The PRK experience

So Monday I went in for my PRK surgery. Believe it or not, with all the talk these days of LASIK this and LASIK that, there are other surgeries you can get to correct vision. In my case, I could have gotten LASIK, but chose to go with PRK because the Army won't let you apply for Special Forces if you've had LASIK. To this day it isn't waiverable and it will bar you from application. Now say you're already SF and want to go get LASIK... it's fine. Just can't apply for training if you've had it. It's stupid, but hey, it's the Army.
Another great thing about PRK is that there's no flap cut in your eye. The doc scrapes off the top layer of your eye called the epithelium and then uses the laser and lets your eyes regrow the epithelium over the treatment site. After it's healed it's like nothing ever happened to the eye. Below I'll go through the days and how I'm doing each day...


DAY 0

The day of surgery... it kinda sucked. But I was so happy to be able to see I didn't really care! Soon as the laser stopped firing at my right eye all I could see was a hazy whiteness with points of light in it; like if you held a sheet up to your eyes and tried looking through it. But as soon as the doctor flushed my eyes with water to remove any tissue that was still on the surface I could see the ceiling perfectly! Sharper than I'd been seeing after a few weeks of glasses even! It was amazing! The doc and technicians joked that they could see my heartbeat in my temple, chest, and neck, I was so nervous just trying to focus on that blinking light and when the laser started firing it became near impossible for me to see. I knew the laser would shut off and was tracking my eye, but it still scared me.

So after the surgery the doc had a few words for me and then I was off to the post op nurse who put some more drops in my eye and explained how to take care of my eyes for the next few days. She had to stop and correct herself a lot cause most everyone who goes through there has LASIK, and the post op care differs a little. But then she put in a couple numbing drops and send sent me on my way! I was amazed at how I wasn't feeling any discomfort at all. Until the drops wore off ... Then it sucked. I'm, not gonna lie, if you get PRK, it's gonna be irritating. It doesn't hurt so much as just get really really annoying for a while. I went to go fill my prescription for Percocet at the pharmacy but the doc had forgotten to write the strength on the scrip so it couldn't be filled. By this point Iw as potting in drops every three to four minutes and it was driving me crazy! So we went back to the doctor's office and get that fixed, and he gave me a bottle of Systane and was told to use it sparingly, if at all. I guess it slows the healing process or something. I put a couple drops in my eye the second we got out to the car though, and it helped a lot! After that my brother drove us over to the pharmacy and got the prescription filled and I took a couple Percocet as soon as I could.

The rest of the day was just me lying in bed dealing with the eye thing and trying to sleep and nap. It wasn't that hard with the narcotics in me at that point, and by evening I could get up and walk around the room, no problems at all. I didn't feel I needed the drops anymore, but I kept putting them in auase I was told to so... eh. I dunno. My eyes were feeling great and I could see really well. Standing on my blacony looking out over Spokane I couldn't believe what technology like lasers lets us do these days. How I was seeing everything with my own eyes and not with a lens bending the light to make it right for my eyes.
My friend Marlee came over and we all hung out for a bit playing with music and going to Sonic. I actually drove to Sonic that night cause... cause I could I guess. All you who worry about seeing halos and starbursts at night just look around you at night now and it isn't much worse. I actually don't see starbursts at all after the surgery, just halos. I really think that if you take the time to realize how your vision works before the surgery, it won't shock you after you've had it. It's not THAT much different, really. Wasn't for me anyway.


Day 1

I went in for the day-after appointment and things were looking pretty good. My eyes were light sensitive, and I woke up once that night around 0300 to put some drops in cause my eyes were burning, but a few seconds after the drops were in, I was feeling fine and went back to sleep. The thing I notice the most is that I don't have any kind of dry eye problems at all. I had it more wearing contacts than I have after PRK. Could be the drops I'm putting in, but other than that first day, I haven't had to put in drops other than cause I was told to keep it up.
The doc came in and looked at my eyes, and had me to a vision test. I didn't ask how well I was seeing, but I could only read the top line in the right eye, and the fifth or so line with my left eye.
Didn't really care though. My vision was great!
After the appointment my brother wanted to go to an Army surplus store, so we went there, then we went to the Armory where my unit is based and I got a new Blackhawk STOMP II aid bag with meds and supplies and everything. Good stuff :) I'll write about that in another blog though. After the armory we drove home and I got to sleep most of the way, which was nice. Just keeping your eyes closed really helps with the strain. I've spent almost a majority of my time with my eyes closed, and that's really helped, don't push it too much cause the strain... it gets to you.


Day 2

By the third day I was running around doing stuff, maybe putting in drops every half hour or so, and again, just cause I was told I had to. Only time my eyes hurt was right after I put in the Vigamox, I don't know why. After that, it sorta burns for a bit and my eyes water. But the rest of the time I'm good. I spent the day playing with my little brothers and going through some of my gear I've been issued. As far as vision went, it was really cloudy and hazy, but most of the time I could look at a house a block away and see each individual shingle on their roof. Hazy with sharp vision, if that makes sense. But it fluctuated throughout the day with the norm being hazy the whole time, and blurry in the morning, sharp in the afternoon, and somewhat blurry in the
evening and night. But no pain or discomfort really. Just when I put the drops in.


