Note: See bottom for cliff notes.
Here's the breakdown, for anyone who wants to know.. PRK is similar to Lasik except instead of making a corneal flap, they scrape away the top layer of your cornea and shoot the laser through that. I had to get PRK because my cornea is too thin, and they said if I did lasik, I wouldn't ever be able to re-do it in the future if i needed to. So here are the details:
Where: Lasik Plus
When: Saturday 3/31/07
Cost: $2900 for both eyes w/ Lifetime Acuity (if vision falls below 20/40, they'll redo it)
Time: Took about 5 minutes in the operating room, but i was in the waiting room a long time
Prior to the appointment they gave me a prescription for Zymar, an antibiotic eye drop (about $90 without insurance, my insurance has it as a "2nd Tier" or non-preferred drug, so the 5ml bottle cost me $50). They also gave me a bottle of FML (fluorometholone) at no cost, and some re-wetting drops.
The treatment (Saturday 3:30pm):
I laid down on the operating table, and they started with my right eye. They placed a clamp on my eye to keep it open, sprayed some stuff in it (to clean it off, and i believe something else to dissolve the top layer of the cornea).. then they turned on the laser and started counting down. The laser gave off a vibrating/buzzing sound, and i had to stare at a blinking red dot for about 30 seconds. You can smell a burning smell as the laser is going, which is a little disheartening, but it is completely normal. After 30 seconds, they turned off the machine, sprayed some more fluid in my eye, and placed a protective contact lens in my eye, which i get taken out tomorrow (thursday). They then repeated the same procedure with the other eye.
I sat up from the operating table and I could see completely clearly into the parking lot. I could see cars, details of cars, everything was pretty much clear. The doctor said to me something along the lines of "Your vision will be good right now, but it will get worse before it gets better."
As I left the operating room they gave me a prescription for lortab (hydrocodone, vicodin) and sunglasses. I walked out of the operating room into the hall way, waiting for my ride to get there for about fifteen minutes. The procedure was completely painless, however in the fifteen minutes following, my eyes started to burn.
We went from lasik plus to the pharmacy and filled the prescription, and i took one right away. After it kicked in, the pain in my eyes subsided, but i could still feel the burning. The instructions were to go home, take a nap, and then start using the eye drops (once every 4 hours the rest of the day, then every 6 hours for the rest of the week). I got home, took a nap for a couple hours, and started using the eye drops. I could still see clearly at this time and I could read and use the computer. As the evening continued on my eyes started to burn a little more, but not bad. I finally fell asleep with the aid of another hydrocodone.
EDIT: I forgot to mention, during the procedure, they placed the drops in my eyes, then they "brushed" my eyes with something. I presume it was some kind of metal brush as described in a later post, however it felt more like a soft brush because my eyes by that point were completely numb. They did it for only a few seconds on each eye.
Day 2 (Sunday):
I woke up with no pain in either of my eyes, for a few minutes. I could also still see clearly. Gradually over the next few minutes, a severe burning started in my right eye, which began to water a lot. I put in my drops, took another hydrocodone, and settled with an annoying burning but not intolerable. My left eye was completely fine, and I could see out of it perfectly. My right eye was a little blurry, hurt, and just had an overall "inflamed" feeling. I could still see excellent, however, and I ended up driving a small amount on this day (to the mall and back, about 5 minutes each way).
By the evening, my vision had deteriorated quite a bit, things were a lot more blurry and double-vision-like. Reading was starting to become difficult, and the pain was only being controlled by the hydrocodone and sleep.
Day 3 (Monday):
I woke up in a lot of pain in both eyes, and could not keep my eyes open for any length of time (not even a second or two). I tried to go outside, which was impossible even with sunglasses on. I couldn't read or see at a distance, and even the hydrocodone wasn't controlling the pain very well. I tried to sleep through the entire day, and slept through about 80% of it with the aid of the hydrocodone. Additionally, this was the worst vision day of any, everything was blurry and at night lights were completely starburst.
Day 4 (Tuesday):
I woke up without any pain, however vision was not great. While I might have been able to drive, I didn't even try. I could not read well, and I tried using the computer for a short amount of time but it was very difficult. I watched some TV, but again this was difficult and I spent most of the time with my eyes closed just listening to the TV. Overall, the functionality of my eyes were similar to the previous day, except without any pain. My eyes aren't nearly as dry as the previous two days, but I continue to use my drops as directed. They said to use the re-wetting drops hourly even if I don't need them, but I'm finding myself using them a little less.
