Originally Posted by vik
Sounds like either a bad doctor or poorly screened patients. I know 20+ people who had laser eye surgery and none of them has had any problems at all. You definitely need to ensure the doctor you are considering has an excellent track record.
I wore glasses for 30yrs and now after 5 years I can barely remember what wearing glasses was like. The procedure cost me $2500 CDN and if I had to do it over again at a cost of $10,000 I would.
This is also my experience, except I only had LASIK a year ago and spent $3400 USD. I can see better than I ever could with glasses or contacts because the correction helps with my entire field of view.
For me, the most significant difference after LASIK was vastly improved peripheral vision. I had a strong prescription and could see just fine in front, but not to the sides. Now, I can see at all angles. It has also made doing anything in bad weather easier, and now I can see when I swim.
However, there were occasions when I was very happy with the protection my glasses gave to me just like the OP. Once I had a huge grease pop totally cover the oversized lens of my 70's style glasses (this happened in the 70's so I wasn't making a fashion statement).
I have become better about wearing protective eyewear after LASIK.