LASIK Recovery Tips and Tricks that NO ONE is Sharing!

Lots of people have been asking me how I am doing and how the healing process has been since I had LASIK vision correction on May 24th. I am happy to report that I have 20/15 vision in my right eye and 20/20 in my left eye! I am being tested again in a few weeks at my next post-op appointment.

My eyes have some redness from the suction during the surgery, but it is painless and going away slowly. Most of it is hidden by my eyelids anyway.

I have decided to put a list of helpful things together for folks who are thinking about having the surgery done or who are already scheduled and preparing for LASIK. Before I had the surgery, I did a LOT of research, watched a lot of videos, surgeries, and read a lot of forum and blog posts about people's experiences. Here are a few things that I DIDN'T find elsewhere that have been super helpful for me along the way and I figured I should pass along. 

1. Bring or wear a hoodie on operation day.

For me, my eyes were super sensitive, even with the shields, sunglasses and my hand over my eyes. I used my hoodie as shade while I waited for car service and continued to do so for several hours, even inside of my apartment afterwards. The hoodie was also handy in the actual operating room, which is kept fairly cool for the lasers themselves.

2. Refrigerate your preservative free tears.

My surgical consultant recommended this to me on surgery day and it was awesome. The preservative free tears are a life saver anyway and you will need them hourly in the beginning, but even now when I don't need them as much, they are so much nicer when they are cool, straight out of the fridge.

3. Prep your house before you go for surgery. 

You will be able to see, but for me, even with perfect vision, I couldn't open my eyes for several hours because they were watering SO profusely. It was a challenge to put my medication drops in for the first few times as well, just because I was so light sensitive and my eyes had that foreign body sensation.

How can you prep? Put everything away. Don't leave anything on the floors. Make sure your meds and important stuff is within reach. Plan on taking a nap.

4. Have someone stay with you for the first 8-12 hours.

I was like a blind mouse, feeling my way around and praying that I would not trip on anything. I can not imagine what it might have been like if I had been alone on the first day, especially before I had a nap. I was very fortunate to have my husband home with me on the first day. He handled the kiddos, made food, and made sure I was woken up for my meds.  

5. Get audio-books!

Seriously. You will not be allowed to read or watch any digital devices on your first day, so don't plan on it. I had my surgery early in the morning and had a full day of boredom. My husband resorted to describing what people on television looked like while I listened in. I'm certain that audio-books would be a better choice.

6. Order and fill prescriptions before surgery day.

Most doctors will want you to bring your medications along on surgery day so that they can verify that you have them as well as provide after care instructions. If for some weird reason you don't to bring them ahead of time, make sure that your doctor calls them in for you and you have them all ready to go before your surgery.

7. Take the plastic seals off of all of your meds before you actually need to use them - before surgery.

Sounds simple and easy, but when your eyes are tearing up like crazy and you are afraid to open them, its damn near impossible to open up boxes, bags, and the plastic wrapping on your dropper bottles. Do this BEFORE the surgery. You'll thank me.

8. Have a few important things within reach of your napping place. 

You will need tissues for your watery eyes, water to stay hydrated and help with the healing and hydration of your eyes as well, your medication drops, tape for your eye shields, and Tylenol. I was in terrible pain for a few hours until the Tylenol made it all better. Only needed it once, but when I needed it, I really needed it and I am glad I planned ahead and didn't have to go hunting for it.

9. Don't overdo it. 

Your eyes will tire easily in the beginning and focusing might suck. Just rest, you just had surgery!!

10. You might get a build up of gunk on your eye lashes from all of the medications. Use the preservative free tears to help wash some of it off. 


I could not be happier with my result as of right now and I would recommend it to anyone who is brave enough. I am also happy to say that I have been cleared to go back to running and exercise as of today and I am so ready!!!!!!


Anyone thinking about LASIK? Drop your questions below or email me atphotobombfitness@gmail.com and I would be happy to share my experience. 

Recipe: Zucchini Bake!

Hi sunshine! I've been trying to mix it up a bit here but now I'm getting back logged with all of the delicious new recipes I have been trying!

