Wish me luck!

Sharkbait · Feb 25, 2004

When next I post, I'll have new eyes!

I'm going in this afternoon for LASIK surgery to correct my abyssmally poor vision. I've been at least 20/200 since I was 8, so I simply cannot comprehend what it will be like to be able to see clearly again without contacts or glasses.

Anyway, I'm super excited. My wife is more nervous than I am, but I'm still going to take the last hour or so and look through some of my photos again, just in case I go blind this evening.

Chase · Feb 25, 2004

Good luck! I know quite a few people that have had it done and every single one of them couldn't be happier with the results they've seen (literally)!

Let us know how it goes

voodoocat · Feb 25, 2004

Good luck Shark!

Osmer_Toby · Feb 25, 2004

good luck, man. you'll be fine, and the outcome is AWESOME!! you'll see things you never saw before, even with glasses or contacts...

whatever you do, though, make sure you sleep for the 4 hours after the surgery- i woke up about 2 hrs into the valium induced sleep and had some trouble- they had to prescribe percoset to kill the pain. next morning i woke up totally pain free, and have not had a problem since. most amazing thing is next morning when you wake up- the results are obvious right away, and it gets better for up to a month. my vision is 20/15 now and has stabilized. amazing.

if you do wake up with pain just after the surgery, after the topical anesthesia has worn off, don't panic. the pain is not indicative of damage or surgical failure- it just means you woke up too soon!

terri · Feb 25, 2004

Best of luck!!! I'd like to do it but I'm too chicken, so I bow to your courage. Let us know how it goes, even if you have to grope your way to the keyboard. :wink:

metroshane · Feb 25, 2004

Don't worry about it. I've looked at the procedure for my wife (I have natural 20/15 vision, sorry)...and the process is more mechanical than physiological. Just like putting a new lens on your camera....there isn't much that can go wrong short of an alien crash landing in the operatory.

Darfion · Feb 25, 2004

Good luck Sharkie. 8)

vonnagy · Feb 25, 2004

g'luck - you'll be seeing sharp b4 ya know it! I went to from 20/450 to 20/15 after the procedure.

Dew · Feb 25, 2004

good luck ... and dont be doing any drug-induced typing :lol:

... kinda like drunk-typing

mrsid99 · Feb 25, 2004

Good luck Shark!
See you back here soon!

luckydog · Feb 26, 2004

LUCKYdog is in your corner mate so the op will be a breeze! Once it's over i'm sure you be glad you did it. Who knows maybe your future photo posts will actually be in focus :wink:

Just joking

Good luck mate :thumbsup:

Sharkbait · Feb 26, 2004

I'm posting from home, just wanted to let everyone know that the surgery went really well, and I can see again! The appointment was for 4:15, and I finally got into surgery around 5:45. The actual procedure took about 5 minutes. There was a little discomfort, but no real pain When they lifted the flap on my cornea, it was like...well imagine a zipper being part of your body and being unzipped. That's the closest I can come to describing it. Another cool thing is that they put temporary collagen plugs in my lower tear-duct drains. It looks like there are little black dots in the corner of my lower eyelids. Those are to help keep my eyes moist.

My vision was *extremely* blurry last night (the numbing drops they put in my eye relaxed the focusing musculature), but was already starting to clear a bit by the time we got home. I was exhausted just from the whole experience, so took a sleeping pill and crashed out around 8:30pm. Woke up at 4:30am and could see the alarm clock. Wow!

Today is an odd experience. I can see pretty well (still kind of bleary sometimes), but I can feel my brain taking control of my 'new' eyes and re-learning how to focus them. Stuff will shift in and out of focus quickly (like a camera's autofocus trying to zero in on something).

I drove myself up to Carmel for the post-op this morning, and the optometrist said everything looks absolutely perfect. There's a bit of bleariness and every now and then a feeling like something's in my eye (but I'm under STRICT orders not to rub my eyes), but other than that I'm good as new!

I've worn glasses since I was 8, and had bad vision for awhile before that, so this is the first time in about 25 YEARS that I'm seeing clearly out of my own eyes. It's a truly a life-altering experience!!!!

terri · Feb 26, 2004

Well, woo hoo!!! Congrats to you! I'm so glad it went so well for you.

Osmer_Toby · Feb 26, 2004

awesome! so glad to hear all went well. welcome to the land of keen vision- it's a super cool place to be, eh? looking at the world in yet another new way is such a fulfilling experience...
i'm happy for you, man!

zio · Mar 2, 2004

i had PRK surgery just over a year ago for the military...it was the best thing that has ever happened to me! i know how it goes having poor vision, 20/400 prior to the surgery....now its 20/15 in one eye and 20/20 in the other.