LASIK Surgery Diary: Day 3

Previous LASIK post here (Day 2). Read next LASIK post here (??).

My Mom is feeling almost 100%. Light sensitivity has diminished to almost nothing, and she is comfortable swabbing gently around her eyes with a wet cloth. She is still not wearing eye makeup, and was told not to for at least a week following surgery. Her eyelids are looking less puffy and more normal.

My Mom will be flying home today and following up with a referred surgeon instead of at the Duke clinic. I will post as I hear updates from her. Overall she is thrilled with the procedure, although it was a painful surgery. She said that after she got through the first 24 hours it was smooth sailing. As always, feel free to ask questions.

LASIK Surgery Diary: Day 2

Previous LASIK post here (Day of Surgery). Read next LASIK post here (Day 3).

My mom woke up feeling much better- the burning pain was almost completely gone. She did have crunchy, sticky eye goop around her tear ducts and lashes (compounded by the tape on the right eye) which we did not attempt to remove for fear of dislodging her corneal flaps (better safe than sorry when it comes to eyes in my opinion). We went to the doctor for a 24 hour check up and he confirmed her vision at 20/20. Unbelievable. The doctor said to continue wearing goggles to bed for 4 nights and sunglasses whenever she goes outside for several months. Other than that, no issues- the “mistake” in her right eye wasn’t actually a mistake, and the tape was merely preventative.

Whereas I was bed-bound for almost 5 days following PRK, my Mom spent the entire day out and about around town the day after LASIK. She carried her drops with her and frequently applied artificial tears to prevent drying. Around 5 pm she began to get tired, and ended up returning to bed for a nap before dinner. She did complain about some strain and grittiness as a result of all the activity- in the end I think she regretted having stayed out the whole day. I would recommend taking it easy for a solid 24 hours to expedite healing.

LASIK Surgery Diary: Day of Surgery

Previous LASIK post here (Pre-surgery). Read next LASIK post here (Day 2).

First off, LASIK hurts. Whereas I felt only an odd discomfort while having PRK (as the doctor scuffed away the top layer of cells in my eyes), my Mom complained that the cutting itself was rather painful. In my opinion they did not allow enough time for the valium to kick in before taking her off to the surgery room. This may have caused her to be more aware of the pain than normal.

I was not able to go into the room with my Mom, but when she came outside she was very unstable and highly medicated. They had to tape her right eye shut to promote healing and reduce the chance that the corneal flap could become dislodged. She thought that this meant that the doctors had “made a mistake” and she was clearly shaken and worried. We brought her to the car (with her sunglasses on) and she started complaining of burning pain in both eyes. Her and I drove home immediately and sent a friend to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription for Vigamox. She went straight to bed with her goggles on and slept for almost 5 hours. The doctors advised her to close her eyes as much as possible following the surgery.

When she awoke we began her eye drop regimen. My Mom was unable to do the drops herself, so I had her lay down and open her one untaped eye so that I could put them in for her. I called the doctor’s office to ask what I should do with the taped eye- they said to let her sleep as long as possible, then remove the tape starting at the eyebrow and pulling gently downward. They told me to have my Mom look downward to prevent any jarring of her eye as I was doing this. By following their directions I was able to remove the tape, although it did leave a sticky residue that we could not remove without agitating the eye area.

My Mom stayed in my dark bedroom for the rest of the evening and continued to complain about searing pain until she finally dropped off to sleep after taking 3 advils. She was not giving any specific pain medication by the doctor (whereas after PRK I had been given a prescription for oxy). I will update again tomorrow morning.

LASIK Surgery Diary: Pre-surgery

I will be writing the following series of posts on behalf of my mother who is getting LASIK on both eyes this afternoon, May 15th 2012. She is having the procedure done at Duke, by the same doctor who did my PRK surgery 3 months ago.

My mother is a good candidate for LASIK because she has a stronger prescription (-2.25 Left -3.50 Right), is in her early fifties, and already uses reading glasses. The shorter recovery time and reduced pain involved with the procedure also appealed to her. She is excited to be able to wake up in the morning and see objects at a distance, as well as being able to travel without contact solution and cases. She is paying $2,150 per eye.

