I just had Lasik surgery!

I have thought for a long time about having vision-correcting surgery. I have had either glasses or contacts since third grade, so being glasses-free certainly sounded nice (those of you with glasses know what I am talking about!). My condition is nearsightedness - I can read fine without glasses at all, but I could not see things in the distance - so I have to wear glasses all the time. Of course, when I first heard of the procedure years ago, I was concerned because of how new it was. Back then, the procedure of choice was RK (Radial Karetotomy).

Today, the most popular procedure is called Lasik, and a more advanced variation of that is Lasik Custom Wavefront. I found an eye doctor here in Tampa that has done more than 30,000 of these procedures. Although there is a small risk involved (as with any surgery), the procedure is considered very safe and has an extremely high success rate.

I went in on Friday, May 25 for an initial consultation and multiple tests to see if I would be a good candidate for Lasik. The doctor told me that all indications were that it would work wonderfully for me.

(I also had a choice to make. When doing the surgery, they can correct for nearsightedness or farsightedness. If they fixed my nearsightedness, I would be able to see things at a distance, but would probably need reading glasses for up close. But there is also an option called Monovision - this is where one eye is corrected for nearsightedness, and one eye is corrected for farsightedness. So you would use one eye for viewing in the distance, and the other eye for up close. They let me "try out" what that would be like, and I did not like it - depth perception was different, and it just didn't "feel" right. I probably would have gotten used to it eventually, but I decided that reading glasses are not all that bad to deal with.)

I made the appointment to have the procedure done a week later, on June 1 (yesterday). All of the financial arrangements were taken care of, and I was brought into a pre-op room to ask the doctor any questions I may have thought of. Dr. Groden is excellent. He has a very good manner of dealing with people, and it is obvious that he knows that some people would be very nervous about having their eyes operated on (even though they have made the decision to have it done). He talked and "coached" me throughout the entire procedure to let me know that everything was going fine.

The procedure itself took about 20 minutes total. You are awake the whole time, but there is no pain involved at all. The first thing they do is put a couple of drops in your eye that numbs it. This works almost immediately, so you don't feel anything. The feeling I guess could be best described as brief "pressure", or "discomfort". On a pain scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it as a 1.

After it is completed, more drops were put in my eyes for lubrication, to prevent infection, and to insure a speedy healing process. I was also given some sunglasses with the instruction to wear them all day and even that night while sleeping. The purpose was not really for blocking light - it was to prevent me from accidentally rubbing my eyes, which could mess things up and delay healing. On the way home, my eyes were very watery and blurry, and it felt best just to keep them closed (this was all very normal).

The doctor recommended that after the procedure I go home and take a nap. This is mainly for the therapeutic effect of keeping my eyes closed and relaxing them for a while. When I woke up, the difference was amazing. Not nearly as watery or blurry, and best of all...I could see everything clearly, even at a distance. It was incredible! I didn't do too much the rest of the day. I wore the sunglasses all day and overnight.

This morning I went back for a follow-up visit, and everything is fine. In fact, I now have 20/15 vision! And I can read the computer screen without reading glasses. I can also read a printed page without reading glasses, but it is easier if I use them. I will continue to use two different eyedrops four times a day for the next week and I have one more follow-up visit, and that's it. I also have free enhancements for life, should I need any further correction.

As you can probably tell, I am very pleased with the outcome. If you are considering having Lasik done, do the research and if you feel it is right for you, go for it!