LASIK: Stories

This is the end of a very long journey for me, one that has led me all the way from Australia to Mumbai, India. I wish I had more time to reflect but I have to be up early for surgery tomorrow and thought writing something is better than nothing. My background is that I have extreme hyperopia, some astigmatism and intermittent strabismus. My script is right eye +600 / -025 and left eye +750 / -175... I wore coke-bottle glasses up until the age of 16 which was truly a defining part of my childhood. I would be called all sorts of nerd-related names, it added to my terrible coordination, I remember walking in the rain and not being able to see because my glasses would get wet. I then discovered soft contacts and basically refused to wear glasses in public after that. I got a number of eye infections in the early years because of this (silly I know). Contacts have never been able to control my strabismus as well as glasses so I have always had to be mindful of my eye turning in, especially when I'm tired. It happens when I focus so I basically have tried to not focus on people's faces so that it would not turn. I guess its been like living in a haze... A couple of months before I turned 21 I went to visit a local lasik eye surgeon, and was crushed when he told me I wasn't a candidate. I went for a second opinion and was told I was also not a candidate for ICL because my anterior chamber was too shallow, but offered me the option of an IOL where I would lose my ability to accommodate. I definitely thought about it, but didn't go ahead with it. So over two years went by and the thought of lasik re-entered my mind. I’m not sure what triggered it now but I hoped there had been some advances in technology and on top of that I had begun to think outside the box (abroad that is). I contacted a number of surgeons in Australia and when I had no luck I began contacting surgeons in the United States, UK and Europe. I stalked the forums, read journals and researched all of the different lasers. For cases like mine it looked like a lot of bad news, and I read quite a few horror stories which put me off the idea, but there were glimmers of hope which I was desperately looking for. I received two positive responses from all of the surgeons I contacted, the first I decided against due to an unprofessional tone in email correspondence and the second was the London Vision Clinic in the UK. They implied a partial correction would be the most likely outcome. I began organising a university exchange in the UK partly around my plans to book a consultation there, but I continued searching the internet for information. I’ll be honest and say I was put off by the price, the currency exchange rate for the pound is beyond painful! So I stumbled onto a publication by a centre in Mumbai, India which outlined lasik outcomes for treatment of high hyperopia. It dealt with my degree of hyperopia, which is extremely hard to find, and documented excellent results. I contacted them immediately and this has brought me to the hotel room I am sitting in right now. The laser they use is Wavelight Concerto 500 Hz Laser and from what I have read, it is best suited to my condition - if in fact lasik is right for me. I dealt with a lovely woman via email correspondence who answered all my questions in the lead up to my consultation, and eventually concrete plans were made. I told my family I wanted to visit India before my exchange in the UK so as not to worry them. To be continued… (Wish me luck!)

I had the surgery yesterday and am so so relieved! My eyes are a little grainy and sore but I can see well enough to read the ingredients list on my eye drop packaging. It was definitely a scary experience, especially being in a foreign country on my own. The nurse put anaesthetic drops in my eyes and I was led into the operating room which had about 5 people inside (not sure if some were observers or doctors in training). The procedure didn't take very long and the doctor talked me through the whole process, and said things like 'enjoy the lovely lights.. 25% done... 50% done' and so on. I think I held my breath the whole time. Immediately after my eyes were hurting and I would tear up when I tried to open my eyes for the eye drops. I chose to stay at the eye centre for 5 hours and let the nurse administer the drops every hour while the other patients went home straight away. Things improved very quickly after that. This morning I had my check up with the doctor and he said things were looking good and gave me advice about caring for my eyes and travelling around India generally. I will have one last check up with him before I leave in 3 weeks time. I don't want to get ahead of myself but I'm glad I took this risk, and I hope my eyes continue to heal and improve.

Two days after the surgery and my eyes are still improving. To give you an idea I have uploaded a photo - yesterday I could read the ingredients on the blue box and today I can just read the ingredients on the green bottle. Currently taking three different eye drops four times a day. Can't wait until my eyes are less sensitive and I can wear eye makeup again!