What It's Like to Get Laser Eye Surgery - What To Expect Before, During, and After Lasik
I have wanted laser eye surgery for so long. I don’t even know how long, it just been such a consistently present desire that popped into my mind each morning when I put my single-use contacts in and each night when I tossed them into the sink, watching them cling tenaciously to the porcelain as I blindly tried to wash them down.
I wore contacts for at least two decades (and glasses for longer than that), and I can’t think of a year that has gone by where I didn’t have multiple trips to the eye doctor, for everything from routine (and also, in my opinion, B.S.) prescription exams to treating corneal scratches from my contacts. Sometimes these appointments are hard to get.
Case in point: This fall, like every fall, seasonal allergies irritated my eyes and made my lenses unwearable, and even when I had to stop wearing them for a week my eyes were burning like hell. But when I called for an appointment with my regular eye doctor, I was told it would be 2 weeks before I could be seen. I called a few other offices and couldn’t even get anyone on the phone. To make matters worse, I was almost out of my single-use contact lenses and was due to pay another $100+ for an exam to tell me my script hadn’t changed, and then pay another few hundred for a few months worth of lenses. I just kind of snapped. I didn’t want to do it anymore. I decided to make an appointment for Lasik - it wasn’t a full decision, more of a “let me see how much this will cost and if it will be scary” type visit.
THE CONSULTATION:
This was really out of character for me, but aside from asking various family members what the actual surgery was like, I did not do much research in looking for a doctor to perform the surgery. I asked my sister-in-law where she got hers done, looked them up, saw they had a 4.9 rating on Google (with hundreds of reviews to back it up) and booked a consultation there. I wasn’t really in the mood to shop around, and since the whole concept of any kind of eye surgery had me feeling jumpy, I didn’t want to give myself any chance to slack off or change my mind; I wanted to just jump in.
I got the surgery at Lasik Plus, which is a national chain with locations in 28 states. The pluses of going to a chain are super competitive pricing and lots of experience, and a lifetime guarantee - if I ever need laser eye surgery again, they’ll do it for free.
I will say that they didn’t treat it like “just a consultation,” they treated it more like a pre-operative visit. I guess at some point though, you’re not really there because you want to be convinced to keep your glasses, you’re there because you’re done with them and you’re just ready to have perfect vision.
The whole consultation took around two hours - “Longer than the actual surgery!” the nurse reminded me a couple times. No part of the consultation was uncomfortable - it was no better or worse than a regular eye exam or contact prescription exam, although because they didn’t do the “puff of air” thing that everyone hates, I guess I can say it was better. They did dilate my pupils, which made browsing Instagram in the waiting room a bit hard but I was able to drive home with sunglasses.
While I was signing out with the receptionists, they scheduled an appointment for the surgery - three weeks away. I still didn’t feel 100% in, but I took the appointment anyway - I figured I could always cancel if I wanted. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t. Keep reading.)
THE PRE-SURGERY ANXIETY:
I wish I had a time machine to go back to the week before my surgery and slap myself out of the extreme anxiety I was having, because being that worried and freaking myself out over this was an absolute waste of time and effort. (Although I did lose 3lbs from not being able to eat…) I literally threw up in my mouth a couple times, which has never happened to me before, and was just generally shell-shocked and telling everyone I talked to, from co-workers to CVS cashiers, about how nervous I was for the upcoming surgery. But seriously, I wish I could go back and tell Past Renata that there was no reason to be that freaked out.
What was giving me the most anxiety was the notion that my eyes would be taped open, or somehow forced open. It was the fact that whatever was happening, I would, by design, be able to see it happen.
I had heard from a few friends and family members that had the surgery that they had taken anti-anxiety medication before the surgery, so I made sure to ask the nurse about that when they called me to confirm a week or so before.
The prescription was for two tiny doses - 5mg each - of Valium, and I made sure to stash them in my purse the night before the surgery so I wouldn’t forget them. I was told I’d be instructed to take one pill right before the surgery, so it would have enough time to set in but not too much so that my eyes wouldn’t be able to focus on the light during the Lasik. The second pill was for in case I needed it at night after coming home from surgery to help me sleep or if I was having residual anxiety. (I didn’t, FYI.) I do wish that I could have discussed perhaps taking one the night before to calm my nerves, but I survived all the same and I’m not sure if that would have been recommended anyway.
