Author: Kadi Kolk
Since I got my first pair of glasses already in the 3rd grade, I’ve spent nearly 25 years seeing the world either blurred or through lenses and glasses. I had my eye surgery at KSA last October, and today I can see as sharply as an eagle. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. That’s why I decided to document my journey through the laser procedure — to share my step-by-step experience with others.
What motivated me to have eye surgery?
Since my work in communications involves a lot of writing and reading on computer screens, my eyes would often get extremely tired, and moisturizing eye drops became part of my daily routine. As an active person, glasses and contact lenses were always an inconvenience — fogging up in the sauna or slipping off my nose during yoga. The last straw came last year in Asia, when I lost a contact lens in the sea while surfing, forcing me to stop the session and run home for a spare. Later, while crossing a chaotic street full of traffic, I suddenly realized how helpless I would be without my glasses or lenses — I could easily end up under a car. That was the moment I decided I’d had enough and booked an eye exam.
Why did I decide to keep a diary?
I had been thinking about laser eye surgery for the past ten years. The main reason I hesitated for so long was fear. My biggest worry was that the procedure would hurt — I vividly imagined the doctor cutting my eye with a scalpel, like in the film Un Chien Andalou. I also couldn’t stop thinking, “Oh no, what if I go blind?!” So I started researching and reading countless online forums, until one day I found courage in a Reddit thread where people shared their real-life surgery experiences. Reading their stories and seeing honest answers to my questions helped me make up my mind about the procedure and finally let go of my irrational fear.
Disclaimer
Since during the first two weeks I could hardly see anything up close and typing on a computer wasn’t an option, I wrote my notes by hand on a tablet or recorded them as voice memos, which I later transcribed into text.
Procedure Day (Day 0) — 22.10.24
Today is the first day after my KSA eye surgery. This has been my dream for five years.
It feels so strange to write by hand, as I’m used to typing on a screen. I’m documenting my recovery step by step — it keeps me focused and might later help someone else.
Until today, my vision was approximately: Left −4.0, Right −3.5.
Surgery impressions:
- It was incredibly fast — from the moment I lay down under the Schwind machine, the whole procedure took about 15 minutes.
- My eyes were constantly watering — they used plenty of eye drops.
- I remember how Ants gently wiped my eyes before using the laser, almost like windshield wipers brushing across the surface.
- When the laser was working, I didn’t feel a thing; I only heard its sound and noticed a faint smell, like something slightly burning.
- The most uncomfortable part was placing the eyelid holders, but that part was over very quickly.
Pain – Day 0:
Kell on 12:23, operatsioonist on möödas 1h45min. Tunnen veidi kraapimist silmades, pole eriti hull. Panen silmatilku iga ~15 minuti tagant.
After the procedure, it felt like I had eyelashes stuck in my eyes — tiny fuzzy ones you can’t quite remove. Now it already feels better.
Vision – Day 0:
It’s 12:26, and I can already see better than before. However, I can’t focus on anything close up.
It feels like I’m wearing contact lenses that are a bit foggy, or like my glasses are smudged with fingerprints.
Before going to sleep:
My eyes are much drier now. I’m using drops less often — about every 30 minutes.
One drop stings a bit more than the others.
Throughout the evening, the pain was mild, around 2.5/10 — tolerable. I didn’t take any painkillers or sedatives.
First Day (23.10.24)
The first day after the surgery.
I went for a short walk in the morning.
Vision – Day 1:
In the morning, I can see better with my left eye.
The right eye is still a bit blurry, just like yesterday.
Overall, it’s amazing that I’m already seeing so much more clearly.
Valu – päev 1:
I slept well and my sleep was smooth.
In the morning, I felt some pain in my eyes, as if something was constantly in them
A new symptom appeared: tears kept running from my eyes, especially from the left one.
Light sensitivity is very high.
Overall impression:
- Significantly less painful than I expected.
- The nerve pain I remember from an eye inflammation in my youth is almost absent.
- It’s 12:40 and I’m constantly tearing from both eyes. A very strange feeling. Now we’re going for a walk with Cyrill.
Third day (25.10.24)
It’s 20:43. In the meantime, it was impossible to write.
The night from Wednesday to Thursday and all of Thursday were very painful. Last night the pain was 9/10. Painkillers and sedatives were used.
Vision – day 3:
I can see close up a bit better; I can understand something from my phone screen.
Went for a walk.
I feel that my right eye is more blurry than the left one.
Pain – day 3:
The eyes are still a bit sensitive, especially after using eye drops, but today has been the best day so far.
It feels like I’ve just come back to life.
Fourth day (26.10.24)
Pain – day 4:
Today is already day 4, and I can finally read what I’m writing.
Daily activities are now going very smoothly.
There’s a slight discomfort in the eye, as if contact lenses had been worn all day or something similar. But it doesn’t bother me much, considering how I felt on the previous days.
Vision – day 4:
I can see close up and read text from a tablet.
Today I walked for 1.5 hours to Kalarand and back — I could already see better than yesterday.
Summary so far:
- Day 0, 22.10 – eyes are light-sensitive, mild scratching sensation.
- Day 1, 23.10 (daytime) – eyes become more sensitive, produce more tears, and feel scratchy.
- Day 1, night of 23.10 – eyes are tearing, uncomfortable feeling and sharp scratching sensation; without painkillers/Xanax it’s impossible to sleep.
- Day 2, 24.10 – the whole day it’s impossible to open my eyes; very uncomfortable, like I’d want to scratch my eyeballs out.
