PRK: 6 month update

1.17.2009

I just renewed my driver's license, and was able to have the corrective lens restriction removed. That felt like a major milestone! It's my first driver's license without any restrictions!

Not much has changed. My vision is still 20/25 in the left eye, 20/20 in the right eye, and 20/20 when I'm using both eyes. There continues to be a small amount of astigmatism in the left eye, but it's so slight that they don't even make a lens with a small enough prescription to correct it.

I haven't had the double vision for some time now. In fact, I couldn't even tell you when it disappeared. The only "artifact" (to use PRK-LASIK jargon) is starbursts at night surrounding lights--car lights, stop lights, street lights. It's worse than it was with contacts, but not really all that bothersome.

My expectation going into this was not perfection. My expectation was not to need glasses or contacts to see. I think my results are better than I expected, especially since that buggersome left eye has straightened up its act! If I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't hesitate. Undergoing--and paying for--laser vision correction is not for everyone. But for me, it's been nothing short of a miracle!

PRK: 4 month update

11.13.2008

I'm supposed to say, "I can't believe it's been 4 months already, it's gone by so fast!" Actually, it feels odd that it's ONLY been 4 months. I feel like I've been without glasses or contacts forever! It's a nice feeling.

I had another checkup yesterday, and it went really well! Before the appointment, it seemed that my vision had become a little sharper, but I can never be sure until I have my vision "tested" by a pro.

With my right eye, I could read the 20/15 line! I was reading 20/25 at the previous appointment. With my left eye (that's the troublesome little bugger), I could read the 20/20 line. It was at 20/30 at the previous appointment. (That's according to the doc, who knows what I wrote in my last post) Woohoo!!

The doc also said that I have about a -0.5 astigmatism left in both eyes. He said that it is not even correctable with contacts, as contacts start correction at -0.75. I was surprised, as I still have trouble reading signs and whatnot at a distance--the lettering still appears as ghosting, or double vision. Maybe that's just an artifact (side effect) of the surgery, or maybe that's just how people with normal vision see the world....

At any rate, the doc had some great news! He did not say anything at all about the possibility of an enhancement, and I did not ask. For the first time since the procedure, I have hope that I will not have to go through this all a second time!! I go back to the doc in six weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!

PRK: 14 week follow up

10.15.2008

I administered my very last [knock on wood] steroid eye drop Monday! Woohoo!

I also had a follow up appointment on Monday with my eye doctor. The vision in my right eye has worsened somewhat, from 20/20 last time to 20/25 this time. That is to be expected, and just means that my vision is fluctuating as my corneas heal. Somewhat disappointing, but not too concerning.

My left eye, however… The doc says the vision is improved over the previous appointment, although I could not really tell. I’m currently seeing at 20/30 out of that eye. He also shared my prescription strength in that eye. My vision is – 0.50, and my astigmatism is at –0.75. I asked him to just tell me what it all meant, in regards to my potential need for an enhancement.

He expects that the right eye will be fine. He said that he has seen prescriptions like the one I still have in my left eye completely clear up within 2 months of discontinuing the steroid drops. As in—it’s possible the vision will clear up, but not definite. I told him I was preparing for the worst (needing the enhancement), but would gladly accept being pleasantly surprised. He seemed to agree with my assessment.

So—no more steroid drops. My eyes finally get a chance to “settle down” and time will tell where my vision is going to end up. I go back to the eye doc in 3 weeks, but may not know for another 2 months if I will need the enhancement.

PRK: 12 week update

10.01.2008

Yes, I'm still here. September was just a slow writing month.

Tomorrow is my 12 week PRK anniversary. At about the 10 week mark, I thought I was developing another sensitivity to my alternate steroid drop, so I went in to see the doc. He thought it was probably allergies, and gave me a couple of sample bottles of antihistamine eye drops, to be taken in each eye twice per day. Oh joy! My eye drop regime just increased! But they seem to be helping, so I'll try to limit the complaining.

My eye doc also continues to discuss the option of an "enhancement." (*Note: I'd been calling it an adjustment. I knew that wasn't the right word. I knew the right word was much more soothingly euphemistic.) Enhancement Schmenhancement. It's a re-do. I have two more weeks of steroid drops, and then will wait a few weeks to see what happens with my vision. If my left eye still doesn't improve--I will probably have to do an "enhancement." I have a feeling, just a gut feeling, that it won't improve. It has actually gotten worse these past few weeks.