Day 5 (Wednesday):
Today is Wednesday. I woke up today without any pain again, and I can see much more clearly. Things are a little cloudy, however I realized a strange phenomenon. If I am looking at a picture on the wall, I can see clear detail in the picture, however I still occasionally have a hard time making out words at a distance. I can definitely drive today, and keeping my eyes open is not a problem. I can also watch TV and read without a problem, and I'm using the computer right now typing this entire thing without any problems. Things don't look entirely "clear", for example there's some cloudiness in my vision. This is especially true around the periphery of what I am looking at (like the letters on the screen that I'm looking at are clear, but the rest of the screen is blurry or cloudy).
My vision right now is not great, but I can function on my own without any problems. For the first few days after the procedure I had to rely on other people for everything. Now I am at least self-sufficient, which is promising. My vision over the past few days has gotten a lot better.
Total hydrocodones used throughout entire procedure: 7 (2 day of procedure, 2 the next day, and 3 on day three, none since)
Cliff Notes:
1. $2900 both eyes
2. First 1-2 days were great, could see great, clear, everything.
3. Day 3 was horrible, intense pain/burning in both eyes, vision blurred, couldn't keep eyes open
4. Pain has gone away completely starting with day 4, and vision is gradually getting better. I can start driving again on day 5. I can also use computer, watch tv, etc. Vision is not perfect, but it's tolerable for normal activities.
-Dave
EDIT: Day 6 (Thursday):
Today I got the protective contacts out. Total time in the office was less than 10 minutes (including checking in, waiting room, getting contacts removed, talking to the doctor, and scheduling my next followup which is in 11 days). After removing the contacts, my eyes are very itchy/scratchy feeling, not painful but annoying nonetheless. The doctor said it would go away after a couple hours, and my vision would continue to improve over the next few hours as well. Directly after removing the contacts my vision with both eyes open was 20/30. I am told they'll be doing a more thorough eye exam during my next followup.
EDIT 2:
I just wanted to update.. today is 4/10/07, One week and 3 days after surgery. While I have not yet had my second (upcoming) official post-op exam to test my current vision, since last Saturday (exactly one full week after the operation) my vision has been completely perfect (as far as I can tell). I can see much better than I could with my slightly outdated glasses and contacts, and still no further pain. My eyes had been occasionally itchy the past few days, however that too has succeeded.
Additionally, starting Sunday morning my eye drop use was reduced heavily per doctor's orders. The Zymar eye drop was entirely discontinued (antibiotic), and the FML (anti-inflammatory) was reduced to "2 times a day until the bottle is empty". I don't believe the bottle will last more than a day or two longer.
As an added tip to anyone who is considering PRK.. I read online that taking Vitamin C supplements starting one week before and continuing for two weeks after the surgery is beneficial to reducing the possibility of corneal haze.. I have been taking a supplement twice a day according to that schedule, and considering the immune system benefits of Vitamin C, it could help explain my faster than usual healing time.
EDIT 3:
I'm posting this a week late, but last Monday (4/16/07) went in for my second post-op exam. My vision is officially 20/15 in both eyes. My vision's been about the same since a week before that, as well, so it only took about 7-10 days total. I'm very happy with it, and for those concerned, I do still see some starbursts at night as well as ghosting around illuminated objects. I find they are more prevalent for distant lights when I am tired, so driving home at night late after work (around midnight in my case) for example. It's not unbearable or even difficult to work with, and I have not found it to affect my daily life or make anything more difficult to do.
The doctor brought it up at the last post-op visit, and said I should be seeing starbursts, and said they will continue to improve over the next 4 weeks. He also said my vision should not get any worse from this point forward.. good news
While it's not the full end (3rd and last post-op appointment in 4 weeks, fortunately they only took 10 minutes each for the first two) this is probably a good time to state my final opinion. If you haven't gotten the idea from everything posted above, I'm insanely happy about the whole thing. I got better than the vision I was hoping for and I have no inhibiting side effects. I also haven't used eye drops in about a week, and my eyes are in the best condition they've been in years (contacts irritated my eyes like crazy)..
