What is your opinion on laser eye surgery to correct nearsightedness?

I've done my homework on the subject and am going in for a consultation visit, however I'm just curious about others' opinions on the idea and if it worked for you? More importantly, if it didn't work for you?
I've worn glasses for 20 years and I'm ready for the change.

Whether or not you should get Lasik is a very complicated question. I've been sitting on the fence for 5 years now, and still haven't decided. I posted all my research on a blog including the post below which talks about whether people should or shouldn't try Lasik:

http://www.wika-lasik.com/2007/08/when-i...

When is LASIK not for me?

You are probably NOT a good candidate for refractive surgery if:

You are not a risk taker. Certain complications are unavoidable in a percentage of patients, and there are no long-term data available for current procedures.
It will jeopardize your career. Some jobs prohibit certain refractive procedures. Be sure to check with your employer/professional society/military service before undergoing any procedure.
Cost is an issue. Most medical insurance will not pay for refractive surgery. Although the cost is coming down, it is still significant.
You required a change in your contact lens or glasses prescription in the past year. This is called refractive instability.
In their early 20s or younger,
Whose hormones are fluctuating due to disease such as diabetes,
Who are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are taking medications that may cause fluctuations in vision, are more likely to have refractive instability and should discuss the possible additional risks with their doctor.
You have a disease or are on medications that may affect wound healing. Certain conditions, such as autoimmune diseases (e.g., lupus, rheumatoid arthritis), immunodeficiency states (e.g., HIV) and diabetes, and some medications (e.g., retinoic acid and steroids) may prevent proper healing after a refractive procedure.
You actively participate in contact sports. You participate in boxing, wrestling, martial arts or other activities in which blows to the face and eyes are a normal occurrence.
You are not an adult. Currently, no lasers are approved for LASIK on persons under the age of 18.
Precautions
The safety and effectiveness of refractive procedures has not been determined in patients with some diseases. Discuss with your doctor if you have a history of any of the following:

Herpes simplex or Herpes zoster (shingles) involving the eye area.
Glaucoma, glaucoma suspect, or ocular hypertension.
Eye diseases, such as uveitis/iritis (inflammations of the eye)
Eye injuries or previous eye surgeries.
Keratoconus
Your doctor should screen you for the following conditions or indicators of risk:

Blepharitis. Inflammation of the eyelids with crusting of the eyelashes, that may increase the risk of infection or inflammation of the cornea after LASIK.
Large pupils. Make sure this evaluation is done in a dark room. Younger patients and patients on certain medications may be prone to having large pupils under dim lighting conditions. This can cause symptoms such as glare, halos, starbursts, and ghost images (double vision) after surgery. In some patients these symptoms may be debilitating. For example, a patient may no longer be able to drive a car at night or in certain weather conditions, such as fog.
Thin Corneas. The cornea is the thin clear covering of the eye that is over the iris, the colored part of the eye. Most refractive procedures change the eye鈥檚 focusing power by reshaping the cornea (for example, by removing tissue). Performing a refractive procedure on a cornea that is too thin may result in blinding complications.
Previous refractive surgery (e.g., RK, PRK, LASIK). Additional refractive surgery may not be recommended. The decision to have additional refractive surgery must be made in consultation with your doctor after careful consideration of your unique situation.
Dry Eyes. LASIK surgery tends to aggravate this condition.

One of my friend who is 22 got this done about a year ago and she is happy. however my mother had it done and she is not. My mum is 68 so it may depend on the age of the person. But over all it works very well as far as I know.

I would love to have it done if they could guarantee it would come out well. However, you only get one set of eyes, and I'm too big of a 'fraidy cat to do it.

I had it done 5 years ago and highly recommend it. Good Luck!

rather keep wearing glasses or even contacts..get LASIK and be your luck someone pokes you in the eye and damages yoour retina, cornea. iris .. then you have to pay another grand for your damaged eye..unless ..they give you a warranty..!

some people dont know how long the sideaffects last so i dont no

My opinion is that if anyone is going to operate on my only two eyes, there has to be an awfully good reason for it. Getting rid of glasses is not one of them.

I would love to have this procedure done on my eyes if I could guarantee that a doctor wouldn't make me go blind or botch my eyes up so that they are worse than they are. However, I don't trust that the procedure will go perfectly. I'll only consider doing it if it comes to the point where I cannot correct my eyes enough with glasses to be able to pass the vision screening at the DMV for my license at any point in my life. (After all, the ability to drive is very important, as American culture is centered around driving). That will mean that I won't be able to see at least 20/40, even with the best correction.

If you only have one good eye, doing the procedure might not be such a good idea. If you cannot correct the other eye (for some reason, like you had an eye condition in that eye), and the good eye gets botched, then you are pretty much blind for life.

Also, the procedure might not be so wonderful if you are over 40. Your eyes will already be going downhill anyways because older people get presbyopia.

I also have heard that it is hard to find a doctor who can do surgery on people who have both farsightedness and astigmatism (which is my case in one of my eyes--the other eye is nearsighted and has an astigmatism, which is more common).

Best decision I ever made, with the cost of glasses these days its going to save you money too.