So, I'm having LASEK in a couple of weeks...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

…and I’m scared shitless.

I’ve had glasses for the last twenty years and contact lenses for the last fourteen, so between SCUBA diving, MMA fighting and spending every other night at my girlfriend’s, I’m bloody tired of it. Tired of groping after my glasses each morning, tired of my lenses rotating around every time I blink (I’m astigmatic), tired of seeing the tiny scrape I have in the right lens of my eye glasses every minute I have them on.

I’m not so scared of the operation itself, because it’s just a couple of minutes per eye, and I’ll probably be high as a kite by the time they start burning. The clinic I’m going to has a 95% full success rate (with 5% needing some adjusting), and no serious accidents, so I feel pretty secure.

I’m kind of scared about my night vision, which with all likelihood will worsen (become slower to adjust), and I’ll probably see halos (due to my large pupils), but I consider it a worthwhile sacrifice.

I’m really scared about the convalescence, during which I’ll probably be in some pain, and more or less invalid for a couple of days.

So, LASEK’d Dopers: what were your experiences of having friggin’ lasers shot into your eyes?

2

good luck with it. As a glasses wearer I will follow your experience with interest!

3

I had it done about 2 years ago here in Japan. I was nearsighted so wasn’t aware of my age-related far-sightedness kicking in, but they advised me (before the surgery) exactly what my vision would be when they finished (better than pre-surgery vision with glasses), and said that I would probably need glasses to see close-up, since LASIK (when I had it done, anyway) fixes astigmatism and near-sightedness, not farsightedness.

Over here, the procedure is pretty standardized–I went into this clinic that was run like an assembly line–rows and rows of machines, tons of people going through. They spent over 3 hours measuring my eyesight, checking and re-checking, then explaining the procedure which they scheduled for the following day.

The day of, I arrive and they re-check my eyes again (so they know how to program the laser). The actual lasering itself consists of 2 parts: first, they create the lid by lasering off the surface of the eyeball. They lock me in, hold my head still, and ask to hold my breath, I think. I can’t remember if they held my eyes open or not–I think so.

I thought it would all go dark–like I’d be blind for a few seconds–since they were searing my eyeball, but that wasn’t the case. The lights they had shining on me–and the light of the laser–were visible as bright blurs for the entire 10 seconds or so per eye.

Then I had to go sit and wait my turn for the second half of the procedure, where I guess they shave off however much of Mr. Cornea they’ve determined I need removed. I felt a bit woozy and asked to lie down for a bit. The second part of the procedure took about the same amount of time.

I taxi cabbed it home, wearing the big dorky black sunglasses that everyone else pouring out the building was wearing. I had to put drops in every few hours, and wear special glasses for the first night or so so I wouldn’t scratch my eye before it healed up. I was in minor pain that day, but by the next day I was fine.

It is nice to be able to see around the house, and of course being able to snowboard is wonderful. But I can’t see close-up so well, and the biggest bummer is night driving is all but impossible, due to the pupil dilation you mention. That kinda took me by surprise–it’s effing scary not being able to see clearly at night–but you seem okay with that.

If it’s any comfort, I had almost zero pain during the procedure, and very little afterwards. I was diligent about using my eye drops post-surgery. They say dry eye is a relatively common side effect, but I have been fine.

Good luck, don’t worry about the convalescence (taking off the day afterwards is a good idea tho), and let us know how it goes!

4

Oh goodness, there’s no reason to worry. I had lasik about 10 or so years ago (it was relatively new then) and went to the beach the next day. No pain at all. It took about 10 minutes and the only thing that was slightly icky was that I could smell the burning from the laser. I asked the Doctor about it and he said I was imagining things but I don’t think so. IIRC I had to wear a mask the first day and overnight but really, it didn’t hurt. I think I took a couple of Valium before but that was it.

You’ll be delighted with the results.

5

Ah, I’m having LASEK though (note the E) due to my cornea being too thin for LASIK. The difference is that they burn straight into the cornea after removing the epithelium instead of cutting a flap and burning beneath that. The result is that healing takes a few days longer.

Wait, how bad is it? I was figuring I’d have to sit in the car for a bit and let my eyes adjust, but you can’t drive at night at all? You’re blind in a dark room?

I’ve been told to expect the smell of burning keratin, i.e. burning hair.

Thanks, I hope so.

6

I had Lasik about seven or so years ago. They did a lot of counseling, measuring and testing in a couple of appointments prior to the lasering so they could be precise, which was good. I opted for the hit of Valium right before. The lasering went fine. The doctor told me to focus on a point of light and hold my breath. It did not take long. They did prop open my eyelids and yes, there is a definite burning smell (I knew about it beforehand so it didn’t freak me out). I was fine after, but my daughter drove me home, mostly because of the Valium. I went back to work the next day.

A colleague had Lasik several days after mine and he experienced some difficulty with dry, red eyes (I don’t remember why), but even he was just fine in a couple of days. Neither of us had any problems after that, and we both said we’d do it again in a skinny minute.

7

I had it done about 3 years ago. The clinic used Wavefront lasik with a laser scalpel. I went from unable to function without glasses to 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other.

The clinic I used didn’t use valium but a baby dose of atavan (same difference I suppose), with one before the surgery and one to go for later in the day to help you get some sleep. It didn’t make you high as a kite at all, it just calmed the nerves a little.

I do have halos but they’ve gone down or became less noticeable in the last 2 years.

Simple, easy and bloody expensive for a 20 minute ordeal. I’m glad I did it.

8

I had PRK which is basically the same thing except the surface is removed with a solvent of some sort.

