Lasik vs PRK Surgery

[Capman]

I did lasik too. The recovery was super easy.
Anything to have a good sight... lol

 

[TheCougar]

I did PRK. Went from 20/80 to 20/12, and I’ve been holding steady for 8 years. I wish I had done it sooner. The recovery wasn’t too bad for me. They gave me drugs and I took them. I was in a drug induced haze for 3 days, and after that my eyes felt dry and gritty, but not painful. The dudes who were stubborn and didn’t take the drugs had a rough time. The PRK recovery is slower than LASIK - I was 20/30 at a week, 20/25 at 2 weeks, 20/20 at a month (daylight) and 20/20 at night around 4 weeks, although I had some halo affects for a couple of months with bright lights at night. The surgeon recommended PRK over LASIK, but that was a long time ago. PRK is less invasive and takes about 30 seconds per eye, but by all accounts the recovery takes longer and is more uncomfortable than LASIK.

 

[ArcherAdam]

I did lasik about 7 years ago. One eye lost a little otherwise its been great. If I need a touch up however I would need to have PRK done due to having thin corneas. As far as the flap....i am in law enforcement and that was my biggest concern. The doctor said if my flap came undone in the performance of my duties, that would be the least of my concerns. Knowing that I opted for lasik.

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[Desk Jockey]

LASIK 11 Years ago. I walked out of the doctors offices less than two hours after the surgery and could read signs across the street even thru the protective shields. Full recvoery was quick and my vision was 20/20 and stable within a month. I would do it again without hesitation.

no experience with PRK

only general comment I would make is don’t go with a budget shop. Save your pennies and find someone good. Only person I know that had a bad result from lasik went to a “both eyes for $500” kind of place. He isn’t blind but had to have remediation procedure and isn’t a candidate for further surgery due to cornea disruption.

 

[RyanT26]

They gave me a quote of $4,200 for both eyes regardless if it was Lasik or PRK.

About 5 years ago I payed 4500 for both eyes. My only regret is I didn’t get it done sooner.
I am definitely a lot more conscious about wearing safety glasses and not rubbing my eyes.

 

[wyosteve]

Interesting reading the responses. I had PRK done in Toronto in 1997. At that time they had done over 10,000 procedures in Canada. No recovery problems. Walked back to the hotel, watched TV, went back next morning for check up and flew home the day after. I'm still at 20/15 and 20/20.

 

[KNASH]

I've had both - Lasik originally, and 14 years later PRK as an adjustment. Lasik is definitely quicker recovery, less discomfort, and seems to be the standard. But, it can only be done once. I would definitely go with Lasik. With PRK it took weeks until I could see clearly again.

 

[MTCruisin']

@ the OP, my vision was slightly worse than yours (-8.50) and the doctor thought PRK would be a better option than Lasik so that is what I went with. First couple days there was a little discomfort, but if you keep hammering the eyedrops it isn't bad. Dealing with bright light was the hardest part for the first couple weeks, IMO. I had to switch my phone and computer screens to dark mode to deal with it. 20/20 vision, best money I've ever spent (little over 4 grand) and would do it again.

I will say I took for granted that my contacts had been acting as a bit of a filter, catching dust and debris. I was running some new comm lines and when drilling through a joist a tiny splinter got in my eye and brought me to my knees. Have to be more dutiful about eyepro now.

 

[DangerRanger]

My lasik recovery was a nice nap

If you are eligible for lasik I would do lasik

 

[LongWayAround]

I had Lasik done about three years ago and have no regrets. I was a little nervous going in, but the valium helped that.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I do this stuff, I am an eye surgeon. If you want to pm me where you are I can see if I know anyone who is good.

the risk of a flap complication is so low I would do lasik unless you are a cop, firefighter, mma fighter or boxer (or anyone with a high risk for trauma or smoke/chemical irritation to your eyes).

 

[2blade]

Run an experiment on yourself. Can you sleep in contacts, wake up and go blink blink and your good to go, or do you need drops cause your eyes are to dry? If to dry, I would not do either. With that said I had prk cause my corneas were to thin for lasik. Love the way the vision turned out by I was one of those people that wake up and the contact feels like a rock in my eye because it dried out. As a result of not producing quite enough tears, in spite of the doc saying I had enough, it didn't heal right. Now I suffer from corneal erosion which is where the skin literally dies on the cornea and peels off, not nicely either, it hurts like hell. Off to the doc I go to have my eye scraped, bandage contact applied and we do it all again months down the road. Used to be every 3 months now I'm out to 1 year per eye. The resulting scar tissue has ruined my night vision but I'm good during the day. Restasis has become my friend.

any way, there's a worse case scenario for ya

 

[Extrapale]

Epilasik (no flap) in 2006. My vision has been steady but not perfect. I regularly test to 2020 on an eyechart, but I do have some astigmatism. Epilasik has a longer recovery time and is more painful.

Also agrree with some of the guys about the clock. Mine was reading the bottom line on ESPN without glasses after my post surgery nap.

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[Rokbar]

I had lasik around 20 years ago. Insurance covered a little, but I believe I paid about $3200. Some of the best money I've ever spent. Before lasik a tree was a a green blob.When I came out the door after surgery I could count the leaves.

 

[BowTrout]

I had lasik done about 5 years ago and it’s been great! I definitely wish I would have done it years before.

 

[CJohnson]

Another LASIK proponent here. Had mine done 10 years ago and had a few issues with halos at night that eventually resolved itself. I’d do it once a year if I had to.

I was at -4.50 and it was about $4000 for all my eyes.

 

[Rkess171]

Awesome how much of a response this has gotten!

 

[idig4au]

Okay this is something I am also considering but I have a bad eye phobia. I can barely get eye drops in with a lot of effort. Open eyes under water, no freakin way. Can’t even look at a close up image of an eye. I’ve almost passed out eye dr office before from anxiety.

But how can one get through the procedure itself. Can they put you out to the point where you’re awake but have no idea what is going on? What about the recovery process itself. Just drops?

Not sure how to get past the phobia though and if this would ever be an option.

 

[Scottyboy]

I did lasik in ‘98?? and was probably the best thing I’ve ever done

 

[HawkeyeHunter]

LASIK in 2007...life changing. Like previously stated, waking up and seeing the alarm clock was amazing.