To keep within the right side of the forum law - I'll preface this post. I am NOT looking for any medical advice, nor am I dispensing any. This is merely a log of my experience of the entire pre and post procedure. A place where other people considering or whom have had the same/similar can check in against. I have found other blogs very useful and at times re-assuring as I go through various stages.
tl;drs of statistics:
Procedure type - LASEK, wavefront guided. Longer recovery than LASIK but I work in an unpredictable and at times violent environment. I am not suitable for LASIK as the risk of flap trauma/removal is high.
Prescription - -2.50 LE, -2.25 (ish) RE - An average shortsighted condition. No astigmatism or other complication
Total Cost - £3,400 which includes any post op treatment and any requirement for additional laser work after healing.
Reason - As a long time contact wearer I never really considered laser surgery. I got on well with long wear contacts and my vision was fine. Within the last 1 to 2 years I have become far less tolerant to them. I awake with red, gunky eyes and my eyes generally stay red and bloodshot throughout the day. I have periods where the contact shifts around in my eye, bubbles/folds, messes up my vision and was extremely uncomfortable. The choice I was left with was discontinue contact wear/rely more on glasses or go for laser.
07/12/14 - Pre-Surgery Check In
Having had my initial free consultation and being advised I was suitable for LASEK I had booked in my date. I arrived for further checks having been banned from wearing contacts for at least a week prior to the 10th. An interesting experience for someone who has not worn glasses once in over 5 years. My pupils were dilated to check on their sizing and further scans were taken of my eyes, these would ultimately be used in the machine on op day as the ablation map. Other than the blurry vision associated with pupil dilation, the visit was a real non-event, You are given the informed consent form to read over and sign and that's about it. The informed consent is a beast, and as expected it must cover all bases...and other than negligence it sure does. You basically sign away everything. Including conditions that require corneal transplant to fix or the loss of your best vision even with contacts/glasses. It certainly makes you question if this is the right thing to do.
10/12/14 - Op Day
Surgery went smoothly, it was a painless process but to say it was not daunting would be a lie. Prior to laying under the laser aperture I was given a multitude of drops. Both anaesthesia and the antibiotics I would continue to take post op. When I lay down the laser was aligned and my right eye was prepared.
Entirely numb and little to no sensation, when the alcohol solution was poured there was a very slight tingle sensation but I felt nothing. I was very aware of what was going on but it was more than tolerable. The worst part of this stage was staring at the very bright lights that illuminate the eye area. There was no blink sensation however. The final alignment was done and the laser was fired. I was not prepared for this. I am a technical person, I know exactly how laser ablation works and exactly how it is implemented in LASEK. Nothing prepares you for the actual laze itself. It could almost be described as somewhat brutal, not because of pain but just the way in which it does it's job. It's rather loud or, to put it more precisely, has a very distinct sound signature. Combined with the odour of your vaporised cornea it's not a pleasant experience.
Moving on to the left eye and the same pre-laze procedure is commenced. This was a little bit more daunting. I had more sensation this time. Was it because I knew what was coming, or was it because the local anaesthesia was wearing off? This was the very daunting thought I was processing at at the time. I felt the eyelid clamp go in, felt the cool feeling of the alcohol solution filling the well placed onto my eye. I had the same tingling sensation as before, but this time much more pronounced. Was I going to feel the laser ablate the surface of my eye? I sure hoped not. The lights used appeared far far far brighter to me this time. I could think of nothing but wanting to force my eyelids shut. It was not painful, per se, but it was extremely uncomfortable. The 'flap' was made and the laser aligned. The left eye had 34 seconds of ablation time compared to the 23 seconds of my right. The extra time felt like an age. I summoned all of my willpower and stared at that red dot/cross area, trying my hardest to hold back the desire to block out that intense light.
The procedure finished and I was sat up. "Can you see me?" was the first thing I was asked. "Yes".....I thankfully answered. My vision was okay but I attributed that mostly to the copious amounts of fluids still present in my eyes. I was moved to the recovery area and was taken through the post-op procedure and medication. My vision was blurry, but I felt no discomfort. Having taken away my bag of goodies I was picked up and taken home. I think I had a good 6 to 7 hours of blissful pain free recovery, but that soon changed. My vision was still blurry and remained so for the rest of the evening. I spent most of the evening laying on bed with my eyes closed to maximize comfort. As I neared sleep time I took two of the Solpadol I had been provided, a paracetamol and codeine pain killer. I have taken Co-Codamol branded pills many times before, but never Solpadol. It's a shame I had not as I would have known about the allergic reaction I was about to have. Itchy neck, face, chest and back with some swelling. The reaction I had was mild, luckily, but a reaction nonetheless. The pain medication I had been given was now out of bounds for me, including the one single pill I was advised to take pre-sleep.
