The Route to Perfect Eyesight

I had glasses since I was 8 and my prescription was as high as 650 for each eye, with pretty bad astigmatism of 250. Without my glasses I was lost and blind. Many times I tried switching to contact lenses but to no avail since it caused dryness and none of the opticians could get my presciption right.

Lasik has been around in Singapore for a good 17 years or so. When it first began, prices per eye were sky-high and I guess I resigned myself to the fate of wearing glasses for my entire life. It was fine wearing glasses till I started work about a year ago. Long exposure to computer light rays irritated my eyesight further. I suffered from frequent migraines and my eyes became extremely sensitive to light. There was nothing much my optician could do as he said I had normal, healthy eyes - that was comforting.

Hence, on the 20th June 2009 I went for a Lasik forum at the Paragon Medical Centre held by the Lasik Surgery Clinic. It is one of the more established clinics with the latest surgical machines in Singapore. To be honest, it sounded scary. The clinic offered a free evaluation eye check-up which I went for the next day and that was the day I plucked up courage and decided to have Lasik (on the very day itself).

I was tearing a lot right after the surgery (my cousin, Sue, had surgery too but she was feeling so well that she returned home to do some chores) and could barely open my eyes. Thank goodness I was prescribed 2 sleeping pills to help me sleep for the first 2 nights. It was painless. It just felt like I was too sleepy (imagine being severely jet-lagged) to keep my eyes open.

Overwhelmed by excitment, I woke up at 530am the very next day to "test" my eye-sight. It was close to perfection! I won't have a full recovery till 3-6 months later, but for now I can very much continue with my lifestyle without any hinderance. Every now and then, my ability to see perfectly fluctuates. Sitting in front of the computer or TV for extended period of time during the healing period may cause my vision to get slightly blurry so I try to walk around my office more (gives me the opportunity for more toilet breaks and not work till late at night!).

I won't be able to swim for the next month or so just to prevent any eye infection.

Goodbye glasses and contact lenses (till I get hyperopia!!!).