LASIK: FAQ

If you're looking for the videos, they are here.

So after some people have read this blog, I thought I'd list some of the frequently asked questions I get:

Do they put you under for the surgery? No, they do not put you under for the surgery. Yes, you can see what they are doing - sort of. Everything is pretty blurry, but you are essentially looking up at a light and not daring to move your eyes off of it. You can definitely tell when they remove the corneal flap though - the little tiny light you are focusing on turns into a big green blur.

Does it hurt? Your eyes are numbed - you can't feel them cutting or removing the flap. You do feel some pressure (particularly during the IntraLase) as they push down on your eye to put things into place to keep your eye from moving, but I thought it was only slightly discomforting. They offered me a Valium before the surgery. I wasn't going to take it, but they said that most people did, so I figured I might as well. My eyes haven't hurt afterwards either. Some people report headaches, but I didn't even have that. Of course, your experience may vary.

How much was it? Everyone wants to know how much it was so I figured I might as well let you know. My total was $3700. That was on the Allegretto Wave (I think it was called) laser. The IntraLase was $375 per eye of that total, but I don't think anyone prefers to have them create the corneal flap with a blade (microkeratomter I think it is called). That amount was with a $500 per eye discount because I have Altius insurance. Using FLEX spending really helped me defray the cost (basically tax-free and interest-free financing for the year).

Where did you have it done? I had it done at Hoopes Vision. In my mind (and from my research) they are the premier place to have it done in the region, so it was between them and a TLC facility. Because of the Altius discount, Hoopes was actually $100 cheaper than doing it through TLC's "TruVision Advantage Program", that was supposed to be a "special deal" through DMBA (I get Altius through DMBA - kind of complicated so I won't go into it). So doing it at Hoopes was pretty much a no-brainer.

What is the guarantee, and what do you expect to happen to your vision in the long run? Hoopes's "See Clearly Guarantee ans Assurance Program" is essentially this: 20/25 vision within the first year and better than 20/40 for life. Of course, you have to have annual eye checks, have enough corneal tissue for corrections, and several other requirements. Most people will need reading glasses at about 40 - LASIK doesn't change that. You can get "monovision" (I think Hoopes calls it "Blended Vision" where one eye is adjusted for close viewing and one for far (kind of like built in bifocals) if you so desire later in life.

I've been a little bothered by the fact that some people who are considering LASIK have watched my videos on this blog and it has dissuaded them from having it done (others have been put off by the cost). I would hope that my experience would encourage people to get LASIK. I have absolutely loved it. The procedure really was relatively painless! And the recovery has been very easy. Lots of eyedrops but for me, virtually no pain.

Well, OK, in fairness, here's the list of what I haven't liked.

Wearing goggles at night so I don't rub my eyes. Those kind of drive me crazy. On two occasions I got so tired of them I took them off, and awoke to me subconsciously rubbing my eyes. Then I was paranoid that I'd ruined everything and couldn't go back to bed. I kept focusing on different things in the room to make sure I could still see ok!

Honestly, that's pretty much it. I mean, the procedure wasn't bad, but it wasn't exactly a great time, and all the drops are kind of a pain, but honestly, I can't complain. At this point my eyes still dry out looking at a computer all day, but not nearly as bad as when I had contacts, and I anticipate that to go away (or greatly lessen) eventually

All in all I would of course recommend it to anyone!

LASIK: What I Like Best So Far

If you're looking for the videos, they are here.

I thought I'd list the things I like about LASIK so far (not in any particular order of preference):

No glasses steaming up in the hot tub. I haven't actually done this yet as I'm not supposed to get in a hot tub for 2 weeks, but it's something I really hated. Especially when trying to watch a movie in the hot tub (which I do occasionally - on a laptop or projected on to my hot tub lid which makes a handy projector screen when flipped up).

Being able to see the clock when I wake up in the morning

Walking in the rain/snow and not trying to keep my glasses from getting all wet and not having to clean them when I get inside.

Giving my kids zerbets,(sp?), tickles, wrestling, etc. without fear of my glasses getting knocked off.

Sunglasses! I don't have to worry about clip ons, prescription sunglasses - I can just wear whatever sunglasses I want. I've loved this driving on sunny winter days with gleaming white snow everywhere.

Swimming - OK I haven't done this yet, but I am sure I am going to love it as I HATE swimming with glasses, and I have to be able to see because I have to be able to keep an eye on my kids.

No constant pushing my glasses back up while working on the computer (or doing just about anything, really). Even after 3-4 days I still find myself trying to adjust glasses that aren't there anymore.

No glasses to clean!

Peripheral vision - I don't have to turn my head to move things in my peripheral vision inside my glasses.

