9 months and counting

I realized I haven't posted in a very long time, but wanted to check back and say that it's been more than 9 months since my surgery, and I'm still very glad that I did it.  My vision is fantastic, better than most of my friends, and I have experienced no issues with glare, halos, etc.  Everything is totally normal, just as it was before my surgery, except that I can see without contacts or glasses from the moment I wake up.  The only difference is that I sometimes experience dryness, and keep some eye drops in my office and at home.  This can cause some bluriness when I'm focusing on the TV or computer, but it's little more than a minor nuisance, and it comes and goes.  It's certainly far less bothersome than dealing with glasses or contacts.

3 months--Perfect Vision

I had my PRK surgery three months ago, and I can say without hesitation that my vision is perfect. It seems better, even, than it did with contacts or glasses. My eyes don't get tired from looking at the computer or TV, my vision doesn't fluctuate, I'm not sensitive to light, I don't see halos or get double vision. It's perfect. Yayyy! My only "complaint" (I place complaint in quotes because it's so minor) is that I probably have a day every week or so during which my eyes are quite dry, and the dryness causes some bluriness, and is just uncomfortable and annoying. I am not sure how much of this is attributable to surgery and how much is just normal reactions to allergens, weather conditions, etc. So to anyone reading this blog, I hope you look at my earlier posts and are encouraged! Any early pain, discomfort, and fluctuation will get better and will all be worth it!!!!

2 months

I had my PRK surgery on March 11 and it's now May 11, and I'm still very happy! My vision is great both during the day and at night. I'm done with steroid drops. I continue to take Vitamin C and wear sunglasses any time I'm outdoors, but otherwise it's business as usual. My eyes still get dry and my vision is a bit blurrier then, but this continues to get better with time, and I usually have to remind myself to keep using the lubricating drops.

I'm so glad I've seen a few comments and that this blog has helped people! Most of what I read on the web before my surgery was at best negative, and at worst downright scary, and I spent a number of nights up worried about whether I should go ahead with my surgery. I didn't know anyone who'd had the procedure and the blogs were the closest things to "personal accounts." So my advice to anyone considering PRK would be to prepare yourself for some pain, discomfort, etc. the first week or two, some bluriness for the first three to four weeks, and drier eyes than you are used to, generally. If you can handle that--and I think most anyone can!--you'll find this surgery to be well worth it. I'll update this every few months, and hopefully will have nothing but the same good news to report!

1.5 Months--20/20!

So it's been about a month and a half since I had PRK and I had another follow up appointment today. I was a solid 20/20 in both eyes! No hesitation, no "I think that's an O...or maybe a D???" My corneas looked good and my pressure was good. I'm down to using my steroid drop once a day, and my eyes aren't too dry, though that may have something to do with the weather, and I'm still using Refresh at work and GenTeal at home. I was instructed to continue using the steroid drop once a day for another week, and return for a check up in two months. Yay!

6 weeks and change

Overall, my vision is great. Every now and then one eye will seem less than perfect, but generally the vision itself is quite crisp. On my last visit to the doctor I was seeing a crisp 20/20 in my left eye, a blurrier 20/20 in my right. One problem I am having is dryness, which is pretty persistent now. The doctor tells me that this is common, particularly with the spring weather and pollen and allergies that come with that. She gave me GenTeal drops which help, but they aren't very practical during the work day since they are gel like and hence, making your vision blurrier in the short term due to their thickness. I am down to steroid drops once a day in the morning, and I use the GenTeal before I leave the house. I keep standard Refresh drops at my desk and use them throughout the day, and they help a little, but I still experience a lot of dryness working on the computer all day.

New eyes

Tomorrow will be my one month PRK anniversary (aww) and I truly feel like I have new eyes. At times I actually think that my vision is clearer than it was with glasses or contacts. I'm not sure if this means my visual acuity is actually better than 20/20, or that my glasses and contacts were just always dirty, but I will return to the doctor next Wednesday and find out for certain. I sometimes feel that one eye is slightly weaker than the other, but any differences are minor and sporadic. I continue to use steroid drops three times a day as well as lubricating drops, but my eyes rarely feel dry so I have to make an effort to remember use them. I continue to wear sunglasses outdoors, even on rainy or overcast days, which feels silly but the doctors insist that this reduces the odds that I will experience corneal weakening.

At this point I can definitely say that I'd recommend PRK to anyone who is not a LASIK candidate. The initial pain, discomfort, bluriness and dryness are less than ideal, but they are temporary. Since I took a few days off to recover that part wasn't too bad. The most difficult part was struggling to work long hours in the first 2.5 weeks or so when my vision was fluctuating and blurry and my eyes were dry. It was hard to be patient and frustrating not knowing when your vision would improve and how much it would improve. But so far, it seems worth it!

3 weeks post-op

Well, it's been three weeks since my PRK and I'm increasingly pleased with my results! I read the 20/20 line on the eye chart at the doctor today (though yes, I made mistakes) and have felt significant improvement over the last week. The doctor says that I am already "light years" from where I was one week ago and that I'm healing perfectly. I can start taking the FML three times a day rather than four, and will see the doctor again in two weeks. I can read the computer screen pretty well, though my vision is at its worst when I've been online for many hours and my eyes do dry out easily. I have no trouble watching TV or reading signs when I'm walking around or on the subway. The difference between my right and left eye is now far less noticable, and sometimes my left eye is the weaker one now if it's dryer. I have even discovered a few downsides to being able to see all the time, such as seeing what time it is when I'm sleepless in the middle of the night (that doesn't help matters) or how dirty my shower has been for all these years (ew).