PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) vision correction surgery, to be precise. There are always a lot of questions about it, and I had questions myself. I'd never heard of it before my doctor recommended it to me. That meant I had to do research. Now, I wasn't much of a researcher before Chase, but we Goodings never go blindly into anything (see what I did there?).
I learned a LOT about my surgery from blogs just like this one, so I'm going to pay it forward. It's a lot of detailed information (on purpose), so it might be a little boring if you're not considering the surgery.
WARNING: THIS IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH OR FAINT OF HEART!!!!
They used a rotating toothbrush on my eyeball...that's about the worst of it, so if you handled that, you'll get through the rest.
Honestly, there were only two pretty excruciating parts of this process. The first was scheduling the dang thing! Most of that, honestly, was my fault. I wanted a specific day and time since I get two weeks off for the holidays. The family I work with is so good to me that I wanted to be sure to try my best not to take time off work (I had heard I'd be down for the count for at least 3 days). In retrospect, I'm really glad I scheduled it when I had time off. There was no way I could've driven on day four.
I ended up using a surgery center recommended by my optometrist, Clearview Eyecare and Laser Center in Southlake, and they were absolutely fantastic. I would highly recommend them to anyone considering PRK or LASIK. They were kind, accommodating, and helpful. When I arrived, everyone had a smile, they were reassuring, patient, and knowledgeable. The girl who walked me from check-in to surgery had recently had the surgery, and was a great help to me. It was her job to take all kinds of measurements and look at my eyes just to make sure they had all the particulars correct. She also explained the post-op drops, which you need a college degree to comprehend, and made sure I understood exactly what to do. I asked her questions, and she kept telling me that I would be fine. By the time I was ready for surgery, I had almost all my fears conquered. Almost.
The surgery actually didn't bother me at all. I started to have a panic attack and cried right before they spun me under the laser. They just kept telling me to breathe and didn't stop working. I'm glad they did because I might've broken down and asked for an anti-anxiety something-or-other, but it was over too fast to be really traumatic. They started by putting a whole lot of numbing drops into my eyes. After the drops, they taped my left eye shut and inserted whatever they used to keep my right eye pried open. I couldn't feel it at all because my eyes were numb. Next, they put a ton of drops in...probably a couple of different kinds. I'm not really sure; it was all a bit of a blur (I'm on a roll!).
Now comes the good part...the rotating toothbrush. It took them awhile to toothbrush me because they kept telling me to look at this red dot...that I couldn't see ...because there was a toothbrush on my eye! So I guess I was looking up and around, but not where they could get to the right part of my eye. They use the toothbrush, from what I read, to remove the epithelial layer of cells. That's what makes PRK different from LASIK. With LASIK, they cut a flap in your cornea and peel it back. There's no cutting with PRK. Just toothbrushing. Then I think there was another drop, maybe? And what felt like an eyeball squeegee (yeah, I had to look up how to spell that). Now the good stuff. The laser. "Just stare at that red dot again, and don't move for 15 seconds"...and 15 seconds later that was over. In some blogs I had read, people said that they could smell burning eyeball. Ew. I did not smell anything. Like I said, fast. Painless, too...up to this point, anyway. They did the other eye the exact same way, the doctor looked me over, and that was it.
The other difficult portion of my surgery was recovery. I knew from reading that I wouldn't be able to see very well for the first several days because the epithelial layer of cells had to grow back, form a ridge, and be repositioned by my eyelid. I didn't see well enough to drive until about day five or six, with the day of my surgery counted as day one. I didn't have any pain the entire way home, so I thought, "This is great!" Famous. Last. Words.
We went to Wal-Mart to get all my eyedrops, and I had to abandon Chase in the checkout line because I was in so much pain. I also was extremely light sensitive. I had on roll-out shades and giant sunglasses, but could not stand to have my eyes uncovered. I sat in the car, my face buried in a sweatshirt, until Chase got me home.
I wish I had been told more information about trying to put in these super important drops while not being able to open my eyes. I should have made Chase put in my eyedrops, but he "doesn't like eyes." They freak him out. For this reason, I tried to do my drops myself...in almost complete darkness. I was a mess. Further advice: sleep as much as possible the first few days. They give great pain meds. Take them and sleep. You might want to invest in a good eye mask as well. I already had one that is extra soft and not tight at all...which my doctor said was important. I started to worry a bit around 4 PM when I still couldn't open my eyes without excruciating pain. We called my optometrist's office. I talked to a receptionist who talked to the office manager who talked to the doctor. When the office manager came back to me, she said I should come in right away for an emergency visit. She sounded concerned. This sent me over the edge into full panic mode. I might've cried a little...just sayin.