I'm not a contact wearer (used to be and HATED it), but there's another whole list of things I like about not having contacts, like watching movies or a computer screen without my eyes drying out, no drops to worry about, etc.

No cost of glasses, contacts, solutions, etc. Of course, I didn't do LASIK for cost justification - I don't think I'll ever really recover my costs, but that's not why I did it.

One less thing to look for in the morning. I didn't lose my glasses too often, but it drove me nuts the few times I couldn't find them.

Active work, play, etc. I hated gardening, shoveling the walk, whatever, and having to push my glasses back up. ESPECIALLY when working on things (like a car) where my hands were very dirty and I'd have to try to find a clean spot of my arm/sleeve to push my glasses up.

Don't have to remove glasses to wipe the sweat from my brow or have sweat dripping on to my glasses.

LASIK: The video

As promised, here is the video of my LASIK procedure. I've edited the videos to cut out parts where nothing was really happening (so it is not time accurate), and used levels adjustments to make some dark parts a little more visible. Also, I only included the video from one eye, as both eyes were pretty much the same. There are two videos in Windows Media format, one for the IntraLase to create the flap, and one for removing the flap and actually shaping the cornea:

IntraLase
Remove the flap and shape the Cornea

LASIK: Intro

I don't post much to my blog. But because I want to be better about keeping a journal, and also occasionally want to share things with family/friends (like the video of my LASIK procedure, which I'm sure you're dying to see and which I will post
on this blog soon), I figured I'd chronicle my experience with having LASIK surgery done.

Here's a brief explanation of the procedure, from www.hoopesvision.com:

LASIK eye surgery performed at our practice centrally located between Provo and Ogden in Sandy, Utah is a safe, quick, and effective surgical procedure for patients who wish to improve their eyesight. During the procedure, a small flap is first created in the outer layer of the cornea with either a blade or laser (the IntraLase® laser). The flap is then folded back on its hinge, and the extremely precise and accurate excimer laser is used to remove minute amounts (microns) of underlying corneal tissue, effectively reshaping the cornea and allowing the eye to focus light on the retina correctly. Finally, the flap is gently returned to its original position; healing begins almost instantly.

It's now day two since my procedure. Yesterday was my "post-op" visit (about 24 hours after the surgery), where I just learned that my vision is now somewhere between 20/20 and 20/25. My right eye is 20/20 and my left about 20/25. I'm actually not sure what my prescription was before LASIK. I have an old prescription sheet from four years ago that says:

Rx		Spherical	Cylindrical	Axis	Prism	Base
D.V.	O.D.	-2.00	-50	65
	O.S.	-2.50	-25	20
N.V.	O.D.
	O.S.

Honestly I have no idea what that means or how it translates into a "20/20" type reading - I'll have to figure that out. It's been two days since my procedure and my eyes feel more or less perfectly normal now. The day of the procedure my vision was pretty foggy for the rest of the day, although I could already tell that my focus was better. But because of the fog, I couldn't really tell. I put on my old glasses just for fun and that was the first sign that my eyes were indeed very different. My brain was still expecting to have everything clear up once I put my glasses on - that's what I was used to. It was very strange to have everything go blurry when putting my glasses on.

The next morning I woke up, rolled over and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. I could actually tell what time it was! The fog was all but gone, and by about noon was completely gone. My eyes would dry out quite quickly, but I was faithfully putting in all the drops I was supposed to: Antibiotic drops four times a day (Vigimox), two drops in each eye of a steroid every two hours to aid healing (Omnipred), and standard lubricant drops (in individual containers to reduce possibility of infection) every 15 minutes. By the way, Walgreen's had the best deal on these drops that I could find - 70 for $15 - see Link to product at Walgreen's.com.

Apparently I had a minor scratch on my left eye from the procedure (they assured me this was very common and would go away quickly, which it did) so they gave me a soft contact for me left eye, which I didn't even notice was there. At my one-day post-op visit they took the contact out. For the rest of the day my eyes felt very much like they used to when I wore contacts (years ago). They would dry out quickly, and I found myself pulling my eyelid away from my eye subconsciously (something I used to do with contacts). Today, one and a half days after the procedure, I have virtually no side effects. I'm only using the lubricating drops about once an hour (the steroid and antibiotic are supposed to be four times a day for a month now), and I have been looking at a computer screen typing this blog with no problems - no headache, no eyes drying out, no straining to see clearly. It's great!

But I probably should sign off, as I don't want to spend too much time looking at a computer screen right away. With my work, hobbies, and personal habits, I spend probably 8 hours a day in front of a computer screen (pretty pathetic, eh?) so I going to try to limit my computer time for the next few days. I'll write more later (and post the videos).