LASIK – anyone had it done?

I am thinking of having this done this spring. Has anyone (or someone close to them) had the procedure done? I am looking at having it done at Gundersen in La Crosse, any first hand experience from there would be especially useful.

Thanks.

I know 3 people that have had it done and loved it. I have only heard good things from them. My wife wanted to have it done but was not a good candidate.

I had it done almost 2 years ago and love it. No more messing with contacts or glasses. If you have any questions/concerns send me a pm.

Have friends that have it done and love it.

My father had his done and absolutely loved it. I was wondering about doing this myself, but I didn’t know if I’d be a good candidate. Does anyone know what makes one a good candidate versus bad?
Thanks,
Steve

Short of marrying my wife, this was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. I had been wearing glasses/contacts for 23 years before I had it done last winter and I can tell you that it’s better than advertised. I can’t tell you how liberating it is not to mess around with glasses and contacts, not to mention how much crisper my vision is since the surgery as compared to my “corrected” vision with lenses.

I don’t mean to sound like a raving idiot, but it really has been a wonderful experience for me.

That said, I’ll offer a couple of additional suggestions for you to think about.

1. Shop around…go to a few providers and gauge your experience in each office. I went to 4 different offices before settling on mine, and the difference was amazing. In two of the offices I felt like livestock just being pushed throught the process, with little or no concern for my individual questions and concerns.
2. Cost…here in the Twin Cities everyone is now in the same ballpark on cost as the competition has gotten stronger and wider. It’s still worthwhile to call around and see what you can find out. If you have your prescription, you should be able to get a pretty detailed quote, as the price changes based on the amount of correction.
3. On-going care….ask to see if you can get a lifetime adjustment plan. It may cost you a few bucks (mine was $400 more) but it covers any adjustment I may need for life, rather than just one year as most of the typical plans offer. Seems $400 is worthwhile if you can avoid having to dole out another couple grand to have an adjustment in 5-10 years. Additionally, I’m only 31, so I’ve got a few years to go and my eyes are likely to change at some point.
Paying the bill….if you haven’t already, talk to your employer about cafeteria plans that allow you to save money from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis to use for medical expenses such as this that are not covered by regular employer health plans. Going this way is an immediate savings of 20%+ by using pre-tax money. There are also a lot of providers that have 0% interest financing plans available as well.

Hope this helps…if you have any further questions, please post them here and I’ll be happy to help out where I can. I’ve sent 3 people to the same Dr. I went to up here and each one has had the same experience. Good luck…

Figure_8em

Hey Figure8:

What is the going rate in the Twin Cities? We have exactly ONE provider here, so can’t really shop around here. I know a few people that have had it done here and no problems whatsoever, adn reading on the web, it looks like they have state of the art equipment here. 1,800 per eye is the downside. Also, follow up care would be easier in my hometown.

Already got the caferteria thing lined up, thanks for the heads up on the “lifetime service warranty”!! Will look into that too.

My surgery was $2400, with another $400 for the “warranty”, bringing the total to $2800. This was within $100 of the lowest quote I got for my prescription….highest was about $3300 without the warranty.

Do you know what your current prescription is? That’s what is ultimately going to drive your cost, as well as any astigmatism that you may have. My situation was one eye being -6.5 w/ an astigmatism, and the other being -7.25. The higher the correction (prescription), the higher the cost.

If the Cities are too inconvenient, you might want to look at Rochester as another alternative. I’m really surprised that you’ve only got one provider…that could explain the higher cost.

Hope this helps…

Figure_8em

My wife had lasik done last year for $800 and eye with lifetime adjustment. The low cost was due to wavefront technology being not quite available yet and the old technique was being fased out. Also her eyesight was not that bad and she had no astigmatisms. She loves it.

One more thing…here’s where I had mine done (Maple Grove, MN location). There is a bunch of good information here, as well as a description of how the “warranty” (acuity plan) works.

http://www.lasikplus.com

Holler if you have any questions….

