Here's my experience:
I was -4.25 in one eye, and -4.75 in the other. I had astigmatism's in both eyes also, at over -2. something. (I have small "Asian" type eyes (I'm not Asian), which made the surgery all the harder) I went to Windsor, Canada in July 2000 (I was age 41) to have Lasik, because I couldn't afford it in the US. At the time, it was $5,000 minimum US. I paid $1,000 U.S. for both eyes total (at the time, the exchange rate was like $1.48 Canadian, for $1.00 US).
I was left-eye dominant, and that eye had a bad reaction to the surgery. It was pinched really badly by the speculum used to hold my eye open during surgery. I ended up with: Corneal edema, DLK "(crap under the flap)", infection, and extreme dry eye, plus very bad starbursts / halo's, and contrast issues. I spent the next almost 2 years, seeing like I was walking through "clouds", especially under fluorescent lights (which are pure crap for a light source).
I was a field computer technician for a Fortune 500 company, so staring at CRT's 8 hours a day was hell. I also had to drive back to Canada (140 miles one way) every month for over a year, for the doctor to check me out, and give me new meds. By the next summer, that Lasik-Vision company had declared bankruptcy, and left everybody holding the bag. So, I couldn't have any sort of touch-ups, at least by them.
NO American doctor would even touch me, after having the surgery in a "foreign country", and having complications. They didn't want to take a chance they'd get sued. Now, I'm from Michigan, nearly surrounded by Canada, and I've NEVER thought of Canada as being a foreign country.
It took over 20 months for that eye to heal, and I had to have a -.50 "bandage" contact lens inserted towards the end, which I had actively avoided as long as possible (hey, I had surgery to get RID of contacts and glasses!). The funny thing is, it was the bandage contact lens that ended up finally healing my eye. The surface tension of the contact, "sucked" the remaining edema out of the eye, and allowed the swelling to go down.
Well, it's 14 years later, I ultimately ended up with unintended "mono-vision", but my formerly dominant eye, is the UNDER corrected eye. That's not how it usually goes when they attempt mono-vision (which they weren't trying for). The mono-vision at my age is actually a plus, as my left eye is good for reading, and my right eye is good for long distance. I'm glad I finally adapted to it, but my eyes switched dominance several times, which really screws with your balance! I still also have very dry eyes, which I never had before the surgery. So, I'm still using daily eye drops, and there really aren't any that are all that good (except "Bion Tears", and they are expensive). Also, if you use them too much, it makes your eyes worse. Having air blow on your eyes like from a ceiling fan, is like running a razor blade across your cornea. Yes, it actually feels like that to me since Lasik.
Ultimately, I'm still reasonably happy I got it, but I could have done without the accidental complications. Of course, that was real early in the life of Lasik, and they have much better techniques now. IF I knew then, what I know now, I would have perhaps saved up longer, had the surgery closer to where I live, so that any complications could have been easier taken care of. I also would have had PRK 1 eye at a time, instead of "lift the flap Lasik". By the way, the doctor that did my Lasik, didn't do anything wrong, and his technique was perfect. It was simply my bodies reaction to the surgery that went wrong.
Ok, sorry for the book, but if you get nothing else out of all I've said about the problems I had, just remember this:
You only have two eyes . They can't do whole eye transplants yet. IF you have complications, they can be horrible, far worse then I ever had, and mine were bad. Do your home-work, and don't necessarily go to the lowest priced place. Go to a place very convenient to you for follow-ups if needed. This is especially important:
LISTEN to the doctor after he checks you out. IF he says: "Yes, we can do the Lasik, but you might have a problem with ______ if we do" believe him, and reconsider going through it. Glasses and contacts suck, but are not as bad as a horrible side-effect on your eyes, that you might have to live with the rest of your life.
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Since I originally wrote this story 3 years ago on another board, I have now also become extremely light sensitive in both eyes. Once in a while, if a bright light hits me in the eye just right, and gets between the area where the slice was for the flap (that thin scar line for lack of a better word, where my eye is not corrected) it dazzles me completely.
It can and has created a floating black spot that moves into my field of vision when I look at things. It can last as long as 4-5 hours, but always eventually goes away. Sometimes it's not a black spot, it's sometimes a "sparkling light-show" like July 4th fireworks that goes on for hours. Drives me bonkers, and is annoying as hell. IF I close my eyes during those times, it's like the whole inside of my head has a flood-light in it. I'd have to equate it to like if you take a magnifying glass, and focus the light beam into a tight spot. Somehow, when conditions are right, it gets through to my retina like that, and flash dazzles me.
I am still glad I had Lasik, but there are days when I wish it had gone better for me.