Oh yes, you have to be awake. You can get given a sedative to relax you somewhat. I requested one, but didn't get given it, and then suddenly it was time for my surgery and I had to go sober. What a gyp!
First, you get some numbing drops in each eye. Then they lie you down, and swivel you under the device. First, they attach this suction thingy to your eye, whose purpose is to immobilize the eye completely. Then they cut a flap of corneal tissue. If you're really paying attention, you can just barely feel the cutting action, but it's not painful. You just know something's going on.
Then they release the suction, and the doctor peels back the flap. Your vision (only kinda blurry at this point) goes completely out of focus when the flap is up. You then try to focus on a light, which is just a vague blob to your vision at that point. The laser treatment only goes for 10 seconds or so. Your eye is not immobilized at this point. The machine actually tracks your eye movement (in pretty much the same fashion as an optical mouse does), and adjusts to compensate. Keeping your eye focused on the light makes things go smoother.
The doctor then replaces the flap, and smooths it down. Some medication gets brushed onto it. All this is quite painless.
This then gets repeated for the other eye.
Now, I'm not being macho and pretending it was nearly painless. It actually was nearly painless. The suction part of the procedure was the only part that was moderately uncomfortable.
This is not to say the procedure isn't stressful! It is. But the stress is mostly emotional, possibly with some visceral ew-people-are-touching-my-eye heebie-jeebies.
I very much have those heebie jeebies. I can touch my OWN eyes, but barely, and only because I had to learn to put in contacts. I think I'd definitally need the sedative. Do you mind if I ask how much it cost?
First, you get some numbing drops in each eye. Then they lie you down, and swivel you under the device. First, they attach this suction thingy to your eye, whose purpose is to immobilize the eye completely. Then they cut a flap of corneal tissue. If you're really paying attention, you can just barely feel the cutting action, but it's not painful. You just know something's going on.
Then they release the suction, and the doctor peels back the flap. Your vision (only kinda blurry at this point) goes completely out of focus when the flap is up. You then try to focus on a light, which is just a vague blob to your vision at that point. The laser treatment only goes for 10 seconds or so. Your eye is not immobilized at this point. The machine actually tracks your eye movement (in pretty much the same fashion as an optical mouse does), and adjusts to compensate. Keeping your eye focused on the light makes things go smoother.
The doctor then replaces the flap, and smooths it down. Some medication gets brushed onto it. All this is quite painless.
This then gets repeated for the other eye.
Now, I'm not being macho and pretending it was nearly painless. It actually was nearly painless. The suction part of the procedure was the only part that was moderately uncomfortable.
This is not to say the procedure isn't stressful! It is. But the stress is mostly emotional, possibly with some visceral ew-people-are-touching-my-eye heebie-jeebies.
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Do you mind if I ask how much it cost?
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