I realized before making the decision to undergo my surgery that there wasn’t a lot of information on PRK Laser Eye Surgery. It was hard to find resources or people who had gone through the procedure and talked about it afterward.
What I did find was tons and tons of information on Lasik Eye Surgery. For those of you who are considering undergoing this cosmetic surgery let me start by saying the 2 types are VERY different.
PRK (photoreactive keratectomy) was actually the first type of laser eye surgery. The main difference between Lasik and PRK is that during PRK, a thin layer of the cornea is completely removed. Then the laser reshapes the corneal tissue with an excimer laser. With Lasik, a thin flap is created, lifted and is replaced once the cornea has been reshaped.
I know neither procedure sounds particularly wonderful. The reason why many people prefer Lasik over PRK Laser Eye surgery is the recovery time, and what I later discovered, the pain. I’ll get into that in a littler bit but PRK has a recovery time of about 7-10 days and it could take up to 3 months to see completely clearly. Lasik is immediate.
After going for 4 consultations, I was told that I actually wasn’t even a candidate for Lasik. My cornea was too thin and I was only able to get PRK.
Why did I get PRK?
There are a number of reasons that brought me to the final decision. I have (had, still getting used to it) been wearing glasses since I was about 8 years old. My eyes were so bad that I could barely read the time on my watch without glasses on.
Growing up and playing competitive sports it was obviously very difficult to wear glasses, especially with ski racing. For that reason I started wearing contacts at the tender age of 11. It seems so young now that I think about it.
Fast forward several years and as an adult I developed a bad case of dry eyes. I had to wear the top of the line “breathable” contacts and even then I experienced a lot of discomfort. It also was very expensive.
When I did the math I realized that for the amount I was paying in contacts and glasses annually, I could have my PRK laser eye surgery paid off within 3 years. Considering it like that seemed like a no brainer to me plus it was better on my budget.
Plus, as a traveler it was REALLY annoying to always worry about having the right amount of contacts and never forgetting my glasses. Plus having my contacts in for so many hours left my eyes in pain and extremely tired.
The surgery
The one thing I’ll say is that it’s VERY important for you to do your research before making the decision. As I mentioned I visited 4 different clinics before deciding on the right one. For me, it was a matter of comfort, professionalism, and price. While the place I decided on didn’t have the most professional admin staff, I found comfort in the fact that they had the most robust testing for patients.
After leaving my contacts out for 7 full days I walked into the office terrified but ready to be done with glasses forever. I was brought from the main waiting room into another smaller waiting room where I sat with 5 other people in comfy lounge chairs clutching my welcome pack.
One of the attendants came in and asked if we wanted a sedative to calm our nerves. I’ve never been so eager for drugs in my life. After taking the pills she swabbed around my eyes with a numbing cream and put some random drops in my eye.
I sat there for an hour at least while person after person was brought in for their surgery. Finally I got to see the doctor for a quick look at my health before being brought into the room.
I walked in and it was almost completely dark. The doctor instructed me to lie down on the table while they taped one eye shut and the other wide open. I couldn’t feel anything exactly but I could see it all. A metal contraption went around my eyeball so that my eye almost popped out of my head.
The laser was right above me and I could see the doctor sponging something over my eye. He then used some sort of metal device to scrape the layer of the cornea before instructing me to stare straight into the laser to work its magic.
Within 3 minutes the doctor finished what he was doing and I was sent on my way.
PRK recovery
This is the part that no one talks about. I couldn’t find anything online that gave me an idea of what to expect. It wasn’t until I started asking my network that I found someone who had lived through it and gave me advice. Boy am I glad I spoke with her.
The first day home from the appointment you aren’t going to be in too much pain. It’s a lot of discomfort but I found it rather manageable. Go home and sleep as much as you can. It helps.
It wasn’t until day 2, 3, and 4 of the PRK Laser Eye surgery that I really started to notice the pain. It felt like there was a piece of sand stuck in my eye at all times and it was just dragging itself along my cornea. The pain at times was unbearable. Mix that with the fact you basically can’t do anything and I was borderline going crazy.
You guys all know that I love to stay in shape but for 7 days post operation you aren’t allowed to work out. The most I could do was go for walks around the
You also aren’t allowed to watch TV or be on your computer. Now I know what you’re thinking – what could you possibly do? I downloaded a bunch of audiobooks and podcasts to pass the time.
PRK Laser Eye surgery healing
I think this is one of the things that surprised me the most about the PRK Laser Eye surgery. I knew it wasn’t going to be an immediate change over from not seeing to seeing but I had no idea how long it would actually take.
For the first week, you are given a contact over your eye to protect it. While you can kind of see with the contact in it was painful. I mean contact wearers will understand the discomfort of having a lens in for too long. Imagine having one in for 5 straight days! You have to see everything through a sort of film.
Once the contact is removed I honestly expected to be able to see 100% and be free of pain! That most definitely wasn’t the case. My eyes were still really uncomfortable and my vision didn’t seem all that much better.
Even returning to work 8 days post operation I thought I would be able to get back at it with no problems. The reality was the bright office lights killed my eyes and it was SO hard to see the screens in front of me. Thankfully I borrowed anti-glare glasses from my boss which helps a lot. If you don’t have access to some I would highly recommend it.
I’m now a month past surgery and my vision seems to have stabilized. They still feel dry on an almost regular basis but the drops have been helping immensely. After visiting the eye doctor I’m told I’m 20/25 which is slightly worse than 20/20. Normally I would be disappointed by this fact but considering where I’ve come from, being able to walk around and live daily life without glasses has been life changing.
Hopefully my experience will help you in making the decision to get PRK Laser Eye surgery! Good luck 🙂
