Ask me Anything! – Responses Part Three

By the way, this is on-going.. you can continue to ask questions on any of these “Ask me anything” posts and I’ll reply.

🙂

anonymous:

Have you considered getting Lasik eye surgery? Just wondering because I remember on a past post you mentioned how important contact lens were to you, but wanted your opinion on not having to depend on glasses/contact lens and if Lasik will be worth the money for you.

Yes. YES. I have considered this greatly, even researching all the clinics and options.

I ultimately decided against it because I’m a little wary about two things:

1. How long it will last before having to get it redone

I know at least 2 people who have had problems with Lasik. They had to have it re-done because the lens shifted, or their eyesight was not as 20/20 as it was when it was originally done.

2. If they’ll screw up

I know at least one family member who had it done (albeit a long time ago) and they totally messed up her eyes. Now she can barely see out of them, everything is blurry and she has learned to live with it but the damage is permanent.

With all that taken into account, contact lenses are a pain in the butt sometimes, but I’d rather do that and glasses than to mess around with Mother Nature.

I may change my mind in the future but as it stands, I would love to do it but am very squeamish about the risks involved if something goes wrong and I am in the 0.00001% of the bad cases.

It would be totally worth it for me money-wise if I could be assured that it would be fine.

Lila:

You had a bad experience in the U.S…what was it? What happened to you that made you give up on it?

I wrote a whole post on this.

In a nutshell:

Lowest taxes I’ve ever paid in my life (FL & TX I am looking at you) did not make up for the decreased hourly rates
Felt like a fish out of water, culturally-speaking, as a NON-American citizen who was always The Canadian
Healthcare costs are astronomical once you start getting into the childbearing years, daycare costs, etc

So… money, cultural clash and healthcare. Those are the 3 main reasons why I decided not to stay, work and retire in the U.S.

Canada is a far better fit for me, my family and the way we like to live, although I still maintain that the U.S. is #1, BAR NONE for customer service and shopping.

7 responses to “Ask me Anything! – Responses Part Three”

anonymous

March 5, 2015

save.spend.splurge., you may be interested in healing your eyes naturally using the “Bates Method”. More info: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/07/20/bates-method-vision-program.aspx

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Tania

March 5, 2015

Exactly why I don’t get Lasik. There are many things I can live without and be happy. Not being able to read, write & photograph keep me sane. I cannot risk long term damage to my vision, even though I have horrible eyesight, it’s all mine and correctable.

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MelD

March 5, 2015

It wasn’t that the vision became bad, but it’s normal for your eyes to alter shape when you reach your 40s/50s and that development isn’t halted by having the laser surgery, hence the necessity for reading glasses.

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Yetunde

March 5, 2015

I was so intrigued that I went back to read your “leaving USA for good post”. I lived in the south of US (New Orleans + Houston) for 5 years and I agree with just about everything you wrote. The image of the US versus the reality is so different… the systematic racism against all non-americans, the extra dose of racism against darker skinned people, the fact that the value of your life is directly tied to your bank balance…. so disheartening. I loved the diversity though compared to Canada but still, the price to pay to be surrounded by diversity is quite high.

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MelD

March 5, 2015

I stopped considering laser surgery for my short sightedness after my friend, who also wore contacts, had her eyes lasered in her late 40s. Only a year or two later, she still needed reading glasses…
I will stick with my glasses, I guess. Contacts were only possible for me for a few years in my 20s, then my eyes got too dry (I keep trying to see if the latest kinds will work, but no). Now I have varifocal glasses.
However, my mom and grandmother, short-sighted all their lives, are almost totally glasses-free after cataract surgery in their senior years!! They do need reading glasses, too, though.

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1. save. spend. splurge.
  
  March 5, 2015
  
  This is a common refrain, which is why I am thinking I will not be doing Lasik at all until I can be assured I don;t need to do it again.
  
  Reply
  1. anonymous
    
    March 5, 2015
    
    @save. spend. splurge.:
    I have had Lasik for over five years (and knock on wood) my vision is as great as it was on the first day I got the surgery. I’ve also had concerns about having to get it redone or bad vision returning, but I thought of the following:
    
    If it comes to the point that my bad vision returns, to make the eye surgery worthwhile, I would redo only if I have great vision for 10 years post surgery. For me, to have another ten years of good vision without relying on contact lens and eye glasses would be worth the investment and process. So while I’m hoping to never have to go through Lasik again, I would do it again (also if I have the money, as it’s quite expensive).
    
    But yes, every person is different, and while it may work for one person it doesn’t mean it will for another person. If I knew people who also had issues post-surgery, I’d also be hesitant to get it done! My “aha” moment occurred when I misplaced my glasses at my job and could not drive back home at night–my vision was so poor all I could see was a blur. I couldn’t drive back home and had to have someone pick me up.
    
    Reply