PRK Update

I promised an update, but I have been busy this week just trying to get through another on week at work.  It has now been 10 days since my PRK surgery.  I did experience mild to moderate discomfort on day 2 and 3, but on day 4 the pain was gone and my eyes have been painless since then.  I had my contact bandages removed on Tuesday, day 5.  My vision immediately regressed, but I wasn't concerned.  I read about other people's experiences and talked to the doctor about it.  The day before I was seeing almost perfect.  Things were starting to come into focus and actually be sharp and clear.  The reason there is a regression is because that contact bandage smooths out the healing tissue on your eye.  Once it is removed you don't have that smoothness anymore and have to just wait for the surface to heal on its own.  I saw small improvements in vision the following days.  My vision seems well enough to drive and road signs are getting easier to read every day.  On day 6 I had no choice but to drive in the dark because I had to be at work by 5am.  I was so scared, but it wasn't bad.  I could see but I just had to ignore the halos and glares coming off of lights.  I feel like I can see well, but things seem to come in and out of focus.  The most difficult thing to look at is a computer monitor.  This is more challenging because my job is to sit at a desk and stare at a monitor.  My eyes just can't seem to focus on letters and numbers properly.  I'm very hopeful this will improve week by week. 
  Right now I'm just patiently waiting for my eyes to heal and my vision to keep improving.  I really think that the end result will be close to 20/20.  This whole experience is truly a miracle to me.  My vision was really bad.  I was at -6.25 in both eyes and without correction the whole world was this huge blur closing in on me.  When I look around and see right now I have to keep reminding myself that I'm seeing without contacts or glasses.  I have to keep using re wetting drops for my eyes about 6-8x a day.  They are keeping me on steroid drops 2x a day.  I have been following all the doctors orders as closely as I can so these eyes can heal quick and I will get the best results possible.  There is even more pressure for me because I was told that this surgery was my only shot.  I don't have any future opportunities for a touch up procedure due to the fact that my prescription was moderate and borderline severe.  If you get this procedure done with only a moderate correction then you have chances to get touch up procedures if your vision is under or over corrected.  I"m sure I will need some form of correction in the future.  My expectations were to be free of any correction for several years and then hopefully only need reading glasses when I"m older.  I always wanted to get my eyes corrected and I was hoping to get it done in my 20's so I could have the best results possible.  Right now I am in the best health of my life at age 28.  I'm taking care of my eyes the best I can and hoping for good results.  I will keep posting updates. 

PRK surgery

Last October I went to the Moran Eye Center for a free consultaion and screening to see if I could get LASIK to fix my poor vision.  It has been a dream of mine ever since my vision started diminishing when I was in 4th grade.  Technology has really come a long way since I first dreamed of getting my eyes fixed.  I found out that my corneas are too thin and could not get LASIK.  I was really dissapointed and they introduced me to a lesser known method called PRK (Photorefractive Kerectomy).  I'm typing with very limited vision right now and I will fix all my typos later.  I found out that this method is similar to LASIK in that a laser is used to correct poor vision but the difference is the prep for the surgery.  With LASIK they cut a flap in your cornea and shoot the laser through.  Healing and recovery is a peace of cake.  With PRK they use chemicals and scrape off the top epithelium of your eye and then correct with the laser.  Recovery is longer and has some pain.  I'm on day #3 and the pain hasn't been terrible.  I am dealing with hazy vision and struggling to see the monitor I'm typing on. 

My big day was Thursday Feb 2nd.  It's a day that I hope will be one of the best decisions ever.  I went in at 7:30am and everything happened really fast.  The doctor was ready for me and it was so quick I felt like my eyes were already done the minute I laid down.  They took my vitals and gave me a bunch of instructions for the millions of eye drops I would take over the next several days.  They numbed and cleansed my eyes and then took me back.  I layed down on a table and they put this nice warm blanket over me.  I brought my fat cat stuffed animal and it was surprising comforting because I was terrified!  My job was to keep my head still and focus on the green light right in the center.  It was so fast, even the laser part.  They were done with me in about 10 minutes.  I could see right away but my vision was hazy like it still is right now but I can see glimpses of clear vision.  I do have a protective contact on but I am seeing with my own eyes right now and it's at least 100 times better then it was before!  I"m very hopeful that when my vision settles that I will not need glasses or contacts, at least for several years.

I feel like I can function pretty well despite the hazy vision.  The pain hasn't been horrible.  It's a burning pain and my eyes tear up, but it has been manageable.  The doctor even said I could keep working out so I did a good workout today.  I feel like I'm getting back into my routine slowly.  So far I am glad I did this and I'm hoping my vision will clear when my eyes heal up.  I will post more of an update later because it is really difficult to see the monitor right now.