It’s likely you’ve heard of people getting LASIK, only to need glasses again a few years later. That’s a concerning thing to you because if you’re going to pay for LASIK, you want to make sure that the results will be long-lasting and worthwhile. So how do you know how long your LASIK results will last? And how do you decide if LASIK is still a worthwhile option for you?
LASIK Results You Can Expect
For most people who get LASIK eye surgery, the results are very quick and dramatic. Within a day or two, most patients have near-20/20 vision or better and all patients have improved vision. It’s enough improvement that most patients are very happy with the results.
But even though you can expect great results from your LASIK surgery, what you want to know is how long those results can last. Typically, the vision problem that was treated by LASIK will stay fixed. However, there are several things that can affect your long-term vision after LASIK.
The biggest thing that can affect LASIK results is your age. Many people over 40 can still qualify for LASIK surgery, but if you’re over 40 then you also need to be aware of how your vision will likely change as you continue to age.
For most people over 40, there are gradual changes to their close-up vision. Those changes make it harder to read small print or focus on computer screens. These vision changes happen whether you get LASIK or not. This is because LASIK treats the cornea of your eye, but aging vision problems are caused by a loss of elasticity (presbyopia) in your eyes, and LASIK can’t treat or prevent that. There are, however, other options to treat or help with age-related vision changes.
Other things that can affect LASIK results include changes in prescription, pregnancy, eye injuries, etc. Some of these things only cause temporary vision changes and, for the most part, people have good experiences and results from LASIK. If you’re concerned about changes to your LASIK results, talk to your LASIK surgeon before getting surgery to discuss possible changes and how to deal with them so your LASIK results are as good and long-lasting as possible.
What To Do As Your Eyes Age
As you age and start to develop presbyopia, there are some things you should do to make sure your eyes stay as healthy as possible. For example, you should make sure you’re eating foods that support eye health and do what you can to not strain your eyes unnecessarily. You can avoid eye strain by wearing reading glasses when you’re looking at small print or by wearing blue light blockers while working at a computer. If you don’t strain your eyes too much, it should help your vision stay good a little longer.
Another thing you should do is start looking into all of your options to help your presbyopia. Reading glasses or multifocal contact lenses are some of the most common ways to deal with presbyopia, but most people don’t realize that there are surgical options available as well.
One of these surgical options is multifocal cataract lens implants. These lenses are surgically placed inside of your eye to modify and correct your vision. With these implants, you can remain free from contacts and glasses entirely. And your vision shouldn’t change following the procedure because the artificial implants maintain their shape even when your eye changes.
Another surgical option is monovision LASIK. This surgery works a lot like a traditional LASIK procedure but one eye is corrected to see things up close and the other is adjusted to see things from a distance. It might sound strange, but it does help with presbyopia.
The fact is, there are several different ways to deal with presbyopia, so you shouldn’t limit yourself to reading glasses. It’s possible that there’s a better option for you. If you want to know which presbyopia treatment is best for you, reach out to Davis Vision Center to find out which treatments are available to you.
Is LASIK Still Worth It?
A big question a lot of people have about LASIK is, “Is it worth it?” And after hearing people say that their LASIK results didn’t last as they aged, you probably have that same question. Again, most people have great experiences and results with LASIK. In most situations, LASIK is still worth getting, even if presbyopia sets in later.
See, even if you deal with presbyopia, your LASIK results won’t be completely ruined. Your close-up vision will change, but the rest of your vision shouldn’t change. So for most of your daily activities, your LASIK results will continue to help you see clearly. And with the various options available for dealing with presbyopia, you shouldn’t have to deal with really bad vision again.
If something aside from presbyopia changes the results of your LASIK surgery, there’s a good chance that the change is temporary. And most of the time, these changes don’t happen at all. Part of the reason LASIK results are so successful is that LASIK surgeons carefully screen all of their patients before performing the surgery. If your surgeon finds something that could make the surgery less than successful or that could lead to changes in the surgery results, it’s likely that the surgeon will refuse to perform the surgery at all or will suggest other options to help your vision.
Between the careful screening and the high success rates of LASIK, it is typically worth getting the surgery. The positive changes that come into people’s lives because of their LASIK surgery make a huge difference to their lifestyles and experiences. And, though it’s important to educate yourself on the risks of LASIK, you also need to remember that the likelihood of these bad things happening is much lower than the likelihood that your surgery and results will be great.
If you think that you might be ready to talk to a doctor about LASIK, contact Davis Vision Center today. We’ll get you scheduled for an assessment with our doctors as quickly as possible so you can be on your way to truly clear vision without delay.