I decided to go to bed early, I flooded my eyes with the lubricating solution and taped on the eye shields which are to prevent you inadvertently touching/rubbing your eyes during sleep. I recall the time being around 21:00 hours. My eyes throbbed ever so slightly and I had a slight headache, but no real pain. After what felt like an eternity asleep I was rudely awakened by intense pain in my right eye. Trying to open it only served to intensify that pain, after a good 5 minutes of gritting teeth I managed to open it enough to allow me to navigate to the bathroom and deal with the matter. The shields came off and I used the lubricating solutions. This provided some relief, taking away the sharp stabbing pain, but the constant throbbing of discomfort remained. It did not help when I was able to make out the blurry time on the nearby clock....22:30. I had been asleep for less than 3 hours.
03:30 hours - Awoken again by pain worse than before. It's hard to describe this sort of pain, it's just 'different'. For anyone who has been subjected to an Incapacitant spray (CS, PAVA, "pepper spray") it's exactly like that - Just worse. I took away most of the edge by lubricating the eyes but I lay awake for a good hour with a killer headache and the constant throbbing, primarily in my right eye.
11/12/14 - Recovery Day 1
Discomfort upon waking, but nothing like before. Morning ritual of drops sorted it out and the discomfort is mild at most. The only real complaint is the odd sharp onset of pain in my right eye. Usually when, for whatever reason, my right eyelid decides to contract against the surface of my eye. Usually during sneezing, blowing nose or something equally ridiculous.
I continue to use the lubricating drops frequently with the onset of the gritty/dry feeling.
Vision wise my left eye is far better than my right. The polar opposite of my previous prescription. Both eyes provide blurry vision but my right eye is effectively useless. I have ghosting (Double images, triple in some cases) and vision is as worse as my uncorrected vision prior. The ghosting is most pronounced on illuminated materials (Such as computer monitor, TV) and in high contrast situations - White Text on Black background for example. I am rather concerned about this currently. I understand that vision is a rocky road post LASEK and I am very early in the recovery process. However, this does not alleviate the series of logic I am running through my mind:
"My left eye was -2.50 before, and now provides my current best available vision. My right eye, -2.25 prior, is completely useless and providing the most flawed vision."
I do not feel comfortable with the prospect of leaving the house, and will not be. There is no way I can drive, and as I type this on the computer I cannot really see what is on screen.
I am concerned, but continue to re-assure myself I am very early days. Here's to hoping tonights sleep is better than yesterdays.
12/12/14 - Recovery Day 2
Bad. Bullet Point Mode Enable.
- Bad ghosting in right eye. Double, triple vision. Large starbursting on light sources.
- Morning was very sensitive. Even in fully darkened room could not keep eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. I woke to a gunked up right eye which was more red than white/any other colour.
- Left eye continues to outpace right in vision clarity and healing advancement.
- I've caught a cold.
- Most of the day has been spent laying down with eyes closed.
This was typed by touch, mostly blind. With font turned up to "As big as you like" for review.
The evening progressed as the day started - bad. The worst night yet, punctuated by the worst pain yet. My intention with this log is to not scare anybody off the procedure, but I am going to be honest about my experience. I was not prepared for this level of pain. Perhaps if I was able to take the codeine based meds the edge would have been taken off. I attempted to go to sleep at around 20:00 hours, by 22:00 hours I had reached for the “In Emergency Break Glass” topical anaesthesia - PROX .My left eye was fine, but my right eye was absolutely burning. I applied the drops and after about 5 minutes relief had set in. I taped the eye shields to my face and was prepared to get some sleep.
No such luck - After 30 minutes the relief had worn off and the pain was back with more bite. Further application of the topical drops proved ineffective. I blasted through the entire tube and was left up proverbial creek without a paddle It is worth noting that today was the first day of recovery with discontinued Anti inflammatory drops.
