Laser Eyes

I haven't posted for a while. You may have been wondering what has happened to me; well, for the end of June it was 24/7 work, and after that I couldn't see.

Around the end of June I wandered past Optical Express and saw the signs about laser eye surgery. I thought "Hmm, I wonder if I am suitable", so I wandered in to ask for some more information. They sat me down, ran all sorts of tests, and surprise, I was suitable! And I found myself booked in for the operation the next week.

I was booked in to have LASIK, with the 24-48 hour recovery, but when the day arrived, they told me that actually I wasn't suitable for that after all. Something about symmetrical eyes? Anyway, I wasn't suitable for it, and that was that.

However, the surgeon said I could still have LASEK - which is just like LASIK, only that involves cutting a flap in your eye and lifting it up to laser underneath, and LASEK involves them pouring acid on your eyeball to dissolve the front layer, which they then scrape off with a scraper before burning your eyes with the laser, and then they put a plastic contact lense "bandage" over the top for half a week for it to heal. Oh yes, recovery is 5-7 days, and it might be a "little more uncomfortable".

So I laid down under the machine and let them get on with it. Overall the surgery was quick and painless - thankfully they got the anaesthetic dose right, unlike many scare stories on the internet. I did get a bit freaked out by the sound of the laser and the smell of burning eye, and it didn't help that halfway through I realised I'd accidentally been looking around instead of keeping my eyes "steady and aimed at the light". Heh.

When I stood up, things were a bit bright, a bit blurry, but I could see. It was miraculous. They gave me some drops, some instructions and I wandered off home.

Oh yes, and did I mention? LASEK might be a "little more uncomfortable". Cue three days of agony. I don't say that lightly - it was as if someone had melted the front of my eyeballs with acid, scraped off the dead cells, burnt my corneas with lasers, and then stuck great big plastic things on top.

Add to that the blurriness and sensitivity to light, getting anything done on the computer was impossible. I had no choice but to take extra time off, sitting in a darkened room.

Things started to get a bit more comfortable once the lenses came out, but things still aren't back to normal yet; my eyes are still healing, so things can still be a bit blurry or uncomfortable depending on when I last put my drops in. But I can drive again, and at its best I can see better than 20:20, so things are promising.

Would I recommend it? Well, everyone recommends LASIK - you can see perfectly as soon as you stand up from the operating table, and apart from feeling like you've got some grit in your eye, it's generally pain-free. This has not been my experience with LASEK, so although I think I'd recommend it, I don't know what the end result will be, so... ask me again in another few weeks!

Comments

Pie

What? I thought the point of laser eye surgery was that you have laser beams installed in your eyes so you can zap people? How boring.

radiac

I was most disappointed when the surgeon said I wasn't going to be able to scan barcodes or etch bacon. Almost canceled it all right then.

Swannie

Wow. I wasn't expecting that.

Congrats, I think, on such a bold move. I'm still pondering about it. I think I'll stick with glasses/contacts combo for a few more years... for now.

Hope everything is still going well, and continues to heal up nicely.

radiac

Thanks! Today is the start of the fourth week after the op, and it's still getting better every day, things are looking good! Everything's in focus most of the day now, and they're not uncomfortable often, just a bit dry some evenings. More updates will follow, but it's looking very promising. Heh, literally.

Hope you're enjoying your trip - I keep an eye on your facebook status, sounds like it's been pretty good so far!

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