I did Lasik Surgery on December 16, 2005 and now 5 months later my eyes are currently at -1.00. Orginally they were at -6.25. My Doctor has now recommended an Enhancement Surgery, explaning that he will cut a new flap at a different thickness. He was prepared to do the surgery as early as this friday, May 19 2006. However, I had second thoughts and asked him if contact lens were an option instead of the enhancement surgery. From experience what would be the better option? Is it worth the risks? I still have some degree or dry eyes, some days worst than others. Please HELP.

If you were planning to go back to contacts, I wonder why you got lasik in the first place? As for enhancements can the doctor lift the same flap? If not itll be safer to do surface ablation if the flap is thick enough to remove a little from the top. At -1 your vision now should be quite good unless you also have alot of astigmastim, high order aberrations or other problems contribating to the blur. The best thing to do now is get a thin pair of glasses for your -1 residual myopia and any astigmastim you also have. Compare the difference with glasses and without glasses and decide if an enhancement is worth the risk. If you are over 35, consider leaving the -1 alone or only enhance the dormant eye. Otherwise youll just trade up for reading glasses. Sue was -1 in both eyes and only got her dormant eye enhanced, lucky she didnt end overcorrected like ive seen some. Being farsighted in one eye, still nearsighted in the other is NO fun.

Well I had no plans on going back to contacts. But the surgery wasn't perfect and my night vision is HORRIBLE. The reason I am planning on going back to contacts as oppose to an enhancement surgery is because I am scared that my eyes may be overcorrected, I develop sever dry eyes or some other kind of complication. Basically I am still pondering if it is worth the risk. I have read alot of horror stories and I am scared something might go wrong. Thanks for your comments

I am gonna assume the reason you got lasik was because you could no longer tolerate contacts well after wearing them for many years. You hated your high power glasses. You are undercorrected if you are -1. A thin pair of glasses can be worn when driving, especially at night to improve your vision. I really suggest you try glasses before getting an enhancement. If you arent happy with your vision even WITH glasses, an enhancement is likley to be pointless at best and could make things worse. If your seeing poor at night, your pupils may be larger than the lasered optical ablation zone. How well do you see in the day? Do you still see clear from near?

yes, i got the Lasik because i was tired of contact lens. I can see fairly well during the day, that is, I can drive to work but can barely make out faces in low lit rooms or anywhere else for that matter. I can see my computer screen well and read books well. I can see things upclose but at a distance of more than 5 feet things starts to get blur. Watching TV can be rough on my eyes and I don't see the screen too well.

I have never worn glasses in my life. It was always contacts.

>yes, i got the Lasik because i
>was tired of contact lens.

Intolerance to them or just too lazy to take 1 minute to put them in? I am assuming both. Almost every contact wearer who got lasik cited intolerance as the biggest reason. Most of them that are full time contact wearers rarely wear glasses, some have never.

>I can see fairly well during the
>day, that is, I can drive
>to work but can barely make
>out faces in low lit rooms
>or anywhere else for that matter.

Sounds like a high order aberration issue as well the fact your dilated pupils are huge. If you dont know the size, you were also not properly informed of the risks before getting lasik :(

>I can see my computer screen
>well and read books well. I
>can see things upclose

How old are you? If you are near 40, your entering presbyopia and your -1 is letting you see well from near.

>but at
>a distance of more than 5
>feet things starts to get blur.
>Watching TV can be rough on
>my eyes and I don't see
>the screen too well.

Thats why you can get -1 glasses for stuff like that and driving. The rest of the time you can go without glasses. Your dependancy on glasses would be maybe 10% I suggest you try glasses first before considering an enhancement. If you want more lasik, only do ONE eye at a time. If you arent thrilled with enhancement in ONE eye, leave the other alone.

Thanks for your replies! I have posted my comments and questions above

Great advice, I will consider glasses. Your are right in almost every comment! I am 29 years old. I already have contact lens but I only use them when i go out during the night. Thanks for your comments

how much do those contacts of yours help at night? Do they fix some of the effects at night? Are the contacts uncomfortable? If not I really wonder why didnt you just stick with contacts and never have lasik. Its ironic you are back in contacts and glasses after spending alot on lasik, taking a risk and ending with dry eyes and poor night vision due to your huge pupils. I am sorry to hear, my consolences!

Well I did Lasik hoping i would not need to use contacts anymore. Unfortunately, thats not the case. I still have a -1.00 and I am worried about getting an enhancement. Yes the contacts are a bit uncomfortable for the first 15 minutes or so but then i get use to it. The contacts work real good for night vision. And I can, THANKFULLY, drive at night and enjoy a night out. I don't use contact during the day although I would see sharper, i still don't really need them as yet. BUt eventually i know I will have to wear them during the day also.

>Well I did Lasik hoping i would
>not need to use contacts anymore.

Then it was an all or nothing situation for you. Contact wearers are much more picky because at -1 or -3 or -10 its all the same to them. With glasses -1 is very thin and light, -3 is tolerable and -10 is cokebottles, heavy and minify alot. I dont think its a good idea for any successful contact wearer to get lasik as the chances of them being happy is much lower than glasses wearers.

>Unfortunately, thats not the case. I
>still have a -1.00 and I
>am worried about getting an enhancement.

