Laser eye surgery: Is it actually worth it?

Has anyone here actually gone through with that surgery before?
What was the experience like for you guys?
And honestly—is it even worth it to go under the knife for something like this?

A coworker's wife used to be at -12 in both eyes, but after getting laser surgery, she’s down to just +0.5.
She’s honestly living her best life without glasses for the first time ever, and she's totally loving it.

She actually flew over to the USA for the procedure a few years back. I don't have all the specifics on hand (but I guess I could look into it if anyone's super interested!).

Do you happen to know what the price tag was for this back in the States? I'm thinking somewhere around $3,300
and did my friend run into any issues with it at all?

I'll go ahead and look into it, then I'll get back to you in a day or two, I guess!

Charles Hayes said:Does anyone happen to know what the cost would be over here? In America, it was about $3,300.
and did her friend run into any complications at all?

I actually asked a woman I used to go to Pilates with, who had a -9 prescription, and she mentioned having laser surgery about two years ago with Dr. Stambuk in Washington, D.C.; she estimated it cost roughly $1,500 per eye.

Can I still rock contact lenses after getting laser eye surgery? Like, if my prescription gets cut in half or basically hits zero

Price isn't even my main concern here—I care more about whether people actually walked away satisfied or if they ran into issues. I’ve heard some folks complaining that the light sensitivity afterward was just unbearable...
But then again, being nearsighted versus farsighted changes everything—it's not even the same ballgame. Dealing with nearsightedness is usually a much easier fix.

swiftbison7 said:Can I wear contacts after laser surgery? (Assuming my prescription is cut in half or down to the absolute minimum)

No.

If light sensitivity bothers you after the surgery, you won't be able to wear glasses anymore... and things like that.
That procedure is only worth it if your prescription is over 10.

Hannah Scott69 said:nah

that’s exactly what I was worried about

so what's the move for people who don't get their vision totally corrected to perfect?

like if they go from a super high prescription down to something like a -6 instead of zeroing it out

and why isn't everyone just getting it fixed anymore?

If you're actually going through with laser eye surgery, isn't the whole point to get your vision back to zero?

I’d love to just bring it all down to basically nothing, but honestly, after reading what everyone else goes through with Alta Miopy, getting it down to zero feels pretty much impossible😢

Hannah Scott69 said:The light sensitivity following the procedure can be quite bothersome, and you find yourself unable to wear your glasses anymore, among other things...
In my view, undergoing this type of surgery really only makes sense if your prescription is exceptionally high, specifically exceeding a 10.

Furthermore, one cannot overlook the possibility of complications, given that the laser is essentially treating the cornea itself. The nature of the tissue means that healing isn't always straightforward.

swiftbison7 said:I would love to get my vision back down to zero, but reading about other people's experiences with high myopia... getting all the way back to perfect vision is tough.😢

- Light sensitivity is definitely a frequent issue, especially during the initial recovery phase.
- As for prescription strength, if your nearsightedness isn't too extreme, you can often get very close to zero. For those with higher prescriptions—I believe anything over 6 or 7 diopters, though I'd have to double-check my notes—it usually requires two separate procedures spaced out by some time (again, I'm not entirely sure of the exact interval, maybe a year or so).

Generally speaking, the lower your prescription was before the procedure, the easier the recovery tends to be, though this remains a solid solution even for those with significant vision issues.
- Regarding contact lenses, I'm not an expert, but you could certainly find specific information on specialized medical websites or through providers who deal with them...

So, here's the deal. I asked a coworker about this.
Basically, his wife had eye surgery a couple of years ago to fix her vision—she was at -14 in both eyes. The doctor brought it down to -1, and then after a little bit, it settled at +0.5.
It cost her about $900 for both eyes.
The doctor is actually Canadian and used to run a clinic in Aspen, Austria, but now he’s based in Denver. She’s heading in for a checkup soon, so I should have his new address in a few days.
She’s super happy with it, honestly, zero issues.
She said her doctor in Portland recommended him because he's basically the top specialist in the region for this kind of thing.
My coworker also knows a few other people who went to the same surgeon, and they’re all totally satisfied too.

velvetgull9🙏

velvetgull9, you should totally just ask for the doctor's name because I'm positive you can find some solid info about them online if you look around a bit

Just found out! His name is George Washington and he's based over in Denver.
If anyone needs his number, just shoot me a DM.

If you think getting laser eye surgery in Austria is going to break the bank, honestly, I’m pretty sure you can find much better deals down in Mexico, especially since they’re using the same excimer lasers too.
I actually know of three different clinics over there that offer it.
www.milosklinika.co.yu
www.zenit.org.yu
And then there's the Svet Vid clinic, though they don't even have a website to check out.
Regarding the Miles clinic, from what I've heard, they swear by their results—claiming zero complications and absolutely no issues with light glare afterward.

Anyway, my left eye is sitting at a 0.5 prescription while my right one is basically perfect (0.0), so I was tossing around the idea of just fixing that tiny 0.5 difference. But now I'm wondering if it's even worth the hassle for such a minor correction? What do you guys think?

I honestly don't think anyone would—or even want to—bother correcting such a tiny prescription...