In her 40 years of life, getting LASIK is the one thing this woman truly regrets. Here’s why.
What is LASIK?
LASIK is a popular type of eye surgery that permanently reshapes your cornea to improve vision (ideally bringing you up to 20/40), according to Mayo Clinic. It usually takes 30 minutes or less and is generally not painful.
A majority of people (more than 8 out of 10) who undergo LASIK no longer need to use glasses or contact lenses. There tends to be discomfort for the first day or two following the surgery, but you should generally be fine afterward.
While it works for farsighted or nearsighted people, you must consult a doctor to verify whether you’d be a good candidate for the procedure.
What are the side effects?
Complications that result in loss of vision are rare, but there are a range of common side effects from the surgery, including:
- Dry eyes
- Glare and double vision
- Imperfect vision
- Astigmatism
- Regression
But unfortunately, this woman continues to suffer long-term side effects from her surgery. Here’s what happened.
Why is this woman warning against LASIK eye surgery?
In a viral video with more than half a million views, TikToker Maggie Hamill (@maggie_hamill44) shares her terrifying LASIK experience.
“It has completely altered the course of my life,” Hamill says.
She explains that nine years ago, she got LASIK at TLC Laser Eye Center in Madison, Wisconsin, after knowing several people (including her now ex-husband) who had great success with the procedure.
She’d been struggling to wear contacts for more than two hours at a time, and they offered her a reasonable payment plan, so she went for it.
At first, it was fine, Hamill says, noting that she could see clearly and was pleased with the results.
She had some initial discomfort and assumed it would go away, but instead, it morphed into pain and then chronic pain “pretty rapidly.”
“Here we are nine years later,” Hamill says, adding that this pain has “destroyed many aspects of my day-to-day life.”
In a follow-up video, Hamill describes the feeling as a constant burning and throbbing on the whites of her eyes.
On a typical day, the baseline pain is a four, but on bad days, the pain radiates to the back of her eye and down the base of her head and turns into bad headaches. She often needs breaks through the day to close her eyes.
“It is something that is constantly on my mind. There is not a moment that goes by that somewhere I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, I need to put drops in, or I wish I wasn’t dealing with this,’” Hamill says.
“It really is kind of all-consuming,” Hamill adds.
Since her surgery, she’s been diagnosed with a number of conditions, including chronic dry eye, meibomian gland dysfunction, ocular rosacea, and corneal neuropathy.
Everything Hamill has tried to heal her eyes
The persistent pain isn’t from a lack of medical intervention. Here’s everything Hamill has tried to improve her condition:
- Eye drops: Hamill uses these throughout the day, but they only offer 20 to 30 seconds of relief
- Ointment: She uses one at night on her eyes to keep them as moist as possible while closed.
- Warm compresses and cold stones: They offer relief but are a bandaid solution.
- Eye plugs: These are small medical devices that go in the tear duct to try and keep the tears in her eye so they don’t dry out. Hamill ended up getting a permanent procedure that had the same effect.
- Broadband light therapy: Hamill said this is an “extremely painful” procedure that she’s done five times. It only offered temporary relief.
The most recent option Hamill has discussed with her doctor is getting scleral lenses, which are larger, rigid contact lenses that act like a bandage on the eye. They cost a whopping $2,800.
“Had I known then what I know now, I would never have done this procedure,” Hamill says.
“It is my one regret in all of my 41 years.”
Commenters react
“Im so grateful to the people who take the time to share these stories with us. I was considering lasik for a long time. Thank you for saving other people from this. I wish you the best,” a person said.
“For me, contacts are a small price to pay to avoid the anxiety and potential consequences of lasik,” another added.
“I was considering Lasik but I couldn’t get past the idea of shooting lasers into my eyes when I could just wear contacts,” a commenter wrote.
@maggie_hamill44 LASIK nightmare. Please watch this video if you are considering LASIK! #lasik #lasikeyesurgery #chronicpain #dryeyes #lifechanging #psa ♬ original sound – Maggie Hamill
“My eye doctor told me never to do it – he had spent 5 years before his practice doing corrective surgeries on LASIK patients,” another added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Hamill for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to TLC Eye Centers via Instagram direct message.
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