Head Like a Hole
Published July 17th, 2007My head is full of holes. OK not an abnormal amount, but one needs to be filled and another couple need to be…altered.
Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in too long. Painless, since it was just a quick check and some x-rays. Turns out I have a small cavity that will need filling. Damn. Stupid teeth. So I get that hole fixed next week. I’m not looking forward to that at all.
The other doctor I visited is a laser eye surgeon. He was highly recommended. Anyway, the idea was to go in and see if LASIK was an option. They did some quick tests on my eyes and then the doctor sat down with me to talk about the results. I was about to get pretty upset when basically the first thing he said was “You’re not a good candidate for LASIK…” He explained that I was borderline for it since my corneas (like almost everything else about me, I guess) are on the thin side. Since they cut a flap into the eye and then laser down the area behind it, you need a certain amount of thickness. I don’t quite have enough for comfort. Legally he could do it, but he said it was borderline. So no LASIK for me.
Luckily, before I got so depressed that I tuned him out, he said I could have PRK (or ASL, or ASA). Basically they do the same thing they do for LASIK except, no flap. They’d just laser down the surface of the eye. So what’s the catch, right? Well, where LASIK recovery is usually pretty painless and on the order of about 3 days….PRK patients experience more discomfort and recovery is more like 5-7 days. I’ll be having the surgery on a Friday, and taking off the entire following week. That would give me about 9 days of recovery time.
So yep, no more eyeglasses for me. I’m going to let a machine shoot a laser into my eyes and burn away tissue. Sounds brilliant right? I’m pretty anxious, eyes make me very uncomfortable (as some of you know) so this is all a little freaky for me. But, in the long run, I’ll have to worry about them less. And I really want to be able to see without glasses, for a variety of reasons.
So, August 3rd is the “big day” - I sorta can’t wait.
Sorry the Lasik didn’t work out, but it sounds like the alternative will be good.
At least your dentist doesn’t have the Enya CD on “repeat.”
I am sorry you need this more than some and happy you are almost looking forward to it.
Sounds exciting - I guess one laser is as good as another, right? Good luck!
wow! you are brave! my hero! :o)
j.j.
Good luck with the surgery man!
Just for curiosity sake, you should take a close up picture of your eye before and after, just to see if there is a visual difference.
Also, you got balls dude. I would not be able to sit through that. Hell, I had to be put on Valium just to have my teeth cleaned at the dentist this week. :-/
Damn, I wish they’d give me valium for teeth stuff. But I will definitely be taking the valium for the eye surgery…