22:30 to 24:00 hours felt like a week of Sundays. 24:00 to 04:00 hours was a blur of pain. Pain so intense it made me angry, had I been wearing purple pyjama bottoms I am almost positive there would have been a Marvell-Moment right there and then. A cool flannel was as effective as a Chocolate Fireguard and the towel I had nearby soon turned into something to clamp my teeth down onto. The only thought racing through my mind between the rage was “When will it end, when will it end”. At around 02:00 hours I left a message on the surgery Voicemail asking for advice and I hoped it would be picked up as soon as possible. By 05:00 hours having raided the kitchen cupboards like a hardened drug-fiend looking for his next fix I had run out of ideas. I popped a single Diclofenac which provided no relief and, contrary to the guideline, I used the Anti-Inflammatory drops in my right eye. By 06:00 hours I had managed to fall asleep.
The takeaway of Recovery Day 2 and Early Hours of 3 was this - Vision Clarity swings wildly, your pain might well too. The realistic expectation is that at one moment you might feel no discomfort at all; as if the surgery had never happened. In the next moment you could well be questioning why on earth you subjected yourself to this. Buyer Beware indeed.
13/12/14
In the morning my optometrist came up to my place and swapped out my healing bandages. The removal was painful, even under anesthesia, but the new ones felt much more comfortable. Ironically after grabbing the 1 or 2 hours sleep I did get I awoke to eyes that felt pretty good, all things considered. My left eye felt very raw during the contact bandage swap but afterwards felt good. I was given more topical ‘Prox’ anthesia and more lubricant drops.
I am happy to report I did not feel any more of the pain I had just experienced again on this day, or any of the following days for that matter. I have not had to use any further Prox.
The starbursting in my right eye appears lessened in severity although both eyes still exhibit ghosting or haze in dim light/bright source conditions. Vision clarity and overall quality still varies rapidly.
14/12/14
Not much to report. I spent as much as the day as possible resting, no pain but a definite increased feeling of pressure behind the eyes. No pain in the eye itself but most certainly a bad prolonged headache. Considering the pain I had experienced prior I was happy with a headache and a headache alone. The main source of discomfort at this stage, other than the headache, was the eye shields at night. As silly as it sounds, they are rather uncomfortable and have the undesired effect of almost magnifying any other sources of irritation. it’s just something about having them over your eyes, in contact with your lashes and generally being just a bit of a pain in the ass.
tl;drs of statistics:
Procedure type - LASEK, wavefront guided. Longer recovery than LASIK but I work in an unpredictable and at times violent environment. I am not suitable for LASIK as the risk of flap trauma/removal is high.
Prescription - -2.50 LE, -2.25 (ish) RE - An average shortsighted condition. No astigmatism or other complication
Total Cost - £3,400 which includes any post op treatment and any requirement for additional laser work after healing.
Reason - As a long time contact wearer I never really considered laser surgery. I got on well with long wear contacts and my vision was fine. Within the last 1 to 2 years I have become far less tolerant to them. I awake with red, gunky eyes and my eyes generally stay red and bloodshot throughout the day. I have periods where the contact shifts around in my eye, bubbles/folds, messes up my vision and was extremely uncomfortable. The choice I was left with was discontinue contact wear/rely more on glasses or go for laser.
07/12/14 - Pre-Surgery Check In
Having had my initial free consultation and being advised I was suitable for LASEK I had booked in my date. I arrived for further checks having been banned from wearing contacts for at least a week prior to the 10th. An interesting experience for someone who has not worn glasses once in over 5 years. My pupils were dilated to check on their sizing and further scans were taken of my eyes, these would ultimately be used in the machine on op day as the ablation map. Other than the blurry vision associated with pupil dilation, the visit was a real non-event, You are given the informed consent form to read over and sign and that's about it. The informed consent is a beast, and as expected it must cover all bases...and other than negligence it sure does. You basically sign away everything. Including conditions that require corneal transplant to fix or the loss of your best vision even with contacts/glasses. It certainly makes you question if this is the right thing to do.
10/12/14 - Op Day
Surgery went smoothly, it was a painless process but to say it was not daunting would be a lie. Prior to laying under the laser aperture I was given a multitude of drops. Both anaesthesia and the antibiotics I would continue to take post op. When I lay down the laser was aligned and my right eye was prepared.
