I've been wearing glasses since I can remember, which is well into my seventh year. I had them on my nose for twenty-three years.
They were the first thing I reached for as soon as I woke up and the last thing I put on my bedside table before going to sleep. I was unable to exist without them, due to the fact that I had very high myopia - minus six diopters.
And although I had settled on the fact that I was doomed to wear glasses for the rest of my life, and my face looked not too bad in them, I was always looking for alternatives.
I started using contact lenses at the age of sixteen. Then came university and a lot of poring over books. Reading through the night and the student's often unhygienic lifestyle meant that my eyesight began to deteriorate. In addition, I developed corneal erosion and was forced to give up contact lenses in favour of glasses.
While still at university, the idea of performing laser vision correction was born. At that time, in 2005, it was a relatively new method of treating visual impairment in Poland. In ophthalmology classes, when I asked one of the lecturers about this method of treatment, he spoke with great reserve about it.
In addition, the price of the procedure was hardly affordable for a student's pocket. All this made me put off the thought of laser vision correction for an unspecified "later".
When I started working, situations where glasses were a hindrance brought the thought of the procedure back. I was fed up with perpetually fogged-up glasses while wearing a mask in the operating theatre.
The glasses also proved to be quite a problem during CPR - they were forever slipping off the nose while chest compressions were being performed. Besides, I had simply had enough of them!
And as I started to earn decently, the thought of a correction became a reality.
I consulted a specialist - an ophthalmologist with many years of experience, with whom I had the opportunity to work in the operating theatre. He told me that major advances had been made in refractive surgery - the femtosecond laser had been introduced, which greatly improved the safety of the procedure.
He also recommended the Blikpol Clinic in Sopot to me as the only place with a laser of this type. Without a moment's hesitation, I called and made an appointment.
On 23 November 2015, the day of my surgery, I felt a huge sense of excitement. The thought that I would no longer need glasses to live was making me giddy. It was my dream, and at the same time imagining my life without glasses was so abstract as to be unrealistic.
I was not at all afraid of the procedure itself. I read on the Clinic's website that it is performed under local anaesthetic and is almost painless. After crossing the threshold of the Clinic, I was taken under the tender and professional care of the staff. On the day of the procedure, I also met Dr Czuszynski, who, after examining me, explained like a doctor to a doctor what the procedure would involve.
Finally came the moment of the operation. During the procedure itself, I was quite calm, although I had deliberately refused hydroxyzine premedication beforehand. The operating theatre staff explained every step of the procedure.
The minor discomfort accompanying the procedure, related to pressure on the eyeball or a pinching sensation, seemed no price to pay for living without glasses. The procedure itself lasted perhaps ten minutes. Although I am not sure about that, due to the excitement, which may have disturbed my sense of time....
I went home and went to bed. I was looking forward to the morning when I would no longer have to reach for my glasses. When I woke up, my vision was not perfectly sharp and I felt a burning sensation in my eyes, but almost every hour I noticed an improvement in my visual acuity and the discomfort became less and less severe.
If I had to undergo the procedure again, I would take about 2-3 days off work after the procedure. During this period, vision is not ideal, the harsh light is quite unpleasant for the eyes. In addition, the cornea needs a few days to "come to itself".
The first week after the procedure, I learned to live without my glasses. There were still times when I would look for them with my hand on my bedside table, just after waking up. I also had moments when I wanted to correct them on my nose. Several times I caught myself forgetting that I no longer needed them. My life changed a lot after the procedure.
I can work in the operating theatre in a surgical mask without restraint. Ordinary everyday situations, such as pulling a shirt over my head, are no longer a problem.
When going on holiday in warm countries, I no longer need to get contact lenses to wear sunglasses. And besides, everyone tells me that it's only without my glasses that you can see what nice, big eyes I have 🙂 .
I would recommend both the laser correction and the Blikpol Clinic, and the laser correction at the Blikpol Clinic in general 🙂 I would also recommend the laser correction at the Blikpol Clinic.