Laser eye surgery at 45 plus worth it ?

[Shakeitooutflorence]

Already got pre existing dry eye

but had read that laser surgery can actaully improve it

I had mine done aged 50. Best £3k I ever spent, was terribly short sighted now no glasses or contact lens at all.

15 years later still no need for them.

Laser will improve it if it’s partly caused by wearing contact lenses. If you don’t wear lenses I’m not sure why laser would improve dry eye - never heard that?

Is it worth it - yes IMO if you currently wear glasses or lenses pretty much all the time. You’d go down to only needing reading glasses (in a few years’ time) which is a lot better. But it really depends how much the glasses or lenses bother you.

@bmw6 how short sighted were you? I'm 47 and -11 or so in both eyes and do sometimes wonder about laser surgery...

I’m -9 so similar to you, but when you’re that short sighted laser won’t help much. You’ll still need contacts/glasses. I’m looking at lens replacement surgery which a friend just had done. You won’t get cataracts and your eye sight won’t deteriorate. It’s very simple surgery with a great success rate. It does start from £7k though (for both eyes).

I'd advise caution and research first.

Firstly I don't know how it would help with dry eye. Dry eyes after laser surgery is extremely common though and can last for months.

Also some people find they can no longer wear contact lenses ever again after laser surgery (there's a wait to wear them even if all is well - weeks or months). And they're stuck wearing glasses still.

I'm a contact lenses wearer and decided against laser surgery anyway! At your age I wouldn't bother.

I’m -9 so similar to you, but when you’re that short sighted laser won’t help much. You’ll still need contacts/glasses.

Yes, that's what put me off. Also that I might not have been able to wear contacts again. It wasn't worth the risk.

It definitely will not help with dry eye, unless you have a recurrent corneal erosion and you're having PRK (which is unlikely). What's your prescription?

MirandaWest at -11 you will almost certainly be too short sighted for laser, unless you have unusually thick corneas. I am -10 ish and was just slightly too short sighted.

I have just had lens replacement surgery and am very happy. (Wonder if I am your friend whirlyhead…)

I was -7.5 or thereabouts if memory serves. The woman who did the actual procedure said I'd notice the difference much more than others because I was so myopic.

After a couple of hours sleep I could see as if I was wearing my contacts or glasses. Amazing.

I don't think I'd bother.

I'm 50 & was -5 and -5.5 until a few years ago.

Now -5 in each eye & continuing to change, having been stable for years.

I had it done 10 years ago ages 31 and I wouldn't recommend it. I loved it for the first couple of years not having to wear glasses to driving but my eyes continued to get worse every year and I had glasses again after 4 years. Now I am back to my original prescription so it has been a total waste of money. It also gave me dry eyes and I have real problems driving at night, my friend has the same issues.

I've not heard of laser surgery for dry eyes specifically. Punctal plugs or special moisture preserving lenses, yes. Also heard of bio identical eye drops made from something in your body (plasma?)