On the bright side, the right eye seems to be doing okay. If I do need an enhancement, it would be a plus if I only needed it in one eye. Also, let me be clear. I am not complaining about potentially needing an enhancement. Just disappointed. Going into this, I knew I was blind as a bat and that fact placed me at a higher risk of needing more than one procedure to completely correct my vision.

I would still do it all over again. And if my doc recommends the enhancement, even though I'm functioning okay with my current vision, I will probably decide to do it. Why have just "okay" vision that allows you to simply function when you can be close to 100% corrected after a lifetime of wearing glasses and contacts?

Oh, and my friend L. thinks I'm nuts, but I swear the steroid in the eye drops is making my hair fall out. Not in big clumps, thank goodness. It's just thinner overall, and there is a LOT of hair in my shower on a daily basis.

PRK: 8 week update

9.07.2008

Most of my research into the PRK healing process consisted of reading the blogs of those who underwent the procedure and shared their experiences. The postings on many of these blogs tended to drop off after about 8 weeks, which was very frustrating. Then, at about the 4 or 6 month mark, there would be the obligarory post--"Sorry I haven't updated more often. Things are great. So glad I had the procedure, yada yada yada." But, dammit!--what happened between 8 weeks and 6 months? Inquiring minds want to know.

Now that I am at the 8 week mark myself, I understand the sudden disappearance of updates after about 8 weeks. There just is not that much to update. My vision seems to be better than it was 2 weeks ago. But the imrovements at this stage are so gradual, it is hard to tell. I still have some double vision. It is most noticeable on signage--road signs, business signs, any large lettering at a distance, and small lettering that is more than an arm's length away.

Overall, my vision is very functional. None of my activities is limited. The double vision is not as irritating as it used to be (because it has gotten better, not because I have gotten used to it--important distinction). However, if there is no further improvement, I believe my doctor will recommend an "adjustment." That means doing the whole damn thing over again.

But I am optimistic. I truly believe my vision is not 100% because the steroid eye drops--say it with me--slow down the healing to prevent the formation of scar tissue. Every time I have decreased the number of eye drops per day--from 4 to 3 to 2--I have had a noticeable improvement in vision. Therefore, I have three more milestones in the healing process. First, in a week, I will decrease from 2 steroid drops daily to 1 steroid drop daily. Second, in 4 weeks, I will stop the steroid drops altogether. Third, after four weeks of no steroid drops, my vision should be close to maximum improvement.

It is all still one big waiting game.

Oh, and I can't be positive about this, but I think the steroid eye drops are making my hair fall out. Hair loss is fairly common with oral steroids, and although I haven't been able to find any connection on steroid eye drops, I sure do seem to be losing much more hair than usual. And it has progressively gotten worse since I started on the drops. Yet another reason to celebrate when I get to discontinue the steroid drops.

Although I must admit that even if I develop a bald spot or two, it will be temporary, and so worth ditching the glasses and contacts!!

PRK: 6 week update

8.20.2008

Yup, kiddos. Tomorrow is the 6 week anniversary of my PRK procedure. Hard to believe this much time has passed. Overall, I would say my vision is doing well. I was becoming sensitive to the preservative used in my initial steroid drop, Pred Forte, and switched to another steroid drop, Alrex, last week. I noticed an improvement in the quality of my vision within a day, and the burning and itchiness went away as well. At my follow up appointment on Monday, the doc said my prescription hadn't improved from last week, but my "line of vision" had improved. I don't really know what that means, and I haven't had time to Google it. My biggest problem right now continues to be the double vision for objects at a slight distance (10 feet away and further), but even that has improved somewhat the past couple of weeks.

The doc also clarified the healing process, which made me feel much better about the seemingly s.l.o.w. progress of my vision improvement, especially when compared to the more rapid improvements I experienced in the first two weeks. He approved me this week to transition from the steroid drops three times per day to two times per day. This will last for four weeks, and then I will do them once per day for four weeks. He said that my vision won't even out and reach maximum improvement until I've been off the steroids for at least four weeks. In case you haven't already done the math, that's three more months before I can expect to see optimum improvement; 18 weeks from date of surgery.

Which all makes sense, if I had stopped to think about it. The steroids slow healing (stop me if I've told you this before) so that scar tissue won't develop. Naturally, I won't heal completely, then, until I discontinue the steroids.

