I posted earlier about if I would die of I missed a week of swimming 4 Weeks out from IMWI due to getting Lasik.
A couple days out from the procedure, I’m starting to build up some nerves. Have read in some material that lasik may make your vision worse, you may need to still wear glasses, you may develop dry eyes for up to 3 months, and a bunch of other mays that make me scared to have the procedure as a young triathletes (21 y/o). I don’t want to ruin my vision, plain and simple.
Has anyone had Lasik done, and can share some wisdom with me? My doctor said I was a good candidate, and didn’t raise any immediate concerns with me. I have green eyes if that helps with anything.
I wasn’t a candidate for lasik, but I had PRK surgery about 18 months ago. My only regret is not doing it sooner. PRK has a longer recovery time than Lasik (my vision wasn’t 20/20 until about 3-4 weeks post-op), but PRK is supposed to be more stable in the long-run as you don’t have the flap that’s created in Lasik.
I do still struggle with dry eyes, however. I had dry eyes before the surgery, and it has worsened a bit since, mostly at night when I’m sleeping. Most nights I put ointment in my eyes to help with it. During the day, I hardly use drops, if I do, it’s after staring at the computer too long while at work. However, I was getting to the point where I couldn’t tolerate wearing contacts for more than 10-12 hours, so having PRK and not fussing with glasses anymore is still an upgrade.
had it done back in April and have had spectacular results. My eyes were dry for a bit, but stay on top of using the eye drops and you should have great results. i got mine done mostly because I would have issues with white water kayaking with contacts, and its been great. I would definitely recommend it.
I wasn’t a candidate for lasik, but I had PRK surgery about 18 months ago. My only regret is not doing it sooner. PRK has a longer recovery time than Lasik (my vision wasn’t 20/20 until about 3-4 weeks post-op), but PRK is supposed to be more stable in the long-run as you don’t have the flap that’s created in Lasik.
I do still struggle with dry eyes, however. I had dry eyes before the surgery, and it has worsened a bit since, mostly at night when I’m sleeping. Most nights I put ointment in my eyes to help with it. During the day, I hardly use drops, if I do, it’s after staring at the computer too long while at work. However, I was getting to the point where I couldn’t tolerate wearing contacts for more than 10-12 hours, so having PRK and not fussing with glasses anymore is still an upgrade.
Do you experience dry eyes during races? My biggest worry is being somewhere that I wouldn’t be able to put eye drops in, wherever that may be during the race and dealing with additional discomfort on top of everything else I’m likely to experience.
I definitely suffer during the swim because of my vision (have a hard time seeing far away), so I know that I would benefit from the procedure during races and generally speaking. Just worried is all that I make a mistake and have to live with it the rest of my life.
Lasik is one of the best things I’ve ever done. I had 20/15 vision after the procedure (better than 20/20), although that unfortunately didn’t last. I didn’t have any of the side effects your doctor wanted you about. Yes, a small percentage of people will get those symptoms, and yes, it’s possible that you will be one of them. But being able to ditch glasses and contacts was well worth the risk to me. The procedure itself is very quick and not painful at all.
My wife had PRK because she wasn’t a Lasik candidate, and hers has worked out well also.
Until I realized I could no longer drive in the dark because of the halos around any light or reflector
If I don’t have someone to drive me to a race or a hotel close enough to walk I can’t do the race
Good thing for me I don’t have to work at night or have to be at work early in the AM.
I was told after the surgery by another eye Dr that they never should have performed the surgery because my pupils are too large and the halos are a direct result
I don’t notice the dry eyes at all while training or racing. They only bother me at night while sleeping and on rare occasions at work (worse in the winter with the dry air, plus I spend most of my day at a computer).
I was always paranoid about losing a contact while racing, so to me, having the surgery is a relief to not have that worry.
if i had to pay the $3k that my wife paid for me to have my eyes fixed every year for the rest of my life to keep my eyes working this well i would do it. i would miss an entire year of training and sport for it if i had to. its a life changer.
i initially had the startbursts like i was told, but they gradually went away. if they didnt go away i really wouldnt care in relation to being able to see.
the actual procedure isnt really that bad, its just freaky.
