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IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not a doctor. I decided to share my experiences because I would have liked to know these kinds of things prior to my surgeries. Please seek information about your specific case from medical professionals.

I got glasses in fifth grade, so I guess I was about 10. I remember being so scared what everyone would say, but no one made fun of me like they do on TV. I could finally see the board in class and the blades of grass outside. I picked out some purple wire frames and didn’t mind them, but the promise of being able to get contacts kept me from hating them too much.

I got contacts the summer before seventh grade. I struggled. I hated touching my eyes, and it took a lot of practice. But I was determined. When I got the hang of it, contacts felt so freeing. I was still a dorky middle school kid, but at least I had contacts.

By the time I was in high school, I was staying up until two or three in the morning doing homework. I had never gotten a new pair of glasses, and my eyes were bad. I ended up wearing contacts 18+ hours a day. My contact solution required 6 hours of soaking, so I just didn’t always use it. My eye doctor warned me about that a lot. I got lectures all the time. Like any teenager, I thought I was invincible.

The summer after my second year of college I got an eye infection. Herpes in my eye. No idea how. It hurt so freaking bad. I wasn’t allowed to wear a contact in that eye for a few weeks, and because my prescription was so bad, I couldn’t get glasses for a week or two. Fun stuff. I ended up wearing one contact for awhile. I couldn’t drive. I looked silly trying to read in my classes. My husband actually proposed when I only had one good eye.

I wore glasses the whole time we were engaged in hopes that my eye would be healed enough to handle a contact on my wedding day. I got better at taking care of my eyes and wearing glasses to take breaks. But last year, things got bad again. I found out I had GPC. It was like suction cups on my eyelids. Basically, I could only wear contacts for 6-8 hours a week. I felt trapped in my glasses. Like I was living behind glass. In a bubble. My confidence is way lower with glasses. I had finally had enough and decided it was worth looking into LASIK.

Free Consultations

I heard all the time about free consultations from the radio. I looked up a few companies and picked one. I was nervous and excited. I had hoped I’d be able to get LASIK for over 10 years. I didn’t think I could live the rest of my life in glasses.

The consult wasn’t bad. I qualified. The price wasn’t terrible. But because of my infection back in 2011, they needed to check my records. Guess what?! Because I switched insurance when I got married, and therefore switched eye doctors, my records no longer existed. There was no way to know for sure whether I actually had herpes in my eye (since I wasn’t entirely sure) or which eye it was. They had me come back in to talk to the actual surgeon. They basically said LASIK might reactivate the virus. It could ruin my sight. They could refer me to an ophthalmologist if needed, but they wouldn’t be able to help me.

Needless to say, I canceled my appointment for surgery.

I decided to get a second opinion. Thank goodness for free consults! The next place was amazing. They did WAY more tests. The surgeon had a stack of papers when he came to talk to us. So many measurements and pictures of my eyes. Enough data to make informed decisions. We spent over a half hour just talking about all of my questions and concerns. What my options were and what they could do if my infection did flare up. The surgeon even gave us his cell number so that I would be able to get in touch with him if there were any concerns at any time.

Definitely do your research if you are looking into LASIK. Picking the right place and the right doctor can make all the difference.

Picking Procedures

Alright, this part is very personalized and will be different for everyone. This is just my experience.

Everyone talks about LASIK. In fact, it’s easier just to tell people I got “LASIK” because it’s kind of the term everyone relates vision correction surgery to. However, the cornea on my left eye is a little thin. Thick enough to get LASIK, but too thin to allow for any follow-up surgeries. It was recommended that I get LASIK in both eyes with the understanding that if I ever needed a touch-up, I couldn’t get one in my left eye.

We scheduled LASIK, but the more I thought about it, the more I worried. Touch-ups aren’t uncommon, and I’m only 27. I called my surgeon and talked though my options. I ultimately decided on LASIK for my right eye and ICL surgery for my left eye.

