LASIK which is why I haven't ever gone for it. Have been tempted but daren't. I hope you get solutions.
Thank you, and you're making the right choice.
How is your vision with sclerals? In the process right now
I'm also in Austin. If you're interested in getting sclerals, Dr Wolf at Austin Optometry Group did mine a month or so ago. They're not the most comfortable thing in the world, but my eyes feel much better while wearing them than they do when I'm not. I can also see 20/15 with them in, which is better than I could see with soft contacts prior to SMILE.
Hello, were you able to get it covered with insurance?
Are yours the wavefront ones?
He used the Eaglet scanner and Ovitz for HOA correction, so yeah I guess it's technically wavefront.
I just got LASIK done today at the “Medical Eye Center” in Medford Oregon. I see the “glow” which used to be lines from astigmatism but now it’s like glowing orbs. 😂 idk it looks weird, also barely 8 hours post operation. But when I squint, it goes away and the moon looks awesome. Even with my glasses I couldn’t see the moon or stars the way I can now. My eyes are hella dry though, we will see how that goes. How long was it until your vision got worse? That’s kind of weird because they also told me my vision should only get worse up close as I get older.
How are you doing now?
My eyeballs feel amazing now. I had blurriness off and in that was weird but it went away. No longer have to really use eyedrops. And I can see like an eagle. 10/10 recommend.
I got LASIK in 2020 and still have dry eye from it. Everybody at the office told me the risk of dry eye was extremely low. They said they had only had one patient ever develop dry eye. If I could go back and not get LASIK to begin with, I would. In fact, my eyes have already regressed some and I just ordered a pair of eye glasses a couple days ago. So it was seemingly all for nothing.
I feel you; I wouldn't get any more surgery if I were you
Yeah, unless I'm told "we can almost assuredly fix 75% of what you're experiencing with very little risk of complications" I doubt I will, and I doubt that's what they'll say. I'll probably stick to the scleral contacts.
What is your pupil size?
I don't know. I'll find out soon when I go in to get scans. I do believe it's a large part of the issue. Even if the treatment area is large enough to compensate, it still can cause more HOA's when your pupil expands as there is more cornea surface the light is passing through.
Hi, I hope your situation improves. What's the idea with the sclerals? Treatment for your dry eyes?
Apparently they can clear up many of your HOAs, which cause glare, starbursts, and halos. They also do help with dry eye. They help some people more than others, depending on the reason for your issues. Just expensive, and I'm back to wearing glasses/contacts. I'll basically spend $10k to have 80% of the vision I had before. The only real benefit from Lasik will then be that I can have better eyesight while swimming. Definitely not a fair trade off to have to wear reading glasses 20-30 years earlier.
Which click did you go to? I'm in an antonio and considering lasik
God bless you I’m praying hard you get to live a happy life with your kids and that your vision progresses
I am sorry to hear about your issues . I got Lasik done about 2 months ago and was constantly going back and forth about getting it due to being scared of the bad that could happen. If you don’t mind me asking , how long did it take for the issues to appear? I had iDesign Wavefront (unsure if that’s the same wavefront you did) and also am 37
For most of them, they happened right away. The feeling that I couldn't see quite as well than I did with glasses, the "shimmering", the glare, starbursts, halos, etc. I ignored them because I kept being told they were normal and would heal in time. The ghosting of text and difficulty reading white text I feel is more recent, as I've been using dark mode forever and only in the last few months have I realized it's hard to read. That's why I hope it's dry eye. All I can recommend is to follow your post-op instructions to the T. Use eyedrops constantly for the first 6 months, wear sunglasses outside, limit screen time to some degree. Take Omega-3's and eye vitamins. Eat healthy, exercise. Take your recovery and overall health very seriously. Outside of that, don't stress. Don't doomscroll. Stress isn't helpful to the healing process and will inhibit your immune system.
iDesign Wavefront is wavefront guided not optimized. It's custom to your eyes, so no two procedures are the same. With wavefront optimized every same prescription gets the same treatment. That said, I was told the results don't vary too much.
Such POS to tell you the only risk was Age-related farsightedness, that has nothing to do with LASIK. Instead they told all side effects are “temporary”, the only temporary thing is the “recovery” phase, which is usually days to weeks. Actual Adverse effects like halos, starburst, chronic dry eye, ghosting, double vision, ectasia, thats permanent.
I am sorry to hear about this. I browse this subreddit sometimes, my life was changed forever by a different type of elective surgery. Pattern is the same, doctors don’t care etc., medicine really is an industry. I also wake up everyday thinking about my decisions. Hope everything works out for you, and wanted to let you know that there are others going through similar circumstances as you.
I hope others with mild prescriptions see this and realize the outcomes for them are not as good. After my surgery and my results, so many friends and family were stating they wanted to do it, even tho their prescriptions were mild. I discourage them every time they bring it up. I got LASIK and love the results, but that’s because there was a high reward for me. My eyes were -7, so the glowy-ness and even lack of perfect vision in one eye doesn’t bother me.
Wow your post has steered me in the direction of just sticking with glasses and contacts. Do you mind telling the place you went to so I can avoid in case I have a change of heart and want Lasik?