My Lasik Experience

My eyes were myopic for most of my life. Think Coke bottle lenses, and you have an idea of what I mean. My eyes steadily got worse from when I was first diagnosed at the age of 6 until the age of 25 when they had gotten to 20/900 in the left eye and 20/950 in the right with astigmatism in both. I was blind without my glasses and the glasses only corrected my eyes to 20/40 at best.

Glasses always get dirty, weigh a lot when your eyes are as bad as mine were, and find ways of breaking if you try to live an active lifestyle. I resigned myself to always needing glasses, yet always hated wearing them. Until 1983, I was among those for whom contact lenses were not able to be made. I asked if I could wear them every time I got an eye exam.

I liked the contacts, because I no longer had a heavy pair of lenses resting on my nose. I also gained something I never had with glasses, peripheral vision. Wow, now when I played volleyball, I could anticipate where I should be. Cycling became safer as I no longer had to turn my head sharply to see cars that were coming alongside me. I could also put my eye right up to the viewfinder and look through the lens of my camera. It made my life enjoyable.

Contact lenses had some serious drawbacks too. I was always in need of keeping a pair of glasses nearby in case one of the lenses managed to find its way off of the surface of my eye. It was almost impossible to pick peppers and get my hands clean enough to handle my contacts safely. I often resorted to just waiting for the stinging sensation to go away. My allergies seemed to bother me more with contacts. My eyes using contacts never got better than 20/35 in the left eye and 20/40 in the right. At any rate, I decided that if an operation could make me see at least as well as wearing contacts could and had few serious complications, I would go for it.

In 2000, Lasik looked like a possibility. I had found several potential Opthalmologists that seemed to have qualifications and I took time to consult with them. None said I would be a good candidate yet. The real world was not yet ready to handle my desire to see without artificial means. I got the same answer until the spring of 2002.

I was told that due to the shape of my cornea, my astigmatism presented the biggest challenge to the success of the operation. It took a while for the software that analyzed the eye could deal with the astigmatism and guide the laser into making the correct amount of adjustment to the surface of the eye. At the time of my procedure, I was given a 99% probability of correcting my myopia and a 75% chance of not requiring corrective lenses for my astigmatism. Oh well, I felt I had more to gain than lose so I signed the papers and scheduled the surgery.

For the next 2 weeks I was not to wear contact lenses. I entered the office and was handed a Valium. I now had to wait for it to take effect. My glasses were taken from me (no sense bringing an unsterilized item into the operating theater). I waited patiently for my name to be called. I saw various colors of cloth in a mostly human shape go past me as each name was called. Soon enough it was my turn.

My name was called and I stood up. I started walking in the general direction I was sure I had to go and was quickly stopped and then turned slightly to the right and guided by a figure clad in pink and white the rest of the way to the chair. Her voice was light and airy, but I had not heard it before and had no idea as to what she looked like.

Soon the eyelid clamps (like the ones in "Clockwork Orange" were put on and I was laid back and locked into the required position. I looked at the light as asked and saw it blink out and then return as the flap was cut and pulled out of the way. Then came a light show as measurements were taken, the laser would do its thing and then the flap was put in place. Less than 15 minutes from the time I entered the chair to the time I was finished.

I was amazed! I was handed a pair of dark glasses by a very pretty woman. When she spoke I became aware that she was the same person that had led me to the chair. I was able to see the clock. My appointment had been scheduled for 3:00PM. I could see clearly that the time was now 3:45. I was told that the Valium needed about 30 minutes to take affect, so I guess I was right on schedule.

I was informed that for best results, I should let my eyes rest as much as possible for the next 12 hours. No television, no reading, no photo editing, no computer! Brutal to say the least! The drive home was one of doing my best to not focus on any given object for any length of time. It was almost impossible to do. I had just been given a whole new way of seeing the world and the world around me was demanding attention. The hedgehog cacti were in bloom as were prickly pear and some of the aloes.

I made it home and went to the bedroom. I turned off the lights, closed the shades and tried to sleep. It was the only thing I could think of doing that wouldn't require my eyes to focus on anything. At 4:00AM, I couldn't stay in bed any longer. My eyes had rested for the mandatory period. I went outside and looked at the stars. The tiny points of light were clear and bright. The street light in the front of the house, had a halo around it. I had been told to expect this at least for a while, so it didn't alarm me.

I drove myself to my post op appointment. My vision was 20/10 in both eyes. WOW! I had gone from being essentially blind without glasses to better than normal vision in less than a day.

My vision varied between 20/10 and 20/30 for about 6 weeks and finally settled at about 20/20. The astigmatism is gone. I'd say the results were worth it!