Lasik tomorrow! UPDATE in #13

[essnce629]

Yay, so DH agreed on me going ahead and getting Lasik with my doctor (not super low budget guy!) and it will be done tomorrow night! They have me taking Valium an hour before the procedure and gave me a second pill to take 30 minutes before as well if I'm not feeling the first dose. They said the numbing drops last 4 hours so my job is to go home and go to bed before the 4 hours is up so I can sleep though the burning/stinging part and then wake up fine the next day. I have the antibiotic and steroid drops as well that I'll be using 4 times a day for the first week. My post-op appointment is the following morning after the procedure and I'm assuming I'll be fine to drive at that point? They said I would. I hope so because I have a super busy day that day with my appointment, volunteering at DS2's school at lunch time, DS1's follow up urology appointment, and then my ballet class at night! So I hope I can see!

Anyone want to share their experiences that first day and week after and have any tips to offer? They said I'll go home wearing goggles and I'll have to sleep in them that first night. No swimming or eye makeup for a week.

[mskitty]

My husband had Lasik. I think you're being a bit optimistic about the day after surgery. I would do the two doctor's appointments but skip volunteering and the ballet class. Not everyone sails through with great vision right away. My husband's vision was much improved after the surgery but wasn't 20/20 until he healed all the way. He had his done early Monday morning and wasn't up to a hectic day after his post op appointment on Tuesday.

[dowlinal]

I had LASIK done about 15 years ago, but I remember it very well. I woke up in the middle of the night afterwards and was amazed at how well I could see. I was 20/30 at my first visit and then ultimately 20/20. I needed a ride for my followup because for the first few days I was extremely sensitive to light and it made driving difficult. I also slept a lot. I didn't have any pain, but my eyes felt gritty. I remember constantly wanting to rub them.

[HannaAddict]

My husband had it done about ten years ago and had a court hearing planned a day or two afterwards and that is overly optimistic. He had to move it. He felt great immediately after, the numbing drops work great but when they wear off and the next day or two, you won't want to volunteer or be super busy. You should plan on taking it easy, not driving around, and even with no complications at all, I wouldn't be at school or work. Good luck!

[zukeypur]

I drove myself to my follow up appointment the next day, followed by a full day of work. I did have trouble with close up vision, so i was not able to use a microscope. Unless you use a microscope or need to see super fine print, your vision should be fine. However, you should expect discomfort and VERY dry eyes. I used eye drops constantly for weeks. Invest in a good water resistant mascara for when you can start wearing makeup again.

My husband had LASEK, and he was down and out for several days in some pretty serious pain.

[icunurse]

My DH had it done about 10 years ago. His doc had him putting in saline drops very frequently (I want to say every two hours, but it has been a while). With the antibiotic and steroids drops, he was constantly putting in something. I want to say that he had to do that for a week and then he could use the saline drops as needed. They had to be single use and preservative free (we bought them off the shelf at Target). His only real complaint was the dry eye feeling, which went away with time. He felt really good the next day, but not great (still felt a bit groggy, eyes were a bit sensitive). If you don't already have a pair of non-prescription sunglasses, make sure you have some for the days after the procedure.

[pastrygirl]

I was VERY sensitive to light and needed to spend the weekend in dark conditions. (I had it done on a Friday.). I would've canceled any plans I'd had...

[SummerBaby]

I had it done at 10:30 am on a Friday. It's very scary when you are leaving the doctor and going home because you can't really see and it hurts like hell to open your eyes. I went to bed when I got home. When I woke up around 4:00, I could see the small print AG the bottom of the TV! Thrilling! The next day I could drive, but my eyes were still uncomfortable. One side effect I wasn't prepared for is that the suction they use to place the laser broke all the blood vessels in my eyes. I looked like a zombie. It took about 3 weeks to completely heal.