Meanwhile, my mom's coworker had LASIK on Monday and was back at work on Tuesday...

In other news, I may be trading in the Eh-scah-pay for something more fuel efficient within the next week or so. Details to follow.

Another eye update

8.12.2008

I was having some issues with my eyes that made me concerned I may have an eye infection. My eyeballs themselves felt really hot; I could actually feel the heat through my eyelids. They were also drier than usual, and the steroid eye drops burned when I put them in (that was new--they never stung or burned before). However, what prompted my call to the doctor was the stinging and burning I experienced Sunday evening. That was definitely not within the norm. I was able to get in to see the doc late Monday afternoon.

Good news overall. No eye infection, but he thinks I may have developed a sensitivity to the preservative in my steroid eye drop. I think that is fairly common, as steroid eye drops aren't normally meant to be used for long periods of time, and I've been on them for a little over four weeks. He prescribed me a new steroid drop, and already my eyes feel better.

Also good news, the astigmatism in my left eye has changed. If it were a leftover astigmatism that would require an "adjustment," it would be a static sort of thing. But because the astigmatism has changed, that means it is there because of the healing process. That is, the astigmatism is there because the layers growing back on my cornea are affecting my eyesight, and as the layers change as they grow back, my vision will change as well.

Sheesh, I hope that made sense.

Overall, my vision is still not so hot, and I haven't noticed much improvement in the past couple of weeks. But I am still in the "Be PATIENT" phase. Considering most wounds take an average of 6 weeks to heal (thanks for reminding me, Lori), and my healing is slowed because of the steroid (to avoid scarring), and I'm only at 4 1/2 weeks post-op, I'm doing my best to just chill. I checked out some blogs yesterday, and most experiences I read about didn't have satisfactory vision until the two month to four month mark.

Of course, I stuck a mascara wand in my left eyeball this morning. I'm sure that won't help matters AT ALL. I go back to the doc on Monday, so I guess I'll find out then if I screwed up the healing process on that eye.

On the positive side, I can:
read magazines and the Kindle
look at a computer screen several hours per day
drive
watch t.v.

So when I say my vision is still crappy, I mean that it is nowhere near where I wish it to be (probably still fluctuating between 20/40 and 20/30--maybe 20/50 today after the mascara incident), but I can see well enough to function without glasses, darnit, and wasn't that the point of this whole thing???

Vision update

8.02.2008

Just a small update. Since my last post probably conveyed my disappointment in my vision taking a step backwards, I just wanted to share that my vision was improved considerably when I woke up yesterday morning. Yay!! My guess is that my vision is back to what it was before it declined, and I am just fine with that! (for now--just as long as it keeps progressing)

PRK 2 1/2 week update

7.29.2008

Feels like it's been much longer than 2 1/2 weeks, so it helps to remind myself it's been only a short time since the surgery. Patience. Patience.

I had a follow up appointment yesterday. My first follow up was the day after the procedure, my second follow up was the Monday after the procedure, and this was my third follow up.

I knew my vision had worsened over the past few days, but I was still discouraged at the results yesterday. My right eye had improved one line on the eye chart. My left eye, however, had declined one line. Apparently I have an astigmatism in the left eye at the moment. My doctor reassures me that this is normal, and that my vision will continue to fluctuate over the next couple of months. He said he won't know until 4 to 6 months after the surgery if they will have to do an adjustment, which is basically going through the whole process over again, to correct for what they were unable to get the first time.

The doc was quick to say that the adjustment was a possibility, but nothing at this time indicates I will need an adjustment. He told me, in a nutshell, to be patient. And to give my vision at least 2 months to settle down.

Patience. Patience. Patience. Not one of my virtues, but I'm working on it.

PRK: My experiences so far

7.20.2008

Dammit!! I was almost through with surgery day and my computer re-started (stupid updates). Here we go again...

