I just got back, as I said in the last post, from Montreal. The primary reason I went there was to get Lasik (Canada has more advanced technology than the US, and even when the FDA approves certain equipment, such as the particular laser I was treated with, the earlier approval means that Canadian eye surgeons have more experience with the equipment than their American counterparts. Plus, it’s cheaper. And it’s Montreal). I was tired of being extremely nearsighted, and what with the onset of reading glasses* and all, it was looking like I’d be in very expensive and unworkable progressive lenses before too long. Why not get the nearsightedness fixed, and then worry about the aging-related reading glasses as a single prescription?
So I biffed off up North, where the many public wi-fi networks refused to speak to my netbook. And after a few days of sightseeing and wonderful meals and lovely chocolat chaud, I went to the clinic for my surgery. The pre-op and post-op is being done locally, but I went to Montreal for the actual surgery.
I knew there would be Clockwork Orange eyelid clamps. I probably should have guessed that, yes, everyone makes the same Clockwork Orange joke when the clamps are put in. I knew there would be some “pressure,” though I hadn’t really been clear on what it was for (apparently, to make you go temporarily blind so you don’t see the blade that’s cutting the flap in your cornea) or how much it would hurt when my orbital bone was pushed on.
I did not, however, know that there was going to be an odor — specifically, the odor of burning hair. It was apparently just the laser burning some carbon in the air, not my eyeball getting vaporized. But disconcerting, nonetheless.
It was over in minutes. The first half-hour afterwards was just fine, if things were blurry and I had the world’s goofiest-looking eye shields on my face. Then the anaesthetic wore off, and the burning and itching and feeling of sand-in-the-eyes started. That lasted four hours or so, during which time I was instructed to rest but not sleep — as if I could fall asleep with my eyes burning like that — and to blink at least every five minutes to keep things lubricated. I got very familiar with the limitations of my hotel room, which featured not a separate bathroom, but a sink, shower stall and toilet closet right in the room. As a concept, not terribly objectionable — until you realize that the legroom in the toilet nook leaves a little something to be desired, and it’s not possible to both take the wide stance necessary to position yourself correctly AND pull your pants down. Others before me had similar issues, or at least that’s how I interpret the fact that the seat was forever popping out of place.
After four hours or so, things started feeling much better, but I had to leave the shields on nonetheless until the following morning. Whereupon I removed them and went back to the clinic for my first-day checkup. My vision was 20/15, which is right about where it should be, since they overcorrect due to the fact that as the eyes heal, they naturally settle out a little, so I should end up with 20/20. I had a little inflammation in one eye, so they had me use the antibiotic drops more frequently for the first two days; I also have dryness, which is normal, so I have drops for that as well.
I’m quite pleased. Things are kind of foggy, I’ll need to use reading glasses for a few weeks until the overcorrection settles out, I have haloes at night, and my eyes are dry, but that’s all normal and should go away within a few days or weeks. But for the first time since fourth grade, I can fucking SEE without glasses or contacts. Yay!
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* About those expensive progressive lenses that optometrist tried to push on me: turns out I NEVER ACTUALLY NEEDED THEM AT ALL. The doctor who did my pre-op for surgery figured that my contacts were overcorrecting my vision, which made reading a little difficult. So he put me into weaker contacts, and that solved the reading problem while still enabling me to see distances. Boy, am I glad I pushed back on those instead of spending almost $500 to solve a problem I didn’t even have.
how exciting! if you don’t mind, how much less is the procedure in Canada? (I’m wondering if plane, hotel tickets for me would cancel out any savings…)
I’m totally jealous.
Megan, the clinic charged me $2600. Followup care for me is pricey, but I’m in New York, where things are automatically jacked up.
Very exciting. I’m glad to hear it went well!
Thanks!
As for cost, I started adding up how much I would be spending on contact lenses ($400/year) and new glasses ($500-1200, depending on frame (because I am vain and want good-looking frames) and type of lenses), not to mention contact-related supplies, and it made financial sense to do this. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t want to save money where I could.
