LASIK
WARNING: Those of you planning on getting LASIK may not want to read (Liza).
Today was the big day. Since my surgery wasn't scheduled until 230, I went to work for half a day. Rich picked me up from work and took me to 1199 Bush Street, where my life would change forever.
The night before, I read all the material that the doctor gave me to prepare for the surgery. If you are planning on getting it done, here's a tip. DO NOT READ IT THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR SURGERY. There was a packet that describes what to expect and all the things that could go wrong. My favorite quote was "Although none of our patients have become blind from the procedure, YOU can be the FIRST to go blind." Every 5 minutes, I kept on blurting out, I don't want to go through with it. I barely slept and literally woke up every hour.
I didn't think about it much during the day and was actually ok when I got to the office. I opted for the valium anyway. I was so relaxed that I actually fell asleep on the chair waiting for the doctor to come in (which was less than 5 minutes).
After some numbing drops, they put a clamp on my eye to keep it open. At that moment, my body tensed up like I've never known it to before. The noises were a lot to handle and everything I read from the night before just kept coming back to me.
But I knew I was in good hands. Dr. Goodman was given several "Best Doctor" awards by his peers and other acclaimed organizations.
Every time they put numbing drops in my eye, it sounded like it was sizzling. Then they cut my cornea. It was hard to see what the instrument actually looked like since it was so up close and personal. But I imagine it looking like the circular cutter that people use for scrapbooking. Others that have gotten the surgery and most of the articles I read said it would just felt like pressure on your eyeball. I beg to differ.
It stung! It felt like someone squeezed a lemon in my eye. But since it wasn't a lemon and I knew what they were doing at that moment, I panicked for a bit. The stinging sensation quickly went away. I can't imagine how I would have been without the valium.
During the surgery, you are supposed to stare at the little red dot. I didn't do a very good job with my right eye. The doctor harshly reminded me several times to keep staring at the dot. I thought I was but maybe I was just super nervous. At one point, everything blacks out for 10 seconds. It's a weird sensation but not so scary since I was prepared for it.
Then they did the next eye. Since I knew what to expect, I was a little more relaxed. But I still think I flinched when they cut my cornea. They actually had to tell me to stop squeezing my eyes. I guess I was trying to wince but couldn't really since I had the eye clamp on.
After 10 minutes, it was all over. Thank you God. I'm not blind. After a quick check of my eyes, they sent me off with my Ray Charles glasses and post-op instructions.
Rich was actually watching the whole procedure in a monitor in the waiting room. I didn't realize they had monitors. I wanted to see what I just went through, so we stayed to watch the next patient. I am so glad that I didn't see it before I went in. I think it would have made it worse!
The eye clamp looked kind of like an eyelash curler except it goes in underneath your lids. And the way the eyeball looks after the flap is open is like frosted glass....amazing.
It may sound like such a horrible thing to go through but it really wasn't that bad. I would do it again in a heartbeat! I can't wait to see what my new eyes can do for me!
Today was the big day. Since my surgery wasn't scheduled until 230, I went to work for half a day. Rich picked me up from work and took me to 1199 Bush Street, where my life would change forever.
The night before, I read all the material that the doctor gave me to prepare for the surgery. If you are planning on getting it done, here's a tip. DO NOT READ IT THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR SURGERY. There was a packet that describes what to expect and all the things that could go wrong. My favorite quote was "Although none of our patients have become blind from the procedure, YOU can be the FIRST to go blind." Every 5 minutes, I kept on blurting out, I don't want to go through with it. I barely slept and literally woke up every hour.
I didn't think about it much during the day and was actually ok when I got to the office. I opted for the valium anyway. I was so relaxed that I actually fell asleep on the chair waiting for the doctor to come in (which was less than 5 minutes).
After some numbing drops, they put a clamp on my eye to keep it open. At that moment, my body tensed up like I've never known it to before. The noises were a lot to handle and everything I read from the night before just kept coming back to me.
But I knew I was in good hands. Dr. Goodman was given several "Best Doctor" awards by his peers and other acclaimed organizations.
Every time they put numbing drops in my eye, it sounded like it was sizzling. Then they cut my cornea. It was hard to see what the instrument actually looked like since it was so up close and personal. But I imagine it looking like the circular cutter that people use for scrapbooking. Others that have gotten the surgery and most of the articles I read said it would just felt like pressure on your eyeball. I beg to differ.
It stung! It felt like someone squeezed a lemon in my eye. But since it wasn't a lemon and I knew what they were doing at that moment, I panicked for a bit. The stinging sensation quickly went away. I can't imagine how I would have been without the valium.
During the surgery, you are supposed to stare at the little red dot. I didn't do a very good job with my right eye. The doctor harshly reminded me several times to keep staring at the dot. I thought I was but maybe I was just super nervous. At one point, everything blacks out for 10 seconds. It's a weird sensation but not so scary since I was prepared for it.
Then they did the next eye. Since I knew what to expect, I was a little more relaxed. But I still think I flinched when they cut my cornea. They actually had to tell me to stop squeezing my eyes. I guess I was trying to wince but couldn't really since I had the eye clamp on.
After 10 minutes, it was all over. Thank you God. I'm not blind. After a quick check of my eyes, they sent me off with my Ray Charles glasses and post-op instructions.
Rich was actually watching the whole procedure in a monitor in the waiting room. I didn't realize they had monitors. I wanted to see what I just went through, so we stayed to watch the next patient. I am so glad that I didn't see it before I went in. I think it would have made it worse!
The eye clamp looked kind of like an eyelash curler except it goes in underneath your lids. And the way the eyeball looks after the flap is open is like frosted glass....amazing.
It may sound like such a horrible thing to go through but it really wasn't that bad. I would do it again in a heartbeat! I can't wait to see what my new eyes can do for me!
posted by Mur at 10:20 PM
4 Comments:
oooh that sounds gross and scary! i've thought about it but i'm still scared to do it!!
Congrats on your new eyes! I think about LASIK all the time, but am too chicken...! I'm more scared about the clamp going under my eyelids than anything else!
When I had mine done I just went in with a blank slate. It wasn't until the procedure began that I realized what they were really doing to me and my eyes. I'm still more than happy that I had it done and recommend it to all who could use the procedure. Congrats. Don't rub!
You ladies should totally do it. It's a whole new world.
Bev, it beats putting in hard contact lenses on.
M, they put a ton of numbing drops in your eye before they put the clamp on. It's not so bad.
John, I'm going to recommend to everyone now!
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