LASIK: The Rundown

 I can see clearly now...

After 15 years of horrible vision, glasses, astigmatisms and contacts, I finally got LASIK last Thursday.  So far it is one of the best decisions I have ever made!  The whole idea of eye surgery is a little scary to me, since I can't imagine not being able to see, and a laser doing weird things to my eye does not sound like fun at all.  However, my father who is very eye shy got it a few years ago, and said it is quick and easy, so I figured I could do it!  Now, I'm not sure how much Valium they gave him, because I would never have described the experience as "kind of cool" like he did, but it really wasn't bad!  I thought I'd give you all a little rundown in case you are considering getting it done!

The first thing to know about the surgery is that it is quick.  Literally, in and out in under 10 minutes, and that is both eyes.  They give you heavy pain meds and numbing drops so you don't feel anything, and Valium so you don't care.  I have to say, I definitely still cared, but it took the edge off and I was never really scared.  I also had a great doctor who literally talked to me the whole time so I never worried about what was coming next.  The whole time there is a red light and you just have to stare at it while the laser does it's thing.  I'm going to be honest here, you can smell it.  I had heard you can smell your eyes burning and thought people were just trying to scare me, but it's true.  It just smells like burning rubber for a little while the laser is running.  Sounds so strange, but with the Valium I really wasn't put off by it.

After the procedure is the only time that it go unpleasant.  As the numbing drops wear off your eyes do sting and burn pretty badly.  Now, everyone is different, and no one I have spoken to remembers a lot of pain, so it might just be me!  But my eyes were really burning and opening them was very very painful.  Nothing crazy or to be scared about, but it's definitely unpleasant.  I just kept my eyes shut and took a nap when I got home like they recommended.  2 hours later I woke up and the pain was gone.  It is amazing how quickly eyes heal!  My vision was good but a little cloudy, and besides very mild dryness I didn't feel a thing.  By the time I woke up the next morning I could SEE.  Without anything.  I am still in awe about how weird it is! I tried on my glasses for a laugh and it blew my mind.  I was really blind! I still see halos around lights at night, but that goes away in the first few months.

After surgery you have to put antibiotic drops in your eyes 4x a day and artificial tears every few hours (even if you don't feel anything) for a few weeks.  No makeup for a week (sooo scary.  I am not one of those girls who can get away with this!) and no swimming for 2 weeks.  Otherwise your life can go right back to normal!  Light sensitivity is also a big thing, and I have had to wear my sunglasses pretty nonstop, otherwise my eyes ache a bit.  It made for fun nights out this past weekend since my boyfriend took his MCAT on Friday!  We had to go out, and since I look so scary without makeup and my eyes were bothered by the lights in the clubs, I just wore my sunglasses out and looked pretty badass if I do say so myself.

P.S. right after we took this picture a fight broke out behind us and someone got TAZED. Crazy Rochester.

All in all, I would definitely recommend the surgery to anyone! The few minutes of discomfort were more than worth it.  If you have any other questions about it feel free to e-mail me!