PRK Surgery Day

This morning I woke up knowing that in a few hours I'd be under the laser, but to be honest, I was less nervous than I was yesterday. I guess the adrenaline was going or something. I got up, drove to Dunkin Donuts as Jen dropped the kids off, and relaxed on the computer for awhile.

Around 10:15 we headed out. Traffic was light so we got there about 25 minutes early and sat in the car a bit just talking. I was anxious but excited. There was another couple in front of us doing paperwork so we sat down and relaxed for a little while. The paperwork went quick then more sitting. A few minutes later, they took some photos and measured my eyes again, then back to waiting. Next I saw the optometrist and he checked my vision one last time, basically identical to my consultation visit. Then more sitting. Of course, I had a nervous bladder so I ended up peeing twice shortly before the procedure.

The doctor did notice I had some inflammation already so he decided to add a prescription for doxycycline as an additional anti-inflammatory. I found this quite funny as doxycycline is an antibiotic used for several arthropod-borne diseases (lymes, malaria, etc...)

We met with the Doctor, a nice guy, and he walked us through the procedure and made sure Jen knew everything to do from that point on. Then it was off to the surgery room. I had taken a valium roughly 10-15 minutes before but I didn't feel any different at this point. I laid down on the table, and before I knew it, my right eye was held open with the dreaded clamps. This was what I was concerned with more than the laser, but really, there was nothing to it. The one thing that stood out was that it felt like they were wrapped in a foam sheet. Some cooling drops then the scrub brush. I could barely make out the form of it and only felt some vibrations. Next was some scrapping of the debris and more liquid. The entire time I was supposed to be staring at a flashing red light. It was kind of hard with all the movement but I think I did ok.

The laser was actually pretty cool. I could hear the clicking sounds and vaguely saw some bluish light as it did its thing. The smell of burn flesh wasn't as bad as I was told either. After Jen's C-section, this was nothing. A faint smell, similar to burning a hair with a candle, but not as strong. More eye wash then on to my left eye. The one thing I could have used was a stress ball to squeeze. I'd read where other places give you one. It would have helped but not really necessary.

After both eyes were done, he visually inspected the eyes, told me it went well, then sent us on our way.

We had to pick up Jen's check, hit the pharmacy, grab lunch, then home.

I was supposed to take a three hour nap but it didn't happen. Not that I didn't try, I just couldn't get to sleep. I laid there with my eyes closed for two hours then figured it was too late to nap anymore.

Jen administered the first round of eye drops with little problem. I'm horrible about them, but we managed fine. Then she was off to get the kids while I rested more.

As for pain, I really haven't had any, yet. Before I took the Percocet, I felt some slight burning as the numbing drops wore off, but it was very minor. Otherwise, I've been great. Most of the time, I can barely even tell something was done. I'm sure tomorrow will be different though!

Lastly for my vision, it's fluctuated but for the most part it's much better than I was expecting it to be right now. Far from perfect, but at times I could almost swear it's as good as with my glasses. I've been told to expect haziness, halos, and possibly some ghosting as the epithelium layer starts growing back. Also, I'm to expect it to get worse for the next few days. I guess we'll see how this rollercoaster plays out.

I'd say it's definitely been tolerable and a pleasant experience thus far. I'll update more tomorrow. I'm trying to not use the computer more than 10 minutes at a time, hence the sloppy grammar.