I started out at a -650 and -575 had surgery and had perfect vision for about 5 days. My eyes soon regressed and I was back to glasses and a -1.75 and -1.50. I had an enhancement 4 months later. Perfect vision again for about a week. Then my eyes regressed once again back to a -1 and -.50 and I need glasses once again. Do I continue with enhancements or count my blessings and live with what I have since I still have my good up close vision and do not experience star bursts and halos. I spent a lot of money and wanted more out of it but I'm scared to continue because of potential risks. Please help.

You are now only -.5 diopters in the better eye. This means you should be able to do everything without glasses including driving. You no longer need glasses, not for -.5 diopters. I wouldnt risk an enhancement again or you could become farsighted and need glasses for near and far. You could also experience other complications. I think a tiny bit of myopia isnt a bad thing at all, especially in the case of presbyopia.

Thank you for the opinion. I think it is very good advice. I do actually need glasses especially to drive but I don't know if it is because I am used to that sharp vision I get with my glasses (I'm 40 and have worn glasses for about 30 years)or if maybe the numbers I was given were incorrect. Anyway, I can function without them "pretty" well and I have much much thinner glasses now. I still received probably a 90% improvement in my eyesight and I don't want to risk anymore. By the way I guess I ended up with -.75 in both eyes and my right eye is 20/100 and my left eye is 20/60. Thanks and good luck to everyone considering the surgery. I have no regrets what so ever.

Now I see why you need glasses to drive. -.75 diopters is too little refractive error to give 20/60 and especially 20/100 vision unless your BCVA is nowhere near 20/20. Either that or your pescription or glasses is incorrect. I was measuring 20/70 with my old glasses which undercorected me by a diopter and im only correctable to 20/30 too. 20/100 would be about -2 diopters if your correctable to 20/20 or near that. 20/60 would be a diopter to a diopter and a half.

I know how you feel. I had lasik on both eyes in May of 04 and it was great for a while but by Sept. I had regressed to about -1 diopter in each eye. I had thin corneas to begin with so I wasn't sure if I could get an enhancement. So last winter I was wearing glasses again for driving, watching TV across the room, grocery shopping etc. I think for those of us that were corrected to 20/20 or better with glasses, living at 20/40 or even 20/30 is hard. For example, my husband had been at about 20/40 for a couple of years, but just started wearing glasses for driving.

To make a long story short, I went back and had my dominant eye enhanced last March and then needed a third surgey on that eye to clear out epithlial cells that were making my vision poor in that eye. 14 months after my first surgery I am finally happy and my overall distance vision is close to 20/20. My undercorrected eye helps with reading.

So maybe, if the DRs. think you have enough cornea and your flaps would be OK you should try one more enhancement. I know that you are better off than you were (as I was last winter with my thinner glasses or with a thin contact), but it is very nice to not have to deal with glasses at all. Talk to your DRs. and see what they recommend and hang in there!
Sue

Sue, Thank you so much for your response. All my numbers really don't mean much to me all I know is what my eyes see. Your response sounds so much like my situation. I can do so much without glasses that I could never do before, its just that I didn't reach that desired place. I have definitely recevied a miracle this far but I am so scared to push my luck however to hear a story like yours I really want to try just one more time. Do you plan to have your weaker eye enhanced. With your stonger eye can you see both near and far without glasses and with clarity?

My distance vision is 20/20 or 20/25 depending on the time of day, available light, how tired I am etc. It is better in the evening or if I haven't been on the computer too much. My Dr. said the daily fluctuation is due to my eyes accomodating and working together. I can see fine to drive and do everything even at night. I am still surprised at how well I can see signs....

I am 45 so the undercorrected eye really helps with reading. When I would wear my glasses last winter (they corrected both eyes to 20/20) I could not read price tags in stores when looking through the lens. I was always taking them on and off and it was a pain! My Dr. suggested trying a contact on my dominant eye only. It took a bit of getting used to but after a week or so trial I decided I really like the monovision and decided to enhance the one eye only. It was a tough decision because the contact was so comfortable as compared to my old toric lenses that I could only wear for a few hours and could not do computer work in at all. But I really trusted my surgeon and decided to go for it. My Dr. said that eventually I may want to enhance the other eye too because eventually the undercorrection will not be enough to offset the presbyopia. The only time I wear glasses now is when I sit down to read for a long period of time. I have cheap "readers" from the drugstore. I can read without them, but am more comfortable with them.

You really just need to talk to your doctor and if you don't trust him/her, get a second opinion. I remember being really depressed last winter when I was back to glasses, so I was willing to take the risk I guess. (Even though in general I am not a real risk-taker).

sorry for rambling.....Good luck and keep us posted!!!