Lasik, so far so goodMay 05 '06 (Updated May 10 '06) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Do your homework and find a great doctor, but don't be afraid -- it's really amazing.
I am writing this less than 24 hours after my lasik surgery, so this is not a totally informed review, so far my experience has been really good. I won't go through all the details of the procedure itself, since they are really accurately portrayed in the other reviews on this thread (and thanks to everyone who wrote those, they were really helpful to me). I was nearsighted to the tune of 6.75 in my left eye and 3.75 with astigmatism in my right. I got Custom Lasik in my right eye (the thing where they use the Wavefront machine) and regular lasik in my left, as they undercorrected my left to give me Monovision. Monovision is a choice you can make to have fully corrected distance vision in one eye (for me that's my right) and undercorrected vision in the other eye for reading (that's my left). My contacts were doing this for me to some extent already, but according to my surgeon this should put off having to get reading glasses until I am at least 60 if not longer (I'm 44). So...the procedure went along the lines so well-described in the other reviews. I was very, very nervous, but it honestly did not hurt at all. I was pretty freaked out right afterwards, because my vision, while somewhat clearer, was extremely hazy and still quite blurry -- I could only read the second line on the eye chart. My surgeon assured me this was totally normal, to go home and sleep, and that probably by the evening and definitely by the morning I would see a dramatic difference. I went home and made myself take a nap, and by 6pm (I had surgery at 1:30) it was so much better. The right eye was totally clear. The left eye was blurry, but since it was intentionally undercorrected I was prepared for that. My eyes still felt fine -- no burning or other sensations. And this morning -- well, it is like a miracle. I've had glasses and contacts my whole life and this is the first morning I've ever woken up with the room not looking like an Impressionist painting. I went back this morning for my post-op check-up, and I am 20/25 on the right, 20/80 in the left (which is it supposed to be so I can read), 20/25 with both eyes together, and I can read the smallest line on the hand eye chart they give you to check reading. My eyes feel a little tiny bit irritated but that is it. Obviously I am seeing well enough to be on the computer. I know there are lots of horror stories about Lasik, and i do think you have to be vigilant about finding a good doctor (mine specializes in Lasik only), and these are definitely early days for me, but as I said, it's like a miracle. Day 6: here is a little more info that I am adding in response to a request from one of the comments. Hope it is helpful... More specifics: My eye doctor had been telling me for a while that I was a good Lasik candidate, and when I finally decided to find out more, he referred me to a surgeon that specializes in this. I went for a consultation where the surgeon measured my eyes on about 5 different machines, including the new "wavefront" analyzer that basically makes a 3-d map of your eye from the back to the front. We spoke about what was important to me with my vision (I am 44 and do a lot of reading at work, and didn't want to get reading glasses) and he explained that he could perform the procedure so that one eye would be completely corrected to work for distance and the other would be undercorrected to work for reading (meaning this eye is a little blurry when I look at far objects, but clear when I read), and the brain figures out which one to make dominant when you are doing specific things. Sounds wild, but it does work -- my eye doctor had already been doing a version of this with my contacts. So after meeting with the surgeon I made an appointment for 2 weeks later. I had to stop wearing my contacts 2 weeks in advance (they can subtly change the shape of your eyeball) and I had to put drops in my eyes for two weeks in advance. The day of the surgery went like this. I arrived, and they put antibiotic drops in my eyes. They explained the post-op care, and then they put numbing drops in my eyes. They checked my eyes once more on the machines so that the laser had the most up to date information. Then I went into the laser room. I will admit, I was incredibly nervous. You lay down on a table and they put these kind of "sandbag" things on either side of your head to keep it steady. They put a net on your hair, and wipe your eyelids with iodine. Then they covered over my left eye with a patch, and started work on my right eye. They taped my eyelids down (doesn't hurt) and put this round metal device on my eye to keep my eyelids open -- it surrounds your eye and basically immobilizes it (also doesn't hurt). Then they put a "pressure ring) on your eye -- it basically feels like something is pushing on your eye, and your vision greys out. Scary but I knew it was coming and the doctor was telling me what to expect the whole time. Then he said he was "making some marks" on my eye, but he was really cutting the very thin flap on my cornea to get to where the laser needed to go (sounds AWFUL but I didn't feel a thing). Then the pressure ring came off and I was looking at a little blurry orange light. They told me the laser was coming on, and the light started to flash and I heard a clicking noise. Still no pain, lasted about 30 seconds. Then the doctor flushed my eye with water, and brushed back down the flap. Then the whole process was repeated on the other eye. Start to finish it took about 10 minutes. Then I sat up. Things were definitely clearer, but VERY hazy and still blurry, which they promised me was normal. He examined my eyes, said they looked perfect. I could read the second line down on the eye chart (the second biggest letters) which he said was good and normal. They taped plastic shields over my eyes, told me not to touch them and not to take a shower, and to go home, have a nap, and come back in the morning. By that evening I could see very clearly (I peeked under the shields!) and the next morning when I went back I was 20/25 in the right eye, 20/80 in the left (the one for reading) and 20/25 with both eyes together (showing that my brain has already figured out how to make the right eye dominant for vision). Over the next four days (I am on day 4 post-op) I have been putting in drops literally every hour I am awake -- as per the directions, which I am following carefully. There has been no pain at all. My eyes feel a little sticky or dry from time to time, but I think that is to be expected in these early days. I can see slight halos/fuzziness around some car lights (not all, I guess it depends on the brand of headlights!), and I think in time that goes away somewhat to totally. Tomorrow I go off the antibiotic drops and just am doing the moisture drops every 2 hours. So all in all, I think it has gone very well. For someone who has worn glasses and contacts since I was 7 years old, this is really extraordinary, and once I get past this initial post-op phase I think I will be asking myself why I waited so long. My husband did this 7 years ago and has been thrilled with the results. Good luck to you and let me know if I can tell you anything else!  |
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