Lasik – Corrective Eye Surgery
Have you ever had one of those things that you think is going to be so scary and hard and painful that you refuse to do it? Then once you do actually go and do it you think to yourself “That was so incredibly easy, what was my problem, and why didn’t I do that sooner?” For me that was Lasik.
I got my first pair of glasses when I was in 2nd grade. From then on it was glasses or contacts almost every day through high school. Although most days I refused to wear either. I hated the way I looked in my glasses and the contacts that I had to wear were so uncomfortable. When I was in college and was forced to sit in the back of huge auditoriums for lectures (mainly because I was always late) I realized that I actually had to wear these things. At that point wearing glasses or contacts wasn’t too bad. It was when I had kids that I realized what an inconvenience they really were.
Only in the fog of motherhood are you awoken in the middle of the night with crazy requests of feedings, diaper changes, water and medicine. All things that I quickly learned I needed my glasses for, but where were they. I could never seem to keep track of them. Then once you seem to have control over your night time routines, you baby seems to think that those glasses on your face are there for them to grab and pull. They are obviously a toy that you have placed on your face just for them.
That is when you feel you need to start wearing your contacts everyday, but who has time for that. Toddlers don’t understand that you need to put little suction cups on your eyes before you can function for the day. They want their toast now!! Then, by the end of the day your eyes are dried out to the point that you cant enjoy looking at Dwayne Johnson in “Ballers.” You have to go take the suction cups off your eyes now.
“The entire procedure took 6 minutes!?!?!”
I have always wanted to have Lasik done, but completely feared the process. I couldn’t bear the thought of someone cutting my eye open while I was awake and then having to stare at a bright light for minutes on end. What if my eye moved? What if I freaked out in the middle of it? This all seemed like something I had seen in an alien abduction movie when I was a kid and I wanted nothing to do with it.
Then a close friend of mine had it done and I got to hear what it was really like. The way he described the process, it seemed so easy. He told me that the entire procedure took 6 minutes. 6 MINUTES!?!?! That was from the moment he walked into the operating room to the moment he walked out. From what he told me it didn’t seem so bad, so I thought I would check it out for myself. That day I made an appointment for a consultation.
At the consultation they did a full eye examine to see if I was a candidate and walked me through the process of the procedure. They answered all of my questions and were not pushy at all. I found out I was a candidate and decided to go for it.
THE PROCEDURE
The day of I was a bit nervous, I hadn’t been able to wear my contacts for 10 days, so I was completely over my glasses and ready to toss them. At the beginning of my appointment they redid my eye exam just to make sure that they had my prescription 100% correct, and gave me a little bit of Valium just to help calm the nerves.
From there I was walked across the hall to the operating room. I had the option to keeps the blinds open so everyone could watch or close them for more privacy. My husband really wanted to watch it, so we left them open. (He actually took video of the whole thing which is kinda cool.) I laid down on the chair. First thing they did was drown my eyes in numbing drops to ensure that there was absolutely no pain during the procedure.
They put the piece around my right eye to keep it open (I have no idea what that is called). Then they place a piece of machinery on that eye. There was a small light that I could see. This was the machine that cuts a small slit in your eye that they open to be able to do the Lasik. They let me know that it was going to go completely dark. That was the piece suctioning my eye so that it couldn’t move while the flap was being cut with a laser. This entire process took about 15 seconds, which they counted down for me.
Then they moved that machine and brought over the laser. During this time they are putting more numbing drops in and making sure that the flap is opened properly. I couldn’t feel a thing and everything just looked blurry. I could not tell that they were moving around a flap of my eye. The only reason I really know what they were doing is because they told me what was going to happen and my husband’s video of it that I have watched.
Now that they laser was in place they asked me to look at the light. Again everything was so blurry that it really didn’t bother me and didn’t feel too bright. They had let me know before the procedure that I was going to need about 15-20 seconds of the laser to correct my eye sight (the amount of time needed for this step is dependent on your eye sight. Mine was really bad and they said that the longest is around 20 seconds).
All I had to do was lay there. They counted down the seconds so that I knew exactly how much longer I had to go and honestly it was so fast. I don’t think that it actually took the full 20 seconds. The only thing that was odd about this step was that you could smell a burning scent. It wasn’t awful, but something that you don’t experience very often.
Then it was time to repeat on the other eye. After they finished they walked me over to their normal machine that they use to look at your eye. Made sure that everything was back in place and walked you out. The entire thing for me was less than 5 minutes.