Again, not a doctor, but here’s a quick explanation: LASIK is all done with lasers. They make a flap, pull it back, use a laser to correct your eye, and put the flap back. It’s done in a room where family can watch on a screen. It’s fast. Recovery isn’t too bad. The ICL is an Implantable Collamer Lense. The surgery takes place in an OR. You are awake, but given sedation through an IV to stay calm. They poke some holes in your eye and insert a lens that is kind of like a large contact. There is no flap, but I had more restrictions following this surgery.

The Week Before

My ICL surgery required an extra appointment. I went in a week before the actual surgery. I had more tests, including an ultrasound of my eye, and then a laser iridotomy. Basically, they numbed my eye and I put my face up to the machine. The nurse held my head in place and the surgeon burned holes in my iris. It hurt, but it was manageable. It was recommended that I have a ride home, but I think I would have been just fine.

I also had to pick up all of my prescriptions and some preservative-free artificial tears to have ready for after LASIK. I just wish I’d stocked up. Seriously, I went through several boxes in the first few weeks and hated having to worry about running out and getting back to the store every few days.

The Week Of

A few days before my surgeries I started taking a medication to help prevent flare-ups of my infection. I also started medicated drops in my left eye. I stopped wearing makeup probably earlier than I needed to, but I didn’t want to risk anything. I read through all of the paperwork I would have to sign in the office. To be honest, I had a bit of a break down. LASIK had its risks, but the ICL surgery had way more possible side effects listed, including loss of the eye. I’d wanted this so much, but I was scared of making things even worse. I decided it was worth a shot.

LASIK Surgery Day

My surgery was scheduled for the afternoon so my husband could still work that morning. I knew I would have to take a pregnancy test for the ICL surgery the next day but not for LASIK. Being the worrier that I am, I headed to the store for a pregnancy test just in case. I was 99% sure I wasn’t pregnant, but the thought of getting LASIK without knowing and then not being able to get the ICL in my other eye the next day was too much. Thank goodness it was negative!

My husband and I dropped our kids off with my mother-in-law and headed to the office. I was nervous and excited. I still didn’t believe it was really going to happen. It seemed too good to be true.

We checked in, did the financing paperwork, signed the consent forms, and waited to be taken back. To be honest, I don’t remember all of the steps exactly how they happened. I remember a nurse showed me how to pull my bottom eyelid out to put drops in. I remember sitting in the hallway outside of the procedure room. One of the workers asked my husband if he wanted to see how I see without glasses. I’ve wanted him to understand how I see for years. He liked to tease me about how far I could see. When he looked through lenses that showed him how I saw, he asked why we didn’t do LASIK sooner.

I sat in a comfy chair in that hallway with drops in my eyes and a hair net on and had to keep my eyes closed. It was the start of a long few weeks of keeping my eyes closed. I remember them taking my glasses and putting them with my purse. That was the last time I needed my glasses!

I was taken into the procedure room. It had walls of windows on two sides. My husband was able to sit right outside and watch what they were doing on a big TV screen. I was surrounded by a bunch of people I hadn’t met. They lead me to the machine, laid me down, and put a pillow under my knees. It was chilly, but they’d warned me and I wore a jacket. I had an idea of what to expect, but I was mostly comforted knowing that all I had to do was lay there. The machine had trackers to make sure the laser didn’t work unless it was right where it was supposed to be.

I tried to think through everything that was going on, but it’s hard to tell. I expected to see a laser jab right into my eye, but I couldn’t really see anything but blurry lights. The worst part was the pressure when they pushed something down onto my eye before they made the flap. That hurt way more than I expected. My vision did go dark, but I was warned about that, thank goodness. The whole thing took maybe 10 minutes for my one eye.

They sat me up and lead me to a regular eye exam room. I was scared to open my eye. Scared that it hadn’t worked. Scared that I would bug the flap that now existed on my eyeball. Things were blurry, but blurry like when you wake up and need to clear the fog from your eyes. I had a lot of eye drops that day and was given sunglasses to wear home. It didn’t take very long, and we were on our way.