- Day 3, morning of 25.10 – I can already slowly open my eyes, go for a walk, and manage on my own.
- Day 4, 26.10 – a normal day, I can cook, walk, and read up close.
Vision – day 4:
I still can’t focus well with both eyes, and my right eye feels weaker.
I’m waiting for Monday, when Ants will remove the lenses and assess my vision.
A week later — Day 7 (29.10.24)
A week has passed. Exactly a week ago, I was waiting outside the office door for my eye surgery. Yesterday I felt a bit down, because I still can’t return to my normal rhythm, and there’s a lot going on in my head all at once. My eyes are such that I still see double — both near and far.
Vision – day 7:
I see everything with a kind of shimmering effect, which means everything looks 3D and blurry.
I can already see much better into the distance than before; everything is more contrasted.
The overall image is still somewhat hazy.
As one man somewhere wrote, stars look something like this:
Pain – day 7:
At the moment I don’t feel any pain or discomfort.
No dryness.
By the evening, my eyes itch slightly, but it’s tolerable.
Tenth day (1.11.24)
It’s 15:05. I’m sitting at the computer, my screen resolution is high, and the text size is at 150%.
The text is still blurry, though. It’s been exactly 10 days since the operation.
It’s a bit strange, but every time I read text on the screen or look closely at details, it feels as if the muscles around my eye sockets are doing a heavy workout, lifting weights. This in turn causes tension in my temples.
It feels like every time I read something, the eye muscles tighten up.
Over two weeks later — Day 16 (7.11.24)
A quick overview of my eyes. It’s now been more than two weeks since the surgery.
Overview of vision:
- November 2–3: I still saw very blurry up close.
- November 4–5: My vision slowly started to improve.
- Yesterday, November 6: I noticed the first moment of clarity while looking at my phone.
- Today: My screen is still zoomed to 125%, but I can already see the computer monitor clearly from close up. The left eye regained sharpness faster, but today both feel equal.
Pain – Day 16:
The light sensitivity is gone. I only wear glasses outside at night because car headlights are still quite harsh.
There’s no more dryness at all. Over the weekend and at the beginning of the week I felt slight scratching, but since yesterday I’ve been using moisturizing eye drops constantly — it seems to do the eyes good and helps against fatigue.
Anxiety:
When a week after the surgery I still saw everything double and in 3D, it caused me some anxiety — but today things are much better.
I feel less anxious now, as my vision keeps improving — both near and far.
My biggest concern was that I couldn’t see up close at all, but that has now improved.
Over a month later — Day 39 (30.11.24)
A quick overview of my eyes. It’s now been more than a month since the surgery.
Vision – day 39:
My vision, both near and far, has significantly improved. I’ve been able to return to normal daily activities.
I’ve set my phone screen size back to normal; on the computer I still have to enlarge the text a bit, because it otherwise feels too small.
I can’t see small text from afar very well, but last week I went to the cinema for the first time since the surgery and saw everything perfectly.
Today my left eye feels a bit strange — my vision is slightly worse.
Dryness – day 39:
I can’t complain about dry eyes. When I used to wear contact lenses, my eyes were much drier, so this can’t even be compared. When wearing lenses, I always felt like there was something in my eye.
In the mornings or when I’m tired, my eyes can feel a little dry, but it doesn’t bother me.
That’s about it — nothing really bothers me, and I use moisturizing drops regularly.
Two months later — Day 60 (29.01.2025)
Exactly 60 days have passed since the operation.
My vision feels perfect, I can see everything clearly. I probably haven’t seen this sharply since I was eight years old.
Compared to glasses or lenses, it’s simply incomparable – I finally see the world around me in full 360 degrees! I feel much more confident. Life has become so much easier. I wake up in the morning, jump out of bed and… BOOM! The day begins.
Vision – day 60:
I can see almost everything both far away and up close.
My near vision ability has slightly decreased — as a former myope, I used to be able to see extremely close. That probably wasn’t normal and was related to my nearsightedness.
In December, for about a month and a half, I still saw some halos at night caused by car headlights or traffic lights.
Dryness – day 60:
My eyes are now almost never dry, or only very rarely.
In December, they were occasionally dry, but today it’s much better.
I still use eye drops once a day — not really out of necessity, but just to keep my eyes moist, just in case. I’m currently in Miami, and it’s quite hot here.
Discharge – day 60:
Sometimes in the mornings there’s a bit of sticky yellowish discharge in my eyes, but it’s rather rare.
In December, I went skiing in Switzerland for the first time without glasses or lenses. How did I ever manage before?! Life is truly so much better after the eye surgery.
Half a year later (22.04.2025)
Today marks exactly six months since the eye surgery. I just had a check-up with the optometrist at KSA. It turns out my vision is excellent — 120% in each eye and 150% combined. No dryness, no halos. It really feels like the whole journey was completely worth it.
Sometimes it’s funny to think that before the KSA operation, I had never actually experienced the world with my own eyes — only through glasses. What’s different in my life today?
The 5 biggest changes as someone who now sees clearly:
- I wake up in the morning, open my eyes… and I can see! No more fumbling for glasses in the dark.
- I no longer have to carry “just in case” SOS contact lenses or double-check my lenses before going on a trip.
- I no longer have to hold my breath every time I sit on the couch, worrying if I just sat on my glasses.
- I finally feel like a fish in water — I even started going to swimming training.
- I can finally see the world in 360 degrees — over my left and right shoulder alike.
