MPH
Well-Known Member
Mxracer posted some fantastic info on the whole PRK process, so I figured that I’d follow up with a rundown of what I’ve experienced up to this point (9 days post-op). Sorry if this gets a little long, but I’m trying to go into considerable detail for those who wish to know. As I continue living I'll keep you updated.
Pre-op vision was apprx. 20/150. I had the operation done in San Diego where I’d be able to have my family take care of me during the three days following. I was instructed to wear glasses in lieu of contacts for two weeks prior to the surgery.
Depending on how things iron out I’ll gladly give a referral or recommendation to avoid to anyone in the area. There was actually a gent from Texas who was about 7 days behind me on his timeline at my doctor the day of my final checkup. If you’re lurking the boards feel free to chime in. If anyone would like other relevant general info PM me, and I’ll post it up.
Final note: Apologies for any grammatical or spelling errors existent in this first draft. I tried to hammer out as much as possible as quickly as possible and had minimum time to proofread. I’ll try to clean things up as I add more info. Also coming is a description of the screening and pre-op events.
OPERATION DAY:
I had a light meal that morning as instructed and was 15 minutes early for my 9:30 appointment. I spent this time polishing off all of the informed consent paperwork. Once that was over, they confirmed payment details and then hit me with the drugs: A dose of Lyrica and Niravam.
I was then led into the pre-op area where they decided to hit me with an extra Niravam (and there was much rejoicing). They then proceeded to outfit me with a hairnet as well as some medical booties. Apparently they don’t make them in my size, so they had to use hairnets on my feet. They rubbed my eyes up with iodine and hit me with various drops. I can’t recall the specific drops as things started moving significantly faster after the second Niravam kicked in. My left eye was covered up and I was sent to a waiting room just outside the operating room.
After another couple of minutes I was ushered into the operating room and instructed to lie down on what looks like a fully reclined dentist’s chair. At this point it was about 10:05. The doctor who would be conducting the surgery (henceforth Dr. F) had me hammer off some basic info to make sure they weren’t cutting off the wrong leg as it were. Doc F. asked me to state my name, type of procedure being done, which eyes, and finally the date.
Things started moving quickly at this point. I was asked to continue looking straight ahead at the flashing red light from the laser which had been moved over me. I didn’t see much in terms of the tools used to remove the upper layer of the cornea other than what moved directly in front of my eyes. Sorry guys, but she told me to look straight, and I wasn’t going to screw it up as a result of my curiosity in what tools she was using. I have a memory of what looked like a miniature spatula passing over me later when she worked on my left eye, but that’s about all I can remember. It felt like my eyes were taped open with something between packing tape and wax paper, however I was looking forward. Things went blurry for second of two and I felt some pressure on my eye. I distinctly remember the position of the red light shifting and my eye almost following it before I realized it would probably be best to just not move my eye. After a moment things snapped back into place and returned to their normal level of blurriness. She once again asked me to just focus on the flashing red light.
I cannot specifically recall if she gave me an “I’m going to zap your eye now”, warning or if I figured it out on my own at that point. :icon_wink After several more seconds of focusing on the light the laser came on. I don’t know how to describe what it looked like as the laser hit me without actually drawing it, but try to imagine a blue translucent prop with two rectangular blades rotating at about 60 RPM.
Maybe I just had aviation on the mind.
In any event, while the laser spins there is an electric crackling sound and a distinct smell of burning hair. I was hit for somewhere between 5-12 seconds with the laser after which I was counting scratches on the laser housing. I had the same “holy shit” reaction of Mxracer. I don’t know if I actually said the words, but I was sure thinking it. The left eye happened just as fast and exactly the same. After it was done I started looking at the ceiling and giggling (I blame the drugs). I was asked to sit up and read the clock on the wall (which I wouldn’t have been able to do before). It was 10:16. I looked at the observation area where my parents were waiting and I could see their faces. Seeing things with your own eyes for the first time is an almost spiritual experience.
They handed me a pair of sunglasses and sent me on my way. I had taken a sweatshirt along to cover my eyes with as it was an incredibly sunny day out, so the ride home was hot with that wrapped around my head. I got up to my room and fell asleep. The folks woke me up regularly to follow the eye drop/drugging instructions and I was essentially pain and discomfort free all day.
Note: Something that jumps out at me was the constant feedback and reassurance I was receiving from Dr.F throughout the procedure. As lame as it may sound, it is extremely comforting to have someone letting you know you’re doing okay throughout the entire ordeal. She gets major points in my book for that.