I kept my eye closed the whole way home aside from putting in drops. I don’t have a problem putting drops in my eyes, but holy cow, there are SO many drops. I had three medicated eye drops to put in every few hours plus preservative-free artificial tears to put in every 15 minutes that first day. I laid on my bed in the dark with my sunglasses on and listened to episodes of Friends. About every episode I would put eye drops in.

I would recommend having something to do with your eyes closed. Episodes of a show to books to listen to.

By that night my vision was only slightly blurry and I was so freaking excited! But to be honest, I was way more worried about the ICL surgery scheduled for the next morning.

ICL Surgery Day

This made for an early morning getting my kiddos to my in-laws again and over to the office. The ICL felt a lot more like a surgery. I had to check in in a different area of the building. I signed my waiver and told them the last time I ate. My husband wasn’t allowed back when they called me for my procedure. I was sent straight to the bathroom for a urine sample to make sure I wasn’t pregnant. And even though I’d tested the day before, I was relieved when they said it was negative.

I was the only one there. It was eerie, but it was nice to not worry about what else was going on. They had me lay on a skinny hospital bed. They started an IV and gave me what felt like a million eye drops over and over and over again. I had to keep my eyes closed for all of it to let my eye dilate and to keep the drops in. I was wheeled to the operating room and when I was told to open my eyes, all I could see was the giant circle light above me in what felt like a very dark room.

The ICL surgery was way worse than LASIK. I’m still 100% glad I did it, but it wasn’t pleasant. I honestly didn’t know all the details going in. I purposely didn’t look up pictures or videos besides what they showed me at the office. I have since watched videos of what they do, and I’m glad I didn’t know.

It felt like it took at least 45 minutes, but I don’t really know. I had to be awake and had been excited to have the medication to keep me calm. I guess it worked because I laid there just fine for the whole time, but I didn’t notice anything from it. The “laughing gas” I got for my root canal last year was better.

My vision did go black three times during the procedure. I had not been warned about that at all. I was glad I’d experienced that with LASIK the day before, but I was scared.

When it was all done I was wheeled back out and my husband was waiting for me. Again, I had to keep my eyes closed. I didn’t respond well at that point. I was shaky and didn’t feel well. I was kept there for probably close to two hours as I started to feel better. My husband held a water bottle with a straw for me to drink while I was laying down, and the nurse brought me cookies and granola bars.

My surgeon checked my eyes a few times. I was nervous that it hadn’t gone well or wasn’t right. My eyes weren’t very clear, which was normal, but it was hard to wait the following days and weeks for my vision to completely normalize.

Once they decided I was okay to go home, my husband went out to drive our car to the front door, and a nurse pushed me outside in a wheelchair. I kept my eyes closed… pretty much for the next 7+ days. My husband had planned on going to work the rest of that day, but I asked him to stay home and help with the kids. My paperwork said to basically lay still for the first day. That would have been difficult with my four-year-old and one-year-old.

Recovery

Recovery was harder than I expected. First of all, it is so hard to keep your eyes closed most of the day, especially with little kids. I’m not proud of it, but my kiddos watched a heck of a lot of TV for nearly two weeks after the surgeries. I did what I needed to do, and I made it work. I spent most of the days curled up on the recliner with one or both of my boys on my lap while they watched movies and Blippi. I kept my eyes closed as much as I could and often fell asleep on accident.

I put eye drops in all day long. I set alarms on my phone for my prescriptions and then just carried vials of artificial tears with me everywhere I went and put them in constantly. When my husband was home, I stayed in bed with the curtains closed and listened to Friends… I got through several seasons.

I learned that it was best to wear my sunglasses even in the house most of those first weeks. My eyes were super sensitive, but my kids also tended to gravitate toward my eyes. It’s like when you stub your toe and everyone seems to step on it. I was terrified of doing anything to hurt my eyes or my recovery and especially terrified of messing with the flap on my LASIK eye.

My surgeon called the night of my LASIK surgery and texted the night of my ICL surgery. I even ended up texting with a few questions and calling the 24-hour line once with questions. I felt silly contacting them for questions, but I needed that peace of mind and was grateful I had access to the people who could help me.

