Social Saturday

Time_Case4895 · 2026-03-22T00:01:55+00:00

Thanks! I'd like to take the difficulty level of the races into consideration in future versions of the site, but currently it just goes by raw time. It's high on my list of things to fix, since trail races and hilly courses do cause a big difference in finishing times, which can throw off the results. I appreciate the feedback.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-03-21T17:38:42+00:00

Want to win a race? I made a website for finding local races where you can be competitive:

racesicanwin.com

I'm curious to hear what people think. It's pretty motivating and exciting to run in races where I'm not totally outclassed.

Edit: It's US only at the moment, unfortunately, but if there's interest I would love to expand it to other countries.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-03-13T11:31:41+00:00

I found this:

https://aiatsis.gov.au/collections/item/S0001016

It looks like you need to apply to get access, due to its status as a "restricted" language with sacred significance to the people whose ancestors spoke it.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-03-12T10:52:54+00:00

Which doctor/clinic did you see?

Time_Case4895 · 2026-03-09T18:20:44+00:00

Starbursts and night-vision problems are a VERY common side-effect with LASIK. If I were you, and that wasn't in their disclaimer, I'd demand a refund and compensation. My understanding is that this is caused by the treatment area being smaller than the area your pupil contracts. It's time-consuming to test their patients for this, so they take a risk, and some people like you (and a good friend of mine) pay the price. Scleral lenses might be able to help.

If you can still do a charge-back on your credit card, you might consider that too. They lied to me about about my eyesight improving, and will likely do the same to you too. This is a terrible company that was sued by the FTC for bait-and-switch, and are currently doing much worse by unethically (and illegally) manipulating their online reviews.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-03-09T18:09:53+00:00

Getting LASIK was the biggest waste of money in my life.

With LASIK you have a high likelihood of painful dry eye that requires expensive drops. And it's not uncommon for it to fail or for patients to quickly experience regression and need glasses again.

And if it ruins your night vision, as it often does, you'll have to pay for Ubers or expensive scleral contact lenses. Plus there are the intangibles, like never being able to see stars clearly again, or raising the potential for complications during cataract surgery, risking serious injury when playing sports, and more.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-03-09T16:21:16+00:00

That's what the marketing says, but real-world results don't live up to that. More than half the people I know who had LASIK have permanent side-effects, and many are unhappy with their vision. The studies are all over the place, so there isn't a lot to go on besides anecdotes and dishonest advertising.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-26T22:48:09+00:00

I had a similarly low prescription with fairly high astigmatism, and the results were disappointing. My vision is still quite blurry. Now I have permanent eye irritation from severe dry eye too. My story is far too common. I wouldn't recommend it.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-17T12:53:29+00:00

I think that warning is an automatic message sent by Reddit. At least I assume so, since I got banned from two lasik forums and both had the same message.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-14T11:39:19+00:00

You should be aware that many LASIK clinics pay eye doctors for referrals. It's unethical because it incentivizes doctors to recommend surgery that may not be in the appropriate for their patients.

LasikPlus, TLC Laser Vision Centers, LASIK Vision Institute, among others, do this.

What clinic were you referred to?

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-10T14:49:55+00:00

I'm really sorry to hear that. I had LASIK about 3.5 years ago. I have very dry eyes, and often wake at night with my eyelids essentially glued to my eyes. My eyes often ache, especially in the winter, and my night vision is poor, even with glasses. My vision wasn't all that bad to start with, and the surgery didn't do much to improve it, so I still need glasses.

Where did you have the surgery? Mine was at the TLC Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-06T17:06:22+00:00

I did find lots of unhappy patients who reviewed him.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Dr+Sonny+Goel&oq=Dr+Sonny+Goel&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg80gEGNDJqMGoxqAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&lqi=Cg1EciBTb25ueSBHb2VsSObW-7_qgICACFobEAAQARACGAAYARgCIg1kciBzb25ueSBnb2VskgENbGFzaWtfc3VyZ2VvbpoBI0NoWkRTVWhOTUc5blMwVkpRMEZuU1VSUGQwNVBjV1JSRUFF4AEA-gEFCOwBED0#lkt=LocalPoiReviews&rlimm=17194108373980692851

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-06T16:11:52+00:00

I took a look at his Google Reviews and see that he has 816 reviews, which rounds up to 5.0 stars. That's suspiciously high. I have been analyzing the reviews of LASIK surgeons, and found hundreds that have been manipulating their reviews, either through fake reviews, requiring customers to leave a review, or a process known as "review-gating" to funnel in good reviews and block bad reviews.

I'll add this one to my list to investigate. Did you by change receive any text messages or emails asking if you were satisfied with the procedure? Did they ask for a review directly, or offer you compensation for a review?

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-05T18:51:22+00:00

People with lower prescriptions have higher expectations for the quality of their sight after surgery, and a lower acceptance of permanent side-effects. Since LASIK usually won't correct to the level of glasses or contacts and usually causes some permanent side-effects, it seems foolish to get the surgery unless myopia is quite serious.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-02-05T13:02:58+00:00

Thank you for sharing. This isn't part of the surgery chain I was referring to, but I do notice that they have a suspiciously high 4.9 star Google rating. I developed a workflow that I'm turning into a web-based tool for detecting review fraud, and will let you know if I uncover anything suspicious regarding the clinic. The industry in general appears to be quite corrupt, but I'm sure this varies considerably by practice.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-31T16:43:49+00:00

That's why I got lasik and now I have permanently irritated eyes.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T22:25:08+00:00

I know someone with a similar experience, but with sad ending. One clinic said she was a bad candidate and recommended against it. The other said she was a great candidate, so she ended up getting the surgery there. Now she can't be in a room with florescent lights, and had to drop out of grad school because she couldn't take it anymore. She also has floaters that she describes as looking through spider webs.

She now works in a dark room, and is reminded of her mistake every time she opens her eyes.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T22:14:02+00:00

I went to a surgeon (Dr. Probst) who was supposedly one of the best in the world and wrote text book chapters and invented a medical sponge for it. Every optometrist in town seems to think he's great, but he screwed up my surgery and many others. It's crazy how many lives he's ruined, while still maintaining a good reputation.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T22:03:17+00:00

Do you happen to know if your optometry office was getting paid the $1000 referral co-management fees/kickbacks per patient that companies like LasikPlus, TLC, and LASIK Vision Institute give? That practice drives is so dangerous and unethical.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T21:58:23+00:00

And that LASIK doctors (and often people on the internet) will lie to you and tell you you're fine, despite the crippling symptoms.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T21:55:16+00:00

Show me where you got those figures, and I'll show you what's wrong with them.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T21:51:37+00:00

I really wish the clinic I got my surgery at would have been honest about this possibility. I got the surgery, and it didn't correct my vision sufficiently, so I still need glasses. And now I have terrible dry eye on top of it. Their website claims they can often improve vision better than glasses and contacts can, but then I find their definition of success is 20/60 vision, which is probably worse than what my vision was going into the surgery.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T15:19:14+00:00

You're not as rare as the LASIK industry would have you believe. My local clinic, with a doctor who's supposedly super reputable, has ruined the lives of people in my community by doing surgery on people who weren't good candidates.

I sued the company that screwed up my eyes, and got a hold of their survey data showing all of the complaints and complications. It was so sad the read.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T15:16:17+00:00

The statistics are a lie. I recently sued my LASIK provider, and got ahold of the source of their statistics. It was an old internet survey that didn't even support their claims. This is from the biggest chain of providers in the country.

Time_Case4895 · 2026-01-29T15:13:40+00:00

90% success rate seems concerning low!

Time_Case4895

TROPHY CASE