Laser eye surgery - six month check-up

I had my laser eye surgery with Ultralase in July 2007, and my six month check-up last Thursday. You may notice that's over six months and that's because I forgot to book my appointment until I got a reminder letter and then I couldn't do most of the available appointment times. Anyway, it's done and my eyes have recovered perfectly.

My appointment was at 8.45pm (how convenient that they offer appointments this late!) and I was in and out in a matter of minutes. My boyfriend hadn't even taken his coat off as I came back out into the waiting room.

All that happened was the optometrist asked me how my eyes were. I said they were a bit tired as it was the end of the day, but otherwise good. He then looked at my eyes under the microscope and said they were fine, I did some sight reading tests (bottom line every time - mistook an F for a P but otherwise spot on) and then he sat back, looked at me and said, "If that's what they're like at the end of the day when you're tired, you must be able to see around corners most of the time!"

So what happens now? I have to go to any optician a year after my surgery to check the health of my eyes and then every two years after that - which is recommended for everyone whether they need vision correction or not. I have a letter from Ultralase to show the optician what I've had done because some of my pressure readings will be artifically low. Visiting the optician regularly was the only criteria I need to fulfill for my lifetime re-treatment guarantee.

Interestingly, when making my appointment with Ultralase recently, I noticed on their website that they now only do Lasik with Intralase (that's when the laser cuts the flap on the cornea as opposed to a microkeratome, the hand-held cutting device). They say this is due to an improvement in safety and results. I can certainly vouch for how good the results are for Ultralasik plus Intralase! It may cost more but my goodness it has worked perfectly for me and the recovery time was incredible - I was at driving standard straight after surgery (except I couldn't keep my eyes open as they were watering so much!)

Laser Eye Surgery - new eyes for 2008

Happy New Year!

I've not posted for ages, yet again. I've been pretty busy though. And my eyes have been perfect for so long now, it just gets boring to keep harping on about it. Brilliant vision, blah blah eh?

I thought I would post though because being the start of 2008 means I'm facing a whole new year without glasses. A new summer with the freedom to remove my (non-prescription) sunglasses and still be able to see. Holidays without worrying about whether I packed enough contact lens solutions.

So how are my eyes 5 months after surgery? Just brilliant. No problems at all.
Has it changed my life? Not immediately no. Having said that, I think it has changed me in many ways.

For example I can't tell you how many times people have told me they would not have the nerve to go through with laser eye surgery. Whether they think I'm brave or stupid I don't care, I just know I am capable of doing something that others could not.

This in turn has led me to look at other areas of my life that I can change to make me happier. I'm not talking about more surgery here, don't start thinking I'm suggesting a Hollywood style makeover with liposuction and a new nose. I am talking about making a concerted effort to get my life headed in the direction I want it to be going in.

Getting rid of my glasses is just the tip of the iceberg for me really. (Does anyone else picture an iceberg wearing glasses when they read that sentence? Weird huh?) Anyway, back on subject... At the risk of sounding like a self-help tape packed with cliches... Life is not a dress rehearsal. If you want something you have to get off your backside and do something about it.

New Year lecture over. Have a great 2008.

Still here, still seeing perfectly!

It's been 4 months since I had laser eye surgery and I can put my hand on my heart and tell you it is the best money I ever spent.

Just today I was leaving the supermarket and I saw a girl wearing glasses - thick rimmed trendy ones - I was looking at her thinking she looked cool but I'm so glad I don't have to wear specs any more. She was looking at me, god only knows what she was thinking (probably why is that girl staring at me?). Anyway what I'm trying to say in a rather verbose way is that I am not a glasses wearer any more. I don't have that affinity with other glasses wearers that I once used to have. I look at them and I wonder if they've ever considered surgery.

Don't get me wrong, anyone comfortable in glasses or contact lenses would be sensible to stay as they are. By comfortable I mean both mentally and physically. But for me, contact lenses had become more and more uncomfortable over the years, to the point where I was blinking awkwardly because my eyes felt dry all the time.

