LASIK 2-19-2010

[neutron]

Hello! After thinking about it for the past 3-4 years or so I finally took the plunge and had IntraLASIK done yesterday. My wife had it done the week before and has had so far zero complications (The doctor even recognized me yesterday from my wife's procedure and told her during her post op yesterday that I would be fine just as long as I kept my eyes still). I am 29 years old (30 in June) and have worn glasses since I was 8, contacts since I was 15. My prescription was -5.0 in the left eye, -5.75 in the right eye. I had a consultation done at one of the leading LASIK surgeons in the Dallas area in 2007 when I was first really considering getting it done. The only thing that stopped me then was the high cost. This time at the same surgeon the cost was a lot better. My prescription hasn't changed at all in the past 3 years (they confirmed that yesterday before I had my surgery).

I did the new consultation the same day as the surgery yesterday. My corneas were 535 in size which I was told 500 was the absolute lowest they would go for either IntraLASIK or LASIK. I qualified for both of those and LASEK but I knew I wanted the all laser IntraLASIK. The experience was surreal. Since I was getting it done the same day they used less strength dilating drops for the consultation and used reverse dilation drops after that but before surgery. The reverse dilation drops made the vision in the right eye worse than my normal prescription and only slightly worse in the left eye, but both were back to normal by the time I was getting prepped for the surgery. My left pupil however was still partially dilated but I was told this wouldn't be a problem for the LASIK. The only complication that happened during the procedure was the suction ring wouldn't seal properly on either eye. It took them twice on my left eye and three times on my right eye. The doctor performing the procedure actually used the F word when it failed the second time on the right eye, but I knew it was only because he was frustrated. Everyone including him kept telling me how great I was doing. The suction rings pressure kind of hurt some but other than that I didn't feel a thing. I remember my vision going dark when he was lifting each flap. He did both flaps first, then did the resurfacing after that on both eyes. My vision was greatly improved the more he wet and smoothed the flaps. The whole time in the laser room was maybe 10-15 min or so, but due to the valium I lost track of time. When I was being walked out of that room to the exam room I remember my vision was already improved, just really cloudy. The doc said my corneas looked great and that everything looked nicely. I did have punctal plugs put in as I do have dry eye. After that on the way home the numbing drops were wearing off and all I wanted to go was go to sleep. This morning I woke up my vision was already a little better. My wife said my eyes were red though and when I looked I could tell the suction ring left a bit of red bruising, especially on the right eye. I was told this would go away in the next week or two. My post op I am at 20/20 in my left eye, 20/30 in my right with 20/20 using both. I was told the right eye should get even better. All I care about is 20/20. If I get 20/15 or so that will just be a plus. My wife is at 20/16 after one week. I do see the halo/starbursting at night but I had this some with contacts anyway. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to share my experience. So far everything is great!!

[LasikExpert]

Long posts about Lasik experiences are what we enjoy most! Please let us know of your progress.

[neutron]

Day 6: So far this week the bruising in my eyes has been getting much better. I keep continuing the Pred Forte and Zymar drops 4 times a day and also keep drops in my eyes every one to two hours. The vision in my right eye is still somewhat blurry at far distances. I think that eye gets tired more easily trying to focus so hard. The bruising is worse in that eye as far as the bruise goes right up to my iris. I am hoping this gets better as I hope to not need an enhancement. I do see floaters but then again I had them when I wore contacts. The halos seem to be getting somewhat better but headlights at night do look like starbursts which I knew would happen and I hope get better over time. My first follow up since my 24 hour post op is a week from tomorrow. I'm still in amazement over my new sight!!