lasik_what I saw

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Earlier this week I had LASIK surgery and I can SEE! Indescribable difference and I am very grateful. My vision had been ~ -9.00 which is very much impaired. Now, I am approximately 20/40 and no more specialized lenses! For 19 days prior to my LASIK surgery/procedure I had to wear my thick "coke-bottle" glasses. When I first transitioned into my glasses I fell down the stairs as I was not acclimated to glasses. I am very sensory, with sensory integration disorder.

Anyway, why I post: I am unsure why I saw what I saw during and immediately following LASIK. The procedure is quite simple and I had no concerns that I could watch as this was performed on my eyes. But I saw something else. I saw numbers, and with intensity. What was peculiar was I recognized the pattern of numbers, displayed like matrices. I do know (since I was told and reviewed all instruction materials and video) that patients undergoing LASIK see a red focus light and the flap - - BUT, not numbers. Sometimes when I'm concentrating I do "see" numbers, or maybe sense?

To note: All patients are given a mild sedative before procedure but are fully awake. The numbers were white/pale yellow and I remember the matrices I saw still. Should I tell my doctor?

What happened?

You might've had an odd reaction to the sedative. You can mention it to the doctor; it won't do any harm.

Interesting, and thanks for the post. I wear glasses but I worked with lasers for about sixteen years, the end result is a VERY strong instinct to avoid laser beams into the eye. For now I think I'll stick with my varifocals.

Vanilla_Slice

You would not believe the amout of things my glasses have reflected from hitting my eyes. Especially when I worked in a machine shop.

I had LASIK in 2005. My vision wasn't quite as bad as yours (was -6 or so, now 20/20) but I also saw some weird things during my procedure. It wasn't numbers, but it wasn't just a red focus light either. It was multicolored circles, overlapping and forming almost a honeycomb pattern. I did tell the ophthalmologist about it, and he just kind of shrugged and said he didn't know but as long as it went away he wasn't concerned. I've never regretted the surgery for a minute. I can see without glasses or contacts...woohooooooo!

~Kate

Right, in that I'm very grateful to have near-perfect vision now with no correction! Yay!

What others wrote is interesting......for unknown reason(s), since time of procedure, when my eyes are closed, I still see that number matrices. Maybe like when one 'gets a song stuck in their head' kind-of phenomena? Or I am perseverating.

Last night I woke up from deep sleep, shaking hard, and intensely still saw those numbers.

Wow, the numbers sound very intriguing!! ! Do the numbers change?

I had lasik in 1999. it was one of the most wonderful things I ever did. I didn't see numbers though. When the light was flashing, I saw what looked like a screen of organized red snow - like static on a tv.

The number matrices I do recognize (which is somehow peculiar to me). They do not change, but they do progress to the right of the mantissa. First, I thought this was a direct consequence of the LASIK procedure, like how I was adapting to light/dark or similar. Or what Callista wrote, an "odd reaction to the sedative." Now, I am unsure. The numbers are gone except when my eyes are closed.

This was so intense last night I woke up. I did look at the red focus light but then the numbers were in my field of vision and remained for some time afterward. Now they won't go away.

happymusic: Good the visual screen of red snow melted away! The procedure itself is quite simple.

Vanilla_Slice: Yikes! I think laser surgery has progressed somewhat, but the concept is the same. The LASIK procedure utilizes cool UV via instrumentation.

I'm glad that it went well.

Thank you CockneyRebel! It was deceptively easy
And painless.

Congratulations on the success of the surgery! I am curious, if others have had this surgery, whether the benefits are retained for many years after the surgery, and how it might change the way the eye ages over time.

^ With LASIK (and related PRK) the corneal lens is re-shaped; a permanent physical change. During the first few days there are changes as the flap heals and I've done really well thanks to artificial tears and myocin drops.

Strange that I see numbers, but maybe this is neurological.......Oh, yeah, I am an Aspie after all.

You mentioned eye aging - I do not know. I assume same as untreated eyes. Interestingly, laser surgery (similar to LASIK) is used successfully for those with cataracts. The procedure has been refined considerably since it began, like Vanilla_Slice reminded!

Decimal or hexadecimal?

When I got my first computer (TRS-80 Model I, in 1977, at age 12), I kept seeing dot-matrix characters in everything I looked at once I got back to school (after Xmas holiday).

I really don't remember now if they were decimal or hex (maybe I saw other alpha characters too), but your post brought this vividly to mind--it was driving me crazy for a while.

I'm beginning to wonder if it was a result of the 60Hz fluorescent lamp flicker (we had only incandescent at home), which would have matched the monitor's field rate (it was, essentially, a stripped RCA 12" B&W television).

Perhaps the sedative relaxed you enough to let something of your past leak into the present as your mind tried to make logical sense of unusual stimuli to your eyes during the procedure?

Anyway, glad that you can see well again. My nephew had it done a couple years back, and he too was very pleased with the results.

I had Lasik performed in 2002. I was pleased with the results. Now I can buy cheap sunglasses at the store and wear them instead of spending $200 on glasses with tinted lenses I don't like that much anyway. The first few days was rough because the doctor peeled back the Corneal Flap on both eyes and that bothered me for a few days. It felt like I had two by fours in both eyes. The doctor prescribed Ambien, so that helped some. I couldn't get them wet, either. After they healed, my eyes were dry for a year or two and I had to use lubricating drops. My vision is great, I could see the clock on the digital cable box without wearing glasses, not to mention street signs. My right eye isn't 20/20, the optometrist said it never will be. My left eye is much better. I don't know if it's 20/20 or 20/40.

I don't know if I could handle another session, though, unless the technology is more advanced than it was then.

CTBill: The numbers are decimal (denary) and not base 16 (binary) - pretty sure they are digits to the right of the mantissa, but laid out as matrices for unkown reason(s). I sense the flicker of 60 Hz fluorescent lights cycling and this can be bothersome (my doctor does know and he said some can/do see this); I own fishing glasses which are actually light polarizing lenses that help and shade the light too.

I've always been highly attenuated to sensory stimuli such as endless-loop screen savers, static (like happymusic wrote), certain mechanical operations, repetitive movements (yes, that includes front loading dryers!), flicker, and instrumentation. With certainty, that's an ASD thingy and to be expected. I suspect the LASIK procedure, which uses light (highly ordered laser) may have been a sensory hit and made quite the impression.

Ana, so glad you're almost 20/20! Worth the procedure, yes? I'm sorry you had the precursor procedure as I understand it was far more uncomfortable though.

Sounds like a very unusual form of synesthesia.