LASIK

So, I finally did it!! I had LASIK surgery last Thursday! After talking about it for over two years I finally did it. It went really well and I was freaked out for no reason. I want to remember what it was like so I'm going to write it all out. Feel free to skip this post. ;o)

I go in for my check up, have all kinds of testing done and I'm a "perfect" candidate. The surgery is scheduled for 3 wks later.

Day of Surgery

I go in at 815am. I sit around for a bit and then I'm checked in. I get all of my post op instructions, eye drops, Xanax and 1000mg of Tylenol. I'm brought into the "relaxation room" to let the Xanax kick in. It doesn't really make me feel any different at all but I have a *very* high tolerance to meds so I'm not surprised. I just go with it. I'm given numbing eye drops three separate times and I'm ready to go in.

I go into the room - which is all glass - and John is escorted to a chair right outside of the room. There is a TV monitor there as well so he got to see the entire surgery. They lay me down on the table and tell me to look up at the halo of lights. My vision is fuzzy so I just stare up. the nurse tells me look up, look down and they insert the speculum. (Seriously, it's called a speculum. Not sure whose brilliant idea that was b/c we all know where the other speculum goes!!!) It didn't hurt at all and I only know it was in b/c I couldn't shut my eye anymore. Then the Dr puts what John called a big suction cup on my eyeball. Again, it didn't hurt at all. Just a ton of pressure. They tell me stare straight up, that they are going to start. This first segment is when they laser cut the flap that the second laser will work under. On my left eye it did hurt but not from the laser. When the machine came down it pressed right on the suction cup which then pressed something, I assume the speculum, into my cheekbone and it HURT. I kept flinching. But, that part is only 15 seconds (literally) long and I was fine. Rinse, lather, repeat for my right eye (less the pain b/c that one was put in right) and I'm done with the first segment.

Second segment is the actual corrective laser. The whole table moves over to the right now I'm under a different machine. They tell me to just look up at the green dot but hello?! They just cut a flap in my eyeball and are holding it open. I can't see squat!!! The machine comes down and finally, I can faintly see the green light. Score, I'm just going to stare at it. They tell me this next part will be 23 seconds and I'll hear a clacking. Yep, I hear it. What they don't tell you about is the smell. Oh my. I had *heard* that it smelled like hair in the hairdryer - you know how that sometimes happens. What I didn't hear is that no, it's worse than that and it lasts the entire 23 seconds. No, not a very long amount of time in retrospect, but when you are under that laser and smelling it it is!! The clacking stops and they are done with the left eye. At this point the Dr smooths the flap back down. I can only compare this to a paintbrush. I could tell he was doing it and it was helping to clear my vision. On to the right eye. This time I knew what was coming so when they said "okay, 23 seconds" I held my breath. NO problem. Laser, smooth eye flap back down and I'm done! Dr Neilsen has me go ahead and sit up and immediately there is a chick in my face with a Polaroid camera. Um, okay. Smile. She puts that one down and grabs a digital. Smile. LOVE the bonnet.

Dr Nielsen says, "look at the clock and tell me what time it is" I say "9:27" Yup, it's that easy.

I'm told to go home and sleep as LONG as possible. That if I don't my eyes are going to feel really bad - like I have onions in them. Okay, no problem. I go home and John takes the kids (and the dog LOL) and he goes to run errands with his Dad. Ahhh, sleep. Crap. I wake up an hour and a half later. O.M.G. I now completely understand WHY they were so adamant about sleeping. But it's not onions. Oh no, not even close. It feels like I have ground up glass in my eyes. Holy. I get up and walk downstairs, with my hands over my eyes b/c it's too bright and very painful, and I get my eye drops and another 1000mg of Tylenol. I go back upstairs, put the goggles back on and try to go back to sleep. It takes a while and my eyes are *streaming* with tears. It hurt, but not enough to make me cry. I really think it was my eyes trying to lubricate themselves and stay moist. I finally fall back asleep and wake up 3 hours later. I. Feel. Great!!! NO more pain at all and I can see the clock clear across the room!! Things were, and still are, a bit hazy but that is to be expected. I have 4 different kinds of eye drops I have to use 4 times a day for a week. One of them is literally just like Milk so I'm sure that is where the haze comes from.

Post op check up was the next day. I went in and they tested my vision - 20/20. YAHOOO!! They are very impressed that my eyes aren't red or bloodshot at all. Um, thanks. They ask if I see halos around lights and I say I do and I'm told that is normal and should go away with time. My coworker was kind enough to tell me that it took her friend EIGHT MONTHS to lose the halo. Yikes. Thanks for that. Regardless, it was all worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I definitely recommend it to anyone who has been thinking about it!!!!