The Surgery & Recovery
I have finally done the surgery and am now recovering. I am actually on day 3 of recovery while typing this (can barely see what I’m typing even on 200% screen size so I’ll be updating this section as soon as I can). Check back soon for updates!
The surgery
(On day 5 of recovery while writing this. Reading vision is much better now!) Sooo! Here’s the story. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’ve decided to go for PRK which my surgeon has recommended. The type of PRK that I’m doing is customized wavefront PRK.
In simpler words, rather than merely using my regular prescription, custom PRK (also known as aspheric or wavefront-optimized PRK) utilizes additional information from detailed corneal mapping to treat a larger surface of the cornea by reshaping it with added precision.
On the day of surgery
On my arrival, I had to go through eye checking again to make sure I’m fit for the surgery. I then had to sign a consent form, basically stating the possible risks and complications that I may encounter. The clinic assistant then prepped me for the surgery, handed me the surgery blue hat and took my blood pressure. She also explained to me the medicated tear drops that I’d have to do post-op. There’s a post-op instructions cheat sheet that comes along with the medication kit which lists the drops schedule and other stuff I have to bear in mind. I was then escorted to the surgery room…finally!
Pre-op preparation
Make sure you read the cheat sheet before you have your eyes fixed! This is literally a MUST because after the surgery I could see NOTHING and I’m thankfully I paid attention to the assistant when she explained to me the drops schedule!
I’ve read some other posts of people doing PRK and there’s one note that I kept in mind: make sure I take a shower before I leave home for the surgery. It is because the first 24-48 hours are very crucial for the healing process to be infections-free. Water must be avoided to get into the eyes. You won’t be allowed to shower the night you have your surgery done. After that, you are allowed to bathe instead of shower to reduce water splashing for the remaining days of the week. In the first week, I shower once every 2 days and have my swim goggles on to keep the water out (it sounds hilarious but it works!).
Make sure to have your sunglasses ready. Your eyes will be very fragile and sensitive even if you don’t realize or feel any pain/discomfort. I myself couldn’t keep my eyes open. You will probably need someone to drive you home after.
In the surgery room
The surgery room wasn’t freezing cold but it was definitely cool (a condition required to keep the machines running) so remember to wear a coat or something underneath to keep yourself warm. I was then put in numbing drops, had my eyelashes taped up and eye balls clamped. During the actual procedure, I needed to focus on the center of the “ring of fire” and then the surgery began! I could smell the burning smell that everyone else talks about but it wasn’t bothering to me at all. I had my right eye done first and I didn’t know how much time it took to complete the procedure because I was so focused. Bet it took only 2-3 minutes for each eye? Anyway, right after the procedure, when my surgeon put in liquids to wash my eye balls, I could see things so much better, even better than in my contact lens! So so so grateful that I’ll be able to see things crisp and sharp again!
I had very high prescriptions before and my contact lens never really matched my needs. I could feel dizzy if I had the exact match.
Recovery
Day 0
Day of surgery: Shortly after surgery my eyes started getting very light sensitive and irritated. Because of irritation, my eyes became watery and had runny nose. After I got home I immediately jumped into bed and tried to sleep but I couldn’t. I could feel strong burning sensation and felt like there were pieces of glasses scratching the eyeballs (wouldn’t describe it as “painful” but it was strongly uncomfortable and annoying). Basically had my eyes shut the whole day because I simply couldn’t keep my eyes open for as little as 1 full second. Was in completely dark room setting. Also kept sweating because of the discomfort. Luckily later at night I started feeling better. No more burning sensation but I could still feel the glass scratchiness. Could finally sleep through till morning. Felt very dehydrated so I kept drinking water.
Bitter taste of eye drops?
I found that I could taste the drops at my throat and I kind of worried that’ll be harmful.
Thankfully I did some research and found out this is normal and somehow I got used to it.
Day 1
Woke up feeling better. The glass scratchiness feeling was much less. Eyes were still very light sensitive and irritated. Still couldn’t open my eyes so I slept all day in another day of dark room environment. I made sure I woke up every 4 hours to follow the drops schedule.
Day 2
Felt much better! The glass scratchiness feeling was subsiding and it felt like sands sticking on the eye balls. Discomfort was 80% gone. Eyes were still light sensitive, but could open for some seconds that allowed me to walk around with the sunglasses on. Things looked blurry though. Still couldn’t read texts at all. My eyes had problem focusing on the words and it was impossible to read. I still maintain the dark room setting all day.
Day 3
Discomfort was almost all gone. Light sensitivity was much less now. Didn’t really have to struggle to open the eyes. Couldn’t read small texts (no focus still), but could watch movies. Eyes became tired few minutes later though. This is the first day that I have dim lights on in my room.
Day 4
Today when I’m recalling the details and trying to note things done as precise as possible…
CAN START READING WORDS! Still can’t focus well, but can somehow read words if I try harder. No problem walking with eyes open under lights now. One thing I notice is that vision seems to be cloudy which isnt uncommon to happen to PRK patients. Hopefully it’s only temporary.
