Rapid Recovery

It has been five days since I had my Lasik procedure for nearsightedness. I haven't submitted a journal entry in a few days, because thankfully-there's been nothing to report...nothing but excellent vision! Thankfully, this has been a very uneventful recovery. I have had perfect vision since the morning after the procedure, and I have had absolutely no trouble recovering. I have felt no pain, I have had no bouts of blurry vision; I absolutely don't feel like I have had anything done. I am so pleased with my results, thus far, and I can only hope my recovery continues to go this smoothly. I will have a one-week follow-up appointment with Dr. Petermann on Thursday, and expect a great report.

Michelle

What a Difference a Day Makes

What a difference a day makes! When I woke up this morning and opened my eyes, I couldn't believe what I saw. I looked across the room and focused on a picture on the fireplace mantle, and I could see perfectly! I then scanned the room, looked out the window, looked across the field behind my house, and everything I saw was crystal clear! I can not even begin to express how it feels to be able to see everything perfectly through your own eyes for the first time in your life.
Today has been great! I don't even feel like I've had anything done. I've had absolutely no pain or discomfort today; my eyes don't even feel dry. I went to my post-procedure appointment with Dr. Peterman, and he said everything is right on track. When they tested my vision, it was perfect. This was just a quick follow-up; I was in and out in just a few minutes. What was so interesting was the time I was waiting in the lobby to see Dr. Petermann. All of the patients he performed Lasik on yesterday were coming in for their follow-up appointments as well. What was so interesting were all of the discussions taking place between all of the patients. It was like a reunion of some sort. Each person was sharing their story about how they either came out of the procedure, or woke up this morning with clear vision. Although everyone heals differently, and everyone is at a different stage of vision improvement, the one common thread was that everyone was surprised by how quick, simple, and painless the whole process had been to this point and at how much better they could see already.
I will have my next follow-up in one week with Dr. Petermann. Until then, all I have to do is continue to use my eye drops, keep my eyes clean and dry, and protect them when I sleep by wearing goggles.

Michelle

I Did It!

Well, I did it! I had my Lasik procedure about 3 hours ago, and now the healing begins. I can already see significantly better than before, which is exciting, but it's way too early to tell the final results. Over the next several days, things will get clearer. Also, right now, my eyes are sensitive to bright light, but not anywhere near as sensitive to light as they are during even a simple dilation process. Due to this sensitivity,which is normal, I will be wearing my sunglasses anytime I am in the light for at least today. Dr. Petermann's staff told me this will be better as quickly as tomorrow, with continual improvement over the next week.
This process was so easy! I wasn't even in Valdosta one full hour. It took less than ten minutes to prep for the procedure, and the procedure itself was over in less than 5 minutes. I was worried for absolutely nothing! There was no pain, only a very slight bit of discomfort for a few seconds. Dr. Petermann was assisted by two additional personnel, and we all communicated continually throughout the entire procedure. I was fully alert, but the drops they placed in my eyes prior to the procedure prevented me from feeling any pain.
Now, I have to just wait for the healing to take place. Before I left, Dr. Petermann's assistant went over all instructions for how to care for my eyes during recovery. This included giving me drops to put in my eyes to keep them lubricated and antibiotic drops to use several times a day to prevent infection. I was then scheduled for a follow-up appointment with Dr. Petermann tomorrow. I will just take it easy for the rest of today, but I am anxious to see what a difference tomorrow brings!

Michelle

Tomorrow is the day!!!!

Tomorrow is the big day! My procedure is scheduled at 12:40 in Valdosta. I will only be there for about an hour and a half with the procedure itself to take only five to six minutes total. I will have someone drive me to and from Valdosta because they will give me something to help relax me plus I will not be able to see to drive home after the procedure. Although I'm a little anxious about the unknown, today I have spoken with several people who have also had the Lasik procedure and they have reassured me. Every one of them had excellent results so I know I will too, I won't worry and will just look forward to tomorrow.

