My PRK Recovery: 5 Months

I guess my PRK log is the only reason I've been updating the blog!  Life has been quite busy and the last thing I have time to do is to take pictures of things and post.  However, it is handy to have a record of my gradually improving eyesight so I like to do this.

Today I had my five month checkup and while each eye is seeing 20/25 alone, using both together I can 'see' 20/20.  So this is better than last time when I was struggling to see 20/25, so it suggests my eyes may still be gradually improving.  While I was able to identify each letter on the line correctly, the letters were by no means crisp, and I couldn't do it without effort.  

Does it matter though?  At this point, I might just leave it at that and not undergo the hassle of a repeat surgery.  Since my eyes were a bit better this time compared to last time, I made another appointment for September and will make my final decision then, based on how well I'm seeing.  

Despite not having perfect eyes, I am sooooooo happy with the surgery.  It's a huge pleasure not to have to wear glasses anymore and to not have to worry about my eyes or my vision or anything.  It's not something I've learned to take for granted yet, I appreciate it each and every single day.  Highly recommend.

My PRK Recovery: 3 Months

I stopped posting weekly updates because frankly the change was so incremental.  At this point, I would say that the ghosting has reduced considerably, but in the evening I notice it when I try to read on the computer.  I had my 3 month checkup on Thursday and to my disappointment, I struggled to read the 20/25 line!  They thought my allergies might be affecting my vision (my eyes get very irritated and itchy this time of year) or that they might still be stabilizing.  I'm to return in 2 months.  I think if my vision stabilizes to less than 20/25 I'll definitely get the touch-up surgery done because I can imagine that it might regress further after a year and it'll be free if I do it this year.  Since I have an interview in May, I would not want to be debilitated before then so having that two month checkup before deciding is totally fine by me.  In the meantime, my eyes are definitely great enough for me to function in day to day life and dramatically better than they were pre-surgery.  I have no regrets.

Just a quick note - aside from needing drops right when I get out of bed (I've been using gel drops), my eyes don't feel dry at all for most of the day.  At most, I would need another round of drops in the evening at the end of the day.  When they checked my eyes on Thursday, they also checked for dry spots and didn't see anything.

My PRK Recovery: Week Seven

Same old same old.  I THINK the ghosting is a bit better than before but it's definitely still noticeable, especially when I read on the computer (which I need to do all day long) and gets worse as the day goes on.  It doesn't seem like there is improvement, but when I think back to three weeks ago when I could barely use the microscope I know it's gotten better.  The differences are just too gradual for me to really notice.  The last few days my eyes have been a little red and itchy - I don't know if that's part of the healing process or if it's allergy related.  I really really hope I have normal eyes soon though, the blurred (yet clear) vision throws me off kilter a little.  By the end of the day, I tend to feel pretty tired and my eyes feel strained.  I want to note though, that I can see distance quite well and can make out details - the blurriness in my vision is all due to ghosting and not the kind of near-sighted fuzziness I had before. 

My PRK Recovery: Week Five

This post is one day overdue, but yesterday I couldn't bring myself to write "No change from last week."  Today however, I feel that there might be some slight improvement?  A bit less ghosting?  Or maybe it's just wishful thinking.  This aspect of PRK healing did not really strike me previously when I read through other people's experiences.  Slow progress I can handle, but this "no noticeable change" from one week to the next is annoying.  In reality, I'm sure there has been progress, only so subtle that I can't detect from day to day.  It was easier in the beginning when I had little milestones to test myself with, but how do I measure ghosting?  I know that in the morning things look best and sometimes by the evening, the ghosting can be quite severe.  I'm re-reading some of the PRK blogs now and taking comfort (again) in other people's timelines.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

My PRK Recovery: Week Four

It's a little frustrating how slow the recovery is at this stage.  I can't tell that there has been any improvement since Week Three.  Sometimes the ghosting actually seems more severe.  At the same time, I was away at a conference for several days and didn't take care of my eyes too well during that time (not putting in drops very often, some alcohol, not getting nearly enough sleep), so I'm not sure how much that factors in.  I tell myself it takes time and at least I can function.  Let's see what the next week brings.