LASIK

     Those of you who know me personally know that I have been in the "eye business" for 7 years now and you know I'm kind of passionate about eye health. I started as an optician selling glasses and prescription lenses. I always tried to help patients order frames that suited their lifestyle and genuinely looked good on them. I also made an effort to order prescription lenses that would last and that were the best combination of materials and coatings for their needs, specific prescription and budget. After that, I began working for an ophthalmologist learning all about the medical side of the eye care industry. I have seen more infections, abrasions and injuries than you want to know, many of which were 100% preventable. I have also had the chance to assist in procedures and observe surgeries.

And on Thursday I had LASIK.



     One of the main reasons I looked into getting LASIK was because I knew if the doctor said he would do my surgery, it was because he truly believed we would have a good result. There are many instances of LASIK "going bad" and many different reasons why that could happen. If the patient has a thin cornea, their pupils dilate too large in a dark room or the patient has dry eyes it can make a good LASIK result more difficult. I knew the margin of error and where I fall on the scale and I did my research. I looked up videos of people who claimed to have a bad result and in each case I could reference why that might have happened and why I shouldn't have that problem. But you know what?


I was still nervous.


     Do you ever find yourself in a situation where you know too much? Yeah, that's where I was at. I was honestly not worried about the procedure itself. I knew if I just made it into the building, I'd be fine. Once there, I would be taken care of. I'd get some relaxation pills, anesthetic eye drops and the whole thing would be a blur by the time I went home. My mom was even staying for a few days to take care of me.

     But it was the "after I go home" part that I was most nervous about. The first day I slept a lot, which was good, but I'm supposed to go a week without touching my eyes or wearing eye makeup. Oh the horror! I'm less worried about the lack of eye makeup and more worried about the no-touching part. You don't realize how much you touch your eyes until you start thinking about not touching your eyes. It's madness. Apparently my face is not clean until I've rubbed my eyes about a bazillion times. I've been very good so far but I feel like I'm going to need those little mittens they give babies at the hospital so they don't scratch their faces.

     It's worth it though. I'm so excited to be able to do my makeup without having to stop to put contacts in or wait until I'm done before I can put my glasses on and see how it turned out. I'm so excited to go camping and traveling and only need sunglasses. After wearing glasses for 17 years, and contacts only the last 6, the idea of not bothering with either is liberating. I still remember turning thirteen and getting my first pair of glasses. I hated wearing them. And now, for the most part, I don't have to. At my 1-day post op on Friday I was 20/20 with both eyes. I still have a little residual astigmatism in my right eye but my left eye is perfect. No correction needed at all. If my right eye doesn't heal away that little bit of astigmatism I'll have the option of getting glasses for night driving if I want them but honestly, I doubt I'll wear them during the day.

     I'm really glad I chose to have LASIK. It went unbelievably easy and I haven't had any trouble so far. I'm excited to get back to playing with makeup again but I want to wait until my cornea is healed enough that I won't risk damaging anything. If any of you are considering LASIK or any other procedure I strongly recommend as much research as possible. Look up complications and understand why they happen. Pick a surgeon you feel comfortable with, not someone who just wants your money. I knew my surgeon wasn't afraid to say no if he thought it wouldn't go well. I could have still found someone to do it if he wouldn't but why risk it? When it comes to your eyes you want to proceed carefully and always do your best to take care of them. After all, you only get two.