Are You Put To Sleep During Lasik Eye Surgery

Three Things To Do Following Lasik:

• Sleep is the best remedy for the initial post-op discomfort. Again, the most discomfort following LASIK usually occurs 2-3 hours after the numbing drops wear off from the procedure. When patients are able to get home relatively quickly and fall asleep, they tend to report little to no discomfort after LASIK.
• Use your eye drops. You will be given a prescription for two medicated eye drops to use after LASIK. Use the drops as instructed. In addition, youll have the preservative-free artificial tears to use.
• Wear your goggles when you sleep. 20/20 Institute will provide you with goggles to wear while you sleep.

You will have your first checkup after your LASIK procedure on the day after your LASIK, and your second checkup will be sometime the following week. It is medically necessary to come to these two checkup appointments in the first week after LASIK. The doctors will evaluate your vision and how you are healing and advise you on how to proceed to ensure a smooth recovery.

Deciding to have LASIK is a decision that you will most likely wish you did sooner. Remember, our Vision Counselors are available to you at 303-202-0669 if you have any questions or would like to to see if LASIK is right for you.

Things You Shouldnt Do After Lasik Eye Surgery

Although LASIK requires little downtime or interruption to your daily life, you will need to avoid these three things to help ensure your healing process is as quick and smooth as possible:

Dont Drive for 24 Hours

Immediately following your LASIK eye surgery, you will need the aid of a close friend or family member to drive you home. Every patients recovery from LASIK surgery is unique and the amount of time required to wait before safely driving again will vary. With that said, many of our patients are ready to drive as early as the day after their surgery.

Dont Rub, Itch, or Touch Your Eyes

Following your LASIK procedure, you will likely experience some itching, eye-watering, or slight discomfort. You must always refrain from making any physical contact with your eyes. Do not rub, itch, or touch your eyes until you have completely healed from your LASIK surgery.

After your procedure, we will provide medications and instructions for their use, to help reduce any irritating sensations or other physical side effects.

Dont Use Eye Drops Not Prescribed by Your Surgeon

After your LASIK procedure, your surgeon will prescribe you anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drops to support the healing process. Do not use any other eye drops or medications that are not verified or prescribed by your eye surgeon during the course of your recovery.

Are You Awake During Lasik

Through the near magical power of lasers, lasik is capable of reshaping the cornea and correcting vision. But this sounds real painful. Or if not painful, this sounds like it can be screwed up very easily if you blink or look the wrong way. Can it really be that you are awake the whole time during this procedure?

When you have lasik done, you are entirely awake during the procedure. But this isn’t anything to fear, lasik is a very quick and easy procedure to go through. While you do have some strange sensations, numbing eye drops take care of pain. And frequently, you are given medication for anxiety beforehand.

But of course, it still is stressful to know that you are going to be awake. It’s healthy and normal to have some anxiety when anything is being done to your eyes. To help with this stress, it’s good to know exactly what you will experience during lasik.

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Lasik Is Safe And Effective With Local Anesthetic

they are able to sit through the 10 to 30 minutes of prep time and the very short amount of time it takes the laser to shape their cornea. Side effects do not last long, with most people experiencing improved vision within a day or two and being able to return to work within a few days or a week. Rates of complications and side effects are very low.

Lasik Anesthesia: Are Injections Or Needles Used To Numb The Eye During Lasik Laser Eye Surgery Am I Put To Sleep During Lasik Vision Correction

Injections and Needles are not used during LASIK laser eye surgery. Instead, topical anesthetic drops are the only type of anesthesia used to numb the eye during laser surgery. Patients are awake and comfortable during surgery. A patient from Camarillo worriedly asked me today if injections or any sorts of needles were used to numb the eye during LASIK laser eye surgery. I was able to reassure her that no needles or injections are used at all during LASIK! The only anesthetic used is a topical eye drop, which very effectively numbs the eye.

Also patients are not put to sleep with general anesthesia during LASIK. Patients are comfortable during surgery and are awake. They do not see anything scary coming towards them and do not feel any pain. LASIK eye surgery is short, taking two minutes or so per eye. If patients feel nervous just before having surgery, however, we do have a mild oral sedative that we can give right before surgery. Most patients end up not opting for this and find the surgery surprisingly easy and quick to go through.

After the LASIK procedure is over, it is normal to have a very mild degree of irritation without any further anesthesia, much like being out in the wind or less. This typically is completely gone by the next day at which time the eyes feel essentially back to normal.

So, reassuringly, the only anesthesia used during LASIK is a topical numbing drop right before the procedure. Thats it!

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Thingsto Avoid After The Lasik Procedure

Thenumber one thing to avoid is eyerubbing. Its important to avoid rubbing the eyes for a couple of weeks afterLASIK.

Patientscan get back to normal activities the dayafter LASIK. However, eye rubbing is not on the list of normalactivities. Avoiding eye rubbing helps ensure that the surface of theeye heals properly and quickly.

