I am not sure if this has been beaten into the ground on this forum, so apologies if this has come up before. Yesterday I got PRK laser eye surgery and although it is only 1 day post-op, I would STRONGLY recommend it to anybody who has fears of losing a contact during a race… which I have a couple times. The procedure took a total of 20 min for both eyes, and the laser itself only “shot” each eye for 33 sec… that’s it. I am in very little pain and feel like I could go for a run today if I really wanted to. I went from something like 20/600 (-7.5 diopters) in each eye with an astigmatism, and was able to read the 20/20 line this morning on the eye chart… nuts! Things are a little fuzzy, but that is normal and the doc told me that things will get substantially better over the next week and in about a month I will be near 100%. The kicker(s)… 5000.00, and no insurance didn’t cover it. Also, I can’t swim for 4 weeks. The procedure was painless except for not being able to close your eye when they have these super bright lights on it… oh, and when the laser it on, the burning smell is exactly what you think it is… your eye. So, again, I am very pleased with how things turned out and am a believer.
I had Wave LASIK month ago and just got back in the pool. I was 20/200 and now 20/20 in one eye and 20/30 in the other, which may correct over time. if not, he can touch it up.
My only complaint is I only needed reading classes from time to time in bad light and now I need them 100% of the time when I read or look at the computer. I’m 48 and he said this would happen but its been somewhat of a suprise to go shopping and not be able to read the sizes or labels.
As a side note, I always put an extra set of lenses in my swim to bike bag just in case I lost one, which never happened.
I got mine about a week ago. Be prepared for your vision to get worse. Mine was pretty good the day after, but was 20/70 four days later when they removed the protective lenses. I do computer work and have struggled at times to read the screen even though I have the font sizes cranked up. The doctors have said that everything is going perfectly fine, but I’m still only a little bit better than when they said it was 20/70.
I agree 100% with your recommendation of getting PRK, but people should be prepared for the possibility of diminished vision for weeks afterwards (I wasn’t).
Also, interesting that they said you couldn’t swim for a month. They told me I could after a week and today was my first day back.
I had standard RK on both eyes about 15-18 years ago. I went from legally blind (w/out glasses) to 20/20 in my right (dominant) eye and a slight over correction in my left. The doctor couldn’t fix the left eye until Lasik was made available. Five years ago I had the left eye recorrected with Lasik. I will have the right eye touched up next week as the original RK doesn’t last forever (as expected).
Eye surgery is probably the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.
Thanks… I’ve been told that about your vision getting a bit worse before it gets better. I went with PRK b/c it was safer, and I was told the long term results are better, but the recovery is a bit more uncomfortable and it takes longer for your vision to get back to normal. Thanks.
Was it the standard PRK where they take off the corneal epithelium with a brush? I’m amazed that you’re seeing 20/20 the next day. I have had friends that have had PRK and it took them months for their vision to stabilize. The epithelium itself usually takes a few days to heal.
The myopia was helping you compensate for the presbyopia but it would have gotten worse with time. Now that the myopia is fixed, you realize that your focal point has gone from a few inches away to the next room. Still, it’s a small price to pay for competing without glasses. Bifocals work too, but you lose detailed peripheral vision and essentially have to become a bobble head to see clearly.
Yes, they took off the outer layer with the brush type tool (looks nasty on the DVD). I am not going to exaggerate, I could read the 20/20 line, but it was fuzzy, and I am sensitive to bright light too… so using the computer hurts a bit. I was surprised too, but the doctor used (and I do not know if this is standard) mitomycin after the surgery which I was told helps a lot in the recovery. Mitomycin, from what I have been told is used for some cancer treatments, but they’ve found that it helps with the the recovery from this surgery as well. I am expecting for my vision to get a bit worse before it gets better though from what I’ve heard about other peoples’ experiences. I was just a bit floored myself that I actually could make out the 20/20 line. I’ll let you know how things progress over the next couple days… if I can use a computer:) Thanks.
