Considering Lasik Eye Surgery?!
Question: Considering Lasik Eye Surgery!?
I'd like to hear from others who have had this done!. Was it, at any point painful!? Was it a difficult process!? What was the cost!? Were there any complications afterward, like night blindness, dry eyes, etc!? How do I go about researching for the right doctor!? Thanks! Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
Okay!. I just answered another question about Lasik, but here I go again!. You need to hear this if you are considering the procedure!. Step 1: Ask around!. Do you know others who have had it done!? Where!? What was their experience!? Step 2: Go to Yahoo! Yellow Pages to search for laser eye surgeons in your area!. Of course, you should also call your eye doctor to see if he/she has a place they refer patients to!. Step 3: Check out the websites!. If they don't have a website, forget it!. What kind of clown does not have a website to reach out to potential patients and educate interested people, right!? Thoroughly investigate the websites, get an impression from them, write down your questions that come up!. Step 4: Schedule consultations with your top surgeon choices!. Bring your questions to the appointment!. Here is where you get information on the process, cost, financing, and if you are even a candidate!. They will do some tests and measurements on your eyes!. You may have to go without contacts for a couple weeks prior if you are a contact wearer!. Step 5: Pick a surgeon/doctor and further discuss financing, your questions, etc!. I spent almost $5000!.00 on my eyes!. I got Custom Lasik, which is specified to my unique eyes, not some cookie-cutter formula!. It involves a 3-d map of your eye and the difference was only about $600 when compared to traditional Lasik!. I believe you get what you pay for so I was willing to pay more than some might be!. It's your vision, you deserve the best quality care, right!? The process was not difficult!. I had to ditch my contacts 16 days before my surgery so my eyes could go back to natural shape!. Then I had a pre-op exam which included the final tests and measurements- double checking everything!. Then 3 days later I had my procedure!. I went to the office and they gave me a Valium (thank God!) to help take the edge off!. They let it kick in and then took me to prep me!. They put a thing over my hair and sterilized my eye area with iodine!. Then they put drops in my eyes to make them numb and they marked the surface of my cornea with a special marker so they would know where to aim the laser!. They then took me into the surgery suite, put me in the chair, and covered the eye they were not working on!. They put something in the operative eye to hold it open and then they put a glass tube over the eye!. I felt pressure, like something was pushing on my eye, but it did not hurt!. The vision in that the operative eye goes dark and this is the process of making the flap (if it's done with a laser as mine was)!. Then they took off the Intralase machine (the tube and laser that make the flap) and I could see them open the flap!. Then they positioned the laser and I had to stare at a flashing orange light for about 45 seconds or so and heard a loud clicking noise!. Then they flush out the eye with saline and such, put the flap back, and smooth it over!. Then they switch eyes and repeat the whole process!. It went SO fast and it was a little surreal!. I could instantly see MUCH better, too!. I could barely see my hand a foot in front of my face before!. My eyes felt a little swollen, like they wanted to stay closed (can you blame them!?) Shortly after the procedure a nurse put lots of drops in my eyes to keep them numb!. Then they tell you to go home, put on your eye shield, and sleep (you have to sleep with an eye shield on for a week so you don't disturbed the flap in your sleep)!. You have to use lots of drops the first few days, and I used lots of tear drops for the first month or so!. My vision was 20/30 with contacts (best correction I could get)!. The day after my surgery my eyes felt great and I was able to drive to my post-op exam!. My vision was 20/25 that day and now it is 20/20!. It's been a month and a half and I have had no complications!. I got one little red spot on one eye but that's normal!. No pain, nothing!. Just follow the directions to a "T"!. I had a 10% chance of needing a second procedure to achieve full correction, which was my biggest fear going into it!. All the risks are really very minimal!. The equipment is very safe and I would recommend choosing an eye center that only uses all-laser equipment!. My mother had her flap made with a blade and she said it really hurt!. I had my flap made with the laser and it was a piece of cake!. It's amazing that this procedure changed my life in under 30 minutes!. It was the best thing I have done for myself in a very long time and worth every penny!. Make sure the doctor is experienced, board certified, and comes with excellent recommendations!. Doesn't hurt to ask how many years they have been doing laser eye surgery or how many procedures they have done!. Good luck to you, if I can answer any more questions let me know!Www@Answer-Health@Com