NFB: Eye Surgery

[hotwhip9]

Well I got the PRK laser eye surgery last monday. It was weird. I can see good now, not quite 20/20 yet, well not in my left eye atleast, my right eye is. They said it will end up around 20/15, 20/10 at the rate I am healing.

First the numb the eyes, then take what seems to be a electric tooth brush and scrub the good ol' eyeball. That is weird to watch, since the eyelids are held open by this metal contraption. Then the scrape some more off with this metal thing, you stare at the light and 20 seconds later that eye is done, and repeat for the next eye.

The next day was by far the worst, couldn't see, in a lot of pain, not a fun day. Next day (wednesday) was a little better, not much though. From then on the sensitivity to light and vision has only gotten better.

Not wearing glasses anymore great, and the surgery was well worth it, plus I had the whole week off!

So today, i drove to lenscrafters and donated my old glasses, which were only a month old, since i lost my last ones on an airborne operation.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

I was wondering if special forces paid for it - there was a rumour that they were going to in the future so of the guys would have to wear glasses (and maybe get compromised cause the glasses got broke, lost, fogged up, etc) Anyway I was just wondering, although it might have been the SEALs that I heard this about.

[NorthernSS]

A friend of mine just had eye surgery but his was to remove a growth on the back of his eye. I think the growth was tangled with some of the optical nerves, but I cant really remember. It's a good thing that Vancouver is known to have alot of really good eye doctors, because my buddy was a little scared and this assured him a little. The doctor cut just above his eye along the whole lenght of his eyebrow, then fractured(yes fractured ) his skull to remove the eye out of the socket. Took the growth off and put it back in. He went in at 6am and was home by 3pm and drinking beer by 4. Once the meds wore off he needed something else to numb the pain That's the kind of guys we are. Next night he was at the bar for a friend bday. I think I have a pic somewhere.

[NorthernSS]

my friend
Here he is the next day after surgery and a couple of cold ones. Dont click and look if you dont want to see a dude with a huge eye and post surgery bruising. It's not that bad but I thought I would just give the warning.

[TraceZ]

My wife has custom lasik October of last year at TLC. She had no bruising or discomfort afterwards and felt pretty much normal. She only noticed that her eyes are a little dry in the morning now.

Congrats on your new eyes!

[94 formula]

Kevin- My cousin was in the special forces I'm pretty sure it was called the delta force (I think)? They payed for him to have the surgery done.

Hotwhip- Is it worth it to have it done? I've been really considering it I can't stand to wear glasses and I always get stuff in my contacts so I hardly ever wear them but my vision is starting to get worse and I would love a permanent way to fix it.

[beachbum86]

I was wondering if special forces paid for it - there was a rumour that they were going to in the future so of the guys would have to wear glasses (and maybe get compromised cause the glasses got broke, lost, fogged up, etc) Anyway I was just wondering, although it might have been the SEALs that I heard this about.

The Military will pay for it regardless of your Job. Hell they will even pay for cosmetic surgery too... One friend had breast enlargement and another had liposuction. The chick who got the "job" was able to convince the Air Force that it was affecting her self esteem and they paid for it. My good friend who had the lipo was to just to get it done for appearence, he had no issues, just wanted to be thinner (he's in the Navy by the way). But it is rumored that you can get one cosmetic surgery on the US govt free of charge with just little reason. And the evidence... Great Huh???

Glad to hear your okay hotwhip... take it easy man

[hotwhip9]

I had no bruising or anything. Everyone's eyes are different though. I love not having to wear the glasses anymore. It's nice not having to worry about falling asleep with them on. The military does pay for it. That way they have better quality soldiers, who are more combat effective, not having to worry about glasses, inserts in the protective mask, or for example firing a weapon when it is raining. Not fun with glasses, believe me! I've heard about the other cosmetic surgery being picked up by the gov't as well. The only thing i have to do now is put my eye drops in a few times a day. Each week the drops go down the number of times you put them in. I could have gotten the lasik, but i want to sky dive, and with that you can't because there is a risk that the part of the eye they cut could open back up.

94 formula- I wore contacts for about a week, they were no fun and I could never get them in on my own, my roomate did it. I recommend it. This is one of the best decisions i've ever made.

[Dave M]

I had lasik done and it was definately worth it. I'm perfect 20/20 now, even better on good days when my eyes are rested. My only side eefcts are that I'm a little more sensitive to light (not bad) and I get some glare at night. Nothing that would keep me from doing it again. Hotwhip, you shouldn't havehad any problem with lasik and sky diving, the cut they make in your eye is completely healed within a couple weeks (you can't have water directly in your eye for a couple weeks for this reason) and don't you wear goggles when skydiving anyway? BTW, there is now an all laser lasik, that doesn't make any cuts in your eye. Most places don't offer it yet.

[hotwhip9]

Well it might not apply for the civilian side of sky diving, but military, you cannot attend the school if you've had lasik surgery, but can if you've had prk.

[Mixedpuppy]

Warrior Laser Eye Surgery

They call it the Warrior Laser Eye Surgery Program initiated through the previous CHief of staff of the Army, General Shinseki.

They perform PRK and Lasik for Active Duty and I believe National Guard and Reserves who are currently activated CONUS. Participants must be evaluated before they are considered. Combat Arms including Special Forces get top priority. LASIK is no an option for those who are on HALO or SCUBA status from my understanding.

Wait times are long. They offer it here at Ft. Hood and I'm sure at other major Military Health Facilities.

[Formulaboy95]

I gotta do some research on the Lasik stuff. I usually don't remove my contacts unless they bother me, sometimes up to 20 days at a time. Every time I change the lenses, or put new ones back in, I tend to irritate my eyes. I did the daily thing, but I would be irritated for like an hour after changing them.

Just found out that my mom is borderline glaucoma. She now needs to put drops in her eyes everyday, or she will eventually go blind. Scary to say the least. She is only in her mid 50's. Her brother can only see shadows. I really hope this isn't genetically passed on.

I wish I could do without the contacts. Lasik is sounding pretty good to me. Now all I need is a job that will pay for it.

[hotwhip9]

Yes it is officially called the Warfigther Refractive Eye Surgery Program. You guys know your stuff! Yes lasik is a No, for those on scuba or halo status, but it also will disqaulify you to attend such schools. Contacts cannot be worn to weeks prior to surgery, may be longer depending on how long you've worn them. Special Operations do have first priority, then combat mos's, them me! Because my liaison lost my packet numerous times, then we got a new liaison, so my packet was rushed because I had my original paperwork dating over a year ago. Key thing in any job, keep all originals. Now if only i remember where i put most of them. The hunt is on right now for copies of all my deployment orders... This will be fun.

[Mixedpuppy]

Yeah I'm currently under eval with the program. Unfortunately the opthamologist stated that I may not have enough corneal tissue to work with for LASIK which is less than 10% of their surgeries. They prefer PRK, less risk. They recently called to get me to see a corneal specialist in San Antonio for a final eval. I doubt I will qualify. Their is light at the end of the tunnel for those that have the same problem I do. The Army is looking into Intra corneal lense placement now which will help people with large refractive errors but not enough corneal tissue. It is still under investigation. I still will not get surgery if the risk is very significant. You can't replace your eyes.