I had been wearing glasses for about 15 years.
I suffered from a myopia of –6.00 on both eyes. It all started back when I was in Primary 5. Even though I had awesome vision back then, I thought wearing glasses was damn cool.
Because a couple of my classmates wore glasses, I actually felt left out due to the fact that they had four eyes, and I only had two. What the heck, right?
It’s because of this jealousy I had that I did something very stupid thing. For days afterwards, against my mom’s advice, I deliberately did all I could to destroy my perfect vision.
Sat in front of the TV as close as possible.
Read books while laying on bed in a dark room.
Wear my dad’s funny glasses that make me look like Harry Potter.
Eventually, my vision deteriorated to the point that my mom had no choice but to send me to the optometrist.
I had to start glasses. My mom was disappointed. I was overjoyed. Until puberty hits and I began taking interest in girls.
It was then that I realise wearing glasses does not make me look cool. Glasses make me look like a nerd. Unless your last name is “Gates” or “Jobs”, no girls would be impressed going out with a nerd.
So I started wearing contact lenses. But even that brought about its own set of problems.
The problems with wearing contact lens is the same with wearing bras: I can’t swim with them on, I kept having to remember bringing them along for travel, and I gotta buy a new pair every few months.
This is what I did when I forgot to pack my contact lens case on my trip to Bali.
I used bottle caps.
Anyway, now that I am running around a fitness centre, I find it even more inconvenient to wear either contacts or glasses. I hated wearing glasses so much that it motivated me enough to seek that One Solution To End All Problems.
Laser Eye Surgery.
To be honest, I’ve been thinking about doing laser eye surgery for a long time. The only reasons I hadn’t gone ahead earlier were the same as everyone else.
1) I thought it might be expensive.
2) I thought it’s dangerous.
3) I thought if the doctor isn’t careful, I might end up with eyes like The Terminator.
With the advancement of technology, all these are of course, exaggerated concerns.
These days, it’s possible to get laser eye surgery done in many parts of Malaysia, including Kuching. One of the country’s best-known eye specialist centre, Optimax, has a branch here and it is located near the Simpang Tiga flyover.
This is where I had my pre-surgery consultation done.
Optimax contacted me to fill the role as their ambassador. I gladly agreed after ensuring their reputation is solid.
They have experts doing the check-up and consultation in Kuching. Their doctors fly in here from KL on a scheduled basis to perform the actual surgery.
In KL, some patients even had their eye examination and treatment done on the same day. In a way its save up more time and patients do not have to lay off lenses for so long.
This is my lovely consultant, Ding. According to Ding (“AccorDing?”), there are different types of laser eye surgery.
The cheapest and most common one is LASIK surgery, which cost around RM1,500 per eye. Next step up is EpiLASIK, which does not use sharp blades to cut open the cornea. The most advanced form of is Custom All-Laser LASIK, which cost around RM3,000 to RM3,500 per eye, but utilizes the safest and most precise equipment ever brought into Malaysia.
Before I went for my eye check-up, Ding told me not to wear contact lenses for 3 weeks. So for 3 weeks, I was the nerdiest-looking gym owner in the history of Kuching.
She went ahead and did some weird eye tests on me: flashing alphabets on the wall and asking me to speak “ABC” as if I was back in kindergarten.
Next, she asked me to put my head into this bizarre-looking machine.
That machine looks like it’s gonna hypnotize me and make me do the Jai Ho dance. Naked.
Funny thing is, I complied.
Kinda disappointed that all it does is showing scan my eyeball.
Ding proceeded to perform more tests on my eyes.
“Gimme all your cash. NOW!”
“Here, let me take a look at the cleanliness your eye… OH MY GOD!”
At one point, she dripped some anaesthetic into my eyes, which felt funny. Then she dripped something to dilate my pupil.
My eyeball dilated so big until it became like this.
Kidding.
But the effect did last for so long that I wasn’t able to read small printed words till the next day. The good news was that my eyes were all good for laser eye surgery. I was about to get a new pair of eyes!
My laser eye surgery was scheduled to be on the following week. As you perhaps may have noticed, the surgery was a success and Kenny Sia lived to tell the tale.
I’m gonna talk about my experience inside the operating theatre on my next blog entry. Suffice to say, it wasn’t really THAT bad.
All I ended up was looking like this.
X_X
haha, wow. my parents went with it too, it’s really awesome to not wear glasses.
so which one did u choose kenny?
