Day 1 - 11

PRK surgery on left eye on 12/8/2016
Laser Method: Wavefront optimized
Laser device : Alcon Allegretto WaveLight
http://www.la-sight.com/lasik-prk/Wavelight/wavefront-lasers-compared

MethylPREDNISolone Tablets USP : as prescribed in pacjage.

Medications:Prednisolone Acetate: 1 drop 3 times a day for 1 week

Zymazid 1 drop 3 times a day until bottle is gone

Systane Ultra preservative Free: 1 drop every 1-2 hours four times a day for 1 month.

PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION:

Start taking vitamin C and Omega 3 oil at least two weeks prior after the surgery and continue for the next 6 months. Vitamin C is supposed to prevent corneal haze and Omega 3 should help with eye dryness. I also have a vegetable smoothies every morning. The ingredients: spinach, carrot, celery and flax seeds. Read about those supplements online and get informed.

Day 1: I was able to see better already first few hours after surgery. Dr explained that eye was very moist with all the water that was applied during surgery. Pain started 5-6 hours after surgery,lasted for about 1 hour. I took a nap for 2 hours. Took two pills of Tylenol strength. Applied a patch to my eye to block all light. I planned to do it for at least 5 days, to avoid exposure to light and other agents. I had a great night of sleep and took 2 sleeping pills.

Eyesight became hazy or cloudy

Day 2: I applied Systane drops at 7:00 am and my eye hurt for about 1 hour. It stung and felt like a foreign object in my eye. Around noon my wife drove me to my 1st follow-up appointment. They found my eye was too dry and told me that my healing time was going to be affected by those RK incisions. They asked me to increase the frequency of the tear drops, every hour. IMPORTANT: strongly suggested to use Systane in vials instead of the bottle. They said the ones from the bottle contains preservatives that seem to cause the adverse effect on the eyes when healing. Vision 20/200

Day 3: My eye is a little swollen and I have not felt pain so far other that normal discomfort of feeling an eyelash trapped on my eye. I noticed this morning was not as hazy as yesterday, however at this time (12:47 PM) is back to the same level as yesterday. Well around 3 or 4:00 pm things changed my eye got very red, itchy, and the feeling of a foreign object was even more poignant. In reality it was my fault because the doctor had said that I needed to keep that eye moist with “Systane” and I just waited too long between drop times.  That night I slept well .

Day 4: It was a good day overall, I did well keeping the eye moist and in the dark. I even noticed some improvement on distance vision when I went to bed.

I am now able to understand better what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 13:12. I only see a reflection of reality, What I am seeing is not the real place as far as how it looks like.

Another thought is that God’s word gives an image of how the future is going to look like and we can trust that one day that image will become crystal clear. Just like I saw right after my surgery, i was able to read my phone 10 inches away from my face so clearly. Then couples of hours later the healing began and it looks very blurry. I know that during this recovery time, I will evoke that image and I will be comforted.

Only trusting God and His perfect love for our lives will help us conquer our fears and still be a mouse with the heart of a tiger.

Day 5: Difficult day because I started working on the computer and even with less brightness it was still too bright for my left eye, so I kept it covered. In the evening I had a freaky experience, around 7:00 pm after applying drops I went to lay down and almost everything went dark on my right eye(no operated) . I got up right away and went out of the room and back to normal.  Try to lay down and same experience, got up all normal. Then on 3rd time nothing happened. But as you could imagine, it kept me thinking.  

About 1 hour later I applied the drops and something wonderful happened, my left eye started seeing very clear that I could read the kitchen signs around me. I honestly felt God’s presence and confirmation that everything is going fine. I was so comforted by that thought and evoked that image that I saw right after the surgery.

I slept well and applied artificial tear(AT) drops a couple of times during the night. I noticed I experienced dryness on my right eye. Perhaps because I have been using it so much lately.

Day 6: Today the eye has felt so recovered and I have worked on the computer longer than yesterday. I would prefer not but I have to for job reasons. Very key: MOIST eye. Visibility is a little better today. Thanks God, it is going well.

I did notice again that after taking the MethylPREDNISolone tablet(last one) my eye dried again within 1 hour (7:00 - 8:00 pm). This evening will be a good test since they are gone now.

Day 7: Woke up with dried eyes, even my right one. Perhaps that medicine, not sure.

I was able to see a little more clear.

Day 8: One week since the surgery,  today is very blurry and apparent regress but I’ve read enough about how the vision changes due to the healing, so I am at peace.

Day 9: Dr checkup and vision was 20/40 and I was glad. Dr removed contact lense but irritated my eye. So I have been dealing all afternoon with that. Vision is now blurry. They told me that it will be up to my healing when to do the right eye.

Day 10: I had a difficult night with eye dryness, I set my alarm to wake up every 3 hours so I could apply the tear drops.  My vision is blurrier than it was yesterday. I doubt my vision is still 20/40.

Day 11: Slept better I only applied drops twice during the night. Today I have not required the drops as much as yesterday. I did read in other blogs that it was common for vision to get worse after the contact is removed.

I highly recommend these blogs:

http://blog.freakingawesome.net/my-prk-adventure/

http://www.theadventurouswriter.com/blog/laser-eye-surgery-tips-healing-after-prk-lasik/


LESSONS LEARNED SO FAR:

- Keep eye moist as much as possible. Whenever feel eye is getting dry apply Systane drops(vials preferably because it contains less preservatives as explained to me by the doctor)

- Follow the drops schedule to the letter. For the first 5 days I went to bed and slept well but my eye got "thirsty" during that time I ignored it at the expense of resting. So when I got up on Sunday my eye was irritated, crusted and very red. I thought for a moment that my eye has gotten an infection.