Laser surgery on eyes?

[keldave1]

Has any one ever had the problem of having astigmatism (can't judge distance) and short sightedness? I just want to know if any one has had laser surgery (I already know about Jamie Gray), and has made them ride better.

I have been using glasses for a couple of years now and I still kept crashing on the stupidest of things. So back I went to the optomerist to try contact lenses as they help correct the distance judging. one lens moves around sometimes as they cant get it to fit properly.

I've been using them only on weekends for about a month now. I have been riding smoother with them and have gone from a 3:53 one off run on my local trails to 3:50 - 3:52 back to back runs. (plenty of room for improvement).

Be getting surgery on 10 october to get reddy for next season, hopefully top 10 expert by then.

Would love to hear your stories on riding perfomances to do with this.

Bike: 06 Giant comp with boxxer upgrade kit.

[Fidsey]

I've Astigmatism and Myopia. I use contacts for rideing/racing. Check out the bad contacts story in AMB - that's me. My contacts often come out, especially on endurance events and other long rides. A real pain in the ass. Am considering the laser treatment.

My brother in law had his eyes done last year. Better than contacts, and the follow ups have confirmed all this. He tells me it's the best thing he's ever done!

Good luck with it all Your depth perception will definitely improve, a great thing for the riding.

[julianwisbey]

whatch out your eyes dont crust up like homers did

do they crust over like on the simpsons ??

[Daver]

whatch out your eyes dont crust up like homers did

do they crust over like on the simpsons ??

You're an idiot.

[keldave1]

My contacts haven't come out yet but they can blur up alittle at the wrong time. I gave the contacts alittle upsidedown time on Saturday when I highsided my bike off into the bush. nice excursion really.

[tinto]

My sister in-law had lasic (sp) eye surgery recently.
She couldn't do anything without her glasses... but the difference now is amazing, and the recovery was a couple of days at the most.
I've always thought my eyes were good, but hers are so much better than mine that I'll admit I'm a little jealous.

I really don't think you'll regret it... the 'worst' thing may be that you now crash into trees, rocks and so on because you actually SEE them ;)

[Ska-quatch]

almost certainly getting mine done as soon as I hit 21, if only for the extra things i can do, (get pilots license, join the police force/army if i so wish. Contacts are good. I use 30 day ones that literally get left in for the whole month, which is handy, can get a little blurry at times though

[julianwisbey]

You're an idiot.

it was a question wankey doodle

[ScottD]

it was a question wankey doodle

your a deadset drop kick, who even watches the simpsons. Its for 8 yr olds

[julianwisbey]

mabe i am 8 ?? ;)

[ashhash]

I wear contacts and dont have dramas on the bike as long as ive got sunnies on, they dry out otherwise.

I dont trust the laser idea.
Vision changes, ive just had to get stronger lenses.
What happens if it changes after laser treatment? Have to do it again??

[V.B9]

your a deadset drop kick, who even watches the simpsons. Its for 8 yr olds

hey man stop dissin the simpsons

[bazza]

hey man stop dissin the simpsons

stop wrecking this thread.

go talk to your local eye doctor man or girl and see what the possibilties are. there are enough good stories on here already to warrant at least a visit and to let them explain the surgery to you!

[Mo]

im quite skeptic about laser, i've been using glasses for the past 20 years of my life, opticians refusing to get me contacts...the last year moved to contacts and now i have more than 20/20 vision.

if you aren't doing extra long miles i say stick to contacts.

[Elbo]

I've had glasses for 4 years now (short sighted), never ride with them on and sometimes I find it hard to judge the 'lay of the land', whether its sandy, loose, etc. I've been considering switching to contacts for a while now, would be (i hope) awesome for riding, school, driving, hockey and footy. Over the 4 years i've had 2 sets of lenses, and my eyes are slowly getting worse at the moment. I don't want to get laser surgery because, what happens if my eyes change after that?
and
I've heard that laser correction permanently changes you to long sighted, therefore, you still need glasses for reading? (can someone clarify/clear this up for me?)
and
What can go wrong in the surgery, what are the risks?