Whenpatients hear that they should avoid rubbing their eyes for a couple of weeks,it makes sense. But patients often start to think about practical things like:

• What if I get aneyelash in my eye?
• What about eyemakeup?
• Can I stillshower?
• Oh, wow, I actuallylike to rub my eyes. This is going to be tough! How am I going to remember whileIm asleep?

So,what SHOULD a LASIK patient do, if they get an eyelash or a dust particle in theireye during the first couple weeks after LASIK?

Itssimple actually flush the eye with artificial tears. Thatll get theintruder out with no rubbing.

Our20/20 team asks that you skip eye makeup for a few days after LASIK. A coupleweeks later, when you do go back to wearing eye makeup, remove it with a downwardmotion.

Patientscan shower normally after LASIK and will be asked to simply avoid a showerstream directly into the face, washing the eyelids directly, and wiping or dryingthe eyelids afterward.

Yourantibiotic eye drops are powerful and do a great job of preventing infection,but most people dont know that swimming pools and hot tubs are a top spot for bacteriaitsbest to stay away from them.

Are You Awake During Laser Eye Surgery

Many people worry about being awake during laser eye surgery because theyre anxious about what theyll see or how theyll react.

Over 30 million people have had LASIK laser eye surgery since 1999. It is becoming increasingly popular as technology advances and becomes more affordable.

Even with todays technology, people still have many concerns about laser eye surgery. One common question people often ask is, are you awake during laser eye surgery?

Many people think that surgery that involves using a laser to cut into your eye would require general anesthesia. It doesnt. This is because general anaesthesia carries a higher risk than LASIK itself, so surgeons prefer not to use it.

LASIK surgery is so quickit only takes a few minutesthat patients only need local anesthesia in the form of eye drops. These completely numb the eyes but you will be completely awake for the entire surgery.

To make you feel comfortable and relaxed, the eye surgeons explain every step of the surgery.

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Stop Wearing Contacts Before Lasik

Preparing for LASIK can be particularly challenging for contact lens wearers. Youâll be asked to abstain from wearing contact lenses before a LASIK surgery. How long youâll need to be out of contacts depends on their material. For soft lenses, you will need to be out of your contacts for 5 to 7 days leading up to your pre-operative exam and surgery. If you wear toric lenses, which correct astigmatism, then you will need to be out of them for 10 to 14 days. For other types of speciality lenses, you will be instructed at your initial consultation exactly how long you will need to stay out them leading up to surgery. Many people ask, why do you have to stop wearing contacts before LASIK? Thatâs a fair question! Contact lenses can distort the shape of the front surface of your eye, the cornea, and corneal measurements are crucial in LASIK calculations. Ask how long to stop wearing contacts before LASIK when youâre here for your initial consultation.

Is Laser Eye Surgery Scary

Laser vision correction is incredibly painful

While some patients describe feeling mild discomfort from a slight pressure or vibrating sensation, most report feeling no pain during their procedure. Actually, most patients say that the feeling of anxiety and fear of the unknown is worse than the actual LASIK procedure.

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Lasik Fear #1 Fear Of Being Awake During Surgery

Perhaps the most common LASIK fear is the fear of being awake during surgery. But LASIK surgery begins with numbing eye drops, and sometimes a mild sedative, to help you relax. Still, some patients notice mild discomfort, such as pressure, vibration or dimmed vision, during the procedure. You dont have to worry about blinking, though, because a specially designed instrument holds your eye open. And a computer in the laser tracks your eye movement more than 4,000 times per second, ensuring precision. In 15 minutes or less, both eyes can be done with little discomfort. If you can stare straight ahead for 45 secondsabout as long as it takes to watch a traffic lightyou can do this.

Returning To Daily Activities After Lasik

As patients quickly regain their ability to perform everyday activities the day after LASIK eye surgery, it is important to remember that even though you will likely not experience any pain, your corneal tissue takes time to completely heal. To minimize chances for corneal infections or flap dislodging, Dr. Nunnery and Dr. Mozayeni instructs post-op patients to wait the recommended amount of time to do the following:

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What To Expect After Surgery

You will feel little pain under normal circumstances, but you might feel your eyes itch, burn, feel gritty, watery, or have blurry vision.

Even though you should see better immediately after surgery, it will take about 2-3 months for your vision to get to optimal levels. How good your vision gets is dependent on how well you could see before the surgery.

Your ophthalmologist will prescribe eye drops and pain medication that will last you several hours after the surgery. They may require you to wear an eye shield at night to protect your eyes until you heal.

The first follow-up appointment will be two days after the surgery to check for healing and complications, and the next will be within six months.

