I'm a 2011 Computer Science undergraduate at University of Waterloo. My background includes internships at IBM, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft. I suppose I am an entrepreneur: in my free time, I like dreaming ideas and creating things (e.g Kurrently, Mama Translation). One of the craziest things I did was participate in the 7 Cubed Project. Not too many people know about this, but I was Time's Person of the Year in 2006. I use to tumblog videos and pictures, but now I do that through Facebook (subscribe!).
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
I recently had a LASIK operation and would like to share my thoughts on the procedure in a FAQ format.
How much was it?
About $2500 CAD for both eyes at LASIK MD. I did custom wavefront, which is more advance than normal LASIK. I think I could’ve done normal LASIK for about $2200.
Why?
Playing sports with glasses sucks. Also, I had two weeks to kill in Vancouver.
Isn’t it dangerous?
I personally didn’t think so. Basically, you have a much higher chance of crashing and dying, winning the lottery, getting struck by lightning, etc. then becoming blind from a LASIK procedure.
But what if?
But what if you went outside today and almost get struck by lightning? Would you blame yourself for being an idiot for choosing to walk outside?
Most people find LASIK scary because they can clearly associate the action resulting in a disaster. Logically speaking though, you can associate to any action you take in life to an improbable debacle. Does that mean you shouldn’t do anything in life, ever?
Don’t let your own irrational fear fool you.
What about the complications?
Their pamphlets convinced me that most complications are fixable.
Dry eyes is a problem and everyone should evaluate carefully, though. In general, it’s expected that ones’ eyes become dryer than usual post surgery. I paid $150 to get my tear ducts plugged, but that has yet to solve the problem. It has been three weeks since the procedure and I am putting drops into my eyes every hour or so. Part of the issue is that I work my eyes really hard on a daily basis. I am not kidding when I say I stare at a computer monitor 16+ hours a day and that’s likely the true culprit of the problem.
The issue is suppose to go away in a few months, but in the mean time, I will have to bear the consequences. If you stare at the monitor a lot, or you already have dry eyes to begin with, think twice before doing LASIK.
Does it hurt?
I spent four hours at the clinic and sixty seconds on the operating table. I felt pressure on my eyes for no more than ten seconds, but I wouldn’t say the rest of the procedure was extremely comfortable.
As long as you’re not one to have panic attacks, the operation should be fine. LASIK MD gives people a bit of tranquilizer before the surgery, anyways, so it should be alright.
In my opinion, the more you trust your surgeon and the procedure, the less likely you’ll freak out. LASIK MD was professional throughout the process and I urge anyone to pay more for more trustworthy service. Also, if you can’t convince yourself that the procedure isn’t dangerous, don’t do it. You’ll just spend months afterwards second guessing yourself.
Anything else?
Do the procedure in Canada. I did a quick price check for San Francisco and it came to at least double the price of that up north.
Also, make sure to schedule plenty of rest after the procedure. First night’s vision will be blurry. Second day’s vision will be perfect, but irritating. I’d suggest a long weekend at the minimum.
Feel free to ask me anything.
