The night before…

I just put in the last of the Vigamox drops. It’s getting a bit late and the nervousness is increasing. Seems a little uncertainty got thrown my way because lots of people at my work have been getting sick, and I’m starting to feel a bit under the weather. Now I’m kind of nerve wracked cause I don’t want to have some kind of cold complicate this whole matter. I’m gonna try to get a lot of sleep tonight and I’ve been doing my pre-cold regimen (that’s another post).

At this point, I’m starting to wish I had read a few more accounts of other people’s LASIK operations. I’ve done plenty of reading about the procedure and even watched a couple videos, but a few more accounts of real people would be nice. So if you’re reading this before going into a LASIK, make sure you read a few more accounts, too, it’s the best thing you can do, I promise.

I’ve been wearing contacts or glasses since the 2nd grade. I’ve always hated glasses as I feel like I have no peripheral vision. I am even more reclusive when I’m wearing them, a little more self conscious. Contacts aren’t too bad as long as they’re comfortable, but I always stress out about trying to wear them less cause they aren’t great for your eyes either. People sometimes mention how LASIK is still unproven and could be bad for your eyes. I think my brother in law put it best, “I don’t think shoving two pieces of plastic in your eyes for the rest of your life is that great for your eyes either”.

Well, I’m going to choose sleep over reading and thinking more about LASIK. Gonna call up my wonderful girlfriend and chat for a bit and then pass out, and hopefully wake up with no cough or cold. I’ll be reporting from the other side tomorrow, probably a little drugged out and loopy. Twill be marvelous.

So I’ve been dripping drops of Vigamox into my eyes at every mealtime today. I guess it kills all the bacteria in my eyes or something to reduce the chance of infection before the surgery (though the name sounds more like another ED drug). I also get to take some other anxiety reducing drug during and after the surgery, and tonight if I can’t sleep. To be honest, it’s kind of exciting, I’ve never taken a powerful clinical mood altering drug.

Been thinking a lot about what the following few days of the surgery will be like. Haven’t got any clear answers on what my vision will be like because it varies for everyone and not as many people have had Epi-LASIK as opposed to LASIK.

I’ll use this post to explain what Epi-LASIK is and why I’m choosing it over regular LASIK. Epi-LASIK is a newer procedure. In normal LASIK, they cut through your cornea, lift it up, and zap you underneath, then put the flap back. Recovery is super quick. Epi-LASIK is the same thing except instead of cutting through the cornea, they only scrape off the very surface layer of the cornea (the epithelium), then zap you. It’s less invasive, but recovery takes a bit longer because those cells need to grow back.

So why am I doing Epi-LASIK? Normally, Epi-LASIK is an option for people whose corneas are too thin to cut a flap so they do Epi-LASIK instead. But I have “plain vanilla” fairly thick corneas, so what’s up? Well, turns out when they cut the flap, there’s a chance of your cornea being dislodged. I haven’t beenblogging long, so you won’t know that I’m an avid fan of ultimate fighting and train in grappling (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) and always wanted to try some boxing (but couldn’t with contacts), plus I play racquetball a decent amount. These are all prime sports for knocking out corneas and I just don’t want to have to worry about that. So that’s why I’ve chosen Epi-LASIK. I’m probably in for 2-3 days of discomfort rather than 1, which is honestly the most nerve-wracking part of this whole thing for me, not the actual operation. But I think it’ll be worth it in a couple months when I put those boxing gloves on. :)

T-minus 1.5 days till I go under the laser. I’m a bit nervous, of course, but not really too much. I really do feel that I have made the right decision under the circumstances I have. LASIK is really quite mature now. I have had relatives who had it years ago while it was new and most are OK. One had some stuff go wrong, but even so believes it was definitely the right choice. 6 or so years after that, the rate of complications has gone down.

The largest factor, I’ve learned, is really the experience of the doctor. I’m getting it done with Dr. Rubinfeld from Washington Eye. According to a journalist from the Washingtonian a few years back, Rubinfeld is the number 2 guy in the area. His credentials are quite impressive, and I really do notice the difference. In my consultation, he told me about the latest breaking antibiotics he is using and slight modifications he does in his Epi-LASIK procedures that you won’t find easily with a Google search yet. These little details really are comforting as I feel he’s a leader in the field.

Additionally, my consultation revealed that I am a “plain vanilla kind a guy”, meaning my corneas, eyes, health history have nothing weird going on. Usually I don’t care for being plain vanilla, but when it comes to something like this, I sure am glad to hear I’m just an average case that he’s done a million times.

A timely date for me to launch my blog as I’m going in for LASIK next week. I’ll kick off this column with a chronical of my story from now to post-operation recovery (if I can still see to type my blog).

My journey has already started a little while back as I’ve been thinking about this operation and doing my research. I’ve decided to go for a slightly newer version of the procedure called Epi-Lasik where they don’t cut a flap in your cornea. To start this off, I’d like to hear if any of you have had a LASIK procedure (or know someone who has). What were your feelings before going under the laser?