Experiences 03.2003

Tanja R. of SCHWIND accounting department

She had her eyes lasered in April 2003 by the LASEK flap method

Client Tanja Rücker with her attending physicianDr. Thomas Christmann as collage

Thomas Christmann, MD, and Tanja Rücker

I got my first pair of glasses in my first year of school when I was 6. I switched to contacts when I was 12. So I’ve worn corrective lenses for 26 years all told.

I never liked the way I looked with glasses. I don’t think I have the right kind of face for them. Plus, they always got in the way when I did sport. It was also annoying the way my glasses would always fog over. But with my bad vision (–6.50 dioptres) I couldn’t do without. It was lots better with contact lenses. I could handle them well. But I always took them out when I went swimming, as I was afraid I might lose them. I wore hard contact lenses because I couldn’t tolerate the soft ones. And it was most unpleasant when something got under the contacts, like sand or dust. It was very painful and I had to take the lenses out right away.

Naturally I was a little afraid that something might go wrong and I wouldn’t be able to see well afterwards. But an in-depth consultation with the doctor helped a lot and made the decision easier. Plus I had very nice colleagues who assured me that I was in good hands with Dr Christmann.
I was a little anxious about the procedure itself. If I had known beforehand how fast and relatively painless it would be, I wouldn’t have worried about it so much. And ultimately the desire to finally see well again was stronger than the fear.

I was definitely apprehensive, but the doctor and the assistants at the clinic were very nice, kept me calm, and reassured me.
The only thing I didn’t like about the actual procedure was the lid scapula that kept my eyes open. Otherwise I didn’t feel a thing and was surprised at how fast everything went.

It was a long time ago but I still remember how I went home and had to put two eye patches over my eyes. My eyes burned and teared for a while too. The next day I had to go the clinic for a post-op check. I could already see pretty well by that point. It was an incredibly good feeling to be able to see so well without glasses or contacts after such a long time. I remember that for a long time I would automatically reach for my glasses in the morning when I got up, only to then realise with delight that I could see clearly without them.

For me personally, my quality of life has gone up. It’s still a great feeling to be able to see clearly again without corrective lenses.

I made the decision based on my personal pain limit. From one day to the next I just stopped being able to stand wearing contacts. And glasses were a huge bother, especially when I did sport. Also, my little girl would always try to pull my glasses off my face. I quickly decided that I didn’t want to put up with any of that any longer and so I decided to get the procedure done. I haven’t regretted it, and am still very happy about it. So if I had one piece of advice, it would be: listen to your intuition.