Showing posts with label HEALTH AND FITNESS. Show all posts

MY SAFE SIGHT TRANSPRK LASIK EYE SURGERY

January 04, 2021

Crystal Phuong- Lasik eye surgery journey

One week before Singapore went into lockdown due to Covid-19, I went to have my Lasik surgery done. It was on April 1st 2020. When I told my family that I would have my surgery done on April's Fool, everyone thought I made a joke. No pun intended. What a special day for surgery! Who would want to be the clinic or hospital right in the middle of the pandemic? I know, right? But here is the full story.

I forgot when exactly I started wearing glasses. It was probably when the doctor told me I had astigmatism with myopia during my secondary school. I didn't have any problem wearing glasses during my teenage years. Until I turned 20 years old, I started dancing and competing, and it became a problem. No dancer wore glasses on the dance floor for safety reasons, and neither did I. As a result, the only person I could see was my dance partner (I didn't know about contact lens just yet). I only learned how to wear contact lenses when I was 26 years old, and I relied on contact lenses ever since. I was able to see the audience when I performed dancing or competing. But I had to apply eye drop every 30 minutes to avoid dryness. A few times, when I went out at night and forgot to bring the eye drop, my eyes were so dry by the end of the night that I had to take the contact lenses out so that I could blink. I'm not exaggerating. Because of this, I've wanted to do Lasik surgery for nearly ten years. If you follow my blog since 2012, you'll see "Getting Lasik eye-surgery done" on my New Year resolution list since 2013.

Why didn't I do it when I was 26 years old? Well, I couldn't afford it then. It was more affordable to buy six boxes of contact lenses for $200++, which lasted for six months than to pay almost $5000-$7,000 for a 30-minute procedure. Another reason was I was skeptical. I was so afraid of the risk, side effects, and possible accident could happen. I could lose my eyesight forever. There are so many articles, comments, recommendations, blog posts on the internet. The more I read, the more I got confused. There are also so many types of Lasik surgery nowadays: LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis, PRK (photorefractive keratectomy), LASEK (laser epithelial keratomileusis), RLE (refractive lens exchange), EpiLasik, PRELEX. How would I know which one suits me? After months of researching, I decided to make an appointment with Dr. Tony Ho at Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre. Lucky for you now, all you need to do is to read the detailed comparison that Dr. Ho wrote on his website to find out what option is most suitable for you.

I knew Dr. Tony Ho and his clinic back in 2013 when I worked in an advertising company for the medical industry. But he had already operated his clinic since 2001 and performed thousands of surgery every year. Many local media channels featured his clinic and interviewed him for the work that he had done. If you want to know more about Dr. Tony Ho and the clinic, you can read more on his clinic website here. My point is, if I was to leave my eyesight into someone's hand, I wanted to have a reputable and experienced doctor. I made the first appointment with the clinic to have my eyes tested and confirm my eyes were suitable for Lasik surgery. Multiple tests and a few types of eye-drops later, clinic staff said I could consider Safe Sight TransPRK surgery and Corneal Cross-Linking as an additional treatment to strengthen my thin corner. She also shared with me the pricing for both procedures. I already saw the pricing published on the clinic website, so there wasn't any surprise at that point. The pricing transparency of the clinic made it so easy for me to make a decision. That's why I scheduled the surgery date on the spot. Besides, since the whole country went into lock down, I couldn't go out anyway. It felt like the right time to have the surgery and rest at home.

On April 1st, I woke up early, had my breakfast, and went to the clinic to have my Safe Sight TransPRK surgery. I sounded like I was going for a brunch, didn't I? But the reality was, I was so nervous yet excited at the same time. I was going to make my ten-year dream come true. How could I not be excited!

When I arrived, the nurse did a few more tests on my eyes, applied a few anesthetic eye drops, and got me ready for the surgery. I decided to do Safe Sight TransPRK surgery and Corneal Cross-Linking (because I have thin corneal) on both eyes at once. Some patients did only one eye at a time so they could see after. I decided to do both because I didn't want to go through the same procedure twice. I'd rather endure the pain all at once.

