Ms. Beaks
Like many of you, after first reading about eye surgery performed in Russia years and years ago, I had been anticipating seeing without heavy glasses. About 3 or 4 years ago, many of my husband's coworkers (policemen) began having eye surgery (PRK) and all those I talked to gave the nod that they could see perfectly. Having both astigmatism and myopia I still didn't give it much thought until I happened to see a respected ophthalmologist for an unrelated problem and he recommended eye surgery. He referred me to one locally and I make an appointment.

The doctor immediately disqualified me for the then current operation as I had too much astigmatism and would need PRK and AK if done now. He said that in a few months, there would be an operation, lasik, where all I would need was one surgery. He had access to all the equipment; they just needed the software approval from the FDA. About that same time, I had a girlfriend who had had PRK in one eye and lasik in the other. She praised lasik highly and said that PRK was not as good as she had felt quite a lot of pain after the operation and had needed an enhancement. Not knowing her subsequent problems but reading and checking on the little I could find on Lasik, I decided to look into it further.

There was a big article about a woman who had eyes like mine and was my age who went to a local doctor and everything came out fine. The write up on him in the local senior citizens paper was full of praise. After thinking about it, and trying to find more about it on-line (I found almost nothing at that time) I called his office and made an appointment. The work up seemed very thorough, and any questions that I had (I didn't have many) were answered. I called 3 or so of his patients who had recently had the surgery, and there was nothing alarming in what they had to say. After all, enhancements seemed like no problem.

The rest is history. After I had lasik on March 3, l997, the doctor pretty much disappeared. I had had a bandaide contact lens on my left eye that was left in several days, so thought that that was why my vision was not very good. My doctor dismissed my question about the contact saying he used them in about 10% of his patients. This concerned me and my vision in my left eye improved very little after the contact was removed.

At my one month check up I expected to have a prescription given for glasses. No big deal. I was not unhappy with the vision I had without glasses, but then he said I had 20/20 vision and didn't need glasses! I said but I still couldn't see. That was it with him. From then on he has been of no help.

I was to move to another state. The Dr. and his lasik coordinator stated my leaving was no problem as everything was fine and that it was better to do enhancements if needed, at 9 months or later anyway-the later the better I was told this by both the doctor and his office staff! I have never read this conclusion on the Internet!

If I had any eye problems when I was at home I was to go to a retina specialist, as the surgery was not a problem. I went to the specialist and was given a clean bill of health. My first clue that there was a surgical problem was when the retina specialist examined my right eye and said my lasik doctor could do his eyes anytime (but then added that because he had to have perfect vision for his job, his disability insurance wouldn't allow it) and then when looking at my left eye, he frowned and changed the subject. He may have added that the ablation seemed high but nothing else.

After this exam, I tried to contact my Dr. but had no luck. I became frantic and depressed I was told by his staff that he would call me back and then he wouldn't. To get my doctor to call me I had to call his emergency service when he wasn't on (he had not returned my call when he was the scheduled emergency doctor). I told the eye doctor on call and he personally called my doctor to get him to call me. I don't believe my doctor was too happy and he was only minimally cooperative.

Since he poopoohed my search of the Internet and really didn't see the point in my flying in for an appointment since enhancements if needed were best done later anyway, I did not go to see him. I did see a corneal specialist twice, ( the corneal specialist said that I had epithelial growths in my left eye that may have resolved between visits to him and irregular astigmatism in the same eye.) an optometrist 3 times and finally my original doctor, in January of this year.

I didn't bother seeing him when I first returned to my home state in November as I felt he would be of little help. He wasn't. Once again he said I was seeing very well 20/25 or so and that he had no solution to whatever problem I thought I had. He reluctantly referred me to a specialist from a University, but I rejected this as I had already seen all the specialists I thought I needed to see. I needed a fixer upper! With the new glass prescription I received, I stopped thinking about going back to him.

In the back of my mind of course is the thought that maybe something can be done at a later date to tweak my vision, but for now-I will just follow the progress of vision correction through the Internet. My vision did improve at about the nine-month mark and then blurred again until about a month ago it cleared again. How long it will stay clear ??

I have my fingers crossed. After repeated blurring then clearing, and 3 different prescriptions, I hope the change will stop. I have lost some contrast in the left eye and there is ghosting that is not correctable by glasses in both. The worst part now is that the dry eye has remained and has gotten more severe. I didn't have any problems before surgery so think somehow it must be responsible. I was told that it usually goes away in 6 months but for me it is much worse.

The floaters in my left eye are also more severe and I seem to have a membrane of some sort in my left eye that blocks vision some of the time. Don't know the cause.

I have had 4 different perscriptions since and probably need another now although the last I got was in March of this year.

Did pass eye vision test last May but I do not feel that I can see well enough to drive without them and can't drive at night at all without glasses because of the glare and starbursts.

Biggest problems for me--undependable vision. Some times I can see so well I would almost recommend lasik then other times--no way. Low light problems. Gray days are terrible.

Loss of some contrast and brightness in my left eye--glaring and ghosting at night even with glasses that varies from not bad to not good.