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Lasik vision correction & motorcycling

piperjim

New member
I just visited the Lasik center and the doctor suggests "monovision" correction. I'm nearsighted, and 58 yrs old. One eye will be left alone (near vision), the other will be corrected to see distance w/o glasses.

Riding with my progressive lens is a pain in the butt. First it's a pain to put on the full face helmet, then get the glasses inserted between my melon and the padding. Once on the road, I have to keep bobbing my head up and down to hit the "sweet spot". Forget about turning my head more than about 45 degrees to either side......when I crank my neck as far as possible, I can't see squat because the position of the glasses changes and it looks like I'm seeing the world through an aquarium! :banghead

So, anybody have any experiences to share, particularly re: monovision correction. I understand that your brain has to "adjust" to the fact that one eye sees "near", and the other sees "far". How long does that take? Any problems reading gauges, gps, etc.? Problems with the "halos" that I hear about?

Also, the doctor suggested PRK for me, instead of Lasik. It takes longer to heal and reach optimum vision, but guess I'll have to work around that.

Thanks,
piperjim
 
My wife had the eye surgery done and while she was initially happy with the results, they didn't last. Withing two years, she was back to her original level of vision.
 
That's a fairly recurring thread on a number of websites, BMW Sport Touring for one. That is pretty much what my vision is, but both need correction at this point. I prefer to use both eyes and wear bifocals.
I'm sure you have some old frames around, ask your Dr to make you some lenses with the close lens uncorrected and the distance lens corrected. He can have this done for very litle and it will give you an idea of what you will have before going under the knife.
Just my $0.10 ($0.02 corrected for inflation).
 
I tried the monovision with contacts to see how it would work. After about a week of being dizzy and feeling il all the time I decided it wasn't for me. I'll suffer with glasses.

My boss wore his monovision contacts for years with no problem and then went for lasik and it turned out fine for him. Just depends on the individual.

You should try it first before you make a permanant change.

Hi, moose!
 
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1+ Try it with contacts 1st. Some people like it, but some have problems. I had both eyes done *
& have some haloing. It's annoying if it's dark and raining. FYI. Halos occur more in people with light colored eyes. (Hi Sue!)
I tried the monovision with contacts to see how it would work. After about a week of being dizzy and feeling il all the time I decided it wasn't for me. I'll suffer with glasses.

My boss wore his monovision contacts for years with no problem and then went for lasik and it turned out fine for him. Just depends on the individual.

You should try it first before you make a permanant change.
 
The Good Morning America show is suppose to feature the procedure this Thursday, Feb 25th.. If you miss it there maybe a webcast on their site. ABC News
 
I had Lasik four years ago, and opted for correction in both. It seems there is concern about decreased depth perception if you go the monovision route. I don't know about your needs, but I spend some time on the track as well as riding the back roads, and I need all the help I can get!

Disclaimer: Your results may differ! :)
 
I know several people who had monovision correction and are happy with the results. I had both eyes done about five years ago and I'm still at 20/15 vision although I too have some halo effect which affects my night vision slightly. IMO it is worth it though.
 
I had Lasik over 10 years ago and am still 20/20. It's been fantastic for me. I had both eyes corrected the same since I was young. Now I need reading glasses at times.

My buddy had the monovision thing done. He is luke warm about it. I agree, try contacts or glasses for a month and see how you like it. I prefer the crisp vision with reading glasses as needed.

 
Lasik is tempting but I'm leery about laser beams being shot at my eyeballs.
 
in asking my eye dr about Lasik he pointed to his glasses.

He said, when you come in and I am not wearing these, ask again.

risk of complications is low, but your odds are 100% or 0%

I will stick with the gasses.

And modular helmet.

Rod
 
FWIW, visually I am an alternator as I have one eye that is far sighted and one that is near sighted. I have been that way for many years. it happened gradually so I never had any issues with depth perception, dizziness or focusing between distance and near vision. I do it without thinking about it.

I have not had lasik but I did have RK done on one eye. Doing the RK brought the near sighted eye to normal 20/20 for about 3 years. After that normal age processes started it going to near sighted again. I had no issues with the surgery or results even though I have a "star burst" effect at night with bright lights in one eye. I was kinda used to that from my glasses anyhow.

