If you no longer want to wear prescription glasses or contact lenses, LASIK is an excellent procedure to consider. Some of my followers on Instagram said they didn’t know I wear glasses… it’s because I’m always wearing prescription contact lenses or hide my glasses when I shoot for ads –just like the photo below! 🙁

What is LASIK?

According to Shinagawa’s site, LASIK starts by creating a flap using laser technology on the cornea. Through this epithelial flap, the cornea is reshaped. This reshaping of the cornea improves the way light passes through the eye. Once the reshaping is completed, the flap that was created is placed in its original position to facilitate healing.

“How do I know if I’m eligible for a LASIK procedure?”

You’ll never know unless you had a comprehensive eye check-up. Several tests will be done at the Shinagawa eye center.

“What should I know before having my eyes checked?”

Stop wearing contact lenses for about a week (much better if you stopped wearing it for a month). Have enough sleep before your comprehensive eye check-up. Have someone accompany you because the last test can make your vision blurred for a few hours.

LASIK Screening

August 13, John and I had our comprehensive eye check-up and Lasik surgery procedure done on the same day at Shinagawa Ortigas. The next day, I received a lot of questions while posting our LASIK journey on my Instagram stories + on a Q&A sticker. So, I decided to write a more detailed blog about our experience.

Disclaimer: I’m not sponsored or a paid blogger by Shinagawa. This blog will be written according to our personal experience.

Condition of our eyes before having LASIK?

My eyes were 250(R) & 250(L). I’m nearsighted, which means it’s hard for me to see things clearly unless it is relatively close to my eyes. One example is when I’m driving… I can’t even see the plate number of the car in front of me. I hate wearing glasses because it’s hard to look up, down, or sides ­–especially when driving. I wear contact lenses almost every day for about 8-10hrs a day. Last March 2019, I stopped wearing contact lenses because my eyes got super dry and wearing contact lenses irritate my eyes. So, yes, I have no choice but to wear prescription specs.

On the other hand, John is FARSIGHTED which means his eyesight is blurry on objects that are nearby, but clear when you look at anything in the distance. He also has high astigmatism grade.

Fast forward to August 13; we had our comprehensive eye check-up to see if we’re eligible for a LASIK procedure. We arrived an hour late from our schedule around 10 am, and then the screening started an hour after, around 11 am. I don’t know if it’s because we arrived late or there’s just a lot of people waiting in line. If you plan on doing your checkup and surgery in one day, be sure to arrive early, pack some snacks, and bring in a lot of patience since it’s a whole day affair.

The following tests were done:
1. Bright Room Test
2. Refraction Test
3. Dark Room Test
4. Dilation
5. Evaluation/Counseling

Test #1: Bright Room Test

For this test, two machines were used to check the eye grade and eye pressure. The first machine, Automated Refraction, is similar to the one used in optic centers to estimate your eye grade for prescription glasses. The second machine, Air Puff Tonometry, is used to test the eye pressure by blowing air three times to each eye.

Test #2: Subjective Refraction Test

Refraction test also called a visual acuity test, tells the doctor if you have astigmatism, hyperopia (farsightedness), or myopia (nearsightedness). In this test, they used a Landolt Broken Ring vision test wherein we were asked which side the gap can be seen.

Without my glasses, I can’t even see the second-largest row. If you can see up to the third row from the bottom, then you have a visual acuity of 20/20 –and that is the target after the LASIK procedure.

Test #3: Dark Room Test

We used two machines in the darkroom. These machines will check the thickness and shape of the cornea. This test will determine whether we are eligible or not for a LASIK procedure.

Test #4: Cyclopegic Refraction (Dilation)

After the darkroom test, a dilating liquid was dropped three times on each eye with 5 minutes interval. An ophthalmologist will check us when our pupils are fully dilated or larger, which is after an hour. The optometrist allowed us to have our lunch and be back after 1 hour since it’s already 12nn and I’m starving already.

Our eyes have a focusing mechanism which enables us to see near objects and far objects without difficulty. During dilation, this mechanism is temporarily weakened to obtain the real eye grade of our eyes. Dilation will also make your vision blurry, especially looking at an object up close like watch, the menu at the restaurant, or even our food! Haha! I hope Shinagawa will offer or sell some snacks for patients, especially those under dilation and got caught up during lunch time.

