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The Eyes have it - All things Vision-related
- Thread starter stealthspy1
- Start date
123412131
Future DOR statistic
Strabismus is just an umbrella term that optometrists use that covers all forms of tropia and phoria. Before you do anything else, you need to figure out if it's a phoria (not DQ, within limits) or a tropia (DQ). Regardless, you'll be subjected to a cover test during your flight phsyical, and any form of tropia, mild or not, will get you disqualified. You should get a randot depth perception test done to verify if you can pass or not prior to going to MEPS, it's usually the first indication. Go through MEPS and make them tell you no.
thank you, I have another appointment with my optometrist soon, so I'll ask about doing that specific depth perception test. I did one recently, but it can't hurt to be as thorough as possible. For what it's worth, my optometrist couldn't detect my lazy eye using the cover-uncover test, and I don't have any visible misalignment. Thank you for the help, I'll take your last line to heart!
Randomranger900
New Member
Is it worth it to get laser eye surgery just to have a chance of becoming a pilot or joining special operations? The chance of something going wrong during the procedure is pretty high, and no one cares about you if you go blind or have chronic blurry vision afterwards. Most people have to wear glasses again when they get older, so I just don't see how the possible benefits of the procedure are worth it.
123412131
Future DOR statistic
Most people need reading glasses when they're older because they develop presbyopia. Every human on the planet develops it as they age. It has nothing to do with fixing what I'd assume is myopia. They're two different problems in two different parts of the eye, with two different effects on your vision. If you elected to receive laser eye surgery, you wouldn't notice any serious changes in your distance correction until you're geriatric and developing cataracts. Though you would have to wear readers when you eventually develop presbyopia, as opposed to just taking off your glasses.
If you look up the stats, the surgery is extremely safe.
As 1234 said, people age. Also, regression is not uncommon as the surgery ages, it’s common with astigmatism corrections.
Speaking on a personal basis, I know a couple of people who got LASIK/PRK just to become military pilots. And “something” happened to them along the way and are no longer military pilots. The surgery is life changing, and I haven’t heard of someone regretting it.
123412131
Future DOR statistic
Concur but just so we don't scare him off, regression from the laser surgery itself only happens during the healing process (which ranges from 6-12 months post-surgery). A good ophthalmologist will offer both post-surgery care to monitor the eyes as well as a free "clean-up" procedure in the event that regression occurs. There are scenarios where Myopia can continue to develop, young adults especially with high myopia should be aware of this as they are most susceptible, but it's best to think of laser surgery as zeroing your vision, it never actually 'ages', you do. For example, I was a -6.5 before I elected to undergo the procedure. In the event my eyes shift further as I age, my 'prescription' would now be between -0.25-0.5 (20/30 vision), rather than -6.75-7.0 (20/700).
Just confirmed I have exophoria. I think within limits, if the limit is in fact 6.00 diopters.
Civilian applicant putting together an SNA application and am borderline with the vision requirements. I told my recruiter I was unsure whether I would pass the uncorrected vision standards and that I was considering PRK, but he said he'd send me to MEPS first to see how I do there.
The vision exam seemed very easy, and I scored 20/30 in both eyes. My refraction was -1.25 spherical in one eye and -0.50 spherical with -1.00 cylindrical in the other. This seems to be passing for SNA.
HOWEVER, the documents from the two PRK consultations I had (two and one month before MEPS, respectively) both showed worse uncorrected vision. The first consultation had me at 20/50 uncorrected in both eyes, with -1.25 spherical in one eye and -0.75 spherical with -1.25 cylindrical in the other. The second had me at 20/40-1 in one eye and 20/40 in the other. My refraction was -1.50 spherical in one eye and -0.50 spherical with -1.00 cylindrical in the other. My understanding is that missing one letter would bump me to the next higher line under NAMI standards.
Because of this, I'm heavily considering moving forward with PRK. However, some of the potential long-term effects concern me, particularly dry eyes, light sensitivity, and night-vision issues such as starbursts/halos.
Does it seem like PRK is the right choice to ensure I meet the vision requirements, despite the possibility of those long-term effects? Or should I just submit my application and hope for the best at the flight physical?
I wouldn't be upset with going NFO if I don't qualify for SNA, but I'd really like to avoid failing the SNA physical if there's something I can reasonably do beforehand to prevent it.
Thanks in advance for any replies. First post on here, so my apologies for any mistakes.
The vision exam seemed very easy, and I scored 20/30 in both eyes. My refraction was -1.25 spherical in one eye and -0.50 spherical with -1.00 cylindrical in the other. This seems to be passing for SNA.
