Saying goodbye to contact lenses and spectacles with Optimax Lasik

As I bade 2009 goodbye, I am also bidding my cumbersome, thick, ugly, very expensive spectacles goodbye. As I welcome 2010, I am welcoming vision freedom because I also do not need to wear any more contact lenses.

A few friends have said that they also want to carry out lasik eye surgery but are quite apprehensive about the procedure. Well, today I am going to have my lasik surgery at Optimax Eye Specialist in Penang. I promised them I will come back and tell them how fast and easy it is.

One day before Christmas eve, I will have my lasik but I will have normal vision within 24 hours. According to the eye doctor, I actually can see clearly immediately after lasik except that I need to wear sunglasses to shield my eyes from the glare.

So, on Christmas Eve evening, I am all ready to go out already. That’s what Custom All-laser-lasik is all about. I am told that it is just a few minutes procedure carried out using advanced high precision laser call the Femtosecond Laser.

Before I write about the procedure, let me note down the two consultations I have gone through.

First consultation
I was asked to lay off contact lenses before the optometrist can check my cornea thickness. I can either lay off the lense on the spot or come in with glasses. They need to see if my eyes are suitable for lasik. I underwent several tests and was found suitable for lasik surgery.

Optimax showed me a video on lasik surgery and the optometrist sat down with me to have a Q&A session with me. I can ask her all the things I need to know. I was also given a set of quiz-like list to make sure that I know what lasik is.

Second consultation

On my second visit, I was asked to lay off contact lenses for two weeks. It was so hard for me to get used to wearing spectacles as my spec is a multi-focal one and I have problem adjusting.
This time, I see an ophthalmologist or eye doctor who is going to carry out the surgery. She carried out even more tests and make all the necessary measurements and etc. These are all recorded into their customized wavefront system to optimize the result.

Bad eye infection
I have been wearing spectacles since I was 10 years old and I started wearing contact lenses when I was 20 years old. A couple of years ago, I had a very bad eye infection which could become severe if I had not seek an eye specialist because the cornea could rot! It was a scary moment for me. Both my optometrist and eye specialist warned me that I must never wear my contact lenses for too long. If the infection was too severe, I could even lose my eyesight.

Short-sighted, far-sighted, astigmatism
However, I have a bad habit of forgetting to take off my contact lenses. I usually wore more than the 8 hours they limit me. So, lasik seems like the best option for me or anyone who hates switching contact lenses and spectacles. I do not want another episode of ‘eye rot’ problem again.

But, my problem is not only short-sightedness. I also have reading problems because I have what people call ‘old flower eye’. I can’t read small prints, I can’t see the plate of foods in front of my eyes clearly (you will know how agonizing it is to not able to see foods you are eating clearly when you are older) and many other sight problems.
My eyesight problems will be corrected by the Custom All-laser-lasik. After consulting both eye specialists at Optimax, I decided to opt for the mono-vision method. I am used to mono-vision as I had my sight corrected with contact lenses using this method.

But with the advanced technology, you can have multi-focal lasik as well. I am so amazed that lasik can take care that.
Is this normal eyesight permanent?
My short-sightedness, i.e. looking at things at a distance is not likely to get any worse. However, in another 10 or 15 years, I may have problems reading tiny prints again. By then, I can easily get reading glasses as I would be almost 60 years old LOL. The question of vanity and not letting people know I have ‘old flower eye’ may not be such a big deal anymore.

Sayonara, school teacher look!
I am most excited about not needing my spectacles anymore. My eye ‘power’ or whatever you call that numbers are very high. One side is 475 and the other 500. I need to pay a lot to get those expensive glasses to make it thinner. A pair of my spectacles cost RM1,600 and usually they don’t last long or I get tired of the design.

I hate looking at myself in spectacles because I look like a school teacher. I cannot get my eye make-up done right.

The other thing is taking photos with DSLR camera because I need to see in the viewfinder. The piece of glass usually distort my view.

Lastly, I can forget all about taking out my ‘eye’ (I refer to my contact lenses) and cleaning them, storing and wearing each morning.

So, let me get my lasik done today and I will give you a full review of what Optimax Lasik is all about.