Test #5: Evaluation / Counseling

After an hour, we came back, and we were brought to the consultation room of an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). Dr Adraneda explained to us the results of our tests. He did a bit of computation of our current corneal thickness and the remaining corneal thickness after the surgery. After the LASIK procedure, each eye should have a minimum of 250 microns of corneal thickness remaining.

After the LASIK procedure, my corneal thickness will be 383.25 (right) & 417.5 (left) while John will have 348.5 (right) & 350.25 (left) –which mean we’re both eligible for the LASIK procedure. Dr Adraneda said we’re eligible for a Z Prime Lasik. No need for ULTRA Lasik since our eye grade is not that high.

What’s the difference among Z LASIK, Z PRIME, and ULTRA LASIK?

The ophthalmologist (eye doctor) will be the one choosing which is perfect for you. It will depend on your eye grade/astigmatism. Z LASIK is recommended for those with eye grade lower than 250, Z PRIME is recommended for those with 250 and above, and ULTRA LASIK is recommended for those with a higher degree of astigmatism.

How much does LASIK cost in Shinagawa?

Z LASIK is Php140,000. Z PRIME is Php160,000. ULTRA LASIK is Php180,000.

LASIK Surgery Procedure

It started off with washing our faces. I think I washed my face twice just because we were told that we can’t wash our face for that night after the surgery. Lol.

We, together with three other patients, were brought to the waiting room next to the surgery room. Then, a nurse explained to us what we are going to do in the surgery room, DOs and DONTs after the surgery, and explained to us our post-surgery medications. Instructions like we need to answer verbally and no nodding of the head, which I always forget. Ugh! We were also required to wear surgical gown, head cap, and slippers.

One by one, we were asked to go to the surgery room, which made me really anxious. During my turn, I was asked to lay down at the surgical bed. It was a quick few minutes… the surgeon dropped anaesthesia, I was asked to just look at a green/red light, doctor placed the speculum to keep my eyes open, a suction instrument kept my eyes from moving for flap creation, flap was lifted, I heard laser was shot, flap was placed back, nurses flushed my eyes with some liquid –that’s it for one eye! The same procedure was done for the other eye. I never really felt any pain during the procedure. Except for the pressure during the “suction” part.

What I felt after the procedure?

This is the most asked question I got from my family, friends, and even followers on Instagram.

To be honest, I was in so much pain. The moment I got out of the surgery room, I can’t really open my eyes. It feels like there’s saltwater or rocks inside my eyes. So, I just waited for John inside the waiting area (he’s the last one to have the LASIK). After John’s surgery, I asked him if he can open his eyes, he said, “yes! Let’s go! Open your eyes”. And I feel like crying at that moment. I don’t know why I feel that way while he looked perfectly fine. I was expecting a final checkup, like what I saw on videos of popular vloggers before they got released, but we didn’t have it. I knew something’s not right, but yeah, we went home.

I was literally walking with my eyes closed (guided by John and Zei) going to the car. I feel terrible. My eyes were closed the whole time we were on the way home. I forced myself to sleep as we arrived home around 6pm, hoping I’ll feel better when I woke up.

This was me when I woke up at around 1-2am to eat dinner. My eyes were sore, and it feels like my eyes were open under saltwater while John looked perfectly fine –like nothing happened!

The first night wasn’t easy. We need to wake up every 3 hours to apply medications to our eyes. Yes, not just one, but three medications.

Good thing my eyes got better the next day –which happens to be our first-day follow-up checkup. There’s no pain but I can still feel something is weird like there are rocks inside my eyes.

Downtime? DOs and DONTs after the procedure?

One day downtime, according to Shinagawa, but it differs from one person’s case to another. No makeup for a month, especially an eye makeup. No strenuous activities such as swimming, weight lifting for a month. Avoid places with smoke such as smoky bars.

You have to wear the protective eyewear for 7 days. You will also be provided with 3 eye medications.

First-day Checkup

We needed to go back to Shinagawa on the next day for our first-day checkup. Yesss! Thank you for a next-day checkup! My right eye feels really weird.

First, the optometrists checked our visual acuity. Then, we headed to ophthalmologist’s consultation room for a more detailed eye checkup. Dr Rosario Rayos Del Sol checked my right eye since I feel like I have rocks on my right eye. Dr Guerrero, Shinagawa Ortigas’ Medical Director, also checked my eye.

