Hi Everyone!

I have decided to get LASIK ... But I am terrified! Any advice? What should I expect? What to do/not to do? Please share any info...TIA :)

I just had LASIK done a month ago - it's a very easy and simple process. The only inconvenience is the eye drop regiment you have to follow post-op for a few weeks. It's like 3 different eye drops every 2-4 hours, 5 minutes apart from each other.

Please find the BEST doctor in your area. I paid a pretty penny for my LASIK operation ($5k) but I had no problems whatsoever. My optometrist, who does my post op checkups, said that she could not even see the incision on my eye and had to really search for it - that's how good my doctor was! I had heavy astigmatism before, and was a -7 in each eye and now I can see 20/15.

On the other hand, one of my client's friends had LASIK done the same day I did, but went to a cheaper doc and, well, suffered for it. I heard she couldn't even open her eyes 3 days later.

The process is very quick, and painless. They will give you a Xanax to calm your nerves, and then numbing drops. You will only feel a bit of pressure on the eye for about 30 seconds. After the surgery, they will put goggles on you and someone can drive you home. The only thing I would recommend is to ask for numbing drops before they send you home. My eyes started to sting as I was waiting for my ride, and the clinic assistants didn't check up on me for 15 minutes.. ouch! Once they put in the drops though, I was fine for the rest of the day.

Good luck!

My sister had it done twice, one eye needed to be done again for what reason???? I don't know. She went to an excellent doctor/surgery center and had no problems. She said the only thing that bothered her was after the surgery at home for a few days your eyes kind of felt like they had sand in them, more annoying and not in pain at all. She would recommend this surgery to anyone.

Yippee laser eye surgery!

I had PRK done, which is the "burn through" method rather than Lasik's "cut and peel back" method.
Anyways, best thing ever. With Lasiks the healing time is so fast. A colleague had it done on a Thursday after work, took Friday off and was back at the office on Monday. Crazy,eh?

Since you're terrified I won't get into some horror stories my friends have had... they all had happy endings however. Many people around me have had laser eye surgery (either PRK or Lasiks) and every one of us love the results, even the people that had the horror stories .

If you're nervous on the day of surgery they will give you those fabulous pills that help you go to your calm-place.

And when you leave you'll be wearing these ultra-stylish wrap around sunnies.

I had no complications afterwards, but I was diligent with putting all the drops in my eyes as part of the after care.

It's the best money I've ever spent on myself. I do agree with the other posts about doing your research and going with an experience eye surgery doctor in your area.

Thanks everyone! I go in for my pre-op appt. today. Any specific questions I should ask? I have a list, but just in case I missed any :)

Good luck! Both my brother and my mother had theirs done, with great results. I'm planning on doing mine -- Lasik or PRk, whatever the doc recommends for me -- early next year. I'm waiting until then not for any reason other than having the lead time to put money onto my Flex account to pay for the procedure.

Let us know how your procedure goes!

Had mine done in December last year. Best money I ever spent.

The procedure isn't painful. It's uncomfortable, sure, and it's weird, but it's not sore. The worst part by a long shot is when they insert the plastic thing that holds your eyelids open -- bit of a Clockwork Orange moment, lol. But when it's over it's over, and it's sooooo quick. I think the whole thing took under 4 minutes. Be sure to ask them to give you an Ativan beforehand, it ensures your last-minute nerves don't get the better of you.

I walked home in dark glasses after the procedure, no pain, really not a big deal at all. I then spent the afternoon after the surgery in a dark room, sunglasses on, eyes closed, dozing and listening to the radio (was sooooo relaxing and wonderful actually!). Had it done lunchtime on a Friday, was back at work on Monday.

Recovery was fine. I had dry eyes for a month after the surgery, then the little nerves in my eyes finally healed up completely, and I no longer have dry eye symptoms at all. Some people do have permanent dry eyes though -- it does happen -- talk to your Dr.

Also, PLEASE wear your protective padding or sunglasses/goggles while sleeping for the first few days. DO NOT neglect that. The #1 for people needing a second operation is that they rub their eyes in their sleep, and that can cause a "wrinkle" as the eye heals. Which has to be re-operating on to correct.