I think i'll just make the transition from glasses to contacts now. To the contacts wearers, do you find them comfortable and do you notice they are there (apart from the vision of course)?
Thanks,
Eliot.

[Pebble]

I started wearing contacts probably a year ago. Like you I've got astigmatism and long / short sightedness as well. Makes it harder because you can only buy certain contacts (can't use the daily disposables or the ones you leave in for a whole month - that would be great!).
At the moment I'm wearing ones that you throw away after a month. Only drama is that if I wear them while doing computer work my eyes get a bit blurry & in genereal they seem to get dry & uncomfortable after say about half a days wear, depending on the climate. But could always use eye drops for this I guess.
For riding they're great because I can wear sunnies, and particularly good if it's going to rain a bit etc. Although in general Ifind that they don't give me as good a vision as I can get with my glasses, almost the same though.
I've got Bolle Downdraft sunnies, any pair like this would be good because they allow you to see just as well in the shade and when it's a bit darker without having the need to take them off or switch lenses etc.
I would love to look into laser surgery but it sooo expensive! And of course there is risk involved - I have really crappy field vision as well (due to an eye disease) so if I lost any more It wouldn't be a very good thing at all.

Make an appointment with your local lasic people (or whoever you think you may go to) the consultation is obligation free & at least you can fully find out what's involved and also if you are suitable for it. I know if I had the cash I would definitely look into it - better vision now would still be worth wearing glasses again later on if need be - heck people with perfect eye sight have to wear glasses when they get old. Mind you my vision hasn't changed for years.

[brisneyland]

I've heard that laser correction permanently changes you to long sighted, therefore, you still need glasses for reading? (can someone clarify/clear this up for me?)
and
What can go wrong in the surgery, what are the risks?


Chances are you will need reading glasses.

Depending on your eyes, the risks of the actual operation going very wrong is quite low (sorry, can't remember exact figures) but about 5% (i think) of people are not satisfied with the outcome.

My mainconcern is the lack of long term data....

[scblack]

Has any one ever had the problem of having astigmatism (can't judge distance) and short sightedness? .

My understanding is astigmatism is the eye not being a good smooth curvature, having bumps or indentations basically. **edit, I just looked it up, and is a bit of both our ideas**

I am also short sighted, with astigmatism. My cornea is very sharply curved, so I cannot wear the 30day contacts which I would LOVE.

I am not doing the laser surgery thing, as I don't yet trust it. Give it a few years yet. My sister has done it earlier this year, costing $6,500. See how she goes.

For riding these days, I just wear my glasses, obviously with goggles over for DH. I have very light titanium frames, and very thin lenses milled in Japan, so they do not bounce around much.

[Cave Dweller]

I have one good and one dodgy eye, my right eye is long sighted (i think, i can never remember), with astigmatism. I wear one contact, 2 week disposable type, strongest script available and its still no where near 100%. The thing dries up when riding DH as well, I have to wear goggles.

My contacts are hell annoying, the have a little line on it that has to face down when putting it into the eye (due to the astigmatism), means i need to touch the thing all over before putting it into my eye everyday.

I talked to my optometrist about laser surgery and he said im not able to get it. Laser surgery removes material from the eye, as far as im aware it can't put material back. My under standing of short/long sighted is the retina is not at the focal point so they remove retina until it is, so it only works if your short sighted, if they take too much off you end up going long sighted which can't be corrected, that is probably what people here are talking about.

I could be wrong, this is just what i remembered.

I know someone who had it and he is soooooooo happy that its not funny. Going from glasses to near perfect vision is fantastic. He did say that it was the most painful thing he has ever felt though, the surgery is not painful, the recovery is.