Day 5
Reading vision has improved but things still look cloudy. I don’t feel dehydrated as in previous days but reversely feel like my eyes are a bit dry. I make sure to have tear drops once every hour to keep the condition in control. Overall I feel like my eyes are doing better and better each day! Tomorrow will be my first follow-up appointment and I’ll definitely ask about the cloudy vision and hopefully to have my vision tests. I should have my bandage removed too so I’ll see how things will look like after. 🙂
Day 6
Follow-up visit to clinic: Got my bandage removed and eyes checked. Guess what! My vision was tested and I already achieved 20/20! This is not very common for people with such previous high prescription shortly after PRK surgery. This serves an assurance to people who’re worried about terrible visions affecting their ability to go back to work. Everyone’s healing process is different, but at least now we know it IS OK to live normal after a few days! Bad news is right after leaving the clinic, my vision has declined and has become blurry again. Fortunately after putting in tear drops my visions improve. I asked about the cloudy vision – it happens to some people with PRK surgery and is should gradually go away in several weeks. My overall healing process is very good and I’m expecting to maintain or even get better eyesight later.
Post-op care
Supplements: my clinic doesn’t provide/suggest any supplement to take for recovery. I know some clinics do offer a list of recommended vitamins and supplement for optimal healing and better recovery. According to some comments I read, they include: vitamin C, omega-3, lutein and coq10. I personally have been taking the above mentioned supplements for several years except lutein that I specifically bought for post-op care.
Accompany: it is best to have someone to take care of you especially for the first 2-3 days when I found it difficult to navigate around the house because I couldn’t open my eyes. Also you’ll need someone to drive you home after surgery otherwise some clinics may refuse to do the surgery on you! If you live alone: (like me) you’ll probably want to prepare meals that’ll last you for about a week so it’ll be easy for you to reheat the food during the first few post-op days when you struggle to open your eyes.
Daily necessity: Also make sure you have water and food that you need daily easily accessible. Remember to read the cheat sheet (if you’re given one) or memorize the drops schedule before having surgery – you may not be able to read anything after surgery and you’ll be on your own!
Week 2
Double visions suck!
After my bandage was removed, my eyesight has been on a decline. I can still see cloudy visions, plus now significant double visions! Eyesight is really bad this week as everything I see is blurry. Even though for the last 2 days of the week, I could see a little better in the morning, but then it regressed back to cloudy and serious blurry double visions. By late night, my eyesight was not functional at all. I couldn’t even read the big warning signs in transit! Could it be because I strained my eyes too much? Tomorrow will be my first day going back to work and I hope there will be a little improvement in my eyesight…
Week 3
Significant improvement ✌️
At the beginning of week 3, visions were still not good, same as last week. However, by mid week, my eyesight has improved dramatically as I could see less double visions! Now it’s the end of the week and I can definitely say my eyesight has improved a lot from last week and now images and especially texts seem to be more focused on. I found myself having trouble reading texts on electronic screens and now the problem is much lessened. I still find bigger texts easier to read, but screen size doesn’t need to be scaled to 200%.
One thing I notice is that my right eye seems to recover faster than my left eye. When I cover my left eye, my right eye reads things more clearly. My left eye has always been the lazy eye with slightly fewer prescription before surgery. Hopefully it’ll catch up the right eye’s recovery…I really do not want unbalanced eyesight!
Another thing is that unfortunately I start seeing starbursts at night. Good thing is the problem is not a big concern to walk or drive.
Week 4
This week is more or less the same as late last week, but visions are getting more stable. It’s just that when I wake up, I do not see things clearly right away. It’ll take some minutes for my eyes to get back on focus. Also usually by night my eyes would get fatigue and things would start looking blurry, but now until late night it’s when I start having unclear visions. It seems double visions are almost gone, but I do still have cloudy visions during daytime when there are bright lights (even indoors). My left eye is still recovering slower than my right eye. I’m hoping by next 2 weeks my eyesight will reach its best!
3 months later
I just had my follow-up appointment today and I was told I’m very close to full recovery. My eyes were checked and my doctor said “now I can’t really tell you’ve had the surgery from what I see!” (yeahhh that’s how amazing PRK surgery can be… there can be no sign of surgery if there isn’t scar developed) My left eye is getting much better than last time. It’s just that when I compare the vision quality of my 2 eyes, my left eye is a little bit worse than my right eye. My doctor says that’s maybe because I have little higher astigmatism for my left eye than my right eye, not because it’s not healed properly. He says my vision is remarkable and it’s much more important that I see things clearly with both my eyes working together, which is the case. There isn’t a thing to worry when my left eye is only slightly doing not as great as my right eye, since it is still doing very fine! He also notes that there’s no sign of dryness so I don’t have to use eye drops if I don’t feel the need. My vision will probably settle within the next 3 months even though I’m already happy with my vision quality now.
Final Thought
I highly recommend everyone who has high prescription to go get your eyes fixed! As long as you can afford the cost and recovery time, I don’t see why you shouldn’t give PRK a chance even though many people prefer LASIK or SMILE for their much faster recovery time. The initial recovery of PRK seems harsh, but I think the end result is totally worth it. Besides, you don’t sacrifice the integrity of your cornea and there’s no chance for flap complication to happen.
So what are you still waiting for? Go start your research and consult a specialist for a better life!
