Zap! Zap!
I got my LASIK done yesterday.
It was quick and painless. Really.
The doc at Optimax (HUKM) dropped some liquid anaesthetic into my eyes. When it got abit numb she used a marker to dot the edges of my iris (I guess that's where they cut the flap on my cornea).
Then they cleaned my eyes, added more drops to make them number and wider, and asked me to put on a blue coat, a shower cap and slip-on socks before I entered the operating theatre.
Once inside, I was taken aback at how relaxed everybody was. The nurses and assistants were chatting and friendly. I guess they HAVE done this many many times. There was no operating table, but I sat on what looked like a dentist chair with some big machinery over it.
Wokay. I got that far. Might as well.
They started with my right eye and it happened so fast I didn't know what was happening at all. They placed a sticker-like thing over my eyes to keep my upper and lower eyelids open. Then a clamp was put in to make sure I didn't blink. Obviously my eyes were numbed out and I didn't feel a thing. There was green light above me, and where I was, I couldn't exactly look at anything else.
Then I saw something covering my eyeball and felt a slight pressure. Then some whirring. Then some fussing around and eye drops.
Then I saw the green light again. This time there was also a red light. More buzzing and whirring for a fews seconds. Something was burning. I realised it was the laser frying off bits of my cornea. Whoopeedo.
More fussing around. Something brushed left, right, up and down on my eye. And then it was over.
"Done, Miss WN. Please sit up. Left eye now."
I was like, "That's it?"
For RM3300, I thought it should be a tad more complicated to make my money's worth. Hah!
When it was the other eye's turn, I was more aware of what's going on.
The thing covering my eyeball, the pressure and the first whirring, were actually the sound and sensation of the suction and cutting of the corneal flap. The fussing around was the doc opening my corneal flap for the laser. And the fussing after was to close the flap.
I was out in what felt like 5 minutes. They gave me an eye drop kit and instructions on how to take care of my eyes for the next few weeks.
Thank God it was a good cloudy day, so I didn't have any problems with glare. Some patients become sensitive to light. I guess I was fortunate I didn't. I could actually do without the sunnies but I put them on anyway. Aunty CH took me home (bless that woman) and I spent the most of the afternoon sleeping and keeping my eyes closed.
Initially, my vision was kinda blurry. Like after you swim underwater with your eyes open for a long time. After a few hours, things cleared up a little, but I wouldn't say it's perfect 20/20 vision. Subtitles on TV still looked a little blur.
I went back today for a follow up.
Everything looked much clearer after I woke up from sleep. The doc tested my eyes and all was okay except the smallest line (the E looked like a C), especially on my right eye.
Doc said it'd take a few days to 3 months for vision to stabilise. Besides, every patient is told that 20/20 version cannot be guaranteed before the procedure. Results vary from one patient to another, so we go in knowing that we have to manage our expectations.
If the results are not satisfactory after 3 months, they will do an 'enhancement', free of charge (which is better than what I can say about another eye center, Vista at the Curve, which charges RM980 extra should the first treatment prove insufficient. Bah!)
For now, it's antibiotic and lubricating eye drops every two hours. And a plastic shield to wear over my eyes in case I rub them at night. I'll be going for another follow up in a week's time. Hopefully my vision will be closer to 20/20 then, if it can be 20/20. Right now it's close, but not there yet. Meanwhile, I'll just have to take good care of my eyes.
How does it feel?
It's liberating. And I like it.
Started driving today. No problems. And I can wear my sunnies without having to wear contacts. Yay! Kinda miss my glasses though. I've been pushing my invisible pair up the bridge of my nose the whole day.
A friend told me my glasses defined me and wondered why I wanted to do this. Honestly, I don't know. I just did.
Two other people said I had a sexy librarian look going with my glasses and were quite disappointed. Hahaha! THAT really cracked me up.
Oh well. Who's to tell if I won't ever need my glasses again? I'm sure when I hit the big 40 (loong, looong way off, ahem) I'll need them for reading. In the meantime, my geeky (:P) glasses can be a 'prop'. When I feel like it. Heh.
It was quick and painless. Really.
The doc at Optimax (HUKM) dropped some liquid anaesthetic into my eyes. When it got abit numb she used a marker to dot the edges of my iris (I guess that's where they cut the flap on my cornea).
