LASIK: Two weeks later

In the last two weeks, I have seen Dr. Lockhart three times (not including my surgery). He says my eyes are doing great, and I now have 20/15 vision. What does that mean? Some comparisons:

To have a pilot's license, one must have 20/20 vision. To drive a car without corrective lenses takes 20/40 vision. 20/80 is where you could be considered for special assistance. 20/200, you're legally blind.

My laywoman's explanation: The 20 represents what a "typically"-sighted person should see at 20 meters. The second number represents my visual acuity. The higher the second number, the worse your sight is. So, 20/15 vision means that I could read something at 20 meters that a "typical"-sighted person would need to move 15 meters away from to see. My sight is better than typical. If a person is 20/80, that means that, what a "typical"-sighted person can see at 80 meters, that person would have to move to 20 meters to see.

Basically, my surgery was a huge success. I still have my regimen on drops, but they are now decreasing in frequency. The Refresh drops I use about 2 x an hour, and I am alternating Pred Forte and Decadron every other hour until this weekend, when I can decrease that to every two hours. I am also still placing Zymar in my eyes 4x a day, but that will end soon as well.

Things are not necessarily as crisp as I had thought they would be with my new vision, but I think that's mainly because I have not been resting my eyes a whole lot. Also, I guess I believed that people who could see without lens corrections saw as well as I did with my contacts in. Probably not the case. I can drive, see the TV, shave my legs in the shower, etc. all with my "new eyes." I am very glad I took the plunge.

LASIK: Post-Op Appointment

Drove myself to the doctor this morning... because I CAN SEE! The result: it all looks good. I am 20/30 in my left eye and 20/20 in my right eye. My right eye has some swelling which is why it feels irritated), so I have to increase the Pred Forte to once an hour. Otherwise, I got a clean bill of health. Since I wasn't seeing Dr. Lokhart today, Dr. Halperin wanted me to come back Monday morning to check on my right eye with Dr. L. My appointment was originally scheduled for the 19th.

So, all is well in sight land! Over and out!

LASIK: The Day After

Last night, I went to bed looking much like a human fly. When I woke up this morning, I opened my eyes in bed and could see! The moment I had been waiting for. Most of the fog has lifted (although some of it returned when I added Pred Forte and Zymar). This is worth the money most definitely. I have wasted years in contacts. I'm off to my post-op appointment at 8:45!

LASIK play-by-play (no gore...)

This morning I had to clean my eyes and place some Zymar drops in them. At 10 AM, I reported to the doctor's office. First, they ran a few tests, similar to last week's tests. Then, I waited for a bit with some other pre-op patients.

I was given the rundown by the nurse I learned to lovingly call Nurse Ratchett (they will now be getting her a nametag with that on it). She really was nice... I am programmed for sarcasm. I got a hat and footies and some Valium (I welcomed that!). Then lots and lots and lots of intermittent drops. The nurse cleaned my lid area with betadyne (sp?) also.

Dr. Lockhart took a look at me and marked off some parts of my eyes. After that, we went into the operating room.

They had me lay back and hold on to a bear... another thing for which I was grateful. No, it wasn't Doc Smurf and the Care Bears. I probably would have ripped my hands off at the wrist if the bear wasn't there. Nerves plus the unknown.

Above my head was the laser machine. They patched up one of my eyes. For the other one, they put in lid restraints so I would not blink (think Clockwork Orange). The next part was the only part that was painful, and, compared to childbirth, it was a piece of cake, but uncomfortable. They put a covering over my eye that kind of bulged it up a bit. Then the doctor created the flap and pulled it over. At that point, I was ready for the lasers. Twelve seconds later, they were done. Then the flap was placed back into position. I have to say the right eye (the first one) was not as uncomfortable as the left eye. My left eye is whacky... very blinky, crazy reflexes. However now, hours later, the right one hurts like hell and the left one feels great.

I then sat in the waiting room for a bit (picture a big blue La-Z-Boy recliner with nature music playing in the darkness). Intermittent rewetting drops were placed in my eyes. I saw the good doctor again, and then, clad in cool shades, I was on my way. It was like looking in a fog, and still is to a degree. At first, it was as if I had a covering of Vaseline on my eyes. Now, it is equal to falling asleep in your contacts for a few hours... of wearing them for the first time. I definitely feel the edge. Which leads me to my next act of stupidity.

I watch too much House. I have a Vicodin prescription. I could use it or I can just take Tylenol or Advil. So, all I can think of is House's addiction to Vicodin and that WEIRD season finale. So, I try Motrin. Yeah, right. Are you kidding me? That's like giving someone an aspirin for a broken leg. Sent Scott for the Vicodin... I must now eat a normal dinner (for which I am not hungry) before I take one. However, should you have this procedure, take the damn Vicodin.

I have done Refresh lubricating drops every 15 minutes since the surgery. I have also done Pred Forte four of my six times today and have two more sessions of Zymar drops today.

Now, it is 5:45 and I am wearing "fashionable" safety goggles. Max likes the very area on my face that I cannot touch. So, the doctor's office had some handy dandy safety glasses. Scott says I look like Bono. Cool.

There you have it. I am slowly beginning to see (swelling is subsiding), and it is surreal. I keep having to tell myself that I do not have on contacts or "real" glasses.

Tonight, I have to tape on these protective eye pieces that will make me look like a ginormous fly. I will probably sleep in our recliner since I have to be super careful not to knock my eyes. Then, tomorrow morning, I have a checkup to see how I'm progressing.

So far.... very much worth it.

The Night Before the Day Of

Tonight's pre-op preparation includes some Zymar drops in my eyes. I need to repeat that tomorrow before the surgery.

My arrival time is 10 AM. I am asked how long it will take, and honestly, I do not know. The actual procedure is very fast, I am told. The prep takes a bit.

So, there's my LASIK update for now.

LASIK Journey: Sight and how much I appreciate it

Today I had my pre-op appointment at Gailey Eye Clinic to see for what, if any, laser vision correction I might qualify. I have never had my pupils dilated before, and I was a little anxious about that part of today as it was uncharted territory.

I was dilated at about 9:30 this morning. They put a drop of the solution in each eye and sat me in a room for a half an hour. It was wild because I was watching the first season of M*A*S*H (which, by the way, was comic genius), and I could see the TV just fine with my glasses on.

"This stuff is not working," I said to myself, "I am supposed to be blind, right?"

Well, after about 15 minutes I attempted to look at my watch. No way was that happening. It was a total blur. And when I took my glasses off, I could see better than when I had them on. Bizarre.

The picture above was one I just took. My pupils are still a little crazy, which is expected, even though most of my vision is back to normal. My peripheral vision is still funked up, but I obviously can focus enough to type this, and, yes, I can read my watch. Scott says I look like I anime.

Now you may look at the photo and think, "You look fine!" However, my pupils have been that big, without changing much, for 12 hours. When someone's pupils don't change with light and such, it's a tad freaky to look at.

The one gift I had today was while I was waiting outside of the clinic for Scott to pick me up. It was a gorgeous day. I could tell because of the warmth of the sun on my arms. There was a lady with a walker going into the office. I could tell by the slow squeak of her wheels as she crossed the street. There was lots of traffic. I could hear the tires on the road's pavement as I stood. I had my eyes closed because it was painful, even with sunglasses on, to be outside with my pupils dilated. Eliminating the vision aspect of me opened up some other senses, particularly hearing, to take a more central place in my perceptions. It was fascinating, and it made me appreciate the vision, though slightly out of focus, that I currently have.

But not enough to cancel the surgery. :)