I got Lasik surgery ~2008 because I was blind as a bat and was sick of wearing contacts. It was a huge success and had zero issues. Fast forward to present day and I'm now 42 and think I need readers and possible my vision isn't what it was. The Lasik surgeon was in Dallas and I no longer live there (2 hours away) so I'd prefer not to make the trek back for a checkup.

Would you try to go the Lasik/surgery route again or just go to a normal eye doctor and bite the bullet and get glasses? I had a good run...at least I'm not blind as a bat like I used to be.

My wife is in the same boat. Had lasik in her 30's, now late 40's and starting to regress.

She was given the option of the hard contact lenses. Don't remember the full story but she wound up not doing it. I think she's still evaluating options, but none of them seemed great the best I remember.

I had it around 2000 at 30. Was great. In the last couple years I have noticed trouble with small print and low light.

Finally gave in and went in and got readers from a regular eye doctor last year. He said that I did better than most as far as the length of time until I came back.

Not sure I would do lasik again at this point in the game. Not even sure what the procedure is for correction like the readers do.

I gathered that it was a normal aging thing.

Following as well. Just turned 45. Had lasik ~7 years ago. Sounds like you had a good run with 17 years.
Closeup vision is fine, but distance is starting to get a little blurry. I'd hate to go back to contacts. If I can get lasered again and get ~10 more years that would be awesome.

LASIK is usually not recommended past a certain age, as the reason why you have difficulty with near vision is because your eyes lose the ability to focus due to rigidity of the lens. So even if you fix the refraction defects in the lens, you're usually doing it for distance and letting the eye muscles accommodate for near stuff.

That being said, I'm not an eye doctor. I'd say visit an optometrist and get an general eye checkup, and discuss with them. If they say LASIK might still work, consider talking to an ophthalmologist.

I believe they just correct one eye so basically one eye sees well long distance and one sees better up close. No clue how well it holds up over time or any other issues (headaches from differences in vision?).

Same here.
Lasik 16 years ago.
First pair of readers last month.

I think that too. Had heard back in the day that fixing far sightednesss was harder. Sure tech has changed since I did it. Think they put you into glasses or contacts that do that first to make sure your brain will adjust. Not sure it is worth it to me. Pretty happy with my 25 or so year run from the lasik. Believe that my astigmatism is still fixed.

My far has gotten a bit fuzzy. But I squeaked by my in person DL vision test last year. So I will probably ignore it until that gets close again.

The readers don't bother me too much, because I only need them on certain things. So I don't even carry them with me.

Back to the OP I would go see a local eye doctor and see what they have to say about things. I never went back to the Lasik guy in all the years. Only went for the occasional check up at a regular eye doctor.

20 years ago but last 7 have needed glasses at night and for distance. Recently got contacts for golf, etc. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

You guys aren't regressing, you're experiencing presbyopia which even people born with 20/20 vision experience in their 40s. Go get some readers and wait until you need cataract surgery to try to fix it.

As stated above, this is presbyopia (in those of you needing readers). Presbyopia is the lens inside your eye losing flexibility and thus losing its ability to accommodate for near vision. It happens to essentially everyone by age 45. For those of you with somewhat sh***y long distance vision that you don't wear glasses for, you may not notice the effect of presbyopia as much.

LASIK and PRK correct the shape of the cornea (the outside part of the eye). Doing it again would not correct presbyopia.

Edited because I wrote rigidity instead of flexibility for some reason

Everyone eventually needs readers. LASIK will fix nearsightedness optics.

Gettin old sucks!

Absolute said:

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Gettin old sucks!

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Was just gonna comment "damn, none of us are getting younger...go figure...".

I did mine last in 2000 a few days after 9/11. I noticed vision going fuzzy up close about a year ago. I went to the dr and I got bifocals although they said I was still good. I only use them to drive at night. They do help. I think my biggest issue is with these damn phones then looking up to computer monitors at work. Seems it takes a few seconds for the eyes to refocus.

Yep I also got Lasik in 2008 and had to get glasses last year. Don't need readers yet but the glasses help with driving, especially at night.

I got Lasik surgery on September 14, 2012, when I was 25. I just turned 38 this past January, and my eyesight is still good.

agdoc2001 said:

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You guys aren't regressing, you're experiencing presbyopia which even people born with 20/20 vision experience in their 40s. Go get some readers and wait until you need cataract surgery to try to fix it.

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I had 20/20 vision until my 45th birthday and seemed like the day of if I realized my sight at distance was worse. **** hit quick.

Absolute said:

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Gettin old sucks!

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The best human being I ever knew told me "Getting old isn't for *******.". He was 88 and died a week later. It's the only time I ever heard him cuss.

agdoc2001 said:

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You guys aren't regressing, you're experiencing presbyopia which even people born with 20/20 vision experience in their 40s. Go get some readers and wait until you need cataract surgery to try to fix it.

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This. I waited until I needed cataract surgery when I was around 60. Then I paid for the upgraded lenses with my insurance covering the cost of the surgery.

I'd just hit up a local eye doctor and get checked out. Sounds like it's just normal aging stuff (presbyopia hits most of us after 40), not a Lasik issue. You can still enjoy the freedom Lasik gave you and just use cheap readers when needed, no shame in it.

I know refractive lens exchange (RLE) is a full lens replacement that can be done on top of LASIK to further correct your vision. Pretty much the only procedure I know of that can really, aside from another run of LASIK if you can. It's pretty similar to cataract surgery.

This is the route I will eventually pursue if I am a fit candidate for it. I wore glasses/contacts for over half of my life. LASIK freed me from those cages and I swore, never again (if possible of course)

Dr Wong (Austin Eye) got me 20/20 vision with the $7k/eye lenses. HSA paid for it. I had never heard of Dr Wong before, but now I notice he is everywhere.

Ghost of Andrew Eaton said:

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Absolute said:

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Gettin old sucks!

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The best human being I ever knew told me "Getting old isn't for *******.". He was 88 and died a week later. It's the only time I ever heard him cuss.

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My precious Mom told me the same thing and was also not inclined to curse. The thing is I thought she meant like 70, not 50!

HECUBUS said:

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Dr Wong (Austin Eye) got me 20/20 vision with the $7k/eye lenses. HSA paid for it. I had never heard of Dr Wong before, but now I notice he is everywhere.

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Is it because you can see now?

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Probably. Actually, a bit more than that. I found out Dr Wong had a kid in the same grad school as ours when we were chatting as he did the right eye. Turns out our sons have the same first name, and are in the same grad school, and they are friends. Then another family friend is in a similar field and knows the Wongs well and does some teaching at the grad school. It's more than tv and internet adds. We have a Dentist neighbor that recommended Dr Wong. It's not like you ever expect to need new lenses. Just like old, it sneaks up on you.