Archive for the ‘ Health ’ Category

Living on Food Stamps

This will be interesting to follow. Sean Caleb of CNN is finding out what it is like to live on food stamps for one month. Since he doesn’t qualify to use this program, he found that the most a single person can qualify for is $176 per month. That’s about $6.28 per day. Can you live on $6.28 per day?

Some statistics from his report already:

  • 31 million Americans rely on the food stamp program
  • In Louisiana 1 out of 6 people uses food stamps
  • Food stamps are actually now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Premier Eye Care Results

My consultation with Premier Eye Care today went as expected. They performed the usual tests and dilated my pupils and took some cool photos of the topography of my eye. The results show that I am a candidate for LASIK or PRK

I was told that which ever I chose, I would probably need reading glasses in my 40′s. Unless I chose to only have one eye corrected for myopia. Then I could use one eye for focusing close and the other for focusing far away. They recommended trying to wear just one contact for a few days to see how it feels.

Next comes the price. Premier seems to be a lot more expensive than I had anticipated. Here’s the prices I was quoted.

Intralase LASIK
iLASIK with Intralase FS, Visx Star4 and Advanced CustomVue: $2,495 per eye 

PRK
Epi-LASIK and AST (Advanced Surface Treatment): $2,295 per eye

Enhancements: $190 

That is a lot more than what I was looking at spending. But now I can try a few other places and see what works best. I’m not necessarily looking for the lowest price. But I do want to see what my options are.

Premier Eye Care Initial Visit

Today at 1pm I have my initial visit at Premier Eye Care to see if I am a candidate for laser vision correction. I attended a seminar held by Premier Eye about two weeks ago and decided it was worth the free consultation. They will be checking my vision and what ever other tests they need to do so that they can recommend the proper treatment for me. And of course tell me how much it will cost. I will report back this afternoon with an update.

Considering Lasik Eye Surgery

I’ve been wearing glasses for a few years now. It wasn’t much of a deal at first. But over this time I’ve found how wearing glasses or contacts can be a hassle. I tried contacts for about a year but because I have dry eyes they seem to bother me more than they are worth. Glasses tend to fog up in humidity, slide off my nose on hot days, get in the way when trying to look through the lens of my camera, one last thing to put on when I put my motorcycle helmet on and prevents me from wearing sun glasses. So I’m considering having Lasik eye surgery done to correct my vision.

I’m considering going with LasikPlus as they have an office in Harrisburg which is convenient for me. I’ve read their site quite a bit, requested some more information on their procedures, and received a phone call from them. I know it’s not cheap. Probably $1,000 to $2,000 per eye. And my health insurance doesn’t cover any of it. So it will be all out of my pocket. But I’m starting to see it as an investment in my quality of life.

Money aside, I’m curious what other people’s experiences have been with Lasik surgery. How has life been after the procedure? Have there been any complications? Has anyone else used LasikPlus?

Pennsylvania Smoking Ban

Woohoo! The Senate has just passed the Pennsylvania smoking ban. It will go into effect 90 days after Governor Rendell signs the bill. This is a very good thing for our state.

There are three exceptions:

  • Bars with limited food businesses
  • Private clubs, where officers have voted to permit smoking
  • 25 percent of the gambling floors at most casinos