Has anyone had lasik surgery? I'm thinking about it mainly because I cannot stand wearing glasses but also because my symptoms of dizziness seemed to get worse when I got my first glasses (progressive bifocals) back in 2012. Of course I'm nervous about messing with any thing that contributes to balance. Any experience out there?
I had lasik about 16.5 years ago.....love it still. However, I was not suffering from any MM symptoms at the time of my surgery. Having clear distance vision was a God-send unto itself. Good luck
Go to single lens. Bifocals, esp progressives, are no good for those of us who balance with our eyes.
I was very nearsighted, starting at 13 and getting progressively worse til my forties. Then they started changing for the better at the time i started to need reading glasses. My eyes are 2020 now but i cant read without dimestore reading glasses. The dr says it happens some times so depending on your age, you might want to get a second opinion.
I was advised not to get bifocals because of Meniere’s. As I understand it the adaption to different focal lengths creates additional load on the central processor (brain), and as June says we are more reliant upon our eyesight for balance. Adding to the brain fog does not seem to be a good idea.
Also be aware that if you're of "a certain age" you will probably need reading glasses if you get the lasik. For me it was worth it in order to have distance vision. Also, if you decide to stick with glasses altogether then I agree using progressive or bifocal lens arent good for us.
Thank you all for the input. I always suspected the bifocals could be an issue because of the timing of the increased balance issues. When I brought this to the attention of my ENT she summarily dismissed it. Now, I know it may not be related but the fact that she immediately dismissed it really torques me and is one of several reasons she is no longer my doc. Good health to all.
I had Lasik in 1999. It was the worst mistake of my life. My right eye was left with a button-hole flap and an irregular astigmatism. It took me until 2010 to find a specialist in Norway that could fix the eye through a procedure called topographic PRK. I have probably spent $20,000 trying to recover some of my lost vision. Now I have dry eye syndrome in both eyes and am not correctable beyond 20/30 even with glasses, which I have to wear all the time. Lasik doctors are lying when they tell you that Lasik is safe. Even if everything goes perfectly, Lasik severs the nerves in the flap on the surface of your eye and makes you less likely to blink when your eyes are dry, thus contributing to dry eye. Furthermore, when you eventually need a cataract operation your doctor will have a more difficult time fitting you with intraocular lenses because the shape of your eyes will have been permanently altered by Lasik. Run, don't walk, away from Lasik.
This is the first I'm hearing about progressives or bifocals not being good for Meniere's. I've been wearing progressives for about four years now and I can't say that they caused me any issues or exacerbated my MM symptoms which are actually pretty good right now. I will say that getting used to the progressives was not easy though as it took about a month and at least two adjustments to my glasses. It also wasn't a gradual process. One day I was still struggling with them and the change in focus and then all of a sudden things just clicked and I was completely comfortable wearing them.
I actually got progressive because not seeing properly made me more dizzy. I was very uncomfortable in my classroom. You just have to get used to using them.