THE RECOVERY
My husband was there to drive me home as I could not drive myself. Immediately I could tell that my sight was better. Everything was very bright. They had given me sunglasses to wear which did help a little bit, but it was still too bright to look around. I just kept my eyes closed with the glasses on and my hands over the glasses.
They also gave me a bottle of numbing drops to use every few minutes or as needed for the next few hours as your eyes will start to sting if those drops wear off. We had to pick up our kids on the way home from my procedure so I had to put those drops in a few times in the car. This was the most uncomfortable part because it was so bright outside that I didn’t want to open my eyes for the drops, but I managed to get them in there.
Once I was in my house with the blinds closed I was able to open my eyes. I had a bite to eat and was amazed as I was sitting there that I could read the clock across the room. The doctor advised that I just go to sleep for a few hours after the procedure to allow my eyes to rest and heal as quickly as possible and luckily the Valium helped with this part. So up to my room I went.
All the blinds and curtains closed as my eyes were super sensitive to light any time that I would wake up. My eye drops were right next to me so that when I would wake up I could throw those in real quick and go back to sleep. I was able to sleep for about 4 ½ hours.
By this time I was able to eat some dinner, hang with my kids and watch some TV. I could see nearly perfectly and it was almost as if nothing had happened. I no longer needed the numbing drops. You are require to use a few other drops for about a week after the procedure. I can’t remember exactly what they were, but I believe and antibiotic as well as liquid tears as the lubrication that helps with the healing process.
LIFE AFTER LASIK
The next morning I had a follow up appointment to check where my eye sight was. My sight had gone from 20/100 to 20/15 in less than 24 hours. I was, and still am, in disbelief. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to wake up in the morning and be able to see the clock on my night stand. To not have to grab my glasses first thing in the morning or worry about getting my contacts in. Gone are the days of stressing over whether I packed saline solution for a trip or losing a contact while swimming or working out.
“My sight had gone from 20/100 to 20/15 in less than 24 hours”
I am so happy with the outcome of my Lasik and would recommend it to anyone who is thinking about having it done. My only regret is that I didn’t have it done earlier. It would have made life so much simpler in those early days with my babies. Having one less thing to worry about during that stage of life is so important. I would consider this to be one of my all-time top Housewife Hacks! Please let me know if you have any questions in regards to Lasik. Lasik can be scary to think about, but it was truly one of the easiest things I have done with one of the highest rewards. Happy Hacking!
Sella
September 13, 2017 at 8:53 pmThanks for sharing, my dad ever plan to have lasik on him but he still a bit worried about the effect after and to get lasik is very expensive.
keziah
September 14, 2017 at 6:12 pmI totally understand the worry, I was the same way.
Natalie
September 14, 2017 at 11:35 amSo glad it worked out for you! I don’t wear glasses but my hubby does and I’d love for him to get Lasik in the future.
keziah
September 14, 2017 at 6:13 pmOh you are so lucky! My husband has perfect eye sight and he was always pushing me to have it done. I kept telling him, you aren’t the one getting your eye cut open:) But I am so glad I did it. Such a time saver!
Bre Paulson
September 15, 2017 at 3:38 amI have worn glasses since the age of 5 and contacts since I was in 7th grade. I am SOOOO terribly nearsighted. I want Lasik so bad, but it freaks me out! Really interesting to hear your story, I might just have to suck it up because that is so amazing how fast it went and how well you can see now! Did your insurance cover any of the procedure?
keziah
September 16, 2017 at 3:37 amI would totally recommend it! So incredibly easy, and I am a big baby when it comes to this kind of stuff. My insurance did have some coverage for the procedure, but it was a very small percentage. And I had to forfeit any coverage in the future if I used it, so I opted to pay out of pocket for it. But definitely reach out to your insurance company , there could be some coverage there.
Laila Laurson
September 16, 2017 at 12:57 pmI have thought much about the Lasik surgery, but I have always been scared. I have heard that you could risk losing vision or making things worst. But my brother this past spring got his eyes done and everything turned out fine for him.
keziah
September 25, 2017 at 11:10 pmI was so scared too, until I walked into the office. They calmed all my nerves, and now I am so glad I did it:)
Stephanie Malcolm
September 17, 2017 at 7:23 pmI have always wondered about getting this done, as I have worn glasses for more than half of my life. I wonder if Blue Cross, Blue Shield covers any of these kinds of procedures.
keziah
September 25, 2017 at 11:11 pmContact them! They might:)