My vision gradually worsened as I got older and I began to have some problems with my contacts from poor oxygen circulation and allergies. Hence, my eyes were constantly dry and itchy and I always felt the need to rub them. But, mind you, I could not wear glasses because of the psychological damage caused in elementary school.
So, along comes the miracle of Lasik. I was always very interested in it, but also highly reluctant because of the cost and the newness of the procedure. I was also told that since I was so young, about 20 years old, I should wait a few more years for my vision to stabilize.
At age 24, I began my research and attended a few free consultations to start comparison-shopping. The actual procedure seemed to be the same everywhere, but there are several differences in the details. Price is one huge difference. Another is the type of laser, which can affect the price as well.
I ended up choosing The Eye Center, although it was definitely not the cheapest option.
Factors that influenced my decision:
1. I was seen by an optometrist for my initial consultation in March 2002. This was significant to me, because at a different center, I was seen by a technician, who was somewhat knowledgeable, but did not make me feel comfortable and confident about the place.
2. They never made me feel pressured to make a decision. In fact, after the consultation in 2002, I decided to put it off awhile, and visited them again in June 2003. By then, I had decided to do it, but I had to provide a $200 non-refundable deposit when I scheduled surgery. I was hemming and hawing over dates, so the staff there was reassuring and told me that it was a big decision, and since the money was non-refundable, to go home and think about it and give them a call later.
3. The Eye Center, is not simply a Lasik store, but are a full optometric and ophthalmalogic clinic that treats eye disorders, such as cataracts and glaucoma. This reassured me in so many ways. I knew that I was still a valued customer, even if I decided to not have the procedure, because I could still use their optometric services for glasses and contacts. Also, if I developed a complication with the procedure (God forbid) the surgeons there are highly trained and skilled in all kinds of funky eye ailments, and would know what to do about my situation.
4. Almost EVERYONE in the DC Metro area has heard of Dr. Ayman Boutros. It may be because of his excellent publicity. But hey, these are my eyes. I�m going to go with brand name Coca-Cola and and not generic �cola-flavored drink.� If he is in the public eye, that means he has way more to lose if he gets some dissatisfied patients.
5. I was able to get the latest VISX Custom Vue technology. This was more costly, but gives me a 73% chance of seeing better than 20/20, whereas the other laser provides on a 7% chance. I don�t know how accurate these statistics are, but that�s what they told me at the Eye Center.
I scheduled surgery for Monday, June 23, 2003 at 4:45pm. Believe me, nervous does not even begin to describe how I felt. The more I found on the internet about Lasik, the more freaked out I became. And these were not even horror stories, it just made me think about the procedure more and more, which did not help me be calm about it.
I got 10mg of Valium, and I would be called back for one test, and then would go back out to the waiting room to sit. I started to feel the effects of the Valium after 15 minutes, and it sure was nice, but my nervous mind conquered it, and I ended up crying.
I will say that the Valium took care of the queasy, knotted stomach feeling, and my breathing was nice and even, but I was still very tense and nervous. I cried for 5 or 10 minutes, and I wasn�t even in the Lasik room yet. I was just sitting in a normal examining room with the face mask thing� �Which is better, 1 or 2? Ok, how about now? 2 or 3?�
The doctors and surgeon seemed concerned, and were asking me what I was most afraid of, and I really couldn�t pinpoint it. They assured me there was nothing to be afraid of, no pain, no problems, not to worry, it would be ok� I told a few people I wanted more Valium, and they all said no and that frustrated me. Dr. Boutros said, �You already had 10 mg. If I gave you more you would be zonked out!� I tried to convince him that would be a good thing, but, �No,� he said. He needed me to be able to focus on the red laser.
I went back into the waiting room and finally calmed down after getting my mind off it. Then they called me in.
I sat in the big chair and heard WBIG 100.3 in the background, which made me more relaxed. I remember a Beatles song came on, and I tried to sing along to it in my mind so I could concentrate on it. They also game me two stress balls (that looked like eyeballs) to hold in my hands and squeeze if I needed.
At this point they were administering numbing drops, and I really couldn�t see anything, but then Dr. Boutros started poking my eyes with some metal thing. I said, �I feel that! I need more numbing drops!�
And he said, �No, you have enough. If you really felt that, you would be on the 5th floor by now.� (I guess meaning I would have gone through the ceiling from the pain.) I still kept saying I wanted more, and they said I would get numbing gel.
