Recovery from PRK eye surgery really sucks

[AndrewR]

Had eye surgery on Wednesday, and it's been a pain-fest since then. The Percocet helps, but imagine wearing a soft contact lens (daily wear) for two weeks without taking it out. That's what it feels like when the Percocet is working. When it's not, there's a nice, burning sensation.

Oh well, short term pain, long term gain. I can't complain about the price either, since it was free from the Air Force. So far I haven't felt the benefit because instead of wearing glasses all the time, I'm wearing sunglasses. Eventually, I won't need to wear anything! It's weird because my vision has fluctuated (which they said it would) so today I can barely see anything -- please excuse any misspellings!

Any other PRK folks out there? Another guy in my office had LASIK and had a really easy recovery. At least I won't have to worry about a corneal flap when it's all over.

 

[allisolm]

My daughter had PRK and yes, she was in a lot of pain for the first 24hrs. After that, though, the pain rapidly diminished (thank goodness eyes heal rapidly.) Her vision stabilized at 20/20 and 20/25 which made her much happier than the 20/350 she had before. The only lasting problem she has had is some haloing at night. She has been more than willing to accept that in exchange for the good vision. She had it done about 10 years ago and has had no regrets. Hopefully your results will be as favorable. Best wishes for a quick recovery and a great visual outcome!

 

[uhohs]

ouch. get well soon.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

That does not sound like fun. I hope the pain goes away soon and your vision is near perfect afterwards

 

[TallBill]

I had PRK via the Army and slept (in a drug induced coma) for the first 4 days, only waking up to take my next meds or put in drops. After a week I could see ok, and finally after a month I was almost 20/20. Now, several months later, my eyes are amazingly sharp.

 

[torpid]

What did you expect? You just got a procedure where someone basically takes a scalpel and cuts your cornea in a few places.

 

[tweakmm]

I guess the AF is better than the rest, but I've heard horror storries about military surgury. :Q

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: tweakmm
I guess the AF is better than the rest, but I've heard horror storries about military surgury. :Q

Actually when mine was done through the Army they used a civilian doctor.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: tweakmm
I guess the AF is better than the rest, but I've heard horror storries about military surgury. :Q

I didnt think the AF did it at all. I thought you got referred out through Tricare or something similar.

Why the hell would a LASIK doctor settle for an O-3 paycheck?

 

[BDawg]

Why would you get PRK these days?

 

[PowerMacG5]

Originally posted by: BDawg
Why would you get PRK these days?

Because you don't have to worry about a cornea flap?

 

[theNEOone]

Originally posted by: BDawg
Why would you get PRK these days?

my brother is in the navy and needed corrective surgery. he is in flight school now and as a military pilot, the only sanctioned corrective procedure for vision is PRK.


=|

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: BDawg
Why would you get PRK these days?

Because that's what the military is willing to pay for?

 

[fenrir]

Originally posted by: PowerMacG5

Originally posted by: BDawg
Why would you get PRK these days?

Because you don't have to worry about a cornea flap?

Yes, but that is why they developed Lasek. It is less painful than PRK. You still have a flap, but it is very minimal in thickness with no cutting.

Matt

 

[dquan97]

Hope full recovery is imminent. At least you spelled better with blurry vision than most here with good vision

 

[Zoblefu]

I had RK about 8 years ago. (I don't remember if it was PRK... and didn't spend the time to look up the difference, if any)

I went in mid-day, they gave me drugs, procedure took 10 minutes, I was driven home and went to bed. The next day I woke up and had good vision, no pain.

Maybe it was just a minor surgery or something compared to some others. I just went from 20/50-20/60 to 20/15-20/20.

My parents wanted to pay for it... I needed contacts or glasses to drive, and I kept losing mine, so this was their way of fixing that problem

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: BDawg
Why would you get PRK these days?

I think some people are confusing PRK with RK, which is not accepted by the military and grounds for immediate dismissal. I don't think RK is offered anymore.

RK is the procedure developed by the Russians where they use a scalpel to make radial incisions in your eye that never heal and significantly compromise the strength of the cornea. In other words, it's bad stuff.

PRK and LASIK are almost the same thing and use the same laser for the corneal reshaping. The only difference is that in LASIK they make a flap and then use the laser underneath the flap while in PRK they remove the flap completely, reshape the cornea underneath, and then the part they removed grows back (which is why it's more painful). The results are the same, though LASIK can be used for slightly higher diopter correction (PRK can correct higher amounts of astigmatism though).

The Air Force prefers PRK because once the eyes heal, there is no flap and nothing to compromise the integrity of the eye, especially at altitude where the flap can cause problems. I was concerned about having the flap when I scuba dive since pressure is a significant concern (though there's no documented case of a problem with LASIK and diving, yet). Also, not that it's likely, but I would be unable to apply for any type of flying position if I had received LASIK. There aren't many available for me, but I didn't want to limit any possibilities.

Essentially, LASIK is more popular in the civilian world because you won't have people who get PRK raving about how painless it is. In other words, LASIK is easier to market.

