Twenty years ago I started wearing glasses. I was a little girl and it makes me sad to say that I don’t have any memories without my “four eyes.” I’m thankful I was never teased, though I do have bad memory, so maybe I was made fun of? That was a long time ago though, but all that to say that the last few years with glasses have been the worst. So, I finally decided to do something about it!
I’m not sure what pushed me over the edge between contacts and glasses that made me want to get LASIK. Maybe it was removing my contact lenses so late at night when my eyes were dry that taking the contacts out was like pulling a suction cup off a glass window – painful. Or maybe it was the red watery eyes in the morning that didn’t get enough rest before it was already time to put contacts back in again – also painful. Perhaps it was the sudden blurry vision in the middle of the day when my vision was fine just a second prior – annoying. It could have been the way my glasses slid down my face doing basic everyday tasks – even more annoying. The list goes on and on as to why poor vision made my life miserable! I knew I was not the only one.
My good friend Angela also had the same struggles that I did and we were both fed up with the entire contacts and glasses situation so we decided to go through the LASIK process together.
October 4th
I saw an optometrist who performed a standard eye exam. He asked me questions about my vision and mostly wanted to know my vision had been stable the last few years, which it has. My contact prescription had been a -4.00 for at least the past 5 years.
October 13th
The optometrist requested a second consultation with me, but this time asked I not wear my contacts for one week prior. This made no sense to me at all, but he wanted to see the natural shape of my corneas with a break from my contact lenses. I returned with fresh eyes for this appointment and I was told I was a good candidate for the procedure. YAY!
December 2nd
LASIK DAY! I prepared by wearing my glasses the week before, giving my corneas a break for the procedure ahead of me. I had a great workout at OTF, grabbed a quick brunch with Angela at Snooze, and then it was time to go to Kleiman Eye Center.
1:00pm – The check in process was quick. The receptionist had me sign some paperwork stating I couldn’t sue if I went blind (the usual kind of stuff these places make you sign, right?). She went over frequency of steroid eye drops and artificial tears, provided instruction with wearing sun glasses for eye sensitivity, and sleeping goggles for naps and bedtime. Lastly, she provided me with 10mg of valium to take.
1:45pm – The valium had not hit me yet but I was pulled into the LASIK room emotionally unprepared and placed on the above table. It all happened so fast. The refractive surgeon (the doc doing the procedure) was talking to the people in the room giving orders I didn’t understand all while instructing me too. The procedure is done in two parts.
The first part I was asked to hold my eye open and I was able to see a machine hover over my eye and lower down slowly until I felt pressure on my eye. I was told I would feel some pressure, but it was A LOT of pressure. It was uncomfortable and eventually the machine pressed onto my eye so hard that the room went dark. This was repeated on the other eye too of course.
The second part was different, but not much easier. Numbing drops had been given to me and then my eye was forced open with one of those things you’d see at the dentist to hold your mouth open, except much smaller for your eyes haha I’m sorry, I don’t know what that thing is called! So with my eye open, I was able to see the doctor scrape, pull, move, and tug at the loose flap on my eye. It was the strangest thing! I could see him using his little tools on my eye but I couldn’t feel a thing. The same process went on for my second eye here too.
3:15pm – I barely made it to bed. The valium I’d taken a couple hours earlier finally hit me and I was able to sleep soundly with my handy sleeping goggles.
5:00pm – Waking up from the nap was rough. I wanted to rub my eyes so badly! I couldn’t keep my eyes open for even two seconds before they would start tearing big, heavy tears. I dropped in some steroidal drops and artificial tears in my eyes and got back in bed. I suffered for a solid hour and a half before I felt some relief.
6:30pm – Angela and I watched Bohemian Rhapsody and we could actually see the television. Can you believe it?! It’s crazy. For the rest of evening I applied artificial tears every 5 minutes as I was instructed to do.
11:45pm – I was well enough to drive myself home from Angela’s where I had camped out the entire afternoon and evening. It was only a 4 minute drive home but as I already mentioned, it’s crazy that I was able to see and drive after having my procedure less then 12 hours prior.
Day 2 9:00am – Bruising from LASIK
December 3rd
9:00am – My eyes were dry but I was able to make out most letters from a distance. I took Luka out for a walk and the grass didn’t look right to me. It was fuzzy, but it was still nice to see things in the daytime.
9:30am – My follow up appointment with the optometrist was ok. I went through another eye exam and I just knew I was saying all the wrong letters. I was straining my eyes to see the smallest row of lines that I knew I’d be able to see clearly if I’d had contacts or glasses on. I was told my vision was 20/25 and “just one letter row away from 20/20” per the optometrist. I was told to be patient and let my eyes adjust for the next week or so.
December 5th
Let’s start with some good news. I’ve been talking to Angela and we’ve been able to compare our LASIK experiences and describe to each other what our vision has been like. She says she’s seeing everything pretty well and because of that, I’m hopeful I’ll get there too.
As for me, everything is out of focus. Pictures, big letters, small letters, any and all objects – everything is fuzzy. I don’t see clear lines and almost feel like I’m seeing double. It’s a little frustrating, but I was told at my second consultation back in October there was a small chance I would need an enhancement procedure to refine my vision. That decision won’t be made likely until after my two month follow up. For now, I’m being easy on myself. It’s been less than a week from the procedure and there’s still a possibility of my vision improving for the better.
Send me positive vibes and well wishes, I need them a little more than usual!
XO,
Vivian
LASIK updates continued:
December 14th
It’s been 12 days since the procedure. The past few days have been especially hard and I’ve cried here and there out of frustration. I don’t want to say I can’t see, but I can’t see clearly. My follow up on this day was ok. My left eye is seeing 20/20 with my right eye seeing 20/30. The astigmatism in my right eye was worse and wasn’t corrected on the first LASIK go around, so I will for sure be getting an enhancement in a couple more months! To relive my frustration in the meantime, I’ll be fitted for a contact in my right eye to wear until my procedure.
June 15th
The last and final update! And guess what? I have 20/20 per my eye doctor. I still feel like my vision isn’t perfect and after two LASIK procedures, it probably never will be. I can see big things comfortably but it takes effort for my eyes to adjust to see small letters and big signs clearly. I can’t tell if I had too high of expectations wanting Superman vision, or maybe I just wasn’t a really great candidate to begin with? Whatever it is, I’m at peace with how things are.
Going through all that I’ve been through, I would do it again. But only because I was so tired of glasses and contacts after 20 years! I highly recommend this procedure for someone like me who has had an extended amount of time with poor vision, or someone whose vision is very severe. You will see a difference and be happy, but I can’t say it’s worth the hassle for someone who hasn’t been wearing glasses/contacts for long or whose vision isn’t that bad.
I DO NOT recommend my LASIK center Kleiman Evangelista. Especially if you are in DFW, there are so many options! Avoid Kleiman!!! I was treated very well until I had my first procedure. After that it was hard to get a hold of anyone in the office, and even more difficult to get an appointment in an appropriate time frame. I would only send my worst enemies to Kleiman over rotting in hell. Seriously, it was miserable.
SEE ya later (pun intended)
XO, Vivian