Back to the surgery, Safe Sight TransPRK surgery is an all-laser, one-step, no-touch, non-invasive vision correction procedure that does not require the eye surgeon to cut a corneal flap. The standard LASIK (cut, flap, and zap) process might have flap-related medical complications, which are my ultimate fear. Thankfully, with the new technology, no surgical devices are touching the eye at all. Clearvision Clinic uses the Schwind Amaris 1050RS excimer laser machine with a zero-latency eye tracker and the ability to track all 7-dimensions of eye movements. The procedure on both eyes was much faster than I expected. I thought I would be lying in the surgery bed for at least 30 minutes. It turned out I was there for 15 minutes or less. First, I was asked to keep looking at the blinking green eyes. Then, the Schwind Amaris 1050RS machine removes the epithelium cells of my eyes. After that, the laser machine shapes the cornea to correct the eye's refractive power. Doctor Ho placed a transparent, high-oxygen permeability content soft contact lens over the cornea to protect the treated surface while the epithelium cells regenerate. The Corneal Cross-Linking treatment took additional two minutes to complete. Before I got comfortable in the warm bed, the nurse helped sit me up, and Doctor Ho asked me to smile for a photo. The surgery was over, just like that.

Everything was smooth, fast, and simple. The only discomfort I had was having to keep my eyes wide open for a long time, but that was it. I was still able to see when I squinted my eyes. I even booked a taxi, came home by myself, and went straight to bed, hoping to get some rest.

The pain started kicking in once I laid in bed. The numbing eye drop wore off. My eyes were so sore and watery that I had to take a pain killer. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep at all. I lived in complete darkness for the first two days. Now I knew why some people decided to have surgery on one eye at a time, especially when they were alone. I didn't think I needed someone to bring me food and drink post-surgery. I thought I could manage, but I clearly couldn't. Thankfully, some "angels" came to rescue the poor girl. I'm lucky that I have so many kind friends around. One friend helped me order food; others came to the house to check up on me and set my daily eye drop reminders. Speaking of eye drops, I've never had so many eye drops in my entire life. There were four eye drop types that I needed to apply hourly on the first two days, and every two hourly the following three days. It was overwhelming. But everything comes with a price. That's the effort you put to have perfect eyesight.

Day 5, after surgery, I was able to walk around the house (with sunglasses on) and managed my routine. The eyes were less sore, but the vision was still blurry, and I couldn't see much. I went back to the clinic on day 5 to have the soft contact lens removed.

I barely looked at my phone, TV, or laptop and still wore sunglasses during the day to avoid direct sunlight. I was super diligent with my post-op care and followed the doctor's advice strictly.

I did not rub or squeeze my eyes, especially for the 1st week. I used eye wipes to gently clean my eyes every morning and night.
I didn't apply any makeup and eye gel or lotion for nearly three weeks.
I didn't go swimming or do any vigorous sports activities until after four weeks post-surgery.
I wore UV protected glasses when I went out. I still wear sunglasses now whenever I'm out of the house on a sunny day.

My eyes took longer than others to recover fully, so I had more reviews with Dr. Ho. I was a little nervous, and of course, impatient, but there was nothing I could do. Dr. Ho assured me that my eyes were healing beautifully, and that's all that matters.

Eight months after my eye Lasik surgery, I can finally share my personal story with you. I took the below 2 photos after my eyes were completely healed. Same Crystal, different eyes sight. Writing this blog post without the help of contactless and glasses makes me feel incredibly grateful. I'm so thankful for the smooth & successful surgery at Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre. Special thanks to Dr. Ho & his team for their excellent work. I'm thankful for the friends who were there when I needed help the most. It was a dream come true to say goodbye to contactless and prescription glasses finally.

