I was trying to think of what to write as my first post for leveling up, and I happened to have had Smile LASIK surgery in February, so I’ll share that! It’ll probably turn into a rambling, messy post, but read it if you’re bored! If you read it when you’re busy, it’ll make you mad!
The timing is actually pretty good now too, since I’ve already gone through all the little side effects (still ongoing though ㅠ ), so I can clearly talk about the pros and cons.
To explain why I got LASIK in the first place: I’ve worn glasses since I was 8 and kept wearing them until I was 26. Glasses were seriously inconvenient, especially when they fogged up on rainy days or when the temperature difference was big in winter. More than anything, because I have a low nose bridge, my glasses would keep slipping down whenever I exercised, so it was just too inconvenient, and I decided to save up and get LASIK first. But it felt kind of scary to do it alone, and they say you get a big discount if you go with friends, so I gathered up my friends who also wore glasses, searched hospitals, asked people we knew, and narrowed it down until we picked one. I booked the consultation myself for the three of us, and we went while discussing in advance what to prepare and estimating the cost... We were too lazy to go to more than one place, so we just went ahead with it.. But future LASIK friends... please go to at least two places...
Anyway, to go back to the story, we went really early in the morning, but there were a lot of people and all kinds of test courses.
When we first went in, each of us went into a small consultation room first and talked about what kind of surgery we wanted. I just said I wanted LASIK because LASEK hurts, and they said okay, then asked me to fill out a questionnaire (sorry, I suddenly can’t remember the name of it), so I filled it out and then went to get tested to see whether surgery was possible. There were quite a few tests, but what I remember most was the genetic test to check whether my eyes were the kind that wouldn’t go blind even after LASIK, and the test that checked how dry my eyes were, which was fascinating. I was nervous, thinking random things like, what if I’m the rare type that goes blind, but thankfully they said I was fine for surgery and that my corneas were thick enough too, so I walked in feeling excited again. But then there was a problem: during the tests they make your pupils dilate, so your pupils stay enlarged, and after the tests, while I was telling the staff at the desk during the waiting time and going out to eat, the sunlight was blazing insanely. If you’re going to leave the building, it would be good to have sunglasses or a parasol.
Somehow I paid and picked up the medicines prescribed at a nearby pharmacy in advance, and after eating kalguksu, I came back to the hospital for the full surgery consultation and started crying when I heard the price. They recommended Smile LASIK over regular LASIK (this was already a large hospital famous for Smile LASIK), and explained that Smile LASIK has less pain after surgery. So I got tempted and agreed, and because there were a few scratched areas on my corneas with Smile LASIK, I also added corneal strengthening for both eyes. So in total, including the exam cost + Smile LASIK surgery cost + corneal strengthening for both eyes, I ended up paying the most among the friends I went with. I did get group discounts and a bunch of little gifts. Only one other friend besides me got corneal strengthening, and they drew blood with a syringe to make autologous serum eye drops.
Anyway, after the consultation that day, it didn’t take long before I went straight to surgery, so when I put on the surgery gown and went in, they numbed my eyes again, did one more test or so, and then took us into the operating room one by one. My vision was blurry at that point, so the nurse held my hand and helped me climb onto the operating table, and I lay down properly and did exactly what the doctor told me to do: look at what they told me to look at, focus on what they told me to focus on, and since they told me not to move, I just stayed still without even breathing much. After a few seconds there was the smell of something burning like squid and a sizzling sound, then they said, “It’s done, good,” and I immediately lay down on the operating table next to me, and it seemed like they were opening the cornea and inserting the lens. How do I know? Because I could hear everything the two doctors were saying right above my head. I thought to myself, Ah, they’re positioning the lens now, but it doesn’t seem to be going well. Oh, it finally worked. That’s what I was thinking alone.
