Lasik, RK, etc + R/C = ?
as for price, i got LUCKY!!! a doc down in central FL was having a special. my sister had lasik done by him and called me to tell me about it. it seems the doc was new in town and wanted to drum up business. i flew to FL (ticket cost me $110, one way, my sis and I drove back up to NC afterward) and got in on very short notice. the bill was $1000, total. after the surgery i was driven home and i slept/rested for the rest of the night. i drove myself the next day to the follow-up, about an hour drive. the doc had to smooth one of my flaps back down cuz i accidentally rubbed my eye. that was the most pain of the entire surgery, but it only felt like my eye was irritated. after a few days the pain was ALL gone and my vision got better over the next couple of weeks.
the only side effect i suffered was "starbursts". i think this is why (if i remember correctly): the area that's adjusted is a certain size, based on the size of your eye. your pupils dialate in the dark, and in some cases the pupil gets bigger than the spot on your eye that was adjusted, causing slight starbursting. at first it was a regular occurence, but now it happens rarely. it didn't really effect my vision. everything but the starbursts is perfectly clear. oh-the starbursts i'm talking about occur around lights. it was worse when my eyes were dry, so i just kept some visine around, and it wasn't a problem
as for being a good candidate, i'm 26 now, and had the surgery 2 years ago. i'd checked into rk and lasik a few times, but the docs told me my vision had to be stable for it to be effective. i started wearing glasses for myopia (i think that was it, nearsightedness) when i was 10, and my vision got progressively worse until i was about 17. i started wearing contacts at 13. after that it changed only slightly for a couple of years, then it didn't change at all.