PRK: Week 53

On December 6th, 2010, I voluntarily let someone stick a laser in my eye with hope of being able to get 20/20 vision without glasses or contacts for the first time since 1982.

One year in, the story continues…

Random thoughts, notes, and actions, one year after my surgery – I don’t have my follow up meeting with my doctor until Friday, but I thought the first year anniversary would be fitting for a blog post…

Drops!

Do I still need drops? Not too often, but I do find that if I pet a dog or cat – which I’m allergic to – and rub my eyes, I use the natural tears to flush my eyes. I don’t know if this is because of the PRK or the allergies but I found that using the natural tears is enough… I haven’t used medicated drop since the surgery and I find nothing wrong with having eyes that are well moisturized.

Glasses

I can’t believe it but I still have moments when I try to take my glasses off… I think it’s when the subconscious kicks it… funny stuff, that.

Nintendo 3DS

I have not tried this device since the last time I tried it. Not worth the risk, the pain, or the effort.

Bright Lights

One thing that I haven’t quite gotten used to but I’ve come to understand that it’s part of the successful surgery is that sunlight is really, really bright! I have a bunch of cheap sunglasses that I like to wear but even so, I’m still surprised at how bright it is. Just another part of the story.

Morning Pain

Know how you wake up in the morning with the crusties? Yeah, well, if those wander into your surgically enhanced eyes, it hurts. A lot. Something else I’ve gotten used to but still something worth noting (and something I plan to bring up to the doctor this week – it might be something like dry eyes or something.)

Nearsighted Update

Unchanged since my Epilogue post. I haven’t had to pull out a magnifying glass yet but I have taken pictures with a cell phone and zoomed in on stuff when I’m straining… I see this something that would have happened anyway and have gotten used to it. Hasn’t gotten worse, at any rate.

Farsighted Update

I believe that I’m still retaining the 20/10 to 20/15 range. I have noticed that if I watch a long movie or play a long gaming session without a break, that I have to consciously adjust my focus for something closer. Same thing if I read for a long while, I find I have to take a moment to read far away. Not a problem, but just something I’ve noticed.

Overall? Thrilled, still. I remember everything from the surgery and the recovery and I would sign myself up for it again… no question.

It’s all good.


10 thoughts on “PRK: Week 53”

  1. Thanks a lot for this blog, I’m at the end of week 3 and every time I’m starting to worry whether it will ever get better than the crappy 20/30-20/40 I have throughout most of the day, stories like yours help me immensely.

    1. Had my Prk April 3. So its day 23 and I agree reading someone else’s blog about the recovery process is encouraging. Can’t wait to see faces that aren’t blurry.

  2. On Day 9 myself, had a corneal abrasion that I had to have addressed this morning with an emergency appointment. Hurt like hell, and really hope it doesn’t come back.

    Your blog will be a source of reference as I try to recover. Thanks for all the information!

  3. I’m at 3 weeks tomorrow. I was under the impression this would not take this long. However, I have moments of clarity especially after resting or icing them. Thanks for letting me know you were still blurry after 3 weeks, that gives me hope that this is still part of the process and not broken somehow.

    1. They are still about the same, sorta, but aging has definitely occurred.

      I still find that using moisturizing drops help improve my vision near or far – I think my eyes are just naturally dryer than they should be but I never knew or noticed it until after PRK. If I don’t use them I can still see far away but it’s just not as sharp. The morning pain is also still a sometimes thing in that I sometimes have to give my eyes a chance to build up some moisture before it passes but livable. About once a year I think about putting on glasses in the morning which makes it STILL seem novel!

      My near sight on the other hand has gone right down the crapper. No other way to put it. In the first year there were several times when I was like “whoa, I can’t see that super up close” but now I’m holding things out at a distance to read and I’ve bumped up my Kindle font size by one tick. There are other times where I can’t read something normal print until I hold it at a long distance (again likely dry eyes) but I cannot point to PRK as the cause of this. After all, almost everyone in my family had to switch to bifocals when they got older, so I believe this lack of near sightedness is from natural causes.

      Still glad I did it :)

      1. Thanks for the reply! It’s good to get some insight on the longer term effects as well, glad to know it’s going just fine.


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