LASEK Laser Eye Surgery Experience – Two Years Later

As promised, and after some lovely responses to my last post, here is Part 2 of my Laser Eye Surgery (LASEK) journey!

First Week Post-Op

The pain came a couple of hours after surgery, once the anaesthetic wore off. And there is no point in denying it, the pain was real.

I had been told by the surgeon that the pain varied from person to person. He said some people had told him it felt like chopping onions, when others had said it felt like rubbing chillis in your eyes. He warned me to make sure I DID NOT RUB MY EYES. I would say the pain for me was in the middle of that spectrum, and they definitely felt gritty. I had been given anaesthetic eye drops, but I was told to use them very sparingly as they can slow down recovery, so I managed without them. Any time the pain felt like it was getting too much, I took some deep breaths, took some painkillers, and found something to distract myself with.

Nothing was unexpected though, and I think that that was the most important thing. If you decide to have laser eye surgery, do your research beforehand. Watch YouTube videos, read blog posts, and ask your surgeon to be completely honest with you, I cannot stress this enough. Knowing what to expect and knowing that it was all normal, and temporary, was what helped me. And remember, this blog post is about LASEK surgery – LASIK recovery is supposed to be a lot quicker and less painful.

The first few days are a bit of a blur in my memory. It was three to four days of living in the dark, trying to ignore the pain, listening to stories and videos and unable to do anything else. I had downloaded audio books, queued up podcasts, and got a one-month Audible trial in preparation. “OK Google” became my best friend.

Light sensitivity was extreme – for the first few days I was in bed with the curtains closed, eyes shut, sunglasses on, hood down over my eyes. With my eyes shut and no light, I could ignore the pain as long as I distracted myself and focused on whatever I was listening to. For some reason, true crime was a really helpful distraction, so I would definitely recommend that!

I spent several days with my eyes closed. Any time I tried to open my eyes they would weep, so I only opened them to put in my eye drops – or should I say, for my partner to administer the eye drops while I protested. I can’t even remember how frequent the eye drops were because time had lost all meaning, but I would guess about three times a day. We set alarms so that we wouldn’t forget. My partner brought me ‘easy’ food in bed – toast, pizza, chips. I would highly recommend only getting LASEK if you have somebody that you live with or can stay with for a few days, who does not mind helping you with eye drops, food and water.

Another thing I would recommend is napping or dozing as much as possible. Let yourself drift in and out of sleep – it makes the days go faster and helps with recovery. For the first two weeks you have to wear goggles to sleep, to prevent yourself from touching or bumping your eyes. The ones I was given were flimsy clear plastic with foam around the eyes and an elastic that went round my head. I wore them religiously as I did not want to hinder my recovery, but they were not infallible and I did wake up a couple of times with a finger creeping up underneath them, about to rub my eye!

They tell you not to wash your face in the shower to prevent any water and bacteria getting in your eyes, so I took this to the extreme and did not wash my face at all for several days. I am sure there are ways to wash the rest of your face without splashing water into your eyes – a makeup wipe, even? – but I was being very stubborn after paying a lot of money for perfect eyesight, and I was too out of it to care, so I put up with a greasy, spotty face.

Gradually as each day went by, the pain, discomfort, and light sensitivity lessened, and I remember feeling OK by about day 4. I wrote my previous blog post on day 6, so by then I was able to look at a screen and type.

A week after surgery, I went back to Optical Express and they took out the bandage contact lenses – I was dreading somebody touching my eye but it was so quick that I barely noticed. They had a look at my progress and told me my recovery was going fine. I was asked to continue with the eye drops and to keep wearing the sleep goggles.

First Month Post-Op

For the first 2-3 weeks, I had my computer and phone screens magnified to the maximum, large font modes, and brightness dimmed. I got screen fatigue very quickly and kept having to take screen breaks due to eye strain. This was the one aspect of recovery which I had not been expecting, because after LASIK your eyesight heals within hours, and I had heard that for LASEK it would take 1-2 weeks to see results. I had not realised that I would temporarily become extremely long-sighted as my eyesight corrected itself. Thankfully, I was not working as I had left my office job before having the surgery, otherwise I would have struggled!

