Thinking of having LASIK?

Pleased to report that the pack from Mercola arrived today. It's a little book and a bunch of CD's. I'm wondering just on the off-chance weather anyone here has been through their process and really I'm curious to know how long it takes before I have beautiful crystal-clear vision (I couldn't see any specifics on that)? I don't know but can't wait for the day I can throw my glasses away. :)
 
My wife had LASIK in Australia back in 1994 and has had no issues at all, her vision is still great.

I ended up wearing glasses for many years predominantly so I could read projection screens at sales meetings from the back of the room. Interesting thing happened when we retired and moved to our lifestyle property where we had fantastic long distance views over rolling hills to the ocean. After 2 years of looking at this view every day, my optometrist told me that my long distance vision was 20/20 and and I no longer needed glasses. And I now only use glasses for reading.
 
(After 2 years of looking at this view every day, my optometrist told me that my long distance vision was 20/20 and and I no longer needed glasses. And I now only use glasses for reading.)
That's great flashgordonv. Using the Mercola system is taking a long time but I kind of expected that. I'm enjoying going to the poundland shop and slowly buying a slightly lower grade pair of glasses each time. The latest pair I got were grade 2. Have to say I'm not entirely sure what their grading system means, I just know a lower number is better indication of ones eyesight. For me that means a yellow sticker is better than a red sticker. I don't mind paying 2 GBP each time to gradually get to the magical number of 0. I'm quite looking forward to that because at the moment I feel like I'm swimming in used pairs of poundland reading glasses. :)
 
Hi Rich, you might also want to check out Janet Goodrich (she authored a book called Natural Vision Improvement) & Dr. Jacob Lieberman who wrote Take off your Glasses and See, and Light-Medicine from the Future. I have read the first two books and they have plenty of exercises to help the eyes focus and function better. Then there are herbs such as Eyebright & Bilberry that can help too. While most of the exercises are to help with myopia or hyoeropia, I can’t recall if they addressed presbyopia (the need for near specs from the age of about 40-/+ or thereabouts), but worth checking out nonetheless.
 
My wife had LASIK in Australia back in 1994 and has had no issues at all, her vision is still great.

I ended up wearing glasses for many years predominantly so I could read projection screens at sales meetings from the back of the room. Interesting thing happened when we retired and moved to our lifestyle property where we had fantastic long distance views over rolling hills to the ocean. After 2 years of looking at this view every day, my optometrist told me that my long distance vision was 20/20 and and I no longer needed glasses. And I now only use glasses for reading.


Congrats on such great results! Your testimonial reminds me of a book I read some years ago, titled The Secret of Perfect Vision: How You Can Prevent and Reverse Nearsightedness. The author describes nearsightedness as an environmental adaptation: we spend so much time looking at our computers or near environment that the eye muscles responsible for far vision don't have much of a chance to develop properly. The author then describes a series of simple exercises that help practice the muscles.

The fact that my short sightedness bothered me very little is a bit of an evidence that I probably wasn't looking towards a distance too much. In the end, it was iodine that improved my eyesight and others in the iodine thread reported similar benefits of supplementing it. NeurOptimal helped too so although my distance vision isn't 100% perfect, it doesn't require correction with glasses.
 
Hi Rich, you might also want to check out Janet Goodrich (she authored a book called Natural Vision Improvement) & Dr. Jacob Lieberman who wrote Take off your Glasses and See, and Light-Medicine from the Future. I have read the first two books and they have plenty of exercises to help the eyes focus and function better. Then there are herbs such as Eyebright & Bilberry that can help too. While most of the exercises are to help with myopia or hyoeropia, I can’t recall if they addressed presbyopia (the need for near specs from the age of about 40-/+ or thereabouts), but worth checking out nonetheless.
Thanks Arwenn. Looks interesting and am sure it will complement the Mercola package. So something I might get.
Congrats on such great results! Your testimonial reminds me of a book I read some years ago, titled The Secret of Perfect Vision: How You Can Prevent and Reverse Nearsightedness. The author describes nearsightedness as an environmental adaptation: we spend so much time looking at our computers or near environment that the eye muscles responsible for far vision don't have much of a chance to develop properly. The author then describes a series of simple exercises that help practice the muscles.

The fact that my short sightedness bothered me very little is a bit of an evidence that I probably wasn't looking towards a distance too much. In the end, it was iodine that improved my eyesight and others in the iodine thread reported similar benefits of supplementing it. NeurOptimal helped too so although my distance vision isn't 100% perfect, it doesn't require correction with glasses.
Thanks Ant22. Some useful tips there and another book I'll have to make some choices on.
 
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Here's a really heartbreaking story of a woman who took her own life 2 months after undergoing laser eye surgery. It wasn't LASIK but small incision lenticule extraction, or SMILE. The family says she showed no signs of depression before the surgery, but after the surgery her mental and physical well-being went downhill. Unable to sleep, weight loss, lack of motivation for family activities. It's all a rather eye-opening and tragic story of the dangers of laser eye surgery IMO. This is one of the reasons why I get annoyed when I go to the eye doctor and they push laser surgery on me.

