LASIK - Part 2
Note: I am not a doctor, and I am not offering medical advice. I am only sharing my experience for anyone who may be interested in pursing LASIK. Anyone pursuing LASIK or any other medical procedure should seek the advice of a medical professional.
After two months in glasses—and nearly 20 years of wearing corrective lenses of one sort or the other—the day of my LASIK surgery at last arrived. I was ready to go and pacing around my house half an hour before my driver arrived. Given the nature of LASIK, a patient is required to arrive with a driver in order to undergo the procedure.
Upon arrival and check-in, I had a brief consultation with a nurse who explained the post-surgery eye-drop regimen that prevents infection and eases discomfort during the first few weeks of recovery. It was a lot to remember, but, fortunately, she gave me a “cheat sheet” I could follow since, in my state of nervousness, much of her explanation was in-one-ear-out-the-other. I had a final meeting with the surgeon who went over the risks one last time. He assured me I was in a low-risk patient category, but even so, there was a possibility, however small, of experiencing one of the more severe side-effects such as retinal tearing. More likely, if I had any side-effect at all, I would see halos around lights at night or experience dry-eye, and those effects would be temporary and clear up in a matter of weeks or months. I had one last opportunity to opt out and go home. I chose to go forward, trust my surgeon, and count on being part of the vast majority of patients who experience only an excellent outcome.
The surgery itself was painless. I went into the clinic and had some numbing drops placed in my eyes. A few minutes later, I leaned back in the chair, listened to the laser machine make some weird noises, and, in less than five minutes, sat up and looked around. Before the surgery, they tell you that your vision will be better immediately after the surgery, but it will be blurry. I never understood that and just took it on faith that I would understand when I experienced it myself. It’s exactly like that—except that I would use the word “hazy” instead of “blurry.” After the procedure, I looked around and it was like seeing the world with my contacts, but on a very hazy morning. There’s no experience quite like it. It was amazing.
After the surgery, it is expected that the patient will experience stinging and burning in the eyes. To make this as not-unpleasant as possible, I was sent home to take a nap. Being as worn out as I was and not having slept well in over a week in anticipation of my surgery, I thought for sure this would not be a problem. As soon as I got home, I grabbed a glass of water and put on my eye protection. This wasn’t as easy as it sounds. My eyes, having started to burn and sting and water on my ride home, were burning and stinging to the point that I could scarcely stand to have them open. Navigating through my house – from the kitchen sink to my bathroom and to my bed, barely squinting – was quite a challenge. And once in bed, the burning and stinging kept me awake. All I could do was close my eyes and doze off a few minutes at a time.
The upshot of all this is that the discomfort lasts only a few hours. By late afternoon, I was able to open my eyes without any pain whatsoever. And the sight was amazing. I could look across my bedroom and see the figures on television as human beings, not amorphous blobs. I could look across my kitchen and see the digital clock on the oven. I could look outside and see the leaves on the trees. It was like seeing with glasses or contacts…only better. And it turned out, perception was reality. At my follow-up vision exam, I tested at 20/15.
My visual recovery has been as anticipated: immediately improved but hazy vision followed by burning and stinging followed by much clearer perception. The procedure causes some swelling which may make vision a bit blurry, but as the swelling goes down over time, vision improves. I had slight swelling in my right eye, not to the point of it being impairing, but enough so that I could tell a difference in the vision between my right and left eyes. The swelling went down over the next few weeks, and neither eye seemed to see better than the other.
The most common complaint following LASIK surgery is the presence of “halos” around lights when driving at night. Apparently, this tends to go away over time for most patients. I never saw a halo and, when I finally ventured out at night two weeks after the surgery, I had no trouble driving.
I was prepared for the visual recovery. What I wasn’t prepared for were the small inconveniences and annoyances no one ever tells you about.
All three surgical practices I consulted told me a close variation on “half the patients go back to work the next day, the other half go back to work two days later.” Two days off works fine if your job is not computer-intensive. However, if you spend the majority of your day staring at the screen, I would strongly recommend three days of rest. Even then, don’t expect to go back to your normal routine, unless that routine is get up-go to work-go home. If you are involved in activities outside of work, it will probably be a few weeks before you are ready to return to your normal activity level.
I knew I’d have to use eye drops after the surgery to prevent infection and keep my eyes moist. I just didn’t realize how many and how often. For the first week, I had to use two different eye drops every two waking hours and a third four times a day. The residue built up on my eyelashes and, unable to apply any sort of pressure to my eyes lest I damage them, I couldn’t wipe it off. It was almost unbearable. (The trick, I found out, is to use a moist cotton swab and just run it along the eyelashes without touching the eyelid.) After the first week, only moistening drops are required and not nearly as frequently.
I also didn’t realize that the light sensitivity I was warned about extends to the indoors. For the first two weeks after the procedure, I was abnormally sensitive to the fluorescent lighting in the office (which I found noxious even before the surgery). Most of the time, I wore my sunglasses indoors and out. This actually worked to my advantage because you are not allowed to wear eye makeup for at least a week after LASIK. As a lifelong fan of eye shadow and eye liner, I felt like burying my makeup-less head in the sand. So the sunglasses, which I explained (legitimately) as being necessary for light sensitivity, ended up protecting my fragile little ego as much as my eyes. This, incidentally, is the primary reason I did not venture out after dark for two weeks after my surgery: there was no way I would be seen socially without makeup in a setting where I could not shield myself with sunglasses.
The other thing I learned is that abrasions happen. On a Friday, almost two weeks after the procedure, I was at work when I felt something in my left eye. I flushed it out with eye drops and assumed the swelling would subside and my vision would go back to normal. At this time, the vision in my left eye had been better than in my right. So I spent the next few days comparing one eye against the other, hoping things would return to the pre-“thing in the eye” state. They didn’t. In fact, they got worse. I went into my eye doctor for an emergency visit. My eye doctor looked at my eye and said it was a simple abrasion. Abrasions happen. They happen all the time. They happen irrespective of whether someone has had LASIK. And when they happen, most people don’t even know they happen. I’ve probably had hundreds of abrasions. The only reason I noticed this one is because I was constantly comparing one eye against the other to gauge my recovery and the results of my LASIK. As epithelial cells slough off every several days, the visual effects of abrasions disappear. Just as my doctor predicted, within 24 hours, my vision was back to the new normal.
Now, two months after the surgery, I am thrilled with the results. I still use eye drops and will probably continue to do so for a few more months. My eyes become dry more easily than before, although the frequency with which I use eye drops depends a lot on the lighting to which I am exposed. They are also drier at night than during the day, which, it turns out, is normal but I’d never noticed it because my eyes have always been fairly moist. Nevertheless, the dryness has improved dramatically and continues to improve daily.
I won’t say I regret not having had LASIK sooner because I underwent the procedure as soon as I felt comfortable with it. I made the right choice. I am reminded of that every day when I experience the miracle of sight and see the miracle of the world around me in full detail. It is an amazing sight.
Copyright Julie Nisley. Published 1 October 2009 in The Zone.
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