Lasik eye surgery

[Scott K]

I have been pondering on getting Lasik surgery for my eyes. My eyes every year seem to be getting worse, and worse, and its getting to the point, I need my glasses on for everything. I cant put contacts in, because I have very sensitive eyes, and I hate wearing glasses. Is it worth having it done? I keep getting stuff in the mail for it, and they advertise low payment plans, but how much does it cost? Do insurance companies cover any of it? They say as low as $399 per eye, but the as low as doesnt tell me much. What are the average costs?

Does anyone have horror stories an why not to get it done? Or have great reviews?

I guess what bothers me the most is, the 2 different eye dr's my family goes to, wear glasses, so I am wondering if it is so great, why dont they get it done? Do they know something I dont?

[crawler harness]

All I can say is I am glad I had it done. I went through Lasik Plus in Edina, it cost me 3200, but that was 5yrs ago. I have lifetime coverage on my eyes so if they ever worsen I can go back and get it done again for free. The only thing with the lifetime coverage is I have to get a yearly eye exam and then fax lasik plus the papers. At the time I did not have eye insurance so not sure if insurance companies cover it, I think not because it is considered cosmetic surgery. Some people are not eligable to get lasik as your cornea has to be at least a certain thickness in order to have the procedure done, also if your eyes are still changing you may not be eligle until they stop changing for I want to say 4-6 months. My older sister and a cousin both had it done 8 years ago and are still glasses or contacts free.

[Tator2k]

I had mine done at approx. the same time and place as CH. Mine also cost $3200 + the needed yearly exam. I love it and glad I got it however I was not without problems. I was under corrected the first time and had to wait 10 weeks and have it redone. I used a medical flex account to pay for mine. I've also had various side effects most noticeably I have permanent halo effects on any type of bright lights.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I had mine done two years ago, and was probably more scared than any patient in the history of Lasik. I went to Joffe Medicenter, and paid around $2,000. I chose them because Dr. Whiting was near 100k procedures. He has started his own clinic now. The procedure was so simple, that I'm kicking myself for not having it done years ago.

[paceman]

I had mine done in Winnepeg in 1999. Best thousand bucks I have ever spend in my life hands down. Now 11 years later my eyes are still 20/15 and 20/20. I am now 43. Like others said I wish I would have done it sooner.

[Tom7227]

Maybe you need to ask your eye doc why things are changing so often. I don't know but maybe there's something you can do, or not do, that will slow things down. I know mine changed nearly every year from about age 30 to 45 and my eye doc said that's pretty much the way it goes. Might be that Lasik isn't going to last forever for you either. I really don't know.

Your eye doc wears glasses because that's his/her business. The probably aren't trained in Lasik. I suspect they own at least a major piece of the glasses shop that seems connect or close to every eye doc's office.

[Tator2k]

Dr. Whiting also did mine while still at Lasik Plus.

[Walleye Guy]

Had mine done at LASIK plus in Edina less than 2 weeks ago. Should have done it years ago. 20-20 vision the day after the procedure. The actual correction part of the procedure Lasted 36 seconds for one eye and 40 for the other. Amazing technology. Well worth the money.

I researched many places. Close to zero patients qualify for the $399 per eye procedures. Those advertised prices get you in the door but the average per eye cost is much higher. Don't take a chance. Go to a doctor that has done tens of thousands of procedures.

[Scott K]

Walleye Guy, how much did you pay there, if you dont mind me asking?

[whitebassman]

Had mine done one week ago today. Doc says for the amount of correction needed, I had a good outcome. Drivable vision now, but not 20/20. Not everyone will be able to achieve that.

My doc also wears glasses, and he says because his cornea wasn't thick enough to have it done. Mine cost $2100 here in Brainerd.

Main thing is you want an experienced doctor to do this procedure. Its your eyes you are trusting him/her with.

I have some halos with bright lights at night too, and am told it can take up to a month for the vision to stabilize, and the need for a correction follow up is possible as they can under correct or over correct.

It is so worth it, but again you have to weight your own reasons for doing this, and balance the risk of side effects which can be permanent. Main thing is to talk to the eye doctor. It doesn't hurt to ask and get the screening done to see if you are even a candidate in the first place.

Be aware, Lasik does not reduce the need for reading glasses in the future. As you get older into the 40s and so forth, your eyes loss the ability to accommodate near vision, which is unrelated to what Lasik does (cornea reshapement).

Again, find a good experience doctor at a reasonable price. You should be able to find it at about $2k now. Be leery of advertised prices, as those are just scams to get you in, or inexperienced places which probably have no business doing Lasik procedures. Good Luck!

