Are you thinking of getting LASIK Eye Surgery? I decided to get it but had some questions about LASIK Surgery before doing it.
This is a Sponsored Post for Barnet Dulaney Perkins, however, all opinions are 100% my own.
When I was nine, I got my first pair of prescription eyeglasses. I probably had vision problems before then. I remember thinking to myself that I was now in the “4 eyes” club. Being teased,I really did not like wearing glasses and within a couple of years I started using contact lenses, even though I was probably too young for them.
As you probably know, there are a couple of steps to cleaning contact lenses. I knew them, but as a young kid I would always forget the second step and end up burning my eye balls. This earned me a few trips to the ER to get my eyes flushed and… let’s just say that my ophthalmologist wasn’t too happy about it. But the contact lenses cleaning solution wasn’t my only offense.
My most notorious trip to the ER had to do with me managing to get Super Glue in my eyes trying to fix a hand-held fan. I wrote a chapter in my book Letters to Mom and Dad titled “My Eyes Have 9 Lives” where I recount all my ocular misadventures. Eventually, a one step cleanser came out and that helped keep me safe(r).
However dangerous contact lenses were for me, they were my only option to staying away from eyeglasses as LASIK eye surgery wasn’t even an option for me back then. Vision correction and LASIK surgery cost was not a household conversation either. Even the best LASIK surgeon in Phoenix couldn’t help me yet. So I didn’t consider Lasik procedure.
Dry Eye Issues
In the last ten years I have not been able to wear contacts because of dry eye. My eyes just rejected them. Every time I put them in, I felt like ripping them out of my eyes. In fact, I did. They typically did not last more than five or ten minutes.
I would put my contacts in, do my makeup and look at myself in the mirror to check my makeup artistry. Then I would walk out the door and get in the car and pop them out of my eyes to put my glasses on. It was insanity. I kept trying; hoping for different results.
So, I went to see an eye doctor to find out why my eyes were so dry. He said that I had chronic dry eye, gave me some medicine and hoped for the best. When that didn’t work, I got eye plugs. But those were unsuccessful too.
Finally, I asked that same eye doctor about LASIK and he told me that, regrettably, I was not a candidate. I was so disappointed, I didn’t seek a second opinion at that point.
I continued with my glasses, never considering that this person might be wrong or that technology would advance. Who would have thought would end up being a candidate for LASIK at age 48?
Being a Candidate for LASIK Eye Surgery
I couldn’t believe that there was a chance that I wouldn’t have to depend on glasses the rest of my life. But when I visited Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center, they told me I was a candidate for LASIK eye surgery. I questioned it at first.
Then I asked a lot of questions. I needed to know all the risks and benefits to having Lasik eye surgery. All their answers made sense. All-of-a-sudden my world was falling apart; in a good way. If I wanted to, I was going to be free of my glasses after more than 39 years!
In short, LASIK eye surgery (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis) involves using an excimer laser to reshape the cornea to correct the vision errors. It sounds scary and complicated, but when you are in the right hands, it is actually a pretty simple process.
I went home excited about the possibilities of throwing out my glasses and seeing the world with my own eyes. Me and the world. Not me, some plastic, and the world!
So Here are my 7 Reasons to Get LASIK Eye Surgery:
Glasses are Heavy
My glasses were always heavy. Even if they had the lightest and most expensive kind of lenses, they were still heavy. They sit on your nose and slide down, sometimes causing me to put them on my head to rest. That causes the frame to stretch out and then slide down my nose faster! They bothered me. Not constantly, of course, but they bothered me a lot. Imagine having to hike in Sedona, AZ (amazing) but having to deal with glasses while hiking in the heat. NO Bueno. It’s not like sunglasses. Sunglasses are optional, if they start bothering you, you take them off. I didn’t have that option. Nothing bothers me now that I have had LASIK! I can enjoy hiking again!
Travel is Easier with LASIK
I travel a lot for my job and use professional camera equipment. When you wear glasses they get crushed between the viewfinder of the camera and your forehead. It’s inconvenient, painful and unnecessary. Being able to capture the moment and immortalize memories is definitely a major improvement (the glasses you see in my hair are my reading glasses).