I will be going with my mom and sitting with her as she gets the operation. Will update later!

PRK Surgery Diary: 10 Week Update

Previous PRK post here (6 week). Read next PRK post here (? week).

I went in for a checkup last monday, April 30th. It was a very quick appointment. First the nurse came in and asked me how my vision was (very good), whether I was still using artificial drops (occasionally, especially after long drives/plane rides), and if I was having trouble at night (a bit of “halo” effect, but nothing to prevent me from driving). She asked me to cover one eye and read the smallest line I could (15 for both eyes, but only barely). With them both open I could easily read line 15. The doctor then came in, looked at the surface of my eyes under one of those weird lit microscopes, and said everything had healed great.

Overall, no problems to report. The brief pain I used to feel upon stepping outside into bright light has disappeared almost entirely. I still have not tried opening my eyes under water (the pool at my apartment is salt water filtered and I am a big chicken about getting unnecessary salt in my eyes). I find if I sleep with a fan on I tend to wake up with dry eyes, but the dryness quickly goes away.

My mom is getting LASIK in both eyes next week. It should be an interesting comparison to PRK, and I will report back with how her surgery goes.

PRK Surgery Diary: 6 Week Update

Previous PRK post here (4 week). Read next PRK post here (10 week).

Apologies for not putting out a 5 week update, but I didn’t think it was necessary. I don’t notice any problems with my vision: edges are as clear as they were with contacts and I can’t tell any difference when driving at night. I now only use the artificial tears in the morning and at night before I go to bed. My eyes do seem to be a bit dryer than I remember upon waking up, but not to the extent that they are terribly uncomfortable. One thing I have noticed is a brief, dull ache when I walk into bright sunlight from a dark room. In no way is this a deal-breaker.

Updates are going to get less frequent now. I have another doctor’s appointment in a month and will post something afterwards. Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions.

PRK Surgery Diary: 4 Week Update

Previous PRK post here (3 week). Read next PRK post here (6 week).

Have you ever seen the Pink Panther movies? Here’s the quote from Strikes Again that I think of whenever I sit down to write a PRK update I hear Dreyfus saying: “Every day and in every way, I am getting better, and better”. Great movie kids, go watch. So how are the eyeballs. Still getting dry, especially after long hours at a computer screen. I sometimes notice I can’t see far away- but it’s never bad enough that I can’t function. I really don’t even let it bother me because I’ve told myself that healing takes months. You know what’s great, being able to wake up and get going without sticking my fingers in my eyes. Good feeling.

PRK Surgery Tips

It’s been almost 4 weeks since I had PRK on both eyes and I thought I’d post some pre- and post-surgery tips for those of you considering getting the procedure. This list will probably go through a couple updates as I think of more to add…

• Definitely, definitely bring someone you know and love with you on the day of the surgery. I know that it’s required to have someone drive you home, but it really helps to have a close friend or relative to give you support. Knowing you’re about to lay down under a laser that could potentially ruin your eyes is rough, especially when you don’t have someone you trust there to listen to the doctors and hold your sweaty palm.
• Embrace the valium. I didn’t even have the option NOT to take it. It makes everything seem less intense and makes it easier to concentrate on the little laser light.
• Bring a pillow and blanket with you in the car for after your surgery. Trust me the only thing you will want to do is sleep, especially if you go straight to a pharmacy to pick up your prescriptions. Target parking lot = sleepy time.
• Have your bedroom all set up before you get surgery. Tape pillow cases over windows, unscrew lightbulbs. Do whatever you have to do to make your sleeping area a dark sanctuary. You will be spending several days in it.
• Clear a little space in your fridge for all your eye drops. They feel so much better when they are cold. Make it easy for you to find each drop just in case you have to stumble around by yourself while your guardian is out.
• Really try to give yourself 4-5 days to recoup. I know it’s hard to arrange that much time off, but trust me, you will NOT be able to work on a computer within this time frame.
• Buy a pair of good sunglasses (i.e. spend more than $15). Don’t be cheap and waste a $4000 surgery because you developed retinal hazing due to crappy glasses.
• Actually WEAR THE NOT-CHEAP SUNGLASSES YOU BOUGHT.
• Stop wearing make-up prior to surgery. How many days is really up to you, but the longer you keep your face clean, the less chance of infection. Eyelash bugs do not promote healing. Likewise, don’t wear make-up afterwards (if for some reason you even have any desire to touch your eyes, which promise me, you won’t).
• Ice pack in the freezer. Do it now, you’ll want it later.
• Try not to cook with onions for the first few days. I had some in a salad and they made my eyes stream uncontrollably.
• Don’t panic if your vision sucks afterwards. I was very unsatisfied for almost 2 full weeks after surgery- things where blurry and light sensitive and all around nasty. Trust me, have faith in the process. Now, if after, say, 3 weeks there is no improvement, go see your doctor.
• Wear your night goggles (see attractive photo above). They keep you from whacking yourself in the face while you sleep. No rubbing your eyes. Period.