Michelle

The Final Countdown

With only two days remaining until I have my Lasik procedure, I am beginning to get a little bit nervous. Today, I had my pre-procedure evaluation with Dr. Petermann, for an in-depth eye exam and consultation. During this time, I received a thorough eye exam, they took various measurements of my eyes, they checked the thickness of my corneas, and checked the overall health of my eyes. The entire process was painless-just like a normal eye exam. The only minor inconvenience was that they dilated my eyes during the process. There was no pain with this, it just takes a couple of hours for your vision to clear up completely.
Following my evaluation, Dr. Petermann met with me for an in-depth consultation regarding 1)the health of my eyes (good), 2)what I needed to do to prepare for the Lasik procedure (nothing, other than don't wear makeup, hairspray, or perfumed products the day of the procedure), 3)the procedure itself (about 3 minutes per eye, painless, no stitched needed, etc.), and 4)what to expect as far as results and side effects. If all goes well, I should expect immediate measurable improvement in my vision, with maximum improvement occurring over the course of the next several days. This is basically a quick, painless procedure with very little risk of any significant side effects. The most common side effects are short-term sensitivity to light, and some dryness of the eyes. The worst part of the whole process for us females is you can't wear any eye makeup for about a week, to protect your eyes from infection (a small price to pay for good eyesight). To further prevent infection, I received a bottle of antibiotic eye drops which will be applied four times a day for a few days.
Dr. Petermann spent a great deal of time with me, gave thorough explanations, and answered all of my questions in a way that put me at ease. Even though I am a little anxious-they give you a list of things that could possibly go wrong-I know I am in great (and most importantly-experienced)hands, and that I am going to get excellent results! After all, everything in life has a little risk, but knowing the overwhelming likelihood that everything will go smoothly for me, as it has for the vast majority of other Lasik patients, convinces me I have made the right decision!

Michelle

Some Things to Look Forward to

As I draw nearer to my Lasik procedure next Wednesday, I can't help thinking about all of the things I won't miss about wearing glasses/contacts. This may seem strange, but after so many years of wearing them, it's almost unfathomable that I really won't have to deal with certain "chores" anymore. Yesterday, something that happened to my husband with his contacts only served to reinforce those thoughts. He was preparing to leave town for five days, and realized he was out of contacts. In typical fashion, he was stretching out that last pair from the recommended 2 weeks of wear to over a month, and they were really irritating his eyes. Well, it turns out his prescription had expired, and he couldn't get another pair without an eye exam from the optometrist. As our insurance has changed, his eye doctor was no longer in our network, and he had to scramble to try to find someone who would be able to help him. Many phone calls and hours later, he had finally found someone in network with whom he scheduled an appointment for an exam as soon as he returns, and was willing to give him a sample pair to "get him through."

This frustrating event made me look forward, with even greater anticipation, to my Lasik procedure next week. The thought of no longer worrying about things like what happened to my husband, or about traveling-where every time you have to make sure you've packed 1)extra contacts, 2)a contact case, 3)eye glasses for when the contacts come out, and 4)contact solution is a thought that makes me smile.

Michelle

Quitting Contacts

I am one day closer to clear vision. In just eight more days, I will have my Lasik procedure, and I can hardly wait! Yesterday, I wore my contacts for hopefully the last time in my life. After so many years of taking them in and out, cleaning them, getting something caught under them, having to take them out and clean them again, etc...it almost doesn't seem believable that I won't ever have to bother with all of that again. Dr. Petermann's assistant at Affinity informed me yesterday that I would need to be out of my contacts for about 10 days leading up to my procedure. That is because contacts reshape your corneas. If you do not allow time for your corneas to return to their natural shape, it would be hard to tell whether they were making adequate corrections to your vision (corneas) during the Lasik procedure. So, I have returned to wearing my glasses until next Wednesday.

Michelle