my vision is pretty bad, i’ve been wearing contacts 4 along time ’bout 12 yrs now, im 26 yrs. old…..my vision is @ a -8.50….i guess u can say that im legally blind….can my physician recommend me to a lasik dr.? and if so…does is that considered medical treatment and be covered under my health insurance?
I was looking into Lasik a while back (few years), and decided that the risks weren’t worth it for me. I’m nearsighted and have ‘ghost vision’, multiple overlapping objects, I’m 24.
The FDA website lists facts about LASIK, one of them is that most insurance companies will NOT cover the cost of refractive surgery.
If this is accurate, a doctors referral would be useless, since it usually is to show an insurance company that you needed the operation.
There is a lot of good information at the FDA website specifically about Lasik. It lists when you may not be right for it, and the risks to you vision. My main objection was that if it fails, or causes other visions issues, those CAN’T be corrected by glasses or contacts. I wasn’t willing to risk what vision I had for a chance at better vision.
Contacts help me a lot, it may be different for you. Lasik offers a chance at better vision, you could end up worse than you are, and with other complications like severe dry eye.
The link to the FDA website is below, I urge you to check it out.
Insurance companies consider LASIK to be a “cosmetic” surgery and will not cover it (I don’t think they even cover contacts).
I had LASIK done about a year and a half ago and it was the best decision I ever made. I was, like you, almost legally blind and tired of subjecting my eyes to contact lenses. I did my research and found a very reputable doctor who did my surgery.
Since insurance doesn’t cover anything like this, it can get expensive. My total cost was $3900 (which included consultation, surgery and any doc visits up to a year). You can finance it though under very reasonable terms. My payments are $123/mo for 3 years.
The surgery is easy. They give you a valium to help you relax and then once you’re relaxed you go in for surgery. There is no pain involved although when they put the suction to your eye you will feel pressure. You go home afterwards and sleep and thats it. I now have 20/15 vision!
Highly recommend it, but do your research first and make sure you find a reputable doc.
Yes, your physician should be able to give you a couple of names in your area to research.
No, LASIK is not considered a medical necessity and won’t be covered under your health insurance. Most vision insurances won’t cover it either. SOME health and vision plans MIGHT have a discount for laser vision correction surgery. Check with your insurance provider. The discounts are generally listed as Health and/or Wellness discounts. Some larger employers also have these discounts.
Best of luck! I had PRK 2 months ago and I was just about the same level of vision as you…and it was well worth the $$.
Dr. Robert Maloney in LA is one of the best Lasik Doctors in the world. People come to him from all over the globe. He does most of the FDA trials for new machines and new proceedures. He has a referal service for all over the US and Canada. His best selling book about all this is available to read for FREE at his web site. I am not an employee or patient of his (yet!) but I have toured his facility for an educational porpose and I think that most of your questions would be answered here! Good luck! Oh, yeah, Lasik is considered cosmetic and elective, so most insurance does not pay for it, but some vision plans do offer discounts with certain lasik centers. Just do not go to the cheapest one you can find. Dr. Maloney told us that he fixes a lot of problems that were caused by cheapie surgeons, or surgeons that were not trained to do things the way they are supposed to be done. O^O
Perhaps this article could help you:
Is LASIK Right for Me?
The subject of LASIK is a very interesting one. There is a lot to investigate and understand about the process of getting your vision corrected through laser surgery. I hope this article helps to point you where you need to go to do the best research. There are both pros and cons to consider before submitting to this type of surgery.
First, if you are already firmly set in your decision to have LASIK, read these pointers:
1. Make sure you go to a doctor who uses the new Interlase laser for making the corneal flap.
Why? Because the Interlase is 100 times more precise than the “old fashioned” method of using a microkeratome to cut the initial flap. Many speculate that most of the problems that come from LASIK surgery have been due to the impreciseness of the microkeratome device used to cut the cornea.
2. Most definitely insist on a custom wavefront laser to do the actual reshaping of the cornea.
Why? Because the custom wavefront can get rid of what is called higher order aberrations.
What does this mean to you? It means much sharper vision after the surgery and a significantly reduced chance of having halos, starburst and other “complications” from LASIK.
Repeating: Make sure you go to a surgeon who is using both Interlase and Custom Wavefront technology to do LASIK surgery. Relatively few practices have these new technologies. Consider that surgeons who invest in these technologies may have more of your interests at heart.
One of the top 5 LASIK surgeons lives in Kansas City. Check out his site: durrievision.com Look at the information on his site including the videos where he explains what LASIK is all about. Compare your perspective surgeons website to his and you may detect a difference.
Next, you should be aware of the potential problems of LASIK surgery as you review surgicaleyes.com you may find that these horror stories came from procedures that didnt use interlase and custom wavefront technology together. See-there is a reason to go with the newer technologies. You can email the people on this site and ask them questions about their procedures and the complications that they faced or are still facing.
One of the problems with LASIK, has been the LASIK 20/20 phenomenon. Some people do technically see 20/20 after the procedure but it is not normal. Instead, it is hazy or blurred. This is probably due to the higher order aberrations mentioned earlier. That is why it is important to get custom LASIK done. The custom wave front lasers can remove those aberrations, hopefully allowing you avoid the LASIK 20/20 phenomenon.
If your doctor says that you dont need the custom treatment, I would ask him if he has a custom wave front machine. There may be a few legitimate reasons to not have the custom procedure done, but I seriously doubt there are many.
If he doesnt have such a machine, I would wonder if his recommendation is based on the best thing for you as the patient. It always pays to get a second opinion anyway and in this case, you should.
These are your eyes that we are talking about and you owe it to yourself to get educated on every aspect of this surgery before undergoing treatment. The surgical eyes web site mentioned above is worth investigating. You need to know what could go wrong and how to choose a doctor and equipment that will allow you to avoid problems.
I will say it again. Try to go with Interlase to cut the corneal flap and try to go with a custom wavefront laser to reduce your risk of complications! I cannot stress this enough.
I went through a screening process to get LASIK done and was categorized as an excellent candidate. They even wanted me to participate in a study program that would save me about $600. I still turned it down. In the end, I decided that I didnt want to get my eyes lasered.
Of course, there is something to be said about not wearing glasses or contacts anymore and there are many happy patients out there. I just want you to be aware of both the pros and the cons.
Do you really need to have LASIK done? I think its worth it to investigate natural vision therapy and see what you can do about correcting your vision naturally before permanently etching your current prescription into your cornea.
Many people have gotten results from vision therapy. A few have even gotten rid of their glasses and /or contacts forever. An industry insider has informed me that this does happen but not very often.
There are a couple of books to check out on natural vision improvement if you are interested in that alternative. Relearning to See by Thomas Quakenbush is one that comes to mind.
The original pioneer in vision improvement was Dr. Bates. He was an early 20th century ophthalmologist who really stuck his neck out to go against the prevailing theories of the day (that still persist). Many of the people who he helped were very grateful, Im sure.
I have dabbled with naturally improving my vision. I have experienced a decrease of tension, but I have not recovered 20/20 vision. This type of improvement does take work and determination.
That is why there is LASIK today; everyone is different in their wishes and expectations. If you are in a hurry and you dont mind the permanent etching of a prescription in your cornea, LASIK might be for you.
I hope this helps you on your quest to learn more about LASIK Surgery and point you in the right directions to gain more information so that you can make an informed decision before deciding to undergo this often expensive elective procedure.