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Feb. 4th, 2006 08:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miz_annelieseOn LASIK:
The facts: I went to http://www.midwesteyecenter.com/ and this guy - Dr. Sanitato - did the surgery.
The price for what I got - Custom Cornea Lasik - is listed at $3995. My Vision Service Plan throws $300 at it, so my total was $3695.
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staticguy and blakrose_eris, that's only for custom. The cheapest one is for Traditional Lasik, and that's listed at $2995. I had two pre-op visits with my eye doctor (who works with Midwest Eye Center. Talk to your eye doc for a recommendation or to see if you're eligible, or I assume you could contact either Midwest or the Eye building in Kenwood directly and see if they can help you).
juineve, my sight was (in contact terms) -4.75 right, -4.5 left, and I had a very mild astigmatism in my right eye. My sight is expected to be 20/20 once everything heals up :) (No X-ray vision, I'm afraid ;) )
People operating on your eyes is WEIRD. There is no way around that.
The pluses, for me:
1) LOTS of numbing solution. You really don't feel any pain at all during the procedure.
2) The staff was all really nice. I know the place has to be a cornea mill of sorts, they've got to service a lot of people every day, but each tech I worked with, and the doctor himself, really made me feel like an individual. A tech there by the name of Alison was GREAT. Also, the doctor himself called the house later that night to make sure everything was going ok. I'm sure he was just going down a checklist, but still, I think that's really considerate.
3) It's fast. Fast in, fast final pre-op checks, fast eye-dropping, fast procedure, fast out the door.
4) The payment is a lot, but includes everything. All pre-op, all procedure, the steroid drops, all post-op, and reduced prices if you need follow-up surgery.
5) They gave me Cheetos. (Probably due to number 1 on the list below.)
6) I can fucking see.
The minuses, for me:
1) I get freaked out by people doing things to my body. I almost passed out when I got my nose pierced; I almost passed out when Crow started my tattoo; I almost passed out when they IV'ed me for my wisdom tooth removal. Since there are no needles involved with LASIK, I hoped I wouldn't have a problem... I did. I had to make the doctor stop halfway through the first eye (with my corneal flap open, dude, EW), so that I could take some deep breaths and not either a) pass out or b) throw up. BUT, they were very understanding, gave me a moment to compose myself, and then I didn't have a problem with the second eye at all.
2) 5 mg of Valium? Excuse me? I didn't even FEEL it.
3) Post-op OWIE! My eyes burned for about 2-3 hours post-op. This is to be expected, and it's why they tell you to sleep immediately afterwards (well, that, and you have to keep your eyes closed for at least that long, so, might as well sleep). If you don't have a sleeping pill or extra valium or something, find one. It's hard to force yourself to sleep when your eyes are that burny.
The procedure itself.
All the pre-op stuff is no big deal, the numbing drops are no big deal, the sticky stuff they use to pull back your eyelashes are no big deal, even the speculum they put in to keep your eye open is no big deal.
Then they put on the ring to keep your eye from moving. You focus on a little red dot. Then THE SLICER! with which they slice off the top bit of your cornea. That's where I started getting lightheaded and nauseated the first time. Honestly though, there's no pain, and when they're vacuuming up that piece of your cornea, it looks like a big white spirograph. Then a little bit of pressure, some clicking sounds from the laser (and a burning smell that I opted to not even ask about), then your corneal flap goes back on and they wallpaper it back down. (The tool they use feels like a wallpaper smoothing tool.) Remove ring, speculum, sticky stuff, and *poof* you're done. On to the next.
(note:scarybaldguy's description can be found here.)
I didn't think this would be as big of a deal to me as it is. I've worn glasses or contacts for years and years and years, and when I use those, I see fine. So in my mind, I'm thinking "Is LASIK going to really be that different than putting in a pair of contacts?" You know what? It is. It really is. My vision is still hazy right now (which is to be expected), and I have a teensy bit of inflammation in my right eye (so they said at follow-up this morning, I have to go back again on Monday after doubling up on my steroid drops), and I managed to jab a kleenex into my left eye (...ow), but, yes. It really is different and it really is worth it. Reaching for my glasses this morning and realizing I couldn't find them because I didn't need them was wonderful. I can SEE, and that is a marvelous thing.
The facts: I went to http://www.midwesteyecenter.com/ and this guy - Dr. Sanitato - did the surgery.
