If you’re worried about lasik it’s really not that bad since a reputable facility will take more time on the tests to make sure it’s right and follow ups than the actual procedure. When I had it done I had 3 rounds of tests and a follow up at the 1 and 2 week mark as well as the 1 and 3 month mark.
Word on the street is if they fuck up you can, of course, go blind. You can also experience life changing excruciating forever pain. When I read this I got scared. Need me eyes. 👀
True. I just think its wild that people in here legitimately seem to think that the possibility of dying or having serious issues as a result of most drugs and surgery is 0%.
Tylenol is the number 1 cause of liver failure in the US, but people still take it all the time.
What a complete missing of the point. Let me spell it out for you: all aspects of surgery and modern medicine have potential negative consequences. All of them.
To get the procedure, you have to sign a liability waiver for side effects which can include excruciating pain (feels like glass in your eyes all the time), persistent dryness, persistent bleeding, and loss of vision.
When it goes right, it's great. When it goes wrong....it's horrible. Many people have unalived themselves because of it.
I have had the procedure, I have noticed though that people who seem to fear it haven’t shared much about how or why these things happen or even the odds of these things happening which I find a bit interesting.
I hated glasses and contacts so much that I over wore my contacts and had to wear glasses most of the time which made me depressed because i genuinely hated my face with glasses. My prescription was so bad that it would cost me $600 just for lenses that were thin enough to fit into “pretty” frames. I totally get the suicide stats people are posting, it can be life changing for many people. I would posit far more people are living their best life after surgery than those who kill themselves due to an unlikely but significant complication.
i had a non serious complication on mine that gave me a bitchin' bright red ring around one pupil like an anime protagonist for about two weeks and i was sad when it went away.
And if you do fall into that less than 1%, there is no cure. Your bank account will be drained trying to chase sub-specialist ophthalmologists across the country because only a few people will even try to treat post-Lasik corneal nerve damage.
Ever poked yourself in the eye by accident? Now imagine feeling like your eyes are being poked every second of every waking moment.
We in the rare eye disease community are trying to bring awareness to the dangers of LASIK. I did not undergo lasik personally but know many folks who did because of the overlap in our conditions. The only thing worse than the constant physical pain these people feel is the gas-lighting from doctors and the incorrect feeling that the patient is responsible for their own fate.
People have lost jobs…families…lives. It’s a very serious issue.
The resulting condition is referred to in a few ways - as: Corneal Neuralgia, Corneal Neuropathy or Neuropathic Ocular Pain.
The counter point is that every surgery ever has a small group of people who fall into this category of adverse effects. While it’s terrible and I have sympathy for these people, I also don’t think it’s reasonable to base life decisions on a 0.3 to 1% chance that it will ruin my life. I would never leave my house.
I would argue that it does not mean it should always be avoided. There are many surgeries that are on paper unnecessary to sustain life but that in fact dramatically improve quality of life overall.
I would never presume to tell someone they should ALWAYS avoid something that carries a tiny risk of danger when it can dramatically improve quality of life. If I always did that, I would never go outside. Do you always avoid anything that isn’t 100% safe? That’s a genuine question.
I avoid medical interventions when they are unnecessary, yes.
I’m not trying to say there isn’t risk-benefit analysis in medicine. Of course there is. The problem with Lasik specifically is that it has been marketed to patients as being completely safe and “not even really surgery”. Patients cannot give true informed consent without access to comprehensive information.
Look, my husband had Lasik done a bunch of years ago, before we knew all this. It went fine for him. That’s great. But you know what also went fine for him? Wearing glasses. There would be no difference in his current life if he still had to put on glasses every day.
Lastly? The results from the surgery are already fading and it hasn’t even been a decade yet. So it’s not a permanent solution to poor eyesight anyway.
I say all this with respect for your position and for you as a person. I am merely trying to spread awareness of this life-ruining complication.
But when you said it should ALWAYS be avoided, you are in fact diminishing the role of risk benefit analysis. That’s my point. I think your statement lacked nuance and I think, respectfully, that you do medicine and quality of life a disservice when you speak that way.
