I am 22 years old and didn't get classes until I was about 19. Only had them for two years.

I am near sighted, can't see anything far but perfectly clear near. No stigmatism or anything that I know of.

Can I get away with basic lasik or what do I need to find out to see if I have to do basik or custom?

Your surgeon will be able to tell you if you qualify for wavefront. Actually you may want to get surface ablation which works great on low myopia. If your pescription is very low, id wait a little longer

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the boards! You have definitely found the right place to ask doctors any questions you have and find out the real risks of laser surgery! Your post definitely intrigued me because it seems like we have a lot in common - My name is also Mike, I am around your age(23), and have a similar prescription to yours. I am myopic - can see excellent near but blurry farther away. I also have only had glasses for a couple years. First, what is your exact prescription? And, what are you motives for refractive surgery? Do you not like your glasses? Have you tried contacts? I look forward to your reply.

Best Regards,
Mike

I just got my testing done.

I am a canditate for both. My pupil size is 6mm and I can do custom or basic lasik.

He recommends custom just if I want less chance of halos but basic could easily satisfy my needs.

I am nearsighted. -2.50 in both eyes I believe.

Anyone suggest me going ot custom?

The other Mike said:

And, what are you motives for refractive surgery? Do you not like your glasses? Have you tried contacts?

The first Mike said hes -2.5 and looking to get lasik.

My(Ace)reply is: Research the risks of laser surgury throughtly. You are a low myope, just like the other Mike. I too am curious of your reasons and expectations for getting lasik. Have you looked into orthoK or intacs?

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your reply! May I ask, what is your bcva(best correctable vision) - That is, what is the best line you can see with your glasses? Have you tried contacts? You mentioned you have had glasses for only two years? So, you were able to function just fine without any means of correction? I too am a low myope like you, -2.00 in both eyes.

THIS IS MY OPIONIN
Low myopia is an absolutely blessing. With your relatively low degree of myopia, you will most likely never need reading glasses when presbyopia kicks in. At my script, I really only need corrective lenses for distance reading(such as driving a car and reading the signs, or watching movies) and when I play sports(mainly softball since I like to track the ball better off the bat when I'm in the outfield)

With your relatively low script, you should really ask yourself why you would like to have the surgery done? As Mr. Trattler said on the board in response to a question of mine, refractive surgery is risk vs. benefit. All the risks of refractive surgery will be present(just do a search for lasik on the internet and some of the side effects - these are very real and can happen to you.) The MOST you can expect after surgery is a decreased dependence on glasses or contacts(glasses in your case) However, let's say you have the surgery done - and you achieve a uncorrected visual acuity of 20/15 - which is excellent! Since the eye's focus has changed, you most likely will need reading glasses when you hit 40+ You are trading distance glasses now for reading glasses later. This very well maybe acceptable to you.

I have researched refractive surgery heavily for the past two years. I have held off on refractive surgery because I am not convinced I would be satisfied with the outcome. I consider myself a perfectionist and since my bcva is 20/15, I would honestly not be happy with anything less than my vision in glasses or contacts. If you haven't tried contacts, there really are some excellent new contacts available out on the market made of silicon hydrogel. This material really is revolutionary and is much healthier to the cornea than materials of the past. Night and day contacts are available which give you up to 30 days of hassle-free extended wear use(meaning you can sleep in them) However, as a rule, it is much safer to take them out on a daily basis. Acuvue has a new hydrogel lense called Oasys which has helped thousands of users with dry eye see comfortably in contacts. If you have not tried contacts, you owe it to yourself to give them a try!

Regarding your question to go with custom or not? Generally, a custom procedure gives a slightly more accurate result, but only a surgeon can make a correct analysis. This is why it is crucial to have a good repore with your surgeon and discuss with him/her the surgery and what you can reasonably expect. If you are dead set on getting refractive surgery, I would look into custom prk. Prk is surgery without the "flap" Prk has been deemed by some the slightly more accurate surgery. The benefit is you will never have to worry about any flap complications. The downside to prk surgery is the longer healing time. I hope I have provided some food for thought. This is definitely a decision you should not take lightly, and do all the research you can before making a decision. These are your eyes!

Best Regards,
Mike

Hi Mike(s),
I think the main issue with RS is to expect a “reasonable” outcome. If you anything less than 20/15 is unacceptable to you, then this procedure may not be for you. With that being said, I did have the Custom Lasik and I did get 20/15 but the road to recovery over the last 4 months had me doubting my decision along the way. Now I am seeing very well and happy I made the decision to do it. I’m 41 and so far don’t need reading glasses. I was very against have RS on my eyes until just very recently. You’ll know when the time is right and when the need for RS is important enough for you to take the risks.

