If you’ve decided to cross Lasik surgery off of your bucket list, congratulations! It’s life-changing, especially if you’ve worn glasses or contacts for most of your life. While you may have to pay for a substantial portion of the surgery due to insurance not covering, the pros generally outweigh the cons from most perspectives.
After you’ve researched it, made sure that you are a candidate, and scheduled your procedure, you’re almost in the home stretch. The only thing left is to get it done!
Even though it’s a quick and painless surgery, it’s normal to be anxious about getting it done. To help you prepare for your vision correction surgery, here’s a list of some helpful tips to get you prepared for your Lasik procedure.
A Few Weeks Before Surgery
First of all, make sure you know what your insurance coverage options are. If your plan will cover even a small portion of the procedure, it’s worth it to pursue!
After your procedure, you’re going to need someone else to drive you home. After the Lasik surgery, you might still be experiencing the effects of the medicine used during the procedure, plus your vision could be blurry or it might take you time to adjust to the change in vision. Make sure you take the time to enlist a friend or family member to drive you home.
Arrange to take a few days off of work. Some people do return to work the next day, but most surgeons suggest taking a couple of days to rest. Keep your expectations realistic, and let yourself heal. It’s especially important if your job is outdoors or involves dust or dirt, as you’ll need to keep your eyes as clean as possible.
If you wear soft contacts, you should stop wearing them two weeks before your scheduled surgery to make sure that your corneas are stable, and switch to glasses if needed.
Hard contacts can cause more significant corneal changes. If you wear hard contacts, you should stop wearing them at least four weeks before your procedure.
If you use contacts to correct astigmatism, you should stop wearing them at least three weeks before your scheduled surgery.
The Day Before Your Lasik Surgery
Make sure that you remove all makeup and lotions from the areas around your eyes. Do not use any eye creams, either.
Some surgeons will tell you to thoroughly wash your eyes to flush any debris from them, to prevent any chance of infection.
If you have any last-minute questions come up, make sure you write them down so that you will not forget to ask before the procedure.
The Day of Your Procedure
Don’t wear any makeup, face lotions, or any perfume or cologne.
Arrive with plenty of time to spare. The actual Lasik surgery doesn’t take very long, but you need to make sure you arrive early to fill out paperwork or take care of any other intake procedures.
There’s no reason to fast before your procedure, but you shouldn’t drink alcohol prior to your surgery.
If you regularly take any medications, you should still do so on the day of your Lasik, unless your surgeon tells you otherwise.
Dress casual and comfortable, so that you won’t need to change once your surgery is done and you return home to rest. Don’t wear anything that sheds, like fabrics with loose fibers or faux/real fur.
Relax! It’s extremely normal to be anxious about your Lasik procedure, but it’s important to remember that it’s going to be a quick and painless procedure. If you feel like you really need it, you can ask your surgeon for anti-anxiety medication to help you stay as calm as possible.
Kat Sweet
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