Do I need LASIK?

[smn8]

Hi,

I was told by recruiter that I wasn't eligible to become a pilot. My vision sucks since I have hyperopia and astigmatism. I don't even fit the pre-surgical refraction for SNAs. I'm +6.50, -3.25 in my left eye and +5.75, -3.50 in my right eye. Now, I could try becoming a NFO. The vision standards are +/-8.00 for manifest refraction and astigmatism less than/equal to -3.00. My astigmatism is a little bit over., so I'm worried.

Is it possible to get a waiver or do I need LASIK? I talked to an ophthalmologist who said that LASIK or PRK would be a risk with my prescription. At this point, I'm not sure if I can even become a NFO. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Hi,

I was told by recruiter that I wasn't eligible to become a pilot. My vision sucks since I have hyperopia and astigmatism. I don't even fit the pre-surgical refraction for SNAs. I'm +6.50, -3.25 in my left eye and +5.75, -3.50 in my right eye. Now, I could try becoming a NFO. The vision standards are +/-8.00 for manifest refraction and astigmatism less than/equal to -3.00. My astigmatism is a little bit over., so I'm worried.

Is it possible to get a waiver or do I need LASIK? I talked to an ophthalmologist who said that LASIK or PRK would be a risk with my prescription. At this point, I'm not sure if I can even become a NFO. Any advice would be appreciated.

No need to make duplicate posts.

There are no vision waivers for aviation, both SNA and SNFO. Your recruiter told you what you qualify for and your eye doc the options and risks.

Think it over and make an informed decision.

 

[Pianistwithwings]

Hi,

I was told by recruiter that I wasn't eligible to become a pilot. My vision sucks since I have hyperopia and astigmatism. I don't even fit the pre-surgical refraction for SNAs. I'm +6.50, -3.25 in my left eye and +5.75, -3.50 in my right eye. Now, I could try becoming a NFO. The vision standards are +/-8.00 for manifest refraction and astigmatism less than/equal to -3.00. My astigmatism is a little bit over., so I'm worried.

Is it possible to get a waiver or do I need LASIK? I talked to an ophthalmologist who said that LASIK or PRK would be a risk with my prescription. At this point, I'm not sure if I can even become a NFO. Any advice would be appreciated.

NFO here, and have friends who got lasik and prk. All of them have chronic dry eyes, and must carry eye drops with them at all times. Plus from what the ophthalmologist was telling me once you get to a certain age you’ll have to wear glasses anyways to read or drive, but also need the eye drops…

 

[Spekkio]

NFO here, and have friends who got lasik and prk. All of them have chronic dry eyes, and must carry eye drops with them at all times. Plus from what the ophthalmologist was telling me once you get to a certain age you’ll have to wear glasses anyways to read or drive, but also need the eye drops…

I got epi-lasik (PRK using laser to remove the outer cornea). No dry eyes 15 years later and still 20/20.

I have some minor light sensitivity that I can mitigate with sunglasses. Except those god awful poorly-aimed LEDs that are ubiquitous on cars these days.

Best $3,000 I've ever spent.

Even if I had to use drops, it beats the crap out of glasses / contacts.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

NFO here, and have friends who got lasik and prk. All of them have chronic dry eyes, and must carry eye drops with them at all times. Plus from what the ophthalmologist was telling me once you get to a certain age you’ll have to wear glasses anyways to read or drive, but also need the eye drops…

I had lasik about 25 years ago and ended at and have not had an issue with dry eyes, I do make sure I am staying hydrated but not sure if that has any affect or not. I needed a very low prescription for reading glasses late 2018 and had no change until COVID when I went from using 2 nice big screens at work to one 15" screen then they started degrading a bit more rapidly. When I was able to go back to the eye doc he said he had seen quite a few who experienced the same issue. Since I was sent decent sized monitors by my company my eyes have essentially been stable for the past several years. If I try hard I can read and type on my laptop without reading glasses, however it isn't the best for my eyes.

I would second what @Spekkio said about light sensitivity.

I would still do it again, and if it was suggested I get lasik again to fix my eyesight back to 20/20 I would do it.

@Spekkio enjoy no reading glasses while it last

 

[Gatordev]

Plus from what the ophthalmologist was telling me once you get to a certain age you’ll have to wear glasses anyways to read or drive, but also need the eye drops…

It's a little more nuanced than that. You'll most likely need glasses to read, but your distance vision will still hold up due to the surgery. And even then, like exNavy said, you can potentially get away without wearing glasses in some situations.

The eye drops/dry eyes aren't a certainty, but it's a possible side effect (and was for me). There are specialty drops that can counter-act it. I used free samples from my doc of a particular flavor of drops for a year and it helped. Apparently there's newer, better (and cheaper) options now. I have a sample of one of those and should really try them to see if it does anything, but I've been too lazy and spooging a regular eye drop in each eye in the morning has been fine.

@Spekkio enjoy no reading glasses while it last

You beat me to it. Spekkio...it's coming. It's like someone flipped a switch for me, thankfully right after COVID where I didn't have to fight glasses while wearing a mask.

 

[Spekkio]

You beat me to it. Spekkio...it's coming. It's like someone flipped a switch for me, thankfully right after COVID where I didn't have to fight glasses while wearing a mask.

Maybe that's why I get irrationally angry when someone says "hey look at this" and shoves a smartphone in my face so close it causes sharp pain.

 

[number9]

I had LASIK maybe 3 years ago - no dry eyes whatsoever. Best money I ever spent...

The other risk I was told about was the "halo" effect, similar to what you see on light sources (e.g. street lights, car brake lights) at night when wearing glasses. That hasn't been an issue for me either

 

[ea6bflyr]

My experience: Had Lasik surgery on NOV 2009 (Winged Active Duty - In a flying status). Distant vision has held up over the years. Because I was over 40 when I had the surgery, I've always needed reading glasses for the near vision. I had dry eyes for about a year requiring drops. Now if I'm in a dry environment, I'll use drops every so often.

Recovery from Lasik: 2 weeks after surgery, I had my up-chit and was flying again. The healing process was very short as compared to PRK. I had squadron mates that had PRK and were down for 6+ months.

To the OP, if your goal is to have better eyesight, then do it. Be aware that eye surgery has risks (possibly NPQ due to non-correctable 20/20 vision), but they rarely occur. Eye surgery is disqualifying for Naval Service, but is waiverable. Make sure you know everything and all the required documentation before getting the surgery.