Day 3

That would be today, and my eyes are feeling great. Hazy still, but pretty sharp for the most part. I haven't tried them out much today cause I've been spending most of my time in bed. But I typed up this whole thing today without causing much eye strain, whereas the first time I tried this (yesterday) I only got the first paragraph done. So it's looking good, I'm excited and I'll keep posting about how it went.


Day 4

I'm staying at the Winston's tonight, and probably the rest of the weekend. When I went to the appointment today they took the bandage contact lenses off my eyes and put some numbing drops in. I was seeing 20/60 in each eye which isn't really good enough for driving, but I thought I could make it home ok. But then after calling Nathan to hang out with him till I went home, I started driving to his house and my vision went even worse than when I was wearing glasses and would have them off! And worse than 20/400 is pretty bad... I just followed a big black blur in front of me all the way out of Spokane and somehow it even took the Hatch Exit. When it's brake lights (red hazy, blurry blobs) came on, I hit mine, when it stopped, I did too. I never once could make out a stop light and could only barely tell where I was in town. The only part I had real trouble with was when I was turning into to Winston's neighborhood cause of how the entrance has been redone! I'm pretty sure I just about drove into the sign at the entrance, but I made it. And then I put the contacts they had given me just in case back in my right eye cause it hurt the worst.
The craziest thing about all of this is how much my vision has fluctuated. Yeah it hurts, yes it's blurry, but it's never constant! One minute I'll be seeing decent, the next it's all blurry. And then just one eye is good, then they switch. I can't see close up, or far away. Kinda ridiculous, but I think I'm going to be staying here this weekend cause it's not worth driving home just to come back up on Monday. Plus... I don't entirely know if I could get home right now.


Day 8

Yesterday at my appointment I was seeing 20/25 in my right eye, and 20/30 in my left. So that's some good improvement from Day 5 where I was seeing 20/60. It's still hazy, and I'm light sensitive, but it's come a long way in just the past two days. I had to have the doctors put in new contacts cause seeing without them right now hurt! So they put some bandage contacts back in to let my eye heal some more before removing them. Anytime I had the contacts out this weekend it felt like I had a grain of sand in my eye, and I couldn't keep them open. Sunday (Day 7) was ok cause I had put the contacts back in myself, but they were extremely dry and light sensitive. That night I took the contacts out thinking I could get the drops to the center of the cornea better, but... it hurt. And made them even more dry! I went through a box of the Bion Tears in two days, whereas before I had gone through one box over a week! Last night I could see perfect out of my right eye. By that I mean it wasn't blurry. Both eyes are still rather hazy cause the new epithelium hasn't adhered totally to the cornea I guess. Or something called SPK, but I didn't know enough at the time to really ask. Sometimes I wish doctors wouldn't give the dumbed down version of stuff to me and just say, "Well, the haziness you're experiencing is superficial punctate keratitis as the epithelium regrows." Then I'd know for sure and can learn more, as opposed to, "Well it'll be hazy for a bit longer but just hang in there little buddy! It'll get better soon!" I think I'm gonna start asking for things explained medically.


Day 14

Two weeks after the surgery my vision is pretty good! It's actually great in my left eye and really good in the right. On my checkup last Thursday I was seeing 20/25 in the left, and 20/30+ in the right, but with some difficulty. Now I'd have no problem getting that and I'm probably doing much better. I have another appointment tomorrow and I'll know for sure how well I'm healing.
At that last checkup my eyes were healing too fast, so I was put on a stronger steroid (Econo Pred) and told to put one drop in every other hour and as soon as I did that it's been getting steadily better, and the haze has gone away. Halos aren't so bad, and I've rarely got any double vision. When I do it's just in the right eye. So yeah, things are great! My eyes still get tired if I use them too much watching an intense movie or using the computer too long, but that's gotten better and really isn't bothering me anymore.

Today I found some pictures that sort of help describe what complications or difficulties you may have or go through after the surgery. Mine are all but gone, but below is pretty much what I was seeing for about the first week and a half after surgery. I had issues just posting the pic, so here're the links:


Glare
Blur
Double Vision
Halo
Starbursts


On most days, I had all those going, in addition to light sensitivity and the itching, burning, "there's something in my eye" feeling. It wasn't really horrible, it just made it hard to keep my eyes open. Totally worth it though... the irritation and discomfort went away and now I have great sight with no glasses or contacts! And no flap issues that could ever arise. And I can still put in for SF. So... basically it was worth a little bit of discomfort, if you're ever thinking about doing it and would give up a week or two of comfort for great vision, do it.


Day 17

At the doc's office I was seeing 20/30 in my left eye and 20/15 in my right. The ghosting is all but gone, along with the haziness. Basically, I'm loving it. It was worth the pain and discomfort and worry and money. All the way. And I leave tomorrow for PDT with the benefit of not having to worry about contacts or glasses like I did last time, I love it!