Lasik Surgery US

Nervous About Lasik Surgery?

JL — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:54:59 +0000

If you are considering lasik eye surgery, you are probably at least a little bit nervous about getting the procedure done. I know I sure was. Being nervous is totally understandable and completely natural. Obviously, you will have to get past all that in order to have the surgery. So how does one do that? Finding the right doctor and learning as much I could about the procedure were the keys for me getting past my nervousness and making the right choice regarding surgery.

Education was one of the things that helped a great deal in getting through my nervousness about the procedure. Doing as much research as possible online and offline, talking to my eye doctor a lot, asking my doctor a ton of questions and talking to people I knew who had undergone lasik. Once I found out as much as I could about lasik surgery, I was able to form and opinion about the safety of lasik, decide if the benefits outweighed the risks and make the right decision for me about the surgery. Finding out as much as possible gave me confidence in my decision and helped alleviate the nervousness. You may review all of the information you gather and come to a different conclusion. That is perfectly reasonable. Lasik eye surgery is not for everyone.

Finding the right doctor for my lasik surgery was absolutely crucial for getting past my nerves. It was the single most important factor in relieving my stress about the procedure. The right lasik surgeon for me was one who came highly recommended by people whose opinions I trusted. The doctor I chose to perform my surgery was patient, answered all my questions and understood that I was nervous. I could not have made it past my nerves without finding the right doctor.

Feeling nervous about lasik surgery can be overwhelming. Nervousness is totally natural and can be overcome if you’re willing to spend the time learning about the procedure and talking to your doctor. Make sure you find the right lasik surgeon for you.

View Nervous About Lasik Surgery? | Lasik Surgery US
© 2008 http://www.lasiksurgeryus.com

Lasik Surgery Information Podcast

JL — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 18:28:00 +0000

So we have decided to give podcasting a shot here at lasiksurgeryus.com. This is just sort of a trial run and if it works out we will continue with it. For our first podcast, we asked a friend to talk about his experience following lasik surgery. His experience was the basis for our last blog post so since we wanted to give audio a shot, we recorded him talking about his recovery period. The audio is about twelve minutes or so in length and we did not do any fancy editing or anything. We hope to make podcasting a regular feature of this site but the idea is not set in stone so we will see how this goes. To play it, you can just click the play button on the left side of the media player below this paragraph. You also have the options to download the audio file or open the podcast in a new window. Hope you find it helpful if you are thinking about lasik eye surgery.

View Lasik Surgery Information Podcast | Lasik Surgery US
© 2008 http://www.lasiksurgeryus.com

My Lasik Recovery

JL — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:03:48 +0000

When people ask me about my lasik eye surgery, one of the questions I get most often is about the recovery period. What was it like after your surgery? People mostly want to know three things: if there was any pain, if I could see better right away and if there were any unpleasant side effects. I will describe what it was like for me following the lasik procedure.

Immediately after the procedure I would say I noticed some improvement in my vision. My eyesight was still blurred, but the blurriness was not as bad as it was without my glasses prior to surgery. It was not like I had 20/20 vision right after surgery as some advertisements would have you believe. A good friend of mine drove me home after my surgery. In the car on the way home, I experienced more discomfort than I would have liked. My eyes were burning and filled with tears the whole 20 minute drive home. My eyes also were more sensitive to light as the sunshine made the discomfort worse. As soon as I got inside my apartment, I took a couple of aspirin and laid down in my bed with the lights off and the curtains drawn tight. I had a hard time falling asleep because of the burning sensation but I did manage to get a couple of hours of nap time in. After my nap, the burning subsided a great deal and the tears weren’t constant any more. My eyesight was still blurry, but again not as bad as without my glasses pre lasik. Physically I didn’t feel like doing anything. I spent the remainder of the day relaxing, listening to music and wearing the clear protective eye shields they gave me. As the day wore on, the burn and tears went away. My eyes started feeling a little dry and gritty, but my vision while still blurred seemed to improve slightly as the hours passed. Went to bed early with the shields on. I was feeling pretty wiped out and slept without issue.

The day after surgery, I woke up and noticed that my vision had noticeably improved. Not as sharp as with glasses, but I remember thinking I had to be close to if not at 20/20 vision. The doctor had given me some eye drops to use regularly throughout the day and cautioned me about things like getting soap in my eyes, making sure to wear sunglasses outdoors, things like that. I also had to go back to the doc for a routine post op appointment. At my appointment, they made sure I was healing properly, checked my vision and we talked more about side effects. I was seeing at 20/25 so I was really pleased about that especially because my doctor said I could expect my vision to improve as I continued to heal. In terms of side effects on the day after, that burning feeling came back a couple of times during the day, but it was not as intense and didn’t last very long. The dry eyes feeling was there as well, but it wasn’t severe and the drops helped.