Thursday (Day of surgery):
My appointment was not until 1:20, so I worked that morning. I did not allow myself much downtime that day, so I did not have much time to dwell on what was in store for me this day. I arrived at the surgery suite a little early (of course), but they took me back to get prepped right away. They did not even give me time to sweat it out in the waiting room before they got started!
The nurse took my vitals, gave me a chewable Valium, and went through all the post-op instructions. She had me put on the beautiful blue surgical "shower cap" as well as the blue booties. She then swabbed my eyes with Betadine. And then I had to go back out to the waiting room, blue cap, blue booties, and yellow circles around my eyes!! It wasn't so bad, as it was the waiting room for the surgical suite, so everyone there looked just like me. Can you imagine a room full of blue shower cap, blue bootie wearing, yellow raccoon-eyed people? I can't. One of the first things the nurse did was take my glasses away, so I was blind for the whole waiting experience.
It was little weird, giving up my glasses. It was sort of like giving a part of myself away. A part that annoys the heck out of me and that I couldn't wait to get rid of, but a part of me nonetheless.
So, there I am, in the waiting room, worrying that the Valium would not kick in. I don't know how much time passed, but I know that when they called my name, I had spent so much time worrying about the Valium that I didn't even get around to getting scared about the surgery itself. But I guess the Valium was working, because instead of running screaming from the room, I allowed them to lead me back to the surgical suite.
The room was COLD, so they gave me a heated blanket. That was the best part of the whole experience. They had me lie down in the "dentist's chair," covered me with the blanket, handed me a stress squeezy ball, and swung the chair around underneath the laser contraption. It all happened that quickly!! (They also confirmed my date of birth--thank you Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goals). They patched my left eye, taped my right eyelashes to my face, and inserted the Clockwork-Orange-type contraption that would hold my eyes open during the procedure. That thing wasn't NEARLY as bad as I was expecting. I couldn't really distinguish what happened next, but from my research I knew that they were dissolving and scraping away the top layer of my cornea. That was pretty awful. Seriously. That was the WORST part of the whole experience. Truly truly awful. By the time the laser started, I was relieved because I knew it was almost over. But. Then. It was time for the left eye. Not fun at all. However, it did go quickly. My mom said I was in the surgical suite for about 15 minutes. That includes the time it took to lead me back there, get me situated on the chair, patch, tape, and insert the keep-the-eye-open contraption, dissolve cells, and laser each eye. My guess is that it took less than 5 minutes, start to finish, for each eye.
I came home, took a Tylenol 3, and went to bed. However, I couldn't really sleep--not the way I wanted to. I wanted to just pass out for three or four hours, but I just sorta cat-napped the afternoon away. Before I left the doctor's office, they taped clear, hard plastic shields over my eyes, and I was instructed to wear them until the next morning, and every night for the next five nights. I hated the shields. Probably, more specifically, I hated the industrial strength surgical tape used to hold the shields on. Anyway, I could tell that my vision was much improved, but I couldn't really judge how much because the eye shields distorted everything.

Friday:
My first post-op appointment was this morning. At my pre-op on Wednesday, as well as at the procedure appointment, they warned me that I would feel okay Thursday and today, but Saturday would be the worst day as far as pain and light sensitivity, and that I would want to stay in bed in a dark room all day. The relevance of that statement will be clear shortly.
While in the waiting room my mom pointed out a lady who had her procedure just after me. She was flipping through a magazine. She must have had LASIK. At that point, I must admit I was little jealous of her, as my vision was still pretty poor (but better than before!!!).
The doctor was an hour late. During this time, I was growing increasingly t.i.r.e.d. and light sensitive. I was wearing my sunglasses indoors. The post-op exam went well, albeit late. I think my vision tested at about 20/60. I could squint and make out the 20/60 line on the eye chart, but functionally, I couldn't have read a darn thing on the eye chart. But still, before the surgery, I couldn't have made out the "E" on the top line, no matter how much I squinted and tried.
The light sensitivity continued to worsen, but I attributed it to becoming fatigued. Oh. No. Was I wrong. As we left the appointment, I got into the car and reclined my seat back so I could sleep on the way home. The sun hit me full in the face. My eyes watered. They HURT. I sat up and looked around for something to shield my face. All I could find was a black canvas bag from Wal-Mart. I draped it over my face, and rode home with a bag on my head. Dear mother was very supportive, though. Every time she looked over at me to check on me, she laughed at her dear daughter wearing a bag on her head!
I was in denial, as everyone said my bad day would be on Saturday. However, it soon became clear to me that I was in Hell. And my hell had started about 12 hours early. It was pretty bad. My eyes were dry, scratchy, burning, and stinging. The light sensitivity was so bad that my mom had to close all the blinds and curtains, AND put blankets over the curtains. I laid in bed with my sunglasses on and a light-colored shirt over my face, but the light coming in through the light-colored fabric was still too much. Mom finally got one of her navy blue t-shirts that I could put over my face, and that helped tremendously. I started taking the Tylenol 3 every two hours. It would take about 20 minutes to kick in, and would be in effect for about 40 minutes. Then I had a whole hour to wait before I could take another one. I kept telling myself that this was temporary, and hoped that because it all started a half day early, that it would end a half day early. I knew that if it was going to last no longer than a day and a half, that I could handle it.
Friday night I was up every two hours, putting lubricating drops in and taking more Tylenol 3. My eyes watered constantly the whole night, which was okay because the moisture helped ease the pain somewhat.

