A related discussion,
floaters was started.
Sorry, correction.. I mean -2.50 on my right not 2.50.
I see your point, I've read an article elsewhere regarding LASIK and AOK, it only does something to the cornea so we may be able to see better without contacts/glasses and has nothing to do with the retina. So leaving me in the same risk as I was before even if I had gone thru AOK or LASIK, by the way I'm -4.25 on my left and 2.50 on my right..
I went to my opthalmologist yesterday for a dilated eye exam, everything was OK. I can't sleep at night thinking I may suddenly go blind in the longrun because of a sudden retinal detachment, because of what I heard it is unpredictable sometimes.. I want to be sure of my condition, I'll be having frequent regular eye exams with dilation every 6 months, or right away if I have symptoms. I'll avoid EVERYTHING that may result in eye/head injury. If EVER again a tear was found in the longrun and treated with laser.. Will this be enough for me to have a good eyesight? Considering I'm just 21, I want to grow old with good healthy eyes...
neither lasik not AOK will help with the incidence of retinal problems. you will be at the SAME risk for retinal holes/tears/detachments whether or not you have lasik or AOK.
i go thru this all the time. myopic patients get lasik and see well and assume they never have to go to the eye doctor again. problem is that if they are moderately or severely nearsighted, they are still in the high risk category for having retinal problems. they still need annual (or maybe even more often) dilations to look for retinal problems.
I'm planning on having LASIK in the next few months.. Will LASIK halt or lessen my myopia thereby reducing the chances of having retinal tears/holes in the longrun? Will it help? I also read somewhere about "Accelerated Orthokeratology" which is a non-surgical alternative to LASIK.. Can I please have your suggestions in this?
covex:
about accelerated orthokeratology (AOK): read the thread on this page about "high myopia in children"...
avoiding head/eye injuries and get regular dilations to catch them early is about all you can do. there are no vitamins or supplements or foods or excercises you can do to prevent retinal holes/tears/detachments
I'll keep that in mind, thanks. Can I ask one more thing, what are the preventive measures or healthy habits that I should keep up to avoid retinal tears and thinning in the future?
1) you will probably never hae another tear in the exact same spots that you did before b/c of the laser procedures. you are, however, at the SAME RISK as you were before for having a tear elsewhere in your eyes. at means it is certainly possible, and more likely for you to have a tear vs someone who is not myopic since you are already myopic, already have lattice, and have already had a tear. so no uarantees. you need to be watched. annually is fine unless your ophthalmologist says sooner or you have symptoms.
2) not allowed to lift anything heavy...i would say after 6-8 weeks you can lift again, unless your ophthalmologist says otherwise.
3) you should definitely have at least an annual exam with a dilation, again unless your surgeon wants to see you more than that