Has anyone here ver had laser eye surgery?

StormWarrior

I am booked in for next week and I'm so scared - I wish they could do it while I'm asleep! I just don't know how I'll go through with it.

minidazzler

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1012


That's the eyecare forum, a bit more appropriate I would think.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

my sister and I had it done, the worst part of the actual procedure is the bright lights. They have 3 or 4 real bright bulbs circling the laser and shining into your eye and if you have sensitive eyes at all you're going to be tearing up and trying with all your being not to blink. But that part of it (the actual surgery) lasts about five minutes, maybe a little longer.. You get to smell your eye burning which is damned cool and once the laser is shut off they put a protective lens on the ey, and a protective cover that side of your face.

They leave the protective lense in place for 3-4 days, until you have to go back in to get it removed.. those 3-4 days are the worst part of the entire experience. It feels like you have shards of glass rolling around with your eye ball but when I got mine done, I got epic numbing drops could not feel a thing. and they gave me sleeping tablets for the 3 days until I got the protective lense taken out..slept like a god damn baby.

Once you get the protective lense taken out, it will take a week or two for your eye to adjust and settle. You'll notice your vision is good one day, terrible the next, good the day after etc.. it will bottom out after a few days and then over time slowly improve until you're at perfect vision. Absolutely no pain in this part of it.

Oh, and don't plan anything for the day of the surgery..you'll want to go home and sit in a very dark room.. any kind of light at all is an absolute bastard for the first night.

targus

The surgery itself is fine,totally painless.generally the 3 days afterwards are the worst,can be uncomfortable.i had 1 eye done at a time (2 weeks apart)and would not have fancied getting the 2 done together-you have enough discomfort with 1 eye.
its really mind over matter.the 3 days of discomfort is well outweighed by the gain in not having to wear glasses again.tha numbing drops are the business when the eyes start bothering you..all in all well worth it...good luck!

LimeFruitGum

Honestly it is fine. The prepping part (eye drops, ensuring your eyelids don't blink etc) takes longer than the actual laser part. I was done in about 30-40 minutes and my sight is still good six years later.

Go to sleep as soon as you can after the op.
But you absolutely have to follow up on the after-care instructions after the op. Don't skip any step.

I am so happy I got it done.

Zaynzma

I'm one of the biggest chickens you could ever hope to meet and I had it done, I was terrified like you but it was well worth it - I would say the actual lasering lasted only a couple of minutes or even less per eye. The clamped open each eye as the did it so I couldn't blink. I kept telling myself "it'll be over in a few more seconds...just a few more seconds....". I had both mine done at the same time and had to keep them covered up for a few hours afterwards (it was a bit painful for a few hours but manageable). I could see perfectly later that evening (it was done in the morning). That was about 7 years ago now & I'm so glad I had it done. Life is much easier without glasses or contacts.

justsomebloke

my laser vision still doesn't work

dotsman

FYI - I got the LASEK procedure (scraping) with Wavefront, as opposed to LASIK (cutting).

Nothing to worry about. As already mentioned, the actual procedure only takes a few minutes and I would describe it as slightly uncomfortable (akin to getting a filling etc). The only bad thing is psychological. It's such an unnatural experience (doc scraping your eye and because of the anesthetics, you can feel it, but not in a painful way and you can't even blink because you're eyelids are clamped!). I remember being given this rubber ball to squeeze - and squeeze the $hit out of it I did:D

It's all over in a few minutes. The next few days were pretty much spent in bed (your eyes hurt if there's bright light or if they are open for more than 30 minutes, and you couldn't focus on a tv/monitor/book even if you could keep them open!) By day 4 and 5, things are back to normal and within a week, you have 20-20 vision. During the recovery week, I never had any issue with pain/discomfort. They give you a whole load of different drops, and as long as you take them and stick to staying in bed for the few days, you'll be fine.

2.5 years on, my vision is no longer 20-20, but it's still perfectly fine (ie don't need glasses and would be better than most peoples). However, I do get bloodshot eyes frequently when tired (never really got them before) and my night vision is a bit off (lights are slightly blurry - but again, not so bad that I need glasses).

Overall, could not recommend it enough.

metaoblivia

I had it done and it was one of the best things I ever did. Everyone I know who's had it done has said the same thing. I had it done 2 years ago this summer on both eyes. There was no pain, just some mild discomfort as previous posters have described due to the eye clamps and such. Mine was done entirely by lasers and I had a 24 hour recovery period. I had the surgery in the early afternoon, went home and slept until the next morning, woke up and had 20/20 vision, no complications. I could drive and go to work the next day.
You do have to be careful with your eyes for the next few months. I had to wear special goggles at night to prevent me from rubbing or banging my eye on something as I slept. There's also an issue with nighttime vision sometimes where you see "halos" around lights. But that goes away in a few months too and I never found it very bothersome.
Good luck!

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

LittleEve

I intend getting this done maybe next year. Price range?

monkeyfudge

I've had a few students over the years who have said it was the worst decision they ever made in their lives due to complications that arose.

Know plenty who have no problems though... but it puts me off... I'm happy enough wearing glasses.

jaffa20

monkeyfudge wrote: »

I've had a few students over the years who have said it was the worst decision they ever made in their lives due to complications that arose.

Know plenty who have no problems though... but it puts me off... I'm happy enough wearing glasses.

Even with glasses, i don't have 20 20 vision though and i would love to be able to see perfectly. Glasses don't bother me so much though. I am so scared about the procedure that i'll keep putting it off though.