Saturday:
The Hell ended Saturday morning. I felt blessed, as I expected it to last much of the day. I was so relieved! Saturday was still uncomfortable, and I still needed the sunglasses indoors and blankets over the windows. My poor mom must have felt like she was living in a cave all weekend. I slept most of the day Saturday, and don't really remember too much about it. My vision is clearer, but not all that functional. And I've had a cloudy, milky haze since the procedure.

Sunday:
It's a whole new day!! No pain, some discomfort, but no pain. I didn't have to wear sunglasses indoors. I could have a light on. I even wrote down some notes for this blog entry. I watched about an hour of television, which consisted of looking at the screen for two minutes, and looking way for five minutes, and so on for about an hour. I took a shower this morning, first one since Thursday morning. I was so thrilled about being able to shower and wash my hair that I didn't even notice until I was almost done that I could SEE IN THE SHOWER! First time I can remember being able to see in the shower. Things are going so well today, that I'm a little anxious about having the bandage contacts removed tomorrow. From my research, vision tends to decline and some discomfort returns after the bandage contacts are removed.

Monday:
My second post-op appointment, and the doctor is an hour late, AGAIN. Mom said now that they got all my money, they aren't as worried about customer service. :) My vision tested at about 20/30, and my doc said I could now get the corrective lens restriction removed from my driver's license. That was a little scary. Although I could squint and squint and focus and focus and make out some of the letters on the 20/30 line, my vision is still not even close to being good enough to drive. Mom and I ran a few errands, and I could be in the direct sunlight with sunglasses on without any problems. It felt good to be out in the world again.

Tuesday:
I worked from home this morning, and was able to spend about three hours in front of the computer screen. Mom went back to work today. I was forbidden to drive anywhere, was stuck in the house for the fifth straight day, and was going absolutely out of my mind!! However, Lori came later that afternoon to rescue me, and took me to TJ Maxx and Target. I did sneak out and drive around the neighborhood for about an hour. My distance vision was blurry, but I did feel comfortable driving.

Wednesday:
I returned to the office today. My vision today was worse than yesterday, and I actually felt less comfortable driving. I only stayed for a couple of hours before getting tired, and drove home around 11:00. I have to say at this point that I have been sleeping A LOT. Two to three hours at a time. But the body recovers and heals while it sleeps, so I'm cool with that.

Thursday:
Back to the office. I lasted until about 3:00 today, but definitely overdid things. Although the fiscal year is over, I was trying to get some billing entered before the final final deadline, and I think I pushed it too much. My vision has been relatively stable, but I did notice some ghosting on street lights and business signs. I hung out with Lori this evening and had a couple glasses of wine. I was nervous about driving home, as that was the first time I had tried to drive at night. But it went really well! The street lights and stop lights were fine--no ghosting, starbursts, or halos. At least no more so than with glasses or contacts.

Friday:
Today is my last day of four sets of drops four times per day!! I have one steroid drop, two antibiotic drops, and the lubricating drop. I have to wait five minutes between each drop, so it takes me about half an hour, four times per day, to administer all the drops. Today is my last day of antibiotic drops, so after that I will have just the steroid drop, four times per day, and the lubricating drops as needed. I am also able to sleep through the night, waking up about once per night to put in lubricating drops.

Saturday and Sunday:
Everything is going well. I have small improvements day-to-day with my vision, but the improvements have slowed significantly from the drastic day to day improvements I had earlier in the week. I can read for very short periods of time, but I'm still sticking to the audiobooks for now. My distance vision is still not great, but I have faith that it will continue to improve. It has been quite the process, and the more traumatic parts are fading from my memory, even now. Getting my wisdom teeth out still tops the list of traumatic life events. I think I'm still in shock about being able to see without glasses or contacts. I think it will start to hit me as I'm able to resume normal activities. For example, this Thursday I get to wear eye makeup again, AND go to the pool.