Lasik Surgery Anesthesia: What You Can Expect

LASIK, or laser in situ keratomileusis, is a vision correction surgery where an ophthalmologist, or eye surgeon, reshapes your cornea, the thin, outer layer of your eye, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The surgery has a more than 90% success rate in helping people see without glasses or contacts.

Right before the procedure, youâre given an eye drop that provides anesthesia, which prevents you from feeling any pain. Hereâs more on what LASIK surgery feels like and which anesthesia is used.

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Why Cant I Be Put Under

During more invasive or major surgeries, anesthesia is used to put you to sleep. Anesthesia keeps you from feeling pain from the procedure being performed and is generally considered very safe. However, general anesthesia requires the aid of an anesthesiologist a doctor who practices anesthesia.

Being put under anesthesia can be a lengthy and expensive process that may also introduce various unwanted complications. Due to LASIKs short duration and relative safety, general anesthesia isnt required, as it will only increase the cost and require more recovery time.

Risks to using general anesthesia include:

• The whole body would need to be affected by drugs
• A specialist is needed in order to monitor vials
• General anesthesia can lead to vomiting, nausea, confusion, and agitation
• Possible issues with higher levels of toxins in the blood
• Possible breathing problems after taken off the ventilator
• Potential allergic reactions

Eye surgeons are well aware of the feelings potential LASIK patients may have to the thought of being awake during the procedure. Often times a light sedative is given to help keep patients calm in addition to using a topical anesthetic in the form of eye drops to numb the eyes from any potential pain.

Drink More Water Before Surgery

Your body is made up of 60% water. Water is critical in the functioning of every cell, tissue, and organ. Water helps to keep you hydrated, flush waste, and promote healing. Laser eye surgery can temporarily make your eyes more susceptible to dryness, so itâs important to hydrate from the inside out. The use of over-the-counter artificial tears will also help to minimize the feeling of dryness immediately following your treatment.

There is no disadvantage to staying hydrated! In daily life, it is recommended that you drink at least eight 8-oz glasses of water daily. Drinking alcohol before LASIK surgery can be dehydrating and interfere with medications used for the procedure, so refrain from alcohol on the day of surgery.

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Im Feeling Nervous About Being Awake How Can I Stay Calm During Lasik

Here at Providence Eye & Laser Specialists, we recognize all patients are nervous at some level, which is perfectly normal. Please know our team will never leave your side and we will always be communicating with you so that you are comfortable with the process and remain calm during your LASIK procedure. Additionally, upon arrival on the day of your surgery, we will provide you with a mild sedative that will take the edge off and help you relax.

Can I Drink Alcohol Before Lasik

There are no restrictions regarding what you can and cannot drink while leading up to your LASIK surgery. However, on the day of the procedure we ask that you refrain from drinking alcohol for a couple of reasons. Like caffeine, alcohol is dehydrating. Especially if you have dry eyes before LASIK then on the day of surgery weâd want to avoid anything that could make your dry eyes worse. Also, prior to your surgery you will be given an oral sedative to help you relax and we wouldnât want this being mixed with alcohol. Although relaxed, you will still be alert during the procedure and alcohol can make focusing more difficult. Immediately following your surgery you will take an oral pain pill and that, much like the medication given preoperatively to help you relax, shouldn’t be taken with alcohol.

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Medication To Make Lasik Easier While Awake

To help get you through lasik, many surgeons will give you medication to reduce stress and anxiety. The less stress you have during lasik, the easier it is to go through the procedure. Being anxious can cause you to squeeze on the eyelid holder and cause discomfort. Being anxious can cause you to focus more on the extra weird sensations and cause you more stress.

But if you are stressed, you aren’t alone. Everyone will have stress before lasik.

Thus, it is very routine to be given or offered a xanax or valium prior to the procedure. This helps to calm you your levels of stress and anxiety. Being calmer just makes lasik a more pleasant experience.

However, it still is good to know that xanax or valium won’t work miracles. You can sometimes still have stress or anxiety even despite taking these medications. It will just simply take the edge off.

Lasik Procedure: What To Expect

An eye doctor sometimes provides free LASIK consultation. Theyll explain what to expect during the LASIK procedure in the following order:

Here are some reasons why you might want to stay awake during LASIK:

• Relaxation. Many people find that staying awake helps them relax. Some even enjoy watching what’s happening. They’re also able to communicate with the doctor or technician if there are any issues or they need anything.
• Pain management. If you need medication for pain management, staying awake allows you to ask for some. And, you can communicate whether or not it’s helping your pain.
• Communication. If your vision changes after your surgery, its best to speak up right away. This way, your doctor can ensure everything went well both during and after the procedure.

Before Surgery

Prior to surgery, your doctor will:

Additionally, doctors typically recommend that patients not wear contact lenses for at least one week before LASIK.

The reason? Contact lenses can affect the shape of the cornea, which is the part of the eye the surgeon operates on. Also, there is always a chance of infection or injury with contact lens use.

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