› Mar 19, 2012 ‹
i can see CLEEEEEARLY now, the rain is gone..
So my bday is coming up, and I received the most awesome, equal parts terrifying and thoughtful and rewarding, present from my parents last week. After 13 years of glasses and contacts, I finally pulled the trigger and got LASIK! Well technically, I got Epi-LASIK, which is essentially the same thing but is a blade-less procedure where no flap is made in the eye. Learn more here if you’re curious. I’ve been wearing glasses since 7th grade and self-conscious enough to start wearing contacts in 8th. You’ll rarely see me in glasses, but I wanted to share this picture on my blog! Of course the one time I’ll share a picture of myself in my D&G glasses… will the the last time I ever wear them!
I went in to the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley because my cousin previously had his LASIK procedure there and the great reviews online. My ophthalmologist was Dr. Craig Bindi and he is wonderful. Seriously the best bedside manner I’ve ever witnessed. The free consultation was very pressure-free and informative, and you can tell they have their patient services down pat. They’re really helpful with questions and totally easy to schedule with. You could have your eyeballs lasered next week if you wanted!
The actual procedure was not painful at all but strange and maybe a little uncomfortable. They definitely give you enough numbing drops, neuropathic pain medicine and Valium to get over the weirdness of having a speculum pry open your eyelids and have someone “squeegee” your eye - my sister’s words! I made her come to watch and enjoy the show hahaha. Dr. Bindi was really patient, gentle and calmly talked me through the whole thing, all 15 minutes of it. I definitely felt the immediately clear vision everyone describes after LASIK, strutting around saying “yeah, you see that sign over there? I can read the shit out of it!”
I WILL say though that NO ONEEEEEEEEE ANYWHERE told me how PAINFUL the recovery from Epi-LASIK was going to be. Online and in person, I was told the recovery time for the blade-less Epi-LASIK procedure would be 5-6 days and I would experience “discomfort and irritation.” NO ONE SAID IT WOULD BE PAINFUL AS BALLS!! After the initial euphoria of clear vision, the inflammation set in that night and I was pretty much completely incapacitated for 4 days straight. I was in bed nonstop, wearing sunglasses in the dark, ice packs covering my face, popping ibuprofen and Vicodin like candy and begging the bf to turn off every single light possible. Close the blinds, cover up the clock numbers and dim that laptop screen, STAT!
I would probably do it all over again and suggest it to people considering it, but definitely be aware that not ALL LASIK procedures are a walk in the park. Those that opt for or are only eligible for Epi-LASIK need to be fully aware that the recovery is QUITE painful and be prepared for that, which I mentally was not.
It’s still healing, and I have a “contact lens bandage” in my eyes that will be removed this week. My vision is improving everyday and it’s awesome to finally be able to walk around without sunglasses, day or night. The pain is 99% gone and I am ibuprofen/Vicodin free! It was disappointing to miss St. Patty’s celebrations, but I am in 100% better spirits than I was last week and super excited for my contact-free existence! Although I’m still a little blurry and sensitive to light, I can finally handle the brightness of my laptop and iphone screens now and wanted to share my Epi-LASIK experience so far! Fingers crossed!
PS. I may have to edit this post later in case my blurry eyeballs have __ a word or two ;)