Hahhaa ! That’s an awesome expression which fits this post very well 😀
so expensiv, i wanna go too
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OMG thats sooo cool…i wanted to do this for the longest time…but im scared that it might hurt and im still a student…so no money mah…
i cant wait for your next post about your experience going thru the procedure.
woww.. so expensive.. which one you gor for? 1.5k one? or 3.5k one? neway… the x x glass looks cool… huhu
nice.. no more geeky glasses eh?? =)
Wow. I experience the same things ! I hate having to wear glasses. But I find contact lenses to have its own problems as well ! Would you seriously recommend a university student who is financially dependent on her parents to do LASIK surgery?
One thing I worry about is spoiling my vision again, AFTER the surgery. There would be NO solution then >.
it’s funny…what silly stuff we use to do while we were small~
hope you get your perfect vision back, kenny!
Im a university student and i went for lasik 3 years back. It took them 5 minutes to do both my eyes and the only point of discomfort was when they applied pressure on my eye to put in some sort of cover over my cornea. After that it took about a week or two for your eyes to get sharp.
u tempted me to do so…
hahaha X_X
wow.. been longing to have this surgery in the future.. but, I like having my glasses on also.. dilemma= 😉
ooo, i need to do an eye lasik too due to my lazy eye. look forward for ur operation exp.
I did mine a year ago in KL, best thing in the world! My three year old son called me “spidermom” for a week for wearing those eye shields!
aiyo..laser better..no nid use bottle cap again le..wakakak…
from Nikel Khor
U know what, Kenny? I was just like that when I was in primary, that wearing glasses is the coolest thing ever, and I tried to make my eyesight worse and everything u mentioned.Really, the most stupid decision ever. lol.
Good luck with your new eyes 🙂
I’ve done my intralase Lasik too, but not at Optimax. Still, just a couple of minutes of painless surgery (not really, no blade involved so I was just looking at the light), then a week of being paranoid by taking extra good care of my eyes.. then 3 months of vision fluctuation.. then I’m freeeeeeee! 🙂
COngratulations on being glasses free Kenny. I did mine 2 years ago and till now still have good vision like 2 yrs ago 😀
i wanna go for lasik too! if urs berjaya tell me ya!
Lol, with the X_X eyes…..looks like some KAWS work piece…..
Did it hurt? Looking at doing it soon too…. Getting freq. eye infections while wearing contacts.
Nah, same like you. I thought wearing specs were cool back then! I did the same things like you to DESTROY my eyes. Now, I’m waiting for myself to earn money and go for eye surgery..hooray. How’s the surgery? Did it hurt?
Hey, maybe you should include some tips on how to take care of your eyes after the surgery. WOuld love to know more!
Time to go laser liao. Both of my eyes power 2k in total. LOL
i wanted to do too.. but my eye test failed.. too dry.. 🙁
I plan to do the eye laser surgery as well! thanks for this info!
Btw, i would like to know, how long wil this lasts? Forever? How if my eyes spoiled again AFTER the surgery?
hahah i love the ‘gimme all your money’ picture. what are you gonna try next kenny? how about like balding remedies? oh.. dont get me wrong i wasnt implying… i mean, i didnt mean… wtvr it is what it is. 😉 haha.
is it true that you cant wear cosmetic contact lenses after you had your laser done?
waiting for ur next blog on it! will do it sumday soon.
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oh do blog on your vision as soon as you’re recovering!
cant wait to read about the “tale” in the operation room =)
kenwooi.com
3 weeks without contacts is quite a long time.. mine was 1 week. the best investment i’ve ever made! congrats on ur new vision!
i think u should go out like this:
X_X
hahaha so cute!!!!
you look like a KO-ed baja hitam
Getting LASIK done is one of the best decisions I’e made in my life. Like you, I suffered from having to wear glasses since 11 years old. I switched to contact lenses and I often wear them long hours that hurts my eyes tremendously.
Waking up after a long sleep after the LASIK surgery was amazing. Automatically, I reach over y bedside table for my specs, but lo and behold – I can see!!! It’s like getting eyesight the first time in my life. It was amazing!
Well done on finally getting it done.
I thought you end up wearing sunglasses in the mall? xD
Hm LASIK huh? I’m partially considering for one, but yeah, still discussing with the details with my friends.
Nice way of boosting confidence eh. 🙂
good job kenny! i decided to get lasik done last december. never regretted it except for the dry spell which might occur quite frequently during the first few months, nth that a lubricating eye drop cant help 🙂 just be careful driving at night. (:
Hey, Ding Lu Chee is my sister-in-law! Yeap she’s real nice! So proud 😀
I came from FJ’s site! I enjoyed reading about your eyes 😀
My friend did the laser eye surgery and he said it was great! I hope you feel in the same way, too!!!