The price for what I got - Custom Cornea Lasik - is listed at $3995. My Vision Service Plan throws $300 at it, so my total was $3695.
staticguy and blakrose_eris, that's only for custom. The cheapest one is for Traditional Lasik, and that's listed at $2995. I had two pre-op visits with my eye doctor (who works with Midwest Eye Center. Talk to your eye doc for a recommendation or to see if you're eligible, or I assume you could contact either Midwest or the Eye building in Kenwood directly and see if they can help you).juineve, my sight was (in contact terms) -4.75 right, -4.5 left, and I had a very mild astigmatism in my right eye. My sight is expected to be 20/20 once everything heals up :) (No X-ray vision, I'm afraid ;) )People operating on your eyes is WEIRD. There is no way around that.
The pluses, for me:
1) LOTS of numbing solution. You really don't feel any pain at all during the procedure.
2) The staff was all really nice. I know the place has to be a cornea mill of sorts, they've got to service a lot of people every day, but each tech I worked with, and the doctor himself, really made me feel like an individual. A tech there by the name of Alison was GREAT. Also, the doctor himself called the house later that night to make sure everything was going ok. I'm sure he was just going down a checklist, but still, I think that's really considerate.
3) It's fast. Fast in, fast final pre-op checks, fast eye-dropping, fast procedure, fast out the door.
4) The payment is a lot, but includes everything. All pre-op, all procedure, the steroid drops, all post-op, and reduced prices if you need follow-up surgery.
5) They gave me Cheetos. (Probably due to number 1 on the list below.)
6) I can fucking see.
The minuses, for me:
1) I get freaked out by people doing things to my body. I almost passed out when I got my nose pierced; I almost passed out when Crow started my tattoo; I almost passed out when they IV'ed me for my wisdom tooth removal. Since there are no needles involved with LASIK, I hoped I wouldn't have a problem... I did. I had to make the doctor stop halfway through the first eye (with my corneal flap open, dude, EW), so that I could take some deep breaths and not either a) pass out or b) throw up. BUT, they were very understanding, gave me a moment to compose myself, and then I didn't have a problem with the second eye at all.
2) 5 mg of Valium? Excuse me? I didn't even FEEL it.
3) Post-op OWIE! My eyes burned for about 2-3 hours post-op. This is to be expected, and it's why they tell you to sleep immediately afterwards (well, that, and you have to keep your eyes closed for at least that long, so, might as well sleep). If you don't have a sleeping pill or extra valium or something, find one. It's hard to force yourself to sleep when your eyes are that burny.
The procedure itself.
All the pre-op stuff is no big deal, the numbing drops are no big deal, the sticky stuff they use to pull back your eyelashes are no big deal, even the speculum they put in to keep your eye open is no big deal.
Then they put on the ring to keep your eye from moving. You focus on a little red dot. Then THE SLICER! with which they slice off the top bit of your cornea. That's where I started getting lightheaded and nauseated the first time. Honestly though, there's no pain, and when they're vacuuming up that piece of your cornea, it looks like a big white spirograph. Then a little bit of pressure, some clicking sounds from the laser (and a burning smell that I opted to not even ask about), then your corneal flap goes back on and they wallpaper it back down. (The tool they use feels like a wallpaper smoothing tool.) Remove ring, speculum, sticky stuff, and *poof* you're done. On to the next.
(note:
scarybaldguy's description can be found here.)I didn't think this would be as big of a deal to me as it is. I've worn glasses or contacts for years and years and years, and when I use those, I see fine. So in my mind, I'm thinking "Is LASIK going to really be that different than putting in a pair of contacts?" You know what? It is. It really is. My vision is still hazy right now (which is to be expected), and I have a teensy bit of inflammation in my right eye (so they said at follow-up this morning, I have to go back again on Monday after doubling up on my steroid drops), and I managed to jab a kleenex into my left eye (...ow), but, yes. It really is different and it really is worth it. Reaching for my glasses this morning and realizing I couldn't find them because I didn't need them was wonderful. I can SEE, and that is a marvelous thing.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 12:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 08:24 pm (UTC)SQUICK!!!!!!
(still shuddering)
no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 09:19 pm (UTC)I imagine if you take more than a 5mg Valium beforehand - or sneak one in with you - it would get to you too much. *shrug* I'm going to be one of those people who plug the operation, though... SIGHT! WOW! :)
edit
Date: 2006-02-04 09:19 pm (UTC)Congratulations
Date: 2006-02-04 08:43 pm (UTC)Re: Congratulations
Date: 2006-02-04 09:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 07:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 02:32 pm (UTC)It was definitely a little creepy to me - but I know a lot of people don't have problems with it, and like I said, it is absolutely painless. But I'm a fairly small girl and 5 mg of Valium did jackall for me, so you might want to slip some extra in your pocket :P
So far, progress is A-ok. My sight is better today (and less hazy) then it was yesterday, and hopefully I'll be able to report back on Monday that the inflammation in my right eye is all gone :)