This one is super easy, super yummy, Keto friendly, and everyone in my family loves it!

Ingredients:

2 zucchini

2 cups of broccoli

2 oz cream cheese

3 cups of shredded cheese of your choice

Salt and pepper

To prepare:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 

2. Microwave the 2 oz of cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl for about 20 seconds so that it is soft, but not liquefied.

3. Blanch your broccoli.

4. Chop blanched broccoli and zucchini into bit sized pieces and add to the melted cream cheese. Stir to coat lightly.  

5. Mix in 2 cups of shredded cheese and season lightly with salt and pepper.

6. Add coated veggies to a greased baking dish.

7. Bake for 30 minutes.

8. Remove from oven and top with remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.
9. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

We also do a number of variations on this recipe and swap out the veggies or types of cheese in equal proportions. Our favorite veggies aside from broccoli and zucchini are yellow squash, cauliflower, spaghetti squash (a little higher in carbs), and green beans. For the cheese, we primarily use mozzarella, but cheddar, Gruyere, and many others work too! 

Enjoy!! 

My special eyes...

Sometimes I wish that I could see the world through new eyes, you know, eyes that function properly. I've spent the last decade thinking about having laser surgery to correct my nearsightedness and now my time is finally coming.

7th grade
These were the upgrade glasses, when my family got healthcare for the first time!

Just like most things in my life, it took me getting pissed off about my eyes to decide on what to do next. After almost 20 years in contact lenses, this past March, I mysteriously got a viral infection in my left eye. At first, I thought it was just dry eye, maybe contact lens overuse, but the redness, itching, and light sensitivity wouldn't go away even after the redness did. Two weeks into that level of aggravation and I finally decided to see my eye doctor (assuming the worst) and got that "you have a virus" diagnosis. No contacts for two weeks and a bunch of eye drops to prevent a bacterial infection while the virus ran its course and an abrasion on my eye healed up.

Well, that was really really annoying. I don't know if anyone else is like me in this regard, but I literally can not go outdoors in my glasses without a lot of pain - my eyes are very sensitive to light and I normally wear sunglasses to go outside regardless of the season or time of day. Being stuck in glasses meant that I would only drive at night and forego my outdoor runs and workouts which I truly love so much. 

I was pissed. I was uncomfortable. I felt unattractive. I went into a fit of rage every time one of my kids knocked into my glasses or they went flying off of my face. It was time to do something! Finally now that my eyes have had a relatively stable period in my life (almost 4 years at the same prescription) it was time to just push past my fears about LASIK and get a consultation.

I scheduled a consultation with a well known laser vision place for July 2016. I got a call back that my date was unavailable and they scheduled me for May 2014 - yea, last week. During my consultation, I was told that this particular doctor has a high rejection rate for consultations because he is very thorough and also a corneal surgeon. Immediately my heart sank. I knew at that moment that it wasn't going to be an option for me.

Fast forward and hour later and it turns out that the Clinical Director and I had a very similar story. Very nearsighted, long time contact lens wearers, and a viral infection just pushed us over the edge. He shared with me his own LASIK story and how his vision continues to be 20/20 to this day - nearly 20 years after surgery. When he leaned in and told me that I would be an excellent candidate for PRK or LASIK, should I choose it, I nearly cried. I never thought this day would come. I never thought that I would be able to wake up one day and just SEE.

This got me thinking about the first time that I put on a pair of glasses. I remember thinking how absolutely beautiful the world was. How the wind blew the leaves in the trees, how the colors and textures were so vibrant, the expressions on my loved ones faces... and while I HATED those glasses with a passion, they were the key to how I would see the world. I am emotional now, thinking about how my first moments after surgery will be and if that magic will happen for me.

My first year in glasses. They were horrible and wonderful and no, this wasn't the 60's. It was the 90's. 

I will be sharing a lot on snapchat on surgery day and leading up to it (posted a bunch last night and my medication regimen), so make sure you are following. Snapname: coachrosierose

Send some good vibes my way. I know I will be a wreck leading up to it and I am just hoping my result is as good as many friends have been.