Officially crossed this off my bucket list.

Thank you so much for reading!

Disclaimer: Although this blog post is partially sponsored by Clearvision Eye Clinic & LASIK Centre, all opinions are my own.

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Crystal Phuong

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event HEALTH AND FITNESS

{EVENT}: PROTECT TO TELL- CERVICAL CANCER

May 31, 2014

Today's blog post is neither about fashion nor beauty, it's about an important topic that I couldn't ignore. It's none other than our health, women's health, to be exact. I always believe that a healthy woman is a pretty woman, which is why it's so important for us to know how to take care of our health. When I was invited by OC Group (thank you Rachel) to the brunch event "Protect to tell- Cervical Cancer", I couldn't say No even though it was held on my resting- day.

A #selfie shot of my hair and make-up in the cab on the way to Lady M (Fullerton) where the event was organized.

It was a pretty event with so many lovely pastel colored decorations; from the registration table, to the flowers and the balloons. Even the cakes looked so pretty there.

I dressed up in purple, which happened to match with one of the colors of the event.

Throughout the brunch, we were shared so many useful information about the 10th most common cancer in Singapore females: CERVICAL CANCER. I wrote the first blog post about Cervical Cancer 4 years ago, and that was the first time I learned about this cancer.

Just in case you don't know, Cervical Cancer is one of the preventable cancers, and is curable if it's treated in the pre-cancerous stage. Nevertheless, there were still 360 deaths reported out of 960 new cases diagnosed with Cervical Cancer from 2008 to 2012 in Singapore.

Why?

Perhaps, many people didn't know about it. Even if they knew, they didn't think that they were diagnosed with Cervical Cancer. Read these common myths below and see if you have the same thinking:

Photo credits to: GlaxoSmithKline Pte Ltd

In short, any women with age from 25 to 69 who have had sexual intercourse are at higher rate of developing cervical cancer. You are advised to have you Pap smear test once every three years. Even though HPV Vaccination helps to prevent certain HPV infections and reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer, it does not guarantee that you are 100% protected, thus you need to do a regular Pap smear to detect changes in the cervical cells.

Cervical Cancer if detected in its early stages can be treated, and the treatment is simple and almost 100% effective. You can go to any gynaecologist to get the Pap smear done, and payment can be claimed via Medisave.

Please take a good care of yourself and stay healthy because your well-being is not only important to you, but also to many of your loved ones.

I did my Pap smear and had HPV Vaccination 2 years ago, what about you?

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Crystal Phuong

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COLLABORATION HEALTH AND FITNESS marie france bodyline

GET YOUR SEXY BACK WITH MARIE FRANCE BODYLINE (PART4)

September 21, 2011

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Crystal Phuong

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COLLABORATION HEALTH AND FITNESS marie france bodyline

GET YOUR SEXY BACK WITH MARIE FRANCE BODYLINE (PART 3)

August 14, 2011

Advertorial

Sorry for the late update guys! I've been really busy with so many works, projects and stuffs which I couldn't squeeze any of my time to blog. Anyway, I'm back here for the review of the 2nd treatment with Marie France Bodyline as promised.

Second treatment with MFB was really amazing, despite I only had very tiny time that day due to my super tight schedule. I had only 1 hour available and it had been 1 week plus after my first treatment, I was kinda missing the massage. Hence, I did not want to postpone. But know what? Without me asking, MFB arranged 2 beautiful therapists to do the treatment for me at the same time to utilize my time at maximum.

