I want to get LASIK done on my eyes, so I went for the evaluation/‘pre-op’ check-out today @ UCLA. No problems, I’m qualified; let’s ‘flap n’ zap’. Only problem is there is absolutely No Way In Hell I’ll be able to sit still, not move my eye, or do something involuntarily (with my neck and/or hands when they get close to my eyes with Pointy Objects or Bright Flashing Lights. The Dr. says he has the latest software with an ‘eye tracker’, but I’m still scared to death.
And it’s strange; I’m not scared about something going wrong, just more scared about my vision going blurry, then gray, then out with crazy suction things and clockwork orange other things and … . . . .
So, is there any way to do this surgery with me completely out? I’d rather be put under and not know anything.
No, they won’t do it under general, as far as I’ve heard. Doctors for the most part prefer not to put people under general anesthesia, because it’s dangerous and there are lots of variables.
I went through the procedure…wow, almost a year ago now. I recounted my experiences in the thread Gettin’ my eyes lasered…. That thread includes a complete, blow-by-blow account of what the surgery is like. And, as I said in the account, if I had known before the procedure just how easy it is, I wouldn’t have been so worried beforehand.
Followup: One year after the surgery, my vision’s still just fine, and it’s superb not to have to worry about contacts or glasses anymore. I occasionally use moisturizing drops in my eyes right after I wake up, but I don’t need them at any other time. My right eye is still probably only around 20/40, which was kinda troubling, because it only narrowly passed the test when I renewed my driver’s license. But, I got to get a license that says “Restrictions: None”, so yay!
My friend Dr. Dan is the go-to guy for LASIK. When the inital op fucks up, he comes in to repair the work. And he just moved back to New York, so lucky you, sethdallob.
I have to say, you’re contemplating someone slicing up your eye, when you can’t even handle putting in contacts? Sheesh.
If you’re that worried about jerking around, ask for restraints. The doctor has definitely dealt with a fair amount of jerky people before. And if not, I wouldn’t be choosing that person as my doc.
I don’t think you need to worry. If I can do it, anyone can. I never did get used to putting contacts in my eyes (after a few months I went back to glasses), and the tiniest objects sting my eyes, even water hurts. But I did LASIK twice with no problems and no pain. Just look straight ahead and you’ll be fine. And as MT said, you can’t be put under. I’d figure it’s because your eyes may shift when they don’t want it to and you need to be awake to be able to focus on the laser.
I had mine done three years ago. No Valium. My doctor told me that they really can’t put anyone under general for this type of procedure because your eyes roll back in your head when you sleep, and they need to be able to see the iris, pupil, etc. There was a part during my surgery where I had to actually move my eye while the surgery was going on.
One concern that I’ve always had with eye surgery (other than build up of scar tissue) is the so called halo effect when driving at night. Has this been a problem for any of the “altered” dopers?
You can’t. It’s physically impossible to blink during this procedure. First of all, they need the eye to be dry. Secondly, they place a plastic brace (for lack of a better word) in your eye socket. A piece of plastic with a hole in the middle of it to allow the laser to go through. It fits snugly over the eye, holding the lid open. It’s not painful or uncomfortable. Just a little disconcerting.
This didn’t happen to me, though I understand it does happen from time to time. I only had to have one eye done, though.
Aha! Someone didn’t read my account of what the surgery’s like! tsk tsk…
Blinking cannot happen. Your eyes are held open with tape and a metal speculum, a little device with small blunt “hooks” that keeps the top and bottom eyelids from moving at all. You’re given so many drops of various kinds during the procedure that dryness isn’t an issue, so you don’t feel the need to blink.
Oh, believe me, my sister missed nothing by taking the Valium. She described the experience as, “knowing that you’re nervous, but not caring about it.”
When I was considering this procedure a couple of months ago I found a very good website with a detailed list of questions to ask your potential surgeon prior to the surgery. The list was about 50 questions long and included stuff like: do you use a new razor to slice the cornea on each eye (nice but not required)? How many surgeries have you done? What is the worst negative outcome you have had? Do you correct other peoples mistakes? Which ones? Stuff like that. Now I have mislaid the link and can’t find the site again. Anyone else know about this site? It was from some sort of Opthalmic (sp?) certification org. Otherwise if I can spot the hardcopy when I unpack all of our boxes I will post it here, maybe past the weekend.
[sub]My Bangkok surgeon flunked the test on a couple of points, so I will look again here in the US in January[/sub]
before. And if not, I wouldn’t be choosing that person as my doc.