Waiting to have a procedure start is always a difficult thing. The time spent sitting in a chair in a waiting room gives a person too much time to think about all of the things that could go wrong during that procedure.

I've been through Lasik procedures twice and so I know what to expect. Knowledge is power and because I think it's important to know as much about any procedure I decided to help others by letting them know what goes on in the waiting room of Lasik clinic.

On my last visit, I started talking to other Lasik patients who were waiting for their procedure. Some of them brought along good luck charms or stuffed animals to comfort them during the procedure. There was one such woman, a young woman, perhaps in her early 20's. She kept up a steady stream of chatter in an attempt to put her mind at ease and prevent her mind from thinking about what lie ahead for her.

It seemed to me that a person should be mature enough to handle a procedure without falling apart, but then again, I'm sure that I was not exactly the bravest soul when I was waiting for my first procedure to be done.

As I conversed with some more of the other patients in the waiting room, I was surprised that there were several other people who had returned for a second appointment.

Like me, a few didn't have a significant improvement in my vision and the doctor wasn't happy with the results, either. Since we had had such a good first visit, we didn't seem to be overly anxious about a return visit. In fact, we were ready to have the adjustments made and have our vision restored to what it should be.

Since it was so early in the morning, around 6 AM, it was interesting to see the various styles of dress that the Lasik patients had chosen to wear. One was dressed to the nines in her power suit and makeup carefully applied for the best effect. The rest of us there for Lasik appointments seemed to have dressed for the weather in sweaters, jeans and sneakers, since it was in the dead of winter and temperatures were cruel outside.

The early hour also told me that we were all there for a Lasik procedure because that's who is usually there at that time of day. Since makeup or lotions or other types of cosmetics are not allowed 24 hours prior to a procedure, I was confused that the one woman had chosen to wear it and thought maybe she wasn't a Lasik patient after all. She was not friendly and in fact was quite standoffish and so I did not try to speak with her. Most of the time, Lasik patience are supposed to return home and go to bed as soon as they can once the Lasik surgery has been completed.

I had no inkling of how long I waited to see the doctor since I was the fourth patient who had been shown into the waiting room. The absence of clocks was a strategic maneuver, designed to keep the patient from realizing how long a period of time that they would wait. One lady a few seats away was having a nap while she waited and I thought that was an excellent way to spend the time.

Some patients choose to take a low-dose anxiety medication to help keep them calm, but they needn't worry since my first Lasik procedure was pain free. Since I was nervous for my first time, I had chosen to take the medication and I had thought about not taking it again, but at the last minute decided it couldn't hurt to talk the medication.

Hopefully, this small look into what it's like to sit in the waiting room before a Lasik procedure will help to set your mind at ease. The procedure is not traumatic and is in fact very simple and not a lengthy one at all. Most of the people who have Lasik surgery done find that it is a very calm and pleasant experience.

Source: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1183717/how_to_wait_for_your_la...