I have had bad eyesight since I was very young. At ten I got my first pair of glasses. I can still remember right after I got them my mother telling me to put them in my lunchbox for the walk home so I wouldn't break them or lose them. I'm not sure why she told me that because I needed them to see distances and walking home I figured I would have needed them.
About the time I finished college, I decided to move on to contacts. I was getting married and didn't want to wear glasses in my wedding photos. It took awhile to get used to them, but there is a difference in how clear things are. I took very good care of my contacts and didn't have any problems. Then about ten years ago I started to have more issues with them. I would have to go to the eye doctor more frequently because they would tear and just not work right.
So I decided to bite the bullet and get Lasik. Just the thought of the surgery gave me the willies. I mean lets face it, they are shooting a laser at your eyeball and you are awake for it. Not something a sane person really does. And what happens if something went wrong? You only have one set of eyes. But I was tired of dealing with contacts.
When I went for my consultation I was told I needed to wear glasses for two weeks before the surgery so my eyes would reshape themselves. It had been so long since I had worn glasses (remember no contact problems) that the pair I had was about three prescriptions too old. So I had to go buy a pair of glasses for two weeks. I found the cheapest pair I could possibly get and I didn't care what they looked like.
Day of surgery I went to the clinic. Dan dropped me off and went to run errands. They numb your eyes and give you a valium. Soon its is time and they walk you into the room where they mark your eyes and then walk you to another room to do the surgery. It takes about 1 minutes for the whole thing. Then you close your eyes for about 30 minutes and you are ready to leave. They give you funky glasses to wear at home so you don't roll onto your eyes when sleeping.
In less than 6 hours I was reading the crawl at the bottom of the tv. I had never been able to do that without contacts and even with them it was hard sometimes. I can't believe how much better my distance viewing is after the surgery.
They warn you that it only corrects distance and you probably will need reading glasses eventually. And sure enough two years after the surgery I needed to get reading glasses. But I don't have to use them all time and I can get those cheap at the store.
All in all, I'm quite happy that I bit the bullet and got Lasik.
I got lasik about ten years ago. I had to get reading glasses a couple of years ago. Not a bad trade at all. Some of the best money I ever spent:)
ReplyDeleteHello, Tracy! I'm glad the surgery worked out for well for you! I know a bunch of people who've gotten Lasik and are very happy with it. I'll consider it when I get older. Right now I like wearing my cute glasses! I only need them sometimes, like while on the computer or watching TV. But I can see (no pun intended!) how contacts would probably get annoying after awhile.
ReplyDeleteHappy A to Z-ing! from Laura Marcella @ Wavy Lines
I am actually legally blind without glasses/contacts. Problem is, with my glasses I have no perifial (sp?) vision, so when I drive I have to be especially careful with cars coming to the sides of me. With contacts I have no issue. A few years ago I had such problems with my contacts that I looked into lasik. Sadly, they can't fix my vision 100% with it. But I did switch to daily contacts and have had no issues since. Glad it worked out for you though!
ReplyDeleteGreat story, I wear glasses/contact lenses too and have done since I was 15 so I've always wondered what laser treatment would be like. I don't know if I could do it....I freak out and get panicky easily....being numb isn't the best situation for me either. I wish they could just knock me out beforehand! Good to read about your experience though, maybe I will bite the bullet one day.
ReplyDeleteWhen lasik first came out, I said I'd wait until I was 50 because they would have it perfected by then. (I have horrible eyesight & have worn glasses since 2nd grade...I needed them in first grade but my mom didn't believe that I couldn't see!) When I asked my optometrist about lasik, he told me to wait until I have a cataract so I can have an implant...and insurance will pay fo rit!
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