it's been 9 years since i had lasik. can't believe it's been that long!

this is what i tell everyone about lasik...

it's the best thing i did in my life!

life is so good without glasses and contacts!

it's wonderful to wake up to a crisp clear world!

i decided to talk about lasik because ling talked about getting it done. instead leaving a long comment hogging up her blog space, i'll make a post here.

since it was quite a while ago, i can't remember much detail. i'll try out outline as much as i can, from beginning to the end.

it was done in sydney in 2002. the ophthalmologist is a friend of a sister-in-law's. i was charged at a cheaper rate. i think his fee at the time was close to $5000 and i was charged some figures under $4000. can't remember the exact amount. a friend who went to a laser center (there was a period of time some centers were heavily advertised everywhere) said the cost was around $6500! the price could've gone up now.

i started to wear glasses part time since 9 and full time since 12, and contacts since 14. my vision at the time of the surgery was around -4.75. i also had astigmatism.

i've had people telling me to do lasik, but i was so scared. heard too many horrible stories. until one sister-in-law did it and praised how wonderful it was. then another sister-in-law did it and sang and danced about it.

there were instruction sheets about what to do and not to do before and after. one of which includes not to wash hair before and after. i was naughty and washed my hair the night before, because i'm used to wash my hair everyday. i can see why no washing after but can't work out why not before. i did follow not to do it after and hate how greasy my hair felt.

and of course, no makeup on the day. i felt so naked with complete bare face that day! (ok, i wore lipstick but wiped that off before i entered the center.)

if you wear contacts, you have to stop wearing them for a specified period of time to allow your cornea to return to its normal shape.

there were some tests prior to the procedure. one of which includes mapping the surface of the cornea, which involved poking the eyeball with some sort instrument. anaesthetic were applied and you won't feel a thing, but still... if you think this is bad, wait until the actual procedure.

the procedure was... scary. i knew in advance what will happen (had an intensive consultation session) but it was still scary!

the only part that's under anaesthetic were my eyeballs. everything were done while awake. i could hear and see everything! i had 2 eyes done at the same time. i wanted to chicken out after getting the first eye done.

my head was held very still with the doc's arms. he was so strong! i couldn't move at all! i had sore neck for a few days afterwards.

i spent less than 2 hrs at the surgery. no waiting time. i was the only patient that afternoon. it was a small laser center somewhere in the city.

i could see everything clearly immediately! but i had to wear a protective shield over my eyes overnight. my son called me a huge fly.

i went back to the surgery next day to check up and to remove the shields. there were quite a few follow-up apponitments for about 2 years.

now, the after experience.

an important thing, do not rub your eyes! you do not want to mess up your cornea. i finally quitted this bad habbit.

eye drops. i had a relationship with eye drops for a long time.

my eyes were super dry after the surgery. i was told it was normal and would last 6-8 weeks. it lasted more than a year! my sister-in-laws also experienced dry eyes but they recovered in about 2-3 months. i used so much eye drops during the time. i went from normal tear replacements to something as thick as gel form to keep my eyes from feeling dry and gritty.

as with my vision, i became far-sighted after the surgery. my vision was purposely over-corrected and return to normal progressively. i was told i may need another laser session shall my vision not returned to normal. thanksfully it was back to normal! i'm not going back to that operating table!!

i couldn't read books and gossip magazines for about 2 to 3 months.

since my job involved working with computers, the husband bought a lcd monitor for me to use at work. back in 2002, having lcd monitors was still a luxury. that bulky 17" monitor was about $800! i think i was the first in the company to use lcd montior and people thought i had special treatment. a special treatment with my own money!

everything on my screen were blown up as huge as possible. i bet the colleague sitting behind me could see everything on my screen.

i went through a stage where my vision could perfect during the day but sometimes blurry at night. i avoided driving at nights because sometimes lights become fuzzy blobs. sometimes. i can't remember how long this lasted. maybe a few months. my night vision is now perfect.

i'm now slightly far-sighted. i will need reading glasses only when i'm tired. those are glasses for far sighted. don't even try to suggest it's due to old age... i'm really sensitive about it! 8D

i hope i have covered most things about my lasik experience. it's been 9 years. i had posts about the experience in an old blog but it was deleted. it's time like this i wish i didn't delete it.

in short. it was scary but it's worth it! do it if you can. you don't just see things clearly. everything are crisp clear!

and if you're makeup addict like me, you'll love being able to see everything so clearly while applying makeup! i used to avoid having makeups too closed to the eyes. it was either i couldn't see without contacts or my eyes got super sensitive with contacts.

most important of all, ask around and make sure you find a trust worthy ophthalmologist. your eyes are very important and you don't want to f*** up!