I was like OMG! I felt like being a Queen, seriously! I was super excited and I texted my guy friend "Hey, guess what? I'm having 2 beautiful therapists massaging me now. So shiok". His reply- "WTF! Life is so unfair", lolz....That shows how professional and awesome MFB service is!!!! Never fail to satisfy me :)

During the second treatment, I had a chance to talk to my personal nutritionist, listen to her advice on my daily diet. And honestly, I learned so much from her. Sometimes, we don't really care about what we eat, how much nutrition that we consume daily, how bad or good our eating habit is. That is absolutely not good -_-. I used to think I'm a very healthy dieting person, I eat a lot of vegetables, fruits. I don't take fried, oily stuffs so I should be ok. But I was wrong. We need to balance what we eat everyday. These are some of the infos that Jin Fang (my nutritionist) shared with me, I'm sharing it with you. See, I'm so kind!

Sources of protein we should get.

This is extremely important to those who want to be on a diet. What are the bad fats to you?

And these are GOOD fat that we can eat without worry!

Consultation time

Obviously, I need to have a photo of me and Jin Fang- my personal nutritionist. Look at how healthy and beautiful she is!!! Jealous!

After consultation, Jin Fang helped me to get my BMI (Body Mass Index) Screening done before I started my treatment. As usual, stubborn fat on my arms and tummy are still the main focus. The 2 treatments I had this time are slightly different from the first treatment.

First, I had Cryocelle Phased Therapy (CPT) treatment like the first time. It's a must have treatment because it's super effective, according to the consultant.

Ultrasound therapy becomes one of my most favorite treatments too.

I like the hot-cold feeling at the same time. First, there is a layer of cold gel applied on my arms and tummy, whenever I want to reduce the fatness. Thereafter, the therapist will use an applicator to massage thoroughly the entire area for 7- 10 minutes. This is where the heat derives from. The longer the massage is, the hotter I can feel. It's hard to describe it in details, but the only thing I can assure you that, it feels GREAT!

Second, I had ISS (Intelect Spot Slimming) treatment. This is when I had 2 pretty therapists doing the massage for me at the same time. We had a pretty fun chat during the treatment as the 2 therapists are so friendly plus they met a talkative person like me. So, what can you expect? ;)

After the massage, I fell asleep for 20 minutes at the end of the treatment. That's the best thing ever because it's like a dream. When you wake up, you feel totally different: lighter, slimmer and fresher. :D

Lastly, MFB even let me try out their Paraffin Hand Wax. Super awesome max <3

My therapist was doing hand-massage for me. She is so cute and friendly.

Dipping my hand one by one into the wax...I love the feeling.

The paraffin slowly started to cool off and conform to the contours of my hand. Looks like I'm wearing gloves :D
Once the paraffin gloves were peeled off, it gave my skin super soft and smooth feeling. It's really amazing and I'm somehow kinda addicted into it.

Overall, I must say I LOVE MFB SERVICES. Not to mention their effectiveness of all the treatments they have, but their services are so professional and good. All the staffs are experienced and friendly. I never feel bored every time I go there. Everyone cheers you up with a big smile, makes you feel home and warm. I love that.

Two more treatments to go for me, but I already feel that my body weight has changed a lot. The proof is every single friend I met, said: "OMG! You look so slim and fit. What's the secret?". I answered them in return: "Yeah, I've been undergoing some slimming treatments with Marie France Bodyline and I have a personal nutritionist to help me keep fit" and smiled. :).

If you really want to try out their service, they are currently having FREE TRIAL! Sounds good? All you need to do is to check out their WEBSITE, or join their FACEBOOK fan page or TWITTER to get more updates.

Stay tuned for the last blog post because I'm gonna reveal the before-after photos after all the treatments. See ya!

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Crystal Phuong

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COLLABORATION HEALTH AND FITNESS marie france bodyline omySG

GET YOUR SEXY BACK WITH MARIE FRANCE BODYLINE

June 17, 2011

Advertorial

Are you fat?

Are you upset about your chubby look?

You keep on dieting but you still gain weight crazily?

You are losing your confidence because of your over-sized body?

HOW? HOW? HOW?

I don't know! I'm sorry, lolz...

