LASIK for backpacking

I’ve never noticed dryness, and I hiked the desert section of the PCT last year. That being said, I’ve noticed increased cold sensitivity, but I’m not so sure that contacts weren’t the reason for the decreased sensitivity in the first place.

It is a life changer if you were blind as a bat without contacts. I’m incredibly happy I’ve got it done.

If your worried about dry eyes, you can have punctal plugs installed. These close up the tear ducts and allow the eyes to retain tears.

You can also take lubricated eye drops or gels such as those made by GenTeal.

Any concerns with dirt getting lodged in the sliced eyeball flap?  I heard it never heals completely. …Wow that sounds even more gross when I say it out loud….   I hope I have the courage to go through with this.

Compared to dry irritated eyes from contacts, LASIK has been nothing short of a miracle.  That was 16 years ago and I have never regretted it.  In fact, had I waited until now I wouldn’t be a candidate as my eyes where too far gone for the current limit.  I was 9.75 in both eyes.

I had lasik done about two years ago. I don’t have to worry about putting myself in a survival situation because of breaking my glasses. I no longer have to carry spare glasses. I never wore contacts. I had none of the side effects you mentioned and I hiked in the Sierras and other dry places. For a while I had high sensitivity to sunlight and felt the need to wear sunglasses constantly while outside. It took about 6 months for me to regain full clarity in my vision. It was rough at first, I mostly had a hard time indoors with some types of lighting. My eyes had a hard time focusing on labels and writing. It got better very quickly but took a while to get perfect. My vision is now better than when I wore glasses. Just be prepared to have imperfect vision for an unpredictable amount of time following the procedure.

My PRK was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. Of course, now I’m older and need reading glasses… :)
But I’ll take that.
Yeah, as others are saying just bring a bottle of artificial tears. LASIK isn’t nearly the post-op hell that PRK is, frankly. But at the time the military was offering free eye correction and they favored PRK because there is no flap to dislodge. Our demographic tends to do unreasonable stuff like jumping out of airplanes, combat diving, using ejection seats, etc.
That said, I think the flap dislodging risk is greatly overstated.

I had Lasik in 1998 (!), mostly for adventure racing (no time to be dealing with contacts/glasses under those circumstances).  Back then, the healing process/after-effects were more severe, but the newer machines are much better.  Make sure that the facility where you’re having your surgery has a newer machine.

+1  to the suggestion of bringing a tiny, “sample size” of eyedrops.

Lasik has HUGE patient satisfaction; I’ve never spoken to anyone who wished they hadn’t done it.

Totally happy with Lasik and should have done it years ago. Two and a half years later and vision is still 20/15. Pretty good from being almost legally blind without glasses on. I do get dry eyes ocassionally indoors in the winter with the heat on but a couple of eyes drops a month is a good trade off. Have not had any problems outdoors while backpacking in the Rockies or midwest. I bring two individual use eye drops in my first aid kit but I carried those before Lasik anyways.

I found the worst part of Lasik to be the post op eye drops you have to do for a few weeks. Left a gummy residue in the eyelashes. One of my lady friends told me that now I know what its like to wear mascara.

You are on valium during the surgery and it’s done in a few minutes.

Best part of Lasik if you didn’t wear contacts before is the sunglasses options that opens up.

I’m not a candidate for LASIK due to my high prescription and quite jealous of anyone who is able to get the procedure done.  Everyone I know who have gotten it say it was one of the best decisions of their life.

I have to wait for Bionic Lenses to come to market.  It is currently undergoing clinical trials and will hopefully be ready next year. :)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/ocumetics-bionic-lens-could-give-you-vision-3x-better-than-20-20-1.3078257

scariest 5 minutes of my life, but what a difference. So nice to be able to see the alarm clock in the morning without fumbling for glasses. I did develop “dry eye” five years later, but that could be because I’m over 55 and look at computers too much at work- just carry a small bottle of drops. I’m happy with it, still 20/20.

I don’t really get dry eyes any more from my PRK.  It was quite an issue for the first couple of years, but not any more.

I had LASIK in 2002 for that very reason, in order not to have to deal with contacts or risk broken glasses and major vision impairment while being outdoors. I am totally glad I did it, and results were immediate. I used drops for about 6 months post surgery ( surgery was super easy) and now that I’m older use them again on occasion, but not routinely. However, one side effect I have from surgery is less than stellar night vision. It’s still better than it was before LASIK, but disappointing because I do need glasses for crystal clear night vision. I could function without them, but like to have them for driving. I don’t take glasses backpacking here because it’s light all night in the summer, not sure if I would want them for lower 48 backpacking and evening camp tasks. But I wouldn’t be crippled without them as I was before lasik.

Of course, be sure your doctor tells you that you’re an excellent candidate for lasik, and not a marginal one. You might ask about night vision, maybe the procedure has improved and that is no longer a side effect.

