Laser eye surgery, who's had it?

[TScottO]

Hello Everyone,

Which of you shooters havs had laser eye surgery. I've been rolling the idea around now for a year or so and I want some feed back from shooters as to how this worked for you. Feel free to tell me anything about how it's effected your shooting, sight picture, depth of field and quality of over all vision when applied to outdoor hobbies and shooting.
I currently wear contacts but my depth of field is awful along with my sight picture. Anyone throw some information/experiances my way.

Thanks in advance,
Scott

[Questor]

A buddy of mine effectively talked me out of it when he related his tales of woe. We have similar eyesight and this is what he experienced:
1) Had to go back three times for surgery, the second two operations corrected problems from the first.  The result was that his case became a case study at the annual convention of Lasik eye surgeons.
2) He still has to wear glasses to correct astigmatism and for reading.  

The net gain is that he's not as near-sighted as he was before the operation.  That is arguably a worthwhile gain, but not enough for me to go ahead with it.

[Mike C]

I had Lasik surgery almost two years ago, I am 48.  I was near sighted with astygmatism (spelling).  My vision went from about 20-80 in both eyes to about 20-25.  The real problem with age is presbyopia which means "old eyes", as we age the eye loses the ability to focus at different distances and Lasik doesn't change that.

I can drive a car fine and do most activities with out glasses but I usually wear sunglasses.  I  still wear glasses, a progressive lens that allows perfect focus at any distance.  My work is such that I need to wear protective eyewear all the time anyway and glasses were never a problem to me.  In my case there was little real gain because my corrected vision before was identical to corrected vision now.  It is better for certain activities such as swimming or if you get caught in a rain you can function better without glasses then before.

My wife was terribly near sighted, something like 20-600.  Her vision now is about 20-40 after Lasik, for her it is wondeful.  Everthing was a blur without glasses or contacts and now she can see pretty well without glasses but again she still wears glasses but she can at least function without them where before it was impossible.

Lasik works best on young folks who for apperaence reasons don't want to wear glasses, it gives benefit to most but it is not a 100% answer to near sightedness.   It is the most beneficial to those like my wife who had terrible uncorrected vision and could not function without glasses.

Since this is a shooting forum the question is how did Lasik afect my shooting.  If I am totaly honest I do not feel that I can see iron sights any better than before and in fact it took me about a year to get accustomed to the change in my vision, there was a long time where I definately could not shoot as well as before.  During that period I was quite concerned that I had made a mistake by doing the Lasik thing.   Also I wound up spending a couple thousand dollars on glasses as my eyes were stabilizing  to what they are now.


If your eyes real bad go for it but if your eyes are just a littel bad it's not like you get eagle vision and thats it.

Mike C

[jlk]

About 11 years ago I had the RK surgery and I haven't had any problems from this. My vision was 20-25 right after the surgery and now it is 20-20.

John

[daveb]

I had Lasik surgery in both eyes in 1998 (doesn't seem that long ago).  I'm now 39, and was very nearsighted (+7) in both eyes.  My right eye is now
perfect, which is good because it's my dominant eye.  My left isn't quite perfect because of some astigmatism (sp?).  I was unable to wear contacts previously due to the dry climate (Montana) I'm in.

Unlike others, I notice a big difference with iron sights.  Things are crisp again.  My shotgun shooting seems better too; maybe due to peripheral
vision improvement.  Anyway, I'd check with your eye doctor.  I did pay
more for my surgery than I could have had it done elsewhere, and got the surgeon my eye doctor recommended; maybe this made a difference.  
Good luck if you decide to do it.  I'm fully satisfied.

[hans g./UpS]

I've considered it-but was warned against it:increases pressure in the eye.
If you already have glaucoma,get a professional opinion before going for the surgery[it could worsen the glaucoma].

[TScottO]

Monday I'm going to see my Eye Dr and find out his views on laser surgery. I have heard many good reports on laser surgery from nonshooters and athletes but I've never heard feedback from the shooting and hunting community until now. My sights are blurry as are my targets after about 25 yards. Some eye dr's I've talked to in the past say that some people are just like that but that reply has never satisfied me. The doctors swear that I'm only mildly near-sighted with a stigmatism (sp?). Perhaps this doctor will be able to help me more than the others. I really hope at 29 years old I don't have to resort to scoping handguns out of necessity.

Thanks for your replies.
Scott

[bpjon]

Scott, I had my Lasik done when I was 29, and it was the best money I ever spent.  I was extremely nearsighted, with astigmatism in both eyes.  I literally could not read the numbers on my digital alarm clock from 3 feet away.  Now, everything is very crisp and clear, I don't have scopes on any of my handguns, and my shooting did improve.  My only problem was learning to walk more carefully in the woods, as I kept getting poked by things my glasses would have stopped.

[ringo]

Had mine done 10 yrs ago, I hunt in the worst weather, rain, snow and wind seem to move the animals but wreak havoc with glasses.  I also was astigmatic and wearing heavy lens that slipped down my small nose.  I now wear light shooting glasses and have never regretted my decision to have the surgery.  The only thing I suffer from is age, and therefore a slowing of focus between far and near.

[TScottO]

Yesterday I had a visit with my ophthalmologist. My eyes made a pretty big change in prescription over the last year. He said I was a good candidate for laser surgery due to my age and my prescription. He did inform me not to entertain laser surgery until my prescription has leveled out meaning for me to wait till my vision stabilizes. If you have the surgery while your eyes are not at a stable prescription point you will have to have vision correction again until your vision stops regressing.