If you're thinking about doing this and have any specific questions please feel free to PM me.. while I often suck at responding because I never see the little "You have a private message" notification, I will eventually see it and get back to you
Here's the breakdown, for anyone who wants to know.. PRK is similar to Lasik except instead of making a corneal flap, they scrape away the top layer of your cornea and shoot the laser through that. I had to get PRK because my cornea is too thin, and they said if I did lasik, I wouldn't ever be able to re-do it in the future if i needed to. So here are the details:
Where: Lasik Plus
When: Saturday 3/31/07
Cost: $2900 for both eyes w/ Lifetime Acuity (if vision falls below 20/40, they'll redo it)
Time: Took about 5 minutes in the operating room, but i was in the waiting room a long time
Prior to the appointment they gave me a prescription for Zymar, an antibiotic eye drop (about $90 without insurance, my insurance has it as a "2nd Tier" or non-preferred drug, so the 5ml bottle cost me $50). They also gave me a bottle of FML (fluorometholone) at no cost, and some re-wetting drops.
The treatment (Saturday 3:30pm):
I laid down on the operating table, and they started with my right eye. They placed a clamp on my eye to keep it open, sprayed some stuff in it (to clean it off, and i believe something else to dissolve the top layer of the cornea).. then they turned on the laser and started counting down. The laser gave off a vibrating/buzzing sound, and i had to stare at a blinking red dot for about 30 seconds. You can smell a burning smell as the laser is going, which is a little disheartening, but it is completely normal. After 30 seconds, they turned off the machine, sprayed some more fluid in my eye, and placed a protective contact lens in my eye, which i get taken out tomorrow (thursday). They then repeated the same procedure with the other eye.
I sat up from the operating table and I could see completely clearly into the parking lot. I could see cars, details of cars, everything was pretty much clear. The doctor said to me something along the lines of "Your vision will be good right now, but it will get worse before it gets better."
As I left the operating room they gave me a prescription for lortab (hydrocodone, vicodin) and sunglasses. I walked out of the operating room into the hall way, waiting for my ride to get there for about fifteen minutes. The procedure was completely painless, however in the fifteen minutes following, my eyes started to burn.
We went from lasik plus to the pharmacy and filled the prescription, and i took one right away. After it kicked in, the pain in my eyes subsided, but i could still feel the burning. The instructions were to go home, take a nap, and then start using the eye drops (once every 4 hours the rest of the day, then every 6 hours for the rest of the week). I got home, took a nap for a couple hours, and started using the eye drops. I could still see clearly at this time and I could read and use the computer. As the evening continued on my eyes started to burn a little more, but not bad. I finally fell asleep with the aid of another hydrocodone.
EDIT: I forgot to mention, during the procedure, they placed the drops in my eyes, then they "brushed" my eyes with something. I presume it was some kind of metal brush as described in a later post, however it felt more like a soft brush because my eyes by that point were completely numb. They did it for only a few seconds on each eye.
Day 2 (Sunday):
I woke up with no pain in either of my eyes, for a few minutes. I could also still see clearly. Gradually over the next few minutes, a severe burning started in my right eye, which began to water a lot. I put in my drops, took another hydrocodone, and settled with an annoying burning but not intolerable. My left eye was completely fine, and I could see out of it perfectly. My right eye was a little blurry, hurt, and just had an overall "inflamed" feeling. I could still see excellent, however, and I ended up driving a small amount on this day (to the mall and back, about 5 minutes each way).
By the evening, my vision had deteriorated quite a bit, things were a lot more blurry and double-vision-like. Reading was starting to become difficult, and the pain was only being controlled by the hydrocodone and sleep.
Day 3 (Monday):
I woke up in a lot of pain in both eyes, and could not keep my eyes open for any length of time (not even a second or two). I tried to go outside, which was impossible even with sunglasses on. I couldn't read or see at a distance, and even the hydrocodone wasn't controlling the pain very well. I tried to sleep through the entire day, and slept through about 80% of it with the aid of the hydrocodone. Additionally, this was the worst vision day of any, everything was blurry and at night lights were completely starburst.
Day 4 (Tuesday):
I woke up without any pain, however vision was not great. While I might have been able to drive, I didn't even try. I could not read well, and I tried using the computer for a short amount of time but it was very difficult. I watched some TV, but again this was difficult and I spent most of the time with my eyes closed just listening to the TV. Overall, the functionality of my eyes were similar to the previous day, except without any pain. My eyes aren't nearly as dry as the previous two days, but I continue to use my drops as directed. They said to use the re-wetting drops hourly even if I don't need them, but I'm finding myself using them a little less.
