First of all, I wore glasses from the lower grades of elementary school, and lived wearing glasses until I was 20. They were glasses that made my eyes look really small, so I had to get the lenses compressed as much as possible, and the range of frames I could choose was small too. Without glasses, I couldn’t see anything..
Before LASEK, my vision was -8 and I also had astigmatism. I also had consultations for LASIK and implantable contact lenses at another ophthalmology clinic, but I was told I couldn’t do LASIK because my vision was too poor and there was a cutoff for how much cornea had to remain. For implantable contact lenses too, after testing, I was rejected because there has to be enough space to insert the lens, and I didn’t have it!!.. For me, LASEK was the only option, and the first ophthalmology clinic I consulted at even said they wouldn’t do LASEK for me. (Since each ophthalmology clinic has a different cutoff for how much cornea must remain, I recommend getting consultations at several places.)
When I consulted about LASEK, they said my cornea was very thick, so it would be just barely possible, and I had surgery from -8 to 1.0. (This was possible because my cornea was very thick compared with other people’s.) They said the pain would be about 3-4 times worse than other people’s, and since I was basically blind without glasses and wore contacts but found them so uncomfortable, I had the surgery accepting the pain with the mindset that I’d rather not wear circle lenses!
During surgery, they put in anesthetic eye drops, so there was no pain at all, but they kept spraying something like saline, and since it was my first surgery on my body, I was nervous lolololol
After surgery, I talked with the doctor and went home, and it felt like my eyes were going to be pulled out.. I’m pretty good at enduring pain, but it hurt so much. As soon as I got home, I put in the prescribed anesthetic eye drops? or something like that, wore an eye patch, even closed the blackout curtains in my room, and waited. Then the pain calmed down to a bearable level.
During the recovery period after surgery, I think I only ate and slept... Usually, people whose vision isn’t as bad as mine recover that much faster, but with LASEK, vision comes back gradually, so for several days my vision was blurry and it felt like there was a film over my eyes! I did feel like my vision was gradually improving, but there was still a film over it, and when I looked at objects, it felt like they wouldn’t focus? After about 3 weeks to a month like that, my focus was good and my vision came out to 1.0!
For several months after surgery, I could see well, but my eyes got tired easily, and when I drank alcohol or was tired, I felt tightness around my eyes. In my whole life, even when I wore contacts all day, I never really felt that my eyes were dry, but if the heater was on, they dried out easily. After this period, the tight feeling in my eyes gradually decreased and disappeared!
From year 1 until now, if I had to name side effects, I developed dry eye syndrome. I carry artificial tears every day, and I’m okay even if I don’t put them in, but my eyes feel gritty and more tired, so I always carry them. I also have glare/halos. I think I feel it a lot when looking at traffic lights from inside a car at night. Even now, my vision is maintaining at 1.0.
There isn’t any special management method, but usually people get LASEK because they don’t want to wear glasses, right? What’s unusual about me is that at home I always wear blue-light-blocking glasses lolololol. I also put a blue-light film on my devices, and since reoperation would be difficult for me and my eyes feel less tired when I wear blue-light glasses, I wear them every day out of habit! I’ve had styes and swollen eyes many times, and while working at a dental clinic I’m exposed a lot to UV curing lights, and because I work under bright light every day to look inside patients’ mouths, my eyes did get tired, but my vision has stayed the same! (Even while working, I kept putting in artificial tears from time to time.) In summer, on days with a lot of outdoor activity, I tend to wear sunglasses!
The advantage is that I can see well without glasses.. and that I don’t have to wear glasses that make my eyes look smaller anymore? (They were especially uncomfortable at the bathhouse, swimming pool, or when eating hot food.. And because my prescription was so strong, the glasses were so heavy that they always left marks and made my nose hurt.)
The downside is, I’m okay with it, but if someone absolutely needs circle lenses, there may be people who want to do it later! I also can’t say there are no side effects at all ㅜㅜ People around me didn’t even have vision as bad as mine, but most of them developed dry eye syndrome, so they seem to carry artificial tears.
If what you want is clear like mine, I recommend doing it, but side effects are not something that definitely won’t happen to me, so I hope you decide carefully! Whether it’s cosmetic surgery or vision correction, remember that it can’t only have advantages and that side effects exist too. The decision is your own!
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This review is a surgery review pursuing natural beauty.