Helen asks…
i have three weeks before i start my new job. what can i do in the meantime to take advantage of my time off?
i have 3 weeks left before i start my new job. i want to take advantage of this time to do stuff that i normally can't do while i'm working. i'm thinking things like: grow a beard, go on a long cruise vacation, change my hair color temporarily, let me hair grow out, undergo elective surgery that requires long recovery time (like lasik eye surgery, etc.). anyone else have good ideas? i've always wanted a long vacation, and now that i have it, i feel like i don't know what to do.
oh, and one complicating factor -- i have two very young kids at home, so my ability to just get up and go is quite limited. (although, spending more quality time with my kids is a good way to spend the next few weeks)
admin answers:
A cruise is fun ! I have been on 2 and they were the best vacations of my life ! They have plenty of stuff for kids to do, including day camps where they keep your kids entertained while you relax !
Susan asks…
has anyone had lasik eye surgery?
what was it like? what was the recovery time?
admin answers:
I had it last summer in Ottawa. The worst part was waiting outside the surgery room for 45 min. Waiting for my turn. It wasn't that expensive, only $1200.00 American. The surgery only takes about five minutes for both eyes, but my wife had to drive me home. By the time we got home the pain was totally gone (probably about 1 1/2 hours). The pain isn't even that bad, just feels dry and scratchy. I got it done in Canada because it was cheaper. Lasik MD at 42 Elgin st. In Ottawa. I would definitely recommend it.
William asks…
Has anyone had PRK eye surgery? (not LASIK)?
I'm going in for mine next Thursday, and I'm nervous. I've read alot about it, on here and elsewhere, but, I could really use some testimonials from people who have gone thru it. Is it terrifying? How much pain is involved? What if I get scared and move? What is a realistic recovery time? Thanks in advance! :)
admin answers:
Hi QueenSupreme. I had PRK in mid June. I was nervous too. I did get a Valium before my PRK and that did help the anxiety quite a bit.
1) Is it terrifying? Honestly, the THOUGHT was more terrifying than the actual procedure. Just like you've probably heard other people say "it's not as bad as I thought it would be"...ya just do not believe it til you've been through it.
2) How much pain is involved? During the procedure...none! Your surgeon will give you some numbing eyedrops a few seconds before he starts to position you. I tell ya...he tested to make sure they were working...5-10 seconds...no pain at all. I did have a tickling pressure sensation as he was removing the epithelium with this funny little thing that reminded me of the tooth polisher at the dentist lol It tickled a bit, but absolutely no pain. Recovery time was a little more uncomfortable, but my surgeon prescribed some Vicodin to take and gave me some numbing drops to use if it was just unbearable. The only time I used the drops was when I accidentally hit my eye with my artificial tear dropper (darn cat scared me). It was quite tolerable otherwise with scheduled tylenol and motrin every 4 hours alternating.
Your surgeon will probably hold your head while the laser is doing its thing. Just keep your eye on that little light...you will see it getting clearer and clearer!! The techs counted down the time...60 seconds per eye...in 10 second increments. You won't be able to blink...they use this thing to hold your eye open...but once again, you feel absolutely nothing. After the laser is done, you will most likely get a drop of this stuff called Mitomycin-C...this is to help prevent postsurgery haze...I had it and never had a problem with it. 20 seconds, then your surgeon will rinse with plain saline, then place a no power contact lens as a bandage while the epithelium heals...that's it...literally only about 5 minutes later...repeat other eye...10 minutes and when you get up from that table, you will be able to see! I started crying.
3) What if I get scared and move? Your surgeon will probably hold your head still. It's actually quite comforting. If you're real nervous, ask and see if they can do that for you.
4) what is a realistic recovery time? Day one, you're not gonna feel too much discomfort...go home and sleep. Days 2-4 were the more uncomfortable for me with mostly burning and dry eyes. I started taking tylenol and motrin alternately every 4 hours aftre I woke from my nap...about 36 hours later I ended up taking a vicodin and just threw that into the mix whenever I couldn't tolerate it.
You will find that days 2-7 your vision will be more cloudy and hazy, but starting around day 8, that fuzziness will start to clear. At my six week followup appointment, I was already seeing 20/20 + in each eye...and could actually read about 1/2 of the 20/15 line.
You should have your first postop appointment between day 1 and 4. They keep the "bandage" contact lens in for 3-4 days, then they remove it when they are sure the epithelium has grown over. You will find that working on the computer or reading is gonna be a little difficult the first couple of weeks, so take frequent breaks...and if you do not have a job where you need to work on a computer, that's even better :) I was back to computer distance vision in about 3 weeks...my near vision healed slower than my far vision.
Here I am...now about 11 weeks out, seeing more clearly than I ever have, only dry eye is because of my allergies, still pretty light sensitive but have been my whole life (as close to normal as I can tell), and I would do it all over again if I went back in time.
Best of luck and you're gonna love the result...just be patient, you'll be seeing pretty good in about 3-4 weeks if you heal fast (my surgeon called me 'atypical' cause I healed real fast...more than most people do). I hope this helps and I know your nervous {{{{hugs!!}}}} I was scared to death! But you'll see that it is so worth it in the end.
George asks…
What is the advantages of LASEK over LASIK?
I am going to get corrective surgery and my doctor said that I am a candidate for both. He said that maybe LASEK would be better for me but it is a much longer recovery time. So I was wondering if there is any advantages to have Lasek over lasik?
admin answers:
Lasek corrective surgery is probably the better way to go -
It is better if your cornea is on the thin side.-
It is a newer method than Lasik - but seems to have better results - especially if your cornea is on the thin side.
I would go with what your opthomoligist suggests is the best way.
Joseph asks…
Labia reduction surgery?
I experience such pain and discomfort throughout the day because of my long labia. It's so painful wearing jeans and can also become painful during sex. I want to get labia reduction surgery to fix this problem although I haven't asked my gyno about it yet. My concern is that it won't be covered by my insurance, I have pretty good health insurance that will fully cover things such as lasik eye surgery if it is recommended by the doctor. I was wondering what the qualifications for this surgery are according to the doctor's perspective because I really believe I need it to get rid of the pain all together. Also what the procedure entails (ex. anesthetic used, time of recovery, where the surgery is ofter performed ; hospital, gyno office, etc).
admin answers:
The procedure is called a "Labiaplasty" and you can google that. There are plastic surgeons who perform it that have websites you can visit.
I have little information on it except for a documentary I watched. The slant of the documentary was against the procedure as far as getting women to accept their own bodies / love themselves ect. It did include footage of the procedure being done on a friend of the person doing the documentary though. I think she did a fairly good job presenting allot of objective information even if the overall point of the movie was to dissuade women from getting the procedure done. It's only an hour long and its available to watch online for free.
One of the websites I found offering the video said that the procedure costs roughly 3,000 British pounds. Not sure what year that number is for, or if the price would be roughly the same if converted to U.S. Dollars.
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