OT
Olivia Tiller
Apr 30, 2018
It was SO worth it!
It's been so fantastic!
First off, I'm sorry to write you a book here - but it is a huge thing. These are our eyes, this our sight, and I would want to here all about it from someone if I were considering it. From my experience with TLC, I know I chose the best support team for me, and I hope my story helps you with your decision!
I went to Dr. Holzman, with TLC Eye Centers - decided on them because of their amazing Google reviews. They were very highly rated, and praised on their patient care, the quality of the patients' results, and their staff.
They had a free consultation, which was very thorough. They told me up front whether I was a candidate or not. They are not the cheapest pricing, but I was not looking for cheap, I thought, this is my vision, and I will pay for quality! However, they do completely bladeless Lasik, so every step is done with highly advanced, incredibly precise laser technology. So, to me, it was worth what I paid.
The staff was incredible. Very caring, very professional, and very conscientious, especially on surgery day. I wasn't anxious, as I had decided that this was definitely happening, but, I was apprehensive because I didn't know what to expect, and I was slightly nervous. The surgeon met with me right before the procedure and told me what to concentrate on to help myself get through the surgery in the best way possible. Concentrate on breathing, look where he told me to look, and just keep mentally checking in with myself to make sure I kept telling myself that I'm alright. Which was interesting, but apparently quite important. And during the procedure, he does talk to you and check-in with you as well, to see how you're doing after the different steps.
As far as my personal recovery...
The day of, I had no actual eye dryness or discomfort, but I did have some pretty bothersome occipital tissue irritation. From the instruments holding your eye open I think... The drops for helping to relieve dryness seemed to help. They give you a Xanax to help you stay calm through the procedure and to get you to take a nap afterwards, and when I woke up, all of that irritation was gone.
The most shocking thing to me, was that I could see right after he was finished. I was so happy! I was laughing and smiling and geeking-out in the operating room. It was unbelievable! I was just floored that I could see so well so quickly. The first couple of days especially were very emotional. I'm still not sure it has fully hit me yet that this is my new reality... that I can actually see on my own now...
The next day when I woke up, I had some swelling around my eyes, but, no pain, no dryness, no irritation. And when I went to my 1-day check-up, I had 20/20 vision at less than 24 hours post-op. They were highly impressed. Imagine what it's like for me! Here I am, pretty much blind before without my glasses. I'd worn contacts for 21 years, and I found out in one of my pre-op appointments, they had been starving my eyes for oxygen. And now, I can see better than I ever remember being able to see. I have usable peripheral vision for the first time in my adult life (they called me Eagle Eye when I was a little kid). And it hasn't even been a week! After the second day, I had no hazy-ness at all. And I feel like my eyes are my eyes. No weird loss of sensation or irritation or anything. It's becoming challenging to remember to do all of the drops I'm supposed to do during the day because they just feel so normal!
I was totally compliant with all of the drops, Rx and non-Rx for pre-op and post-op care. Because my eyes feel so good now, I set timers on my phone to remind me to get my drops in. I don't want to put any extra stress on my eyes or mess anything up. I make sure I do them, as it's only for a couple of weeks, and I will reap the benefits for the rest of my life.
So that's my story! I'm super happy I did it. It's life-changing. I chose good people to go on the journey with me, and I'm just incredibly grateful and incredibly pleased.