Previous LASIK post here (Pre-surgery). Read next LASIK post here (Day 2).

First off, LASIK hurts. Whereas I felt only an odd discomfort while having PRK (as the doctor scuffed away the top layer of cells in my eyes), my Mom complained that the cutting itself was rather painful. In my opinion they did not allow enough time for the valium to kick in before taking her off to the surgery room. This may have caused her to be more aware of the pain than normal.

I was not able to go into the room with my Mom, but when she came outside she was very unstable and highly medicated. They had to tape her right eye shut to promote healing and reduce the chance that the corneal flap could become dislodged. She thought that this meant that the doctors had “made a mistake” and she was clearly shaken and worried. We brought her to the car (with her sunglasses on) and she started complaining of burning pain in both eyes. Her and I drove home immediately and sent a friend to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription for Vigamox. She went straight to bed with her goggles on and slept for almost 5 hours. The doctors advised her to close her eyes as much as possible following the surgery.

When she awoke we began her eye drop regimen. My Mom was unable to do the drops herself, so I had her lay down and open her one untaped eye so that I could put them in for her. I called the doctor’s office to ask what I should do with the taped eye- they said to let her sleep as long as possible, then remove the tape starting at the eyebrow and pulling gently downward. They told me to have my Mom look downward to prevent any jarring of her eye as I was doing this. By following their directions I was able to remove the tape, although it did leave a sticky residue that we could not remove without agitating the eye area.

My Mom stayed in my dark bedroom for the rest of the evening and continued to complain about searing pain until she finally dropped off to sleep after taking 3 advils. She was not giving any specific pain medication by the doctor (whereas after PRK I had been given a prescription for oxy). I will update again tomorrow morning.