SHIZ SATO

Hi everyone!

Here is my long overdue post on my personal experience of this scary treatment. It involves one of the most delicate organs of the human body - the eyes. it was definitely worth the many months of contemplating on whether the battle of fear, finance and a clear vision was worth it.

With the help and support of my friends and family, I managed to build enough courage to undergo LASEK. Through my experience, I've discovered that there are many types of laser vision correction. Lasik, Lasik Wthout a Flap, Advanced Laser Surface Ablation (ALSA), Lasek and Advanced PRK to name a few. Please don't ask me what the differences are, I have no idea! I would suggest you to have a tailored consultation where you can learn everything laser related. I'm sure all have their advantages and disadvantages. I was recommended to have LASEK by Dr Medownick, an apparently more safe surgery than Lasik for my eyes. "Takes longer to heal than ALSA" and "has more discomfort than ALSA" but most suited to my eyes.

I'll leave all the technical info out as I can't explain well and I don't think I understand well enough to even begin writing about it. But I just wanted to share my surgery experience.

My prescription was only about -0.75 to -1.00 on both eyes and with slight astigmatism (warped cornea). The main reason for my decision to get Laser Vision Correction was that I naturally have very dry eyes and I struggle wearing contacts during sport. I couldn't handle having to wear prescription contacts each time I played tennis. I also couldn't stand wearing glasses. I could still perform daily tasks without the need of glasses/contacts but playing tennis blurry was a nightmare. Glasses don't stay up on my nose and my dry eyes suffered like mad with contacts. I also hated not being able to drive around at night without glasses, sometimes I tried to wing it and I'd miss a good car spot because I couldn't get my glasses in time to check if I can park there or miss a turn because I couldn't see the road names. (*I still seem to miss good cars pots haha but at least I can read signs now)

It's important to hear direct experiences from friends, family, successful stories and have that encouragement. My good friend Val underwent laser vision tx many years ago at the same place. A few others have also had it in more recent times and all results have been positive. I took the first step and went for a consultation and believe it or not, it was a complimentary, 1 hour long comprehensive consultation where all kinds of tests were carried out and all questions answered.

Let's talk about the procedure, or what I remember of it :)p

Naturally, the whole idea of Laser Eye Surgery is daunting. Even after the thorough 1 hour consultation, I didn't leave with a set date in mind. The good thing is that they weren't pushy. I left it for a further 3 months and decided on my surgery only after returning from my Japan/Korea trip.

Here's how it panned out.

Thursday Appointment at 1:00pm

Signed consent forms for both eyes (I'm assuming there's an option to tx one eye at a time)

After a short wait, similar eye exams as the ones done at the consult were carried out

Dry eye test - this was painful for me

More vision testing

Asked how much I weigh - given medication accordingly

4x tablets to knock you out - forgot the name but it worked so Im happy

1x tablet to fight nausea

Explained to have a light meal that evening

Informed to expect extra dry eyes 1 month post surgery

1:30pm

Instructed to have a seat in the dim waiting room. There I will fall sleepy and probably lose conscience. They told be it would take approx 2 hours.

2:00pm - still fine, messaging friends away, super nervous, letting them know the medication isn't working

2:00pm onwards - when the magic began.

Taking selfies while on medication. Dopey red eyes and memory loss was pretty extreme

When I woke up it was Friday evening, I don't remember anything, no pain no memory no nothing. I was lucky enough to have my dad drive me and pick me up, that was the plan but I do also remember vaguely seeing my mum there putting eyedrops in my eye and I was taking medication every 4 hours. I took Ativan - causes sleepiness, drowsiness, temporary memory loss. To be honest my memory isn't great to begin with and this killed it. Everything was warped and I really didn't know where my days had gone. My friends came to visit me on Sunday and I didn't even know if I was making sense to them. I guess they are used to that anyway, ha.

Ativan caused MEMORY LOSS for me really badly. I guess it was useful during the recovery stage
There were 3x eye drops I had to continuously nourish my eyes with. I was given an envelope full of Vitamin C for a quick recovery (2x daily), numbing drops for pain relief and a mask to protect the eyes for when I sleep.

4th day post surgery, I attended Medownick for my review. I had my soft contact lens removed (they were placed to protect and promote healing). To be honest, I couldn't feel them in there at all and after having them taken out, my left eye became slightly painful. It was bearable and all part of the recovery and expected as I had dry eyes. My right eye apparently hadn't recovered as well as it should have and so a new pair of lens was put in for that night. I had to return again the following morning for another review for the right eye - I was given the "all ok" at the 2nd review appt.

A medical certificate was provided for 2 weeks, however, I returned to work on Monday. In total it was about 10 days including the weekend after surgery that I needed for recovery before I went back to work.

I am now entering my 5th month post laser vision correction and never have I been so happy about a decision! Seriously, BEST DECISION EVER. I can now play tennis without even worrying about contacts, I can ride my scooter/drive a car at night without glasses and I can see the special menu on the board in restaurants! I still get dry eyes especially in the morning but I don't feel that it's necessarily any worse than before laser treatment.

I highly recommend the treatment or even just going for a consultation and finding out what its all about! Make sure you have someone who can look after you, and be in a healthy state before even thinking about going through this treatment :) There are flexible payment plans and discounts for referral, but best thing to do is to go and ask all the questions yourself!

Feel free to ask me questions - I received a lot of questions and some interest in Laser Vision Correction through my instagram when I mentioned it.

Time to let these dry eyes rest! Goodnight!!

❥ SHIZUKA

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