Entirely numb and little to no sensation, when the alcohol solution was poured there was a very slight tingle sensation but I felt nothing. I was very aware of what was going on but it was more than tolerable. The worst part of this stage was staring at the very bright lights that illuminate the eye area. There was no blink sensation however. The final alignment was done and the laser was fired. I was not prepared for this. I am a technical person, I know exactly how laser ablation works and exactly how it is implemented in LASEK. Nothing prepares you for the actual laze itself. It could almost be described as somewhat brutal, not because of pain but just the way in which it does it's job. It's rather loud or, to put it more precisely, has a very distinct sound signature. Combined with the odour of your vaporised cornea it's not a pleasant experience.
Moving on to the left eye and the same pre-laze procedure is commenced. This was a little bit more daunting. I had more sensation this time. Was it because I knew what was coming, or was it because the local anaesthesia was wearing off? This was the very daunting thought I was processing at at the time. I felt the eyelid clamp go in, felt the cool feeling of the alcohol solution filling the well placed onto my eye. I had the same tingling sensation as before, but this time much more pronounced. Was I going to feel the laser ablate the surface of my eye? I sure hoped not. The lights used appeared far far far brighter to me this time. I could think of nothing but wanting to force my eyelids shut. It was not painful, per se, but it was extremely uncomfortable. The 'flap' was made and the laser aligned. The left eye had 34 seconds of ablation time compared to the 23 seconds of my right. The extra time felt like an age. I summoned all of my willpower and stared at that red dot/cross area, trying my hardest to hold back the desire to block out that intense light.
The procedure finished and I was sat up. "Can you see me?" was the first thing I was asked. "Yes".....I thankfully answered. My vision was okay but I attributed that mostly to the copious amounts of fluids still present in my eyes. I was moved to the recovery area and was taken through the post-op procedure and medication. My vision was blurry, but I felt no discomfort. Having taken away my bag of goodies I was picked up and taken home. I think I had a good 6 to 7 hours of blissful pain free recovery, but that soon changed. My vision was still blurry and remained so for the rest of the evening. I spent most of the evening laying on bed with my eyes closed to maximize comfort. As I neared sleep time I took two of the Solpadol I had been provided, a paracetamol and codeine pain killer. I have taken Co-Codamol branded pills many times before, but never Solpadol. It's a shame I had not as I would have known about the allergic reaction I was about to have. Itchy neck, face, chest and back with some swelling. The reaction I had was mild, luckily, but a reaction nonetheless. The pain medication I had been given was now out of bounds for me, including the one single pill I was advised to take pre-sleep.
I decided to go to bed early, I flooded my eyes with the lubricating solution and taped on the eye shields which are to prevent you inadvertently touching/rubbing your eyes during sleep. I recall the time being around 21:00 hours. My eyes throbbed ever so slightly and I had a slight headache, but no real pain. After what felt like an eternity asleep I was rudely awakened by intense pain in my right eye. Trying to open it only served to intensify that pain, after a good 5 minutes of gritting teeth I managed to open it enough to allow me to navigate to the bathroom and deal with the matter. The shields came off and I used the lubricating solutions. This provided some relief, taking away the sharp stabbing pain, but the constant throbbing of discomfort remained. It did not help when I was able to make out the blurry time on the nearby clock....22:30. I had been asleep for less than 3 hours.
03:30 hours - Awoken again by pain worse than before. It's hard to describe this sort of pain, it's just 'different'. For anyone who has been subjected to an Incapacitant spray (CS, PAVA, "pepper spray") it's exactly like that - Just worse. I took away most of the edge by lubricating the eyes but I lay awake for a good hour with a killer headache and the constant throbbing, primarily in my right eye.
11/12/14 - Recovery Day 1
Discomfort upon waking, but nothing like before. Morning ritual of drops sorted it out and the discomfort is mild at most. The only real complaint is the odd sharp onset of pain in my right eye. Usually when, for whatever reason, my right eyelid decides to contract against the surface of my eye. Usually during sneezing, blowing nose or something equally ridiculous.
I continue to use the lubricating drops frequently with the onset of the gritty/dry feeling.
Vision wise my left eye is far better than my right. The polar opposite of my previous prescription. Both eyes provide blurry vision but my right eye is effectively useless. I have ghosting (Double images, triple in some cases) and vision is as worse as my uncorrected vision prior. The ghosting is most pronounced on illuminated materials (Such as computer monitor, TV) and in high contrast situations - White Text on Black background for example. I am rather concerned about this currently. I understand that vision is a rocky road post LASEK and I am very early in the recovery process. However, this does not alleviate the series of logic I am running through my mind:
"My left eye was -2.50 before, and now provides my current best available vision. My right eye, -2.25 prior, is completely useless and providing the most flawed vision."
