PRK - 3 weeks post surgery

My eyes are doing better. I have seen small text more clearly, such as books and computers. It's nice to be able to read! Distance is mostly clear, I haven't had any issues with it. 

I don't have any pain, but my eyes get tired. I find myself needing to rest them often. And I still use a lot of drops. The drops are no big deal, I can handle that. But the tired eyes, well, it's tiring. I've gotten a headache or two, but it's usually at the end of the day and is gone by morning. 

I'm loving this. I can read, and go right to sleep. I can wake up in the middle of the night, and be able to see. I love love love this. 

PRK 2 weeks post surgery

My eyes are fluctuating a lot. Sometimes they are better, and sometimes they are worse. I can see enough to function without glasses or contacts, but I can't read without maximizing the font, handle any task that involves small details (like folding paper or cutting with scissors), and I can't read any road sings. When using the computer, I have to lean in really close. I am not in great amounts of pain, but there is some discomfort. I use drops- a lot. I should invest in the eye drop company so I can get some kick backs for the massive amount of drops I use every day. But they help. 

I'm still happy I had it done. The recovery has been different than expected. But even with the knowledge I have now, I wouldn't change my decision. 

PRK Day 4

I can tell my eyes are improving, even if it is painfully slow. Everyone I have spoken with had Lasik, but not PRK, so they could all see immediately upon sitting up from their surgery and are astounded that I can't see clearly. I am grateful to have a very smart phone, one that can follow voice commands such as "Call my mom" and "open voice recorder". It has been nice to wake up in the middle of the night and find my way to the bathroom without having to find my glasses first. It has been nice to not have to rub my eyes to get my contacts to quit hurting. It has been nice to fall asleep and wake up, and not worry about where my glasses are or if I have contacts to take care of. 

And, in a few more days, it will be nice to be able to see clearly without any help. I am still praying this is how it will work out for me. And I am still hopeful. 

If I could do it all again, I would, except for one thing. I would be more prepared to not be able to see for several days. I would do more research on how people were after PRK. Not just lasik, but specifically PRK. I wasn't prepared to not be able to see, and especially for so many days. If I could do it again, I would get books on tape, and plenty of them. I would make plans of things to do without needing to read- wrap gifts, organize areas of our house, cleaning. 

I'm sure this will end up being the wonderful and life changing event that I've been hoping for. But I would have liked to be more prepared for the "in between" time, so that I don't lose hope while waiting for the miracle in my eyes to finish adjusting. 

My next follow up apt is on Friday. Now that the majority of the major events are over, and I'm back tot he waiting, I'll probably wait until then to update again. 

Merry Christmas!

PRK Day 3

The pain is easing, not even much discomfort anymore. Most, it is sensitivity. I am still in the dark room, but have the doors open to let light in. I spend a lot of time sleeping, but I'm not taking the pain meds anymore. I am still doing the two eye drops like clockwork, but I'm not using the numbing drops anymore.

I wish I could read. I would even settle for being able to see clearly enough to watch a movie. I was prepared for the pain, but I wasn't prepared for the lack of sight. I thought I would be able to see perfectly. And I can't. I still can't see well enough to read. I can't see what's on my phone, so I can't text people. I can't read a computer, so I can't browse. I can't see faces or actions, so I can't watch a movie or a show. The boredom is what is going to get to me. 

We went to a family Christmas party tonight. It was good to get out. We had dinner, then played games. It was nice to be around people, even if I couldn't see their faces. It was nice to be out and about, even if I couldn't see the games being played. I spent a few hours with everyone, then curled up in another room to rest until we went home. 

When we got home, my husband did a great service. He increased the font on my kindle fire to the largest font. I can read it! I laughed out loud. The letters are bigger than my fingernail. But it was wonderful to me. I spent over an hour reading my book. 

Post PRK: the first 48 hours

The border between pain and discomfort is much smaller, spending more time in pain than in discomfort. Although, I had been warned the first 48 hours would be the worst, and I was prepared for this. I continue to listen to my relaxation and pain management self-hypnosis. And I am staying right on time with my pain meds and drops. 

I am taking loratab every few hours. Sometimes I am having ibuprofen in between the loratab. 

I am doing a regiment of three types of drops. The first is a numbing eye drop. This could slow the healing, so it is not as strong as the one used in surgery. The second is a milky one. Not sure why it is milky, but that is what is is referred to by the eye center. Wait five minutes, then put in the third one. I'm not sure which is which, but the second and third are an anti-biotic to prevent infection and a steroid to help with healing. 

I am still staying in a dark room. My eyes are very light sensitive. I still can't see very well. I can see colors and shades of lightness or darkness. I can see height and some dimensions. But I can't read at all. Not even large letters. 

Went in for a quick checkup at the eye center. I wore a sleep shade AND sunglasses in, to keep all light out. As soon as I got there, they took me to a dark room and put in the surgical numbing drops. Then they shone a bright light on my eyes to check the healing. Hooray for the numbing drops because the bright light didn't hurt at all. I was even able to walk out and ride home without having my eyes covered. Got home and went back to bed, though. 

