LASEK Diary

murrayp4

OK folks...so I got one eye done on Thursday 23rd in the Wellinngton. Surgery was at 12:30 so had to be there at 11:30.Got paid up and did a couple of extra checks. Was brought into a room where I was suited and booted in surgical gear. The nurse put in anaesthetic drops and I think an anaesthetic around my eye area (for the eye clamp I think) The guy in before me was getting LASIK so I had to wait until he was done.

The surgeon came out to me and sat down to explain the in and outs ans I asked him a few Qs and we were ready to go.

A nurse led me into the theatre and I lay down on the bed beneath the machine. The clamp was ut on my eye which I actually didn't find too bad
For LASEK a ring is put over your eye and then the alcohol solution is poured on to loosen the epithelium layer. This ring and the pressure from it was quite uncomfortable.

The layer of cells was peeled back which was a bit mad as you can see everything the surgeon is doing. One of the most uncomfortable parts was the really cold water used to rinse as it gave me pretty bad 'brainfreeze' headache.


The lasering part was painless and only 7 seconds, the surgeon then rolled the epithelium layer back, smoothed it over and put on the bandage contact lens..

Clamp removed and asked to blink and it was all done. I was brought into a darkened recovery room and given a couple of solphedine. Vision was like looking through a moderately smoky room. The nurse put more drops in and then did another check on the eye about 20mins later. She put on the protective shiled and I was good to go.

Went home and popped a sleeping pill and had a snooze. Woke up around 6 with very little pain but took more solphedine just in case. Later in the night my gf was watching a film on the laptop and I noticed that the screen was for a couple of seconds as clear as it would have been with contacts/glasses.


Next day, Friday 24th again very little pani. Went in for 1st day post-op check up and everything seemed fine, the surgeon advidsed me that the vision would fluctuate, but I had expected this. I kept activity to a minimum, difficult to read or watch video so I just keep putting in the antibiotic drops and listen to audio books Nothing to report really, very little pain or even irritation. Not expecting quick recovery with LASEK so I;m going t be patient waiting for results.

Today, Saturday 25th, again no pain or discomfort. Vision is slightly less 'smokey room' but nothing to write home about. Still cant really watch TV or read (I'm staring at the keyboard rather than the screen while typing this). /back to my Alan Patridge audiobook for no anyway...will keep you all updated.

Apologies for any spelling mistakes etc. as I can't really see the screen :pac:

Mousewar

Thanks - keep it coming!

murrayp4

Sunday 26th- at the risk of sounding boring: no pain or discomfort to report. Eyesight has improved moderately. I can definitely see things at a distance (numbers etc.) that I couldn't see unaided before the treatment, but its still through a mild haze, like if you've worn your contacts for too long. This may be the bandage contact so I'm not sure...
Went out for a bit of food today and could function pretty normally, good to get back out to the real world again. I have an appointment to remove the bandage lens on Wednesday 29th so unless there is something to report before then I will add another post after that.

apache

I must have got the other one done - LASIK.
I was in horrific pain for ages and couldn't open my eye for 5 days.
You're lucky. One of the best things i ever did though.
It will take time for it to regulate. Good luck.

murrayp4

apache wrote: »

I must have got the other one done - LASIK.
I was in horrific pain for ages and couldn't open my eye for 5 days.
You're lucky. One of the best things i ever did though.
It will take time for it to regulate. Good luck.

LASIK is supposed to be the 'painless' one. My one, LASEK, is usually described as moderately painful (but some people have severe pain) and uncomfortable for 3-5 days afterwards. None of that for me so far (please god, touch wood etc...)

Mousewar

Are you getting the other eye done?

apache

murrayp4 wrote: »

LASIK is supposed to be the 'painless' one. My one, LASEK, is usually described as moderately painful (but some people have severe pain) and uncomfortable for 3-5 days afterwards. None of that for me so far (please god, touch wood etc...)

i must have got LASEK done so and been unlucky with the pain. got eyes done 1 month apart from eachother in mater private. would have liked to get 2 done at once to get it over and done with but i would have been blind and in pain for a week and would have needed a guide dog.
i was going back for ages as took a long time to heal but its great now. you are lucky with no pain. i envy you! each of my eyes swelled shut for a week and i could not abide any bright light. i had to stay in a dark room. it was horrific!

murrayp4

Mousewar wrote: »

Are you getting the other eye done?