Boring veggies? Roast away!

I have a lot of food and recipe posts that need to go up and I thought this one would be short and sweet. When I'm in prep mode or trying to lose body fat, I'm always very particular about my veggies and I get bored of the same low carb veggies day in and day out. I live off of broccoli, cauliflower, various lettuces, and green beans.

If you are steaming these vegetables and doing nothing else, they can get super lame so I started roasting whatever I could in the oven and the results were fantastic. They don't even taste like the same vegetables!!

Obviously time will vary depending on which veggies you have going but basically the formula is this. 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 F.

2. Chop up your vegetables into normal sized pieces - no need to be a T-Rex at the dinner table, unless that's your thing. If you are a T-Rex and reading this, I applaud your reading skills and you may eat your veggies at whatever size you choose. 😜

3. Place said veggie pieces onto a baking sheet or jelly roll pan so they don't go flying all over the oven.

4. Drizzle with melted coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil. Measure if you need to, but generally I do ok with 2-3 tbsp. per tray full of veggies. 

5. Mix and combine veggies and oil until things are coated fairly well. I use my hands for this. 

6. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. I prefer pink Himalayan Sea Salt. It's awesome and tastes super yummy. 

7. Roast for 25-30 minutes for broccoli or cauliflower (which I do the most often) turning half way through the cook time. Other veggies, keep an eye on them. Less dense and smaller vegetables will roast faster than bigger, more dense ones. Science!!

Let me know how you do! What veggies are you going to be roasting next?

Countdown to Summit!

Hey all of you sexy beasts! Thanks for following along. If you have read my past few posts, you know that I have a pretty important blood test coming in August as well as a medical weigh in. I had been pretty permissive in my food choices and slacked on the workouts for a few weeks and now that I realize I don't have time to play around anymore, it's serious. I also have an important personal development/training trip (Summit) planned the weekend after the blood work/week before the endocrinologist appointment. It is an awesome coincidence that my team decided to run a challenge group just for coaches to help motivate one another to slim down in time for Summit and so far it has been working like a charm. I am competitive and so I plan on doing well, not only for myself, but for my pride! Goal: 152 by August 8.


Now that I am back on track with my nutrition, my fitness has followed suit. I have been on my nutrition plan all week - including when we took a last minute trip to the city to see Civil War at a private screening last night. I planned my day and brought a protein drink and almonds in my bag, just in case. When Mr. Photobomb offered me some snacks and popcorn from the concession stand, both my sister and I simply asked for water. When I got home, I was hungry, so I had a sugar free Jello... yes, I know its full of fake sugar, BUT it was 10 calories and 1 gram of protein and literally kept me from eating all kinds of other garbage, so I call that a win.

Waiting on the 1 train. I was working on that protein drink and he was worried about me getting pushed onto the tracks. HAHAH!

Yahoooooooo! Sometimes we get a little excitement in our lives. 

On the fitness front, I did re-injure my shoulder doing some of the push-ups and plyo action in my workouts because sometimes I am thick headed and don't listen to my body, so I have been wearing my Rocktape since the weekend and today I was able to do my workout (modified) without the tape. I intend to finish 22 Minute Hard Corps and I am halfway through week 5 right now.

Saturday's progress. Looks like my abs MIGHT actually exist. Also, my beautiful hot pink Rocktape is on display. 

Tape showing again - hanging out with the kids at Liberty Science Center this weekend. 

Running - I have 2 miles left on my 13k race for April, because my running mates had injuries and I skipped a week. I will make that up this weekend and start some miles for the Half Blood Prince Half Marathon that I am working on. Right now, I have trouble going more than 5 miles in a clip, which I think is mostly mental, but I am working on that. For the time being, I am breaking up my virtual races into large chunks so that I can complete. My goal by June is to run 5 miles with a new PR on the ground. Next year, I would like to be able to run an entire half marathon in one shot.

In other breaking news - I have been all over snapchat lately. Not really with anything too intense or creative but when I am cooking, my videos are fun and interactive. If you are on there - add me as your friend! Snap:coachrosierose


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