[brisneyland]

so they remove retina until it is, so it only works if your short sighted,

Fark I hope not!:eek:

Nah, they reshape your cornea - the outer most part of the eye (you can touch it if you're keen) - to correct your refractive error. The viability of the procedure varies from person to person depending on the thickness of your cornea - if you have a thicker cornea, the more material they have to work with and consequently the op will have a higher chance of success and they'll be able to correct larger refractive errors.

Note that the cornea is not the same as the lens of the eye, but both play a role in refraction.

Some astigmatism can be corrected with laser surgery.

And if you were wondering, astigmatism is where the lens is not perfectly round/spherical in shape, it's more like a football shape. This means that the refractive error has differing vertical and horizontal components - a person with astigmatism may perceive something to be blurred horizontally(or vertically), rather than just blurred evenly.

[Daver]

I'm 6 months off having the surgery provided my prescription stays the same over that time. I have had a few problems trying to use contacts, and ended up just riding with goggles over my glasses. The surgery has been around for a while now and with each year the success rates increase even more, and the pricing comes down too. The only downside i have heard is that in low light conditions and flat light you have worse depth perception, but I'm unsure as to what extent it is.

[Cave Dweller]

Fark I hope not!:eek:

Nah, they reshape your cornea - the outer most part of the eye (you can touch it if you're keen) - to correct your refractive error. The viability of the procedure varies from person to person depending on the thickness of your cornea - if you have a thicker cornea, the more material they have to work with and consequently the op will have a higher chance of success and they'll be able to correct larger refractive errors.

Note that the cornea is not the same as the lens of the eye, but both play a role in refraction.

Some astigmatism can be corrected with laser surgery.

And if you were wondering, astigmatism is where the lens is not perfectly round/spherical in shape, it's more like a football shape. This means that the refractive error has differing vertical and horizontal components - a person with astigmatism may perceive something to be blurred horizontally(or vertically), rather than just blurred evenly.

Well, like i said i was just going from the top of my head

I knew it had something to do with changing the focal length of the eye.

[keldave1]

I've been trialing contacts but my eyes aren't suited (Tight eyelids). It can take me upto 30mins to put them in.

The other reason is that contacts in my right eye move which changes my line of sight, and I'm sick of swetting on my glasses all the time.
I've already booked my appointment for 10th october (contacts for Toowoomba) whith the PRK meathod, which is the safest but slowest recovery. 6 days off work 4 weeks off bike. Costs $5200 (could just by a glory to get past those mischievious rocks).
Cant wait to not be feeling tired all of the time, which is happening to me cause I cant get lenses to be perfect so my brain has to work to try to focus all the time.

[No_Style]

Contact lenses are something you will get used to. Trust me I went through about 6 months of hell with every problem in the book. I have astigmatism and am short sighted also. However because I'm 19 Laser eye surgey isn't an option yet...

But I can dream...

And in the meantime the more guinea pigs....ah I mean patients....that receive the procedure will mean that it will work all the better for me...:D

[sikpuppyonglory]

all i can say is that i've known keldave1 for years from before he found what eyeproblem he had to the use of glasses & now the use of contacts for riding, he has stepped up his riding style 10fold & its nearly impossible to keep up with him, i can vouch for the 3.50 run he done because he's pushed me to that limit sofar aswell & he's still pushin, i believe that if this makes his eyesight even better than what it is now he's goin to want my glory (nnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooo):D

to be honest though no matter what the outcome he still find a way to push the limit for all of us to go that bit faster, that bit higher, a a bit further than what we have already achieved.

go get em dave.:)

[SillyBoy]

I had been wearing glasses and contacts for about 20 years, -10.0 per eye....And 6 years ago, I took the plunge and had the laser surgery done on both eyes. And honestly speaking - IT'S THE BEST THING!!!!

I still have 20/20 vision and excellent vision both for long and short sightedness...

Having said that, laser surgery is not for everyone. It's best if you consult the doctor/surgeon for your options. As far as I know, excessively dry eyes and weird shaped eyes are not suitable.