PRK Vision Correction

Today I had PRK which is a vision correction surgery and I wanted to document how it went because when I googled it, I only found a few blogs about it. I did not qualify for LASIK because I have thin corneas. The difference (I am told) between the two is a little bit longer recovery time. Also, instead of cutting a flap in the cornea, fixing your eye and then putting the flap back, they disolve the cornea and then your eye has to heal again. That is what makes it a little bit longer recovery time.

Gross I know.

Anyways, I asked my doctor today how many people get PRK and he said only about 10% of his patients do not qualify to LASIK.

I was VERY nervous, but still opted not to take the valium because I respond TERRIBLY to medicine like that. I get very panicky and feel like I'm in a nightmare that I can't get out of. Yuck.

I went to pre-op yesterday afternoon, they took lots of measurements, did vision tests, dilated my eyes, etc. Painless. This morning I arrived at 8:15. They put some drops in, put a cap over my hair and I was ready. The whole process took less than 15 minutes. They laid me on a table/chair thing and put little guards to hold my eye lids back, then pushed me under a little machine where I had to stare at a little blinking red light for about 5 minutes each eye. As I did a little tool seemed like it was sort of washing my eye (I'm assuming this was removing the cornea) then he said okay, hold still and the red light I'd been looking at made a buzzing noise and my eyes went in and out of focus. It smelled a little like burned hair (sorry gross again), but not much. He put a drop in which rinsed it and I could see! He also put a comfort contact lens on that has nearly 0.0 prescription, but is meant to protect the cornea I do not have. It was so easy, I told him it was MUCH better than dental work.

The longest part was waiting on Ben who decided while he was there should get his eyes examined. He hasn't had them examined in 20 years and felt like he couldn't see. The result was he has 20/25 vision with astigmatism. He was ready to sign up for contacts! I told him if he thought he really needed to see better, he could get glasses and see how often he even wore them first. I just got rid of paying for contacts and didn't want to sign up for that expense for 20/25 vision.

Anyways, currently I can see pretty well. He said I was 20/40 when I left, but everything is pretty hazy/blurry. Sort of like I have good vision, but I'm underwater. The font on the screen is hard to see because its fuzzy, but it is 100 times better than this morning since I can tell there even is a font on the screen. I can actually see my feet! I came home and took a nap, and when I woke up my eyes did sting a bit and itched, but as soon as I put in all the drops (4 different types) I felt better. And really on a scale of 1 to 10, they were only probably a 3 in discomfort. I just have to remember I can't rub them.

He said the worst day will be Sunday as far as discomfort and vision. It is anticipated that my vision will be good today, better tomorrow, then worse Sunday and Monday. Tuesday he said I can drive myself to the doctor to have him remove the comfort contact lenses and should be able to return to work. After that my vision will fluctuate less and less over the next few weeks.

I'm very excited for it! I can't wait to be able to get up and find N's pacifier in the middle of the night. Its the little things :)