I know a few people who had no issues at all but also a few like me whove had nothing but issues. My first week of recovery was similar to yours, except I didnt have any pain meds, anti anxiety meds, or sleeping pills before or after surgery. Can you please advice. Honestly, it took me 2 months to recover and be able to drive again, work normally and even live normally (see my comments above if youre interested) but I am so happy with the result today! The level of frustration I have with this procedure dwarfs all others. The appointment was quick. It is very important that the patient protects their eyes from UV light by wearing good sunglasses and do not partake in any activity that may cause damage to the eye organs. This is due to something called higher order aberrations. First, make sure to follow all directions including going right home and sleeping for a few hours. After PRK it is important to use frequent preservative free artificial tears to treat this dry eye and allow the eye to heal up. And after some research and figuring out the right date for me before our mega three month trip to Spain and Portugal, I was ready. Looking back, I would have done things differently. Im going to be paying $5900, both procedures have similar results but Advanced PRK of course takes longer. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy and Editorial Policy pages. Welcome! I do NOT want to go through the PRK surgery EVER again. My story is very complicated. Pretty disconcerting if you ask me. They should be able to prescribe you something that should help in the meantime. Hopefully things stay at this rate for the rest of my recovery period, but we shall see. However, vision should improve greatly by one month after the procedure. However, I did get a second opinion from another doctor who specializes in fitting scleral lenses for ppl who have similar issues to mine after PRK. I slept off and on for most of the first two days with mild discomfort here and there. My eyes remain dry. It is the biggest regret of my life. Another complication after cataract surgery is retinal detachment. I cant imagine going through all that. How could it just reverse overnight?? It was the first type of laser vision surgery and is often recommended if a patients corneas are too thin for LASIK. Im glad you posted your experience. Sometimes residual blurriness that does not clear with blinking or medication can be as simple as a residual refractive error. Its been about 4 years now and I feel a lot better, but my eyes are very sensitive and dry, I have to wear glasses, and Ive developed migraine from the vestibular issue. My healing took many months. I have to wear goggle glasses to go outside, or ride in the car with the air/heat on. Is it any better with glass? When I decided to have surgery, I had about 20/80 distance vision corrected to 20/20 with glasses/contacts, needed a +2.50 correction for reading, and used yet a third pair of glasses for computer work. When I had to look into the eye test thing. I drove only during the day, never at night. Your email address will not be published. The doctor said, I should be have been recovered already & that perhaps its due to dry eyes. Day time vision is functional, though not very crisp. Thats gotten better as well. I had the consultation planned for the Tuesday, surgery on Thursday and work the following week. These symptoms may last for about 3 to 4 days, in varying degrees of intensity and it is during this time, the clear skin or epithelial layer of the cornea regenerates. I am in constant pain. I am literally considering suicide as an out from the pain. Blurry image in morning. Ive been wearing them the last few months and love them! Im +1.75 in the right eye and +2.25 in the left. It was always just a little better than my current shitty, post-surgery eye sight. Boy was I wrong, PRK recovery was not what I expected at all! A lot will happen within the first week after PRK. Whatever the cause I would see an ophthalmologist right away because you shouldnt have a drastic change in vision over night. My doctor NEVER told me that I would not be able to read. Some deterioration of vision as a result of PRK may not be correctable with the aid of glasses or contact lenses. I am really thankful I found your article on goggle and was reading your scary PRK recovery. My vision was WAY better than before the procedure but I still felt like I couldnt see great especially in low light or at night. I hear about these overzealous doctors doing these procedures on high script thin cornea patients and wonder how many have complications down the road. No one had ever talked about regression. However, heres the thing. Stage 2 This stage comes from 30 to 60 minutes after the surgery as the patient begins to experience the effects of numbering drops started to wear off. Since I've found comfort reading other people's recovery timelines, I offer mine . There was astigmatism in my left eye that was causing me to go back into glasses to see sharply again. Please keep us posted on your progress. When I brought this up with the doctor, all he had to say was wow Ive never heard of that before, have a nice day. Do you have another appointment? Slight convergence problem got pencil push-ups exercises, seems it got better. Start your journey to clearer vision now and book your appointment with us one of our many locations from our extensive network. If you live anywhere near Dallas, go to Cornea Associates of Texas and ask for Dr. I remember feeling SO TIRED. Have severe ghosting still during both day and night. These changes to vision can be permanent. Prayers. My eyes like twitch and keep trying to close on their own. My original appointment was about three weeks prior so I never put them back in afterward. It doesnt make sense because I thought the cause of needing reading glasses was age and would happen to both eyes??? my left eye is useless except for the range from 100mm to about 300mm. Who is paying for this? Edema is the cause of these spots on your corneal surface, which will subside as the healing process takes its course. Its a good idea to avoid screens during this time. I used to love travel but I cant imagine going to places like Iceland again because I would never be able to see it again like I did when I had gone before. My right eye is just about perfect. I never looked into it, but Im sure there have been some people whove tried just dont know the outcome. Thinking about doing it but trying to get all the information. Then the day of the surgery he told me I was getting PRK. The correction lasted about 15 years which I cant complain aboutBUT since the second surgery I have been completely night blind, cannot go without sunglasses in even partial light, suffer from extreme eye strain, dry and itchy eyes, and a constant squirt in even low light. Hi Renee, I think my husband thinks Im exaggerating when I cut onions but it can be so bad.. (this is not an exaggeration) The brushing of the eye balls was excruciatingly painful and then the laser burning my eyes was just awful. I had the same experience as you did. Unlike LASIK, PRK does not involve a corneal flap, which comes with its own risk of complications both during and after the procedure. I waited three long years to share my experience so my eyes could stabilize and I could give you the full outlook. I too had prk twice. 