I am not sure if this has been beaten into the ground on this forum, so apologies if this has come up before. Yesterday I got PRK laser eye surgery and although it is only 1 day post-op, I would STRONGLY recommend it to anybody who has fears of losing a contact during a race… which I have a couple times. The procedure took a total of 20 min for both eyes, and the laser itself only “shot” each eye for 33 sec… that’s it. I am in very little pain and feel like I could go for a run today if I really wanted to. I went from something like 20/600 (-7.5 diopters) in each eye with an astigmatism, and was able to read the 20/20 line this morning on the eye chart… nuts! Things are a little fuzzy, but that is normal and the doc told me that things will get substantially better over the next week and in about a month I will be near 100%. The kicker(s)… 5000.00, and no insurance didn’t cover it. Also, I can’t swim for 4 weeks. The procedure was painless except for not being able to close your eye when they have these super bright lights on it… oh, and when the laser it on, the burning smell is exactly what you think it is… your eye. So, again, I am very pleased with how things turned out and am a believer.
Thanks for this thread. I went in for LASIK yesterday but turns out I have mild case of pink-eye so the procedure was postponed a few weeks. The good news is they didn’t discover the pink-eye until after I got the valium… 
For what it’s worth, my doc said run/bike the next day is fine. Swim after a week. I hope you heal well!
I had Lasik surgery last friday, and it has been going pretty good even though like most people have said one seems to be more clear than the other but it will get better with time . 20/20 (in the left ) 20/40 (in the right)
At night while watching Tv I have a eye dominance problem…If I am watching Tv in the dark I seem to use the one eye more than the other to focus and it drives me crazy and I seem to relax and not think of it and go back to watching TV and it is OK…During the day I dont notice it that much but at night is when I have problems…
I also see Halos behind headlights and street lamps…
Overall I am really happy that I had the surgery…what was I wainting for???
I undergo a Lasik surgery last year, but it was a tough decision for me because my girl told me that im too young to undergo such surgery (she’s referring to the risk involved in the said surgery) but a friend of mine already did it 2 years priory to my LASik and he shared his knowledge and informed the risk pros and cons about LASik. He also mentioned that as with any surgical procedures, there are risk associated with LAsik, but in the hand of highly skilled and experience surgeon. Reason I made up a decision that im going to do it. For almost 20 years i suffered astigmatism and ive been wearing contact lens for almost half of my life, made me not to do things to the fullest. After surgery for 2 months I experienced night side effects (halos) but after that, I able to see 2020 without the help of neither glasses nor contacts. The best part of it is I can now do things to the fullest like diving and some stuff that I like to do since I was young. I consider having LASik a wonderful and a life changing experience to me. Im very proud and contented with my life right now and I feel good and look good about it. It’s a life changing for me. Thanks to my2020
I had LASIK about 1 1/2 weeks ago. I went from 20/300 to 20/15 in both eyes (so far). I started swimming again yesterday and have been running/cycling since the day after the surgery. The procedure itself is amazing. Still boggles my mind how ‘they’ do this stuff. I didn’t use any meds for the surgery (no valium etc) and did not need any painkillers after. My eyes bothered me for about 2 hours and then they were a bit dry for a few days. Other than that they were fine. It was a bit of a pain putting on the eye shields each night for a week and to make sure I used the antibiotic and steroid eye drops 4 times a day. Now that I don’t need any of that, and that the residual ‘halos’ etc have all but gone away, I am stoked.
As for ‘flap’ concerns, the military has recently cleared LASIK for pilots (PRK has always been allowed). The concern had been that the blast of air during ejection would damage the flap but if I understand correctly that is not longer a concern. According to my doc, who along with his partners have done many many 1000s of procedures, the flap issue seems to be really only a problem if you have direct serious trauma to the eye (his example was falling and catching eyeball on a hook, something he had a patient do once…) Definitely PRK is ‘better’ if the flap is a primary concern of yours, but for me the much longer healing time was the issue, especially with the risk of flap issues being so low.
Good luck with your recovery and congrats on being able to see!
Don’t they recommend in waiting 2 weeks before swimming? Anyone get back in the pool the same week?