If I had it to do over again, would I decide to get PRK? Absolutely. I never, for one minute, wished I hadn't done it. Not even during the hell day. I am blessed to be healing quicker than average, to have fewer than average "artifacts" (ghosting, starbursts, etc), and to have a positive experience overall. Getting vision correction surgery is a personal decision, and not one I would recommend across the board. However, if it is something that makes sense given your lifestyle and unique circumstances, I would definitely say "Find out what you are getting into, and then go for it!"

I can see!!

7.17.2008

It's my one week anniversary! It's been quite a week, and most of the excitement happened in the first three or four days after my PRK procedure.

I have wanted to post an update before now, but have only been able to look at a computer screen for the past few days, and by the time I get done with my work duties on the computer, my eyes are too fatigued to do anything more.

I plan to post a more detailed update in the near future, hitting all the exciting highlights for those first few days after the surgery. However, I just wanted to let everyone know that I am doing suprisingly well, and have recuperated faster than I was expecting. I started driving and returned to the office yesterday, but I am still getting tired easily so am only working half days. (My nap schedule has gone from two three-hour naps daily, to two two-hour naps, to one two-hour nap). But I figure that much of the healing occurs while I sleep, so I'm okay with that.

I want to think everyone for the phone calls and the cards. Even though I may have been drugged up and drowsy when you called, I still appreciated the support.

Cheers!

Tomorrow is PRK - Day!!!

7.09.2008

I am writing this on the evening of the 9th, Wednesday. It probably won't get posted until sometime on Thursday, and for that I apologize. I'm having technical difficulties with Blogger at the moment.


My PRK procedure is tomorrow!!! Although it is technically a "surgery," I feel a little odd calling it a surgery. It is, even more technically, an ambulatory outpatient surgery. That means I will walk in, have the surgery, and walk right back out. Here is how I'm expecting things to happen:



I'll be working Thursday morning, mostly to keep the anxiety at bay by keeping my mind off the surgery, and also to avoid an unnecessary PTO day. Then I will come home, pick up my dear mother, and we will drive to the eye doc's. I'm supposed to be there at 1:20, but will probably arrive a little early, because that's how I roll. There may be some last minute topography of my eyeballs taken, they will give me a valium, and then wait for the valium to kick in. The procedure is scheduled to happen at 2:20. That's a lot a waitin'.



After the valium has kicked in, they will take me back to "the room," where I will lie down on a dentist-type chair. I'll get lots of various eyedrops administered, one of which will numb my eyeball. The doc will then put a solution on my eye to dissolve the top layer of the cornea. The doc explained this part very well at my pre-op appointment this morning. The topmost layer of the cornea is about 5 cells thick, and is really more of a "skin" to the cornea. After the dissolving solution does its job, the doc will then scrape off the remaining cells, position the laser, and set the computer to do its work to re-shape my cornea. After the re-shaping, each eye will get a bandage contact. I expect that whole process to take less than 5 minutes per eye.



Dear mother will then drive me home, and the plan is for me to sleep the afternoon away. I was informed to expect things to go fairly smoothly Thursday after the surgery, as well as Friday, but to expect extreme light sensitivity and irritation/pain most of the day Saturday. The tech said I will probably just want to spend the day in a darkened room, sleeping. I can think of worse ways to spend my time. The doc also gave me a script for Tylenol-3, so hopefully the painful bits will be tolerable.



I have a follow up appointment Friday morning, and another one Monday morning (when they will remove the bandage contacts). I expect weekly, then monthly follow ups after that. My vision will be corrected immediately, but my vision will be wonky for a while (two weeks? two months?) while my cornea is healing. The process of the cells growing back is what causes the light sensitivity and vision problems (hazing, ghosting, starbursts), and my vision will fluctuate during the healing process. From my online research, I think the fluctuating vision should calm down significantly within two months, and the corneas should be completely healed by six months.



It sounds like a lot to go through, especially when people who get LASIK talk about their instantaneous vision correction and lack of healing time. To that, I say that PRK has been performed a LOT longer than LASIK, and I also say that the flap they cut for the LASIK procedure never fully heals. The PRK may have a more involved and more irritating/painful healing process, but when I'm healed...I'm healed.



