[mochi567]

Hello everyone... There wasn't any topic about LASIK or laser I surgery so I want to start one...

Well before starting I want to tell you that I have gotten the LASIK on 6/25/08... very recent~
Right now BOTH MY EYES ARE A 20/15 VISION… (better than a 20/20 vision… aka normal vision)

Well my eyesight before was really weird.... One of my eyes is worse than the other and it was close to blindness. (I forgot the degree, but I will tell you guys about that later)
I have worn glasses all my life, (okok... ever since third grade) and my parents ASKED me if I wanted LASIK because they have done it too.
Well since I am only 18 and my eyes are very precious to me I told them that I am not going to RISK IT… HOWEVER I found out that I had no choice to do it. They already bought airplane tickets and reserved a spot for me at the Clinic!!!!!!! ;;; (yah I know… what a suggestion)

So yah… I got my eyes done in the Philippines at the Shangrala Plaza (American Eye Center)
(I live in the United States so..... I was a long flight.)

But now that I have done the surgery I want to tell you my story about it and hopefully answer question about it…

FIRST Lasik is….
LASIK is a surgical procedure that uses a laser to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism. In LASIK, a thin flap in the cornea is created using either a microkeratome blade or a femtosecond laser. The surgeon folds back the flap, then removes some corneal tissue underneath using an excimer laser. The flap is then laid back in place, covering the area where the corneal tissue was removed.
With nearsighted people, the goal of LASIK is to flatten the too-steep cornea; with farsighted people, a steeper cornea is desired. LASIK can also correct astigmatism by smoothing an irregular cornea into a more normal shape.
If you are considering LASIK eye surgery, your first step is to choose a good LASIK surgeon who can evaluate whether LASIK is right for you. Your LASIK surgeon will examine your eyes to determine their health, what kind of vision correction you need, and how much laser ablation (corneal tissue removal) is required. The doctor will also ask about any health conditions that may disqualify you altogether for LASIK surgery.
If you're not a candidate for LASIK, you may qualify for another laser eye surgery such as PRK (similar to LASIK but without the flap), LASEK, or epi-LASIK. There are also non-laser vision correction procedures. Your prescription and eye structure will be considered to help determine which procedure is best for you.
LASIK is an outpatient procedure. The LASIK surgeon uses a computer to adjust the laser for your particular prescription. You will be asked to look at a target light for a short time while the laser sends pulses of light to painlessly reshape your cornea. The actual LASIK surgery usually takes less than five minutes.
(source from allaboutvision.com)

MY first day at LASIK Surgury....

I went to the clinic on the appointment day and I had to wait 5 hours. GAWD there was so much people getting their eyes tested. Well, when my turn came they put me on 6 different machines and test my eyes. I remember there was one machine to count how many cells you have in your eyes and another to see how dry your eyes are…. (i forgot the what the rest of the machine do) The doctors did these steps to see if I am a LASIK candidate. The people there were really nice and in the end of all those (not so scary) tests I was qualified for LASIK. Then Dun Dun Dun…. I was making another appointment for my surgery day.

My surgery day for LASIK

I went to the clinic in the morning so I can be the first patient to get the surgery done with. They checked my eyes by doing the same tests they did on the first day to see if I was really qualified for the eye surgery…. And again I WAS. So before an hour of the surgery they started to put these eye drops that dilate your pupils, and also make your eyes numb. During the first few drops I hardly noticed the difference in my vision until I looked down at my watch… I could not see the numbers on my watch. Then the surgery time came. They dressed me up in a scrub and I was laying there on the dentist looking chair with my eyes wide open.
Before the surgery actually started to started to tape the outside of one of my eye, and inserted this metal clamp to open my eye during the whole procedure. The taping and the inserting were uncomfortable, but bearable. The doctor then told me to focus my eyes on this red light(the laser). She started to cut a flap in my eyes and in the end opened it so the laser can focus on my dilated pupil (the cutting and opening did not hurt I just felt pressure on my eye). Then the lasering began…
During the actually procedure it did not hurt at all but I started to smell something burning. (After, I learned that the smell was coming from my eyes.) The lasering only took about 5 minutes, but the whole taping, clamping, cutting, and opening of my eyes took like 10 minutes. What hurt the most was the ripping of the tape from your face…. THAT HURT LIKE HELL.... well anyways back to the story.
After the procedure there was no pain. However, I was so sensitive to the light that I had to close and shield my eyes from the sun. My dad had to hold my hand and practically lead the way to the condo that I was staying at. Oh yah… my eyes were SOOOO sour that I was tearing up uncontrollably. That is why right after the surgery all I did was sleep in a dark room.
Well after a good rest, I woke up at around 9 at night at ripped off this eye guard (something to shield your eyes from your hand… people have a tendency to scratch their eyes after the surgery… which is a BIG NO NO!!!) and started to walk around the house.
Just like a certain song… I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW THE RAIN HAS STOPPED…. Haha.
I started to see the world without my glasses! SUPER AWESOME. Even though some things that were far away were still sort of blurry, I was soooo HAPPY….. and then I went back to sleep. (I am a sleepy head and I can sleep practically anytime and anywhere)