Then they cleaned my eyes, added more drops to make them number and wider, and asked me to put on a blue coat, a shower cap and slip-on socks before I entered the operating theatre.
Once inside, I was taken aback at how relaxed everybody was. The nurses and assistants were chatting and friendly. I guess they HAVE done this many many times. There was no operating table, but I sat on what looked like a dentist chair with some big machinery over it.
Wokay. I got that far. Might as well.
They started with my right eye and it happened so fast I didn't know what was happening at all. They placed a sticker-like thing over my eyes to keep my upper and lower eyelids open. Then a clamp was put in to make sure I didn't blink. Obviously my eyes were numbed out and I didn't feel a thing. There was green light above me, and where I was, I couldn't exactly look at anything else.
Then I saw something covering my eyeball and felt a slight pressure. Then some whirring. Then some fussing around and eye drops.
Then I saw the green light again. This time there was also a red light. More buzzing and whirring for a fews seconds. Something was burning. I realised it was the laser frying off bits of my cornea. Whoopeedo.
More fussing around. Something brushed left, right, up and down on my eye. And then it was over.
"Done, Miss WN. Please sit up. Left eye now."
I was like, "That's it?"
For RM3300, I thought it should be a tad more complicated to make my money's worth. Hah!
When it was the other eye's turn, I was more aware of what's going on.
The thing covering my eyeball, the pressure and the first whirring, were actually the sound and sensation of the suction and cutting of the corneal flap. The fussing around was the doc opening my corneal flap for the laser. And the fussing after was to close the flap.
I was out in what felt like 5 minutes. They gave me an eye drop kit and instructions on how to take care of my eyes for the next few weeks.
Thank God it was a good cloudy day, so I didn't have any problems with glare. Some patients become sensitive to light. I guess I was fortunate I didn't. I could actually do without the sunnies but I put them on anyway. Aunty CH took me home (bless that woman) and I spent the most of the afternoon sleeping and keeping my eyes closed.
Initially, my vision was kinda blurry. Like after you swim underwater with your eyes open for a long time. After a few hours, things cleared up a little, but I wouldn't say it's perfect 20/20 vision. Subtitles on TV still looked a little blur.
I went back today for a follow up.
Everything looked much clearer after I woke up from sleep. The doc tested my eyes and all was okay except the smallest line (the E looked like a C), especially on my right eye.
Doc said it'd take a few days to 3 months for vision to stabilise. Besides, every patient is told that 20/20 version cannot be guaranteed before the procedure. Results vary from one patient to another, so we go in knowing that we have to manage our expectations.
If the results are not satisfactory after 3 months, they will do an 'enhancement', free of charge (which is better than what I can say about another eye center, Vista at the Curve, which charges RM980 extra should the first treatment prove insufficient. Bah!)
For now, it's antibiotic and lubricating eye drops every two hours. And a plastic shield to wear over my eyes in case I rub them at night. I'll be going for another follow up in a week's time. Hopefully my vision will be closer to 20/20 then, if it can be 20/20. Right now it's close, but not there yet. Meanwhile, I'll just have to take good care of my eyes.
How does it feel?
It's liberating. And I like it.
Started driving today. No problems. And I can wear my sunnies without having to wear contacts. Yay! Kinda miss my glasses though. I've been pushing my invisible pair up the bridge of my nose the whole day.
A friend told me my glasses defined me and wondered why I wanted to do this. Honestly, I don't know. I just did.
Two other people said I had a sexy librarian look going with my glasses and were quite disappointed. Hahaha! THAT really cracked me up.
Oh well. Who's to tell if I won't ever need my glasses again? I'm sure when I hit the big 40 (loong, looong way off, ahem) I'll need them for reading. In the meantime, my geeky (:P) glasses can be a 'prop'. When I feel like it. Heh.
says Wandernut on Thursday, August 31, 2006
2 wandered by:
I'm glad things worked out. Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to stand all the tinkering around my eyes...it would freak me out.
I'm sure you still pull off the sexy librarian look. : )
~~~~~~~~~~geekchic
I got suggestion for the sexy librarian look! Go to your local optometrist, remove the lenses from your current glasses, put in some lenses with no power whatsoever. Pop them on when you feel like having a different look.
BWAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH....I'm so crever!!!!
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