I've even forgotten the discomfort of the surgery. If I had to go back in time to before the surgery, knowing what I know now about those few minutes where I lay thinking "Oh my god what am I doing this is torture!" and the months of perfect vision afterwards, I would 100% go back and do it again. Easy for me to say with my fighter pilot eyes I know!

The eyes of a Fighter Pilot!

I had my one month check up at Ultralase on Friday.

My appointment was at 5pm, I got there about 15mins early and was seen straightaway. It took all of three minutes before I was on my way home again! It went like this: in, asked if I had any complications (no), eye test, look at eyes under microscope, told they look perfect, asked if I have any questions (no), told I can now live my life as normal, told to re-book last appointment for in 5 months time, sent home!

I was delighted to find out that my eyes are now two lines better than 20/20 - better vision than I ever had with glasses. The woman I saw told me that my vision is in the top 5% of the population - the level required by Fighter Pilots. "You've got better vision than me!" She said. "Ah but I've paid for it!" I replied. "Easily the best money I ever spent."

I have the eyes of a fighter pilot! I can't get over it. I keep making pathetic 'piao piao' gun noises to remind everyone of this fact. Hey it keeps me entertained!

I know laser eye surgery doesn't go this fantastically for everyone. I read plenty of stories when I was researching the subject. I heard of people who went from needing one pair of glasses to needing two or three (e.g. different pairs for reading, driving, and middle distance). But I can't possibly put into words how glad I am that I went through with the surgery.

Even if my vision begins to deteriorate - which considering Ultralase offer a lifetime re-treatment guarantee won't be a problem - but if they do deteriorate at the same kind of rate they did in glasses that should mean probably 10/15 years before I reach the stage where I need to worry about driving.

If I don't sound enthusiastic any longer, it's because it feels normal to have perfect vision. It's just every now and again a little bubble bursts inside me and I go, "The eyes of a fighter pilot! Wow! Piao piao!"

Recovery times for my laser eye surgery

I’m back at work now, using the computer for hours at a time. I do notice my eyes feel tired and dry occasionally but this is mainly where I’ve been forgetting to take rest breaks. A few minutes away from the screen or a drop with the fake tears and I’m fine. I’ve been using the drops less and less. It started as three times a day when I first went back to work – the instructions say I could use them up to 6 times a day (they’re Hypremellose 0.3% w/v). But within a couple of days I was down to 1 or 2 drops a day.

I’m going to run through my experience of recovery times for all the various things. Obviously these are just a guide as they will vary from person to person based on age, type of surgery and many other things but this might give you an idea if you’re about to have your own surgery. Just to remind you I had intralase wavefront surgery with Ultralase (they call it Ultralasik plus Intralase).

Sunlight / bright lights
Wore sunglasses outside constantly for three days, inside on occasion if light was bright. After that three days some bright lights make me feel that I need to concentrate a little more to see clearly, but I’m not actually losing anything in terms of vision.

Limited light
Up until two weeks after surgery I felt like I needed to squint and concentrate hard in limited light. Weirdly enough for the first three days or so I was convinced that white became very faintly ultraviolet in limited light conditions. Might have been my imagination, but this cleared up very quickly. After three weeks I don’t really notice a problem in limited light conditions, except when I’m tired.

Night vision
Seems fine on the whole. Three weeks post op and bright headlights often have tiny halos around them. However I often ask people I’m with (who’ve not had surgery) if they get the halos too – and they do. So whether this is a result of surgery actually seems unlikely. It could be perfectly natural. Basically my laser eye surgery has not made a discernible difference to my night vision.

Driving
I was declared fit for driving 24hrs after my operation. I didn’t drive for about a week, not because I felt unfit but because I had no need to. When I did drive it was just like watching the tv or computer – I tried to blink regularly to keep my eyes hydrated but otherwise had no problems whatsoever.

Computer Use
I wasn’t really comfortable for longer than about an hour or two until two weeks after the operation. My eyes would feel tired, my vision would feel a little unstable – blurring until I blinked etc. But after that two weeks I could go for hours and besides blinking lots and needing the drops once a day if at work it’s not really been a problem. I am glad that I could have two weeks off rather than just the one week though. I’m convinced it helped my recovery.