I had lasik 2-3 years ago. Probably had dry eyes and used eye drops to alleviate for a few weeks after. I think I took a week or two off swimming, don’t really recall exactly how long. I noticed afterwards a LOT more light sensitivity. Just walking out of the office in the afternoon I would be squinting. I usually drive to the pool or work in the dark and I remember being bothered by lights from oncoming cars, or even bright tail lights. That’s either gotten better over time or I’ve become accustomed to it. Occasionally I notice oncoming headlights being annoyingly bright, but that’s about it now. I would do it again though. The simplicity of not having to deal with contacts or glasses all the time, especially when travelling and/or training/racing is awesome.
I had it done several years ago. I had some complications with one eye but had a follow up and got it all set. I did get dry eyes for almost a year, but it was not severe and while it felt like forever it did go away.
PRK 3 years ago. Swimming and Cycling without contacts is worth 3k, i don’t care how often I need touch-ups. No issues or dry eyes with the PRK, I think it’s better for sports.
My only advice (and I’m sure your eye doc will give better) is to be sure your eyes aren’t in a pattern of changing/getting worse. My eye doc recommended that my prescription stabilize for a number of years before getting any kind of surgery. With you being so young, I would be concerned that your eyes will very likely get worse and you’ll be back in contacts or glasses before you’re 30. I am 40 and am just now seriously considering it because my vision has changed so much over the past 15 years.
I had lasik 4 weeks before a 70.3. Missing swimming for a week is no big deal. My one piece of advice: bring eye drops with you on the bike/run. I had sweat dripping in my eyes on the one steep climb in the race and it HURT. I actually had to stop at the top to pour water in my eyes because it was stinging so badly, and eye drops really would have helped that.
I had lasik 4 weeks before a 70.3. Missing swimming for a week is no big deal. My one piece of advice: bring eye drops with you on the bike/run. I had sweat dripping in my eyes on the one steep climb in the race and it HURT. I actually had to stop at the top to pour water in my eyes because it was stinging so badly, and eye drops really would have helped that.
What type of drops? Do you think the lasik was what made your eyes sting so bad, or just getting sweat in your eyes period?
I had it done when I was about your age. My eyes were so bad, they didn’t expect me to have 20/20 vision after but expected I would be able to function without glasses mostly.
I ended up with 20/15 vision (better than 20/20). I had no lasting side effect. It’s been so long I don’t remember if I had any initial effects, none that I recall.
I had perfect vision for about 15 years. In the past two or so years, I started needing glasses for an astigmatism. I can still ride, swim, run, even drive without glasses but I prefer to wear them most of the time because it makes everything more clear. That may also have to do with me getting older.
It was well worth it IMO.
PRK 10 years ago (not a candidate for lasik). As others have said my only regret was not doing it sooner. i was worried about being one of those who still needed glasses after surgery (i didn’t). i would have disappointed at the time, but in hindsight, needing a very small prescription and being able to function without glasses even if i needed them to drive at night would still have been a huge improvement. That is the position i am in 10 years later - small negative prescription for night driving, small prescription for reading (age related), but can run and cycle and do all other things without glasses. Much better than those heavy minus 6 or more glasses or contact lenses.
The post-op instructions will tell you to use the preservative-free rewetting drops. They come in little single-use bottles so they are easy to take everywhere (and to throw in a race suit or jersey). It was definitely the lasik that caused the stinging - it wasn’t normal stinging, it felt like my eyeballs were being seared open. The incision flap is like 90% healed in a couple of days, but that last 10% of healing takes weeks, which is why you are supposed to be careful not to rub your eyes for the few weeks after surgery (and even well after that you can displace the flap because it doesn’t ever heal completely, which scares the crap out of me).
Best decision ever for me.I had it done maybe 6 years ago and I was running the next day (with sunglasses to prevent anything from finding its way into my eye). They offered silicone tear duct plugs that would help with dryness and I got them. They must have helped because I had zero dryness. Follow ALL the post ops procedures and you should be fine.
I posted earlier about if I would die of I missed a week of swimming 4 Weeks out from IMWI due to getting Lasik.
Another positive Lasik experience here (I had the surgery 11 years ago). Went from 20/400 to 20/20, and it has held there. I’m very glad not to have to deal with contacts anymore.
My eyes were dry for about 6 months, and I also remember that it took a few days, maybe a week, for my vision to stabilize.
The question I would have is whether you want to do this so close to the IM, in case there are any complications. You could do it the week after IM when you won’t miss the training.