My Lasik experience

Disclaimer – I have no financial interest in Sharpe Vision.  I don’t care if you go there or not.  I’m just telling you about my Lasik experience.

Introduction

I’m typing this the day after my Lasik surgery.  I had wanted Lasik over 10 years ago, but just wasn’t comfortable with the very low probability of things going wrong.  I eventually decided to do it this year because so many of my friends and coworkers had done it lately that I felt it was time.  Plus, I have been traveling a lot lately and having to pack contact lens solution just plain sucks.

 

The choice of where to go

I’m sure everyone who has undergone Lasik has the opinion that their doctor is the best.  Well you have to take that with a grain of salt because they have no reference points.  It’s like when people say their mom makes THE BEST LASAGNA for instance.  So I did the next best thing – Yelp reviews!

The thing about Yelp reviews for service industries (plumbers, mechanics, doctors, etc) is that the reviews will either be 5 stars or 1 star.  If your doctor misdiagnoses you or your mechanic took 2 weeks to fix your card, BOOM!  1 STAR ON YELP!  If your mechanic got your car done quicker and cheaper than estimated, BOOM!  5 STARS ON YELP!   If your mechanic fixed your car and met your expectations, you don’t bother to give them a review on Yelp.  So what do you do?

You pick the top 3-5 locations with the highest number of 5 star reviews and read the 1-3 star reviews.  After that, you call them to see which one is cheapest.  I know some people will say, “You don’t want to cheapen out on something like this,” but if everything else is equal, then why not go with the cheapest option?

Anyway, I went and chose Sharpe Vision in Bellevue.  I mainly chose them because 1) they had a $1K off promo, 2) had a very nice looking office (newer facility and hopefully newer equipment) and 3) sponsors the Seattle Sounders soccer team (I don’t really care about the Sounders, but if he screws up a Sounders player’s vision, there goes his practice.)

 

Initial Consultation

I did the initial consultation back in October because that’s when my 2016 health care selections were due.  Most insurance companies won’t cover LASIK, so you’ll have to put money in your FSA (flexible spending account) to pay for it.  There is a federal max of $2,550 in 2016 on how much you can put into your FSA and it may not be enough to fully cover your surgery.  Let’s be clear here – you are only saving your tax bracket * FSA amount, so if your tax bracket is 25%, then you’re saving $2,550 * 25% = $637 off your Lasik surgery.

The initial consultation was similar to a normal eye test and lasted an hour.  I never met the doctor that day, but I was okay with that.  My vision was -4 in both eyes give and take and that put me in the average of most people who attempt Lasik.  At the end, they said I was a good candidate for Lasik.  I then scheduled my appointment for January since that’s when my FSA kicks in.

 

Prior to surgery

Before the surgery, you’ll have to get 2 eyedrop prescriptions (mostly antibiotic drops.)  You’ll also need to get an over the counter eye drop as well to keep your eyes lubricated after surgery.

The FDA recommends you stop wearing contacts 2 weeks before the day of the surgery.  The Lasik place told me a week.  I decided 10 days was good enough for me (and that’s only because I found out about the FDA recommendation 10 days before surgery.)

You’ll also need to have someone drive you home after surgery.  Most people elect to do the surgery on a Friday so you have the weekend to rest.  I didn’t want to wait that long so had mine done on a Wednesday.  They say most people could return to work the day after surgery, and in hindsight, I could have done that, but instead, I decided to work from home the next day since I was worried about light sensitivity and starting at a monitor all day.

 

The actual surgery

On the day of the actual surgery, they measure your eyes one last time to make sure there aren’t any changes since the initial exam.  After that, the doctor came in and told me what was going to happen during the surgery.  They numb your eye 3 times and you have the option of taking valium before the surgery (who says no to valium?)

After that, I proceeded to a fancy room with fancy looking equipment.  I laid down on the chair, which was at a 180 degree flat bed angle (a little wider than most J seats.)  The doctor held my head down and put an eye patch over one eye.  He then used an instrument to hold my other eye open.  Then something happens in those 30 seconds and the doctor explained my vision would go black for a second.  I believe this is when they cut the flap in your cornea.  Then he repeated it on the other eye for another 30 seconds.

After that, he swung the table around to a 2nd machine.  This time, I stared at a red and green strobe light thing for about another 30 seconds.  Then on the 2nd eye.  He said I may smell something like hair burning, but I never did.  And that was it.  I was in that room for probably less than 5 minutes.  I stood up and my vision was blurry but it was better than before.  On the drive home, I was telling my buddy I could have probably driven home.  However, after 15 minutes, my vision got really bad, and I was glad I wasn’t driving.

 

The most painful part

When I got home at 7pm, I tried to sleep in bed, but it was very uncomfortable.  I tried to put ice packs over my eyes, but it didn’t help.  It wasn’t painful like onions or hot sauce in your eye.  It just felt very uncomfortable.  I could barely open my eyes.  I eventually put on the Serial podcast to help me sleep.  Eventually after 2 hours, I asked for 3 Advils and that was the last I remember.

I eventually woke up at 11pm and felt somewhat normal.  My vision was a bit blurry, like when you have boogers in your eyes.  However, you aren’t supposed to rub your eyes for a week.  I then put in the round of medicated drops and went back to bed.  Before I fell asleep, I checked my phone and the doctor texted me to see how I was doing at 9pm.  I thought that was a very nice unexpected gesture.  That in itself deserved 5 stars on Yelp.  Haha.

Day 2

Like I said before, I’m typing this the morning after my surgery.  My eyes can see 20/20 although it’s a bit blurry and I feel like I have boogers in my eyes.  This is normal and should go away in a few days.  So far, so good.  And like everyone who has done Lasik already will tell you, “I wish I had done this a long time ago.”

 

Addendum – I forgot to mention how much I paid.  I paid about $3400 all-in.  That was including the $1K discount that the office was running.  Other places were wanting about $4K total.  The office did have a $400 optional lifetime coverage, but I declined that since I read only 5% of people will need it later down the road.  Plus, I figured by that time, I’ll be wearing reading glasses anyway, so may as well wear bifocals.  I used my Discover 3% card and will send in the bill to my FSA to get $2,550 of it back as a check.  Total cost considering the tax savings would be around $2700 or so.