LASIK Surgery for Cave Divers?

Very shortly after the procedure I was seeing 20/20 distance and 20/10 close-up. Here we are 11 years later and I'm still 20/20 distance but need readers for close-up. I finally went for prescription readers and found out that LASIK almost completely corrected the astigmatism. My night vision is great, I see stars that I never saw with my glasses. Even those that are not caused by smacking my head on stuff.

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Originally Posted by Wizard

Everyone I know that had a telescope and then did the procedure quit astronomy Mark. They lost their ability to pick out faint nebulas and galaxies. One guy had a CPC1100 and after LASIK couldn't make out anything dimmer than Mag 10. My eyes are horrible and drive me nuts but I'm so used to poor vision I can do two things as good or better than anyone else, find faint objects such as the time I got 4 galaxies in Stephan's quintet with an 11 inch scope, and see in the dark. I can walk around just fine in an area with Mag 6.5 skies. My wife had LASIK and she can hardly see to walk with a half moon.
Tried the mono vision thing with contacts for a few days, bad move. Did not have ANY depth perception at night and had my first and only migrane that lasted 4 days. The Doc said I need to give it some more time. I told him to give me some Loratabs and I'd give it another go. LOL
I wound up with a straight power contact in my right eye and a multi focal in the left. The multi focals would not stay settled down and moved constantly in the right eye. I can at least read a little without readers now. Everyone is diferent I suppose.

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Thanks so much! I just wanted to make sure that no one had any major issues with it. It'll be great to stop losing contacts while diving!

Dear prov3125,

I was a diver for many years and have my cavern certification. All of my low-light activities came to a crashing halt because of LASIK. No more night diving, no more cavern diving, no driving a car at night -- any activity where the light is dim is nearly impossible for me. My vision is a train wreck and cannot be corrected with glasses or soft contact lenses. I see smeared images, massive starbursts, halos, and multiple images. The only thing that helps is hard contact lenses which are very uncomfortable. I can only tolerate them for short periods of time. The only time my vision is semi-normal is with glasses in very bright light.

In addition to debilitating night vision problems, LASIK left me with chronic, painful, burning dry eyes. I can't tolerate wind, ceiling fans, or any moving air. I must wear moisture chamber goggles or wrap around glasses to block the air -- even to dry my hair. My eyes dry out so badly at night that I get up at least 2 or 3 times each night to instill eye drops. First thing in the morning I have to rinse my eyes with sterile saline to clear the stringy goop that builds up on my eyes. Nearly everything I do is made difficult by having had LASIK. I don't want your pity. The only reason I tell you my story is to warn you that LASIK is not as safe as it appears in the advertisements.

The man who was most responsible at the FDA for approving LASIK, Morris Waxler PhD, is now trying to have it banned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzgOZlDF58c

In 2009, Consumer Reports published a survey of LASIK patients which found a high incidence of problems and dissatisfaction with the surgery.

http://www.lasikcomplications.com/consumerreports.htm

I have a network of friends on the Internet who also have terrible complications from LASIK. One of my friends put up an online petition at the following link. It's been signed by nearly 600 people. The comments are very alarming.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/sup...asik-approval/

Also, 126 people signed a letter to the FDA asking for a public health advisory. I strongly recommend that you read it:

http://lasikadvisory.com/

For me, the most disturbing part is knowing of 5 people who committed suicide due to permanent complications from LASIK. You can find a good deal of information on the Internet by doing a Google search on lasik complications.

You owe it to yourself to do your homework. Don't just listen to the doctor who has a financial incentive in your decision to have LASIK, or only to patients who are happy with their outcome -- listen to the ones who aren't happy, too.

The Consumer Reports survey found that 24 percent of "not highly satisfied" respondents said they regretted not learning more from people who had laser eye surgery before them.

Best regards,
BE