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).

Driving without glasses

It seems like I've turned a corner this weekend! Yesterday I felt like my vision was good enough to drive, and drive I did, all over the city on a foggy, dreary day. I even parallel parked without hurting anyone or anything. The computer screen looks far crisper and I'm able to read signs from a distance. I went to an art exhibit today and found that my eyes did feel dry after too much focusing, and I needed to get close to the exhibits to read the descriptions. Overall though I couldn't be happier about my improvement. It varies and things still aren't perfect, but making out the contours of the clouds and spring cherry blossoms sans glasses was a real treat. I hope it just keeps getting better!

Back and forth

My break from the steroid (FML) drops was short lived. I had a checkup on Wednesday and the bad news was that my hunch re: my visual acuity was correct; I'd regressed and was only seeing 20/80. However, I was healing well and infection-free, so the doctor recommended I continue with the steroid drops four times a day. He predicted improved vision at my follow-up in a week, but I was skeptical. Now I'm thinking his prediction may prove true. Yesterday I felt a slight improvement in my vision, though my vision was certainly still not at it's post-surgery high point of 20/30. This morning brought noticable improvement, and I just pushed the computer screen back a bit on my desk. I continue to use the Refresh drops constantly, as my doctor said they speed healing whether my eyes feel dry or not. I'm feeling hopeful!

Is there an eyelash in my eye, for *#(@ sake?

Vision today iss the same as it's been for the past few days (clear in the morning, right eye deteriorates first, both eyes struggle to read and work on the computer throughout the day), but today I finally became concerned about a foreign body sensation in my right eye. After many eye drops and near constant checking my eye in the mirror, I had to admit there there was nothing there and something else was amiss. I called the laser eye center and spoke with the doctor I am scheduled to see for my 2 week follow up tomorrow. He not-so-reassuringly told me that he couldn't tell over the phone whether I should be alarmed (annoying, but being a lawyer I do understand his need for the disclaimer), but that I should certainly keep my appointment tomorrow and should stop taking the steroid drop inthe meantime. He said many people notice a difference in their vision and comfort after even one night without the steroid drops, and that we may opt to change my routine up after a break. I have read that the steroid drops are actually designed to slow your healing so that you don't develop corneal haze and to help maintain the desired correction, but I'm pretty curious now and intend to ask to the doctor tomorrrow.