But I know someone who really can help you with your weight problem. They are *jeng jeng jeng*

Who else but Marie France Bodyline (MFB)? Actually, I don't need to introduce much about this company because they are already too popular, everyone knows or at least hears about them. So, listen! I'm gonna share with you a very exciting news:

"I'm going to have a complete slimming and firming package sponsored by Marie France Bodyline" Muahahahaha!!!!

Jealous not?

Last week, I and few other bloggers visited their branch in Orchard. It was our first meeting with MFB team to find out more about their company products and services. Honestly, I felt very honored to be taken care by them.

I guess, the company must be very proud and confident in their products which have already been proven by a real life story. They made me feel good too when I first stepped inside.

Receptionist area! Pretty cozy and nice ambiance.

Snapped some photos of their in-house products and I found this!

Does it look familiar? Yeah, it does! I received the BodyTech Perfectionist Serum from last time attending Audi Fashion Festival- Francis Cheong couture which was sponsored by MFB too :D I haven't used it tho'. The one above is BodyTech Circulatory Gel also from the BodyTech Perfectionist System series. They both look almost the same in terms of packaging but have different unique functions and both are one of their top selling slimming treatments.

Serum

MFB consultant- Fiona was introducing about the company to us- bloggers. At the same time, she was being "terrorized" by many questions from us. I wasn't surprised at how she managed to answer all easily. Experience!

A happy group photo

We were taken to visit their entire place. My God, I didn't know that they have so many treatment rooms inside. Look at the deco on the door? So elegant! Each room even has a name itself.

After introduction and other necessary procedures, it's time for our ONE- TO- ONE consultation. Saying one-to-one consultation, I mean each of us will have our private session with a professional consultant to understand about personal weight loss target and unique problems. Then, they will have individually tailored slimming program for each and everyone. I love this! This is why MFB is very much different from other slimming companies.

C'mon! I'm sure you happen to see a lot of weight loss treatment packages at S$xxx advertisement around. Those companies are just lazy because they want to save time and cost, they apply 1 standard package to everyone. That is so wrong! How could a 70kg girl fits into a ready-made dress size S? At first, I thought MFB would do the same but they proved me wrong.

First, I got my body composition analysis done

I guess they must be very disappointed because I'm not fat enough for them to show their awesome skills and products. -_-. What to do? I'm a sporty person, my fitness result almost closes to perfection 84/100. I'm absolutely healthy! But if you think I don't need their professional service, you are wrong!

I got fat arms and fat tummy now, ssshhhhhhhhhh

I really need to reduce fat on those areas, wtf! I hate looking at my fatty arms in the photos :( Please help me to settle it!

Fiona is giving me more infos about what needs to be done for my body.
Know what? Besides helping me to slim down on my tummy and arms, MFB is so damn generous, they even assign a personal consultant to watch out my dieting, to supervise my progress and to advise me how to take care and maintain the result. Awesome to the max!

A bur photo of me while being interviewed by Omy.sg. We did some filming works on that day in fact.

1, 2, 3 action.

At last, we both were so into the real conversation til the camera man said "Stop" but we were still in "Action", lolz. It was pretty fun time I had with the omy.sg and MFB team.

Camwhoring with Sabrina, one of the fashion, beauty bloggers

Now, you guys shall wait til I'm back from my Krabi trip, I'm gonna have my 1st treatment with MFB next week. I really can't wait for it.
I'm flying to Krabi in 5 hours time, muahhahaha!!!! Have a great weekend all!

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Crystal Phuong

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acupuncture COLLABORATION HEALTH AND FITNESS TCM Clinic

MY FAVORITE ACUPUNCTURE CLINIC

December 13, 2010

Advertorial

Ever tried any acupuncture treatment in Singapore?
There are tons in Singapore, which one I should go?
Where is the best acupuncture clinic in Singapore? Is it safe? Is it painful? How much does it cost?
And lastly, Is it effective?

Seriously, I never give a stare at any acupuncture clinic at all. Neither in Vietnam, Malaysia or Singapore -_-.

