I am 56 years old and had Lasik Surgery in both eyes last Oct. I was nearsighted with an astigmatism. The result of the surgery is that my distant vision has improved from 20/70 to 20/20 but my close up vision is worse, it went from 20/40 to 20/80. I was always told that I would continue to need reading glasses after the surgery but I was never told that my close up vision would be worse. The doctors are not surprised they seem to have the attitude that I should have known however they never warned me that this would happen. I know now that if you have an astigmatism it can actually help your close up vision. If I were a younger person say under 40 I would probably be very happy with the surgery because my close up vision would not have faded yet. I feel this is something that all older people should be aware of if they have the same type of eye problem that I had. There is nothing I can do now but live with my eyes as they are which has been very hard for me to adjust to. I wear glasses more now than I ever did before and the plan was to wear them less. I have asked my doctors to please make sure they warn people that they will lose some of their close up vision. Hopefully you can spread the word also so people like me will know what to expect.

erawiszer@west.raytheon.com