Not as OT as it might appear as I want to jack in prescription inserts and save weight! Facetiousness aside, are there views/experieces of this? What is the best method to go for and any downsides that should be considered?

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"Leave our the friction, the fact is this friction can only be worn by persistence" Neil Peart

Assume you mean laser eye surgery. I had it done nearly 5 years ago and have never had any issues. It was done one afternoon and by the next morning I was 20/20 again.

I had it done about 8 years ago and am still at 20-15. No issues although I think the greater the correction increases the possiblity of side effects. I did have to start wearing reading glasses about two months ago. You can't cheat the clock.

I would do it again!

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-For my next trick I will set myself on fire!
-This board and the world in general would be a much nicer place if everyone could just take themselves a little less seriously.
-Sticky Fingers John Rockefeller
-First one over the cliff wins!

I had mine done last April and am very happy with it.

A couple of suggestions:

• Don't go discount - make sure your surgeon has done thousands of the procedures. The machine used does make a difference as well. Discount shops use discount machines.
• I was able to focus on things very close to my face without my glasses. This ability went away, and I and understand that's common. Now things have to be at least 8 inches away. It's not a big deal for me, but if you have a job or hobby that requires detail work, you may have to resort to a magnifying glass.
• "Halo-ing" will be a fact of life. Some get it more of it and some less. Again, if other things in your life require good night vision, you might want to rethink.
• My doctor said that "Custom" Lasik is a bit of a scam. In his experience, it does nothing to mitigate the things mentioned above or have a better chance of getting to 20/20 UNLESS your cornea already has an irregular shape. He said the procedure is no different; he just has to load a different program in the laser's computer before he starts. When I asked him why other docs charge $1000 more for it, he said, "I guess they're not worried about going to Hell."

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Self-Proclaimed Resident Master Fattie - Vicious DC Slither

I know one hears good things about lasik form people who did that, but a couple of things to consider...

- Lasik is a business, the equipment is very expensive. Talk to an eye doc who is not involved first.

- the effect of a harmless sport accident may be worse for Lasik patients. This guy had trouble after getting hit in the eye by a softball:
http://home.arcor.de/pinnipedii/late%20 ... 0lasik.pdf

- think about why so many ophtalmologists still wear glasses (may sound populistic, but a buddy of mine attended a Lasik info show once, the speaker wore glasses My buddy asked why and was hushed out of the hall by bodyguards )

- in a study of 2004, 78% of all people treated had reached eyesight within +/- 0.5 dioptries (sorry, i'm not familiar with the 20/20 thing). Even when we guess that todays technology has improved, thats a signifiacant number of people that still need glasses, but maybe got bad night vision/halos as a bonus. And, if machinery has improved and success rates are higher now:
The folks participating in that study have been told the same you are told now: its safe, we use cutting edge technology, it will work, no risk, best thing since sliced bread, yada yada... makes me think twice.
I'm blind as a mole without my glasses, but with them i can almost see like an eagle, and i dont wanna lose that. Also my eye doc predicts i'll be the only guy in the old peoples home who will be able to thread a needle... think about fixing tubulars

- theres no long term data yet. Show me a 85 year old guy who's had Lasik done 50 years ago and still is happy, then i'll consider it. Other than that, i'll hit anyone very hard who is trying to come near my shortsighted, but otherwise perfectly healthy eyes with a sharp object

just my 5c

hard to find neutral info on the web, its swamped with info from lasik chirurgs... but here's 2 to read:
FDA info: http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/risks.htm
Aforementioned study: http://home.arcor.de/pinnipedii/poppayette.pdf

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Snowman and Strong Walker
Scott Sc
my old stuff
my new stuff

+ 1 to consider twice before surgery.

ps. I `m using contact lenses for almost 5 years without a problem, even when racing in mud (sometimes without protective sunglasses on me) and everything`s been ok. may be worth to consider as alternative...

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Bianchi SL3 Reparto Corse
sub-9 kilo XC hardtail still in building process ...

I think you have been lucky. I wore contact lenses for over 25 years, but hated wearing them for riding the bike. The main irritant for me was that my eyes always felt dried up.

My correction was rather mild, -1.75 left eye and -1.50 right eye, so I have excellent night vision and no haloing.

_________________
-For my next trick I will set myself on fire!
-This board and the world in general would be a much nicer place if everyone could just take themselves a little less seriously.
-Sticky Fingers John Rockefeller
-First one over the cliff wins!

Had mine done twice
First time the correction wasn't good enough.
You'll pass the driving eyetest, after the first surgery said the doc, now that did worry me as my vision was very poor, no wonder so many people get hit.
Got done again, for free, and now I have great vision.
Some halos but no worse than slightly dirty glasses.
I can now see the soap when I drop it in the shower! My vision was -7, in both eyes with astigmatsm thrown in.
Go for it.
As to why so many Docs don't get it done, they have to have perfect vision, fine work is there life, a couple of months with fluxtuating vision doesn't pay the bills
I am in the surgical field and know plenty of medics who've had it done. Personally I think they don't like spending money that they can't claim back for tax purposes

Pantani@work:

Curious how old you are currently, what you do for a living, and what your current prescription is (including astigmatism). These are a few of the things that I consider when my patients ask me about refractive surgery.

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mur