[Walleye Guy]

$3400. However that was a discounted price because my health insurance company has a discount program with them. I believe I got a 15% discount. I get all the rechecks and redo's I want for life as described by others above. I had a really strong astagmatism that required the use of the latest technology which costs more than some other procedures. Not sure it was the lowest price around but I felt comfortable with the surgeon's history and the tens of thousands of successful procedures he has performed.

They also provided me with free soft contact lenses that I had to wear for a month before the procedure. I was wearing gas permeable contacts but had to quit because they change the shape of your eye some and they want your eyes to go back to your normal shape.

I would highly recommend them. Every part of the whole process was first class and I ended up with a great outcome.

[Scott M]

B.I.L. and M.I.L had it done within the last year and swear by it. Wish they had done it years ago. I have yet to hear from someone that wasn't pleased with it. I'm hoping to put money into a HSA and put it towards LASIK.

[Bryce]

Count me as another success story. Procedure performed 98ish by Minnesota Eye Consultants. At the time, they were designing the equipment that everyone was using. Think it was 3500. I had pretty signifigant astigmatism. Everything was perfect for the first 5 years or so but has now dropped back to like 20/25 in one eye and 20/30 for the other with some astigmatism back. Not bad enough to require glasses but have slight halos around lights at night. Worse eye is my shooting eye so always have a handy excuse. Current eye doc feels the difference between eyes will prolong need for reading glasses. I have heard rumors that a procedure is being developed for this also. Will gladly do it again when the need arises in order to avoid glasses. Make sure you use your flex money if available through work. Next best thing to free money.

[Jaypo]

Had my eyes done if '05 and the buildup and thinking about the procedure is the worst part. While you think about cost before hand, I would gladly pay triple after the fact based on how much better quality of life is with no contacts or glasses.

[TooTallTom]

The Minneapolis Living Social deal for today is $250 for $500 worth of Custom Wavefront Lasik surgery from Joffee MediCenter.

I have no idea about their reputation, or what "Custom Wavefront" means. While I wouldn't be swayed by $250 in my decision making on something as important as my eyes, that savings for something I was already comfortable with would be just fine by me.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I know of a lot of people who have had the procedure done, none who have qualified for the advertised special.

Nothing bad to say about Joffe, other than I didn't qualify for their special rate at the time (wasn't surprised). Their staff was very friendly.

[TooTallTom]

If this deal works like the other Living Social deals, you're basically buying a $500 gift certificate for $250. There would be nothing to qualify for.

[mnguy152]

Well I got mine done at northwest eye clinic in minnetonka about 6 or 7 years ago. It was the best 3200 got a wave scan done with the corrections which added at the time extra 1000. But that price include the pre op and all the aftercare later. After the surgery I has 15/20 both eyes and now after 6 years still at 15/20. Never had any problems with halos or dryness. They have many of clinics in the cities.

[ozzie]

I had mine done about 5-6 years ago and would do it again in a heartbeat.....my doc was Dr. Whiting and I also got the lifetime warranty but I found out by calling every year to the clinic that you do not need to go to the eye doctor every year to keep the warranty. there is no way to prove you went or not so they just strongly suggest going once a year in case an eye disease forms.

[slimngrizzly]

I also had mine done about 5-6 years ago. If id have know how great it was id have spent thousands more, years earlier and still not regretted it. Its the best, NO regrets!! But I wouldn't try to get the best buy though... spend the money and go with who you trust.

[Stick500]

I had it done way back in '99 after wearing glasses almost all my life. The halos at nite at first bugged me quite a bit and I had dryness for about a year but it went away and I have been fine for over 10 years now. I do need a light prescription for driving and wear prescription sunglasses, but otherwise still don't wear glasses (I'm 51).

Wish I could have done Lasik when I was 20! However, I do remember reading some horror stories on medical forums back in '99 when I had it done (mostly about dry eyes and pain), but perhaps it's much safer now.

[JordanL]

Has anybody here had it done in Williston ND or know anybody that has?

[Scott M]

Got it done, 20/20 since Wednesday!

[Ryan_V]

I had "epi lasic" and ABSOLUTELY ZERO PROBLEMS AND SIDE EFFECTS! no halos, nothing. Recovery is a little longer, but the results are the same or better, without the side effects. back when I did it, this was new, same money. Don't go cheap, I've heard horror stories about the "big" lasic places. Shoot me a message about it if you have any ?'s!

[Scott K]

Hmm, I have kinda put this off on the side burner, since I have too many coals in the fire now financially. But may be rethinking about it this winter. It all depends if I decide to go back to school, or wait another year.

Scott, where did you get it done? About how much did it cost you?