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Having PRK in < 10 days... any final words of advice?

whitesoxnation

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
Day after Thanksgiving it goes down. I've browsed all the other threads and researched good... just wondering if anyone has any final words of advice / wisdom. What'd you guys do for the time after when you had to keep your eyes closer for hours on end?
 

FastMover

NFO
None
You'll be glad you did it. I went from 20/200 before to 20/15 after. It's like going from black and white TV to HD color. For a while I would just stop and look out of our front window at the trees and grass and marvel at how sharp everything looked.

As for what to do after the surgery...I just sat on the couch and listened to the TV for three or four days. After about a week I could keep my eyes open for a while with no problem. The worst part was the runny nose and watery eyes but that doesn't last long either. Good luck!
 

UMichfly

Well-Known Member
pilot
None
Hydrate like a mo-fo and sleep as much as you can the first day following surgery. I probably slept 16+ hours that day and spent the rest of the day laying on my back with an icepack on my forehead with my eyes closed. It may have been a little bit of overkill but I had effectively 0 pain. I've sat through cultural sensitivity training that was 100 times more painful than getting lased. Oh, and make sure you have preservative free rewetting drops. Your doc should be on top of this but mine wasn't and I'm relatively certain it lengthened my healing time and pissed me off quite a bit.
 

whitesoxnation

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
You'll be glad you did it. I went from 20/200 before to 20/15 after. It's like going from black and white TV to HD color. For a while I would just stop and look out of our front window at the trees and grass and marvel at how sharp everything looked.

As for what to do after the surgery...I just sat on the couch and listened to the TV for three or four days. After about a week I could keep my eyes open for a while with no problem. The worst part was the runny nose and watery eyes but that doesn't last long either. Good luck!

Thanks man, I was at 20/15 with my contact lenses at -3.25.... can't wait to get this done.

Hydrate like a mo-fo and sleep as much as you can the first day following surgery. I probably slept 16+ hours that day and spent the rest of the day laying on my back with an icepack on my forehead with my eyes closed. It may have been a little bit of overkill but I had effectively 0 pain. I've sat through cultural sensitivity training that was 100 times more painful than getting lased. Oh, and make sure you have preservative free rewetting drops. Your doc should be on top of this but mine wasn't and I'm relatively certain it lengthened my healing time and pissed me off quite a bit.

Gotcha, I'll do all of those.
 

rwstelma

New Member
Day after Thanksgiving it goes down. I've browsed all the other threads and researched good... just wondering if anyone has any final words of advice / wisdom. What'd you guys do for the time after when you had to keep your eyes closer for hours on end?

The worst part for me was when they had to remove the protective contact lenses they put on to protect your cornea. I think I got them off about 4 or 5 days after the surgery. They poke and prod at your eyeball trying to get the lens loose. For some reason mine wouldn't budge, no matter how much they tried to hydrate the lens. Worked out great though, I was 20/400 before and now 20/15. You won't really feel much as they scrape away at your eye balls with what looks like a little hockey stick. Not trying to freak you out or anything, just pointing out what I remember. Also my vision was a tad doubled for the first month, but then it cleared up so don't panic if it's not perfect within a few weeks, PRK take a LONG time to heal be stable...
 

CowTippingDwarf

New Member
There is some great advice here. Personally, I slept a ton. I also rented several movies that I had seen already and didn't mind just listening to again. Just don't try to watch them. Also, I made sure I stocked up on some good food and treats that I could get to easily and make with out having to really look at what I was doing. Good luck! My vision now is 20/10 when using both eyes. I hope the same goes for you.
 

FlybyWired06

New Member
The post-PRK pain factor does depend upon how long you'll be getting "shot" with the laser, but the best thing to do is follow the directions exactly on all the drops they give you. The first day or two of pain can be adequately handled by the "cocaine" drops they give you and accompanying pain meds. Don't try and be a hardass and not use 'em because you're a "tough guy." Don't over do it though, of course. Other than that, prepare a room beforehand that you can completely darken and just chill. If you need some mental stimulation while recovering find a good book on tape/CD to listen to. Light will be your worst enemy for the next week give or take...then your vision will just be somewhat blurry until your eyes stablize.