Worst part? When the doctor was scraping the stuff off my eye prior to the laser. THAT was funky to watch.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: AndrewR

I think some people are confusing PRK with RK, which is not accepted by the military and grounds for immediate dismissal. I don't think RK is offered anymore.

Whoops. Guilty as charged.

 

[Zoblefu]

Well, they did in fact cut my eye with a knife, so I guess I got old fashined RK

 

[Runes911]

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: BDawg
Why would you get PRK these days?

I think some people are confusing PRK with RK, which is not accepted by the military and grounds for immediate dismissal. I don't think RK is offered anymore.

RK is the procedure developed by the Russians where they use a scalpel to make radial incisions in your eye that never heal and significantly compromise the strength of the cornea. In other words, it's bad stuff.

PRK and LASIK are almost the same thing and use the same laser for the corneal reshaping. The only difference is that in LASIK they make a flap and then use the laser underneath the flap while in PRK they remove the flap completely, reshape the cornea underneath, and then the part they removed grows back (which is why it's more painful). The results are the same, though LASIK can be used for slightly higher diopter correction (PRK can correct higher amounts of astigmatism though).

The Air Force prefers PRK because once the eyes heal, there is no flap and nothing to compromise the integrity of the eye, especially at altitude where the flap can cause problems. I was concerned about having the flap when I scuba dive since pressure is a significant concern (though there's no documented case of a problem with LASIK and diving, yet). Also, not that it's likely, but I would be unable to apply for any type of flying position if I had received LASIK. There aren't many available for me, but I didn't want to limit any possibilities.

Essentially, LASIK is more popular in the civilian world because you won't have people who get PRK raving about how painless it is. In other words, LASIK is easier to market.

Worst part? When the doctor was scraping the stuff off my eye prior to the laser. THAT was funky to watch.

*reminds self to get PRK and bare the pain.*

Any cost difference?

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

A friend of mine got PRK at Travis AFB when I was in the service. The recovery seemed like a real pain (no pun intended). I would have gotten it if I had been stationed where there was a major medical center, but it never struck me as worthwhile to take 2 weeks of leave to get it (IIRC they required you to be physically present for 2 weeks for aftercare).

I will probably get Lasik this fall.

 

[allisolm]

I think some people are confusing PRK with RK,

Oops! Sorry. Yes, my daughter had RK.

 

[abracadabra1]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Had eye surgery on Wednesday, and it's been a pain-fest since then. The Percocet helps, but imagine wearing a soft contact lens (daily wear) for two weeks without taking it out. That's what it feels like when the Percocet is working. When it's not, there's a nice, burning sensation.

Oh well, short term pain, long term gain. I can't complain about the price either, since it was free from the Air Force. So far I haven't felt the benefit because instead of wearing glasses all the time, I'm wearing sunglasses. Eventually, I won't need to wear anything! It's weird because my vision has fluctuated (which they said it would) so today I can barely see anything -- please excuse any misspellings!

Any other PRK folks out there? Another guy in my office had LASIK and had a really easy recovery. At least I won't have to worry about a corneal flap when it's all over.

No woder you're whining so much...you're an air force weenie. I had PRK two years ago and didn't take any percocet (since the doctor said it wasn't necessary and could slow the recovery). The blurry vision lasts for around 2 weeks, but even then your eyes will not be stable. It takes about 1 month for that to occur. Three months is about the time when your vision will stop changing.

FLY NAVY!

I forgot to mention - 20/15 now.

 

[abracadabra1]

Originally posted by: AndrewR

Originally posted by: BDawg
Worst part? When the doctor was scraping the stuff off my eye prior to the laser. THAT was funky to watch.

Agreed. I remember clinching the stress ball pretty hard when that was happening.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: abracadabra1

Originally posted by: AndrewR
Had eye surgery on Wednesday, and it's been a pain-fest since then. The Percocet helps, but imagine wearing a soft contact lens (daily wear) for two weeks without taking it out. That's what it feels like when the Percocet is working. When it's not, there's a nice, burning sensation.

Oh well, short term pain, long term gain. I can't complain about the price either, since it was free from the Air Force. So far I haven't felt the benefit because instead of wearing glasses all the time, I'm wearing sunglasses. Eventually, I won't need to wear anything! It's weird because my vision has fluctuated (which they said it would) so today I can barely see anything -- please excuse any misspellings!

Any other PRK folks out there? Another guy in my office had LASIK and had a really easy recovery. At least I won't have to worry about a corneal flap when it's all over.

No woder you're whining so much...you're an air force weenie. I had PRK two years ago and didn't take any percocet (since the doctor said it wasn't necessary and could slow the recovery). The blurry vision lasts for around 2 weeks, but even then your eyes will not be stable. It takes about 1 month for that to occur. Three months is about the time when your vision will stop changing.

FLY NAVY!

I forgot to mention - 20/15 now.

And every person recovers differently, tough guy. My doctor didn't mention anything about Percocet affecting the healing process, though the numbing drops do (and they strongly recommended not using them, which I didn't).

Fly Navy? Hey, the Chinese basically are after they had our EP-3 for so long on Hainan Island! Thanks for that! :thumbsup: