lasik : Duthie On...

Had my one week follow up on my LASIK procedure today. Good news all around. My corneas look great, and my eye doc wasn't able to see the edges of the corneal flap (which means that my eyes are healing really well), and I'm 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other.

I also get to stop using the annoying eye shields they make you wear while sleeping (to prevent accidentally rubbing your eyes in your sleep) and don't have to be overly concerned about getting water in my eyes when showering (it's kinda strange to shower with swim goggles on).

So I'm still delighted with my results, and would definitely recommend that folks who are thinking about LASIK talk to their optometrist about it. I first investigated doing it around 4-5 years ago, and didn't go forward due to cost. Now I kinda wish I had, even though it would've cost me more.

BTW, if you're in Northern Virginia, and looking for a doc, my eye doc is with Northern Virginia Doctors of Optometry in Falls Church, VA. My LASIK was done by TLC.

Just finished up my 24 hour LASIK follow-up and my vision is now 20/20, and will likely only improve from here.

My eyes feel great, and I've been OK'ed to drive. So my results are as good as one could hope for!

So I've just gotten up from my mandated post-Lasik nap, and here are my initial thoughts:

1. Wow, it's amazing how much better I'm seeing already.
2. Wow, the procedure is amazingly fast (the actual laser firing is less than a minute, and I'd guess about another minute or two for prep)
3. Wow, it's really uncomfortable in the time between the procedure and napping (despite the numbing drops and drugs they gave me, there was a lot of discomfort...not quite to the level of what I'd call pain, and I would've been hard pressed to open my eyelids on the drive home)

I'll keep this brief since I'm not really supposed to be spending time on the computer. Another report after my 24-hour follow up tomorrow.

So my LASIK procedure is in a couple of hours. At noon today, I'll be getting the procedure done, then I'm supposed to nap for 4-5 hours. Always nice to have a nap mandated by your doctor.

I'm having my surgery performed by the same surgeon who did Tiger Woods. What's funny, though, is that at the doctor's request, I saw a retinal specialist earlier in the week to get clearance for LASIK because of a retinal condition (central serous retinopathy or CSR). In addition to clearing me for the surgery, he specifically pooh-poohed the fact that my doctor did Tiger Woods' surgery. Rather, he said, the reason I should be happy with my choice of doctors is that two of his partners went to the same surgeon.

I guess he has a point...when you're talking about people who not only need great vision in their work, but who are eye doctors themselves, that's a pretty strong recommendation.

I'm guessing that I probably won't feel much like looking at a computer later today, so I'll post sometime over the weekend with a post-surgery follow-up. Wish me luck!

So I've finally decided to join the numerous friends I know who've had laser vision surgery.

I've been wearing glasses for more than half my life now, and I'm just over it. That, combined with the fact that my employer now has some limited coverage for the procedure, has tipped the balance in favor of hopefully getting rid of these darn things. And it doesn't hurt that pretty much everyone I know who's had it done is very satisfied with the results.

Of course, anecdotal evidence is just that, so there are no guarantees, but according to my eye doc, I'm a very good candidate for this, so I'm hopeful for great results.

I'll post next month about my experience with the surgery, for those who might be interested, and will follow-up periodically on the results.

Wish me luck!