You can say I'm coward but I'm scared of the pain. What's so wrong with that?

I had phobia when I was bitten by a big dog when i was at 15 years old (his height was up to my waist for your info) and I gotta go for a vaccine once every week for a month or two without fail. Every vaccine day was hell to me because I was freaked out when i saw that long needle pricked into my body *Ouch*. And that when I hated doctors too.

Since then, I have been being so scared of acupuncture because It's the treatment done by the stupid needles and I thought it must be very painful too.

Cut the long story short, I meant I have never gone to any acupuncture clinic for the past 27 years.

Only after I hurt my arm during the badminton games, it was painful for the whole week and every morning I woke up, pain. Carry heavy thing like a laptop bag! Pain!. Raise the arm upward, pain! I thought my arm was useless already -_-.

Coincidentally, I went to see my client on Tuesday last two weeks and he owns a acupuncture clinic called.

Never had any intention to go for acupuncture either, but I talked to him about my arm pain after we finished talking about the business, he then offered me one session to cure the pain. Swear to God, I didnt know why at that point of time, I had enough courage to try out the first time acupuncture. I trusted him as he said "No, it's not painful at all". Ok! Fine!

Here is my client, Mr. Kuo getting prepare for all the necessary stuffs.

Those needles were stung into my body. Ewww*

There, he was about to start...

I couldn't take a clearer photo because I couldn't move.

After approximately 15 minutes, all was done and the pain was even much more until i barely stood up. Thank God, I just had to stay in place for about 20 minutes, after that he withdrew all the needles out and told me. "It's done!". At that point, I felt I was alive again!

It wasn't so quickly effective that my arm could move easily again at that time but I loved the feeling of the needle stung into the right painful part. The pain kills the pain, that's kinda feeling :D

Two weeks later which is now, i only have time to write a blog about his clinic. Mr Kuo must be wondering, "when the hell this girl is going to write something up since I offered her free service", lolz....*I'm just kidding.

Seriously, this is the statement I have to make! The next day after my acupuncture treatment, the pain was just completely GONE like a magic! :-O

I'm not joking neither giving extra words because he sponsored me the service. No No No! I even told my boyfriend about it. It was just so amazing! I kept asking myself, how could all the needles do that work? I dont even need to apply any medicine, cream. Nothing!

For that reason, I think I need to shout out to his clinic to public. Check it out!

Mr. KUO was rearranging the pillow, bed sheet as one patient had just left.

A small clinic but very clean and tidy! I like :)

Many tokens, trophies, certificates he achieved a long the way. Fyi, he is also the director of Singapore Chinese Acupuncture Research Intuition. Got name and title ok!

Chinese medicine for those who need

Feng shui kitty welcomes you at the entrance! I put the fake eye-lashes for her. Doesn't she look much prettier now?

Reception area!

Last but not least, the man who runs the clinic! Mr. Kuo T. H or you can call him Thomas. He is very nice, kind-hearted person, you'll feel warm when talking to him, he looks like my grandfather :)

There are some questions you might want to ask:
- How much does it cost?
Around S$60/ acupuncture treatment. Am not sure if it includes the medicine. You might have to ring him and ask. Tel: 6227 1303. And oh, don't forget to mention to "CRYSTAL PHUONG" when you see him, he'll treat my blog readers as special as how he treated me. :)

- Where is the clinic located?
It's next to Novena Medical Center, Square 2 #03-47, 10 Sinaran drive, Not difficult to find his clinic at all.

- Does he has website?
Nope, currently he doesn't have any website. But he has put up his clinic profile on Streetdirectory.com. Click HERE!

That's all for now! Any question, you feel free to drop me a comment here!

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Crystal Phuong

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MY SAFE SIGHT TRANSPRK LASIK EYE SURGERY

{EVENT}: PROTECT TO TELL- CERVICAL CANCER

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