Laser Eyes
I was in high school when I first got glasses. Or more specifically, "glass" since I only needed a corrective lens in one eye. I wore one contact and had a lens in only one side of my glasses. While I enjoyed seeing clearly and having functional depth perception, I hated glasses with the total insecurity of a grade 10 girl. It didn’t matter that many of my friends wore glasses, it was a change I could not adapt to. I forced myself to get good at inserting and removing my contact and only wore glasses when I absolutely had to.
A few years later, my other eye decided to join the corrective lenses party. However, despite needing lenses for both eyes, it wasn’t until University that I embraced my glasses. I bought dramatic, colourful frames and wore them more frequently than my contacts (which was a direct result of too many late nights, early mornings, and long hours staring at a computer screen). For funsies, here are a few photos of past Laura (and Drake) with glasses.
Even though I had accepted glasses as part of my identity, I didn't love the necessity of them. In 2016, I pursued laser eye surgery. Drake had it done the year before without any complications. Through my consultations, I learned that there are actually different types of laser eye surgery. (Information below courtesy of LASIK MD)
LASIK - This is what I had. They create a corneal flap using a laser or tiny knife. Then they use the laser to reshape the cornea by removing tissue from the middle layer. The flap is then replaced.
PRK - This procedure is used for people whose cornea is too thin or too or too soft for LASIK. They use a laser to remove and reshape the outer edge of the cornea.
How the cornea is reshaped depends on the type of vision issues you have:
"To treat myopia (nearsightedness) the cornea is flattened to reduce converging power of the eye. This is achieved by removing more tissue from the centre of the cornea than around.
To treat hyperopia (farsightedness) the central cornea is steepened to enhance the converging power of the eye. This is achieved by removing more tissue from the periphery than the centre.
To treat astigmatism, the cornea must be made more spherical (uniformly curved). By changing the pattern of the beam, tissue is removed in one direction more than the other."
There are, of course, some risks associated with LASIK. Some people experience difficulty with night vision: "ghosting, haloes, or glare or difficulty with seeing in dim or low-lighting conditions." After learning more about LASIK and seeing Drake's positive results (he doesn't experience any night vision difficulties), I went ahead with the surgery.
Honestly, I hardly even remember the actual surgery. I remember the surgeon being calm and supportive and feeling safe and comfortable. The worst part for me was when he removed the tape he put on my eyelashes to hold them in place. The healing process was unremarkable. I received a series of eye drops to put in every couple of hours, which burn like fire the first few times. Then I spent the day resting while wearing sunglasses indoors. No tv, reading or strenuous activity. The next morning, I woke up and reached for glasses I no longer needed. For weeks afterward, I found myself constantly reaching to push up a pair of glasses I wasn’t wearing. The only difference I noticed after eye surgery, apart from perfect 20:20 vision, was increased sensitivity to light. I absolutely need sunglasses outside if there's even a little bit of sun.
In 2020, I noticed that one of my eyes regressed. Of course it was the original needy bitch eye that required the single contact lens to begin with. I asked my optometrist if she thought a LASIK touch up would be worth it. Given that I'm relatively young, my eyes are healthy, and my prescription is uncomplicated, she told me to go for it. I would absolutely trade a couple days of discomfort if it meant another 5 years without glasses or contacts. Fortunately, back in 2016, I opted in for "lifetime touch ups". Basically, I paid extra for the extended warranty and any additional eye enhancements I need should be free.
In order to move forward with the enhancement surgery, my prescription and eye health had to remain static for 3 months. This meant a LOT of eye appointments. Fortunately, my prescription met the -0.75 cut off for an enhancement and my eyes remained healthy and stable. I had a surgery date scheduled without any talk of financing or payment. I'm pretty sure I had attended the post surgery check ups at the intervals that were required, but was certain there was a fine print somewhere that I hadn't followed. Like, "Oh you didn't schedule your own eye check up exactly 1 year, 3 days, and 47 hours after your first surgery? Then your warranty is void." When I asked the technician who scheduled my surgery, she said, "Well if they didn't tell you to pay, don't ask." I think she was joking?
Surprisingly, my enhancement surgery was seamless and FREE. They even comped the $60 drops that you are required to purchase (I think this was actually because their debit machine was down? But I didn't ask why they wanted to give me free stuff, just smiled and said thank you).
Interestingly, when you have an enhancement surgery, they only do one eye at a time given that there is a slightly increased risk of complications with healing. Fortunately, I only needed one eye done. They also pull up the existing flap instead of cutting again. Which means I was in the OR for a grand total of 5 minutes. It took me longer to stuff my hair under the surgical cap than it did for them to trim my cornea with a laser. Seriously. They numbed my eyes, lifted the edge of the flap, laid me down under the laser, gave me a quick bzzz bzzz bzzz, then I was walking to the recovery room. The tape removal didn't seem to hurt as much this time either.
The other worst part of laser eye surgery is that you have to keep your eyes closed as much as possible for the first 24 hours. I remembered being incredibly motion sick in the car on the ride home after my first eye surgery. Turns out, the solution for this is to have your husband to bring you chicken strips and wedgies for lunch and then eat them blindly the whole way home. I didn't feel motion sick at all! (Don't worry, I skipped the dipping sauce).
When I got home, Drake promptly bundled me into bed with an audiobook ready to go on my phone and alarms set for my next round of eye drops. They give you these LASIK branded wrap around sunglasses that look exactly like the pair my grandmother bought to fit over her glasses in the late 90's. I spent the day resting and cuddling with my doggies looking ridiculous.
The next morning, I went in for a check up and they confirmed my fancy new vision - back to 20:20 in both eyes. Perhaps it's because I only had one eye done, but I experienced less overall discomfort this time around. I had to take three different kinds of drops four times per day for four days after the surgery. I will go back for weekly check ups for the next three weeks to ensure I'm healing well.
LASIK gives you a comprehensive guide for when to resume wearing eye makeup and engaging more strenuous activities. For example, you have to wait three days before running or biking, one month before parachuting or bungee jumping, and three months before boxing or doing mixed martial arts. Guess my MMA career will have to wait.
I am not here to sell you anything, but I have absolutely zero regrets from investing in laser eyes...twice. If it's something you've been thinking about, I encourage you to do a consult.
Best,
Laura
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