The long-sightedness did improve, but I still had hazy vision. It was as if I had water in front of my eyes. I found this really frustrating as I could not drive. After 3 weeks I started to worry that my eyesight was going to be stuck like this! After one month though, just a day or two before my next check-up appointment, my eyesight suddenly became clear. It was so strange! It was like one day, all of a sudden, my eyes were healed and I could see. It did not feel perfect yet – to me it did not feel as good as when I previously wore glasses – but I could actually SEE without glasses. At the appointment they told me that my eyes were ‘officially’ healed, and I could now safely drive. I was really surprised to hear this! One eye had 20:20 vision and the other just below 20:20, and they would continue to improve.

First 3 Months Post-Op

After the one month appointment, the gradual improvements to my eyesight were only slightly noticeable. Seven weeks after surgery I started a new job and while my eyesight still did not feel 100%, I had no issues driving or working. Things slowly got sharper, like a camera lens focusing. At my 3-month appointment, I was told one eye had more than 20:20 vision, and the other was 20:20, and I was discharged with no complications. I would be lying if I said that this didn’t feel amazing!

One Year Post-Op

In my adult years I always liked how I looked in glasses, so after a year I still didn’t feel entirely like myself without them. I never used to wear contact lenses so glasses had become part of my identity. Also, I started noticing imperfections on my face that were either covered by the glasses or I just couldn’t see clearly in the mirror before – be prepared to suddenly discover those dark circles under your eyes! However, I LOVE the fact that I can do my makeup without squinting into a mirror and I have been playing around with eyeshadow a lot more. Another huge plus is not having to deal with smudged or fogged up glasses, and being able to see clearly in the rain, shower, and swimming pool.

Present-day, Nearly 2 Years Post-Op

The only side effect I have had, up until now, is some eye dryness. This is the most common side effect of laser eye surgery, and it did worry me a lot before I had the op. There are scary ‘news’ articles online about it and even a complaints website called ‘Optical Express Ruined My Life’. Please don’t read this website! People who have had negative experiences will always be the loudest, and while I am very sorry that they had a bad result, I am writing this blog to show that my experience was not like this at all.

I do get dry eyes when my eyes are tired – sometimes before I go to bed, but usually first thing when I wake up. I use lubricant eye drops morning and night as recommended. Occasionally my eyes are so dry when I wake up that they are very sore, gritty and light sensitive. This is usually only the case if I haven’t slept well, I have been woken up abruptly and/or I am dehydrated. When this happens, I put in some eye drops and shut my eyes for 20 minutes to rest them. If I need to get up for work right away, I put on some sunglasses for travelling in. It doesn’t last too long. This side effect has lessened as time has gone on, doesn’t happen often, and it does not affect my day-to-day.

I have had a routine optician appointment since surgery, and I learnt that I still have perfect distance vision, but I am ever so slightly long-sighted now. I hadn’t even noticed. I believe this is common with people who had higher prescriptions prior to laser eye surgery, but it isn’t enough to need correcting.

Also, I love how I look without glasses now! I think I might have a reverse identity crisis when long-sightedness kicks in as I get older older and I have to wear glasses again!

Should You Get Laser Eye Surgery?

If you are interested in having it, go to a free consultation to see if you are eligible and to find out what your options are, as it all depends on your prescription and the health of your eye. And if you are unsure after the consultation, do not let them pressure you into putting down a deposit because you need to be absolutely certain.

I have no complaints about my experience and my results, and no regrets whatsoever about having had laser eye surgery. The cost, anxiety, pain, discomfort and temporary bad vision were all absolutely worth it to me. As for whether you should have laser eye surgery, ask yourself, do you really need it, and can you afford it? I would recommend it to anyone who has bad eyesight and feels like wearing glasses or contact lenses hinders their daily life, or anyone who, like me, needs it to pursue a career or sport or hobby. If you can afford it, go for it.

Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions you might have in the comments below!