Have You Ever Been to NYC?

Happy Thanksgiving! This year I am thankful that I live in LA. Russians have a saying - everything becomes known in comparison (everything is relative). The truth is I was so used to my perfect life that I was completely oblivious to how good I actually had it. I have always deemed Los Angeles to be my dream city and always enjoyed living here. However, I did not fully realize how much I love it, until I visited New York.

Invisalign: Getting the Attachments

I had my attachments put on a couple of weeks ago. I have to say, it is a form of torture. I am not really sure why they are calling them attachments. What they are is just some clear bonding material baked onto the teeth in random shapes. Mine definitely do not look like the perfectly squared ones that you see in all the pictures around the web. Who knows - maybe mine are a special case, although my teeth do not look half as bad as what I've seen out there.

Invisalign: Let the Journey Begin

The main reason that I got my wisdom teeth extracted a couple of months ago is in preparation for Invisalign. I would hate for them to start causing problems when my smile is all perfect. ;) 

Preparedness: Wisdom Teeth Extraction

Originally, I was going to call this post "what to expect when getting your wisdom teeth extracted". However, I don't think I could do that topic justice, since the oral surgeon called it "an easy" case.

26 Facts about the Science of Friendship

This is fascinating.

Fact 9: People who can name three friends who are also co-workers are 96% more likely to
report extreme satisfaction with their life.

LASIK: One Month Update

It has been a whole month since my LASIK surgery. Just like the doctor promised - things gradually improved over time. I am also pretty much back to normal in my daily routine.

LASIK: Recovery days 11 through 14

Recovery Day 11 (January 31, 2016)

Things are even better today. It was raining most of the day, so the humidity in the air might be what kept my eyes from getting overly dry today. I hardly used the artificial tears at all. Only following doctors prescription of every four hours.

I am also trying to stay normal about my eyes, just keeping my hands away from them, but no extreme protectiveness.

LASIK: Recovery Day 10 (aka One Perfect LA Saturday)

My eyes feel so normal now, that I am starting to forget that I am not supposed to touch that area for another week. I catch myself on attempts to seriously rub them, especially in the shower or when washing my face.

I was out and about all day, but only had to use the artificial tears a couple of times throughout the day. It was kind of a cloudy morning, but in the end it turned out to be a fabulous day.

LASIK: Recovery Days 8 & 9

Recovery Day 8 (Thursday, January 28, 2016)

Overall, today I did not notice much difference in the way my eyes feel or in the way I see. At my second follow up appointment Bing Bong took pictures of my eyes again and confirmed that I still see 20/20. Then, the doctor looked deep into my eyes and concluded that they were healing very well, so I will not need to come back for another check up for about a month. I still have to wear the eye shields and no make up for one more week. He recommended to use the artificial tears at least four times a day, but after a month I can scale back on them. Now I am using them more often then that. Mostly on purpose, not only when I notice dryness or discomfort.

I try looking at objects and read things with one eye at a time, and I do think that one eye is seeing sharper then the other. Maybe the surgery did not correct all of my astigmatism. I should ask the doctor about that next time.

Recovery Day 9 (Friday, January 29, 2016)

My eyes are still very dry and practically impossible to open in the morning. Otherwise, for most of the day they feel comfortable enough. Since I am inside for most of the day, I don't have to use the artificial tears much at all. Only when I go for my walks, the wind dries them out somewhat, but I promptly put the eye drops in as soon as I get back home.

I have been really good at keep things away from my face today. I have not noticed anything different in the way I see. But although there are no significantly noticeable changes from one day to the next, I actually think they are improving a little bit every day. They feel more comfortable with each passing day - the need to use the artificial tears is less and less.

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You can follow my recovery on my official LASIK page. 

LASIK: Dealing with Side Effects

Since my surgery I have been experiencing things that I did not experience much before - the feeling of grittiness, soreness, discomfort, blurriness of vision, sensitivity to wind, etc.  According to the infographic below all of those conditions can be attributed to the increased dryness of the eye, which is a known side effect of the surgery.

LASIK: Recovery Day 7

The morning went the same as yesterday. My eyes were super dry again when I woke up. But as the day progressed, they started feeling more comfortable. Reading my dirty magazine while enjoying my morning coffee, I felt that the letters on the shiny pages were blurring up a little. I guess I still have trouble focusing on things up close. I should pay attention to that more and discuss with the doctor at my check up tomorrow. Not wearing makeup makes it super easy and fast to get ready for work. Makes me contemplate quitting it altogether. No one seems to care what I look like anyway.

LASIK: Recovery Day 6

I have not noticed much difference today. My eyes feel as comfortable as they felt last night. Nothing different in the morning - yup, pretty much had to pry them open with a friggin' crowbar. I still get super paranoid, if anything gets in my eye or if I touch them.   

LASIK: Recovery Day 5

Right after I wake up my eyes feel super dry - like they get rusty during the night, because I do not oil them up in the middle of the night anymore. I did exercise more this morning. I am trying to get back to the same routine as before the surgery, since I have to go to the office tomorrow.   

LASIK: Recovery Day 4

This morning things are not a whole lot of different from yesterday. I started doing some minor exercises - stretching, light weights - you do eventually get bored sitting on your ass. I am continuing walking for cardio and paying close attention to what I am eating.   

LASIK: Recovery Day 3

Woke up with a bunch of goop from the darn shields all over my forehead. I am 100% convinced that it is clogging up my pores, but I am really not sure how to take it off. I tried water, regular bar soup, liquid hand soap, makeup remover...olive oil? By now it is starting to collect dirt, and I have black streaks on the sides of my face. Hmmm… 

LASIK: Recovery Day 2

OMG! I can see everything. I mean EVERYTHING!

LASIK: Recovery Day 1

When I woke up, I could see at least as good as I did in my glasses. I went through exactly the same motions as if I had my glasses on. There was no pain or any discomfort.

LASIK: The Day of the Surgery

My appointment was at 11 am, which gave me plenty of time to get my last sweaty workout in for the next couple of weeks and eat a hefty breakfast. The instructions say no caffeine. Although coffee does not make me jitter, I still stuck with decaf to make it easier for me to fall asleep later.

LASIK: The State of Preparedness

I am ready. I have worn glasses for most of my life - since the first grade. Believe it - I have endured years of being teased and called names, being one of the nerds all through high school, and never having a boyfriend until I got contacts. And that does not even include the real problems that accompany not being able to see literally beyond your nose. Bottom line: I never had a life without glasses or contacts. Yes, I have always wondered what it would be like to wake up in the morning and just see.

LASIK: Consultation

As you can see from the prior post, there are many reasons why one may not be a good candidate for Lasik surgery. The only way to find out for sure is to consult with the surgeon. I went through my insurance to locate an in-network referral, which also qualified me for a discount.

Fat Head

I watched a movie today that fascinated me so much that I want to tell  the whole world about it.

Treat Yourself Sweetly in the New Year

Happy New Year!

I hope 2016 turns out to be the brightest, the luckiest, the happiest, most prosperous, most romantic, most successful, most beautiful, and overall the sweetest year for all of us. Here is a perfect treat to ring in the new year.