Day 5 (Wednesday):
Today is Wednesday. I woke up today without any pain again, and I can see much more clearly. Things are a little cloudy, however I realized a strange phenomenon. If I am looking at a picture on the wall, I can see clear detail in the picture, however I still occasionally have a hard time making out words at a distance. I can definitely drive today, and keeping my eyes open is not a problem. I can also watch TV and read without a problem, and I'm using the computer right now typing this entire thing without any problems. Things don't look entirely "clear", for example there's some cloudiness in my vision. This is especially true around the periphery of what I am looking at (like the letters on the screen that I'm looking at are clear, but the rest of the screen is blurry or cloudy).
My vision right now is not great, but I can function on my own without any problems. For the first few days after the procedure I had to rely on other people for everything. Now I am at least self-sufficient, which is promising. My vision over the past few days has gotten a lot better.
Total hydrocodones used throughout entire procedure: 7 (2 day of procedure, 2 the next day, and 3 on day three, none since)
Cliff Notes:
1. $2900 both eyes
2. First 1-2 days were great, could see great, clear, everything.
3. Day 3 was horrible, intense pain/burning in both eyes, vision blurred, couldn't keep eyes open
4. Pain has gone away completely starting with day 4, and vision is gradually getting better. I can start driving again on day 5. I can also use computer, watch tv, etc. Vision is not perfect, but it's tolerable for normal activities.
-Dave
EDIT: Day 6 (Thursday):
Today I got the protective contacts out. Total time in the office was less than 10 minutes (including checking in, waiting room, getting contacts removed, talking to the doctor, and scheduling my next followup which is in 11 days). After removing the contacts, my eyes are very itchy/scratchy feeling, not painful but annoying nonetheless. The doctor said it would go away after a couple hours, and my vision would continue to improve over the next few hours as well. Directly after removing the contacts my vision with both eyes open was 20/30. I am told they'll be doing a more thorough eye exam during my next followup.
EDIT 2:
I just wanted to update.. today is 4/10/07, One week and 3 days after surgery. While I have not yet had my second (upcoming) official post-op exam to test my current vision, since last Saturday (exactly one full week after the operation) my vision has been completely perfect (as far as I can tell). I can see much better than I could with my slightly outdated glasses and contacts, and still no further pain. My eyes had been occasionally itchy the past few days, however that too has succeeded.
Additionally, starting Sunday morning my eye drop use was reduced heavily per doctor's orders. The Zymar eye drop was entirely discontinued (antibiotic), and the FML (anti-inflammatory) was reduced to "2 times a day until the bottle is empty". I don't believe the bottle will last more than a day or two longer.
As an added tip to anyone who is considering PRK.. I read online that taking Vitamin C supplements starting one week before and continuing for two weeks after the surgery is beneficial to reducing the possibility of corneal haze.. I have been taking a supplement twice a day according to that schedule, and considering the immune system benefits of Vitamin C, it could help explain my faster than usual healing time.
EDIT 3:
I'm posting this a week late, but last Monday (4/16/07) went in for my second post-op exam. My vision is officially 20/15 in both eyes. My vision's been about the same since a week before that, as well, so it only took about 7-10 days total. I'm very happy with it, and for those concerned, I do still see some starbursts at night as well as ghosting around illuminated objects. I find they are more prevalent for distant lights when I am tired, so driving home at night late after work (around midnight in my case) for example. It's not unbearable or even difficult to work with, and I have not found it to affect my daily life or make anything more difficult to do.
The doctor brought it up at the last post-op visit, and said I should be seeing starbursts, and said they will continue to improve over the next 4 weeks. He also said my vision should not get any worse from this point forward.. good news
While it's not the full end (3rd and last post-op appointment in 4 weeks, fortunately they only took 10 minutes each for the first two) this is probably a good time to state my final opinion. If you haven't gotten the idea from everything posted above, I'm insanely happy about the whole thing. I got better than the vision I was hoping for and I have no inhibiting side effects. I also haven't used eye drops in about a week, and my eyes are in the best condition they've been in years (contacts irritated my eyes like crazy)..
If you're thinking about doing this and have any specific questions please feel free to PM me.. while I often suck at responding because I never see the little "You have a private message" notification, I will eventually see it and get back to you