When we arrived at the office, they were waiting for me,
"Denise Gooding? Oh, is this the emergency patient?" said one nurse to the office manager while looking at me with pity.
Breathlessly, the office manager replied, "Yes, let's get her in a room right away."
Really, people? REALLY? Even if it's terrible, fake like it's not. The doctor came into the room where they'd put me. She looked me over, shined her light in my eyes (Did I mention the light sensitivity?!). She pretty much said I had a low pain tolerance and nothing seemed out of order. I told her I had been having a really hard time putting in my drops. She told me that it's really easier if someone else does it...then came the "come to Jesus meeting" for Chase. We looked at Chase...inside, I know he must have been in the fetal position because he hates eyes. He doesn't like to stare longingly into them, prolonged eye contact of any kind makes him uncomfortable (he and our Border Collie have that in common), and, above all, he does NOT want to touch one!!!
He just smiled meekly and said, "Yeah, I could do it."
My hero.
From then on, it was mostly a breeze. I slept most of days two and three. By day four, I was up and doing most normal activities. There were still some moments when I had to go into "Diva Mode" from the light sensitivity and wear my sunglasses inside. I could see well enough to drive by probably Tuesday or Wednesday after having surgery on the previous Friday.
Four and a half weeks have passed since my surgery. As far as my vision goes, I can see well enough to complete all daily activities. The sharpness (vs. blurriness) comes and goes, but I rarely have times when I notice that I want to see something but can't. When my eyes are dry and at night, I notice my vision is at its worst. At night, my eyes are usually the driest, so they go hand in hand. I also still see halos around lights at night. The degree of the halos also changes from day to day. I knew not to expect my best visual acuity right out of the gate because of the way the cells have to regenerate and resettle. Everything I've read/been told indicates that it will be approximately three months before I will see like I did with contacts (or maybe better!).
I would definitely do all of this again. When I leave the house, I still stop for a second to think, "Where are my glasses? Did I put in my contacts? Oh, wait, I don't have to do that anymore!!!"
I learned a LOT about my surgery from blogs just like this one, so I'm going to pay it forward. It's a lot of detailed information (on purpose), so it might be a little boring if you're not considering the surgery.
WARNING: THIS IS NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH OR FAINT OF HEART!!!!
They used a rotating toothbrush on my eyeball...that's about the worst of it, so if you handled that, you'll get through the rest.
Honestly, there were only two pretty excruciating parts of this process. The first was scheduling the dang thing! Most of that, honestly, was my fault. I wanted a specific day and time since I get two weeks off for the holidays. The family I work with is so good to me that I wanted to be sure to try my best not to take time off work (I had heard I'd be down for the count for at least 3 days). In retrospect, I'm really glad I scheduled it when I had time off. There was no way I could've driven on day four.
I ended up using a surgery center recommended by my optometrist, Clearview Eyecare and Laser Center in Southlake, and they were absolutely fantastic. I would highly recommend them to anyone considering PRK or LASIK. They were kind, accommodating, and helpful. When I arrived, everyone had a smile, they were reassuring, patient, and knowledgeable. The girl who walked me from check-in to surgery had recently had the surgery, and was a great help to me. It was her job to take all kinds of measurements and look at my eyes just to make sure they had all the particulars correct. She also explained the post-op drops, which you need a college degree to comprehend, and made sure I understood exactly what to do. I asked her questions, and she kept telling me that I would be fine. By the time I was ready for surgery, I had almost all my fears conquered. Almost.
The surgery actually didn't bother me at all. I started to have a panic attack and cried right before they spun me under the laser. They just kept telling me to breathe and didn't stop working. I'm glad they did because I might've broken down and asked for an anti-anxiety something-or-other, but it was over too fast to be really traumatic. They started by putting a whole lot of numbing drops into my eyes. After the drops, they taped my left eye shut and inserted whatever they used to keep my right eye pried open. I couldn't feel it at all because my eyes were numb. Next, they put a ton of drops in...probably a couple of different kinds. I'm not really sure; it was all a bit of a blur (I'm on a roll!).