I had appointments the day after the ICL surgery, five days after that, and at the one month mark. It was a lot of asking for babysitters and rides, but I was glad I was seen that often. I am a worrier and tortured myself a little during the days my eyes weren’t checked. I will have checkups at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months.

At my first post-op appointment they looked in my eyes and told me they were a little dry. They told me to stop blowing the heater or A/C from the dash to reduce the dryness and to use drops more often. My fingers were tingly, which scared me, but the surgeon guessed it was from the sedation, and it went away after a day or two. Everything else looked good, and I checked to make sure I was using the right drops at the right times. At that point I still had a lot of healing to do, and there weren’t a lot of answers as to how things would go.

I had a few restrictions for the first month. I wasn’t supposed to lift anything heavy and wasn’t supposed to lift weights. I could start light exercise after a week, but didn’t feel comfortable with it at that point. My paperwork mentioned not leaning over. No one ever said anything about that, but I was careful about that too. I couldn’t watch TV or read for awhile. That was way hard for me. Even after the first two weeks, those types of things made my eyes tired really fast.

I also had a headache for a few weeks. That was probably the scariest part. There was a chance that my body would reject the ICL. They checked my eye pressure every time I went in, and it was fine, thank goodness. The pain was spread across my whole forehead and centered in between my eyes. I guess it would have been more concerning to have the pain located above or behind my ICL eye.

I’ve learned that with doctors and medical situations, there are rarely clear answers. The headache didn’t seem to be super common, based on the surgeon’s reactions. To be honest, I think it partially had to do with having different procedures in each eye. After the first few days, my vision started to clear up, but my depth perception seemed off. It’s actually hard to explain, but some things had blurry lines. My eyes weren’t in-sync. I was worried that things wouldn’t normalize and tried not to think about it too much.

Thankfully, after the first two weeks or so my headaches went away and my eyes started working together again.

I had to sleep with these sweet eye covers on for the first month. They weren’t super comfortable, especially because I’m a side sleeper, but I felt better having them on. I would find myself thinking the pain and dryness in my eyes were because I’d left contacts in. I’d spent so much of my life requiring glasses or contacts, that in my drowsy, sleepy state, I felt like I needed to take my contacts out. Thank goodness I had covers on my eyes because it would have been so bad if I’d started digging in my eyes for contacts. I cringe at the thought.

As a girl, makeup was a big concern for me. Because I knew I wouldn’t be wearing makeup for at least a week or two, I took better care of my skin and eyebrows. I actually started to feel okay about myself without makeup, and I leave the house often without it even now. In my opinion, it’s not even worth wearing makeup for awhile. There are SO many eye drops. I was told to buy new mascara and not to get the waterproof kind. I also got new eye liner because I figured there were similar concerns for germs and infection with that.

The first few times putting on makeup were a little nerve wracking for me. Again, I’m a worrier, and I didn’t want to cause any problems. I was super careful. My eyes felt a little irritated here and there, but it felt so good to wear makeup again!

Two Months Later

It’s been two months since my surgeries! I still can’t believe I did it! Seriously one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I still take eye drops everywhere I go. My eyes get dry, just like everyone talks about. I use drops at least hourly. My LASIK eye specifically needs lots of artificial tears, but my ICL eye usually feels more dry for some reason, so I just put drops in both eyes every time.

It has been harder to drive at night. I’ve always seen halos around lights at night, but it is worse now. Not really a big deal for me, though. When my ICL eye gets dry, it tends to blur things a little bit, but eye drops usually fix that pretty quickly.

At this point, those are the only problems I have. I’m super happy with how everything turned out and am so grateful I haven’t had any major complications. I never had any flareups from my infection. I love not having to wear glasses. Man, I hated them. I do wear sunglasses pretty much every time I go outside. I even take them with me on rainy or snowy days because sometimes even that seems bright.

I was warned not to rub my eyes after surgery, but then they also said it’s best for your eyes to never rub them, so I am very careful about that now.

I would 100% recommend looking into vision correction surgery if you are at all interested. Free consultations can’t hurt, and it’s good to know your options. So, so, so worth it!