Just had Intralase with Allegretto Wave done

[purpleGORILLA]

I just can't express the joy of being glasses or contacts free. I just had it done on Feb 1, 2008. Now my vision is 20/20 in both eyes. Before my eyes were -6 diopter on both eyes with slight astigmatism on left but not bad enough where I am required to wear hard contacts. My HOA is very low with .08 on right and .1 on left. I have been wearing soft contacts for 20 yrs.

The next day, I was able to go back to work and drive. I am having halos and glare at night but gradually getting better. Still on Prednisolone and Xymax. Eyes are a little dry if I am on the computer a lot. Overall, I still can't believe I have put it off for so long. I was contemplating of lasik for the past 10 yrs. Finally with this site and several other sites, I was more informed.

[Chow Yun Fat]

Good for you! It's alright that you put it off because the Allegretto is fairly new in the states. It's better now than it is 10 years ago.

[purpleGORILLA]

Yeah, I guess you can look at it that way. But then you can always look at if I wait another 10 yrs, the technology would be even better than today... :lol:

Anyways, I am almost on my 2nd week of lasik. Everything is getting almost back to normal. Night vision is about 95-98% of what it was before the surgery. Not too much halo, if there aren't I can't really tell the different.

However I am waking up with dry eyes. The first thing I do when I get up is drop couple of eye drops in each eyes otherwise it would feel burning.

[purpleGORILLA]

Just an update on my lasik. It has been almost 3 months post op. I am still having dry eyes. But yesterday was the first time I woke up in the morning without immediately grabbing for my eye drops. I usually would leave couple of tubes near the nightstand. Throughout the day, I don't have too much of problem. If I get bored and think about my eyes, then I would put couple of drops into each eyes. If not, I can go on the whole day without.

As for my vision, it hasn't fluctuate since the day of operation. I still get a little glare at nite..But only in really dimly lit enviroment. I have a reef tank and would occasionally go down during the night to check on the fish. Yeah, its a weird hobby obsession.

[ptmccain]

Gorilla, has your MD suggested that you put in Genteal PM ointment in both eyes before you go to bed? That's made a big difference for me. That, with Restasis, and I do not put in any eye drops anymore during the day, and I'm about six weeks out from my procedure.

[purpleGORILLA]

I haven't been back to him since the 1 week post op. Is the Genteal PM ointment a prescription drug? IF so I will inquire him about if. If it is over the counter, I can check at local drugstore.

[catnmus]

I am using the Genteal GEL, the severe dry eye treatment that is "preservative-free on contact". This is not prescription. My optometrist (co-managing my epi-lasik) said that this would be better than ointments with preservatives. But if you can't find it or can't tolerate it, anything is better than "nothing" -don't just let it stay dry.

I've only used the Genteal gel one night (and a couple times during the day) and so far, I LOVE it. Takes a few minutes to distribute the goo, but it's worth it. Refresh Celluvisc is thinner, but it caused a LOT of crustiness for me (but I know people that loved that, too - go figure).

[purpleGORILLA]

Sweet...Gonna go find some today to try out.

[catnmus]

You should check with your doctor first... to see if there's been enough time since your surgery that you can use something that has preservatives in it... Plus it's a gel, so, if you had standard Lasik and a flap and all that, your doc might advise you to wait longer before using a thick gel. (I had epi-lasik - no flap.... so the preservative is what my doc was concerned about)