Now comes the good part...the rotating toothbrush. It took them awhile to toothbrush me because they kept telling me to look at this red dot...that I couldn't see ...because there was a toothbrush on my eye! So I guess I was looking up and around, but not where they could get to the right part of my eye. They use the toothbrush, from what I read, to remove the epithelial layer of cells. That's what makes PRK different from LASIK. With LASIK, they cut a flap in your cornea and peel it back. There's no cutting with PRK. Just toothbrushing. Then I think there was another drop, maybe? And what felt like an eyeball squeegee (yeah, I had to look up how to spell that). Now the good stuff. The laser. "Just stare at that red dot again, and don't move for 15 seconds"...and 15 seconds later that was over. In some blogs I had read, people said that they could smell burning eyeball. Ew. I did not smell anything. Like I said, fast. Painless, too...up to this point, anyway. They did the other eye the exact same way, the doctor looked me over, and that was it.
The other difficult portion of my surgery was recovery. I knew from reading that I wouldn't be able to see very well for the first several days because the epithelial layer of cells had to grow back, form a ridge, and be repositioned by my eyelid. I didn't see well enough to drive until about day five or six, with the day of my surgery counted as day one. I didn't have any pain the entire way home, so I thought, "This is great!" Famous. Last. Words.
We went to Wal-Mart to get all my eyedrops, and I had to abandon Chase in the checkout line because I was in so much pain. I also was extremely light sensitive. I had on roll-out shades and giant sunglasses, but could not stand to have my eyes uncovered. I sat in the car, my face buried in a sweatshirt, until Chase got me home.
I wish I had been told more information about trying to put in these super important drops while not being able to open my eyes. I should have made Chase put in my eyedrops, but he "doesn't like eyes." They freak him out. For this reason, I tried to do my drops myself...in almost complete darkness. I was a mess. Further advice: sleep as much as possible the first few days. They give great pain meds. Take them and sleep. You might want to invest in a good eye mask as well. I already had one that is extra soft and not tight at all...which my doctor said was important. I started to worry a bit around 4 PM when I still couldn't open my eyes without excruciating pain. We called my optometrist's office. I talked to a receptionist who talked to the office manager who talked to the doctor. When the office manager came back to me, she said I should come in right away for an emergency visit. She sounded concerned. This sent me over the edge into full panic mode. I might've cried a little...just sayin.
When we arrived at the office, they were waiting for me,
"Denise Gooding? Oh, is this the emergency patient?" said one nurse to the office manager while looking at me with pity.
Breathlessly, the office manager replied, "Yes, let's get her in a room right away."
Really, people? REALLY? Even if it's terrible, fake like it's not. The doctor came into the room where they'd put me. She looked me over, shined her light in my eyes (Did I mention the light sensitivity?!). She pretty much said I had a low pain tolerance and nothing seemed out of order. I told her I had been having a really hard time putting in my drops. She told me that it's really easier if someone else does it...then came the "come to Jesus meeting" for Chase. We looked at Chase...inside, I know he must have been in the fetal position because he hates eyes. He doesn't like to stare longingly into them, prolonged eye contact of any kind makes him uncomfortable (he and our Border Collie have that in common), and, above all, he does NOT want to touch one!!!
He just smiled meekly and said, "Yeah, I could do it."
My hero.
From then on, it was mostly a breeze. I slept most of days two and three. By day four, I was up and doing most normal activities. There were still some moments when I had to go into "Diva Mode" from the light sensitivity and wear my sunglasses inside. I could see well enough to drive by probably Tuesday or Wednesday after having surgery on the previous Friday.
Four and a half weeks have passed since my surgery. As far as my vision goes, I can see well enough to complete all daily activities. The sharpness (vs. blurriness) comes and goes, but I rarely have times when I notice that I want to see something but can't. When my eyes are dry and at night, I notice my vision is at its worst. At night, my eyes are usually the driest, so they go hand in hand. I also still see halos around lights at night. The degree of the halos also changes from day to day. I knew not to expect my best visual acuity right out of the gate because of the way the cells have to regenerate and resettle. Everything I've read/been told indicates that it will be approximately three months before I will see like I did with contacts (or maybe better!).
I would definitely do all of this again. When I leave the house, I still stop for a second to think, "Where are my glasses? Did I put in my contacts? Oh, wait, I don't have to do that anymore!!!"
I need to do something like that! I hate taking the time at night, or in the morning to take out, or put in, my contacts. Though it really only takes a few minutes, I still feel like that time is wasted!
ReplyDeleteJulie, I had some pretty uncomfortable allergies, and I couldn't really tolerate contacts anymore. It was definitely the best decision for me.
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