Day 2:
I had a 9:30 follow-up appointment today. I awoke with severe pain/discomfort in my right eye. I ended up being about five minutes late for the appointment, and was extremely irritable and light sensitive at this point. I was led into the exam room where a doctor (Dr. C.) had to pry my eyes open as I was unable to open them. Pulling my eyes open resulted in a ton of fluid rushing out of my eye. After shining the slit lamp in my eye she revealed that the right contact had folded over itself causing the pain. She adjusted it and said that otherwise the healing looked like it was going normally. She also stated that I shouldn’t need any more Vicodin and to minimize the use of the numbing drops. We booked an appointment for Monday when they would remove my contacts.
Her adjusting of the contacts reduced the pain significantly but there was still a good amount of the foreign object sensation of my left and right eye. When I arrived home I ate, did the eye drop dance and passed out for 11 hours.
I woke up again at about 2100 and the contact felt like it had again folded over itself. In fact it felt like the contact was drifting into the upper area of my eye. Anyone who has worn contacts, know what this feels like. I figured the contact was on its way out and blinking would cause it to fall out eventually. At this point my left eye continued to have the “grain of sand” feeling and the right eye was pain free but was in extreme discomfort as a result of the state of my contact. I tried to sleep but was unable to do so. I wandered into the kitchen and hit myself with the numbing drops, but no dice. The contact was still extremely irritating. I spent the next 12 hours unable to sleep as a result of the irritation. Typically I would have just poked around my eye until I was able to wedge the thing out but considering I was just over 36 hours post surgery I elected against it. I spent an hour fortifying my room with trash bags, which work remarkably well if you don’t mind being a little hillbilly.
Day 3:
Put a call into the doctor’s office at about 7:30 WRT the right contact. Dr. F. called back in an hour and told me to come in at 9:30. Awesome. I hustled (as much as one can hustle in the passenger seat) over to the office and discovered it was locked. At 9:30 Dr. F. rolled up in her car. She had come in on her day off to make sure everything was okay with me. I was extremely impressed and grateful. She pulled the eyes open and shined the slit lamp on both eyes. She said both contacts looked like the were seated just fine and the healing was coming along fast. She also revealed the discomfort in the right eye was a result of a mucus build up on the inside of the contact. She moved the contact just a hair and that reduced the discomfort significantly. Combined with repeated blinking the discomfort was again replaced with the “gain of sand” feeling.
I felt like an ass for having her come in on her day off over a mucus buildup on my eye. She was extremely gracious about it however and didn’t seem to mind.
My light sensitivity at this point was way down I could function essentially anywhere but outside, however I continued wearing sunglasses for comfort. Arriving home I passed out for several hours. Woke up for an eye drops cycle, and family ordered pizza. I sat in the living room and listened to some TV (Ghostbusters). I could only hack 3-7 seconds of looking at the tube at a time. Drugs, drops, and sleep.
Day 4:
I can’t explain the relief that comes with the anticipation of pulling off 3 day old contacts with mucus on the inside of them… On arriving at the office I took a quick eye exam. 20/25 left 20/30 right. (Dr. L) checked me with the slit lamp and announced it was time for the contacts to go.
By all means don’t let me stop you.
After he pulled out the contacts my vision actually got worse. He said such fluctuations were normal and to expect the vision to get better and worse over the next two weeks. I still had some foreign object sensation in my left eye, but was surprised to feel no dryness or other irritation. My vision felt like it was fluctuating/improving throughout the day. Still some light sensitivity to bright lights. I had 10 unread text messages that I wanted to read but the led on my phone was too bright. It was bright and sunny all four days so far, so no venturing outside for extended periods. I was able to handle well lit rooms without the aid of sunglasses now.
At this point I started writing down everything I could remember on a notepad so if the past/present tense starts to get messy in this post, I apologize.
Day 5:
My light sensitivity is almost completely gone at this point. It is only noticeable when going from extreme dark to light environments. I also managed to drive a short distance today to go pick up lunch.
Day 6:
Drove from San Diego to OC today without any problems, light sensitivity is completely gone however I did notice the reflection of the lane dividers in my rear view mirror, something I had never seen before. Late at night things started getting extremely blurry.
Day 7:
I realized today that the blurriness in the right eye is a result of double vision in that eye. Only noticeable with text where I can see clear definition between background and foreground. Second image appears as fainter version displaced slightly to the left and below the actual image. This is particularly troubling when I try to read, as my right eye is my dominate eye. It makes letters and words bleed together so that it looks like a foreign alphabet. I’m more than slightly concerned. Vision is otherwise excellent.
