Had the enhancement; Thursday, April 19, 2007
As of Saturday, April 21, it has worked out well.
I have written a detailed description below for folks who are interested in the particulars of how these things work.
I have also posted about my original Lasik at
http://www.usaeyes.org/ask-lasik-expert/viewtopic.php?t=820
Enhancement April 19: 10:00 a.m. appt.; out by about 12:30.
Doc rechecked me on the charts to make sure vision was same as pre-op on Monday. He deadened my eyes with drops and used a little needle/blade to trace the cut/seam of the flap while I sat in a chair in an exam room. No discomfort at all. Once on the Laser table, he used a little device to flip the flap open.
He used conventional Lasik this time to focus the laser on the tiny bit that he thought was causing the ghosts and -.75 nearsightedness after the first Custom Lasik.
My total time on the Laser table was about 20 or 25 minutes, but the laser ran only about 5 seconds on each eye. The staff (who are absolutely terrific!) got a chuckle at how short it was, but it was well worth doing. (I had over 1 1/2 minutes of laser for each eye the first time.)
My epithelium (outermost layer of the eye that is just a few cells deep) was loose (Doc said it was a 1 on a ten scale of slipperiness, with 10 being best). Doc had trouble getting it where it needed to be on the right eye (zapped first), and I reminded him that we had trouble with it on the left last time. Left epithelium was equally slippery this time too.
I was comfortable and conversant during the procedure, but I must admit that (as the first time) I stayed pretty tense and had my hands and jaws clenched (except when speaking). The two prescribed Valiums did not do much for me that I could tell.
Rode home with a dark towel over my head that I thought to bring. I suggest you take one because sunglasses don't always do the job on a bright day to block the light. Napped for a couple of hours after I got home.
I had more discomfort (stinging) this time post-op. The informed-consent form said that discomfort in the hours after an enhancement is generally worse than after the first go-round, although overall recovery is faster. That seems to be my experience.
The mild stinging lasted until about 6:00 p.m. Watched TV that night. Saw pretty decent. Very mild halos around lights compared to after the first procedure.
Friday, April 20, 2007: Did not notice ghosts last night on digital clocks. (Hooray!) All ok at follow-up, but Doc wants to leave the protective contacts in another day to make sure that danged epithelium gets a solid hold. Boy, I hate the feel of those contacts.
Saturday, April 21, 2007: Doc saw me on a Saturday a.m. Contacts come out. Epithelium looks good. I can read 20/20. I notice that my left eye is sharper than the right. Doc says I actually test the same in each eye when reading the chart, but I can definitely tell that the left is better than the right. There is reading a fuzzy Z and seeing a crisp Z, if you know what I mean.
I am also light sensitive this afternoon. Doc predicted that the light sensitivity should pass in a week or so.
Doc sees a few white blood cells gathering on the left eye, so he says to use Econopred drops every two hours to address that. I also continue to use other drops and meds. Will return Monday.
I am VERY light sensitive this bright Saturday afternoon after the contacts are removed. Had to ride in the car with my eyes closed most of the time, and I left my sunglasses on in a restaurant at lunch. At times Saturday afternoon, I can’t even watch TV (IRL race) with the shades drawn and sunglasses on, but it gets better as the day passes. By 5:00 p.m. or so, that issue seems to have resolved a great deal.
My neighbor had a different kind of Laser procedure done that just cuts on the cornea surface with no flap opened, and he said he basically sat in the dark for a week with sunglasses on. And it hurt like heck the whole time. Ouch!
I had a little foreign-body sensation in the left eye Saturday afternoon, but the right eye was great, and the left FBS went away this evening. No extraordinary dryness.
Saturday night: I watched the Phoenix Nascar race (Jeff Burton fan) and noticed that my vision got better and better (!!) during the night. The fonts on the TV got more and more crisp. I think I could read Doc's eye charts much better at midnight than I did at noon today.
At this early point, I think the enhancement was well worth the mild discomfort and time. (No extra $; enhancements were free for one year.)
My right eye tonight is already catching up with the left in clarity, and I hope it gets there, because I am a right-eyed shooter. It can take several days or weeks for all the flap swelling to go down and best vision to settle in.
So far, so good! No more danged glasses.
Doc predicted I might need reading glasses immediately afterwards if he corrected for best distance vision (reading glasses will be required eventually anyway; Lasik does not fix that), but so far I can read fine with my 41 year old Lasik-corrected and enhanced eyes.
P.S. I don't know if it helps, but to fight dry-eye (a common, temporary Lasik side-effect) I have been using Restasis (prescription drops), liquid Flax Seed Oil, and TheraTears Nutrition For Dry Eyes (pills made of fish oil, Vitamin E, and flax-seed oil). I figure it's worth the few $$ to buy this stuff and maybe avoid dry eyes, even if the TheraTears sometimes makes me burp fish taste if not taken with a full meal.
I also use Systane eye drops as needed. Put some in the refrigerator for soothing comfort.