Yes, I am very nervous. The emotional bit of the nervousness hasn't kicked in yet. Of course, I haven't really had a chance to stop and think about so far today. But intellectually, I'm nervous for the procedure, I'm nervous for any pain that comes after, I'm nervous that I'll be discouraged while my vision is still fluctuating, and I'm nervous--in a VERY good way--about no longer having "nearly blind" as part of my identity.



Keep me in your thoughts, prayers, vibes, what-have-you on Thursday, and through the weekend. Cheers!

One week from tomorrow!!

7.02.2008

PRK--How will I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. No more looking down when walking in the rain.
2. No more hand mirrors to apply eye makeup.
3. I can wear real eyeshadow instead of blush/bronzer on my lids.
4. I can wear mascara without worrying it will smudge my glasses.
5. Being able to see exactly what I am shaving in the shower.
6. Sunglasses!!!
7. Sinus headaches/migraines will last no longer than absolutely necessary.
8. No more disembodied voices at the pool.
9. Being able to be in the pool and see at the same time!
10. Garrisol can splash me in the face and I won't care.
11. I can take spontaneous naps.
12. No more trips to the eye doc office when little hands grab at my face (to get my glasses readjusted).
13. No more alarm clocks with ginormous digital numbers.
14. No more cramming my glasses on while wearing my headwrap when I get out of the shower.
15. Being able to see getting in the shower, while in the shower, and getting out of the shower.
16. Being able to see the mold in the shower and being able to clean it before getting the sneezing fits.
17. No more "dedicated" spots for my glasses in the bedroom and in the bathroom.
18. No more glasses sliding off my face when I'm sweaty. (Not that I sweat or anything...)

PRK vs LASIK

6.10.2008

Both are surgical procedures performed under a local anesthetic that uses a laser to correct one's vision. LASIK is probably the most popular procedure, as it has very little healing time. However, the procedure I'll be undergoing is called PRK (Photorefractive keratectomy). PRK has a longer healing time. The reason for the longer healing time is the way the procedure is performed.

In a nutshell, LASIK uses a laser to cut a flap from the top 1/3rd layer of the cornea, then uses a laser to reshape the underlying layers of cornea. PRK uses a chemical solution to dissolve a much thinner top layer of the cornea, then uses a laser to reshape the layers of the cornea. The higher the vision correction, the more layers of cornea need to be used in the reshaping process. My corneas happen to be on the thin side, and therefore there aren't really enough layers to successfully perform the LASIK. Hence, because I have such a large correction, I am undergoing PRK instead.

One downside to LASIK is that the flap never completely heals, and any moderate trauma to the eye area can cause the flap to re-open. One advantage to PRK is that it has been around for many years longer than LASIK. However (and this is a big one), the healing time for PRK can last months. I have read varying experiences on different blogs, but they range from some mild discomfort and irritation for a few days to extreme pain for a couple of weeks, and everything in between. I suspect the variation in experiences of pain have a lot to do with individual differences, including tolerance to pain. I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but I do know that even when my contacts were at their most painful, I could wear them for several hours knowing that relief could be mine at any time just by removing the contacts. I won't exactly be able to "escape" the pain from the PRK procedure.

Consistently, these blogs report a week or two before the person feels comfortable enough with their vision to drive, and up to a month to see actual improvement in vision. Good correction is usually achieved by six months. Let me clarify. Once the laser correction is done, the vision is corrected. But because the very top layer of cornea is gone, the vision itself isn't very functional. People typically report a haze, ghosting, starbursts, and halos until the cornea has healed completely (3-6 months to heal).

Another disadvantage is severe light sensitivity. As most of my work is done under fluorescent lights, staring at a backlit computer screen, I'm not sure how long it will take me to be fully functional at work.

I am definitely going to have to sacrifice and "pay" for the opportunity to be able to see without contacts or glasses. But I strongly feel that it will be worth it. Another consistent bit of feedback across all blogs I read was that the individual absolutely regretting having PRK one week, two weeks, even one month out. However, by one year, every single person said that PRK was worth it, and they would not hesitate to do it again. The long term results for them far outweighed the short term pain and inconvenience. Let's hope I will be able to say the same.

My procedure is exactly one month from today!!

The Date My Life Will Change

6.03.2008

Sounds dramatic, but I have high hopes.

I am scheduled for vision correction surgery on July 10, 2008.

It's not LASIK, as my corneas are too thin. It's a surgery called PRK. It has a bit of a longer recovery time (a few days), but is just as effective.