I do not feel comfortable with the prospect of leaving the house, and will not be. There is no way I can drive, and as I type this on the computer I cannot really see what is on screen.
I am concerned, but continue to re-assure myself I am very early days. Here's to hoping tonights sleep is better than yesterdays.
12/12/14 - Recovery Day 2
Bad. Bullet Point Mode Enable.
- Bad ghosting in right eye. Double, triple vision. Large starbursting on light sources.
- Morning was very sensitive. Even in fully darkened room could not keep eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time. I woke to a gunked up right eye which was more red than white/any other colour.
- Left eye continues to outpace right in vision clarity and healing advancement.
- I've caught a cold.
- Most of the day has been spent laying down with eyes closed.
This was typed by touch, mostly blind. With font turned up to "As big as you like" for review.
The evening progressed as the day started - bad. The worst night yet, punctuated by the worst pain yet. My intention with this log is to not scare anybody off the procedure, but I am going to be honest about my experience. I was not prepared for this level of pain. Perhaps if I was able to take the codeine based meds the edge would have been taken off. I attempted to go to sleep at around 20:00 hours, by 22:00 hours I had reached for the “In Emergency Break Glass” topical anaesthesia - PROX .My left eye was fine, but my right eye was absolutely burning. I applied the drops and after about 5 minutes relief had set in. I taped the eye shields to my face and was prepared to get some sleep.
No such luck - After 30 minutes the relief had worn off and the pain was back with more bite. Further application of the topical drops proved ineffective. I blasted through the entire tube and was left up proverbial creek without a paddle It is worth noting that today was the first day of recovery with discontinued Anti inflammatory drops.
22:30 to 24:00 hours felt like a week of Sundays. 24:00 to 04:00 hours was a blur of pain. Pain so intense it made me angry, had I been wearing purple pyjama bottoms I am almost positive there would have been a Marvell-Moment right there and then. A cool flannel was as effective as a Chocolate Fireguard and the towel I had nearby soon turned into something to clamp my teeth down onto. The only thought racing through my mind between the rage was “When will it end, when will it end”. At around 02:00 hours I left a message on the surgery Voicemail asking for advice and I hoped it would be picked up as soon as possible. By 05:00 hours having raided the kitchen cupboards like a hardened drug-fiend looking for his next fix I had run out of ideas. I popped a single Diclofenac which provided no relief and, contrary to the guideline, I used the Anti-Inflammatory drops in my right eye. By 06:00 hours I had managed to fall asleep.
The takeaway of Recovery Day 2 and Early Hours of 3 was this - Vision Clarity swings wildly, your pain might well too. The realistic expectation is that at one moment you might feel no discomfort at all; as if the surgery had never happened. In the next moment you could well be questioning why on earth you subjected yourself to this. Buyer Beware indeed.
13/12/14
In the morning my optometrist came up to my place and swapped out my healing bandages. The removal was painful, even under anesthesia, but the new ones felt much more comfortable. Ironically after grabbing the 1 or 2 hours sleep I did get I awoke to eyes that felt pretty good, all things considered. My left eye felt very raw during the contact bandage swap but afterwards felt good. I was given more topical ‘Prox’ anthesia and more lubricant drops.
I am happy to report I did not feel any more of the pain I had just experienced again on this day, or any of the following days for that matter. I have not had to use any further Prox.
The starbursting in my right eye appears lessened in severity although both eyes still exhibit ghosting or haze in dim light/bright source conditions. Vision clarity and overall quality still varies rapidly.
14/12/14
Not much to report. I spent as much as the day as possible resting, no pain but a definite increased feeling of pressure behind the eyes. No pain in the eye itself but most certainly a bad prolonged headache. Considering the pain I had experienced prior I was happy with a headache and a headache alone. The main source of discomfort at this stage, other than the headache, was the eye shields at night. As silly as it sounds, they are rather uncomfortable and have the undesired effect of almost magnifying any other sources of irritation. it’s just something about having them over your eyes, in contact with your lashes and generally being just a bit of a pain in the ass.
Last edited:
Regardless of the advertisements, I would rather wear glasses than have laser surgery on my eyes.
it's perfectly sensible to give two sides to experiences. 