I have better than 20/20 vision now. It's truly amazing. Looking forward to my first summer out of specs :-)

I had Lasik completed almost 8 years ago - in my early 20's (gosh it's been so long I can't recall exactly what year.. lol)

Like the others that have mentioned.. the actual procedure is somewhat uncomfortable and I remember feeling very nervous throughout the entire procedure, even after the xanax. The only scary part is for a split section after the pressure feeling (I think this is when they flip the top portion of your eye skin over).. your eyes are open but you see complete darkness. I remember at that exact moment... I wanted to get up and run out of the room.. lol. However, your eye specialist is talking to you through the entire procedure.. which is reassuring.

Recovery time was fast, and they do give you those awesome goggles to wear to sleep with.. :) with some very gel-ish lubricant eye-drops.

One side effect of the lasik.. is that I experience dry eye in my eyes more (and this is post Op 8 years later). I can't have the AC air-vent blowing directly at my face anymore.. because my eyes get really uncomfortable. But other than that .. and the occasionally eye drops .. it was worth every penny~!

I had mine done through TLC Laser Eye Center.. after research and visiting the office... g-luck!

I'm getting laser corrective surgery too! I have a consultation on Wednesday. So freaked out about someone cutting my eye open, but my contacts have been bothering me more and more...

I am terrified of it too, which is why I will probably never have it done. My DH thinks I'm crazy. He had his done about 5 years ago and loves it.

Lasik was the best decision I ever made. The procedure was less than 5 minutes. Good luck!

Right! The only long-term negative is that your new eye shape won't allow you to wear colored contacts. It's been tough for me to get used to my natural, beady dark eyes! lol. Been wearing hazel contacts for more than 10 years, so it's quite an adjustment.

@vhdos, It's nothing to be afraid of. Like another poster said, the process is a lot like Clockwork Orange. All you see are a bunch of green and red lights. the doctor is talking you through the process, saying things like "look at the green light. Now it's going to look a little blurry... Now it's looking clear.." It's actually kind of fun...

I had LASIK back in 2005 and it was money well spent - until I found out that the job I started a month later included LASIK in their cafeteria plan (oh well). Like what everyone else said before, when they explain the procedure it seems really awful, but the surgery wasn't painful - just strangely uncomfortable when they stretch your eye lids. What truly amazed me was that after wearing glasses and contacts for almost 25 years, how quickly I forgot that I ever wore corrective lenses in the first place. And going snorkeling afterwards was absolutely amazing!

One bit of advice, everything was fuzzy for the rest of the day after the surgery (I had mine in the am), I had probably 75% clear vision by the next morning and completely clear vision within 48 hours. That being said, I was bored out of my mind that first day. I hadn't planned on audio-books or podcasts or anything. I remember trying to clean for a while, but I did a really crappy job.

Another thing, the only side effect I have had is that I see bright 'halos' around car headlights when driving at night. I saw them before, but it has gotten worse since the surgery. This may be the result in that I couldn't get the [I]better[I] kind of eye surgery because of my severe astigmatisms - you would have to ask your doctor - mine told me it could happen.

Good luck to everyone!

I've been wanting LASIK but you have to forgo contacts and wear glasses for six weeks prior to surgery. Ugh!! I can't stand my glasses and refuse to be seen in public with them. After the surgery you cannot wear eye-makeup for two weeks. I have little bitty eyes and I can't bear to thought of going naked eyed in public. Yeah I know that's silly. -__-

Originally Posted by Ginrei76

I've been wanting LASIK but you have to forgo contacts and wear glasses for six weeks prior to surgery. Ugh!! I can't stand my glasses and refuse to be seen in public with them. After the surgery you cannot wear eye-makeup for two weeks. I have little bitty eyes and I can't bear to thought of going naked eyed in public. Yeah I know that's silly. -__-

Lol I totally understand - I had to go through my calendar to pick out which weeks I could go without being in public to prepare for the LASIK surgery.

I think it depends on which doctor you go to. Some of my friends only had to wear their glasses for one week prior to the surgery, while my surgeon recommended 2 weeks (and my optometrist recommended 3, but she is super conservative). I ended up wearing my glasses for about a week because my job requires me to be very social, and it was hurting on my self esteem to wear thick glasses. lol. I turned out just fine.

You also have to start your eye drop regiment 2 weeks before the surgery to get your eyes nice and moist.

As for the eye makeup, my doc recommended not wearing anything for a week. And you can resume Latisse or any other eye regiments 2 weeks after.