I have tried a contact lens. Bad idea for me for riding as it dried out faster than the other non corrected eye. The contact eye also got red and was noticeably different in appearance than the other. I also needed to wear glasses for protection from wind.

After my experiences I went back to glasses without complaints. I ended up having to wear glasses for wind protection while riding anyhow so there was no benefit there. IN fact I needed 2 pair, one dark the other clear for night. Now I use the photo grey or transition lenses and have for over 20 years.

At this point in time I would not bother with the lasik or RK either even if I were a candidate for it. It is not a permanent fix and there is a risk of infection and complications from the surgery.
 
I did monovision with contact lenses for years until I started riding again. I had trouble with the lens drying out. My other issue was significant glare and halo while driving at night. My Opthalmologist said this was due to some astigmatism that wasn't corrected by my contact lens in conjunction with the mono correction which doesn't yield really sharp vision.
 
In 2002 I had corrective eye surgery (PRK not Lasik).

Prior to the surgery, my eyesight was pretty bad. After the surgery, I had 20/15 in my right eye and 20/25 in my left eye. One of the first things I noticed was a slight fuzziness completely around the periphery of my field of vision. If I closed one eye or the other, the fuzziness immediately went away. Overtime, the fuzziness became less and less pronounced and eventually went away altogether.

I theorize the cause was my brain having to relearn how to integrate the slightly different focus from each eye into one coherent picture. With my eyesight prior to the surgery being so bad, my brain never really had to learn how to integrate the slightly different focus from each eye, as neither eye by itself could provide a clear picture.

I would suggest that if you have only one eye done, you may experience something similar. I couldnÔÇÖt speculate to what degree you might encounter my situation, or even if you would notice it. Perhaps you could discuss this with your doctor.

As for now, having one eye with a slightly different vision than the other, has not proven to be an issue for me.
 
I had lasek and it is the best thing I have done no regrets.
Six years and counting

I elected not to go with the monvision because it is nice to be able to read a street sign or see details of far away things, especially on a motorcycle. I also felt that when you get older your distance visions does not change or if it does it improves while your close up vision gets worse with time. I thought that the monovision would work for ahwile but may not last long. The advantage withmonvision correction is that you can always change it later. I am not so sure you can do it the other way.

There are some things you have to accept getting older and reading glasses is one of them
 
I am 60 with acute myopia (20/400+) and astigmatism, and always envied my 20/15 friends. I wore contacts for 40 years, both hard and soft. Contacts were becoming problematic, comfort wise. I went to Costco for an eye exam and some glasses for "around the house", as I never had a pair of glasses I could use for driving. Maybe it is modern materials, processes, or an optometrist who has insight, but the glasses were perfect. Greatly improved acuity and night vision relative to the contacts. I haven't worn a contact since.
I have followed the various surgical procedures for decades, and still feel that my eyesight is not worth rolling the dice for in terms of potential downsides. I'll hapily go through the routine with the helmet and glasses for the kind of eyesight I enjoy (relatively) now.
Paul in CA
'05 R1200RT
 
I had LASIK done in 2001 (Sept. 12... a memorable date for what didn't happen that day), and it's been great for me. The only side affect has been very minor halos during dark conditions, no worse than when I had dried out contacts.

I was 29 at the time with -3.5 and -3.75 diopter corrections, which was pretty much the "sweet spot" for the procedure at the time.

OP, at 58 you may not get the results that you want from laser surgery since the cornea has less elasticity and natural prescription changes might skew the outcome. Listen to your Dr. and make your own decision.

F
 
I tried the monovision with contacts to see how it would work. After about a week of being dizzy and feeling il all the time I decided it wasn't for me. I'll suffer with glasses.

Same here. Over the years I have tried the monovision contacts, but I could never adjust to them. :dunno Bifocal glasses work fine for me, but I have found that bifocal contacts work quite well for riding, if not reading maps (carry a magnifier). :thumb
 
Your eyes canÔÇÖt be much worse then mine; IÔÇÖm some where south of 200/400. I tried several helmet till I found one that worked well with my glasses, A Shoei modular helmet, and I have my glasses made with the reading part set very low in the glass or I have a pair that just correct for far away.
I tried a pair of contact to show me what it would be like to have ÔÇ£MonvisionÔÇØ I hated it.
IÔÇÖd try new glasses first.
 
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