Post LASIK- How long to get perfect clarity?

[laserdoc]

These posts about halos and starbursts when you look at lights is because you guys had your lasik done on a Visix broadbeam laser or worse and old summit apex laser. Newer technology lasers use a flying 1 mm spot laser beam and they are able to round off all the sharp edges. Think of it as a stairstep. The edges of the stair are the sharp corners and they will reflect light giving you the halos at night. A flying spot laser rounds thes edges off to make it look like a bell curve. Make sure you ask your Doctor to implant tubes in your tearducts to get rid of dry eye.It will take him about 15 seconds ....you will never have dry eye again. As for the main question,,,,,You should clear up in about a week or 2. 20/30 postop is not so good should be 20/20 or20/15. In a few weeks you will most likely be around 20/25

 

[erdoc1]

Is there a surgical correction for the halo problem with the Visix laser? Or will fixing the dry eye problem help? I notice the problem is at its worst when I'm driving home at 2 am from work after staring at my computer screen or somebody's gaping open laceration for a few hours.

 

[Footslogger]

Is there a surgical correction for the halo problem with the Visix laser? Or will fixing the dry eye problem help? I notice the problem is at its worst when I'm driving home at 2 am from work after staring at my computer screen or somebody's gaping open laceration for a few hours.

========================================
When I was researching LASIK and interviewing eye surgeons I learned that most of the halo problems are caused when the pupil diameter of the eye exceeds the width of the laser. You end up with a ring of uncorrect lens around the periphery of the pupil that reacts (refracts) light differently than the central lens.

Not sure if there is a correction for that problem but it reinforces the importance of being properly screened for the type of vision correction surgery (LASIK being one of them) you are considering. For LASIK, the critical criteria are PUPIL DIAMETER and CORNEAL THICKNESS.

I got LASIK in June 2001 and couldn't be more pleased. My vision since the morning after surgery has been just a little better than perfect in each eye. I wear a weak reading glass (1.25X) for small print in limited light. Small price to pay for great distance vision. Have the 1.25x magifyers in my dive mask for viewing the console and camera controls.

'Slogger

 

[laserdoc]

Is there a surgical correction for the halo problem with the Visix laser? Or will fixing the dry eye problem help? I notice the problem is at its worst when I'm driving home at 2 am from work after staring at my computer screen or somebody's gaping open laceration for a few hours.

If you want to spend the money for custom lasik then the answer is yes. The newer Visix lasers should take care of the halo problems. What the custom lasik procedure does is maps your eye. Think of your eye as the surface of the moon. Peaks and valleys. Custom maps your eye and the laser beam hits all the mtn tops and smooths everything down. Everyones older lasers did not do this. Custom as been out on the market for about 3 years. Is it worth the money??????What I heard from Doctors is that custom really is a toss up. I had my eyes done on a Bausch and Lomb laser. This one has a 1mm flying spot laser beam that dances all over your eye. I think you should try to get your doctor to inplant the tubes into your tear ducts. You will be very happy that you did. Like I said it will take him about 30 seconds in the office chair and you will never have dry eye again. The tubes are about the size of 15 pound fishing line. Go get the tubes you will be glad you did. Custom is about another 1000.00 per eye

 

[dukeh20]

I had my Lasik last October. As was mentioned in one of the earlier posts, the doctor used the Intralase method (one laser to cut the flap and the other to make the correction). I will be turning 50 the end of the year and have worn glasses since junior high. The first thing I did was toss the glasses, the second was to pull the corrective lenses out of my mask. I ended up with only having one eye done giving me monovision, one reading eye, one distance eye. It sounds strange, but now I am 20/20 on the distance stuff and can read the smallest print on the eye chart or prescription bottle. I have not had the halo problem at night, maybe I'm just lucky. Hang in there, they told me it might take a little while for the adjustment to settle in. I have dove in the pool with my wife's open water class and can not wait to see how different it is in the Keys in July.

Duke

 

[Lloyd]

Harley,
It is impossible to say for sure if and when the halos will go away. The all laser procedure does cause more tissue inflammation which will take a while to go away. Each person is different. However, even with the best machine and surgeon, it is possible for you to always have halos. Nothing in medicine is perfect or guaranteed
Lloyd

 

[Footslogger]

Nothing in medicine is perfect or guaranteed Lloyd

==========================================

That's why they still call it "The Practice of Medicine"

'Slogger

 

[archman]

Haloes are a common side-effect of custom-lasik, just like regular lasik. It took me several months to be fully comfortable with night driving, especially night driving in the rain.