[OKKiddo]

My husband had Lasik. I think you're being a bit optimistic about the day after surgery. I would do the two doctor's appointments but skip volunteering and the ballet class. Not everyone sails through with great vision right away. My husband's vision was much improved after the surgery but wasn't 20/20 until he healed all the way. He had his done early Monday morning and wasn't up to a hectic day after his post op appointment on Tuesday.

What she said and also because you'll be doing different eye drops through the day (and one always put a terrible taste in my mouth and made me gag!) as well as wearing really beautiful (being sarcastic here) sunglasses. Oh, and sleeping with eye pads taped over your eyes to protect them might mean that your skin is going to be irritated as well. I really think you should have someone there to drive you to your appt. as well--just in case your vision is still a little blurry from inflammation. I don't remember any pain or stinging the day of or the next day and I had awesome vision right away but I was a bad patient and my DH had to put me to bed with a stern voice, lol.

ETA: Also, you really, really want to take it easy for a while after any medical procedure or surgery because inflammation gets worse with activity. It's the health and safety of your vision and also you're spending a lot of money on this procedure--you don't want to jeopardize your results or your health.

[essnce629]

Shoot! Looks like I may have too much planned for the next day already! I forgot I'm supposed to drive the kids to school that next morning too! We have a carpool and I only drive once a day, but I said I would do the morning shift since I have to pull DS1 out early for his urology appointment. I'll see about not volunteering for lunch but they'll need to find a replacement since there's usually only 3 of us serving hot lunch to the whole school. Ballet I'll play by ear since it's late at night. It's a 6 week series and I'm only allowed to miss one class so I was hoping not to LOL! I'll give my carpool and the volunteer coordinator a heads up today about possibly missing tomorrow. If I can't drive myself to my post op then that's a problem since DH will be working.

I wore contacts exclusively before so I do have non prescription sunglasses already.

[essnce629]

Oh, and did anyone take any pain meds for after the numbing drops wore off? I think all we have in the house is DH's Excedrin Tension Headache which is probably not what I'd want! I'm normally a night owl so maybe I need a sleeping pill to knock me out, or will the 2 Valiums do that?

[HannaAddict]

My husband had LASEK, and he was down and out for several days in some pretty serious pain.

My husband had LASEK as well at the rec of the head of the university department who said it was the best, gold standard, but it was crazily more painful than LASIK. He is glad he did it now, but it hurt!!

[essnce629]

Just wanted to update that all went as perfectly as it could have! I entered the building at 5:45pm on Monday night and was walking out at 6:45pm. I had the 2 Valiums beforehand and then took Tylenol when I got home, Arnica homeopathic tablets, and melatonin right before bed so I could sleep. I was in bed at 9pm when my doctor called me at home to see how I was doing. :) I had a little bit of uncomfortable stinging when the numbing drops started to wear off, but nothing too bad and I was able to do a load of laundry, get DS2 in the bath, run the dishwasher, and get everything ready for the next day before getting in bed. I was asleep by 10pm and before that I was already seeing pretty clearly (I was able to see the time on the non-digital clock from across the room). I woke up seeing perfectly and feeling great! I was able to drive the kids to school fine and then headed to my post-op appointment where I learned that my vision was already 20/15 in both eyes! The doctor put a numbing drop in each eye at my post op and I was feeling great the rest of the day and was able to go ahead and volunteer at DS2's school, take DS1 to his urology appointment, and attend my ballet class at night! It really couldn't have gone any better! Thanks everyone for your tips and advice! Best decision ever! So amazing that they can perform such a life changing procedure in just 15 minutes! So unreal!

[wellyes]

Congratulations!

[SummerBaby]

Great news! I'm glad it worked for you!

[pastrygirl]

Yay! Great update!!

[TwinFoxes]

Jealous. Congrats!

[zukeypur]

Fantastic!!!!!

[Mopey]

Jealous. Congrats!

This! Good for you! You are making me think about it again.....

[citymama]

Wow, maybe I need to reconsider Lasik! So glad it went well!

[HannaAddict]

Fantastic!!