6 months later I still have to put the ointment in my eyes before going to sleep because if I Dont Ill wake up in so much pain I want to scream or when I try to open my eyes and they dont and I have to manually open them and it feels like Im ripping layers off which make me want to cry but I cant because they are so dry. Most importantly, if you decide to go for PRK over LASIK, be mentally prepared to deal with the possibility of dealing with a longer recovery time that may even stretch till 9 to 12 months in the worst case scenario. Learn about common complications from PRK, including blurred vision, pain, discomfort, and more. Upon my first month check up since my vision was still very blurry my doctor prescribed a new par of RX glass to use while my eyes heal. They said give it 6 months. They had not changed since month one which left me with astigmatisms in both eyes that I did not have before the surgery and recommended a PRK touch up. I have myopia of -8.50 and -7.50 (Im 23 y/o) and I was told that PRK and ICL are my only options. I have not seen far away, clearly, since prior to the surgery and just ordered glasses for my farsightedness. Finally 2 yrs later I started to really notice myself squinting to see things far away and got to the point I wouldnt drive At all at night. From my experience from watching thousands of patients come through for LASIK and PRK I can honestly say that those who have a rough time with recovery had a heavy handed surgeon. If the vision remains blurry, then it could be due to an issue with healing of the new epithelium beneath your bandage contact lens. Thats exactly what happened to me. I started to get a little anxious during this time, especially when reading some recovery logs with quicker recovery time. It is only fair in the first few days, and you should refrain from driving a car. Ended up asking some friends to meet me halfway and drive me back in my car. Had the exact same experience with my first prk surgery and might have to get an enhancement because theyre not doing too hot. I dont know why my experience was so horrible when all Ive heard were good things. I had LASIK in 2006 and have had no problems whatsoever. I started my rounds of eye drops immediately. There are also rare instances when patients experience changes to night vision, including seeing halos or glare. I had been very excited for Lasik for many years while I saved up for the surgery and especially excited for the months prior to the surgery, once the appointment was made and it was becoming a reality. After your PRK surgery, it is wise to use lubricating drops or a moisturizing contact lens in order to keep your eyes comfortable during the healing process. Whenever you are going for PRK, be sure to conduct a thorough research about the clinics in your area and the expertise of the doctors who are going to conduct the surgery. I was -5.75 in both eyes. i consulted with my doctor, he was saying it will be recover itself. I had PRK done 3 weeks ago for severe myopia and have now the same problems as you mentioned: severe and debilitating photosensitivity that results in unability to look straight forward or upward, unability to drive or to watch TV and difficulty to use the computer How long did your photosensitivity last ? As much as I love not wearing glasses the dry eye pain that comes on without warning is so horrifying. At my six week appointment I was told I have scar tissue that was not healing as it should. A retinal detachment (also called a detached retina) is a serious medical emergency. I had PRK in 2004. I laid down and the doctor put an instrument over my head that held my eyelids open. After a few weeks, everything was good for about six years. I would not recommend anyone going to any of the discount practices or any practice not using the most up to date equipment as you only get one set of eyes. The procedure worked for a few years, but I went back to glasses. Hi Josh, I went to a big name but Im not sure about all the people that have commented. Double vision as well as severe and even permanent dry eye can also occur. Keep reading for my full PRK recovery journal, Update as of December 8, 2022: The FDA May Issue Warnings about Lasik. Im not sure if that was case with me but hindsight is 20/20, pun intended. Both PRK, which stands for Photorefractive Keratectomy, and LASIK are laser vision correction procedures performed to correct eyesight. I hope youre doing better today. Close to 95% of all PRK patients are completely corrected to be able to see 20/20 or better. An advantage is NOT quick recovery. But it can take a lot longer if there is haze or scarring of the cornea. Should I be worried? I am a 29 y/o woman and I had PRK done about one month back. I am currently going through my own journey of feeling super disappointment, anger and extreme regret. This is VITAL to your recovery. Many thanks for the warnings, and best of luck to all. Have you ever sued your eye doctor? Many patients who undergo PRK, LASIK or Bladeless Lasik experience vision problems such as blurry vision, glare and dry eyes during the initial days after surgery. PRK is intended to reduce a persons dependency on contact lenses or glasses. Clive Novis Ophthalmologist, South Africa. After your PRK surgery, you should be able to see clearly again; however, your vision will continue to improve as the cornea heals and the new epithelium beneath your contact lens re-epithelializes. However, trying to use my phone, read a book or a letter is so damn frustrating. healing and visual recovery take longer because the outer layer of the cornea needs to regenerate itself. 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