LASIK Dust please

[AmberGretchen]

I am going in for laser vision correction first thing tomorrow morning, and I am super nervous. At my pre-op today I will find out if they can do LASIK on both eyes, or if one eye needs PRK instead. Please send tons of dust for LASIK (much faster recovery) and that the procedure goes smoothly and well - I''m sure I will barely sleep tonight, but that''s OK as I guess you are supposed to sleep most of the day following the surgery.

I really really hope that there are no complications and that the surgery is a success - I''ve been severely near-sighted since I was 10 or 11 years old and I can''t even imagine what it will be like to wake up in the morning and be able to see

 

[Porridge]

Don''t be nervous AG! I had mine 7 weeks ago and it''s a cinch. The op itself only takes a few minutes and you won''t feel a thing. You''ll be a tad blurry and it''ll feel like there''s something in your eye for about 24 hours. Then...enjoy the world with perfect vision! Best thing I ever did

 

[Matata]

PS dust coming your way. I had LASIK 5 years ago; took a total of 10 minutes. The most inconvenient part for me was wearing those darn goggles to sleep for a week. No pain. I was offered a tranquilizer for the surgery and chose not to take it and I was fine. You''ll be fine too.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/10/2009 1:03:53 PM
Author: Porridge
Don''t be nervous AG! I had mine 7 weeks ago and it''s a cinch. The op itself only takes a few minutes and you won''t feel a thing. You''ll be a tad blurry and it''ll feel like there''s something in your eye for about 24 hours. Then...enjoy the world with perfect vision! Best thing I ever did

Thanks porridge - that sounds amazing, I can totally handle discomfort in exchange for perfect vision!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/10/2009 1:08:27 PM
Author: Matata
PS dust coming your way. I had LASIK 5 years ago; took a total of 10 minutes. The most inconvenient part for me was wearing those darn goggles to sleep for a week. No pain. I was offered a tranquilizer for the surgery and chose not to take it and I was fine. You''ll be fine too.

matata - I can see how goggles to sleep = no fun. I think I''ll just use some Ambien to get through that first week, and hopefully it will fly by

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Good luck! I know we already talked about it but don''t stress if you do need PRK in one eye. I am sure the results will be worth it!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/10/2009 1:13:37 PM
Author: Tacori E-ring
Good luck! I know we already talked about it but don''t stress if you do need PRK in one eye. I am sure the results will be worth it!

Thanks Tacori - the surgeon who is doing it comes SUPER highly recommended, so I really think she will do an amazing job no matter what, but its hard not to be nervous, you know?

 

[icekid]

Good luck, AG! I hope you can see beautifully soon

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/10/2009 1:31:50 PM
Author: icekid
Good luck, AG! I hope you can see beautifully soon

Thanks Tacori - I hope so too!!

 

[snlee]

Lots of dust for LASIK! Good luck!

 

[simplysplendid]

Lots of dust coming your way!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Being nervous is totally normal. I was too. Good luck tomorrow!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks so much you guys! Just got back from the pre-op, and I''m having the PRK after all, but the surgeon said that their studies show that PRK patients actually do better on long-term follow up vs. LASIK, so I''ve made my peace with it.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

AG, the advantage to PRK is you can''t rub the flap (damage it) and you don''t go blind for a second b/c they don''t make a flap and flip it up. Does that make sense? I remember thinking it was kinda cool, like a light show, b/c your vision does it all squishy and twirly. My vision is no longer 20/20 but I am sure the procedure is better now. I got it 8 years ago.

 

[Kaleigh]

Date: 6/10/2009 1:31:50 PM
Author: icekid
Good luck, AG! I hope you can see beautifully soon

DITTO. Good luck, I will be sending tons of dust your way, and keeping my fingers and toes crossed as well...

 

[princessplease]

Major dust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Thanks Tacori, Lisa, and princessplease - I''m off in about 15 minutes, and I''m nervous my stomach is doing somersaults...here''s hoping!

I probably won''t be able to update for a few days, but I really appreciate all the dust and good thoughts more than I can say you guys.

 

[Porridge]

Woo! Best of luck! Don''t be nervous - think of the perfect sight!

 

[Missy0483]

Lasik was the BEST thing I''ve ever spent my money on....and still currently paying off! haha. I had it done in October 2007 and my vision is still perfect! I was pretty much blind, my vision was 20/400 in both eyes before Lasik

Good luck with it I hope everything goes well for you!

 

[packrat]

Hope everything went well and looking forward to your update!

 

[rockzilla]

Amber - wishing you luck! I''ll be up in SF tomorrow and we''ll have something yummy to eat to celebrate See you soon!

 

[tigian]

Good luck! Dust going your way.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Thinking of you! Hope it went smooth and pain free!

 

[rockzilla]

Spoke to Amber this morning...she sounded well, but a little sleepy. Her vision is still blurry, which is to be expected with this procedure, but is gradually improving from her pre-op vision. She''ll need a little help getting around for a few days.

She may not post here for a little while until she can see, but thought I''d give folks an update

 

[asscher_girl]

AG, I didn''t see this till now, but I hope it went well and lots of dust to you for a speedy recovery! Take care sweetie!

 

[Porridge]

Hope it went well AG!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind thoughts, and especially to Rockzilla for updating - we got together the day after my surgery, which was a bit soon for me to be out and about, but she was very patient and sweet with me (and we got super yummy deep dish pizza - DH and I had leftovers for days

).

I''m doing pretty well - its been almost a week (one week is tomorrow), and my vision is (very) slowly but surely improving. The Dr. said I am healing ahead of schedule, so I''m just trying to be patient.

I think with PRK you are supposed to do 90% of your healing in the first three weeks - at 1 week follow up (according to the study I read), LASIK results are noticeably better, but one month out and beyond they are comparable, and the Dr. said I was an excellent candidate, so hopefully in another week or 10 days I''ll be seeing much better!

I promise I''ll be back on PS soon - as I said, I''m still pretty blurry, so unfortunately my computer time will mostly be limited to working on my dissertation and trying to finish the extra work my advisor keeps finding in these last few weeks of graduate school

Thank you so much, everyone, again, for the good wishes - I''m sure they are helping the healing!!

 

[Porridge]

I think we must have had different types of surgery, I am glad to hear everything''s going well! It is so worth it

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 6/18/2009 4:22:19 AM
Author: Porridge
I think we must have had different types of surgery, I am glad to hear everything''s going well! It is so worth it

Porridge - I think we did. LASIK is where they cut the flap, and fix the cornea underneath. The results are more immediate, because the surface epithelium (skin cells basically) of the eye are left intact. On the other hand, there''s a higher risk of complications - in some cases, the flap can take years to close, so there''s a risk of dislodging it.

PRK, which is what I had, is often performed on those who don''t have corneas suitable for LASIK (I think mine were too bumpy). With PRK, the cells have to grow back in, and then settle, so it takes a while for that to happen, hence why I am still blurry at 1 week post-op, but should be pretty much clear at 3 weeks out or so and thereafter, although everyone is a little different in their healing.

 

[LilyKat]

Glad your vision is improving, I''m sure it will get easier day by day now. My friend had PRK a few years ago and has perfect vision now.

Just think of not having to fuss around with glasses or contacts any more!