Jessica Starr, a meteorologist for a Fox TV station in Detroit, took her own life last December, just two months after undergoing corrective laser eye surgery.

Now, Starr's family, speaking out for the first time since her death, says they believe Starr's struggles with complications from the eye surgery led to her death.

"Absolutely," Starr’s husband, Dan Rose, told ABC News' Paula Faris in an exclusive interview that aired Wednesday on "Good Morning America." "There was nothing else that we can attribute it to."

"She really knew something was not right within a matter of days," Rose added. "She started to complain of incredibly dry eyes. She had almost no night vision. She had starbursts that she was seeing during the day and at night."

Rose said that Starr, a mother of two young children, told him she was having trouble processing visuals.

Starr's mother, Carol Starr, recalled that her daughter lost 25 pounds after the surgery.

"I kept saying, 'Are you eating? Are you okay?,'" Carol Starr recalled. "And she said, 'I'm not eating and I'm not sleeping, Mom. This is worrying me. I don't think it's gonna get better.'"


The procedure Jessica Starr, 35, underwent last October is small incision lenticule extraction, or SMILE. In it, a laser makes a very small opening on the eye to remove a layer of tissue within the cornea to change its shape and correct nearsightedness.

The FDA approved the procedure in 2016 and it has already been used more than 1.5 million times worldwide. It is considered to be less invasive than the popular Lasik eye surgery.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology says studies show the procedure is safe and effective and that complications are very rare. The academy says those complications can include glare and halos, particularly at night, and under or over-corrected vision.

'I'm really mad at myself for doing this'
Starr's family said she had considered laser eye surgery for several years when her doctor told her she was a good candidate for SMILE.

In one of the many video diaries Starr recorded after the surgery, she expresses regret for having undergone the procedure.

"I'm really mad at myself for doing this," Starr said in the video. "I don't know why. I was fine in contacts. Glasses weren't that big of a deal. It was fine."


Starr's family said she contacted her surgeon and multiple eye doctors to get their opinions after the surgery. She also reached out to a therapist for help.

Looking back, her family said they realized Starr had become depressed.

"I was going to dinner by myself with the kids. I was taking the kids to the movies by myself, in the sense of she started to withdraw from life," Rose said of his wife.

Both Rose and his mother-in-law said Starr showed no signs of any sort of emotional, mental or physical distress before the surgery.


The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery told ABC News in a statement that "clinical data on SMILE shows sight compromising complications are extremely rare, at less than one percent."

"As with all types of surgery, there is a healing process ... and the need for post-surgical care…which typically lasts from a few days to several weeks ... but in some patients [it] may take longer," the statement continued.

Zeiss, the maker of the laser used for SMILE, did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.

The FDA told ABC News that Zeiss is required to conduct a post-approval study so the FDA can continue to monitor the safety and effectiveness of procedure.
 
Good find Beau. It is infuriating. Not surprised you get annoyed when you go to the eye doctor. They are on my list of people I try avoid, Trouble is, that list keeps on getting bigger! :)
 
Good find Beau. It is infuriating. Not surprised you get annoyed when you go to the eye doctor. They are on my list of people I try avoid, Trouble is, that list keeps on getting bigger! :)

Well, it's kinda important to get your eyes checked every so often. It doesn't bother me so much that I intentionally avoid them because it's just a minor thing. Not that hard to say thanks but no thanks.
 
This is a really tragic story. I don’t know much about the SMILE procedure, but I do know that some refractive eye surgeries can take upto six months to heal (with glare and dryness being common post-op symptoms). With any surgery, there is always a small percentage where there are inevitably complications irrespective of the surgeon/type of surgery. Bottom line is to really do your research and avoid it unless you absolutely need it!

We must have a different system here in Australia- most people consult an optometrist for primary eye care, and then get referred to the appropriate ophthalmologist if further investigation or care is required. My local ophthalmologists are general ophthalmologists and don’t do refractive eye surgeries, and so would never ‘push’ that on any of my patients. The eye is such an interesting and complicated organ, that there are specialists within the field of ophthalmology that only specialise in one tiny part of the eye (like the retina or cornea) or a disease like glaucoma. So ensuring that you are seeing the right person for appropriate treatment and care is crucial. And needless to say, surgery should only be entertained when all other options have been exhausted.
 
I don't know of any surgeons in my area using SMILE and I've not heard much about it either. So I watched a video.


Yikes!! The manual removal of the cornea after they suction it and laser it looks pretty damn traumatic to me! Worse than cataract removal. You are really at the mercy of the surgeons skill. There are also plenty of YouTube videos of complications during this procedure!

I remember seeing the news when Jessica Starr killed herself. Thanks for posting her family's interview, Beau. I thought she had lasik or PRK, but SMILE looks so much worse. Such a tragedy! And a real shame someone actually recommended this.
 
Most people in the states also see optometrists for primary eye care, like Australia. But a lot of optometrists co-manage lasik with the surgeon and get ( on average) $600 cut for the referral and doing follow up exams. This is paid to them directly from the surgeon. So for some, they push the procedure for the extra money.
 
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