Done with LASIK

 'Personal', daily life  No Responses »
Aug 242011
 

Over a year ago I decided to check out laser eye surgery. What I initially heard and read about it was all very positive, so I went for it. On April 29th, 2010 I got my eyes lasered at Memira in Fredrikstad. This first treatment didn’t give me 100% sharp vision on both eyes, so in august and september 2010 I returned to have each eye lasered a 2nd time.
After all of this I still wasn’t at 100% sharp vision. Only right after an eye-drop in each eye I did experience ultra-sharp vision for a matter of seconds.

In november the cause of this all surfaced: some scarring in the eye.
It’s unclear to me whether they’d have given the ‘go-ahead’ to the procedure if they’d noticed the scarring during the initial examination. I’m also still a bit baffled why this scarring wasn’t noticed during the initial, and any of the subsequent check-ups.

Today I got the final word… Something I’d actually been expecting more or less already… ‘Your eyes are as good as they will get. We can’t make your eyesight any better than this‘.

In case you wonder:
Would I have done it, if I had known this all in advance? Yes… Even though I’m not at 100%, the treatment has definitely improved my ‘quality of life’ as it’s called.
If I could so it all over, would I have done it at Memira, or elsewhere? Memira! They’re a group of professional, friendly people. From the first welcoming smile from Svein Tindlind in april 2010 to the last charming smile from Benedicte Teien Jarem earlier today, the entire process has been relaxed, well-informed, and 100% pain free. (yes, it is true! You don’t feel a thing when that laser ‘pokes’ in your eye. However, you do smell it… :wink: )
Would I recommend it to others? Sure, but be sure the initial exam is a thorough one. Perhaps ask for a second opinion if there’s even the slightest doubt about the tiniest thing. Better safe than sorry… (to repeat: I am not sorry!)

Memira – the saga continues…

 daily life, minor ramblings  1 Response »
Sep 202010
 

(saga as in ‘long epic story’…)

Since it’s now about a month after round 2, it was time for another checkup at Memira in Fredrikstad.

For some reason I was not met by my regular optometrist, but by another one. Not that I care, as long as they know what they’re doing… :cool:
She read my file and I explained the current status (‘I see better with just my right eye than I do when using both eyes), and the first thing she asked was why I didn’t have both eyes done at round 2…
To which my reply was of course: ‘That wasn’t my decision, but yours…’
She’d check up with my ‘regular guy’ to find out why that had been decided, but she did agree that currently my left eye isn’t working the way it should and probably should have been treated during round 2 as well…
(She did not, however, measure the current strength at which my eyes are. Don’t know why… Wouldn’t that be an accurate way to determine why my current eyesight isn’t optimal?)

I guess/fear the next step will be a ’round 3′, and yet another visit to Oslo… I hope not though, because it will take me at least half a day (more likely a whole one).

I know their brochure mentions 5-10% needs a 2nd treatment, but it doesn’t say anything about that 2nd treatment being spread out over 2 sub-treatments and it being done at a different location…

I can still recommend refractive eye surgery to anyone though. These (minor) inconveniences/ramblings do not weigh up against the major advantage of not needing glasses anymore! :wink:

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Memira – round 2

 daily life, minor ramblings  1 Response »
Aug 022010
 

Tomorrow, about 3.5 months after my first procedure, I will begin another round at Memira.
My first round there did not result in the good/perfect vision I had hoped for. I knew this chance existed right from the start, as Memira clearly informs about it. They state that 5-10% of the people need an additional (free-of-charge) correction a couple of months after the first treatment.
And of course I, someone who never gets lucky in lotteries etc., do get ‘lucky’ here and am part of that 5-10%… :roll:

Luckily it’s only 1 of my eyes which needs correcting, so that should make it a little easier for me.
A minor PITA is that I have to go to Memira Oslo this time. It seems they have better equipment and expertise. (hmm, makes me wonder… What if I had had my first treatment in Oslo… Would I still have needed this 2nd round as well…?)
The checks are in Fredrikstad, so only 1 trip to Oslo is needed.

3 steps coming up:

  • Aug 3rd: ‘Pre-flight check’, to see if my eye sight has fully stabilized after the first round. This is a must for further treatment.
  • Aug 9th: The actual ‘boil my eyeball’ procedure. I get to enjoy the stench of my own eyeball burning again :cool:
  • Aug 10th: ‘Debriefing’, where they will verify all went well.

I hope that after this I finally get to enjoy something close to 20/20 vision, because I am getting a little tired of my ‘Summer of Blurrr‘… :neutral:

(It will also allow me to finally take the theory test for my driver’s license, since they take an eye test there.)

the Summer of Blurrr…

 'Personal'  No Responses »
Jul 012010
 

I would like to rectify my post I can see clearly now, because I still can’t!
It seems I am one of the unlucky 5-10% who needs a 2nd procedure to get the vision in tiptop shape… :-(

So on August 9th it’s off to Oslo (the clinic in Oslo is better equipped to help me) and hopefully after that I will finally see clear…
I can’t say I’ve been too happy with my vision the last couple of months. I can function in daily life, but everything is unsharp (my left eye is at 0, but my right/dominant eye is at +0.75). I’m looking forward to the day that I can see Jacob 100% clear again…

I can see clearly now…

 'Personal'  2 Responses »
May 012010
 

To quote our good friend Leendert (Leen) Huijzer (aka Lee Towers) ‘I can see clearly now!’!

Yes, last thursday was the day of my laser eye surgery! The good people at Memira Fredrikstad made the entire procedure a totally painless and quite pleasant experience.
Granted there was some slight discomfort during, and right after the procedure, but the dentist is 100x worse!

On arrival patient coordinator Mona Johnsen went through the entire procedure with me in a professional yet easygoing way. Since I had read on their site and Google’d the procedure as well she did not have much new to add but it was still good to have it all summed up.
She also offered me a valium which I did not turn down! :wink:
After that I had to wait for about 5 minutes (while enjoying a cup of coffee) and then it was my turn already. Surgeon Petter Pettersen and his assistant let me take place on the ‘operating table’. The entire procedure probably took less than 5 minutes, and is hard to describe since I did not see all that much. I know this sounds weird since I was 100% concious (only my eyeballs were sedated), but the only thing I do really remember was the burning smell when the laser was active on my eyeballs… :cool:
Yes, that sounds kinda gruesome, but you don’t feel anything so nothing to worry about here.
When that was over I was guided to a ‘quiet room’ where already 2 other patients were relaxing. Here I got to sit for about 30 minutes with my eyes closed before I was examined by Svein Tindlund who declared the entire procedure was a success!
All that remained was setting an appointment for a checkup the next day, and that was it!

Now it is about 2 days later and I have to admit I do not see 100% clear yet… My eyes do need some time to heal completely, but I am glasses-free! The sight is still a bit blurred, and outside I should wear sunglasses, but soon I will be able to see and do everything again without straining and/or blinking non-stop… I can hardly wait! :-)

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