# Lasik Eye Surgery



## Gizmo (25/1/15)

So I am about to do this. This upcoming Wednesday as birthday gift. However, as the days progress on I cant help but feel terrified. I have read that there is a 20% chance of complications.. Is this true? 

Do you or anyone you know has done and what was the result? Is my fear warranted?

1) doctors used
3) location of doctors
4) success / unsuccessful


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## Silver (26/1/15)

Hi @Gizmo 

I have two friends that have had it done. Both are so happy with it that they cant believe they didnt do it earlier. Was a big success for both of them. Sorry, I dont know which doctors they used (i assume in the sandton area) but just saying it was a huge success and they now dont need to wear glasses or contacts

I would say as long as you have been to see a good opthalmologist (who wont benefit from the surgery) and he/she feels it is safe to do it in your case, then you dont need to be overly worried.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## Rob Fisher (26/1/15)

I have had a couple of mates that have had it done and it was simply awesome for them afterwards!

Reactions: Informative 1


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## johan (26/1/15)

@Gizmo if you didn't get a pair of Oakley's and a white walking stick with the gift voucher, you're safe. Seriously, know of 2 friends that had that same procedure, and they are both very satisfied.

Reactions: Funny 5


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## Gizmo (26/1/15)

Thanks for all the supporting feedback. I think I will just go ahead

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## TylerD (26/1/15)

Gizmo said:


> Thanks for all the supporting feedback. I think I will just go ahead


All of the best @Gizmo . 3 of my parents went for the surgery and are very happy.

Reactions: Funny 2


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## johan (26/1/15)

3 parents? to get a @TylerD in this world! now I fully understand

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 5


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## TylerD (26/1/15)

johan said:


> 3 parents? to get a @TylerD in this world! now I fully understand


I've got 4 actually.  2 fathers and 2 mothers.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## johan (26/1/15)

TylerD said:


> I've got 4 actually.  2 fathers and 2 mothers.



2 In laws and 2 Out laws

Reactions: Funny 1


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## TylerD (26/1/15)

johan said:


> 2 In laws and 2 Out laws


No, 2 in laws and 4 out laws.

Reactions: Winner 1 | Funny 2


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## Marzuq (26/1/15)

Gizmo said:


> So I am about to do this. This upcoming Wednesday as birthday gift. However, as the days progress on I cant help but feel terrified. I have read that there is a 20% chance of complications.. Is this true?
> 
> Do you or anyone you know has done and what was the result? Is my fear warranted?
> 
> ...



my sister had her eyes done about 8 to 10 years ago. her eyesight was really bad. without specs all she saw was blur
After the procedure her first response was ' i didnt know what colors are really like'
Apparently she has never been able to see actual colors properly.
she has had no complications since the operation and her eyesight has not deteriorated since.
She had her procedure done in CapeTown but i cannot remember the Dr name or where.

My Girlfriend sister also had a similar procedure done mid last year on one eye and she has had major success too. gone from being almost blind to clear vision. She still has the other eye to do but funds is whats holding her back.

from my experience it seems very postive in results and altho there are always risk involved the results yielded are far outweigh them.

If you really want i can ask my sister if you can give her a call to ask about the procedure and so on.. let me know.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Stroodlepuff (28/1/15)

Done and dusted  Went well his eyes are just very sore  Will be out of action for a few days so if there is anything you guys need from @Gizmo you can forward it to me

Reactions: Like 5 | Winner 2


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## Yiannaki (28/1/15)

Stroodlepuff said:


> Done and dusted  Went well his eyes are just very sore  Will be out of action for a few days so if there is anything you guys need from @Gizmo you can forward it to me



Awesome  

Wishing @Gizmo a speedy recovery!


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## Marzuq (28/1/15)

awesome news... WIshing @Gizmo well and a speedy recovery.


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## Marzuq (28/1/15)

awesome news... WIshing @Gizmo well and a speedy recovery.


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## free3dom (28/1/15)

Get well soon @Gizmo


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## johan (28/1/15)

Glad everything went well.


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## Ollie (28/1/15)

Well done for not chickening out @Gizmo 


Sent from my brick using Tapatalk


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## Riaz (28/1/15)

glad everything went well!

heres to a speedy recovery @Gizmo


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## Kuhlkatz (28/1/15)

Orsome news. Best wishes for a speedy recovery @Gizmo !

You should be back to gaming & surfing porn furthering your studies online in no time flat


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## Silver (28/1/15)

Glad it went well @Gizmo 

But please type us a message so we know you are around
Even if you cant see the keyboard, just ask @Stroodlepuff to pass you the keyboard and you can punch in anything

Recover soon!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## TylerD (28/1/15)

bsikgl dkjnoike sd eotply rkmnpeorkf bsaj! jso?
@Gizmo is here with me.

