Thursday, June 27, 2013

This Week's Blog Post

I am finally getting back to a normal life! I received so many sweet messages from you guys during my healing. Thank you. I really appreciated it. :)

Lasik Eye Surgery!
Bye Bye prescription eye wear!!! This stuff has annoyed me since I was a teenager. We are talking almost 25 years!!!
Hello eye drops! A serious eye drop routine of antibiotics, steroids and preservative free drops follow the week after surgery!
My surgery was a success! I am not going to talk about the procedure since I think it sucked due to its discomfort. I knew when I was handed a stress ball after sitting in the torture chair that I was in for something really unpleasant! 

Here are my eyes 2 days afterwards. They look so sad. I wish my upper lids would just remain swollen because my 39 year old upper lid droop did not show! It is like I had a brow lift. Pretty cool.

The swelling continued at my 5 day follow up appointment so I was instructed to continue the steroid drops and had to see my doctor again the following week. Normal people heal up quickly, but I am special. At the follow up I still need to use the steroids in a much smaller dose until my 1 month post op appointment. Progress!
Technology has officially rocked my world and changed my life. See the thickness of my eyeglasses here? I am amazed that a laser to my eye balls could fix this! The laser time was 45 seconds per eye when most people only require 20 seconds. I feel so fortunate that my eyes could be done. Of course the extra laser time meant a longer recovery process! 

Here are the super cool rock star shades provided for afterwards. They were worn grocery shopping, at work (those damn florescent lights), in a restaurant and of course the post office. It felt somewhat liberating not being able to wear makeup or use hair products. I suppose I could have put some lipstick on for the camera! I was so ungroomed.
These are funny! The sexy eye cups get taped to your face for sleeping! This was when I felt safe during recovering since nothing could touch my eyes. During waking hours I did not trust myself thinking I would accidentally rub my eyes. I so wanted to! I ended up wearing these for 12 nights..
I also had to pick up readers! It can take several days to be able to read comfortably so some people require this assistance afterwards. After adjusting I will pass these on to my mom who just started needing readers more than 10 years after her Lasik surgery! So there is a good chance I will not need these for a long, long time!
So my slow recovery has been the reason I have not been in the blogosphere lately. I had terrible light sensitivity that made it difficult to look at the computer screen and television. Driving was extremely unpleasant with tear running down my face!

Each day I see improvements with the swelling, vision and light sensitivity. It will take up to 3 months to really see the results of the surgery but so far I am more than pleased! It is quite likely I would need enhancements based on my prior prescription but I would rather wear glasses if it is just for driving. Although I am very happy I went through with this I never want to do it again! Once is enough.

If you have been contemplating Lasik it is worth every penny. Is it fun? No! 

Dealing with the unique, not so great vision that follows just after the procedure has really helped me empathize with anyone who is dealing with various eye issues. Even though I could not see without glasses or contacts before, I took my vision for granted since I could see with that help!

Well thank you for reading! I hope to be back to my regular blog visits this week! I miss you guys and appreciate all your support and concern. ~Val

24 comments:

  1. Congrats, you did it! Very brave!
    Get well soon.

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  2. Val - SO glad your surgery was successful! It all sounds rather stressful to me. I agree with Petra, you're very brave!
    I hope your eyes heal quickly, take care...

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  3. Yes... Well done you. Looked very painful/uncomfortable but worth the result!

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  4. Glad to hear that it went well and that you're pleased with the results! And by the way, your "ungroomed" looks better than many people's "groomed"!

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  5. I have been saying "next year" to lasik for the past 13 years.... =)

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  6. This is fantastic news, Val!!!
    I am sure it feels so good to say "bye-bye" to the glasses.
    Glad to hear that all went well for you!! xo.

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  7. Congratulations, Val! My husband had lasik done 10 years or so ago and said it was worth every penny and the discomfort. Am hoping you get to that point to (:

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  8. So glad your recovery is coming to a close and it was all successful! you do rock those wrap sunglasses! enjoy your new liberation from glasses!!!

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  9. Pretty soon the recovery will be a distant memory, that's fantastic- no more thick glasses. Wearing glasses in the summer is the pits, not counting sunglasses of course. Hope you are completely healed in no time at all. ♥

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  10. Val!!! Great to hear from you girl!! Boy, you have been through a lot!!! I am so happy everything was worth it!! I just feel sorry for your eyes!! I have to say, you look really cool in your picture!! Seriously!!! I wish I looked that good without doing anything to myself ;o) Big Hugs and much love!! Take Care of yourself!!!

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  11. So glad your recovery, Val!!!
    Happy summer for you, dear friend!!!

    Besos, desde EspaƱa, Marcela♥

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  12. Good for you! Congratulations on your successful surgery, and I would like to add that I love the reading glasses you picked out.

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  13. Yay for the surgery being a success! I am glad you don't have to go through this for a long long time! ...by the way you are rocking those shades! I am glad you are back blogging. Take care of yourself and hugs to you

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  14. Thanks for sharing your experience!
    This is a surgery that I sometimes consider … and you've reminded me of that!
    And yes, take care!

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  15. Glad to hear you are feeling better, and that things are getting back to normal! Thanks for sharing your experience, it sounds like you had a rough recovery but the end results will be worth it. Enjoy not having to wear glasses for a long long time.
    Valerie
    Everyday Inspired

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  16. Yay glad your feeling better. Must have been very liberating saying bye bye to the prescription eye wear x

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  17. Congratulations on your successful surgery! I just wish the recovery process was a little easier for you! I am SO jealous too - my eye doctor said I wouldn't be a good candidate for it since my eyes are "special"(lol) in their own way and it could do more harm than good. :( Maybe as technology advances I may get my shot!

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  18. Yay. Glad you're on the road to a successful recovery. And guess what? You totally don't need the makeup and other stuff. Your pic was pretty. Even with the amazing shades. *wink* So far everyone I've known that's had Lasik is pleased, even those that went back to get something tweaked. You might not know what to do with yourself with all that unaided vision going on there! Enjoy. :-)

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  19. congrats!! so glad everything went well ;)

    the STYLE Fringe BLOG
    http://the-stylefringe.blogspot.com

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  20. Glad that your surgery was a success!

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  21. So sorry to hear about all the discomfort, but hey...it looks like a success! And check out your super cool rock star shades! =0)
    Glad you're making it through the "get well" stage just fine. Thanks for sharing the experience with us.
    ~Kim
    www.2justByou.com

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  22. I'm so happy for you! You were in my thoughts; I kept wondering how your procedure went. I'm so glad to hear that you're doing great, and how awesome to be done with the lenses and everything! Thank you for sharing and do post updates -- I'm sure to visit whenever I've a free moment *hugs*

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  23. I'm also thinking of laser eye surgery (possibly lasek). Just wondering what your prescription was prior to the surgery and if you have been fully corrected?

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Thank you for stopping by! I love reading visitor comments! ~Val