Tuesday, November 09, 2004
laser zapping update
Okay, I just heard back from the good doctor today. I would post his email reply, but I think that would probably break all sorts of ethical, legal, and regulatory statutes. The gist of it is this (paraphrased): "Don't worry, you'll get better as you continue to heal, it takes 3-6 months to fully recover from LASIK. You were at 20/15 (left) and 20/20 (right) a month ago, so long term results should be good."
I'm reminded of some of the ads that tell you how LASIK patients heal almost immediately. I think the marketing of LASIK needs some serious attention. I still hear ads on the radio and on TV that make it seem like: a) you are guaranteed to see better than you could ever see with glasses or contacts, b) you will recover from the surgery almost instantaneously, in a day or two tops, c) with your new eyes you will be able to see through walls and women's clothing, and shoot lasers out of your eyes at bad guys. Okay, that last one is a bit exaggerated, but the other two get thrown around all the time.
"Throw away your glasses," they all say. While it's true that I no longer need glasses, I have not yet thrown them away. I really don't know why. They will do me no good, unless I feel nostalgic for that warm, "fuzzy" (get it?) feeling of being nearly blind. I threw away my contacts, but they were disposable. I never really wore glasses, only on my way from the bathroom to bed and back. Do I still get to symbolically throw them away? As for recovery, it's important to note that there are different levels of "recovery." Yes, in a sense, you recover very quickly. You can open your eyes the same day, light rays will enter your eyes, your brain will interpret those light rays into images of some sort. But when you really consider that your vision will fluctuate, your night vision might be awful, your eyes might be very dry, and you might be very sensitive to light, all for a period of 3-6 months or more, well, their definition of "recovery" doesn't really make sense, now does it?
As you know, it's been two months and one day. Things are indeed getting better for me. I can now "rub my eyes vigorously." Ahhhh...But I realize now that recovery is still incomplete. I specifically chose Dr. G because his office did not have those crazy ad campaigns with all the unsubstantiated claims. And I did enough homework beforehand to at least have an idea about what the next few months would hold. But there are countless others out there, spending thousands of dollars to get their eyes zapped every day, whose expectations will never be met. As Mr. T would say, "I pity the fool."
¶ monger187 wrote this on 11/09/2004
I'm reminded of some of the ads that tell you how LASIK patients heal almost immediately. I think the marketing of LASIK needs some serious attention. I still hear ads on the radio and on TV that make it seem like: a) you are guaranteed to see better than you could ever see with glasses or contacts, b) you will recover from the surgery almost instantaneously, in a day or two tops, c) with your new eyes you will be able to see through walls and women's clothing, and shoot lasers out of your eyes at bad guys. Okay, that last one is a bit exaggerated, but the other two get thrown around all the time.
"Throw away your glasses," they all say. While it's true that I no longer need glasses, I have not yet thrown them away. I really don't know why. They will do me no good, unless I feel nostalgic for that warm, "fuzzy" (get it?) feeling of being nearly blind. I threw away my contacts, but they were disposable. I never really wore glasses, only on my way from the bathroom to bed and back. Do I still get to symbolically throw them away? As for recovery, it's important to note that there are different levels of "recovery." Yes, in a sense, you recover very quickly. You can open your eyes the same day, light rays will enter your eyes, your brain will interpret those light rays into images of some sort. But when you really consider that your vision will fluctuate, your night vision might be awful, your eyes might be very dry, and you might be very sensitive to light, all for a period of 3-6 months or more, well, their definition of "recovery" doesn't really make sense, now does it?
As you know, it's been two months and one day. Things are indeed getting better for me. I can now "rub my eyes vigorously." Ahhhh...But I realize now that recovery is still incomplete. I specifically chose Dr. G because his office did not have those crazy ad campaigns with all the unsubstantiated claims. And I did enough homework beforehand to at least have an idea about what the next few months would hold. But there are countless others out there, spending thousands of dollars to get their eyes zapped every day, whose expectations will never be met. As Mr. T would say, "I pity the fool."
¶ monger187 wrote this on 11/09/2004