Reactions: Funny 8


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## Rotten_Bunny (28/1/15)

johan said:


> 3 parents? to get a @TylerD in this world! now I fully understand


Oom @johan, that explains everything !

Ps ! Can i give you my juice order ? If so see you in about 15 minutes  

Rotten Bunny.

Vape the Planet !


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## johan (28/1/15)

Glad everything went well.


Rotten_Bunny said:


> Oom @johan, that explains everything !
> 
> Ps ! Can i give you my juice order ? If so see you in about 15 minutes
> 
> ...



​

Reactions: Funny 2


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## Rotten_Bunny (28/1/15)

johan said:


> Glad everything went well.
> 
> 
> View attachment 20324​


Love you too !

Rotten Bunny.

Vape the Planet !


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## johan (28/1/15)

Rotten_Bunny said:


> Love you too !
> 
> Rotten Bunny.
> 
> Vape the Planet !



Kiss ​
​


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## Rotten_Bunny (28/1/15)

Aaaawe, so cute 

Rotten Bunny.

Vape the Planet !


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## Rotten_Bunny (28/1/15)

@Gizmo , See.we.getting along loverly during your recovery.. We promise not to bring the house down.. Strongs bruv

Rotten Bunny.

Vape the Planet !

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Gizmo (29/1/15)

Okay guys I am fine, already got used my brail keyboard lol.

Anyway the surgery went well. I found it quite traumatic to be honest.. But it wasn't too bad pain wise, I spent the most of yesterday sleeping as the pain in my eyes post the op was quite intense. I am still light sensitive but not too bad.

I also just got back from my post op visit today and my right eye is slightly off of 20/20 but left is solid. They say its due to inflammation in the right eye that should got down. I also find using the PC a bit hard to focus on text etc. I hope this goes away. 

So far I am very happy with my distance sight.

Reactions: Winner 5


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## Rob Fisher (29/1/15)

Awesome! Eye surgery is always traumatic... because you are basically AWAKE while they cut! Glad all is well!


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## Silver (29/1/15)

Gizmo said:


> Okay guys I am fine, already got used my brail keyboard lol.
> 
> Anyway the surgery went well. I found it quite traumatic to be honest.. But it wasn't too bad pain wise, I spent the most of yesterday sleeping as the pain in my eyes post the op was quite intense. I am still light sensitive but not too bad.
> 
> ...



Great to hear @Gizmo
Glad it went well
Wishing you a speedy recovery back to normal and hope you enjoy your new eyesight!
Must be an amazing feeling


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## Derick (30/1/15)

@Gizmo, I had this done around 15 years ago and had similar issues with the right eye, but it clears up and I ended up being one of the 3% of people getting better than 20/20 vision (I ended up with around 20/15).

Just keep on using the drops they gave you and invest in some saline eye drops to keep the eyes wet for the first few weeks and everything will be 100% - with the lasik they sever the nerves that detect dryness in the eye, so your eyes tend to dry out in the beginning.

Still the best money I spent even though my eyes are now starting to deteriorate a bit due to age.

Anyway, congrats and welcome to the world without glasses or contacts

Reactions: Like 2 | Thanks 1


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## Gizmo (30/1/15)

Derick said:


> @Gizmo, I had this done around 15 years ago and had similar issues with the right eye, but it clears up and I ended up being one of the 3% of people getting better than 20/20 vision (I ended up with around 20/15).
> 
> Just keep on using the drops they gave you and invest in some saline eye drops to keep the eyes wet for the first few weeks and everything will be 100% - with the lasik they sever the nerves that detect dryness in the eye, so your eyes tend to dry out in the beginning.
> 
> ...




Great news Derick! How long did it take for both eyes to be perfectly clear? I woke up this morning and they both terribly hazy Today the right seems better then the left.. 

Are my eyes not hydrated enough? Should I limit my computer time or just put in tear drops in regularly?


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## Derick (30/1/15)

Gizmo said:


> Great news Derick! How long did it take for both eyes to be perfectly clear? I woke up this morning and they both terribly hazy Today the right seems better then the left..
> 
> Are my eyes not hydrated enough? Should I limit my computer time or just put in tear drops in regularly?


Basically yeah, your eyes are drying out a lot faster - aircon or any wind blowing in your face will make this worse.

Do the tear drops, they really help - Set your cellphone alarm at regular intervals (every 2 hours or so) and just drop them in, even if your eyes don't feel dry.