When I went to the sofa to rest, leaning on the arm they gave me and holding on as they told me to, they said to keep my eyes closed for a bit, so I really did keep them closed and dozed off. I was dazed and sleepy, and tears kept coming out of my eyes, but since I couldn’t drink water, I was really thirsty too. Anyway, after the forced rest ended and they said I could open my eyes and go change clothes, I’m not exaggerating, my vision was so cloudy that I thought the surgery had failed, so I urgently told my friends, “My vision is so blurry!” and they all said theirs was blurry too, so I calmed down and changed clothes. (I’m usually kind of dramatic...ㅋ) The kind of vision it was: it’s like the vision of someone with bad nearsightedness walking around without glasses in a bathhouse, seriously. The problem was that before going home, I had to sit for a bit, but when they said I could go, maybe the anesthesia wore off, because my eyes stung so badly and every bit of light felt like it was maliciously stabbing my eyes, and it hurt. But I think that’s because I’m the kind of person whose anesthesia wears off quickly anyway. My friends wore off relatively slowly and got home fine, but I had seen posts saying this was a same-day discharge surgery and that you could totally go home by yourself, so I was completely unprepared and thought I’d just take the subway and bus home too. Honestly, the moment I stepped out of the hospital, my eyes hurt so much, and I felt for the first time what people mean when they say they’re crying.
I was completely panicking, so one friend went home with their parents, and another friend and I each took a taxi home separately. For reference, even the light from my smartphone hurt my eyes, so my eyes would automatically close and I couldn’t really see the screen properly. I had to find the spot I usually press through blurred vision just to call a taxi and go home. I don’t usually swear, but every kind of swear word came out of my mouth. Even at that moment, I was thinking that if I had gotten LASEK, I would’ve ended up homeless, and I was just sitting in the taxi with my eyes closed and tears streaming down like some person with a tragic backstory. The taxi driver silently turned on classical music radio for me. So I just rode home like some person with a tragic backstory. The next day my eyes felt better, so I’d give that driver 5 stars.
Even when I got home, my eyes were still burning, so I leaned against a cushion and lay there cursing the world for not just wearing glasses, then fell asleep. When I woke up, it was evening. By evening I felt a little better, so I took my medicine, put in the drops, went right back to sleep, and when I woke up it was the next day and I was somewhat better. It was still glaring, but at that point it was more like squinting at strong sunlight. Anyway, going back to the hospital after surgery was annoying. They told me to come back periodically for vision checks and until they judged my eye condition to be okay, so that was nice. I still don’t completely stop wearing glasses, but when I look at a monitor or use my smartphone, I always wear blue-light-blocking glasses. Even so, this level of life satisfaction is enough for me. I no longer have to estimate where the instant noodles are and shove them into my mouth while eating them, and I don’t have to hold my breath on the bus worrying that more steam will fog my glasses... Especially on rainy days, I’m glad I no longer think I want wipers on my glasses... The satisfaction while exercising is beyond words. I feel like, so this is what a life without anything catching means! Anyway, I wrote a lot. Still, thanks for reading, and I’ll leave a summary below!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- +Pros+ 1. When putting on makeup, I no longer have to guess the color as I apply it. 2. Even when I move intensely while exercising, nothing flies off. 3. In winter on the bus, I no longer have to keep wiping my glasses like in a melodrama.
+Cons+ 1. For me, the dry eye was unbelievable for two months after surgery. Even after using up all the prescribed artificial tears, it still wasn’t enough, so I asked my family and used as many artificial tears as I could get. But since my friends used less, it seems I’m the type whose dryness got worse. (It depends on the person, so don’t worry in advance ㄴㄴ) But I managed it steadily, and after four months it gradually got to the point where I didn’t need to use them as much.
2. When I wake up in the morning, there are times when it hurts like my cornea is stuck to my eyelid and ripping apart, but it’s only a brief pain, so I’m just living with it.
3. While putting in artificial tears, I accidentally poked my cornea a little, and a hole formed in it, so I had to get treatment at a neighborhood eye clinic...ㅋㅋ After surgery, your corneas really do become as delicate as a baby’s, so treat them carefully... Even if the artificial tears drip down your face, don’t put them in too close... promise...
4. Nighttime glare was severe and hard to deal with, but it’s gradually improving like the dry eye did. Still, when driving, be sure to wear glare-blocking glasses.
+Final note+ When you have surgery, never put yourself in a situation where you need to drive, and temporarily disable your phone passcode. When calling a taxi, I seriously had to press the taxi app during the tiny window while unlocking the passcode, because if the passcode got in the way, I couldn’t see anything and panicked. Even if it doesn’t help much, bring sunglasses or a parasol. If you hate all of that, coming with a companion is honestly the best.
Since I got LASIK, I’m thinking of trying to get my eye line shaped now, so please share lots of information~ Bye!