Good luck!!
 

statesman

Shut up woman... get on my horse.
pilot
The best advice that I can give you is just get ready to be uncomfortable. I never experienced any real pain, I was just irritated for about a week or two.

The worst part for me was the scratchy feeling that developes as you heal. For me it was bad for about a week, then it was midly irritating for another week, then it was gone completely. My vision was 20/15 after a month.
 

whitesoxnation

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
Thanks for all the input guys, appreciate it.

Was thinking about it and had a couple questions...

1) When can I start working out again? What about pre-op... should I rest a few days in advance? Reason is I know that heavy lifting increases ocular pressure in the eye, and I don't want to mess anything up.

2) Rather dumb question, but do you focus on the red dot or just gaze at it.

3) I knew 1 or 2 guys that had it before, and they would wear sunglasses EVERYWHERE.... so I think I'm going to get a new pair of shades because the ones I have right now aren't polarized (use them in cockpit)...... any recommendations?

4) I'm going to miss a week of school, right before finals.... will it be detrimental to, shortly after surgery, start up on the studying? Will that focusing on up close things do anything negative?

Thanks again.
 

FastMover

NFO
None
1. When ever you feel comfortable. I was lifting some and running with in probably a week and a half to two weeks or so.

2. The Doc will tell you to look straight ahead.

3. My Doc told me to get a pair of shades and wear them...what type is up to you. I never felt more sensitive to sunlight but always wore sunglasses anyway, so no biggie.

4. I had it done on the Wednesday of Spring Break and had a test the following Tuesday. I could read well enough to take the test by then, but things were still a little blurry. It couldn't hurt to study up beforehand to be safe.
 

CowTippingDwarf

New Member
Just ask your doc about those questions. My doc was pretty conservative about recovery time. I say, if the eyes hurt, stop what you are doing. Use plenty of drops to keep them moist and definitely get a good pair of sun glasses. Mine are made by Smith. I don't think you have to have polarized though.
 

boobcheese

Registered User
I just had PRK last Wednesday at Keesler AFB. All went well and I had little to no pain or discomfort for the first 2 days and could see pretty well. Day 3 and 4 were much more uncomfortable and vision was noticeably worse. Turned the corner on day 5 (yesterday) and have had no discomfort since. I had 20/20 in my right eye and 20/25 in my left at my check-up yesterday. The Doc said a seem had formed over the pupil of my left eye (apparently normal) which is just basically where the edges of the epithelium have converged as they are regenerating. So far I'm very pleased with the outcome and know it will continue to improve over the coming weeks. My only advice is if they prescribe any pain meds don't use them all up in the first day or two as days 3 and 4 would have been pretty miserable for me without percocet.
 

theblakeness

Charlie dont surf!
pilot
hey good luck, Snell! Im T minus one month before I get mine done. Im kind of glad that I wont have to worry about this shady contact lense waiver anymore.

BTW...I asked my Doc about the physical activity during my consoltation and he said about a week or so..usually after the bandage comes off. The only thing he said to wait a bit longer on was swimming..espcially if you tend to swim without goggles.
 

whitesoxnation

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
goin to get my shades right now, I'll make sure not to use up all my PK's in the first couple hours

hey good luck, Snell! Im T minus one month before I get mine done. Im kind of glad that I wont have to worry about this shady contact lense waiver anymore.

BTW...I asked my Doc about the physical activity during my consoltation and he said about a week or so..usually after the bandage comes off. The only thing he said to wait a bit longer on was swimming..espcially if you tend to swim without goggles.

that thing was bogus, don't even get me started....

the one thing I hated the most about contacts was that I couldn't swim unless I held my eyes closed underwater or took them out, and being in the ocean isn't cool when your vision sucks so bad you can't make the E out on the chart. hope yours goes well.
 
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