LASIK has changed the way I take pictures and see the world. I no longer need to worry about glasses flying off my face when I’m on a boat or somewhere windy taking pictures. I can be more relaxed and be in my creative space.
What good is traveling if it’s a struggle to see? Imagine seeing the Northern Lights for the first time and with your own eyes. It was spectacular!
Another important point about traveling and LASIK is that I don’t have to worry about what would happen if my glasses got lost or damaged. My vision was such that I could not properly function without my glasses. If still wore glasses and they got lost or damaged, my trip of a lifetime to Finland would have been completely ruined!
Financial Reasons for Getting LASIK Eye Surgery
Since my eyesight was so bad, I have spent a lot of money on glasses, contacts and eye exams over the years. There was no room for me to skip glasses. I needed progressives with transition because my eyes are so sensitive to light, and when you’ve come this far you might as well add anti-glare which I did. But I rarely left the eye doctor spending less than $500.
I think back on all the money I spent and all the glasses I went through over the years and it amounts to several times to cost of LASIK. In fact if I got one pair of glasses a year for the last 40 years (in the last 10 years it was probably 3 pairs a year), that comes to $20,000. Add contacts to that for 30 years and that’s about another $9,000. So, I spent at least $29,000 on my eyes. That’s not even counting contacts solution (we know that’s expensive) and eye doctor appointments.
It adds up. LASIK isn’t cheap, but it’s not $30,000. NOT EVEN CLOSE.
No More Headaches Because of LASIK Eye Surgery
I’ve had headaches since I wore glasses. So, the last ten years have been hard. I had to buy progressives which gave me headaches. It’s not the glasses that gave me headaches, it was me trying to get used to them and adjusting my eyes constantly. It made my eyes work harder. Not fun. LASIK does not give me headaches. I’m not as tired from straining my eyes.
Play Time with Kids Got Easier
Before I had kids I just dealt with the annoyance of wearing glasses. But having babies changed everything. It’s hard to be spontaneous when you have to deal with glasses. I would rest my eyes for a minute and take my glasses off and my 5 year old would come to me: “mama! mama! look what I made!” I would have to move, reach for my glasses, put them on, let my eyes adjust, and then finally be able to give him the attention he deserves. It took away from the moment shared with my son, and it also took away from my relaxation. Now that I had LASIK, I don’t have to move from a comfortable position to look at whatever my son wants to show me. All I do is open my eyes and move my chin down. He gets my attention right away, we share a moment, and I can kick my head back right after without having to do anything else.
Lasik Eye Surgery is More Advanced than Ever
Yes, it seems scary. When words like corneal flap and refractive surgery are thrown around, it can be intimidating. I am very visual (no pun intended) and I kept thinking of this giant knife coming at me. But that’s not the way it works! There is a technology that is so advanced, even if you flinched, it will follow your every move. LASIK technology is not where it was the first time you ever heard of it. Lots of progress has been made.
Between advances in technology and the highly experienced LASIK surgeons at Barnet Dulaney Perkins, I was put at ease, especially when I met with Dr. Perkins.
The first thing I noticed when I met Dr. Perkins is how smart he is. I am not qualified to judge his competence as a surgeon because I’m not a surgeon, but when you meet someone who is going to perform surgery on you and he is confident, witty, approachable, and funny, that puts you at ease right away. It was obvious he knew what he was doing and he had nothing to hide.
It was a Painless Procedure
When I arrived they gave me a Valium and waited for it to kick in. That’s what took the longest during the visit. When I went into the surgery room it felt like it took less than 10 minutes. Dr. Perkins told me exactly what he was doing while he was doing it and how long it would take in seconds which really put me at ease. It DID NOT HURT. At times it felt strange but was not painful.
After the surgery it was recommended that I go home and sleep. I recommend that you take a Motrin because after the eye drops that numb the eyes wear off, your eyes will hurt a little and feel scratchy. Just rest and put the eye drops in that are prescribed to you.
The whole process from start to finish was easy. LASIK recovery time was about 1 day. I was warned that I may need reading glasses but it’s worth being able to see 20/20 and getting LASIK eye surgery has changed my life for the better.
If you are interested in getting a free consultation you can call Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center at 602-497-3093. Use the code MOMJUNKY and get $600 off your procedure.
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