Day 8&9:
“Ghosting” is still occurring in my right eye. I’m extremely concerned this may be permanent. I’m anxious to see the doctor on Monday.
Pre-op vision was apprx. 20/150. I had the operation done in San Diego where I’d be able to have my family take care of me during the three days following. I was instructed to wear glasses in lieu of contacts for two weeks prior to the surgery.
Depending on how things iron out I’ll gladly give a referral or recommendation to avoid to anyone in the area. There was actually a gent from Texas who was about 7 days behind me on his timeline at my doctor the day of my final checkup. If you’re lurking the boards feel free to chime in. If anyone would like other relevant general info PM me, and I’ll post it up.
Final note: Apologies for any grammatical or spelling errors existent in this first draft. I tried to hammer out as much as possible as quickly as possible and had minimum time to proofread. I’ll try to clean things up as I add more info. Also coming is a description of the screening and pre-op events.
OPERATION DAY:
I had a light meal that morning as instructed and was 15 minutes early for my 9:30 appointment. I spent this time polishing off all of the informed consent paperwork. Once that was over, they confirmed payment details and then hit me with the drugs: A dose of Lyrica and Niravam.
I was then led into the pre-op area where they decided to hit me with an extra Niravam (and there was much rejoicing). They then proceeded to outfit me with a hairnet as well as some medical booties. Apparently they don’t make them in my size, so they had to use hairnets on my feet. They rubbed my eyes up with iodine and hit me with various drops. I can’t recall the specific drops as things started moving significantly faster after the second Niravam kicked in. My left eye was covered up and I was sent to a waiting room just outside the operating room.
After another couple of minutes I was ushered into the operating room and instructed to lie down on what looks like a fully reclined dentist’s chair. At this point it was about 10:05. The doctor who would be conducting the surgery (henceforth Dr. F) had me hammer off some basic info to make sure they weren’t cutting off the wrong leg as it were. Doc F. asked me to state my name, type of procedure being done, which eyes, and finally the date.
Things started moving quickly at this point. I was asked to continue looking straight ahead at the flashing red light from the laser which had been moved over me. I didn’t see much in terms of the tools used to remove the upper layer of the cornea other than what moved directly in front of my eyes. Sorry guys, but she told me to look straight, and I wasn’t going to screw it up as a result of my curiosity in what tools she was using. I have a memory of what looked like a miniature spatula passing over me later when she worked on my left eye, but that’s about all I can remember. It felt like my eyes were taped open with something between packing tape and wax paper, however I was looking forward. Things went blurry for second of two and I felt some pressure on my eye. I distinctly remember the position of the red light shifting and my eye almost following it before I realized it would probably be best to just not move my eye. After a moment things snapped back into place and returned to their normal level of blurriness. She once again asked me to just focus on the flashing red light.
I cannot specifically recall if she gave me an “I’m going to zap your eye now”, warning or if I figured it out on my own at that point. :icon_wink After several more seconds of focusing on the light the laser came on. I don’t know how to describe what it looked like as the laser hit me without actually drawing it, but try to imagine a blue translucent prop with two rectangular blades rotating at about 60 RPM.
Maybe I just had aviation on the mind.
In any event, while the laser spins there is an electric crackling sound and a distinct smell of burning hair. I was hit for somewhere between 5-12 seconds with the laser after which I was counting scratches on the laser housing. I had the same “holy shit” reaction of Mxracer. I don’t know if I actually said the words, but I was sure thinking it. The left eye happened just as fast and exactly the same. After it was done I started looking at the ceiling and giggling (I blame the drugs). I was asked to sit up and read the clock on the wall (which I wouldn’t have been able to do before). It was 10:16. I looked at the observation area where my parents were waiting and I could see their faces. Seeing things with your own eyes for the first time is an almost spiritual experience.
They handed me a pair of sunglasses and sent me on my way. I had taken a sweatshirt along to cover my eyes with as it was an incredibly sunny day out, so the ride home was hot with that wrapped around my head. I got up to my room and fell asleep. The folks woke me up regularly to follow the eye drop/drugging instructions and I was essentially pain and discomfort free all day.
Note: Something that jumps out at me was the constant feedback and reassurance I was receiving from Dr.F throughout the procedure. As lame as it may sound, it is extremely comforting to have someone letting you know you’re doing okay throughout the entire ordeal. She gets major points in my book for that.
