I just did Lasik

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I need some testimonials from folks who underwent LASIK and had deep phobia of the eyes. I'm a photographer so my vision is critical but I've always had an extremely reactive phobia to anything involving eyes.

I basically need to hear how those people overcame it because just googling images of the procedure literally makes me lightheaded. Which is surprising considering that any other surgery or operation fails to gross me out, I find them intriguing actually.

TLDR: help me chill my ass out.
 
I had LASIK done nearly 17 years ago, so probably longer than some of the posters have been alive here. I imagine its improved, procedure wise, a LOT since then. Zero pain or issues during the procedure, and both my parents and two of my siblings have had the procedure done since then with zero problems. Yeah, I'm sure if you look at images of it being done its scary as fuck but as far as you yourself are concerned, all I really remember is sitting in a medical chair, getting a bit woozy, and having my eyes forced open for a while with bright lights shining all around me. Then more or less sleeping for a day while feeling woozy and loopy, no real pain at any point.

17 years later still have mostly pretty good vision, it did deteriorate a little bit as far as near sight is concerned but a few weeks ago I had to renew my drivers license and had to do a close up eye vision test thing (put your head into a machine, read letters kind of thing) and passed. My parents needed to get reading glasses a few years ago but otherwise they too don't need anything for driving, TV, movies, etc.
 
Question, I have a tendency to rub my eyes really good from time to time. It feels good to me, kinda like when you get a good stretch in or a nice yawn. When you get lasik done, can you still do that or is it not recommended?
 
Lionheart1827 said:
Question, I have a tendency to rub my eyes really good from time to time. It feels good to me, kinda like when you get a good stretch in or a nice yawn. When you get lasik done, can you still do that or is it not recommended?
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You sound like you probably have allergies.
 
Lionheart1827 said:
Question, I have a tendency to rub my eyes really good from time to time. It feels good to me, kinda like when you get a good stretch in or a nice yawn. When you get lasik done, can you still do that or is it not recommended?
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I know what you mean. I do exactly this too and would like to know the answer!
 
Aurongel said:
You sound like you probably have allergies.
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Nah, I dont. But I look at screens all day long at work and sometimes I take off my glasses and rub my eyes.

HHgTuj1.jpg
 
Aurongel said:
I need some testimonials from folks who underwent LASIK and had deep phobia of the eyes. I'm a photographer so my vision is critical but I've always had an extremely reactive phobia to anything involving eyes.

I basically need to hear how those people overcame it because just googling images of the procedure literally makes me lightheaded. Which is surprising considering that any other surgery or operation fails to gross me out, I find them intriguing actually.

TLDR: help me chill my ass out.
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Damn dude first of all don't look at those pictures! I don't even have an eye phobia and those pics are horrific.

If I'm nervous about something I tend to look for the success rate. If something has a 99.999% rate then my fear is irrational and I can somewhat dismiss it. Can't give any eye-phobia specific advice though.

Lionheart1827 said:
Question, I have a tendency to rub my eyes really good from time to time. It feels good to me, kinda like when you get a good stretch in or a nice yawn. When you get lasik done, can you still do that or is it not recommended?
Click to expand...

Tadaima said:
I know what you mean. I do exactly this too and would like to know the answer!
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I was a bit worried about this as I do the same thing. For the first couple of weeks you can't touch your eyes at all, which was a little bit torturous at times haha. After that it's still not recommended, I still rub them but less often and more carefully. IIRC they say to avoid stuff like MMA for 6 months so I guess past that point the healing is enough that you wouldn't have to worry about it.
 
Did it 2 days ago. Feels fine. Can see pretty good, but reading on a monitor in front of me is a bit tiring. Watching TV feels fine.
Riding a car without glasses is great. Waking up without glasses is great. (Cant shower yet).

Dont really feel discomfort in my eyes.
 
Chairmanchuck said:
Did it 2 days ago. Feels fine. Can see pretty good, but reading on a monitor in front of me is a bit tiring. Watching TV feels fine.
Riding a car without glasses is great. Waking up without glasses is great. (Cant shower yet).

Dont really feel discomfort in my eyes.
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Can't you just wear swimming goggles?
 
I wish I could do it, I'm extremely nearsighted. They say my eyes are the wrong shape so I can't, but I'll probably do the one where they insert a tiny contact lens inside the eye.
 
Final destination ruined this for me. I know that would never happen, but it freaks me out.

I have terrible -6.5 in both eyes, but I can stick with glasses. Plus one of my eyes is slightly off shaped.
 
I love the stories but I would never get this done. My glasses are a part of my identity.

Stories are fantastic though.
 
Tips for the lucky folks that got LASIK.

-don't rub your eyes, ever. No1 rule if you don't want problems down the line. (Like keratoconus, a cornea that loses its shape)
-keep artificial tears in the fridge. If you have seasonal allergies and your eyes are itchy, drop some cold artificial tears in those suckers.
 
Quonny said:
I love the stories but I would never get this done. My glasses are a part of my identity.

Stories are fantastic though.
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I mean, you can wear non-prescription glasses after the surgery if you really want to lol. They'll be lighter and people looking at you will see your eyes better and less distorted than they look now.

At least you'll have the choice.
 
Got this done in 2007, SOOOO worth it, but holy shit my eyes were aching like a son of a bitch after I went outside from the hospital. So with that said, make sure you get a good pair of sunglasses before you do this or you'll start to feel like death is upon you once those rays penetrate your eye skin.
 
I have my appointment to determine if I'm eligible for LASIK this Wednesday, and the surgery tentatively scheduled for Friday if I am. Most testimonials seem very positive, but I am curious about the pain and healing period. Someone mentioned that you can't shower? And some pain stories range from some soreness to a cutting pain like glass in your eye. That shit is scary, yo.
One thing's for sure... I'm taking the Valium if they offer it haha
 
Is the vision better than correctly prescribed glasses? What kind of comparison is there between the two?

I've been considering Lasik someday (not in the next year though). I actually like how glasses look though. Have kind of taken it up as part of my visual identity, being 30 and wearing glasses since I was 8.

At the same time, I'm intrigued. I'm potentially better looking without them. I like the idea of playing physical sports. Going to the beach or pool, and retaining my vision. Wearing sunglasses. Going to the barber shop, and being able to save myself from a bad haircut. Having sex, and being able to actually see the mirror in the room. The world just opens up.

On the other hand, glasses have saved me plenty of times from getting debris in my eyes. Contacts would be fine, but they're incredibly frustrating with astigmatism. The vision goes in and out far too often, and hurt the eyes. Also pretty pricy and a pain to keep track of.
 
I went to ophtalmologist back in march, and she told me that, if my eyesight didnt get worse for the next six months I would be able to do Lasik
Only a month and a half left and I cant wait. I've been using glasses since I was 5
 
Anyone knows how long it takes till monitors, mobile phones, books etc. are more comfortable to read?

My doctors said it can take 1-4 weeks, depending on each person. Any experience from other people? Im in day 3 now and its a bit tiring.
Watching TV though isnt a problem at all.
 
Had my surgery back in Feb (earlier impressions are in this thread). Still happy with it, still perfect vision.

Someone asked how vision compares to correct prescription glasses: in my case I'd say it's about the same, although I know lots of people report even better results.

Only slight side effect is I still get dry eyes occasionally. Not too surprising as I spend every waking hour looking at screens (and probably don't drink or sleep enough) but it does happen more than I ever noticed before the surgery. Dry eyes lead to slightly blurred vision, particularly around light sources. It's not bad enough to prevent me driving (for example) and is easily fixed with eye drops if it's bothering me.

Chairmanchuck said:
Anyone knows how long it takes till monitors, mobile phones, books etc. are more comfortable to read?

My doctors said it can take 1-4 weeks, depending on each person. Any experience from other people? Im in day 3 now and its a bit tiring.
Watching TV though isnt a problem at all.
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I was using them from the day after the surgery, but did notice discomfort for about the first week.
 
I just had it done Thursday. I had Lasik SBK done. DO NOT TAKE A NAP after the procedure!!! I ended up passing out for 2 hours and somehow my left eyelid 'grabbed' the flap of my eye, which moved it. I could not see out of my left eye and had to go back in for what they call a refloat of the flap on my left eye. I think things are going pretty well now, but it was scary.
 
Chairmanchuck said:
Anyone knows how long it takes till monitors, mobile phones, books etc. are more comfortable to read?

My doctors said it can take 1-4 weeks, depending on each person. Any experience from other people? Im in day 3 now and its a bit tiring.
Watching TV though isnt a problem at all.
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I took a whole week off.

Last thing I wanted to do was fuck with my eyes.

NoMoreTrolls said:
Alright. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at noon. Hope it goes well :/
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Countless people have done it. You are going into a technology that is almost 30 years old. Complications seem extremely rare, and you have tons of people here saying that everything was fine. You won't go blind. Don't worry.

Trust me, I know you're nervous. I was too. But don't worry, this time next week, you'll be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner. Shit will be crystal clear. And not having to wear glasses, constantly clean them, etc will be a God send.

Just make sure to

1. Take all your pills
2. Make sure you put in your drops. Don't be lazy with this shit.
3. Don't look at monitors/your phone for a few days. Your eyes will REALLY hurt from this stuff. You'll feel them straining.
Honestly, I took a week off from screens. I just put a sheet over my tv, and put on some Simpsons dvd's and just listened to the news.
 
Mikey Jr. said:
I took a whole week off.

Last thing I wanted to do was fuck with my eyes.



Countless people have done it. You are going into a technology that is almost 30 years old. Complications seem extremely rare, and you have tons of people here saying that everything was fine. You won't go blind. Don't worry.

Trust me, I know you're nervous. I was too. But don't worry, this time next week, you'll be kicking yourself for not doing it sooner. Shit will be crystal clear. And not having to wear glasses, constantly clean them, etc will be a God send.

Just make sure to

1. Take all your pills
2. Make sure you put in your drops. Don't be lazy with this shit.
3. Don't look at monitors/your phone for a few days. Your eyes will REALLY hurt from this stuff. You'll feel them straining.
Honestly, I took a week off from screens. I just put a sheet over my tv, and put on some Simpsons dvd's and just listened to the news.
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Thanks, man. I think the longest I can swing before I go back to work is 4 or 5 days, but otherwise Ill avoid screens as long as I can.
augmental said:
I just had it done Thursday. I had Lasik SBK done. DO NOT TAKE A NAP after the procedure!!! I ended up passing out for 2 hours and somehow my left eyelid 'grabbed' the flap of my eye, which moved it. I could not see out of my left eye and had to go back in for what they call a refloat of the flap on my left eye. I think things are going pretty well now, but it was scary.
Click to expand...
Jesus tap dancing Christ.
 
NoMoreTrolls said:
Thanks, man. I think the longest I can swing before I go back to work is 4 or 5 days, but otherwise Ill avoid screens as long as I can.

Jesus tap dancing Christ.
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You will be just fine if you use lots of eye drops and don't take a nap directly after the procedure, I'm 99% on that. Just don't sleep until your normal bedtime. When you go in for your post-op they will check and make sure the flap is in the correct place and healing like it should. Even if you had to do a refloat it wasn't awful, I was just freaked out at first, mostly.
 
The screen stuff will depend on what's being done, too. I had a SMILE done a couple of years ago and I was watching the TV the same day wearing the sunglasses they gave me and doing pretty much everything normally the following day (without sunglasses).
 
NumberThree said:
The screen stuff will depend on what's being done, too. I had a SMILE done a couple of years ago and I was watching the TV the same day wearing the sunglasses they gave me and doing pretty much everything normally the following day (without sunglasses).
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SMILE is so much better than Lasik. Blows my mind that Lasik is still the more common operation in the US.
 
I can't even put in contacts. Doctors have gotten mad and frustrated at my inability to do anything involving my eyes other than putting on glasses because even the thought of touching my eye makes me wince in fear, but most of the "fighting" my eyes are doing when trying to put a contact in is involuntary. The dude was literally yelling "stop fighting it, stop fighting it" and i was just like "I'm not purposely doing anything! I'm looking up! I'm looking up!" We gave up. I stuck with glasses.

That said, is LASIK or SMILE or whatever even an option for me or am i gonna have more doctors yelling at me? I'm not even afraid of pain, I just have a thing with my eyes. Always have!
 
Grimsen said:
Tips for the lucky folks that got LASIK.

-don't rub your eyes, ever. No1 rule if you don't want problems down the line. (Like keratoconus, a cornea that loses its shape)
-keep artificial tears in the fridge. If you have seasonal allergies and your eyes are itchy, drop some cold artificial tears in those suckers.
Click to expand...

Wait, like you can't ever rub your eyes again???
 
DiipuSurotu said:
SMILE is so much better than Lasik. Blows my mind that Lasik is still the more common operation in the US.
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I'm looking into Lasik options and I want to know which is the absolute best with the least long term affects/least glare etc. I don't care what the recovery time is, just want to know what the best is long term.

I've heard of Lasil, PRK and Smile and everyone claims one is better than the other.
 
timshundo said:
I can't even put in contacts. Doctors have gotten mad and frustrated at my inability to do anything involving my eyes other than putting on glasses because even the thought of touching my eye makes me wince in fear, but most of the "fighting" my eyes are doing when trying to put a contact in is involuntary. The dude was literally yelling "stop fighting it, stop fighting it" and i was just like "I'm not purposely doing anything! I'm looking up! I'm looking up!" We gave up. I stuck with glasses.

That said, is LASIK or SMILE or whatever even an option for me or am i gonna have more doctors yelling at me? I'm not even afraid of pain, I just have a thing with my eyes. Always have!
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Your eyes will be held open and you will not be able to close them when the laser(s) are being used. Also, even if you moved a little bit the laser is faster than your movements. You would have to completely turn you head and if you did that the machine would shut off, afaik.
 
Had my surgery about 8 hours ago. Not gonna lie the procedure was weird as fuck and the next few hours were hell. Feeling okay now but vision is a little cloudy. Can’t wait til I’m 100%.
 
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