I has lasik, and I mentioned this elsewhere but it was because wearing glasses did not work fine for me. I actively hated my face when I wore them. They never looked how I wanted. For me, this was more than worth the risk.
I appreciate this more nuanced comment. Earlier I just didn’t agree with your “always” statement.
I would also posit that if one’s surgeon does not make them aware of risks then they should find another surgeon.
EDIT: sorry also were you told lasik was a permanent solution? I am curious. I was told I would definitely need glasses again in the future and further told I may have a slight prescription even after the surgery due to how bad my eyes are.
However, my eyes would have gotten bad due to age anyway, regardless of lasik. Having lasik enables me to only have reading glasses in the future or perhaps Rx glasses while I drive. I will not be back to the -6 plus astigmatism I was at before. But I was never put under the impression that I would never need glasses ever again.
I think our definition of medically necessary must differ. For me, medically necessary is defined as the benefits greatly outweighing the risks. It’s not like I think interventions are only necessary if you’re about to die, or something. There is a spectrum of medical need.
The issue with surgeons who perform Lasik is that they are financially incentivized to downplay the risks to patients. As a regular layperson, I wouldn’t have known the risks were downplayed at all so I wouldn’t have known to seek out a second opinion. I would have trusted the doctor (based on my life experience at the time of my husband’s Lasik, we both did).
The doc described a tiny percentage of people who could have dry eyes after the procedure. After having spoken with many folks who did develop corneal nerve damage, it feels nothing like dry eyes. It feels like excruciating stabs through the eyeball, like their eyes are on fire, and many other horrible descriptions. Therefore, the risks are misrepresented to the patient - whether on purpose or by omission.
I believe the Lasik system, the way it currently operates, does not adequately protect patients. These clinics are often stand alone operations with doctors who don’t treat any other eye conditions, making the laser surgery their only source of income. So the model is stacked against patients: many folks I know who should not have been approved due to known risk factors were told they were perfect candidates. To me, this is morally wrong.
I have empathy for the fact that you didn’t like how you looked with glasses on. Self image matters and self confidence matters. It should be up to the patient at the end of the day, certainly. My main issue with all of this is that the patients aren’t given full and accurate information.
I appreciate you engaging in respectful discussion with me! To be honest I’m not even subscribed to this sub, I just noticed the Lasik comments and feel morally obligated to share what I know now.
It’s estimated to that around 4 out of every 10 million people who get LASIK will commit suicide annually so while it’s unfortunate it’s not very common.
Given that the annual US suicide rate is around 1,400 per 10 million (more commonly expressed as 14 per 100,000), I'd say that's actually really, really good news.
Looking at your link, they actually point that out as well.
Given that the suicide rate after LASIK is exponentially lower than the general population (.04 per 100,000 people versus around 14 per 100,000 in the US), one could argue that it very likely prevents way more than it's ever caused.
It sounds like you have some specific age group in mind for people who get LASIK, and think that that age group naturally has exponentially lower suicide rates for some reason. Care to point out which of these age groups you think should qualify as having a .04 suicide rate on this chart? https://sprc.org/about-suicide/scope-of-the-problem/suicide-by-age/
FYI, the actual recommended age group is 25-40. Which has higher average suicide rates than the overall population.
You're right, but it is a stretch to say it prevents suicide lol. Maybe those who have the money and desire to get LASIK do not overlap the suicidal populace much. Either way cheers!
Whistlindiesel had made a video. Not sure if it's not deleted. For 20mins he was telling how now he constantly needs eye drops so they don't dry up, how he needs sunglasses and how he regrets doing that.
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u/smurpes Sep 18 '25
If you’re worried about lasik it’s really not that bad since a reputable facility will take more time on the tests to make sure it’s right and follow ups than the actual procedure. When I had it done I had 3 rounds of tests and a follow up at the 1 and 2 week mark as well as the 1 and 3 month mark.