To be continued…

PRK Surgery Diary: 3 Week Update

Previous PRK post here (2 week). Read next PRK post here (4 week).

Late, I know. Thanks to Chris for reminding me to post something. To be fair I was going crazy in South Beach and the last thing I was thinking about was blogging. Actually, that’s the first point I wanted to make: my eyes are now to the point where I don’t have to worry about them anymore. While I was on vacation I was seeing well enough to enjoy the beach and the scenery as much as if I had been wearing my contacts. I am not light sensitive (although walking suddenly from a dark room into bright sunlight is a bit painful)- but I have been dutifully wearing sunglasses as my doctor instructed. The edges around objects are started to become crisper at further and further distances. Near vision is completely back, but I am finding that it takes longer for me to adjust between far and close up (hopefully this goes away with time…)

In terms of medications, I  have been using the steroid drops twice a day in both eyes. This coming week I will drop down to once a day. I find that my eyes aren’t getting as dry as they have been, but I pop in some artificial tears whenever I get a chance because it feels good.

I went in for my 3 week check up this Monday morning and I swear it was the fastest doctor’s appointment I have ever had. A nurse checked my vision with one of those cover-up-each-eye shields, then asked me to read the letters with both eyes open. I was definitely more confident with both eyes working together, and apparently scored a 20/20. Hot damn. A huge shit-eating grin spread across my face when I heard that. 3 weeks ago I could barely stumble around without glasses!! The doctor came in, looked at my eyes to check for inflammation and told me everything was progressing as expected, nothing to worry about. Said he’ll see me in 2 months. I was in and out of that place in 8 minutes flat.

I did have a scary night driving experience on Sunday night coming back from a full day of travelling. My flight didn’t get in until 11:30 pm, so here I was driving home at past midnight. Not fun. The combination of tiredness, eye strain, eye dryness from the plane, dark, and oncoming headlights was a nightmare. I don’t think I have ever concentrated quite so hard on driving. Definitely not a great experience. The whole combination of factors contributed to enormous halo effects and left me squinting and driving very slowly…

So to summarize the changes from last week: the clarity factor far away is the most noticeable difference, with edges appearing sharper (although not completely to where they were with contacts). I have been swimming in both the ocean and the pool and have not had any issues, although I did not try opening my eyes underwater. To be honest, I did miss a handful of my scheduled steroid drops but have not had any healing issues. I have been kind to my eyes and given myself plenty of artificial drops and I have been religiously wearing sunglasses whenever outside.

PRK Surgery Diary: 2 Week Update

Previous PRK post here (1 week). Read next PRK post here (3 weeks).

Hello. So 2 weeks after surgery I am seeing decently well. Lights still appear “bigger” than they should be, but my near vision is back to normal! It took 10 days for my eyes to stop being dilated (yes, a full 10 days. It looked like I was hitting some massive Js that entire time.) I’m not 20/20, but I can manage quite well without glasses so fuck it, it works for me. And it has only been a few weeks, so they can only get better from here. I’ve been tapering my steroid drops like the doctor told me- down to 2 drops a day now. And using the artificial tears whenever I need some extra moisture. Dear lord I apologize for this post I am drunk as shit sitting in the airport.