I went to Optimax in Penang right after I turn 19. That time I remember it still cost RM3600+ (of my parent’s money I am ashame to say) after discount for both eyes. I had been wearing glasses since 7 and decided enough is enough. LASIK went fine I am now glasses free. Beware though, as I have a lazy eye and have a career on staring at computers at least 8 hours per day, the condition tends to get deteriorated. However, I still don’t need to wear glasses on any situation apart from watching 3D movie. Compare to last time, I can’t go into the bathroom without classes, I can’t drive without glasses. Heck, I can’t even walk without glasses. So, no complaints….
Welcome back Kenny.I really lol when I saw the pic of the Terminator!Isn’t it awesome being glasses free?
nengchi size reduction surgery next please
Hello there! Ive been wearing eyeglasses for 9 years and started using contact lenses just last week. I see Lasik is not so expensive recently unlike 5 years ago, i think it’s about 2000 USD per eye. Though Lasik’s price has came soo low today, I have some sort of reservation that lasik might fail on me :L
LOL on the last picture. whoaahh, when i was young i did feel that those with sunglass is cool.
Wou, I wanna do the Terminator Eye!!!!!!!!!!
if only laser has HD like Astro
Dear kenny,
I’ve been considering very long to get a laser eye surgery too.
But i wish to know…. they say that your eye power need to be stable for at leat 3 years before you can perform LASIK. Is dat true? when was the last time your power increased?
please reply me… ur answer can really make a difference to my life. 🙂
You look cool with that anyway xD
wow, very nice glasses ;D
Dear Kenny,
How are you? I’m currently working with Mercy Malaysia in creating awareness for a campaign, Malaysia For Haiti. This campaign is to raise fund for the casualties of Haiti earthquake.
As you may heard each day, people are dying still dying each day even without the earthquake, but because from the injuries from the earthquake which are untreated wounds and rising diseases.
I hope you can write something about this campaign in your blogsite and have a link to our website to aware people about the cause.
We from Malaysia For Haiti and people of Haiti would really appreciate and blessed with your kindness to make a difference.
Thank you so much Kenny.
Warm Regards,
Stella Matilda
Public Relationist
Malaysia For Haiti
http://www.malaysiaforhaiti.org
Damn, I spoilt my eyes like how what you did because of the same reason. Jealous of four-eyed dudes. =(
Ya..Kenny, I did the same thing you did, Tried my best to screw up my eyes but were not successful. At 17 I was so happy that the optometrist said I need glasses which I ended up had a pair. One month later I found that wearing glasses made my eyes watery and check up said my eyes turned back normal, so I’m still disappointed till today. Tried too hard to be a nerd but I guess I can never be one no matter how badly I wanted to 😛
Did you smell anything burning while doing it? Was also contemplating of doing that as well but still don’t dare.
Hmm, interesting. Maybe I will do this one day too.
hey kenny sia, better ask your consultant about the dry eye syndrome that is quite common after lasik surgery! (it is said to be temporary but it is always better to be safe than sorry right? dry eye syndrome may lead to tiny abrasion on eye surface in the long run..)
yup. anyway, happy v day and happy tiger year!:DD
Good stuff!
Happy chinese new year!!
just tell me one thing,
what does it FEEL when they perform the surgery?!! PAIN?! itchy? hoT?
the idea of blade cutting cornea doesn’t sounds very good…
Is current tech allow a person with dry eye to do lasik? I went few years ago, but they dont allow me to do as my eyes were dry.
Nice, that was exactly the same as what I did! During primary school always envied the kids who had glasses. They should have made “no degree” glasses back then!
I love LASIK!
Happy CNY.
I wish I could do it too.. contact lens make my eyes dry 🙁
Good lah u use bottle caps. I use the bowl for soup.. then the next day I saw the bowl next to the sink because my mum washed it… *%*I^&$7.. there goes my lenses.. haha
in last pic u look like “Kamen Rider”…
I wear glasses because staring at the sun was once my hobby, hah.
Anyway, thanks for the info, I never knew there were different types of LASIK procedures.
I did ALL-LASER-LASIK a month ago and the result is excellent. NEVER REGRET!!!
Dear guy, you may join their fan page at http://www.facebook.com/myoptimax
I really envy you, Kenny. my family had this genetic disposition that condemns EVERYONE in my family to wear glasses, at least those from my dad’s side. as such, my vision deteriorated automatically enough to wear one at the age of 7. & apart from sitting close to the tv when watching shows when i was a kid (not close enough to actually feel it destroying my eyesight), i’ve did nothing to aggravate the situation. like what many said here, the decision you made as a kid’s probably one of the most stupid decision you’ve made.
Now got something more advance than lasik alreadi.
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