HOWEVER, the documents from the two PRK consultations I had (two and one month before MEPS, respectively) both showed worse uncorrected vision. The first consultation had me at 20/50 uncorrected in both eyes, with -1.25 spherical in one eye and -0.75 spherical with -1.25 cylindrical in the other. The second had me at 20/40-1 in one eye and 20/40 in the other. My refraction was -1.50 spherical in one eye and -0.50 spherical with -1.00 cylindrical in the other. My understanding is that missing one letter would bump me to the next higher line under NAMI standards.
Because of this, I'm heavily considering moving forward with PRK. However, some of the potential long-term effects concern me, particularly dry eyes, light sensitivity, and night-vision issues such as starbursts/halos.
Does it seem like PRK is the right choice to ensure I meet the vision requirements, despite the possibility of those long-term effects? Or should I just submit my application and hope for the best at the flight physical?
I wouldn't be upset with going NFO if I don't qualify for SNA, but I'd really like to avoid failing the SNA physical if there's something I can reasonably do beforehand to prevent it.
Thanks in advance for any replies. First post on here, so my apologies for any mistakes.
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
Why PRK and not LASIK?
szalona
JP-5 sommelier
I went through the same exact situation and ended up getting PRK. Probably the best financial decision of my life, so far lol.
I had practically the same prescription/refraction as you and the dry eyes is very minimal - I live in the desert so it sucks in this climate but I use eye drops once in the morning, just to be comfortable, and that's about it. Light sensitivity went away after 1-1.5 weeks and it actually improved my night vision. If you read into it, the chances of getting those side effects are pretty minimal (<5% of all patients). All in all, it's a safe and easy surgery.
The waiver is easy too, and got mine approved pretty darn quickly. Again, with your refraction, recovery should be over before you even know it. I was worried about failing the physical because my PRK consult marked 20/40 and I knew with sleep exhaustion and stress, the chances of me scoring 20/50 would probably bump up.
I did PRK so I could give myself to best chance of not failing vision reqs. Ultimately, it's up to you though.
The doctor recommended PRK over LASIK since I compete in BJJ and train boxing/MMA regularly. Also, apparently PRK has a lower chance of developing dry eye and nighttime effects compared to LASIK (even though the chances of both are small).
Thanks for the info.I went through the same exact situation and ended up getting PRK. Probably the best financial decision of my life, so far lol.
I had practically the same prescription/refraction as you and the dry eyes is very minimal - I live in the desert so it sucks in this climate but I use eye drops once in the morning, just to be comfortable, and that's about it. Light sensitivity went away after 1-1.5 weeks and it actually improved my night vision. If you read into it, the chances of getting those side effects are pretty minimal (<5% of all patients). All in all, it's a safe and easy surgery.
The waiver is easy too, and got mine approved pretty darn quickly. Again, with your refraction, recovery should be over before you even know it. I was worried about failing the physical because my PRK consult marked 20/40 and I knew with sleep exhaustion and stress, the chances of me scoring 20/50 would probably bump up.
I did PRK so I could give myself to best chance of not failing vision reqs. Ultimately, it's up to you though.
The possible long-term negative effects just concern me since I currently do not have any issues with my eyes (besides not meeting the SNA standard) and wouldn't consider the surgery if I wasn't trying to fly. That said, it'll be worth it if it means getting to fly in the Navy.
Now I just need to get my recruiter on board since I did technically pass at MEPS.
Also, what was your recovery timeline like? I’m in grad school currently and I’m planning on getting the surgery done at the end of this month. I’m anticipating taking a little over a week off for it. Hopefully I’ll be good enough to go back in person after that. I’m also thinking I might be able to watch some lectures online during the week I’m away. Does that sound plausible to you?I went through the same exact situation and ended up getting PRK. Probably the best financial decision of my life, so far lol.
I had practically the same prescription/refraction as you and the dry eyes is very minimal - I live in the desert so it sucks in this climate but I use eye drops once in the morning, just to be comfortable, and that's about it. Light sensitivity went away after 1-1.5 weeks and it actually improved my night vision. If you read into it, the chances of getting those side effects are pretty minimal (<5% of all patients). All in all, it's a safe and easy surgery.
The waiver is easy too, and got mine approved pretty darn quickly. Again, with your refraction, recovery should be over before you even know it. I was worried about failing the physical because my PRK consult marked 20/40 and I knew with sleep exhaustion and stress, the chances of me scoring 20/50 would probably bump up.
I did PRK so I could give myself to best chance of not failing vision reqs. Ultimately, it's up to you though.