Lasik?

[benw2200]

Hello to all Marines and Poolees... I'm an 18 year old poolee from east Tennessee, currently scheduled to ship on the 30th of June. I've never had any health problems or issues, except that I'm nearsighted and have to wear contacts. I was really ****ed when I found out you have to wear glasses in boot camp...I hate wearing glasses, everything about them. My family has been considering getting LASIK or PRK laser eye sugery to correct my vision before I ship. I thought it would probably be in my best interest to talk to my recruiter about it before we set up pre-screenings or anything like that. What is the Marine Corps policy on poolees getting laser eye surgery? I'm guessing that my recruiter won't be too excited about it since it probably equals more paperwork and possible complications for both him and me, and the very small chance that the surgery goes bad and makes my vision worse. But is there any way that getting this surgery will actually invalidate my enlistment contract or get me in any kind of trouble? I remember signing a million papers at MEPS saying that I'd never had previous surgery, but will getting it mess anything up?

Thanks for any input.

Ben

[davblay]

As long as you are in DEP, you still belong to yourself! Therefore, if you elect to have corrective eye surgery, then that's up to you, at your expense. If all goes well, when you get ready to ship, MEPS will see that your vision has improved, but you need to tell your recruiter, some where along the line, before going to MEPS to ship as there will be paperwork. But the decision is yours! Like I said if all goes well, your vision may be 20/20, and that could open up a whole new line of choices for a job in the Corps!

That's my 2 cents!

Dave

[contessojohn]

Navy and USMC


RK has been assessed by Navy ophthalmologists, who determined that RK does not produce stable visual correction in operational environments. RK surgery is disqualifying. PRK has been extensively studied by the Navy and is currently the procedure of choice.
Note: waivers are not considered for applicants to special duty communities (Aviation, Undersea, Diving, Special Warfare/SEAL) unless specifically approved by those communities' managers.
General Accessions (people entering active duty or enlisted who are applying for a commission): RK, PRK and LASIK are disqualifying, waivers for PRK and LASIK will be considered.
Diving Special Warfare:
Must receive authorization from your commanding officer before PRK. Wait 3 months after surgery before qualifying exam. No RK or LASIK.
Surface Warfare:
Must receive authorization from your commanding officer before PRK or LASIK. Wait 3 months after surgery before qualifying exam. No RK.
Aviation Warfare:
RK, PRK and LASIK disqualifying. Waiver considered for PRK only. Must receive authorization from your commanding officer before PRK.

[benw2200]

Thank you sir...that's very encouraging.

If this can be a reality I'll be psyched beyond belief. I'm enlisted in the reserves right now, but I got a 96 on the ASVAB and I'm hoping to enroll in the PLC program to become an officer after recruit training... this will make my 'dream' a lot more hassle-free to achieve...for me at least.

[benw2200]

Ugh, that one isn't so encouraging. So how hard would it probably be to get a waiver?

[contessojohn]

The two waiverable procedures are photorefractive keratotomy, usually referred to as PRK, and laser in-situ keratomileusis, or LASIK, said Dr. John Mazzuchi, deputy for clinical and program policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.
"You can get in the military, but it’s harder to do so," he said. "You have to submit your medical records and receive a waiver." He said DOD’s particular caution is driven by concern for service members’ health.


http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/l/bllasersurgery.htm

[benw2200]

Thanks.

I'm going to talk to my recruiter about it tomorrow after school. I really hope this will work out and I can get it waivered.

[davblay]

Navy and USMC


RK has been assessed by Navy ophthalmologists, who determined that RK does not produce stable visual correction in operational environments. RK surgery is disqualifying. PRK has been extensively studied by the Navy and is currently the procedure of choice.
Note: waivers are not considered for applicants to special duty communities (Aviation, Undersea, Diving, Special Warfare/SEAL) unless specifically approved by those communities' managers.
General Accessions(people entering active duty or enlisted who are applying for a commission): RK, PRK and LASIK are disqualifying, waivers for PRK and LASIK will be considered.
Diving Special Warfare:
Must receive authorization from your commanding officer before PRK. Wait 3 months after surgery before qualifying exam. No RK or LASIK.
Surface Warfare:
Must receive authorization from your commanding officer before PRK or LASIK. Wait 3 months after surgery before qualifying exam. No RK.
Aviation Warfare:
RK, PRK and LASIK disqualifying. Waiver considered for PRK only. Must receive authorization from your commanding officer before PRK.


My educated Poolee...it seems that you are good at google, however, these are for active duty members! Why, or how, would you get permission from your Cammanding Officer while in DEP? What you posted is for the consideration of having it done while on active duty!

I wish you Poolees would not confuse people with your educated posts like this one!

[sparkie]

http://images-org.remiss.be/Facelift.jpg

:thumbup:

[contessojohn]

Sorry Davblay, I will read more through before posting something that might lead to false information being givein.

[Bullpup]

I am not Marine and I don't know anything about how the Corps treats eye surgery. I will say what a doctor would probably tell you, since you are 18 your eyes are still developing. They will probably continue to develop for another 1-3 years.