One day after the surgery
I went back to the clinic with BIG shades (my eyes were still light sensitive) and checked my vision. The surgery was a success. The doctor told me that I had 20/15 vision which is better than the normal vision.

THE END

Haha j/k… they gave me a list of things I should not do for a week and a list of things I could not do for a month. They also gave me prescribed eye medication for my eyes that I have to put on for a week.

Now is has been almost a month and my eye sight is getting better and better, and this is my life without glasses.


Well sorry it was super long the story was super long, but worth reading right?
ahahha
Well if you soompers have ANY questions about the surgery I will try to answer them…

P.S. (ask questions that I can answer as a patient)

This is me when I was wearing glasses

and now just image me without glass…
haha (sorry I have no picture without glasses but soon there will be!) <3

[张之磊]

omgggg
i really wanna get it
but im too young
^^"
but i have a few questions
how much was the surgery?
sorry if you already said it but i might of missed it
and also
when they cut a flap on your eye
did that hurt? ^^"
cause like
the biggest thing thats stopping me from getting it when im older is the flap cutting part
what happens if like
the flap breaks off?
can they just out it on or is it gonna be a whole other thing ?
and also
was it hard to focus at the laser for a minute? ^^"
i know it sounds stupid
but when you have a flap cut on your eye and wires pulling back the skin your eyes tend not to focus as well^^"

[ice_sylph]

Good to hear that you are happy with the procedure!

I'm a medical student and I just did a week of Ophthalmology at hospital. Almost all the surgeons I met said LASIK is "evil" and that they would never let their children go for it. I have a friend who did it a year ago who regretted her decision and she said she would discourage anyone from it because her night vision now is pretty much crap.

But then again, I guess it works well for some but not for the others. Just think it through very carefully because basically what LASIK does is shaving/burning the cornea.

[efflorescence]

^ omgosh now that sounds really creepy >_<

What if after your laser eye surgery your vision goes bad again. Can you get another operation? Or are you stuffed because your cornea has already been shaved off =S

[mochi567]

^ omgosh now that sounds really creepy >_<

What if after your laser eye surgery your vision goes bad again. Can you get another operation? Or are you stuffed because your cornea has already been shaved off =S

After the laser eye surgury your vision goes bad, you CAN get another operation to correct the vision. I heard it is VERY rare to have your eyes permanently damaged from laser eye surgury. I did a lot of research on it before I did the procedure.

[mochi567]

omgggg
i really wanna get it
but im too young
^^"
but i have a few questions
how much was the surgery?
sorry if you already said it but i might of missed it
and also
when they cut a flap on your eye
did that hurt? ^^"
cause like
the biggest thing thats stopping me from getting it when im older is the flap cutting part
what happens if like
the flap breaks off?
can they just out it on or is it gonna be a whole other thing ?
and also
was it hard to focus at the laser for a minute? ^^"
i know it sounds stupid
but when you have a flap cut on your eye and wires pulling back the skin your eyes tend not to focus as well^^"

How young is to young to get LASIK?
well, I know that the yougest person to be qualified for LASIK is 18, which is my age.

How much was the surgery?
It was 1,700 and it was worth it.

When they cut the flap of the eye did it hurt?
No it did not... All I felt was presser to the eye. Like someone pressing your eyeball but with no pain... haha

Can the flap break off?
The doctor uses a special drill that makes the flap in the eye. It makes a certain shap, so the flap can open before the LASIK and close after the it.