Thanks all! This is very encouraging feedback. I’m curious how common this night vision degradation is. The awesomeness of hiking up Whitney at 3am is something I’d like to see as clear as possible.

I had PRK about 5 years ago. Best and easiest thing i have ever done for myself. PRK healing process was somewhat hellish and scary, because when i left i had insanely good vision, then it got worse and worse for a week or so, then better and back to perfect in around 3 weeks. My friend had basic Lasik on my recommendation and his experience was better and cheaper. I have never heard of anybody having the cornea fold up on them. I kinda feel like i was just up-sold on PRK. I suppose it is nice knowing i have a solid cornea haha.

I know the idea is a little scary, but there is really nothing to worry about. Driving 10 miles is far riskier than lasik…..and after the surgery driving will be safer than it was before. :)

My 2 cents as an Ophthalmologist … both PRK and LASIK are excellent options for appropriate candidates. Bottom line … PRK requires some cheerleading during the first 2-4 days that LASIK does not. Some prefer PRK for contact sport athletes because there is no corneal flap. But for 99.9% of people out there, post op flap dislocation is a very rare event.

Certainly dry eyes can be worsened with LASIK, but punctal plugs and medications like Restasis are valuable in combatting this along with easy to use artificial tears.

Ultimately … I would much rather a patient use copious amounts lubricating drops on trail post LASIK, than mess with the very unhygienic contact lens practices I have seen. Contact lens related infections are no joke and on trail its tough to keep clean/sterile routine.

Restasis is such a ripoff. Costs $1200 a year and insurance pays 0.00.  Unless you join their “membership” plan, then you can get $20 off! I quit using it and found that my eyes did just as well with otc drops, passed the office eye test.  And being away from my computer really helps too.

Looks like I’m a little late to this thread…

I had LASIK in February 2015, and then thru-hiked the AT SOBO starting in July. By that time I was almost completely healed (the only minor thing that took a long time to heal was slight blurry vision around bright lights at night). The healing process after the procedure took a solid month for me, though, and looking back I should have been more diligent about constantly using eye drops to deal with dryness.

I couldn’t be happier with the decision now! No more hiking with glasses and/or prescription sunglasses, having to deal with them in the rain, being careful not to crush/lose them while sleeping at night.

And congrats on getting a permit to hike the JMT! Be sure to send us a follow up on your experience hiking post-LASIK, would love to hear about it.

I did end up getting LASIK back in March.  The procedure and the first night was tough.  Then it got better and my eyes felt dry for a month or so.

Since then, it’s improved and I’m now VERY happy I did it.   I’ve done several backpacking trips in the Sierra and didn’t have any issues except for once when I accidentally got sunscreen in my eyes.  (Dumb).

I do carry a tiny bottle of eye drops for when my eyes get itchy from allergies.  I’m just afraid to rub them and dislodge my corneal flap.  But I think most of that is paranoia.

No halo effect or anything for me.  The biggest remaining side effect is that my eyes hurt in the shower.  Even a drop of regular water in my eyes stings a bit. Thus a dip in a Sierra lake might be uncomfortable.   Eye drops seem to immediately relieve that issue.  So no biggy.

Thanks everyone for the input.  I love being contact free :)

Great to hear that, Christopher.  You might mention the effect of H2O to your eye doctor (perhaps they would have some suggestions — that seems quite inconvenient).

It might interest you to know that I went to the Opthalmologist in AZ yesterday; I had my LASIK done in 1998 in Canada.  My new US doctor noted that my corneal flaps are so fully grown back that he asked me if I was “sure” that it was LASIK I had, and not PFK (!).  So, with time, apparently the flaps become less and less fragile.

I had it done ten years ago but my prescription has since shifted and I’m back in contacts. So far I don’t mind the contacts, I’m in a low prescription with ones I can sleep in 24/7. I only need them for distance so it’s not a big deal. They certainly improved the 27/7’s since ten years ago. I’m contemplating doing the surgery again but I’ll see how a year of contacts goes first.

I had both eyes done in 2006 and, to be frank, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. Prior to this, I had to carry glasses, prescription sunglasses, and often a second pair of glasses (on long trips where I might lose or break the first). Seriously, even if your vision isn’t as bad as mine once was, the first time you see a hiking buddy’s glasses fog or collect rain you’ll thank your lucky stars you went ahead with the procedure.

Take the warnings seriously, take care of your eye health. Since my surgery I’ve had difficulty with glare. The obvious solution for me is to wear a hat with a bill or sunglasses. Other than that, I’ve had a period of dryness about a year after the surgery, but found that if I washed my eyes with baby soap in the morning (clearing and killing a low-grade bacterial infection) it cleared up.

Best of luck, I’ll see you on the trail.

I had Lasik done 10 years ago and have bouts of dry eye. I can no longer swim in chlorine swimming pools because it drys out too bad. I am in readers now not sure I would do it again. I also recommended it to a friend he ended up with a double vision artifact.