Won't be getting other eye done as it has a degree of ambylopia. It can be corrected to driving standard but I might find it disorientating.

murrayp4

OK so Wednesday 29th got the bandage contact removed and this was the first time I felt any discomfort. The lens was in for 6 days and I didn't notice it in. When she examined my eye she said it was on pretty tight so she put in some aesthetic drops and gave it a go. First time was unsuccessful and kind of painful (not severe, the same feeling when you put a lens in and it gets caught or is folded) Second go and it came out.

Vision took a drop as expected and I waited 20-30 mins to have the surgeon have a look at it to see if I needed another bandage lens for 2-3 days (as the surface layer had been disturbed by taking the lens out). He said all was ok and to come back in 5-6 weeks for a check up. New instructions for lowering the antibiotic drops week by week were given and away I went. Irritation has now gone from the eye and its back to normal i.e. no pain discomfort.

Eyesight as I said has taken a drop but you do get 'flashes' of crystal clarity. So its a waiting game now to see how I heal and what the end result will be. The thing with LASEK is that the end results may not be known for approx 3 months but I'll be patient. I'm pretty confident of a good result from what I've seen so far.

murrayp4

Just thought I'd update this little diary.

On 4th Sept I woke up with the familiar dry eye but after about 10 seconds I started to feel pain for the first time since the operation. It was not severe but it was very uncomfortable to keep my eyes open. The vision took a big drop in quality. The best way to describe it would be that it was like looking through cling film. This was in contrast to the relative clarity and pain free experience thus far.

I rang the surgeon and he told me what I had suspected, that the epithelium layer had become disturbed. By the next day the vision had began to settle down again and I wasn't worried.

Since then the vision had improved again and it is currently (4 weeks post-op) better than it ever was with contacts or glasses. Night vision, which did have some star bursts around lights etc. has also improved with any negative visual effects decreasing all the time.

I am now on my final week of antibiotic drops and I have my 5 week check-up scheduled for Sept 27th so I'll let you know how I get on at that

murrayp4

OK so went out to check-up in the Wellington on Thursday 27th Sept, approx 5 weeks post LASEK and I've tested 20/20. I need to use lubrication drops for the next 3 months to promote healing and the vision is expected to improve beyond 20/20. Quality of vision is excellent and night vision is almost back to normal i.e. no halos/star bursts around lights. I'm very happy with the result thus far and will update here if there's anything else to report.

negative equity

Hi Murrayp4, just wanted to say thank you for the diary, I have been thinking of getting the laser surgery done for a while now. the only thing holding me back is the level of pain, so your experience has been interesting, Thanks.

amtc

I had Lasik - and not an issue at all. No pain, no nothing. Maybe I was just lucky.

murrayp4

amtc wrote: »

I had Lasik - and not an issue at all. No pain, no nothing. Maybe I was just lucky.

In general, pain is more associated with LASEK rather than LASIK

murrayp4

Just updating this diary. I had my 4 month check up today in the Wellington and have tested 1 line better than 20/20. That for me is a fantastic result. Lady there said that if I noticed any haze in the next while to contact the clinic and they'd give me drops to solve the issue but she said it was very unlikely as my vision had settled after 3 months.
Anyway I'd recommend the treatment thus far, and if anyone has any questions feel free to post them.

Mousewar

Two quick questions.
Any noticeably increased sensitivity to sunlight?
Any noticeable increase in floaters?

murrayp4

Mousewar wrote: »

Two quick questions.
Any noticeably increased sensitivity to sunlight?
Any noticeable increase in floaters?

No to both questions Mousewar.

