Two Eyes, Two Years
Friday, October 30, 2009
Exactly two years ago today, I had my LASIK eye surgery.
(10/31/07 - Showing off my super-cute goggles that I had to sleep in for an ENTIRE WEEK!!)
Best.Decision.Ever.
I actually have a really hard time remembering what it was like to deal with glasses/contacts, which is weird since I had them for 13 years.
But now, I can't fathom not being able to fall asleep watching TV without uncomfortable glasses on my face. When I stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night, it's because I'm too lazy to turn the lights on, not because I can't see more than a foot in front of my face. I don't have to pry my eyes open and stick anything into them when I'm still barely awake.
I don't have to pull over on the side of the road if my contact suddenly decides to shift, or I get an eyelash in my eye while driving. When we travel, I don't have to pack a contact case or solution. I can swim without worrying about "my eyes" falling out. In fact, I can even open my eyes underwater.
In short, it's glorious.
Two years ago, I made the leap. Even though our wedding was less than eight months away, I decided that the investment was worth it. I actually applied for and qualified for a 3-year loan with a really low interest rate through the doctor's office, and the payments are $56/month. I've been putting extra money toward it for a while, so it's almost paid off, even though I am supposed to have a year left on the loan. But you know what? Honestly, I would pay $56/month for the rest of my life to not ever have to deal with contacts or glasses again.
It is worth it. So worth it.
Anyway, I just wanted to celebrate the two year anniversary of my new eyes. :) Two years ago, I wrapped up work a couple of hours early, and my boss actually drove me and dropped me off at the doctor's office. My husband (fiance at the time) met me there shortly thereafter, and the doctors proceeded to perform a procedure that completely changed my life! (And Michael got to watch the whole thing, too. He's braver than I.)
If you are interested in knowing more about my LASIK experience, I actually did a series of posts about it back on Road to the Aisle.
These three posts are especially thorough:
Road to New Eyes: The Preparation
Road to New Eyes: The Surgery
Road to New Eyes: The Aftermath
The only lingering side effect I experienced was minor dry eye, but it's really nothing. After several weeks (months? I can't remember) of using the eye drops as the doctors directed, I found that my eyes would often feel dry when I first woke up in the morning, but didn't really have any problems through the rest of the day. The morning dry eye persisted for several months, but has mostly resolved itself now. I occasionally still wake up with that feeling, but I have artificial tears eye drops and I just use them once in the morning and I'm fine. It certainly hasn't negatively affected my opinion on the surgery. I still sing its praises.
I'm always willing to share my experience, since I remember being desperate to talk to LASIK patients when I was trying to make my decision. If there are questions, please check out my posts about it all above, as I get into a lot of the details. But if there's anything any of you would like to know beyond that, feel free to ask!
I actually have a really hard time remembering what it was like to deal with glasses/contacts, which is weird since I had them for 13 years.
But now, I can't fathom not being able to fall asleep watching TV without uncomfortable glasses on my face. When I stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night, it's because I'm too lazy to turn the lights on, not because I can't see more than a foot in front of my face. I don't have to pry my eyes open and stick anything into them when I'm still barely awake.
I don't have to pull over on the side of the road if my contact suddenly decides to shift, or I get an eyelash in my eye while driving. When we travel, I don't have to pack a contact case or solution. I can swim without worrying about "my eyes" falling out. In fact, I can even open my eyes underwater.
In short, it's glorious.
Two years ago, I made the leap. Even though our wedding was less than eight months away, I decided that the investment was worth it. I actually applied for and qualified for a 3-year loan with a really low interest rate through the doctor's office, and the payments are $56/month. I've been putting extra money toward it for a while, so it's almost paid off, even though I am supposed to have a year left on the loan. But you know what? Honestly, I would pay $56/month for the rest of my life to not ever have to deal with contacts or glasses again.
It is worth it. So worth it.
Anyway, I just wanted to celebrate the two year anniversary of my new eyes. :) Two years ago, I wrapped up work a couple of hours early, and my boss actually drove me and dropped me off at the doctor's office. My husband (fiance at the time) met me there shortly thereafter, and the doctors proceeded to perform a procedure that completely changed my life! (And Michael got to watch the whole thing, too. He's braver than I.)
If you are interested in knowing more about my LASIK experience, I actually did a series of posts about it back on Road to the Aisle.
These three posts are especially thorough:
Road to New Eyes: The Preparation
Road to New Eyes: The Surgery
Road to New Eyes: The Aftermath
The only lingering side effect I experienced was minor dry eye, but it's really nothing. After several weeks (months? I can't remember) of using the eye drops as the doctors directed, I found that my eyes would often feel dry when I first woke up in the morning, but didn't really have any problems through the rest of the day. The morning dry eye persisted for several months, but has mostly resolved itself now. I occasionally still wake up with that feeling, but I have artificial tears eye drops and I just use them once in the morning and I'm fine. It certainly hasn't negatively affected my opinion on the surgery. I still sing its praises.
I'm always willing to share my experience, since I remember being desperate to talk to LASIK patients when I was trying to make my decision. If there are questions, please check out my posts about it all above, as I get into a lot of the details. But if there's anything any of you would like to know beyond that, feel free to ask!
Posts
6 comments:
I just had my LASIK done a week ago today, and it's one of the best decisions I have ever made!
Congrats on 2 years! :)
congrats, Heather! I'm seriously considering this, as I wear glasses every day. I can't face the prospect of contacts, but I'm going to have to because I don't want to wear glasses on my wedding day. So I will have a laser consultation to see whether I am a suitable candidate. Thanks for sharing your experience - it's reassuring!
My husband wants to do this but he hasn't found the time, I guess. Maybe I'll show him your links.
I honestly feel like it was my best decision also. I always tell everyone that they should do it if they can. I've had ZERO side affects, even the dry eye was only for a couple of months. My vision wasn't even all that bad, but like you said, dealing with the glasses and whatnot was just so annoying. I LOVE being able to fall asleep with the TV on! I had the surgery in January 2004, so it's almost 6 years! Still have 20/15 vision (better than 20/20)! I'm glad you did it and had a good experience!!!
I agree...best decision ever. I had mine done 10 years ago on 10/6/1999 and I've never regretted it for a day! Glad you love your "new" eyes too!!
Remember my email to you a couple months ago? I just had my surgery done on Monday! It's so weird training myself not to automatically squint at my alarm clock in the morning. :-) I'm obviously still waiting for some of the haziness/halos to go away, but I think it will prove to be an awesome decision.
Your description of everything really helped me be prepared as well - the surgery wasn't scary because I knew what to expect, and I even realize that tasting the drops in my throat isn't weird! :-P
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