PRK Overall Experience
Hello again Everyone,
It has been almost 2 months since my Left eye's PRK and 6 weeks since my Right eye underwent PRK. I have posted some of my progress with my Left Eye, but I thought I would post a conclusion with my entire experience:
First, I have to say, my vision is increadibly clear. I have tested at 20/10 and I never expected that. My eyes feel well, with the excepetion they tend to get dry very easily and it seems the eye drops only help temporarily.
My Left eye's procedure was pretty easy compared to my Right eye. I could see pretty clearly by Day 5 after my Left eye and the pain and sensitivity was very manageable and more annoying than anything. I think I took 1 Tylenol to help with it and it was fine. I was back at work within the week, although it was difficult to read and look at the computer. I was at 20/40 within a week.
I went 3 weeks in between both eyes and with my regular contact lens in, I could see pretty well and my eyes adjusted pretty quickly. However when I went back to glasses for 4 days before my second surgery, it was a totally different story. I had terrible double vision. My eyes would NOT work together and I finally just gave up and walked around without any corrective lens and only about 20/40 in my altered eye. I couldn't wait to have my second operation done.
Boy, was I in for an adventure! I had my 2nd eye done on Monday, February 12th. My second eye was increadibly painful; sensitive, burning, couldn't even open it for almost 4 days. The pain was aabout a 9 out of 10 and never subsided. I finally took some Vicodine that my husband had left over from his chemotherapy treatments and it didn't even put a dent in it! My Left eye slacked off and I was in so much pain I had to give up on eye drops for 2 days. I was home from work on the sofa for a week writhing in pain, without being able to read or even watch tv. In conclusion, it was was the worst week of my life. I am very glad its over. If it had been my first eye, I would have never gone back for the second. I swear it was torture!
In conclusion, my vision has fully corrected to about 20/10. I am clear, crisp and painfree! My original prescription was in the 8's. My night vision is better than it ever was before, although headlights/any lights are really all bright and sharp with no discernable ability to distinguish distance. But that is getting better and better. My eye are less sensitive to light, but a little bit dry and that comes and goes, especailly with working on the computer.
I would recommend the procedure to anyone, however make sure you are able to take time off to be home bound and be fully and pharmaceutically prepared for any and all pain that may present itself. Be patient and give your eyes time. Fully vision should not appear for at least 2 weeks and it take up to 6 months for your eyes to fully heal. If you are in pain, take painkillers and sleeping medications and just sleep it off. If your doctor doesn't want to take out your bandage contact lense after 1 wwek, at least ask him or her to change it for a new one. That helped me a lot. If you are still blurry after 3 weeks, call your doctor and adjust your dropping schedule. Perhaps your epithilium is not healing as quickly as needed. In the end, just BE PATIENT!! One day you'll wake up and be able to see clearly better than ever before...