TV
It was about three days before I could watch TV comfortably, and even then an hour or two was my limit. After about 5 days I was absolutely fine.

Reading
Same as with the TV I think, it was about three days before I decided to pick a book up and read. For about two weeks I would notice that my vision was a little unstable when reading at certain times – usually first thing in the morning or last thing at night. And while that might sound like a problem, it really wasn’t. It was only me being conscious of my ‘new eyes’ I think.

Supermarkets
For the first week I found I had to concentrate a little harder in supermarkets and other places with artificial light and a lot for the eyes to take in. For example standing in an aisle looking for one particular item amongst a shelf was quite tiring. Its not that my vision was poor, but I felt like I had to work hard – just like with a new prescription.

All in all, three weeks after surgery and my life feels like normal.
Except for the odd moment when I feel an eyelash or something in my eye and I get this crazy panic that I’ve somehow dislodged the flap and it’s all gone horribly wrong. Which is perhaps human nature, but completely crazy all the same.
Would I have it done again? Now I’ve forgotten how uncomfortable the surgery was and what the results are most definitely yes I would. Would I recommend you to have it done? If you’ve done your research, chosen a surgeon and company that you trust and can spare some time off work to allow your eyes to heal, then yes I would.

Two weeks on

It's now been just over two weeks since my intralase eye surgery with Ultralase and I'm more than happy with the results.

I stopped the drops in my right eye on the 9th day (2 days with drops every 2 hours and then 7 with a drop every 4 hours), but my left eye I continued as recommended at my week's check up. I actually stopped all drops in the left one after 11 days. Since then I've just been using the fake tear drops when needed - usually first thing in the morning and, depending on my activities that day, perhaps once more if at all.

I went down to London for two nights at exactly the two week mark and words just can't express how amazing it was to be able to go out shopping all day and then go out at night with no worries about whether my contacts would cope with all the dry conditions and extra work. My eyes were tired by the end of each day but a drop of fake tears and I was fine again.

Bright lights are a tiny bit blurry in dark light conditions but that's really the only thing noticeable now. Even then it doesn't stop me from doing anything or enjoying myself. While in London I went to see a comedy show at the Comedy Store - a black auditorium. My vision was fine for that. Dark environment looking at a brightly lit stage for a couple of hours.

After two weeks I can finally sleep without the eye shields again. I can wear make up and I can have a proper shower (for two weeks you aren't allowed to get your eyes wet so I've been washing my hair in the bath with the mixer tap and my head tilted back). Almost back to normal life.

I have to say I was looking forward to the wearing make up again part. My mother's nursing influences yet again meant I threw away all mascaras and old eyeliners, except pencils which I sharpened and sharpened so they were clean and like new again. I even treated myself to some new make up whilst I was in London. It felt so amazing to get all dressed and made up for a night out without any worries about glasses or contacts. Every day I forget a little bit more that I've even had this done. This life-changing procedure that I ummed and ahhed about for over a year before deciding to finally go for it. Oh how glad am I that I went through with it?

I go back to work on Monday and although I'm really lucky to have been able to have three whole weeks to recover, I would have been fine to go back to work after two. If I didn't work with computers so much I'd have been fine after about three days, but I think something like the long term health of your eyes is important enough to warrant as much time off as possible. It will be weird to have people asking me about my surgery, I'm so close to forgetting I've even had anything done!

Day 6 - one week check up

Technically there's only been 6 days since I had my laser eye surgery, but I was told it was fine to book my one week check up on the 6th day.

My appointment was at 11am. This time I was one of the few people in the waiting room who'd already had surgery done. There were a few people who looked to be having first consultations, and one nervous young man who was about to have his surgery performed. He seemed pretty nervous. I felt like telling him it was just a short blip of discomfort, but thought better of it. To be honest I wouldn't have traded places with him for anything. Laser eye surgery was not one of my most enjoyable experiences. I can't imagine surgery whilst awake could ever be. It was worth it though, I know that, I'm just not sure I'd want to go through it again...

