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Lasik after Winging

Searched the forums and wasn't able to find any info on this, apologies if my search skills are sub par. Also talked to my flight Doc and still have some questions.

I'm currently in phase I of jets and have roughly 20/40 in my left eye - some form of astigmatism. I have slowly started noticing the bluriness and have been forced to start using my glasses. Have tried contacts but can't stand them. The Doc mentioned that Lasik has gotten to a point where you're only med down for two weeks after the op, assuming you go through the Navy appointed surgeons. I'm very interested in pursuing this option after winging, especially as there will likely be a few month wait at the Rag since production has ramped up.

I will have an appointment with my optometrist in a few months and will bring it up with him/her but am wondering if any of you have gone down this path. How was your experience? Any advice on what I should be doing to start the process and get on the waitlist?
 

Farva01

BKR
pilot
I got LASIK done back in 2011 when I started noticing the lens getting blurry. Great experience in San Diego with minimum discomfort. Your flight doc should be able to point you in the right direction.
 

nugget81

Well-Known Member
pilot
In order to get laser eye surgery from the Navy, you’ll need approval from your chain of command. Talk with your class advisors to gauge how the request will be received. Keep in mind that two weeks is the minimum time to be med-down. I did LASIK in 2016, but I was med-down for 4 weeks. I did my surgery in San Diego, and the process was pretty smooth. I tried to have it done in 2013 in the Virginia Beach area at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, but the docs there wouldn’t even consider LASIK because I’d had PRK previously. The long and short of it is that you just need to find the right people to talk with about it, and like most things in life, if you want it bad enough then be willing to hear “no” a few times before getting the answer you want.
 

andrewt

Well-Known Member
In order to get laser eye surgery from the Navy, you’ll need approval from your chain of command. Talk with your class advisors to gauge how the request will be received. Keep in mind that two weeks is the minimum time to be med-down. I did LASIK in 2016, but I was med-down for 4 weeks. I did my surgery in San Diego, and the process was pretty smooth. I tried to have it done in 2013 in the Virginia Beach area at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, but the docs there wouldn’t even consider LASIK because I’d had PRK previously. The long and short of it is that you just need to find the right people to talk with about it, and like most things in life, if you want it bad enough then be willing to hear “no” a few times before getting the answer you want.
I've had PRK done too. Why weren't they willing to LASIK? I thought it wasn't uncommon to have a correction later on in life. Or was it that they would only don PRK again?
 

nugget81

Well-Known Member
pilot
The east coast doc wasn’t willing to do LASIK after PRK. They had no problems doing it on the west coast. I had PRK in 2005, and my cornea was clearly thick enough to support LASIK. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
 
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