In the first week to ten days, I did experience the lasik side effects my doctor and I had discussed. Seeing glares at night, having trouble reading things close up, continued minor discomfort from dry eye and vision fluctuations. I had another appointment in that time frame where my vision was measured at 20/20 with both eyes. I also felt confident after talking to my doctor that the side effects I was experiencing would go away and my vision would settle in the upcoming months. It was in this time period, I allowed myself to feel pleased with and cautiously optimistic about my outcome after having been so fearful and nervous.

After about one month, the night vision had improved a good bit and I was able to read close up without difficulty. Dry eye was minimal and no longer a concern. I had another appointment where I was measured at 20/20 in both eyes. This is the point at which I was ready to declare my outcome a total success.

View My Lasik Recovery | Lasik Surgery US
© 2008 http://www.lasiksurgeryus.com

My Lasik Surgery Consultation

JL — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:49:36 +0000

Before you undergo lasik surgery, you will have to set up an appointment for a pre-lasik exam. The primary purpose of this initial lasik surgery consultation is to determine whether you are a suitable candidate for lasik. I’ve seen statistics estimating that one out of every four people who go through the pre-lasik screening are not right for lasik for one reason or another. During this initial appointment, I also learned a lot about the procedure itself, the risks, the possible benefits and I was able to get my questions answered. I’ll describe it as I remember it in case anyone is wondering what the initial lasik exam is like.

When I made the appointment, I was told that my eyes would be dilated. Having your eyes dilated intensifies their light sensitivity. If you’ve ever had your eyes dilated before, you know it’s a good idea to bring sunglasses and arrange for a ride home. They told me as much and I made sure I took care of both. I also brought my eyeglasses and current prescription.

I got there a few minutes early to allow time to fill out paperwork. When I arrived, I was handed a couple of forms to fill out as expected. They consisted of some standard information about me as well as a questionnaire regarding my health, medical history and prescriptions. I would estimate it took ten to fifteen minutes to fill everything out.

With the paperwork out of the way, it was time for the exam. I underwent a series of tests, all of which were pain free, to determine things such as the extent of my eyesight problems and how well my eyes produced tears. There were measurements and readings taken and a “map” of my eye was generated. This was definitely unlike any standard or annual eye exam I ever had.

After all of the testing was completed, the doctor went over my results with me. We discussed my suitability, my risk factors, types of treatments available, possible side effects, post lasik care and I had the opportunity to ask questions. I asked a lot of questions!

Next, they had me meet with a “patient counselor” who was really more of a salesperson in my opinion. This was the person who spoke to me about price, financing, payment methods and post surgical care logistics.

All in all, the whole thing took right around an hour and a half. I would consider the experience mostly positive though I didn’t much care for the sales guy. I would guess my experience is pretty typical, but obviously I can’t say for sure. When you arrange for your appointment, you’ll get the particulars.

How Lasik Works

JL — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:43:01 +0000

Lasik eye surgery has become more and more popular of late. Most people with vision problems are probably aware by now of the procedure’s potential to correct common eyesight issues such as farsightedness, nearsightedness and astigmatism. As lasik has become increasingly available and more affordable, its rise in popularity should be no surprise as millions of people suffer from poor or declining eyesight. So what is lasik surgery and how does it work?

Laser assisted in situ keratomileusis, more commonly known as LASIK surgery, is a kind of refractive surgery that reshapes the cornea which results in the increased ability of the eye to see. The lasik surgeon uses an instrument called a microkeratome to create a round, very thin flap in the outer tissue of the patient’s cornea. The flap is then folded out of the way while the surgeon uses an excimer laser to reshape and flatten the cornea. Once the patient’s cornea has been reshaped, the flap is replaced. The actual lasik surgery procedure takes roughly fifteen minutes per eye. The patient remains awake throughout the entire duration of the procedure.

While lasik surgery is a very popular option for people with common eyesight problems, the procedure is not for everyone. If you are thinking about having lasik surgery, talk to your eye doctor about it. Your eye doctor will be able to give you a complete and thorough description of each step in the procedure. Lasik centers will often have written materials like brochures, live seminars you can attend or even videos you can watch to learn more about the surgery. In addition, your doctor will be able to determine if you are a good candidate for lasik and discuss the risks and benefits with you as well. Talking to your doctor and asking any questions you have is the best way to stay informed about lasik.