Good topic guys. Glasses are something that I’ve had to wear almost all of my life. I used to wear contacts more, but now have switched back to glasses.
How many of you that have had it, are 20/20 now?

I was seeing 20/20 the next day…was, and am still, seeing 20/10 at my 10 day checkup.

I was the same way…wore contacts for years and then got tired of them and stuck to glasses. Got tired of that and decided to get things taken care of for good, and have been a happy camper every since.

By the way, Travis, did you live in Austin,MN for awhile when you were growing up (across/down the street from a school)? If you are, I think you and I used to hang out together in that neighborhood…does the name Eric Elwer ring a bell at all? Saw your name on here awhile back and have been curious to know.

Figure_8em

Yeah…. I lived in Austin ’till I was in 9th grade. Your name sounds familiar… I used to live by 2 schools… Nevelin & Sumner (I think thats the one). Man… we probably did hang out! Small friggen world, eh?

Oh yeah… back to the topic at hand. I have been seriously considering having this surgery done. It sounds like the recovery time is negligable?

I had it done 5 years ago this month – 20/15 vision post op and holding. I would agree with ALL the positive comments in the posts above – some of the small things are the most impressive – waking up in the night and being able to read the clock – glasses not fogging over when the temp changes – going up to a sunglass display and being able to pick out any pair ya want!! I had glasses and contacts for over 30 yrs. before deciding to have the surgery. Had my eyes done at Mayo in Rochester – the pre-op examination is worth the price even if you end up not being a good candidate for LASIK and the follow up care was second to none….
barc

I agree with everyone who has spoken … wore glasses since the 6th grade…. (50 years old now) ….. coke bottles near the end … and serious astigmatism too… had lasix done in Sept 1999 ($4k) …so happy wife had it done spring 2000 ($3k) … should be able to get $2k OR LESS now…. both of us are still very happy … don’t worry about driving a bit – you’ll only make the trip a few times …. and when you go to the sunglasses rack, you really do get what you pay for … if you give them a try, you’ll soon agree $100+ sunglasses are worth the money!

one thing to be cautious of…. make sure the doc has done at least 100 procedures …. make sure he is through the “learning curve” …. and most people “qualify” as candidates.

Good Luck,
Barry

Travis,

Recovery time is next to nothing…the only discomfort I had was when the numbing drops wore off after the surgery, and this lasted all of 90 minutes. My vision was a little cloudy the rest of the day, but by day two it was like a whole new world. You’ll truly be amazed by how much crisper your vision is without lenses. The only thing that takes a little time to go away (a few months) is the halo effect around lights at night. It’s not bad enough to make driving dangerous, but you will definitely notice it for awhile, but it does go away.

I’ll sign off now, as I fear that I’m going to be labeled the “poster boy” for this surgery….good luck.

Figure_8em

I had it done 4 years ago by Lasik Plus in North Carolina. Paid $2500 for lifetime warranty. Best thing I could have done!!!! The only thing I have problems with is when I get real tired, the fine print on the TV is a little blurry-just need wetting drops-that usually helps. As far as the halo’s, if it is raining outside at night is when I see a few on oncoming cars, but I still have 20/15 vision. Other than that, NO PROBLEMS. Should have done it 10 years ago. Good Luck.

My brother had it done about a year in half ago and absolutely loves it. He wished he would of done it a few years ago already. I think he paid about $2600 total for his procedure in Maple Grove Lasik Plus office.
HE said his vision improved to a 20/10 within days after his procedure.
Starting to sound like buying a car here….”shopping around for the best cost and consider the warranty”….

One last question for the ones who have had it done…. does it also cure the “floaters” in your eye? Or, at least lessen them? Just curious.

I had it done 4 years ago in April. Still 20/15 and am so glad I had it done. The health system I work for bought this huge eye clinic and part of the deal was a new laser. To get lots of experience on the laser, employees got the procedure done for $250. I signed up late so the laser was broke in, as well as the docs. Anyway, my purely unscientific poll shows that everyone under 50 had absolutely no “problems.” Some people over 50 experienced less than perfect results. I highly recommend it.

My floaters are still there.