I've been listening to podcasts and radion shows. Mostly Dave Ramsey on iheartradio, because it gives the full 3 hour show. So glad to have the option of listening without seeing, because I think I would go crazy without something to keep me grounded in reality. A person can handle only so much time spent in pain- even if the pain isn't intense- before losing it.

Day of PRK

Was very excited before surgery. Hard to sit still. 

Having the "plugs" put in was so simple. A little weird to see what was happening, but didn't feel a thing. 

The "surgery" part of PRK was almost as easy. It was difficult to hold still. He did my right eye first, then my left. Was harder to hold my left eye still. The numbing drops really helped to calm my eyes and help hold still. 

The laser part was easy. I didn't feel a thing. Simply had to look straight up at a flashing orange light. Could see it sometimes and couldn't sometimes. But I still held still. 

They gave me a stuffed dog to hold onto. I laughed at first, but was grateful. It helped me remain still to be able to hold the stuff animal and "pet" it's soft fur. I repeated to myself some of my self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques. 

When finished, I sat up expecting to see perfectly. Not so. It was about half of what I expected. I could see the clock across the hall, but it wasn't perfect. More like I was looking through someone else's RX. 

Went home and went to bed. Since my pain meds wouldn't be ready for a few hours, I took some NyQuil. When it wore off, I woke up and was very glad to have my pain meds right there. The "pain" was borderline between pain and discomfort. At that point, it was still discomfort, but I had been told it would get worse. So I took the pain meds, put in all my drops (3 different kinds), and went back to sleep. Work up a few hours later for the next dose of drops and meds, and went back to sleep. Stayed in a dark and quiet room, with my eyes covered by the protective sleeping shields and an additional sleeping mask. 

7 Days to go

7 days! Actually, since it will be finished at this time in 7 days, I am down to six days. Can you believe it? A week from today, at this hour, I will be finished with my eye surgery.

People keep asking me if I am nervous. My honest answer is that I’m too excited to be nervous. All of my energy is happy and excited and there’s nothing left for nervousness or anxiety. I was curious what the surgery would be like, so I found a video on youtube. As you can see, there is no cutting at all. One of the reasons I’m not nervous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxvPRgsrRxA

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A lot of people have also asked me where I’m getting it done. I will be having my surgery done at The Lasik Vision Institute. I visited a few places and had a few complimentary consultations before deciding where to have mine done. The Lasik Vision Institute gave me the best feeling. The people here spent a lot of time with me, telling me about my eyes, how the human eye works and what condition my eyes were in. They discussed with me the different options available (Lasik vs PRK), and how my eyes would do with each option, as well as preparation, surgery time, cost, and recovery time for both. I was given the mobile number of one of them in case I had questions after I left. I have called their office a few times, and I have text them many times. They have ALWAYS taken time to answer my questions- and my husband’s questions. I have confidence that this treatment is not just to get me in the door, either. I have seen how they care for patients, and I know I will be just as cared for after I have my surgery.

(((To answer the unspoken question, yes I did look into Hoopes Vision. Hoopes on the other hand, was terrible. Hoopes had the highest prices. For that much, I expected fantastic service . . . and was tragically disappointed. They hearded people around like livestock. I waited close to an hour in the waiting room after checking in and before being taken anywhere. They spoke so quickly it was difficult to understand what they were saying, and never even heard me when I asked them to slow down. They blew off questions when I attempted to get clarification, going back to their standard speech. The whole company had an attitude of being better than their customers. Their dismissive and uncaring attitude had me leaving as quickly as I could, never to return. I decided if that was the treatment, I would rather have my bad eyes than go through that again. )))

Next Tuesday, I have an apt at LasikPlus, to investigate their office and options. I am very satisfied with my decision to go with The Lasik Vision Center, but my MIL had her Lasik done at LasikPlus and had a great experience. I will have to like LasikPlus *a lot* better than what I already have to change, but I won’t rule it out until I’ve given them a chance.

The countdown has begun

Today was the last day I put in my contacts. The last day I pulled out the contact case and solution, dropped two drops into the contact, opened my eyelid, gently touched my eye, and blinked the contact into place. 

I am having my eyes corrected. I am having PRK. 

I have terrible vision. From the time I started school, I have always had bad eyes. My left eye is a negative 7.5, my right eye is a negative 8.0. I have only met a handful of people in my life with eyes worse than mine. I was always called four eyes in school. I have to purchase special frames to hold the coke bottle lenses, even though they are polycarbonate. It costs several hundred dollars, even with insurance, to purchase new glasses. Contacts are another story. Contacts make my eyes red and dry, causing me to look like someone using illegal substances constantly. I reserve contacts for special short occasions. Going without either? Not an option if I want to walk a straight line or see anything more than a fuzzy blob of shadow coming at me. I can't even distinguish color differences without, because my vision blurs together so much. 

In 14 days, my life will be changing. I will lay down on a table, unable to see the faces around me, and sit up 15 minutes later able to see the clock across the room. Let the countdown to my new life begin.