THE PEP-TALK
Here are a few things that I found comforting and reassuring, and that I reminded myself of whenever I was having pre-Lasik jitters:
During the consultation, they had me watch a few informational videos. One thing I got out of it that was super comforting to me was how many surgeries some of these doctors perform in their careers…it’s staggering. Some of them had done 80,000! That made me feel like this was just a routine, safe procedure and that I would be in good, experienced hands.
The receptionists at the office had all had laser surgery and shared anecdotes about how long it took them to stop reaching for their glasses on the nightstand after getting Lasik. If it had really been that bad, would they keep showing up for work and smiling while they signed folks up?
Knowing that the actual laser-y stuff would take less than 3 minutes. 3 minutes to perfect vision is a pretty good deal…
While I was sitting in the waiting room the day of the surgery, I was still a little nervous. Although miraculously, by the time I got there I had calmed down a lot - I felt like more than half the battle was getting myself there, and being in the waiting room meant that I was less than an hour away from being in the car on the way home, done with eye stuff forever, hopefully. But while I was there, I saw a couple of the patients that were in for surgery before me waltz right out after the procedure, smiling and thanking the receptionists. I had pictured myself being wheeled out in a wheelchair and dumped out the back door, but these people were walking out on their own and exchanging pleasantries! No one was crying or screaming or visibly shaken. It blew my mind, and definitely reassured me.
ARRIVING FOR SURGERY
Most offices, chain or no chain, reserve one specific day each week to perform surgeries; the rest of the week is booked with consultations, post-op visits, and admin stuff. Still, I was pretty surprised to arrive for the procedure and see a dozen or so other folks seated in the waiting room!
I was also a little surprised to have to, well, wait. I had built it up so much and I had it emblazoned in my mind that my surgery was at this exact time, on this exact date. I thought I’d arrive and be rushed in and rushed out. I ended up waiting for an hour or so before my name was called, but I kept busy watching the other patients - especially those that were leaving post-surgery, as I mentioned above - and reporting back to my bff via text.
“OMG this one woman just came out of the room and said ‘Best 10min of my life’!! ” I texted Kara at one point. I couldn’t believe that not only was this patient okay, like the couple others before her, but that she was over-the-moon ecstatic.
“Maybe it’s the Valium talking,” Kara replied.
Either way, in the words of Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
About 50 minutes in, they called me over to the desk and gave me the go-ahead to take one of the Valium pills. I had never taken it before, but it was such a small dose that I didn’t really notice any change at all. I had about 10 more minutes for it to settle in, and then I was called back to the operating rooms.
THE ACTUAL SURGERY
It’s hard to describe because it happened so fast. I got a quick visit in an anteroom from a nurse who explained that each laser would take about 30 seconds per eye, and then she brought me into the surgery room. The doctor (who I had not met in person but who had called me the day before to say hello) and another nurse were in the room prepping.
I should say here that I got this procedure during the COVID-19 pandemic; I was told that normally, it’s an open surgery room and people can watch through the windows from the waiting room, but when I was there the curtains were closed - mercifully in my opinion, because I didn’t want anyone watching.
The doctor pointed out two areas of the room to me - both had a reclining chair underneath some complicated looking machinery. He explained that I’d be in the first chair for the laser that opened up a flap in each eye, and I’d move to a second chair for the actual corrective part of the surgery. I didn’t have time to think about this or ask questions - what quickly flashed through my head was “Am I moving myself from the first chair to the second chair?” but I decided to just roll with it like the multiple other people that had gone through this just minutes before me. Clearly the docs knew what they were doing.
I lay down, and numbing drops were put in, which took only a few seconds to work. They did one eye at a time, beginning with the right one. The nurse placed a kind “bracket” on both my upper and lower eyelid to keep my eyelids from closing. I have no idea what happened from here, because my vision got blurry because of all the things so close to my eyes, and, I imagine, from a small flap being opened and lifted so the lasers could reach my cornea.
None of this hurt, except for the bracket, which was a bit uncomfortable - it basically felt like something larger and harder than a contact lens was in my eye. I didn’t feel any burning, cutting, or anything necessarily bad, it was all just awkward, like lots of visits to any old eye doctor where they’re poking and prodding. It all really did take about 30 seconds per eye, and I kept reminding myself that I was so, so, so close to being on the other end of this. It was all completely manageable.