You hit it on the nail, Mike! Well said! As for me, my expectations are lower, I just want to be less dependant on glasses and actually dont mind being slightly undercorrected to avoid reading glasses. However the problem is I am not a risk taker and am afraid something can go wrong, especially with my night vision due to huge pupils. I dont hate glasses as much as you guys and the one good thing is I see great from near when I take them off. Ill never need reading glasses if I leave my myopia alone.

My problem was that when I took my glasses off, I had to hold the book like 8" from my face in order to read clearly. When it's that close it's uncomfortable to cross your eyes for that long. So it really wasn't a huge loss to me. My eyes do strain a little now if I hold a book that close but at least I can still see cleary at 8" post lasik, I just can't want to do it for very long. :)

What I do miss is when I was able to take my glasses off and see all blur, my eye tended to relax and rest. I can't do that anymore since I'm seeing clear all the time.

If you have to cross your eyes, then you were accomodating. A -5 myope would have a natural focal point of 8" and see without effort from this distance. My mom is -8 so she can see from 5 inches no problem. The inconvinence is she can only see a few words at a time instead of the entire page. its too much of a "close up" view. Great for fine print but not general reading. You may want reading glasses to help relax your eyes.

My main goal is to NOT have glasses. I don't mind halos.

I'm not used to glasses, I hate them with every aspect of being and I can't stand contacts either. I'm not looking for a miracle cure.

I can't see anything without glasses unless its five feet infront of me. I just don't want the hassle of glasses or contacts anymore.

Reading glasses down the road does not bother me.

Both Mikes really hate glasses much more than I do! Well If you want to go for laser surgury, you have made the choice. Try PRK instead, surface ablation gives better results. If you dont mind halos and other night vision disturbances, you have much less to be disapointed about. What if you dont achieve vision as good as you do with glasses but good enough to legally drive and do anything else? Will you still be happy? I dont think 20/20 is relistic, not everyone gets that, heck not everyone sees 20/20 with glasses either, I cant be corrected to 20/20. Laser surgury gives you vision equal to glasses at BEST. Theres enhancements if your undercorrected but its additional risks. How well do you see with and without glasses, Mike? What vision will you be happy after laser surgury? 20/25? 20/30? or must you get 20/20

When I take my glasses off I can see very close but anything about arm reach away is way too blurry so I am wearing glasses 24-7. I am fully dependent on them.

I don't want that, thats my main goal.

I guess my main point was that the higher you set the bar, the more likey you will be disappointed. I asked my surgeon if 20/20 was reasonable and she said that was a reasonable expectation. 20/15 might be unreasonable but certainly possible. 20/25 almost certainly seems attainable. Custom Lasik seems to be very predictable with 60% of the patients seeing better than 20/20(don't quote me since this is from my memory - google it for confimation). so if you are expecting 20/15 you have close to a 50% chance of being unsatisfied with your result.

The following is my opinion and not the from my surgeon to clarify my post above.
"20/15 might be unreasonable but certainly possible. 20/25 almost certainly seems attainable. Custom Lasik seems to be very predictable with 60% of the patients seeing better than 20/20(don't quote me since this is from my memory - google it for confimation). so if you are expecting 20/15 you have close to a 50% chance of being unsatisfied with your result."

My eyes are getting worse by the year. I can tell I need new glasses and stuff right now because I can't see like I used to when I first got my glasses.

I don't know what I am 20/15 20/20 whatever. I just don't want the use of glasses anymore. Even if I don't have the vision I do now with glasses but as long as its at least 80% of that so I don't have to wear glasses.

The doctor went into great detail with my wife about risks and making sure she was 100% comfortable before even going further but with me he basically said its a no brainer.

So I dunno.

I think the prerequisite to laser surgery is to have stable vision for at least 2 or 3 years. If your eyes are changing by the year, I'd hold off until they stabilize. You'd benefit in a couple of ways. 1) you're surgery benefit would last longer before you'd need a Rx change. 2) Medical technology might come up with something new in the meantime while you wait.

My eyes are stablized its just I haven't gotten glasses in a long long time.

I just don't want glasses anymore and I think thats worth the risk to me.

I lived most of my life without them. I'm too active to have them, I can't anything about them and they piss me off everytime I look at them.

If I can't see as good as I can with glasses but don't need them after Lasik, then I am 100% happy.

"If I can't see as good as I can with glasses but don't need them after Lasik, then I am 100% happy."

Then you have relistic expectations and a good chance of being happy. If you end at 20/40 or better you wont need glasses. If not you could try getting enhanced. Have you thought about epi-lasek instead?

Keep us posted on what you decide to do.