My vision is awful and keeps getting worse. I'm 21 and am almost at the age where you stop growing and can get it done. My regular eye doctor who makes my glasses says that the astigmatism in my eyes is so bad that I am "absolutely not" a candidate for the surgery.

I also have this little dark spot on my eye that's been there about 2 months. I can see it when I look around. I've also been having a hard time keeping focused.

Should I see another doctor or surgeon?

I also have astigmatism and my doctor said I was the perfect candidate for lasik surgery. But he did say mainly cuz my vision has been staying the same. I'd get a 2nd opinion tho, just to be on the safe side.

NO! Please don't make the same mistake I did rayray!

I had absolutely terrible vision since the time I was eight years old(astigmatism and myopia) and it only seemed to get worse. Well when I was 19 I was suckered in by the LASIK people....what a fool I was.

My vision wasn't stable at the time and after only a year, I noticed it was getting bad again in one of my eyes. I decided to get an "enhancement" in it this year, and that led to more disappointment. My vision was alright for the first month, but then it suddenly fogged up.

I was absolutely terrified and pretty much spent three months relying on only one eye. After visiting the eye doctor, he said that when they redid the surgery, some cells slipped under the flap and that's what fogged up my vision.

So to make a long story short, that eye was opened up again and the doctor had to scrape the cells out by hand with a scalpel. The doctor said that even at 25, my vision is still fluctuating, and I should have waited at least til my 30s to have even considered laser eye surgery.

At this point though, I'm so traumatized by the entire experience that I honestly don't recommend laser eye surgery to anyone. :(

Thanks for the advice Jedahbelle. My mom is making an appointment at another eye doctors to get a second opinion. Even If I don't end up getting the surgery I can figure out what this spot is and why my eyes have been feeling crappy lately.

Holy crap, your post scared the bejeezus outta me, Jedah! I've been wanting this surgery for SO long, and I might be close to doing it, but then again, I'm way older than you (I'm close to 40 :eek:). At this point, my eyes have stopped changing, and after years of special order glasses and contacts (I've had my astigmatism/nearsightedness since I was 6), I'm so ready to toss them out.

Another thing to keep in mind, maybe this has changed I'm not sure but my SIL had it done about two years back and was not allowed to drive at night for over a month which I know for some people can be a PITA and for others can make it impossible to have it done (my sister had wanted it done but since she worked 50 miles away and would often work until 9:00 pm she couldn't get it done for that reason alone)

I can hardly believe what I'm reading! Everyone I know who has had lasik says it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. I'm 48, and my vision has been horrible all my life. I'm so tired of glasses - and they only correct to a certain point anyway. I can't wear soft contacts because of my astigmatism. Maybe you need to wait until you're older - like 30 or so. Get as many Board-certified opinions as you can afford and feel comfortable with, and then wait awhile while the technology improves.
I'm certainly thinking twice now.

But my optometrist urged me to wait until I was 23 years old. He measured my eyesight every year until I was around 23 and then he agreed that my eyesight had stabilized (I had been going to him for several years). I have astigmatism and they corrected that but I don’t know how bad my astigmatism was. Nevertheless the optometrist did his research and believed that the latest lasers could help to correct it. My optometrist reads the journals and participates in doing research so I trust his opinion.

I was so nervous I was shaking and I still had to have an adjustment after 3 months because they had over-corrected. You see the technology is such that the energy from the laser will burn away a certain amount of tissue but that amount can differ from person to person. My vision is not absolutely perfect but I can pass the eye exam at the DMV and that is good enough for me. I think the astigmatism cannot be completely corrected which is why my eyesight is not perfect. Even before the surgery I was forced to wear rigid contact lenses because soft contacts and eyeglasses could not completely correct the astigmatism and my eyesight was terrible.

Overall, I am very pleased that I went through it and now I don’t need to wear any corrective lenses. I am 31 now so it has been 8 years since I have had the surgery.

Wow, Jedah, that's horrible! I'm sorry you had to go through that.

Experience with LASIK varies quite a bit, and you really need to do your homework to find an experienced doctor. From what I understand, the varied experiences are not only due to the differences in our eyes, but also with the experience and "talent" of the doctor. LOL so I suppose saying "you need to do your homework" is an understatement.

Another potential side effect of this surgery is dry eye. With some people it is temporary, while it is long-term or close to permanent for others. If you have dryness already, most doctors will not consider you a good candidate because the procedure could make the condition worse. Dry eye sucks in the first place, you definitely don't want it to become worse. So, you may want to run that by any eye doctor if that's an issue for you.

I have dry eye already, so no LASIK for me unless the technology vastly improves in the future. I actually can't wear contacts anymore and have to go back to glasses. Dry eye was never a problem for me until last year, and I was strongly considering LASIK at the time and told I was a good candidate for it. I am glad I decided to wait because the dry eye became a problem soon after that consult. Probably dodged a bullet there.

Good luck! :)

Definitely get a second opinion. I have several friends who had Lasik done, and loved the results and outcome. But then again, they are all pretty much around 30, if age makes a difference. HTH.

After reading all of this, do you know what upsets me? I noticed that back when I first looked into LASIK, they claimed the minimum age for it was 18. Now some doctors(not all) have bumped minimum age up to 21.

Age is definitely a factor, and doctors should take it more seriously.

For anyone who has had this surgery (or knows anyone who has), could you tell me approximately how much it costs?

I know it'll vary from region to region, and from dr. to dr., but just a roundabout figure would be great. TIA!

The cost to me 8 years ago was $2,500 and touch ups were included. Insurance would not cover as it was voluntary surgery but you could pay for it with before-tax dollars through your employer's FSA program.

The first time I had LASIK (back in 2001), that doctor was charging $1500 per eye. When I had the enhancement this year(done by a different doctor and a different place) the rate was $2000 for one eye.

i did Lasik, and I am 27. I am not sure what astigmatism is? Is it the double vision thing, I also had a bit of that.

Think it advisable to seek at least 2 more doctors opinion before you go ahead, in case the second doc who says YES is just out for the money.

After Lasik, my vision is still not 100% good. But is still good enuff not to need specs. The only thing I have an issue with , is very poor night vision.

I live in Asia, and the surgery costs approx US$1.5K per eye and it also depends on how bad your vision is. The worser, the more expensive.

Wow. My optometrist would not refer people younger than 25, and then only those whose vision have stabilized for at least couple of years. I was 27 when I had my eyes done, and my prescription had been the same for about 4 years prior. Of course, some surgeons don't need referrals so there's not much my optometrist can do if some patients insist on having lasik - they can just go to some lasik clinics on their own.

For me the surgery was quick - the only part that hurt was the "canthotomy", to deal with the tight skin around my eyes. Now 4 years later I still don't have any problems, and I still have 20/20 vision, so it's all good. I can't stress enough that finding a reputable surgeon is paramount...don't look at the cost, but go by word of mouth. Check online for reviews. My surgeon's clinic does virtually no advertising, but patients find their ways to him anyway.

My surgery was $2500 CAD (simple nearsightedness with no astigmatism and low prescription), with $500 to my optometrist for after care (1 year). I know there are those who don't like the concept of co-management with optometrist, but he has been my optometrist for years and years, and I'd rather go to him since he would know if things are out of norm.

All in all...it's still a gamble. Think it through and do your research before committing to it.

My boyfriend had Lasik recently. He's 20. It cost about $3,000. He only had to miss a few days work and was back to normal very quickly. He does need to go back and have one eye "re-done", because the other eye sees better and is compensating too much, or something like that..... He is so glad to have had it done and has had no major problems with it. I want to get it done but I am not a candidate. My corneas are too thin or something. Oh well.