This means that that if you do get any sort of corrective surgery then it will be disrupted as your eye changes. I would strongly suggest waiting on it, at least until your 20 or older. Regardless of what your recruiter says.

Just my 2 cents but it is the same advice that I recieved from a respected optimalogist when I was considering surgery. Good luck.

-David

[bugeater]

LASIK is an automatic DQ, so I had to get a waiver before being able to enter the DEP. It was a hassle (MEPS required all the pre- and post-op paperwork from the doctor) and the MEPS doctors wouldn't approve the waiver until the Marine Corps liason went back there and gave them a talking-to. Also, you have to be one year post-op with no complications or changes in vision before they'll grant you a waiver, so I don't think you'll be able to ship to boot camp if you get the surgery now, even though you're already in the DEP.

I agree with Bullpup. You should wait until you're around 21 before you get LASIK surgery (the only reason you should get PRK is if you don't qualify for LASIK) to make sure your eyes have finished developing. Also, the surgery is expensive and most insurance won't cover it, so I would recommend waiting until you're in the military to get the surgery, as they'll help you pay for it. Having said that, though, it was the best $4000 I've ever spent and I don't regret it for a second. I still remember waking up the day after surgery and being able to read the time on the alarm clock across the room, whereas before I could only see about a foot in front of my face clearly.

[BlindZeal08]

I have a question that pertains to this topic alittle.

I wen't to MEPs, and my left eye is 20/20, my right eye is 20/25 near sight I think and 20/30 far away. Are they going to do Lesik on my right eye, or do I have to wear those glasses...

[ He wrote down correctable to 20/20 for my right eye ]

[JayBee]

Exactly how hard is it to get the waiver? I'm 20 now and wanted to get laser surgery before boot camp. Also which one is better, PRK, or LASIK?

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

Blind, they aren't going to do the surgery on you at boot camp. But with your vision there really isn't any reason you'd need glasses anyway.

Jay, read the thread! It says pretty clearly that PRK is preferred.

The whole line of thought in this thread is pretty ridiculous. Why do you really care if you have to wear some ugly glasses for three months? Unless you plan on trying to hook up with your rackmate then there simply isn't much to worry about at boot camp. I promise you will have enough on your mind, how you look in your glasses won't even be an issue for you. Just suck it up and wear the things. Worry about looking pretty when you will actually see someone other than another sticky recruit or a DI.

[SGT7477]

Anything else we can fix here,lol.

[benw2200]

It's not the physical appearance I care about. I couldn't care less what I look like down there...it's the hassle of wearing them, keeping them clean, keeping them on my face, etc. They also **** with my depth perception since I'm used to contacts, and you have to learn to not use your peripheral vision as much since your glasses don't effect that.

[SGT7477]

The glasses they give you today for one thing look better than the black **** we use to wear, you will have glass straps to hold them on and the DI's just love to make them snap on the back of your head, just like a sling shot,lol.

[jungholee90]

My suggestion is that you just go with glasses for that three months of training. I hate glasses too and have really bad eyesight (I had to go out to optometrist outside of MEPS to get my eyesight cleared, so that gave me another FUN day at MEPS.. lol), but to have eye surgery and jeopardizing the enlistment, I'd rather just go with glasses. You don't have to wear that after Recruit Training anyways, so you will save money too. I'm sure it will be somewhat discomforting but considering many recruits have them, it shouldn't be that bad.

[SlingerDun]

it's the hassle of wearing them, keeping them clean, keeping them on my face, etcThe geek strap keeps them secure on your face and you will be so busy that days will pass and you wont even realize they are scuffed and covered in dust.
They also **** with my depth perception since I'm used to contactsyoung eyes are resilient and you will adjust
and you have to learn to not use your peripheral vision as much... Oh contrare, glasses or not peripheral vision will take on a new dimension in boot camp at attention, parade rest and at ease. Eyeballs! Click!

[JayBee]

If you only have to wear them while in boot then I'm fine with that. Thank you for the info.

[JBrady]

I was doing some quick reading on eye correction in the military and I saw that it was possible to get laser correction through, I think, the Navy. Is it possible to get correction right out of boot camp or even before an overseas deployment? I'm looking into enlisting and I would hate to go to Iraq and have to rely on either contacts or glasses to see. With my left eye I can't even see the E at the top of eye charts.

I'm making my first contact with a recruiter next week where I will ask him the same but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask on here either.


They also **** with my depth perception since I'm used to contacts, and you have to learn to not use your peripheral vision as much since your glasses don't effect that.

Yes I know what you mean. I've worn nothing but contacts for probably close to 10 years. Just a couple weeks ago I had to get a pair of glasses because I hurt my left eye and couldn't wear a contact in it for a week. The first time I put the glasses on and stood up I almost lost my balance because they threw me off so much. It took a couple days before I could move my head around alot without becoming nauseous. I did get used to them though and then they became "normal".

[Salvador50532]

I wear glasses I'm up to a 4.5 diopler. I remember when the windshield on your car didn't have UV protection.

It's a graduation of some sort:

Natural Vision
Glasses
Contacts

"Eagle Eye"


:yes: :banana: :no: