Sunday, March 22, 2009

Lasik - Postop

After the surgery, I opened my eyes now and again, but everything was really pretty blurry and very, very bright, so mostly I tried to keep them closed. I think I really didn't want to know, at that point, whether my vision was any better than it had been before -- either it was or it wasn't, and I knew it would take some time to settle in, so I didn't want to start overanalyzing.

They had me wait a bit, then the doctor looked in my eyes to make sure everything looked OK, which it did. That was it -- I was free to go. (I'd already made my one-day and two-week followup appointments.) We stopped at a drive-through and I ate in the car on the way home with my eyes mostly closed (the light was *really* blinding now that we were outside, even with the super-dark sunglasses they'd given me).

When I got home, I pretty much went straight to bed, as they had told me. The directions were to take a three-hour nap, which I did, more or less, except that I woke up and staggered to the bathroom a few times. It's not like real surgery, where you've had anesthetic and are still out of it from the drugs, but I think just because my eyes *so* didn't want to be open, and because of the huge adrenaline rush of the surgery, I was really groggy and out of it.

Once I woke up, I put in the antibiotic and steroid drops as directed. (I did forget that I was supposed to use the steroid drops every hour that day, and only used them every 4 hours with the antibiotic. Oops.) Then I pretty much tried to not look around too much and again, not to think too much about how my vision was. (Answer: Still kinda blurry and hazy; certainly less nearsighted than before, but hard to tell, really.) I figured reading was hopeless, but that I could kind of half-watch TV, which is what I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening doing. I had forgotten how mind-numbing it is to watch TV all afternoon and evening.

By late that evening, I decided I could definitely see pretty well, but was still trying not to make any assessment until the morning, since there was still a bit of haziness. I checked my email (but only very briefly, especially since John scolded me when I opened the computer). I did do one crossword puzzle before bed, just to prove that I could still read.

I slept pretty well, despite the goofy goggles, and when I woke up -- well, I looked outside, and it was still a bit too bright for me, but I could *definitely* see with more or less normal vision -- the buds are coming into bloom on the maple outside our window, and I could see each and every one! Weird. Amazing and weird.

I drove myself (wearing the super-dark sunglasses) to the postop exam. Not a problem at all. The monovision is definitely going to take some getting used to, but it doesn't affect most activities. If I am trying to focus on something specific, at whatever distance, I'm very aware that one of my eyes is working better than the other, and sometimes it's a little disorienting. Like when you're wearing contact lenses and one of them is really dry and blurry, or you need a new prescription in one eye. I wonder whether I'll always be as conscious of it as I am now -- hopefully not.

The postop exam took a long time (they really kept me waiting -- I was there for an hour and a half, for two 5-minute checks -- one of my actual vision, and one to look inside my eyes). The vision check was just as they'd aimed for -- 20/20 in my left (dominant) eye and 20/40 in my right eye, and no problem reading close up (as long as I can use my right eye!) When they looked in my eyes, the doctor told me that I had a little inflammation under the flap in my right eye. So she told me to use the steroids more often (every 2 hours) for the next 2 days, and to come in on Monday to make sure it's not getting worse. Other than that, everything looks perfect.

It really is incredible that with a 10-minute operation, a lifetime of myopia is just... gone. Poof. I can see like a normal person. (well, except for the funky weird monovision thing.)

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, the blurriness of the monovision caught my attention, and my immediate reaction was to think, "Oh, I should take my contacts out." Very disconcerting. Good, but disconcerting.

At the moment, I'm not experiencing any bothersome symptoms whatsoever except for the adjustment to the monovision. There's maybe a tiny bit of ghosting around bright lights, but it's not nearly as bad as the glare that I would get off my glasses (and forget about scratches and dirt!) So far I haven't tried to drive at night, but it doesn't seem likely that it will be a problem. My eyes aren't even particularly scratchy or dry. I think I'm like a poster child for Lasik. :-)

More posts to follow if there are any interesting developments to report. Otherwise I guess you can all count me as a satisfied customer!!

1 comment:

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