After wearing glasses for over 25 years I decided to get Lasik eye surgery last year. Here is a bit about my decision to ditch my glasses and how I am doing a year later.
I first got glasses for my nearsightedness when I was in the 7th grade, and I hated them! I tried off and on for the last 20 years to wear contacts but they were never really comfortable for me. With time, my penchant for plastic tortoise rimmed glasses grew and I embraced them as part of my English teacher aesthetic.
However, in the back of my mind, I was always fascinated by the idea of Lasik eye surgery. Could a laser really make it so I wouldn’t have to wear glasses? I imagined how great it would be to see without my glasses. Not to mention all the cute sunglasses I could wear. Of course, also planted firmly in the back of my mind was the fact that I was insane for even considering having a laser correct my vision.
After many years of back and forth, I decided to make an evaluation appointment at a local Lasik provider. The doctor I saw felt like the surgery could result in me having 20/20 vision, something I had never had!
After a lot of thought and deliberation, I decided to have the surgery. I went back several times before the surgery date for lots of tests and measurements to make sure they had a solid plan.
What happens during Lasik eye surgery?
Warning: If you are squeamish about medical stuff you may want to skip this part. Basically, the surgeon uses a laser that is programmed to your eye dimension to create a flap, or opening over your cornea. After the flap is made and pulled down, a laser is then used to reshape the cornea to adjust whatever makes your vision require correction. Reshaping the cornea is a nice way of saying they laser parts of the cornea off. After the reshaping is complete, the flap is put back up and the surgery is complete.
What was Lasik surgery like for me?
After getting no sleep the night before (I was voluntarily having a laser shot into both of my eyes after all), my husband and I arrived at the surgery center. After some paperwork and one last eye exam, I was ready to go. To say I was nervous would be the understatement of the century! I thought about backing out up until the moment the laser was up against my eye.
In the moments leading up to surgery, I asked every possible ridiculous question: What if I blinked? Impossible, since my eyes would be held open. What if I sneezed, coughed, or otherwise moved my face a millimeter? The laser would stop. What if I moved my eyes during the procedure? The laser would stop. They then reminded me it would take about 2 minutes total per eye. I just had to stay still for 10-30 second intervals for 4 total minutes.
The procedure itself didn’t hurt at all at any point. It was just a lot of pressure on my eyes. I had to keep my focus on a bright light that was located exactly where it needed to be as the laser did its work. And let me tell you, I kept my eye on that light like my life depended on it. After a few minutes of recovery, I was sent home to sleep with what looked like horse blinders taped over my eyes.
After my Lasik surgery
The day after my surgery I went back for a check and everything was healing well. That day, as I tried to work from home the words on my computer screen were a bit fuzzy, like the computer screen was underwater. I was amazed that as the day went on I could see my vision getting better. The second day after surgery, I was able to drive myself to the doctor where I was told I had 20/20 vision. I went back weekly for a while and my vision got better and better each time. The only real complication I had was dry eyes, which was easy to remedy with eye drops.
A year after surgery
Overall I am thrilled with how my surgery turned out! Sometimes I still marvel at the fact I can see so well.
As my eyes adjusted and settled into their new normal I have found that sometimes reading or typing can cause me eye strain. I have some great blue-blocking glasses without a prescription that I use when I am at work and they help a lot. When I am reading, sewing, or doing other things that require an eagle eye, I find that a pair of reading glasses with a +1 magnification do the trick. So, I still get to rock my plastic tortoise rimmed glasses from time to time. And don’t even get me started on my growing sunglasses collection!
If you have had Lasik surgery, I would love to hear about what your post glasses life is like!
*This article is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.