Is it hard to focus on the Laser?
The laser before the opening of the flap was small like a size of a quater, but when the flap was open the light was big but you can still focus on it.... The laser actually follows/focuses on your eyes, so all you need to do is just look at/around the laser. The Laser is like a lock on missile to the target place (your eyes).... Sorry if my expanation is wierd... haha

[lovecubedlee]

thanks for those details
im thinking of getting it too
ill read into this when i have a lotta time hehe

[seazor]

the flap breaks off?
can they just out it on or is it gonna be a whole other thing ?

If the flap breaks off, it will grow back. Your eyes will just hurt like hell for a week or two. For certain eye transplant surgeries way back in the 90s(ya a long time go I know ), they used to cut the whole thing off and let it regrow by itself.

[chula]

woah! we went to the same place!!! i'm from the US too and was recommended there by a friend.

the doctor told me at first that with my really high prescription (900 on the left, 1000+ on the right) i shouldn't expect a 20/20 vision so i didn't. but the follow up checks up showed that i now have 20/20 so i'm one satisfied patient

[xskyi]

I heard that after getting LASIK eye surgery, you have to get it again afterwards to maintain your eyesight.
Is it true, do you have to keep getting surgery to have perfect eyesight?

[random koohkie]

woah! we went to the same place!!! i'm from the US too and was recommended there by a friend.

the doctor told me at first that with my really high prescription (900 on the left, 1000+ on the right) i shouldn't expect a 20/20 vision so i didn't. but the follow up checks up showed that i now have 20/20 so i'm one satisfied patient

i have a little hope!
my eyes are probably over -8.00 now and i'm only 15 -___-
hopefully LASIK eye surgery will have even more advancements once i'm qualified to get it.
I think this belongs in the Health & Fitness section though o.o

[nanshi]

Good to hear that you are happy with the procedure!

I'm a medical student and I just did a week of Ophthalmology at hospital. Almost all the surgeons I met said LASIK is "evil" and that they would never let their children go for it. I have a friend who did it a year ago who regretted her decision and she said she would discourage anyone from it because her night vision now is pretty much crap.

But then again, I guess it works well for some but not for the others. Just think it through very carefully because basically what LASIK does is shaving/burning the cornea.

Really? I've only heard good things from LASIK. But I have heard that PRK is a better procedure, even though it doesn't get as good results as LASIK, it's still good enough for people to have 20/40 (which is legally okay for driving without correction lenses) vision or better...

And for those of you who are wondering about ages, my friend told me that the rule that they use is that as long as your vision has not changed for 2 years, you are eligible.

[isha_himitsu]

my dad wanted me to have it done when i turned 18..now that i'm 21 i'm still a chicken. haha i just can't imagine myself having to go through something like that,maybe when i get older..hahaha. my vision is 300/225. nearsighted with astigmatism.

[kangxbyul]

I'm planning on getting it when I graduate college since my optometrist told me that would be the best for me.
Glad to hear that your surgery went well ^^

[abviolinplayer]

I think this belongs in the Health & Fitness section...

Thanks for sharing your experience...I've been contemplating getting lasik when my eyesight stabilizes....but I'm still kinda hesitant cuz when things go wrong, it goes REALLY wrong, and that would really suck ><;;

[Rachaelsol]

By the time I'm 18 my astigmatism will probably be too bad for me to be able to do Lasik.. ㅠ____ㅠ
My astigmatism is literally .5 away from being the highest astigmatism you can have to be able to do Lasik.
I want the technology to get more advanced quickly..

[elainee]

When they put that clamp in your eye doesnt it hurt, its like sticking a huge thing into your eye right?
also is it possible to blink during the procedure?

[aaandy]

If the flap breaks off, it will grow back. Your eyes will just hurt like hell for a week or two. For certain eye transplant surgeries way back in the 90s(ya a long time go I know ), they used to cut the whole thing off and let it regrow by itself.

Completely WRONG.

If the the cornea is ripped off you will need a transplant asap and you will not be able to see.
I got Intralasik (blade free) last fall and have 20/10 vision. Do not regret my decision one bit.

Congrats to the OP though! Enjoy your perfect vision!

[jaykidding]

I used to want to get Lasik eye surgery, honestly. But after reading about the surgery, I'm really scared... xD So they actually cut your eye while you're awake? O___O

[atalamarche10]

I hope this hasnt been asked before,
but what happens if your eyes go blurry again, is it safe to get it done again?
any side effects?