Life after Lasik Surgery (3 month update)

December 1, 2015

This blog isn’t just about technical stuff, I tend to ramble a bit on personal issues that I feel are worth sharing.  As such, today I want to give you a 3 month update on my recent Lasik Surgery.

I had a pretty horrid prescription, one that accompanied me for 25 long years.  At its peak it was at -11 on each eye, what that means essentially is that I could not see anything without my glasses, it was all just a big blur.

Fortunately, despite the range in my prescription, my eyes were eligible for Lasik, so I did not hesitate to sign the papers, break the piggy bank and get my eyes corrected.  Today marks that 3 month period and I thought it was relevant to share some of my post-surgery experiences with those considering this procedure or anyone interested in the topic.

• A common warning pre-operation is that you are likely to suffer from dry eyes.  I was told this a million times and even researched it but did not actually understand what it meant until I experienced it.  Having dry eyes is bothersome, your vision becomes a bit hazy and overall feels weird.  It can even be painful if you let them dry too much.  Having tear drops is a must.  I used them very often at the beginning but at this 3 month mark I only feel like I need them maybe once per week or so.
• Another side effect that still persists for me is that feeling of everything being “darker” than it used to.  My wife (who also had Lasik a few years back) says she never experienced that but I feel certain I am not just imagining.  This becomes particularly obvious to me when I wake up to the bathroom in the middle of the night when everything is dark.  I had to wear glasses before on each trip, so I know exactly how it felt to “see” in the dark.  Now that I don’t have my glasses I need to guide myself to the bathroom by touching the walls because everything feels almost pitch black.
• When I had glasses my prescription included something that is marketed as “HD Vision”.  I am not sure what this means exactly but I believe it is some sort of chemicals that is added to the glasses which makes everything sharper and vivid (thus the marketing term of HD).  Because that was a very distinctive thing on my glasses, now that I don’t wear them I definitely feel some brightness missing in my sight.  Come to think of it, this might explain why dark feels darker now.
• Wearing glasses for 25 years has left me accustomed to adjusting my frames often.  This has become such a muscle reflect that even without glasses I am always reaching out to “fix” something in my face… those who know me well just laugh at my reaction.
• The first few weeks after surgery were rough, mainly because my vision was not perfectly adjusted just yet.  Those with low prescription can see perfectly the very next day after surgery.  My case has been a little different, specially because my right eye had to be intervened 3 times in total.  Recovery is slow, but I would have never expected it to be “months long”.  You would think you realize small changes each and every day while recovering but at the start I was very disappointed by not “feeling any better”.  It is only now when I look back and compare how I am able to see now and how it felt at the very start that I can certainly say there is an improvement.

Overall I am extremely happy with my results so far.  I can work perfectly fine, I have not had any headaches nor major issues aside the above.  Additionally being able to wear sunglasses has been a God send, specially considering I live in the Caribbean where the sun does not forgives.

What about you? have you had Lasik surgery? what was your experience like?