The dry eye can be very bad for the first few weeks. In nearly all people, it goes away. Just be gentle to your eyes... stay away from nasty computer screens!

 

[Bobbin-along]

Harley,

First things first. Relax.
Second. All humans heal at different rates, and when it comes to lasik your eyes heal at their own rate, with the following factors increasing your healing time. General health and body's healing rate and inflammation response, amount of correction, type of flap surgery (laser cut or microkeratome), age, and mental state. While you hear of magical recoveries and perfect vision overnight, take it all with a bit of grace and patience.

I had moderate myopia and severe astigmatism when I finally found a surgeon that I felt comfortable with to touch my only pair of peeps. He was extremely clear about my expected recovery time and what to expect during the healing process and that did loads for my recovery expectation time. Your eyes will take up to 6 months to recover and settle into their vision level. During the first 3 months you can expect haziness (like looking through gauze), starbursts and halos, and fluctuating vision. Evenings will be the hardest as you have been straining your eyes all day long and inflammation and eye strain will be at it's peak. Be patient and keep hydrated.

My surgery was 2 years ago and while my first few months were a healing process I couldn't be happier with the end result. The day of surgery he told me to go home and sleep until 9 the next morning and not to open my eyes except for eye drops (steroids and anti-biotics) no matter how much I wanted to look around. I went in the next morning, the goggles came off, and I had my first eye test which came in at 20/40 with lots of eye watering and fear, since I couldn't see 20/20 like you hear about. he was very calm, said nothing is amiss, and to come back in 5 days for a checkup to see how things are, that I would see improvements after a day or two. So off I went with haziness in my eyes and 20/40 vision convinced that the best surgeon in the state had just blown me off (completely forgetting his talk with me before the surgery).

Days 2-4 were leaps and bounds improved in the vision not fluctuating, and things only being blurry when tired or dehydrated, but I found out that I was hypersensitive to an ingredient in the eye drops to keep my eyes moist that was making the eyes gummy and sore. he swapped me over to Systane (no methylcellulose) and all the dry eye problems went away. But I still had haziness and told him at the next visit. Vision had improved to 20/20 in the shop and he explained that the vaccum seal made on the eye for the flap was causing the swelling, and just calm down it will go away.

3 weeks into the surgery I woke up and the haziness and starry lights were literally cut in half, with another 3 weeks before they went away completely. My starbursts around lights now only appear when i'm dehydrated at the end of a day or well past my bedtime, which also happend to be when I would halo around lights before surgery. I go to a different opthamologist than the eye surgeon (and they don't do that partner thing) current vision settled in at 20/20 in the right and 20/15 in the left, with only a hint of the astigmatism in the right eye which wasn't even enough to measure into a prescription lens it's so small.

Does that help?

 

[gavp333]

To All Who had LASIK recently, PLEASE help!

I had my eyes done on Saturday (4 days ago), and although I measured 20/30 the day after, I am still experiencing "halos" around flourescent lighting and fine print at distance isn't yet clear for me. Things also become less clear to me as the day wears on..

The Dr. explained that different people heal at different rates, and the fact that 1) I am over 40, and 2) I had a very severe prescription (-5.50 on R and -5.00 on L eye) will determine how quickly I get "perfect" clarity.

My frustration is I have heard about people having LASIK and seeing "flawlessly" the very next day!
I know I am an impatient type (Type A) individual, and I do work almost continuously in flourescent lighting (went to work the next day) and also use the computer at work several hours a day..all things that probably don't help much!

On the positive side, I have NO symptoms, discomfort or other issues. But the "whites" of my eyes are still red/bloodshot and I have been applying ALL three types of drops religiously (anti-biotic, anti-inflammatory, and preservative-free tears)..

ANY personal experiences, advice, or feedback would be appreciated!
(Or, maybe I just need to "chill out" for a week and THEN re-evaluate!)

It's just frustrating when you are told the procedure went perfectly, but you are not "seeing" the results (yet)..
THANKS!

I had bi lateral laser surgery on the 8th of October and am nearly 20/20 vision, but I have halos and star bursts around lights at night and this is making driving diffacult, the surgeon has told me that these will go in time, can any one tell me if this is the case? as it is now the 4th November and nothing has changed.

Thanks Chris