Charisteas

Thanks for the diary murrayp4. It contributed to me finally taking the step and getting LASEK done myself. I hope you don't mind if I post my own diary on boards soon.

I actually experienced quite a few opposite experiences to you though.

While you said that the really cold water was uncomfortable, I actually found this to be really refreshing. Also mentally, I realised that this meant that the procedure was coming to a close, so it was heartening in that sense too.

I have to say that you were one of the lucky ones because you had no pain or discomfort afterwards. My day 1-3 pain was excruciating. And I always thought I had a high tolerance for pain.

Mousewar

Ah so you did it Charisteas. Look forward to reading the diary. The mater I presume? Did O'Keeffe do the surgery?

jen_n

Hi All,

Quick query- have any of ye experienced extreme blurryness when working on Computers after lasek? I had my surgery 2 weeks ago to-day and everything is a blur on comps.. just wondering has anyone heard/seen this before?

Thanks

murrayp4

jen_n wrote: »

Hi All,

Quick query- have any of ye experienced extreme blurryness when working on Computers after lasek? I had my surgery 2 weeks ago to-day and everything is a blur on comps.. just wondering has anyone heard/seen this before?

Thanks

Hi Jen- don't worry; that sounds completely normal. My vision was pretty blurry up to 3 weeks after for close-up items. At some stages I had to hold paper approx 1 inch from my face to read text on it.
The same applied to computer screens. There was some ghosting effect too which dissipated after a while.

You will begin to improve gradually but noticeably.

caycro

Thanks a million for your diary. It was great to read someone's experience. I'm wondering if anyone here has had the Lasik wavefront intralase treatment done ? I'm thinking of getting it done in the next two weeks and I was interested to know others experience with the surgery and the recovery time ? I'm approx minus 5 in both eyes, suffer from floaters

Lil' Smiler

Thanks so much for your diary.
I rang to enquire on Tuesday about the process before the appointment to see if I'm eligible. So just trying to find a time where I can have my glasses on for 2 weeks. I coach sports and coaching with glasses is very difficult. Really excited, hoping to get an appointment in march to see if i'm eligible

Mousewar

So I've had the same procedure as Murray and at the same place and my process has been almost identical. Contact lens came out yesterday with no problems but woke up this morning with almost identical symptoms to what you described on your 4th Sept post.
Am going in this afternoon to get them to check it but reading your diary again has me rather reassured.

Mousewar

In case anyone does end up reading this I won't leave that hanging.
Clinic said it was fine and all looked good.
Woke up this morning with no pain or discomfort and vision has jumped on a notch. I'd say I'm definitely at 20/20 now.

murrayp4

Quick update to diary- 1 year on from Lasek and went for follow-up check. I think my last appointment was January. Anyway I'm still better than 20/20 so vision is stable and no dry eye whatsoever. I still get a little excited at how good my vision is. So there you have it. Any Qs etc......

irishwanderers

apache wrote: »

murrayp4 wrote: »

LASIK is supposed to be the 'painless' one. My one, LASEK, is usually described as moderately painful (but some people have severe pain) and uncomfortable for 3-5 days afterwards. None of that for me so far (please god, touch wood etc...)

i must have got LASEK done so and been unlucky with the pain. got eyes done 1 month apart from eachother in mater private. would have liked to get 2 done at once to get it over and done with but i would have been blind and in pain for a week and would have needed a guide dog.
i was going back for ages as took a long time to heal but its great now. you are lucky with no pain. i envy you! each of my eyes swelled shut for a week and i could not abide any bright light. i had to stay in a dark room. it was horrific!

I think you took the right approach here. My doctor was trying to convince me to get both eyes done at the same time. I would have been alone from 7am-6 to fend for myself and I'm not sure how tough that would have been! I would lean towards LASEK over LASIK because it seems to have the least potential consequences but the recovery process sounds nerve wrecking. I am also not properly informed about the potential risks of side effects - some clinic studies would have put my mind at ease perhaps. Did you wait for vision to fully stabalise before doing the second one?