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Life After Lasik Pt. 3

12 years ago

666 words

I have told you about my decision to get Lasik and the whole surgical experience. Let me tell you about the post-op care , the results, and my follow-up appointments.

Post-op Care

Post-op care was not difficult. Every 4 hours I had to put eye drops in my eyes. I used two types of drops. One was an antibiotic, to keep my eyes from getting infected. The second was a steroid to help my eyes heal faster. Neither of these drops hurt, but one of them left a weird taste in my mouth. I used those two drops for a couple of weeks. Other than that, I used some preservative-free natural tears. After you eyes go through that kind of trauma they don’t produce as many tears as they used to. I used them every hour or so for the first few weeks. As my eyes healed I didn’t need the drops as much. Three months after, I only use the drops if my eyes are tired. That happens when I’m using the computer late at night, driving for a long time, or especially tired. Now that I use the eye drops I enjoy them. I liken it to using chapstick. I typically don’t use chapstick but that means my lips are dry. Living in a dry climate lends itself to dry/chapped lips. But when I do use chapstick I enjoy it. I get a kind of addiction to it, though. I need it or my lips get really dry if I fail to use it. I think that is where I’m at now… I don’t need the eye drops, but I like them.

I wasn’t allowed to touch my eyes (even rub them) for a couple of weeks. My eyes never hurt, but there was a little discomfort, or irritation rather, when my eyes got too dry. The drops eliminated that discomfort quickly.

That’s pretty much it for post-op care. It was simple and I was able to follow their directions to a tee.

Follow-up Visits

I walked out of the office around 5 pm after my surgery. I had an appointment with the surgeon less than 24 hours later at 8:45 am. I was a little groggy when I walked into the office. The nurses asked me a few questions and checked my vision. I was 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other! I was astonished. My vision was so clear and sharp. The Dr. came in a few minutes later to check the surface of my eyes to make sure they were no striae, wrinkles, on either of my eyes. Everything looked good to the surgeon so I went home.

I had another follow-up visit 3 weeks later. It was short and sweet. My vision had gotten even better. I could read 4 out of the 6 letters on the 20/10 line!

My last visit will be in July, but I foresee nothing but the same kind of results.

Life

So far I’ve been swimming in the ocean, dove into pools, braved sand storms (coaching on the mesa in the spring!), and taken a 21 hour road trip. All of which have not affected my eyes one bit. I don’t have halos or dry eyes. I can do anything without fear of my eyes will “malfunction.”

It’s been great. I would suggest it to anyone that can afford it and is a good candidate. You need to understand that your surgeon is not giving you robot eyes. If your eyes are going to get worse, they still will with Lasik. One day you will also need reading glasses… nature takes its course. You also get what you pay for. Don’t skimp. If you can’t afford a reputable surgeon then keep saving. If you can, get multiple opinions. Surgeons are still people. Some people are greedy and will tell you what you want to hear to get you to buy something. Multiple opinions are the easiest way to make sure you are making the best decision.

There you have it. My Lasik experience.

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