I was a nervous patient. Frankly the idea of having my eyeballs zapped with lasers and trusting my eyesight to a bunch of fancy computer controlled machines in the hands of a surgeon terrified me a little. But, on the other hand I had seen LASIK in operation for decades now and it seemed like it is safe and it works.So I had a free consultation with Clemson Eye. They made it very clear that they would not do surgery on my eyes if I was not a good candidate for LASIK. They are more interested in your outcome and their reputation than they are in just getting another customer! That meant a lot to me.After my exam, I was told that I was an ideal candidate for LASIK. I could not see farther than a couple of feet away before things got very blurry, but I could read my phone and papers up close.They explained that LASIK would compromise my very close up vision, but I would be able to see mid-distance and far-distance exceptionally clear and I would only need inexpensive readers that you can buy for $5 at a drug store without prescription to help me see up close.On the day of the surgery, I was nervous, but you are given an anti-anxiety medicine that relaxes you and the procedure is very quick and completely painless. I was worried if I would see anything that freaked me out, because the idea of anything messing with your eyes is a little freaky, but you cannot see much since it is too close to focus on.When the actual surgery was done, it took about 8 seconds for each eye. As soon as it was over, I could already see better. My vision was sharp, but it was like I had been swimming in a chlorinated pool all day. There were "halos" and kind of a haze around all the lights. But I could SEE at any distance.I went home, took a nap. Got up and already my vision was getting very clear. By the next morning - approximately 24 hours after my surgery, my vision was 20/20 and although there was some haze, I could see well.A week later, and I have almost NO haze, 20/15 vision. (That means I can be 20 feet away, and see what most people see when they are only 15 feet away. So I am better than perfect if you look at it that way!)I am probably 99% of where I will end up by the end of the month. I am thrilled with my outcome. I see clearly from about 2 feet out all the way to the moon! I use reading glasses to read small print up close.The staff at Clemson Eye are exceptional. Dr. Brown and I hit it off very well. He and I spent way too much time telling each other college stories and laughing with one another. Victoria was my go-to person for the nitty-gritty details and she helped walk me through the process so I didn't have any surprises. Mandy answered any additional questions and everyone there was amazing. Dr. Parisi did my actual surgery and he was outstanding. I felt very comfortable with him in the operating room and I felt confident that he was doing everything to achieve the best outcome possible.Recovery is quick and easy for LASIK. A bunch of drops in your eyes, and a week sleeping with goggles to make sure you don't rub your eyes in the middle of the night. Otherwise, it is virtually zero hassle.I haven't had ANY dry eyes or other issues.There are other procedures that are rougher - an ablative surgery that actually takes longer to recover from and my friend had his eyes done the same day but he had a different prescription than I do and it has taken him a little longer to get his vision stabilized and consistent, still he is only looking at about 2 weeks before he should be at the same place as me.I was very nervous before I did this, and I'm VERY HAPPY with my outcome. I did a lot of research and knew that there were a lot of things that can happen, but I also learned that most of the dry eyes and halo issues come from older machines and older technology. Clemson Eye is using the femtosecond laser that is the latest tech as far as I am aware right now. It lets them cut very thin flaps and minimizes the recovery time and possible side effects.I am thrilled with my experience.