Thanks for your replies

Scott

[Zachary]

Scott,

I had Lasik surgery back in 2000 when I was 30 years old.  The doc said that my eyes were stable and that I was an ideal candidate.  I was blind as a bat.  Don't know what the vision was, but my contacts said something like -4.25 or so.

After the surgery, I now have 20/20 in one eye and better than 20/20, like 17/20, in the other eye.  THAT'S PHENOMENAL! :eek:

I still have nightmares that my vision eventually gets bad.  Thank God that my vision is still just as great today as it was when I first got it done.  And when I mean "Thank God," I mean it - I feel like it's like a miracle.

Zachary

[HWooldridge]

I'm going a step further and having cataracts removed and lenses replaced.  I'm only 44 but am developing cataracts due to an old eye injury and a lot of UV exposure when younger.  I am extremely nearsighted (-15) but the doc said I would be close to 20/20 when done - I can't wait because I love to swim and it's always been a burden with contacts.  In relation to shooting, my doc is also a shooter so he knew my concerns and commented that the problems with focusing when you get older can only be corrected with a set of shooting glasses designed to allow you to see the front sight.  However, a rifle might need a different set of glasses than a pistol.  I'm willing to take that chance since the focusing problem is only going to get worse with age and the prosthetic lens won't develop a cataract when I'm 70.  My mom worked in this branch of medicine for many years and with regard to Lasik, I have heard some horror stories but I believe they have become statistically less frequent as surgeons get more proficient and I think the odds are good that you will be satisfied if you select an experienced doctor.  The old scalpel technique seemed to have a worse reputation for scarring than the laser but either can be mishandled.

[Questor]

HWooldridge:

A friend of mine had the cataract operation with lens replacement when he was about 50. It worked great. It's been a real Godsend for him.  He described the operation and it has become amazingly uninvasive. At the time of his operation, almost 10 years ago, they just needed one tiny incision on each eye to get the job done. His recovery time was very rapid.  He still wears glasses but they're just for reading.

[Mainspring]

I had LASIK about a year ago, and it was the best money I ever spent.  I went from a -9.75 to a +.25 (I think that the "+" and "-" are in the correct order  :?  ).  That's like going from 20/850 to something less than 20/40.  My vision isn't absolutely perfect now, but it's one heck of a lot better than I can ever remember it being.  Since I was in grade school I had been completely useless without corrective lenses.  Since I was in High School, I could never even see the chart on the wall, much less read anything that was printed on it.  In fact, to get past eye tests in the Army, I had to listen intently to what the guys ahead of me in line said, and I'd just repeat what they said.  :-D  I had to get within 6" of my digital alarm clock to read it, and had to pull my wrist watch to within 3".  

I can now function completely without having to rely on corrective lenses of any kind.  For those of you who have never had to rely on corrective lenses to get out of bed in the morning, you can't even imagine the freedom that I enjoy now.  I often had fears of loosing my glasses/contacts while in the field, because I know that I'd have to wait to be found.  In my youth, I took a long shot with my .30/06, and had the 3-9 scope turned all the way up...and I had to creep up on the scope to see.  Well, my hold on the weapon was less than perfect, and the story ends with me searching for an hour in the snow for all the pieces of my glasses.  It was not a good feeling being completely helpless for that hour.  I can only imagine how I'd feel to loose my corrective lenses while on duty, or when awakened by a bump in the middle of the night.

I too paid a little more, but the guy I went with had completed a fellowship and has thousands of procedures under his belt.  Most of the horror stories I've heard have come from what amount to store-front LASIK facilities, either here or in Canada.  Many times people don't even meet with the doc before the procedure.  I think that is a very bad thing.  I'd recommend checking the doc out as throughly as possible...check with the Better Business Bureau, local licensing boards, etc.

For those of you considering the procedure, I'd also look into the equipment that will be used.  There are several types of lasers out there being used, both to create the corneal flap and to whittle chunks off of the retina, and some are better than others.  My doc is telling me now that a new laser has just been...or soon will be...approved by the FDA that will only take chunks off where needed, as opposed to removing one big chunk all the way around the retina.  Look into all of these things before having the procedure done.  There are indeed quacks about.  I'd also get at least two pre-surgery consults to ensure that you would make a good candidate.

Now, to answer the question  :-D ...I have noticed no difference in my shooting abilities from when I had to wear corrective lenses, EXCEPT that now I don't have to rely on corrective lenses to shoot...and load...my guns.

I'm not trying to give the guy a plug, but if you go to www.michiganlasik.com there is some good information to check out.

That's what I think.  

[Chad Shultz]

I had to have the surgery to get into the State Police.  My eyes were 20/400 in both.  Thirty minutes after the surgery I was able to read the clock on the far wall of the recovery room.  One day after the surgery I had 20/20 vision.  I have not had any problems and I also had astigmatism.  

The best part is rain and snow does not bother me anymore when I hunt.

Chad

[Danny]

I had PRK done when I was 32, I am now 40 and have had 0 problems or regrets. I was like the others that had terrible vision, -6.00 and -4.75,  and I would recommend it. I had mine done at Emory Vision Center in Atlanta, and most of the people whom I hear with complaints had it done by someone who doesn't have the expertise or reputation of Emory.  Talk it over with your doctor, and get it done by someone who has a great reputation and has had a lot of practice :grin: