I’m very glad your experience was so good!

I agree you should only do this with a doctor you really trust. You only get one set of eyes!

The alarm clock thing is huge and I still can’t believe I can see it from across the room.

And I’m happy it went so well for you!

Immi

lots of people will refer to this post in the future, so…

bad> not do your hear and wear yoga pants.
new> not do your hair and wear yoga pants.

bad> since I’ll be people don’t like that.
new> since I’ll bet people don’t like that.

bad> the surgery was finished, my ey the doctor sat me up
new> the surgery was finished, the doctor sat me up

bad> “Honey, guess what?
new> “Honey, guess what?”

-bowerbird

The jury is still out on whether I like it. Much more intrusive than Lasik, but at least I can see.

Enjoy your freedom!!

The doctor and staff were bluntly honest about potential side effects. I was fortunate and experienced no pain either. My only disappointment has been that I used to be able to see excellent detail in a macro kind of way without my glasses. I lost that ability immediately after the surgery. I understand you tend to lose that ability as you age anyway (I was 44 1/4 when I had the surgery and already wore bifocals). Less than a year later, I had to get bifocal reading glasses (computer and reading combined), so if I hadn’t had the surgery, I’d be wearing trifocals now.

Every single person I’ve talked to who’s had either surgery loves being able to read clocks across the bedroom at night. You’d think it was the only factor involved, but we all know it isn’t. Listen carefully if an eye care professional tells you you aren’t a good candidate — it’s your eyesight. You may need glasses to see, but if the surgery gets messed up, glasses may not be able to correct the problem, and your vision could be permanently affected. This is not something to take lightly. It’s also a serious risk factor to consider going in. I’d had an optometrist telling me I was a good candidate for over ten years, but I wasn’t comfortable with the idea and the quality of the equipment until 2005. Obviously, lasers are even better now, and even more professionals are more experienced, but YOUR comfort level is what’s important.

One of the other things they should tell you is that if you have a severe astigmatism, you may have to have an additional surgery. I had to wait 6 months after the first surgery, then have a second to completely correct the astigmatism (I was legally blind in both eyes before my surgery – hello coke bottle glasses & contacts!). But I could see very well after the first, and didn’t need glasses in between.

One of the other things they may not tell you, but should, is that if your eyes were going to deteriorate further, they still will. You’ll just be starting at 20/20 again. So there’s no guarantee that you won’t need glasses again at some point in the future.

I had my surgery in 2000, and yes, they told me I’d need reading glasses pretty much as soon as I turned 40. HA! I managed to outlast their prediction by 3 years. But my eyes have started to deteriorate finally, so I now have a slight prescription AND a need for reading glasses. Gulp. Bifocals. Or as I like to call them to make myself feel better: progressives.

But I had a full 10 years without glasses or contacts, and it was so worth it!

The eye pressure step was scary but not painful. Also, the smell of the laser doing it’s thing was a little creepy. But at no point do you have pain. Zero Pain.

If you’ve been in glasses for a billion years, the feeling of not needing them is phenomenal.

Congratulations!