The chair was reclined, and it�s hard to say when they actually began, because there was a lot of preparation with the drops and the gel. They covered my left eye and then put the speculum on the right eye, which felt mildly odd and uncomfortable, but was no big deal. It did pinch in the corners of my eye, and I told Dr. Boutros it hurt, and he said, �Well, quit squeezing. Just open your eye wider.� With all the numbing stuff, it was hard to tell what I was doing with my eye muscles. I tried to concentrate on making my eyes wider, but it was really hard.
So, while I was concentrating on opening wider, he put a circular thing over my eye. It was very blurry with no glasses and all the numbing gook in my eye. Then something else went over top of that and he said, �Your vision is going to get dark now.�
I heard a whirring vacuum / dentist drill type of sound, which I could have done without. Everything went black, then I saw the fuzzy red light above me.
I was told to stare at the red light and then I heard a lot of loud clicks. As the laser does its thing to your eye, it really smells like burning hair, or perhaps the smell of a dentist drill as it bores into your tooth. I was expecting that, so I decided to breathe through my mouth. That�s when I noticed how tight my chest was and how tense I was in my arms and legs. While I was concentrating on relaxing a little more, the laser was over, the doctor messed with my eye a little, and it tickled. When I told him that, he acted all shocked, and said, �And you said the Valium was not working!!� Then he said, �This one is done!� I would say, no more than 3 minutes had passed.
They uncovered the left eye, covered the right eye, and started all over again. Same exact thing happened. I guess I had tensed up again because by the time the smelly laser part came and I started breathing through my mouth, I had to concentrate on relaxing again.
Finally it was over, and I breathed a huge sigh. They put more drops in, and sat me up, but told me to keep my eyes closed. Then the doctor told me I could open my eyes, asked me how I felt, or how it felt, something like that� I remember saying, �It�s over.� Then he said, �Can you see what time it is?�
And I could see the clock. It was very blurry, but much better than without glasses. It also took my mind a few seconds to register the hands on the clock. It was 5:25pm.
I was led into the examining room for a doctor to check my corneal flaps and make sure I had no wrinkles. Then someone brought a black fanny pack survival kit.
Firstly, I was very surprised that the black fanny pack was plain and was not used for marketing. Given that the Eye Center spends so much money on publicity, I thought there would be an Eye Center logo on the pack.
Inside the kit was:
� A pair of humongous sunglasses that would be popular with the older retired crowd. I mean, those puppies do some serious sun control.
� Goggles for sleeping so I wouldn�t rub my eyes in the night.
� 10 mg of Valium
� 500 mg of Tylenol
� Eye drops for artificial tears
I was told to take the Tylenol and Valium when I got home, put on the goggles and take a nap.
I ended up sleeping for only 2 hours or so, but it was very hard to open my eyes because they were extremely sensitive to light. They were also SO uncomfortably scratchy and annoyed, so I took some eyedrops and just laid there a little longer and eventually drifted off again.
When I woke up this morning, 14 hours after surgery, my vision was a lot better, but still kind of fuzzy with some difficulty focusing. My eyes felt less scratchy than the day before but still bothersome.
I have serious urges to mess with my eyes, so I�m wearing my goggles to deter my hands.
I have a follow-up appointment today at 1:30pm, and they will again check my corneal flaps.
I was a little disappointed after my follow-up. My flaps are apparently fine, and I�m seeing 20/20 in my right eye, but my left eye is 20/40. Granted, it was less than 24 hours after surgery, but I guess I had higher expectations.
The doctor said that my vision would continue to fluctuate for several weeks, even months, and that there was no need to assume that I would stay at 20/40. However, she did say that we could consider an enhancement for the left eye if there were no improvements to my vision.
When I woke up at 10am and looked in the mirror, my right eye was bright red, with every possible vein showing. My left eye was perfectly fine and healthy looking so I called my eye doctor and they told me to come in after 1:30pm.
In the meantime, I showered and took some Tylenol, applied all my prescribed eye drops, and by the time 1:00pm rolled around, my eye had calmed down a great deal. It was still red, although not as noticeably as before.
At the Eye Center, they told me that my right eye was definitely inflamed, and gave me new eye drops to replace the Lotimax that I was using. She assured me that this would help the inflammation. My one week follow-up appointment would remain as scheduled for Monday, June 30.