20 minutes of (intense) discomfort. 30 minutes later I was seeing the world in high definition (with sand-in-my eyes, yes. But high definition). I took eyedrops 3 times per day for months. Totally worth it. 20 years later I remain glasses-free.
Granted, I was a mild case: Some myopia (3 and 4 if my memory serves) and .5 astigmatism on each eye. And not everyone is eligible; some people's corneas are too thin to be "sculpted".
Only drawback is that when driving at night the lights from incoming cars and traffic lights have "extra halos" around them. Very minor inconvenience for me and definetly worth it.