Thursday
Oct052006
My powerful vision
Thursday, October 5, 2006 at 2:48AM
I've had a few inquiries about how things are going with regard to my vision since my LASIK procedure back in June, so here is a quick update:
I just went in for my "final" checkup on my surgery, and my vision tested to 20/10 - much better than the 20/20 I was hoping for.
I am quite happy I went through the LASIK process, and would do it again without any hesitation. I have also received some oral and email questions in the past couple of months so I thought I'd share them here, along with my responses:
- How's your night vision?
- I've never had any issues with night vision either before or after the surgery.
- Do you need reading glasses now?
- No, I don't. They tell me I will, eventually, as part of the normal aging process but I can deal with that. There is no evading the march of time, I suppose.
- Do you see halos or haze when you look at bright lights?
- I did see a bit of haze for the first 45 days or so (most noticeable first thing in the morning and late at night), but it gradually faded. After that, I saw a bit of haze if I went too long without using my artificial tears (eye drops). I don't see any halos or haze any more.
- What's your advice if I'm considering this?
- Check out the doctor ahead of time. Ask for references, visit the office, and even ask to observe a surgery if you want to. If anything doesn't pass your sniff test, look elsewhere.
- See if your insurance plan has any discounts available. Mine did - and I saved 20% by going to a doctor on the plan. I also used my company's medical "Flex" plan to make this a pre-tax expense (ask your benefits plan representative if this is an option for you).
- After the surgery, do everything the doctors tell you to do for follow-up care. This is especially true of the regimen for keeping your eyes moist with artificial tears - that helps your eyes heal properly, and is one of the most important things you can do. I used a watch with a countdown timer on it to remind me to put the drops in on time.
- Check out the doctor ahead of time. Ask for references, visit the office, and even ask to observe a surgery if you want to. If anything doesn't pass your sniff test, look elsewhere.
- Does this mean I have to put drops in for the rest of my life?
- No, your tear production returns to "normal" levels over time. I still carry the drops, but I only really use them first thing in the morning now and when my eyes get tired from late nights.
- Where did you have your LASIK done?
- Teplick Vision, and I'd use them again. You can find them at www.oregonlaser.com, if you're so inclined.
- In the interest of full disclosure, I don't (and haven't) received compensation for any of the stuff I've written about them on this blog. However, if you tell them I sent you and you get the surgery done there, apparently I'll get some kind of thank you gift from them. I'll gladly accept such a gift, should I receive one.
- Teplick Vision, and I'd use them again. You can find them at www.oregonlaser.com, if you're so inclined.



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Reader Comments (1)
Thanks! From the trenches...what cool info to get out there. I just met last week with a "behavioral optomotrist."
Who knew! I was very excited to learn that in the past 5 years my prescription has not changed (although I'm still "with glasses"). At any rate, I'm considering starting the "look-into" process for surgery, and your article here gave me some great start points.
Great work!
Jason