I chose my doctor through my insurance. My doctor and surgeon are providers on my insurance and that helped with the process of choosing a well-known doctor. Both doctors had rave reviews and had other doctors recommending their patients to these doctors. If you are looking to get this procedure done, I would recommend that you ask your eye doctor who they would recommend. I would not go with someone that runs ads and has coupons for $299 per eye because they might not be the best out there. Also, if your eye sight is really bad you will not qualify for the $299 per eye. I went to one of those places and just felt like they were very pushy and just wanted your money and didn't really care about the outcome of your vision.
When I first went in to my doctor they run you through 3-4 different tests to see if you are a candidate for Lasik. Then, I went and met with the doctor and he looked at the results of the tests and he lets you know if you are a candidate for the surgery. I was a good candidate for this procedure, very good. My doctor was not pushy and let me decide if I wanted to proceed with him or not. I felt very comfortable. It took me a while to get back with my doctor on setting a date for the Lasik. It took a while because it is a costly procedure. My insurance company gave me a discount for going to someone on the provider list. With the discount I still had to pay $3500. Ouch! But well worth it.
After I decided that we were able to fork out the money for this, I called and made another consultation appointment with my doctor. This appointment they ran more tests, like 10, and then they dilate your eyes. I saw my doctor and he confirmed, again, that I was an excellent candidate for this procedure. I then set my appointment for the surgery. My doctor always does the surgery on Fridays, so I made my appointment for the next week.
The two times that I went in to see my doctor, I never saw another person in the office. So, I was thinking that they might not get a lot of business. I was so, so wrong! That Friday when I checked in the place was packed. Matt dropped me off at 10:20am. He was going to take the girls to Costco and get a couple of things and come back and sit in the car while the girls watched something on the DVD player. So, I go in sit for about 15 minutes and then they call me back and I sign the waiver and pay. Then I sit in another waiting room. I was there for about 10 minutes before they called me back. At this point I am stinking nervous. They prep you for surgery. They put drops in my eyes to numb them and clean my eyes and then I meet the surgeon. I sat for about 5 minutes and then I they take me in the room with the laser that makes the flap. This was the worst out of the entire procedure. And it wasn't that bad. With this laser they are making the flap. It takes 20 seconds per eye. Yeah, I said 20 seconds per eye. There was a lot of pressure, but no pain. The pressure was uncomfortable but it was over in 20 seconds. After that I sat in a room for a couple of minutes and then they took me to another room that has the correction laser. At this point, my vision is like looking through wax paper. This is normal at this point. I am set for the correction. They fold the flap over and do the correction and it takes 20 seconds per eye. Amazing. I am done. After this the surgeon puts the flaps into place and I am taken to another room and my doctor looks at my eyes. At this point everything is blurry. Which is normal. I put on my oh so sexy shades and walk out the door. Matt and the girls are waiting in the car for me. I am in the car on the way home at 11:30am. It was so quick and easy.
When I get home I am supposed to keep my eyes closed for two hours. Which was so easy to do because all I wanted to do is close them. They were burning and irritated, like I had really, really dirty contacts in. After the two hours were up, I could open my eyes and start my eye drops. I had an antibiotic drop that I put in four times a day for the next 5 days. Then I had some steroid drops that I was to put in every waking hour for the first 24 hours and then 4 times a day for the next 4 days. I also had some lubricant drops for dryness that I was to use every waking hour for the first 5 days. It was a lot to remember but, I got the hang of it. So, I start my drops and my eyes were so irritated still, which is normal, I just wanted to leave them closed. When I did open my eyes, I could see a difference in my vision. Still a little hazy but I could see credits on the television where I could never have seen them without my contacts or glasses. It was already working. I did continue to keep my eyes closed a while longer, they just felt better closed. At 4:00pm I opened my eyes and the burning and irritation had gotten a lot better. I didn't have the urge to close my eyes. I was able to see a lot more. It was the most amazing feeling.
The next day I had my post-op appointment. I was able to drive there myself. I went in and they took me back and looked at my eyes to see if they were healing. I was able to read the line of letters and had 20/20 vision less than 24 hours after my surgery. Yay, I was so excited. Everything was so clear.
It has been 11 days since my surgery and all is good. I do have to be careful about rubbing my eyes. That is a huge no no. I have had some allergy eyes so my doctor gave me some drops for the itching. The doctor says everything looks good and he doesn't need to see me for another year and a half. Nice. It is so nice to wake up and see in the morning and not have to deal with putting in contacts. It is so wonderful to be able to see. I don't know why I waited so long.
1 comment:
Yay! That's great - It's amazing what technology & medicine can do these days - So glad you did it!
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