Posted on Apr 16, 2014
Who took advantage of the military paying for your Laser Eye Surgery? Was it worth it?
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I'm having Laser Eye Surgery at the beginning of May and just curious who received the surgery and your thoughts about the overall experience. What are your positives and negatives?
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Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 14
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I was going to do just that prior to retirement and found out I'd still need "readers" since I had 'aged' into bifocal range... I just couldn't see having to CARRY glasses around to read.. so I decided to just leave them on my head all the time. Had it not been for that I definitely would have done it though. Good luck to you!!
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MSG (Join to see)
Thanks Wade, I'm in my mid 30s now and have waited for more than a few years to have it done at Bethesda. My number was finally called and I'm really excited to get this done.
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SGT (Join to see)
I had mine done in 2010 and it was the best thing that I could have done. The first day your eyes will hurt alot. Use the eye drops that they give you, it will help with the pain.
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Sorry I'm responding late to this and I know you already went through the surgery. I took advantage of it in January 2011 and it was well worth it. I was just shy of 41 and had been wearing glasses for about 34 years. As you can see from my pic, I don't wear glasses any more and it's great. Don't have to worry about where I put my glasses nor do I have to worry about them getting knocked off and not being able to see. I had very bad vision and could barely read clearly up to about 3 feet in front of me. I also just barely qualified for the surgery because my vision was really bad. If it had been any worse I would not have qualified.
With that said, the positives are so many. I had mine done at Walter Reed and the medical personnel were phenomenal. very professional and helpful in explaining the procedure from day 1. The Major who did my surgery was one of the best in his field. The overall surgery did not take long, about 12 seconds per eye, but the total time including preparation, etc was about 30 minutes.
As for negatives, the main one was the slight pain and scratchiness in the eyes. Granted this was mostly taken care of by the meds, eye-drops and lotion but it was still there. During the surgery, it smells like burnt hotdogs which is okay. It's just a smell. I think the absolute worst for just me personally was I supposedly passed out when the first eye was done. Don't ask. :(
Overall, I highly recommend those on active duty to get the surgery done if they can. I don't know about retirees but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
With that said, the positives are so many. I had mine done at Walter Reed and the medical personnel were phenomenal. very professional and helpful in explaining the procedure from day 1. The Major who did my surgery was one of the best in his field. The overall surgery did not take long, about 12 seconds per eye, but the total time including preparation, etc was about 30 minutes.
As for negatives, the main one was the slight pain and scratchiness in the eyes. Granted this was mostly taken care of by the meds, eye-drops and lotion but it was still there. During the surgery, it smells like burnt hotdogs which is okay. It's just a smell. I think the absolute worst for just me personally was I supposedly passed out when the first eye was done. Don't ask. :(
Overall, I highly recommend those on active duty to get the surgery done if they can. I don't know about retirees but it wouldn't hurt to ask.
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SMSgt Kevin Connair
I had PRK done at Lackland in September of 2010, everything went great with the actual surgery, but I had a 1/100,000 reaction to the steroid eye drops. So my vision isn't quite as perfect as it could be. Since the surgery, I haven't required glasses or contacts for most things during daylight hours. It makes a huge difference when playing sports.
I wear glasses when driving at night, and occasionally if I am in a briefing, and I am sitting far from the screen. Shooting with iron sights out to about 50 yards is ok, but beyond that the glasses become necessary. Even with my complication, I would still highly recommend it.
I wear glasses when driving at night, and occasionally if I am in a briefing, and I am sitting far from the screen. Shooting with iron sights out to about 50 yards is ok, but beyond that the glasses become necessary. Even with my complication, I would still highly recommend it.
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SSG (Join to see)
SMSgt Kevin Connair, it's a shame that you had a minor complication with the surgery but thankfully it was successful enough so you don't have to wear glasses as often. I know it helps for sports which is why I want to get back to diving. When I got my certification, I was still wearing glasses which you can't wear while diving. Every time we came up and were just floating there, I couldn't see very far because of my poor vision.
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I got PRK and I would do it a thousand times over. Out of all the great things the military has given me I believe that this is in the top five possible number one. I have always hated glasses and i had contacts all the time even when I wasn't suppose to. Now I never have to worry about any of it again.
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