I had no noticeable decrease in night vision or haloing. The only problem I had was that I developed a mild astigmatism, I was only nearsighted before it, right after the surgery. The ophthalmologist said it was too mild to be reliably treatable and that many people develop similar issues but don’t even notice them.

I found it smelled pretty much exactly like teeth being drilled; or lasered for that matter.

I had no pain at all during or after the surgery. By far the worst part was having to take like 30 eyedrops a day for the first few weeks and then the slowly decreasing amounts of drops after that all the way up to 4 months afterwards. The ophthalmologist said most of the drops weren’t even necessary with the modern laser techniques but they keep having their patients use them “just in case”.

ETA:

All they did where I went was numbing eye-drops. Probably could have used something calming. I was literally shaking with nerves while on the table.

9

I had it done a few years ago, and I love the results! I had some minor halos the first two weeks but they completely disappeared (looked like “dirty contacts” halos, mostly). No decrease in night vision at all. Dry eyes for a week or so too, but I just used drops (Systane, I think).

No dope, nothing- just numbing eyedrops as stated above. When I sat up after the surgery and could see the clock on the wall across the room, I almost cried.

I don’t remember smelling anything at all, and it was quick and completely painless- it wasn’t even really that wierd once he started the actual procedure.

Not gross, maybe a bit scary but my surgeon was great and I have ZERO regrets. Worth every penny too, and my surgeon is EXPENSIVE.

10

I had LASIK about four years ago and count it as one of the best things I’ve ever done. I went home afterwards and went to sleep (as suggested) and that night and the next night wore goofy goggles while sleeping.

I don’t have a night blindness as some describe, but there is a certain discomfort now driving at night when it is raining. I do it around town, but would not want to if I didn’t know where I was going. I ride my bike at night (sometimes in the rain) without the same…fuzziness, so I don’t know if it has something to do with the windshield or I’m just weird.

edit to add: Moirai, I did the same thing with the clock. I wonder if they do that just to get to us!

11

I think it’s a great initial test that things went according to plan. I read an eye chart a few minutes later as well, before putting in thick drops and donning my steam punk super hero googles (designed to keep your eyes very moist for the first few hours).

I didn’t accept the generous offer of post-op Valium to help me with my nap (Homey don’t play dat), but I did take a short nap that afternoon (they want to to keep your eyes closed as much as possible). When I woke up, I looked out the window and all the trees had LEAVES. Like, little individual ones. Holy crap! I called my brother and he laughed and said to wait until the next morning, when I woke up and not only could see the bedside clock clearly without fumbling for glasses, but even the little one on the VCR across the room! :cool:

12

Thanks guys, I’m feeling a bit better about it now :slight_smile: I bet it’ll kick ass…if nothing else, I get to guilt the girlfriend into making me sammiches for a day or so.

I’ll be back to report the results (if they’re in braille, you’ll know what happened).

13

Hey all. So tomorrow they fire friggin’ lasers into my eyes. Would somebody write a eulogy if I’m not back in a week? :slight_smile:

14

I had a consultation a while back, and as much as I’d love to have it done, I just can’t justify the cost. They quoted me $4600 for everything.
For everyone who has had it done, does that seem high? I’ve wondered if I should check with another doctor, in case this guy just happens to be more expensive than most.

15

Best money I ever spent. Ever. On anything.

I had it done about 5-6 years ago or so, and I just noticed the other night that my night vision is completely back to normal. It has been for quite a while; I just now noticed it. When my eyes healed originally, I still had some starburst effects that lasted for a long time. All gone now.

16

Hard to say if that’s high. It depends on where you are and if your insurance covers any, etc. My health insurance covered a portion - I don’t remember how much, but not much - and I still had to pay $1,800, but that was seven or eight years ago. And I thought that was money well spent. But if you’re concerned, there must be other places you can visit and compare costs/services.

17

What Smeghead said. Other than marrying my husband, best decision I ever made and best money I ever spent. I was terrified and told them so; they reassured me they would hold my hands and give me some valium. They did not hold my hands and the valium came about three minutes before the procedure. If you’re getting a tranquilizer, make sure it has adequate time to work! But awesome results!

18

another thumbs up for lasik/lasek.

i had the lasik done about ten years ago. totally worth the expense. best thing i ever did for myself other than quitting smoking.

opted to give up close-up vision to gain worlds-better distance vision, which was horrible. much prefer having the long vision and non-scrip reader glasses take care of my close-up needs. i have a dozen pair scattered throughout the house, car, and work.

it’s wonderful not to need them to go watch a movie in a theater or the tv at home, or to drive a car. night vision is also fine.

the only thing i’ve even noticed is slightly increased light sensitivity, although i was pretty light-sensitive before surgery. i have amber driving glasses for rainy weather, smoked lenses for overcast days, and regular dark glasses for sunny conditions.

19

Good luck on your upcoming operation.

I had lasik five years ago, and it’s been a huge quality of life experience. During the recovery phase I was significantly far-sighted, but have regained nearly all of my close vision (and don’t need a book right at my nose to read anymore). I have not noticed significant degradation of low light vision - I can still hike around just fine on a cloudless night.

I was extremely jittery about any pressure on my eyes for several years following the procedure, mostly psychological. I’d recommend toning down the MMA for a bit, and wear headgear for sparring.

And welcome to the land of the sighted.

Oh, and I completely agree with Smeghead… lasik is a steal at any price.

20

Good luck!

I have been reluctant - even though good eyesight would be huge. But I have had many surgeries the last few years and the thought of more - even minor ones - is not something I care for.