The doctor had me sit up and move (pretty quickly) over to the second chair. The second part of the procedure was much gentler than the first. The laser that did the correction was pretty cool looking - it was like a swirling red and green fingerprint that was so close to my eyeball that it felt like it was something I was dreaming inside my head (I know that sounds whimsical, but that’s the best way I can explain it) and it felt a little warm, but in a good way. (I guess my take away is that lasers are pretty cool?) Another 30 seconds per eye and I was done; I felt the doctor press down on each eye - presumably closing the flaps - and I was done! Next thing I knew I was walking out of the room.
My husband drove me home, and it wasn’t until the car ride (about 15 minutes after the surgery) that I started feeling discomfort. I became extremely light-sensitive, and it just felt like I had huge, huge, sharp grains of sand in my eye. I was given really firm instructions to take a nap for four hours immediately following the surgery, but if I couldn’t sleep, to keep my eyes closed for four hours. I lay in bed in our guest room, which is the darkest bedroom in the house, and listened to podcasts. I couldn’t really sleep for the first hour or two because of the discomfort, which was in my opinion the worst part of the whole procedure, but I took two Advil and it subsided enough for me to doze. So really, the hour following the surgery was the most painful part - not the actual surgery, and after that first hour-ish, I had no pain.
Four hours later, I was out of bed - albeit in dark sunglasses - and eating takeout at the dining table with my husband. I was even watching TV that night after dinner - with no glasses on!!
I know this is a goofy pic, which is why I cropped it so tight, but this is just to show you the red circles. My eyes are really wide here, when I’m just making a normal face most people didn’t even notice the red unless I said “LOOK” and opened my eye wider.
THE WEEK AFTER
I was driving by the next morning. There was a red, bloodshot circle on each eye - I overheard a nurse telling another patient in the waiting room to expect this, and that it would be from the vacuum, not from any incisions.
I was a little surprised to read in the after-care instructions they gave me that I couldn’t really wash my face. There is bacteria in tap water - mostly harmless but some can cause infection to the incision - so while the incision is healing, you’re supposed to avoid any exposure. This was so counterintuitive to me - I really wanted to wash my eyes, to soothe and cool them, and to just keep them clean, but it was only for a few days and I made it work. No makeup either, which I wasn’t mad at - it was a nice little break.
You’ll be given these two perforated plastic discs to tape over your eyes at night, to keep things like pillow corners and, in my case, puppy kisses, out of your eyes. They look like they’d be uncomfortable, but they aren’t. Easy-peasy.
A FEW WEEKS LATER
It’s now been three weeks since the surgery, and I can see perfectly. The red circle is pretty much gone. I can see perfectly - better than with contacts! I was sitting out in the backyard the other night, and we have some string lights up on a tree that provide a lot of light; I could see the outline of every leaf that had fallen beneath the tree, so sharply! I was so amazed and kept staring over there until I felt like I had to explain to my friends why I was staring so intently at a tree. My sister-in-law also said that she was similarly so excited to look outside the window and see individual blades of grass. It’s just a little thing, but it’s so cool, and it makes you appreciate it even more.
My eyes feel pretty grainy every morning, but I keep a bottle of Blink Gel Tears next to the bed and put a drop in first thing in the AM. The graininess has subsided more each day, so it’s barely noticeable anymore, but definitely expect it the first 3-5 days.
THE TAKEAWAY:
It’s been a few weeks and I have zero regrets. Not an day goes by where I don’t remember that I got Lasik and feel super giddy and excited about it. I want to talk about it with everyone, but most people are too squeamish to let me tell them what it was like, even though my takeaway is that IT’S NOT BAD!!
I also feel super empowered now. Probably the scariest thing I can think of is a laser to the eyeball while I am stuck watching, and I have been there, done that - and it wasn’t that bad at all! Would I recommend it? Definitely. Would I go back in time and do it again? Sure, because I can now see and I don’t have to deal with contacts or glasses anymore.
I can’t speak to the long term effectiveness, but since Lasik offers a lifetime guarantee, if I need to take them up on that in a few years, I would.
Leave comments and questions below, and let me know if you’ve gotten it and had a good or bad experience, or if you are considering getting it. Love to hear from you all!
Bye Glasses! We had some fun times, I’ll admit.
I wrote this review on my own volition, because I wanted to help anyone that wants this but is super anxious, like I was. I am not receiving compensation, but if you do end up going to Lasik Plus, kindly use me as a reference, they send reward cards to people that refer friends and it would be great to receive some compensation for the time spent writing this and answering questions!