The risk/benefits is NOT worth getting more lasik. The first time you got lasik, you went from nearly blind to almost perfect vision. This is an improvement of like 20 times. Now your looking to get lasik again for a much, much smaller benefit with the risks still there! -1 vision is NOT bad. Many of my -1 friends and my -1.25 brother do not need glasses and they dont wear glasses. I would like to know what its like to see with your -1 eyes. Please describe so I can be educated. Id think youd be so happy to be -1 instead of over -6. I am a bit over -4 and would find -1 a big blessing and id never wear glasses for only -1!

>Yes the contacts are a bit
>uncomfortable for the first 15 minutes
>or so but then i get
>use to it.

Then there was no good reason to get lasik if you tolerate contacts fine and are a successful contact wearer. Contacts are far, far less of a hassle than anything less than a perfect, perfect lasik result. I know some people who ended up 20/25 after lasik and arent happy because contacts gave them 20/20 vision in the one minute it takes to insert their contacts in!

>The contacts work
>real good for night vision. And
>I can, THANKFULLY, drive at night
>and enjoy a night out.

If you are happy, then stick with your contacts and forget an enhancement as its pointless and you wont be happy unless it goes 100% perfect. You might still be wearing contacts after the enhancement. Why get lasik again if nothing less than perfect is acceptable?

>I
>don't use contact during the day
>although I would see sharper, i
>still don't really need them as
>yet. But eventually I know I
>will have to wear them during
>the day also.

If you regress more, you might have to. Maybe you can consider an enhancement when(more like an if) your eyes get much worse than the -1 they are at. In my opinion, -1 is way too mild to risk getting lasik all over. Dont forget about presbyopia, read about it as another reason to keep your myopia.

I was just informed by someone else who educated me on the matter and explained why. I now understand. This person told me lasik induces high order aberrations which cause blurred vision, especially at night and especially with your big pupils. You may be experiencing a loss of contrast as well as glare, starbursts and halos. The -1 contacts take care of the myopia part of the blur, thereby reducing the blur to a managable level. In the day your pupils constrict and also with so much light, it cuts way down on the blur.

I would NOT get more lasik. Best thing to do is go without correction durning the day as things arent too blurry and stick with those -1 contacts(or glasses) at night to reduce some of the blur.

Now that my eyes are at -1.00, I can see fine but not sharp. I am not able to make out faces from a distance and in rooms ar dimly light rooms the distance decreases. My eyes get pretty dry sometimes and I need to constantly using eye drops. The -1.00 is a discomfort, I can't see everything clearly. With the contact lens on I can see sharper, but the contact lens can be disturbing at times. So I would only wear them at certain times. Sometimes people would greet me and I would be showing them an "Angry" face because I am squinting or straining my eyes to make out their faces so I can greet them too. It becomes pretty fustrating not being able to see clearly. My driving is good during the day but under no circumstances would i drive at night without my contacts. ANd during the day i can't make out things as clearly as I would like. -1 in my opinion is a discomfort. Honestly, if I knew it would haven't been perfect I would have prefered to stay with my -6.25 contacts and NO LASIKS. Just my opinion.

I extend my consolences for your bad lasik experience. Normally, someone whos a -1 can still see fine. My brother is -1.25 naturally, never got lasik or anything. He has no problems seeing and only wears glasses to drive and occasionally. Therefore I am under the impression that being -1 or -1.25 is not a big deal, not much myopia and hardly a blur. Because you appear to have so much trouble seeing, there are other factors at work. I have looked up the reasons why and here is what I found:

http://www.surgicaleyes.org/LossofContrast.htm

"I am not able to
>make out faces from a distance
>and in rooms ar dimly light
>rooms the distance decreases."

Thats contrast loss for ya :(

"My eyes
>get pretty dry sometimes and I
>need to constantly using eye drops."

Youll be more comfortable wearing glasses instead of contacts due to your dry eyes.

"Sometimes people would
>greet me and I would be
>showing them an "Angry" face because
>I am squinting or straining my
>eyes to make out their faces
>so I can greet them too."

Again, contrast loss. How close are they? Let me test it out in a semi-dim hallway. Ok I can see faces at 30 feet with my computer glasses which undercorrect me to 20/80. If you cant see faces from this far, your contrast vision is worse than mine and thats with me undercorrecting myself.

anyway before you do anything, wait for your -1 glasses to come. Let me know how well you see WITHOUT glasses/contacts now and how well you can still correct to. Do you remember what your vision was like before lasik with contacts? Its better than your vision now even with correction.

If you want an enhancement, wavefront PRK is the best way to go. you do NOT want a 2nd flap which will just compound the aberrations. Get only the dormant eye enhanced then compare that eye with your other eye with a contact lens in it before deciding to enhance that eye too.

Again, sorry to hear your lasik experience was negetive. You did say you hated glasses and contacts and therefore took a chance. Hopefully some good came out of it such as being less dependant on correction and seeing much, much better than before at -6.25!(20/800!)

Do the high order aberrations contribute to blurryness only and would enhancement of the "dormant" eye be enhancing the dominant eye?
Asking b/c my surgeon wants to enhance my "dominant" eye (-.75) which had high order aberrations b/f Custom wavefront Lasik. I'm having trouble with night driving & low light situations with blurryness. He claims enhancing the "dominant" eye would correct my problem. (surgery done 6/13/06)