Congratulations!
I am also four-eyed in NYC and you inspire me to follow in your footsteps. What kind of pricey followup care goes with this surgery? Do the Quebec docs ask American patients to have a US eye doctor to monitor post-op progress? And did you need painkillers?
thanks! I’m super interested in this surgery. It’s at the top of my priority list (other than paying back personal loans) once I get a job.
Unree, I’m getting pre-op exams and multiple checkups (1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year) as part of the package, for about $900. Which isn’t cheap, I know. But I’m on a payment plan. The clinic in Quebec (Laservue) referred me to the Dr. here.
No painkillers; it only really hurt for the first few hours, and the rest is just antibiotics, lubricating drops and maybe anti-inflammatory drops (I wasn’t given them in Montreal, but the guys down here have given me a scrip).
Megan, let me know if/when you decide to do it! I can’t believe how much of a difference it’s made. I’m so glad I took the plunge.
Oh, zuzu, I would so like to get this done, but have been scared off not only by the expense, but because I’m afraid I might end up with a bad result.
When they evaluated you to see if you were a candidate, did they say aything that might be useful to pass on to us? Like, astigmatism: did you have it? Were your eyes real different from each other in terms of impairment? What kind of lenses had you been using for the last several years? Do you have any seasonal allergies that have ever made your eyes feel itchy? Did you have any significant problem with eye dryness before the Lasik? Were they able to say that you were an ideal candidate, or did they hedge at all? I mean, no one can guarantee a good result with 100% certainty - weird shit can happen in the absence of any negligence - but did you feel like they’d have declined you if they hadn’t felt confident?
OMG, I would like to see stuff in the middle of the night - not just angry mobs, but, like, shooting stars or fireflies, or my shoes, and not have to stock my emergency earthquake kit with all of the contact lens paraphernalia. I know I’m lucky to have vision that’s correctable; I get that. But you still feel like when the big unholy rumpus comes down, and modern society has an inconvenient interruption in service, you, with your woefully sub-par visual acuity, are gonna be among the first in the herd to get culled.
I know I’m catastrophizing - I honestly don’t mean to sound so dire. Mostly I think it’s exciting and cool that you had this done. Yay, zuzu!
They do a whole bunch of tests to see if you’re even a candidate; if your eyes are unhealthy, or if your corneas are too thin, you can’t do it. Astigmatism, from what they tell me, isn’t an issue anymore in all but the most severe cases because of the way they do the mapping.
My biggest concerns were large pupils and dry/itchy eyes. But it turns out neither was a huge problem — they have long since figured out large pupils, and my eyes were mostly dry and itchy because of the contscts (I was wearing Accuvue Oaysis, which were an improvement over the last version of Accuvue I’d been in, but not as good as bare). But you take out your contact lenses a week or two before the testing, and two weeks before the surgery, so you get a better sense of what’s what.
And believe me — I thought long and hard about the risks.
I had LASIK surgery January, 1998. I was in the bottom 95th percentile for astigmatism, and not much better for my near-sightedness. At that time they did not have FDA approval to fix “over-corrections” so I did end up having follow up re-do surgery on both eyes over the next 12 months. Both of the re-do’s were free.
I LOVE not having glasses! I went from having coke bottles to cute sunglasses in one day. Now, almost 12 years later my left eye is beginning to get a little fuzzy for distance, but the right eye is still fine. So I’m still, in my mid-40’s, good for reading and driving.
The best $3600 I ever spent! Ever.
I’m overjoyed for you, Zuzu. Joyed and overjoyed!
Best money I EVER spent. I had it done in 2001 with re-correction in 2003. My eyesight was so bad that it was basically disabling; having the procedure done changed my life for the better in so many ways.
I was thinking of getting this but I am still so scared of it. But thanks Zuzu for sharing.