PRK Afterwards

The idea of getting laser surgery is scary!  I refused to even consider it for years because I couldn't stand the idea of someone operating on my eye while I was awake and I was also terrified of losing my vision.  The statistics are really in the patient's favor in this regard, but everyone considers themselves to be the exception to the rule.  I really enjoy being able to see, and while my vision was far from perfect, I was making do with contacts and glasses.  However, after time, my eyes started having issues with the contacts which started me thinking about laser surgery again.

I went to the doctor and found that I was not a candidate for LASIK (the newest laser surgery procedure) as my corneas did not meet the needed criteria.  I was then told that PRK was an alternative option and, after reading everything I could online, I decided to proceed. 

The surgery was simple, the first three days of the recovery were painful (according to the doctor I was experiencing "discomfort"), and my eyes watered a lot while sleeping, but the rest of the recovery was painless.  After five days, I was able to drive, and the next week they removed the contact-like bandages.   After a couple weeks, my day-time vision was good but things were still pretty blurry at night.  After a month, my vision was at 20/15 and the same at my 9-month check up.  According to my doctor, another eye doctor won't be able to tell I had surgery because the cornea grew back as opposed to having an incision heal.  It is a slower healing process than LASIK, but studies show it yields slightly better results and is less expensive.  I would highly recommend this to anyone.  I love that I can see when I wake up in the morning, and that I don't have to carry extra solution and glasses with me wherever I go.  I still put drops in my eyes when I wake up in the morning because they are a bit dry (which is a typical side effect of laser surgery), and I have to wear sunglasses in bright sun and sometimes with fireworks, but that is much better than the reaction my eyes were having to contacts.  So worth it.