If that still doesn't sort it, then yeah, I would say limit your PC time - with mine it gradually improved over time and by around 3 weeks I was back to normal - the dryness never really went back to the way it was, aircon and ceiling fans still bug me sometimes, but it is waaay better than those first few weeks


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## Gizmo (30/1/15)

Ah okay great stuff. My eyes dont feel excessively dry though like they would with contacts. So I haven't been putting drops in eyes all that much, maybe twice a day. I am also nervous my eyes will rely on them and I have heard of people that need 50 drops a day of tear drops 10 years later due to excessive tear use. They only gave me 5 little disposable drops not more surely there is a reason for this.

Sigh, then again i am probably over thinking things again


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## Silver (30/1/15)

Gizmo said:


> Ah okay great stuff. My eyes dont feel excessively dry though like they would with contacts. So I haven't been putting drops in eyes all that much, maybe twice a day. I am also nervous my eyes will rely on them and I have heard of people that need 50 drops a day of tear drops 10 years later due to excessive tear use. They only gave me 5 little disposable drops not more surely there is a reason for this.
> 
> Sigh, then again i am probably over thinking things again



Perfectly normal to overthink it @Gizmo 
I say go get more eyedrops

And if after a few weeks its still bothering you, go visit a good opthalmologist

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## Derick (30/1/15)

heh, yeah, with me they recommended every 2 hours the first day, then 3 hours the second day etc. etc. gradually weaning yourself off the need for eyedrops. Big thing in the beginning is just that you don't realize your eyes are dry because the nerves are no longer detecting it, so they feel fine, but are actually dry.

Not sure if they did this with you, but my doc was paranoid and I had to put in the drops even through the night, so had to wake up every few hours to put in drops  

I can't quite remember if I had to cut down on PC time, but I did my Lasik on the Friday afternoon and was back at work on the Monday - I remember being bugged a bit by dryness, but after the drops they gave me were done I only once went and bought some Saline drops to help me out.

These days if I spend the whole day in a closed, air conditioned room where they set it maybe a bit high, I will come home in the evening with dry eyes (especially the right one that gave the original issues) , but by morning it is usually sorted out.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Gizmo (30/1/15)

I will do that thanks guys!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Derick (30/1/15)

Only thing I regret is that I waited so long to have it done - I had coke bottle bottom glasses, and horrendously thick, weighted contacts that gave me endless issues.

Should have had it done at like 20


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## Gizmo (30/1/15)

Derick said:


> Only thing I regret is that I waited so long to have it done - I had coke bottle bottom glasses, and horrendously thick, weighted contacts that gave me endless issues.
> 
> Should have had it done at like 20



You would have probably needed enhancements if you did that young, but yeah I hear you.. I also feel like I should have but $$$ was a issue

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Derick (30/1/15)

Gizmo said:


> You would have probably needed enhancements if you did that young, but yeah I hear you.. I also feel like I should have but $$$ was a issue


Yep, same, but I had one of those old school docs, and he said I could give him 6 dated cheques - so basically paid it off over 6 months

Reactions: Like 1


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## DoubleD (30/1/15)

Happy it went well for you and hope you have a super fast recovery mate 

What does a procedure like this cost, if I may ask?


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## SunRam (5/2/15)

DoubleD said:


> Happy it went well for you and hope you have a super fast recovery mate
> 
> What does a procedure like this cost, if I may ask?


Anything from R17k to R30k depending on your scenario and the type of procedure you choose (I'm an optometrist)

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Gizmo (5/2/15)

Yea I paid R26k at the visomed by cresta. 

Been worth every penny

Reactions: Like 1


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## Wesley (10/2/15)

Does medical aid not pay for this anymore?


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## Derick (10/2/15)

Wesley said:


> Does medical aid not pay for this anymore?


They used to pay a small portion back in the day, about enough to cover the Valium they give you before the op

Never made sense to me, they are willing to pay for yearly glasses for the rest of your life, but not one op to save them money


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## Wesley (10/2/15)

Derick said:


> They used to pay a small portion back in the day, about enough to cover the Valium they give you before the op
> 
> Never made sense to me, they are willing to pay for yearly glasses for the rest of your life, but not one op to save them money



When my mother had hers done about 20 years ago they paid it fully.

I don't understand it either - I guess they have no concept of long-term savings. The amount they've spent on my glasses for the last ten years would have covered the op easily.


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## SunRam (10/2/15)

I can understand from a M/Aid point of view, since most people get 5 to 10 years' worth of freedom from glasses post Lasik/PRK. Most M/Aids pay around R2500 for a pair of glasses every two years. Worst case scenario for a M/Aid is thus R12,500 over a ten year period which is half the cost of the surgery and this is _if _the patient religiously go for new glasses every two years, and that is not the case. In RSA people take new glasses on average every 3 years, and therefore on average a M/Aid only spend around R8,000 on glasses during a 10 year period, which is a third of the cost of the surgery.

Reactions: Informative 3


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