They then discovered a “break” in my flap. Which to my understanding means that one part of the flap did not fit perfectly or the tear in the tissue is not perfect. Look at my IG story photo below.

I instantly asked if there’s something to worry about and if it would still heal nicely. Dr Guerrero assured me that it would heal in no time and nothing to worry about. I feel relieved. Dr Rayos Del Sol gave me an additional medication to place in my right eye every night for a week. Cross fingers, it will immediately heal since it’s irritating already.

On the other hand, John is PERFECTLY FINE! Ugh! Lucky him!

First-week Checkup

After applying the additional eye gel, my right eye felt normal after two nights. No pain. No irritating feeling. Finally! We went back to Shinagawa Ortigas after a week for another follow-up checkup. I can’t wait to get rid of this eyewear. Lol!

This time, the optometrist measured our visual acuity, eye grade, and eye pressure of each eye. You wouldn’t believe our results!

We were further examined by an eye doctor (ophthalmologist), Dr Carlo Felix Andraneda. My eyes were perfectly fine, as well as John’s.

Except that John started seeing light streaks when driving at night. Dr Andraneda said that it is because our cornea is still swollen. It will fully heal within a couple more weeks or months.

Before & After Results

I have made a table to clearly compare the numbers such as eye grade, visual acuity, and astigmatism. The after results were taken on our first-week checkup.

	Before	After
Kathleen’s Visual Acuity (Right Eye)	20/200	20/15
Kathleen’s Visual Acuity (Left Eye)	20/200	20/10
Kathleen’s Eye Grade (Right Eye)	250 (-2.50)	25 (-0.25)
Kathleen’s Eye Grade (Left Eye)	250 (-2.50)	0
Kathleen’s Astigmatism (Right Eye)	25 (-0.25)	0
Kathleen’s Astigmatism (Left Eye)	50 (-0.50)	0

	Before	After
John’s Visual Acuity (Right Eye)	20/100	20/12
John’s Visual Acuity (Left Eye)	20/70	20/15
John’s Eye Grade (Right Eye)	125 (+1.25)	25 (+0.25)
John’s Eye Grade (Left Eye)	175 (+1.75)	50 (+0.50)
John’s Astigmatism (Right Eye)	225 (-2.25)	0
John’s Astigmatism (Left Eye)	150 (-1.50)	0

Our eyes are so much better than 20/20 now! It’s almost two weeks now, and my vision is so much better now! However, I’ve been having headaches, probably because the eyes are still adjusting. We also experience dry eyes, which is a common effect of LASIK. Doctors said dry eyes would disappear once our cornea is fully healed already –around 1-3 months.

QUESTIONS?

I know you have a lot of questions if you’re thinking of having a LASIK procedure, I feel you! I know how intimidating it is to ask questions directly to Shinagawa or any doctor. That’s why I patiently answered some of the questions I got from my IG stories. Since I got multiple similar questions, I guess posting some of it here can help answer your curiosity with the procedure.

How much and what services are included?

Z LASIK is Php140,000. Z PRIME is Php160,000. ULTRA LASIK is Php180,000. It includes LASIK Surgery Procedure and Follow-up checkups for 1st day, 1st week, 1st month, 3rd month, 6th month, 1st year, 2nd year, and 3rd year.

Comprehensive Eye Checkup is Php3,000 but it can be waived if you will do the surgery on the same day.

It’s so expensive!

Don’t worry, Shinagawa offers promos! Just keep checking on their social media accounts. If you also have credit cards, you might be able to avail of their installment plans for 12 months with 0% interest. Check their website for more details.

I’m interested, but I want to know more, can you help me?

I’m not affiliated with Shinagawa, so I think it’s better if you can ask them directly with your questions. You may contact the LASIK consultant who assisted us, MS. ALMA (+63 9173465863). You can message her regarding your questions, and she might be able to offer you certain promos. Just let her know you got her number from me (Kathleen Navarro). And BTW, she was able to give us 50% OFF discount. 🙂 Contact her for inquiries now!

Don’t be hesitant to ask her any questions. I swear I have asked a lot before having our appointment.

See you on my next blog! Keep asking questions by leaving a comment below or send me a DM in my instagram @thesassydentistph