Yes, it's true! I am seeing 20/20 without corrective lenses. It's amazing. I'm shocked. The experience itself was rather sci-fi/LSD acid trippy, but it is over and I am hear to tell you that the results are incredible. The sounds and the smells while in the chair were enough to give me the creeps. Thank goodness they gave me 10mg of diazepam and told me to hold onto a stuffed animal.
So here's how it went down. My friend drove me to the eye clinic. We sat in the waiting room until they called my name and I was escorted to a staging area. In that area, I was asked questions about my allergies, what procedure I was there for etc to make sure they had the "right patient." Then I was given a 10mg tablet of generic Valium. I took that and they started putting drops in my eyes. I was given several "numbing" drops and a few antibiotic drops. I was left to sit there in a blur for about 5 or 10 minutes. Then the doctor came out and went over exactly what to expect in the surgery suite. He told me the "odd things" that I would experience and that they were all normal. My job was to hold still and look at the red light. OK.
So his staff came out and escorted me to a big blue chair with a robot looking machine hovering over it. I was laid back, handed a stuffed lamb to keep my hands occupied and then they draped my body. My left eye was shielded and then came more drops in my right eye. My eye lashes were taped back and then an eye lid retacter was inserted. More drops. More synthetic tears. Then the most uncomfortable part came. A vacuum was attached. (This is to keep you from moving your eye, but it makes for quite a lot of pressure.) Then they place this other device on that works much like a can opener that creates a flap on your eye. It takes about 10 seconds and it sounds horrible, but there is NO pain at all. Then they rinse again and the doctor takes his forceps and moves the flap back. More rinsing. Then they prepare the laser to remove the tissue. This sounds like a popping sound and there is a burnt flesh smell as the machine vaporizes the part that needs to be removed. This takes another 10 seconds or so. While every step is going on, the assistant is telling me what is happening and reassuring me that all is going well. So that part is done and they rinse alot and the doc puts the flap back down. He smoothes it out several times with something that seemed like a small paintbrush device. He made sure there were no rinkles or bubbles. Then he rinses and rinses and rinses and rinses and then he removes the eyelid retractor, the tape and has me blink a few times. Then it was time to repeat on the other side.
I think I was in the surgery suite all of 15 minutes. I was then moved to another room where I was given post op instructions. They actually had my friend come listen to them so that she could repeat them to me if needed. I was then given more drops, fitted with protective eyewear and sent home to sleep for 4 to 6 hours.
I woke up and my left eye was pretty much perfect. My right eye was a bit blurry. I continued to use my drops, went to bed that night and went back to my evaluation appointment where I was examined and everything looked great. I am seeing 20/20. WOW.
I did notice a little "starburst" effect driving last night at dusk. It wasn't super bad, but I did notice it was more prominent than before the surgery. It should fade as I heal.
Busy, busy, busy, busy, busy!
14 years ago
