Had mine on 2/19/07

[bbarnard]

Had my procedure on 2/19/07. Intralase flap with Ladarvision 6000 flying spot laser for the correction. Surgery went very well. Was glad I knew about the grey/black out during flap creation. Pressure was high but not too bad during the flap creation. Had both eyes done. The weirdest part for me was the smoothing of the flap afterwards and the laser machine talking to me during the procedure. Telling me that I needed X number of microns removed and that it would take Y seconds of treatment and then during the actual ablation, how close to being done I was. During flap smoothing it is like seeing the space ship in Close Encounters.

Also, I don't care what anyone says the smell during the procedure is like the smell of singed hair. Didn't put me off or anything but that's more what it smelled like. Maybe that IS the smell of the laser gas hitting the atmosphere, maybe not.

Had some fairly strong burning sensation in my eyes afterwards so they gave me additional numbing drops. Gave me a pain killer prescription (I had an hour drive home) and took one before the ride back, then one later that evening. Slept from 8:30PM until about 6:30 AM the next morning (my procedure started at 11:30 AM and we left the doctor's office around 2:30PM). Ate a little.

Upon waking up on Tuesday AM I could definitely see across the room. Had a followup exam that morning. They took some tentative readings on my vision but didn't give me a value as I was still fairly dilated and fuzzy at small letters on the eye chart. I also still have some swelling (common with Intralase). Flaps are healing fine. Sent me home with a follow up appointment in two weeks.

Vision improved even on the ride home. Could read signs and license plates,etc. (My original prescription was in the -6.5-7.5 range). Have not taken any pain meds since the first two. Felt good enough to drive into work for meetings in the afternoon and felt okay driving.

Now in at work today. Will limit computer work and reading but so far things are going pretty good. No pain or scratchiness today. Have been very faithful about doing my drops so far.

Overall I'm happy so far. Right now my middle distance vision seems to be the sharpest.

[LasikExpert]

It's very good to hear of your excellent result thus far. Computer use and reading are fine, but remember to blink and close your eyes now and again.

[bbarnard]

It's very good to hear of your excellent result thus far. Computer use and reading are fine, but remember to blink and close your eyes now and again.

Glenn,
Thanks for all the info here. It was very helpful And I'm taking frequent breaks from the computer and reading.

Couple of other things. They did give me some anxiety medicine but it did little to alleviate my concern. Still things went smoothly from a nerves perspective.

So far I have not had an increase in light sensitivity. I walked to and from my car at lunch today (I'm in FL) in bright sunshine with no more sensitivity than I would have had normally to sunlight.

My eyes still feel slighlty like I have my contacts in but I know I don't. Haven't noticed any stars or halos so far, but haven't tried driving at night yet. I'll likely just walk the dogs tonight and see how the streetlights look first.

[bbarnard]

One week follow up. Yesterday (2/26) was my one week anniversary. Last day of drops for antibiotics and steroids. During the first week my right eye felt more scratchy than my left. Still feels a little like I have contacts in each eye, however over the last 24 hours the right eye has begun to approach the level of comfort with the left eye. It will be interesting to see how the day goes without any drops but artificial tears. I'll likely still use them for a while although not every hour as prescribed by the doctor for the first week. I've kind of tested my eyes with an eye chart and I'd say I'm seeing around 20/30-20/40, which considering where I was (-6.5 to -7.5) is a HUGE improvement. Driving is not a problem and so far (luckily) I haven't had any noticeable increase in light sensitivity nor problems with starbursts or halos driving at night. I did not drive at night for the first time until Saturday night but had no problems then.

Tomorrow will be an interesting test as I'm going to a local venue for a concert and it will likely be slightly smokey. That will probably create some problems.

I have noticed that my eyes tire more easily and I do try and rest them some during the day.

In two weeks I'll be going to take my sister to Disney World. That should be an interesting test as well.

My first follow up with my doctor is 3/9.

So far so good.

[LasikExpert]

So far so good.

Absolutely! This is just the kind of recovery one would hope to have after Lasik.

The little vials of preservative-free artificial tears are great for those unpredictable environments like a concert or amusement park.

[bbarnard]

Okay had my 2 week (and a couple days) follow up today. Left eye measured out at 20/20, right eye at 20/30. Still a little fuzziness in the right eye but continuing to sharpen and improve so far. No issues with dry eye although they do want me to keep using drops (tears) a couple times a day.

So far so good.

[LasikExpert]

Thanks for reporting back. I'm sure many people considering Lasik or who are going through the process are interested.

[bbarnard]

Thanks for reporting back. I'm sure many people considering Lasik or who are going through the process are interested.

Sure. One of the things that scared me the most was getting on here and seeing a lot of it was complications. I wanted to provide back a report (good or bad) on my experience. To date it has been almost universally good. I told my doctor that so far I'm a poster child for LASIK. I've had virtually no side effects to date. No significant halos or starbursts at night (well nothing worse than I had with either glasses or contacts), not very bad dry eye, and my vision seems to be getting clearer and sharper with time.

While I may not test out at 20/20 in each eye, the vision I'm experiencing now is wonderful compared to where I was. I get up each morning and look across the room just to make sure it is still there, mostly because I can't believe it.

This past weekend I went to Disney World with my sister and it was incredible to see the fireworks display with my new vision. Things just seemed sharper and clearer.

One thing that I am doing is still wearing my shield at night. Although the doctor said to wear it two weeks I'm thinking about wearing it for the first month just in case I was to rub my eyes in my sleep. That's my biggest concern at this point is doing something to dislodge the flap.

As I said earlier, so far so good.

[bbarnard]

Had my 2 month follow up yesterday. 20/20 in both eyes although the left still is sharper than the right. Wants me to continue to use artificial tears 4 times a day. Some mild eye lid infection (most likely NOT related to surgery). Put me on oral antibiotics once a day for a month and wants me to wash my eyelids with no more tears baby shampoo once a day. Otherwise all good. Distance vision continues to improve and is pretty clear/sharp. No issues with halos or starbursts at night.

Next appointment in a month. I'll try to remember to follow up.