The Best Decision I Ever Made
Hey Y’all! So if you follow us on Instagram or YouTube you would know that I recently got laser eye surgery! We vlogged the whole experience, but I thought I would do a blog post writing down all of my thoughts and feelings that I had along with the surgery and recovery experience. I’ve only been wearing glasses/contacts for 8 years, but over the past couple of years it has really started to bother me that I had to wear them. Mostly because I became contact intolerant so I was stuck wearing solely my glasses. I hated being trapped behind them, and more importantly I couldn’t wear sunglasses which are my absolute favorite.
Like I said, I have been thinking about it for a few years, but on a whim 3 weeks ago I decided to book a free consultation. My big motivation was all of the traveling we do. I hated that I couldn’t wear sunglasses when we were traveling, especially to beach locations. My glasses felt so limiting so I booked an appointment at the Belmont Eye Center. I will let her website and credentials speak for themselves, but she is simply the best there is in New York! I am so happy with my decision to choose her as my surgeon.
Pre Op Consultation. This took about an hour. They did so many tests on my eye, including dilating them and checking the thickness of my cornea. Turns out I was not a candidate for Lasik because my cornea was too thin. I was a great candidate for PRK, which in my opinion is the safer and better option. It’s a longer recovery, but I will get to that later. Cliff notes version, in Lasik they cut your cornea make a flap, and then put it back. In PRK they scrape off the top layer and it has to grow back. Sounds really scary, but with Lasik the flap can eventually move and cause problems. After making my decision in the office we booked my surgery for the following Friday. They called in my prescriptions, and I picked them up so I had them with me on surgery day,
Surgery Day. So my surgery took place at the Mount Sinai eye hospital and it was wonderful! I was actually only in the building for about an hour! It’s so crazy how fast this all happens. I arrived, filled out paperwork, they checked my eyes one last time, took a valium, put on coverings for my hair and feet and then it was time to go in.
The surgery itself was completely painless. The only way I an describe it is that it feels like an out of body experience. You are awake, so you can see everything that it happening, you just can’t see it. They laid me down on the table and gave me a teddy bear to hold! They do one eye at a time. I feel like it’s easier to write out the steps, so here is what happened.
Put in numbing drops
Numbing cream on inside of eyelid
Tape eyelashes back
Put clamp in eye
30 second eye drop to dissolve cornea
Scrape top layer off
Laser for 9 seconds
Cooling drops in eye
Put in bandage contact
Prescription eye drops
All Done!
It’s seriously so easy and happened that fast! I also couldn’t believe how calm I was, but my doctor and the assistant talked to me the entire time and told me exactly what was happening. After I got up she put one more round of eye drops in my eye and then I left right away. The rest of the day I wasn’t really in any pain. A few times my eyes were stinging and watering like I was cutting onions, but it only lasted for about 5 minutes or so each time. I didn’t even nap, and I was able to watch TV and look at my phone. My vision was pretty good.
1 Day Post Surgery. This day was pretty much the same as surgery day. Minimal pain and a little bit of stinging. We actually went out and walked around our neighborhood this day. It wasn’t until later that night that the light sensitivity started to kick in and a little bit of pain. My eyes also started to get a little blurry.
2 Days Post Surgery. This was the worst day. It was hard to keep my eyes open, so I slept all day. I wouldn’t say it was super painful, but it was really uncomfortable. This was the only day I took the pain medication that they prescribed. I just wanted to be comfortable so i could sleep.
3 Days Post Surgery. I woke up with a little bit of residual pain, but as the day went on I got better and better, and my vision was really starting to clear up. I stayed in bed in the dark and was able to watch a movie or two,
4 & 5 Days Post Surgery. I could see really well, had no pain at all, and the light sensitivity was fully gone. At this point the bandage contacts started to bother me.
6 Days Post Surgery. I got the bandage contacts removed and it felt so good. Since then my vision has been trying to stabilize but going in and out. I can still see and function, but my computer is a little blurry.
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I am now 12 days post surgery. My left eye is doing really well, but my right eye is pretty blurry. This is normal for them to go in and out. It will take about 3 months for my vision to completely stabilize. I have my 2nd post op appointment this morning, so I will see what my doctor says. I expect everything to be normal though.
If you are thinking about getting laser eye surgery I highly highly recommend it! It’s seriously the best decision I have ever made. It’s so freeing to not have glasses or contacts. I can just see instantly when I wake up! It’s crazy! So so worth it! If you missed our vlog of the whole process watch it down below, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions! Yay for finally being able to wear sunglasses!
-Shelbs xx