I had the same optomotrist as my check up after 24hrs. This time we did a little check of the vision and prescription. The short of it is that I can the line below 20/20 with each eye on it's own, and with both eyes together could make out most of what was really pretty tiny print. I've no idea what the 0/0 number of that was but hey it's not all about the numbers. It's about the night vision, the close up vision, the everyday life vision.

Next he measured my prescription and told me there was no prescription registering in either eye. Yahoo! That made me happy. For the first couple of days after the surgery I'd been worried that my right was a little blurrier than the left, this was clearly where it was healing as it's barely noticable now. And with no prescription there will be no need for retreatment. I have to say I'm breathing a little sigh of relief.

I mentioned about the ghosting around bright things with my left eye and he had a good look with a microscope at both my eyes, spending a little longer on the left so I was sure he'd tell me he could see an infection. But he couldn't. It was all clear he said, but just to be sure he advised me to go back to using my antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops every 2hrs again in my left eye. I'm to do this for a couple of days and then go to four hourly for about four days. My right eye however is fine, and I can stay at four hourly until Friday lunchtime (this will be 9 days after surgery) when my right eye can stop having drops.

I put my drops in my left eye once we got to the car. They do feel more comfortable with the drops more regularly. Right now they're both feeling pretty good. Reading this computer screen is a little bright on a white page, but I'm not squinting any longer. And that's 6 days after laser eye surgery (Ultralasik plus Intralase to be exact).

I really am glad looking back that I opted for the Intralase instead of having lasek. My three hours of discomfort would have been three days. But well if I'd had to go for lasek, I still would have had it done.

Walking past people wearing glasses in the street I feel like saying "You really don't have to you know! Ditch those specs!" I know it's not for everyone. It's a daunting idea. It's one of those situations where you often hear far more about the bad experiences people have than the bad. My mother was always keen to point out that the majority of doctor's still wear glasses, "And why is that? Because they know the risks that's why!" she'd always tell me. But well, I took the plunge and 6 days after surgery my vision is better than 20/20. There's a good experience for you. I'm definitely in favour of laser eye surgery. Provided it's with a good provider, and based on my experiences I'd recommend Ultralase to anyone.

Days 4 & 5

Woke up on day 4 with a slightly dry feeling left eye, I was happy to get the drops in as soon as possible. Other than that everything seemed fine. If anything I think I started taking my new vision for granted and probably pushed it a little bit, read a few chapters of a book and for the first time I had no afternoon nap. Well I've had laser eye surgery, not suddenly become an old aged pensioner!

I washed my hair in the morning on day 4. I sat in the bath and used the shower head as I sat tilting my head back. I got more water on the floor than myself at times it seems but it did the trick. Clean again.

Not wearing make up is starting to frustrate me a little. I don't always wear any, mascara and lip gloss at most really but not even being able to make the effort is getting to me. It's like when I buy new clothes and want to look nice - I've got new eyes and want to go out and make the most of it.

Day 5 my left eye was still feeling a little strange. A little dry. A little blurry up close. I took my dog for a walk and the wind was blowing on my face (I had sunglasses on) and whereas my eye would normally water in the wind, the wind just made my eye feel a little dry. Nothing really to worry about but each time the drops were due I was glad to put them in.

I noticed looking at the cooker clock that my left eye was a little hazy, but only on bright things. The cooker digits are bright green. I wasn't too troubled though because I knew I was going for my check up the next day. Probably overdid it with the computer in the evening, sending emails to my friends to let them know how I'm getting on. I'm taking this all for granted now too much maybe. Time to go back to resting them in the evenings.

I've been getting braver at washing my face in the morning. Instead of just dabbing my face with the water I've gone back to using my soap and toner - but keeping it well clear of my eyes.

On the morning of day 5 I received a letter from Ultralase. It was a coversheet and an information page for me to give to my doctor which detailed the surgery I had undergone. I dropped it in at the doctors and ended up having a chat with one of the nurses about the surgery. She's always thought about having it done and was interested to meet someone who'd only just had it done.