My own testimony about LASIK pretty much echoes yours.

Mine was in October 2000. I wore glasses since the age of seven, and switched to contact lenses during high school. My refractive error was -8 in one eye and -9 in the other.

The surgery was pretty much painless. The only unpleasant part was an uncomfortable amount of pressure on the eyeball, when the surgeon created the corneal flap with the microkeratome.

My eyes burned a bit on the way home, but I almost didn't notice - I was too busy reading license plates as my brother drove me home. The next day, the plastic eye shields came off, and I could see. I woke up in the middle of the night, saw the sharpness of the digital readout on the alarm clock across the room, and that was it. I couldn't sleep another minute. I wandered around in the dark, from room to room, standing just inside the back door, everywhere, just...looking at things. It was amazing. If you've always had perfect vision, you probably don't understand. :)

At first, my eyes got tired and my vision worsened the longer I stayed awake. That didn't last long, and today, the only effect I notice is a dry, itchy feeling if I stay up way too late. My vision is 20/20 and I no longer have an astigmatism.

I'd do LASIK again in a heartbeat, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who is a candidate.

If you're in the St. Louis area, e-mail me and I can recommend good doctors.