Day 2:
I had a 9:30 follow-up appointment today. I awoke with severe pain/discomfort in my right eye. I ended up being about five minutes late for the appointment, and was extremely irritable and light sensitive at this point. I was led into the exam room where a doctor (Dr. C.) had to pry my eyes open as I was unable to open them. Pulling my eyes open resulted in a ton of fluid rushing out of my eye. After shining the slit lamp in my eye she revealed that the right contact had folded over itself causing the pain. She adjusted it and said that otherwise the healing looked like it was going normally. She also stated that I shouldn’t need any more Vicodin and to minimize the use of the numbing drops. We booked an appointment for Monday when they would remove my contacts.
Her adjusting of the contacts reduced the pain significantly but there was still a good amount of the foreign object sensation of my left and right eye. When I arrived home I ate, did the eye drop dance and passed out for 11 hours.
I woke up again at about 2100 and the contact felt like it had again folded over itself. In fact it felt like the contact was drifting into the upper area of my eye. Anyone who has worn contacts, know what this feels like. I figured the contact was on its way out and blinking would cause it to fall out eventually. At this point my left eye continued to have the “grain of sand” feeling and the right eye was pain free but was in extreme discomfort as a result of the state of my contact. I tried to sleep but was unable to do so. I wandered into the kitchen and hit myself with the numbing drops, but no dice. The contact was still extremely irritating. I spent the next 12 hours unable to sleep as a result of the irritation. Typically I would have just poked around my eye until I was able to wedge the thing out but considering I was just over 36 hours post surgery I elected against it. I spent an hour fortifying my room with trash bags, which work remarkably well if you don’t mind being a little hillbilly.
Day 3:
Put a call into the doctor’s office at about 7:30 WRT the right contact. Dr. F. called back in an hour and told me to come in at 9:30. Awesome. I hustled (as much as one can hustle in the passenger seat) over to the office and discovered it was locked. At 9:30 Dr. F. rolled up in her car. She had come in on her day off to make sure everything was okay with me. I was extremely impressed and grateful. She pulled the eyes open and shined the slit lamp on both eyes. She said both contacts looked like the were seated just fine and the healing was coming along fast. She also revealed the discomfort in the right eye was a result of a mucus build up on the inside of the contact. She moved the contact just a hair and that reduced the discomfort significantly. Combined with repeated blinking the discomfort was again replaced with the “gain of sand” feeling.
I felt like an ass for having her come in on her day off over a mucus buildup on my eye. She was extremely gracious about it however and didn’t seem to mind.
My light sensitivity at this point was way down I could function essentially anywhere but outside, however I continued wearing sunglasses for comfort. Arriving home I passed out for several hours. Woke up for an eye drops cycle, and family ordered pizza. I sat in the living room and listened to some TV (Ghostbusters). I could only hack 3-7 seconds of looking at the tube at a time. Drugs, drops, and sleep.
Day 4:
I can’t explain the relief that comes with the anticipation of pulling off 3 day old contacts with mucus on the inside of them… On arriving at the office I took a quick eye exam. 20/25 left 20/30 right. (Dr. L) checked me with the slit lamp and announced it was time for the contacts to go.
By all means don’t let me stop you.
After he pulled out the contacts my vision actually got worse. He said such fluctuations were normal and to expect the vision to get better and worse over the next two weeks. I still had some foreign object sensation in my left eye, but was surprised to feel no dryness or other irritation. My vision felt like it was fluctuating/improving throughout the day. Still some light sensitivity to bright lights. I had 10 unread text messages that I wanted to read but the led on my phone was too bright. It was bright and sunny all four days so far, so no venturing outside for extended periods. I was able to handle well lit rooms without the aid of sunglasses now.
At this point I started writing down everything I could remember on a notepad so if the past/present tense starts to get messy in this post, I apologize.
Day 5:
My light sensitivity is almost completely gone at this point. It is only noticeable when going from extreme dark to light environments. I also managed to drive a short distance today to go pick up lunch.
Day 6:
Drove from San Diego to OC today without any problems, light sensitivity is completely gone however I did notice the reflection of the lane dividers in my rear view mirror, something I had never seen before. Late at night things started getting extremely blurry.
Day 7:
I realized today that the blurriness in the right eye is a result of double vision in that eye. Only noticeable with text where I can see clear definition between background and foreground. Second image appears as fainter version displaced slightly to the left and below the actual image. This is particularly troubling when I try to read, as my right eye is my dominate eye. It makes letters and words bleed together so that it looks like a foreign alphabet. I’m more than slightly concerned. Vision is otherwise excellent.
Day 8&9:
“Ghosting” is still occurring in my right eye. I’m extremely concerned this may be permanent. I’m anxious to see the doctor on Monday.