ghosting

[susssan]

so the clear vision with drops is no indication that my sight will improve.
still thinking I'll need an enhancement and really miss seeing things clearly. Wishing I had glasses to see for distance.
impatient? yes having bad eyesight after spending so much, and having to wait for who knows how long.... at this point if someone asks my opinion of lasik, it would be 'iffy'
5 weeks and still squinting thru the ghosting.. I'll keep you posted.

[LasikExpert]

so the clear vision with drops is no indication that my sight will improve.

The clear vision with drops is what your vision has the potential to be. Getting to that point is the goal, but at least you know it can be achieved.

[susssan]

well that is very good news. thank you for that information. I have a lot more hope !!

[susssan]

check up today. My right eye is still not as good as the first appointment that was a week after lasik. the spot is there but either the same size or a bit smaller. I expected that as I was told it will take a while for it to clear up.
My vision feels better anyway since before the pre-forte it was hazy and getting blurrier.. the ghosting is still totally there. but it is correctable--astigmatism. so I ordered glasses for driving. my left eye will always need glasses for driving and since it hasn't changed since day one, that lens will probably stay the same.
Ifigure I'll need an enhancement for the right eye and then get the new lens for that eye, but I can't keep driving without being able to see signs clearly.
I am upset that I will need an enhancement and feel the Dr must have made a mistake. I hear about so many people with great vision right after lasik and since I still have about a -1 and some astigmatism, in my book the lasik Dr didn't do a good job. I figure he didn't set it to the correct rx or mixed up my eyes or something.
so in another 6 weeks I'm going to be asking for an enhancement and I really am bummed that the healing process will have to be gone through another time.
I don't think anyone improves from the level I'm at to 20/20 without ghosting after 7 weeks of this type of vision, I'm rather resigned to the fact that it wasn't done right the first time.

[LasikExpert]

Waiting six weeks more seems a reasonable time from the initial surgery to decide if you want enhancement surgery. Fortunately the enhancement surgery will need to correct a smaller amount. Please keep us informed of your decision and progress.

[susssan]

at 9 weeks now. The ghosting is better, although there, it is improved a good deal and I am thinking it will clear up.
I have glasses. The left eye needed them anyway for driving, so I will keep that lens, but the right eye is 20/40 or -1 and needs correction for driving. So after paying mucho money for correction, i had to pay for some glasses too.

frustrating for sure and I still wonder if the lasik Dr used the wrong rx for my right eye, possibly setting it using the left eye rx.
I am seeing no improvement at all in the right eye in the check ups I have had every two weeks. My rx was -5.5 and when he said 'right eye -4' I began to wonder.

So. the opacity is getting not as dense, which is probably why the ghosting is improving, but i will after my next appointment, in a month, schedule an enhancement. which I am not looking forward to going through the healing process a second time.
My optometrist (not the lasik dr) says that my vision can definitely be improved and an enhancement is a good idea.

I am trying not to be angry that my rx is bad enough to warrant glasses. Yes, it's better, yes I know there are no guarantees, but when the surgeon mentions the day after surgery that I may need an enhancement....hmmmmmmmm.......

thankfully the glasses put my vision at a perfect vision with no ghosting, so driving isn't an issue like it was.

I am curious as to weather an rx can be set wrong for the laser. ??????? or am i just not healing like they predicted.

[LasikExpert]

thankfully the glasses put my vision at a perfect vision with no ghosting, so driving isn't an issue like it was.

That is the best news. This means that your vision problems are limited to normal refractive error.

I am curious as to weather an rx can be set wrong for the laser. ??????? or am i just not healing like they predicted.

Yes, settings can be input wrong, but that really does not sound like your situation. Let's put things into perspective. To make 1.00 diopter of refractive change, the laser needs to remove about 12 microns of corneal tissue. A human hair is about 60 microns wide. The epithelium is the outermost layer of corneal cells. An epithelial cell is about 5 microns wide. If the surgery misses the target by the equivilent of one cell's width, then the result will be about 0.50 diopters off of target. Look at your current prescritpion that brings your vision into focus. My bet is that it is less than 1.00 diopters

This is a gross oversimplification, but you get the idea.

[susssan]

thank you Glen You are an amazing help with my questions. My rx is -1 and there is some astigmatism. That's why I figured my rx was mixed up because the difference between my right and left eye WAS -1 and slightly more astigmatism in my right eye. so you can see where my reasoning is. It's so interchangable that the rx in my right eye is now close to the difference that my eyes were in their prescription. The day after my surgery, the Dr mentioned an enhancement. I was puzzled at the time thinking 'why would he mention an enhancement this early after surgery?' but then maybe he mentions it to everyone.

anyway. in 4 weeks I will be asking them to schedule a pre-surgery check for an enhancement unless things totally change between now and then. But since my rx is about the same as it's been for 9 weeks, I doubt there will be any difference.

thank you soooo much. You have reassured me through this whole thing. Thankfully the ghosting is somewhat better although still there, it isn't driving me crazy anymore. AND I can drive in low light conditions which is so much nicer than it was. So glad the glasses work!

[susssan]

I came back to say thank you for helping me through all of that.
The ghosting never went away until I had an enhancement.
The Opthomologist at the Lasik place also told me that both eyes were 15% less than what they were supposed to be corrected to, at 6 months out. I find this odd enough to think something was set incorrectly. If it was in one eye, then I'd figure it was the eye, but a consistent failure of the same percentage? Hmmmmmmm

so the distance eye was corrected with enhancement. My interlace custom lasik never was correct. It was a disappointment from day 1.
The PRK enhancement brought it to correction.
This took a 6 month wait, the expense of 2 pairs of new glasses, and much frustration. A large part of my frustration was the lack of personal care. My regular optometrist was awesome, the lasik place not so good. I would suggest to anyone to check different places to have the procedure done, and be sure the staff and Drs will help you with follow up in a caring, personal way.