"It May Get Worse Before it Gets Better"

Thursday - The Day After Surgery (Day Two)

I didn't sleep very well Wednesday night. It wasn't due to pain or anything...I just couldn't stop my mind from racing, and even through I was tired and could tell the Vicodin was making me drowsy, I was just restless.

I should have used one of the two sleeping pills they gave me, but for some reason I didn't think I needed it, and by the time I realized that I wasn't going to have a good night's sleep and I should have popped a pill, it was too late (less then 6 hours before my follow-up appointment).

Despite having a restless night, I woke up around 7:30 feeling well. No real pain to speak of, besides a slight scratchiness in my left eye. Clear vision (which still astounds me), and just a little weariness.

I took a taxi to my 8:30 am follow-up appointment, and to be honest, I could have driven. In fact, my surgeon admitted to me that a lot of people do drive themselves the day after.

I read the chart and the nurse told me I was currently 20/20 in my left eye (amazing!) and 20/25 in my right eye. The surgeon told me that that's very good for the day after PRK.

You see, PRK is a surface correction - meaning they use lasers to correct the curvature of your eye, starting at the surface of your cornea, so the surface of your cornea has to heal itself, which is why it's more painful and takes longer to recover than LASIK. It's also why your vision can fluctuate and take a little while to settle down completely. They give you an extended wear soft contact lens that works as a bandage, protecting the vulnerable surface of your eye for a few days, and that was what was irritating me the most on day two - just the dryness from wearing the lens. They told me "trust me, it would be a lot worse without the lens."

Dr. McCanna also said that it was good that I wasn't experiencing a lot of pain, but warned me "It may get worse before it gets better again."

The rest of Thursday went very well. I didn't take any pain meds but didn't have any issues. I dozed very briefly in the middle of the day, but other than that I wrapped my christmas presents and spent some time listening to Serial with my eyes closed (they say the more you can rest your eyes the faster the recovery will be).

Matt came over and made me dinner, and we even watched two TV episodes (Once Upon A Time and Agents of SHIELD) and I could watch without my cool blind person sunglasses!

But, after the 2nd episode, my eyes were pretty dang tired and I told Matt "no more."

As far as light sensitivity goes, it hasn't been TOO bad..it's not that it hurts really, it's just easier to be in no light or low light or to wear sunglasses, and if I'm in the light for too long, my eyes get really tired. Screens (tv, computer, phone) are the hardest, and I imagine reading a book would be pretty difficult too, because you need to read by light and also your eyes have to focus so much.

I took a sleeping pill last night and got a glorious 12 hours of sleep/rest for my eyes.

Friday, Day Three

Dr. McCanna may as well be a psychic. Today has so far been the worst...

I woke up with an awful headache, really dry eyes, and slightly blurred vision. I pulled myself out of bed to wash my hands and put in some drops (antibiotic), went downstairs to put on the coffee pot and came back upstairs to wash my hands and put in some more drops (painkillers), laid down for a bit talking to my mom on the phone then washed my hands a third time and put in the last drops (steroids). I have three sets of drops that I have to put in 3-4 times a day and it's important to wait at least 5 minutes in between. The pharmacist also recommended doing the steroid suspension last, because it's the thickest. The drops mostly help, minimizing the pain and wetting my eyes, but the antibiotic stings like a bitch. On the bright side, it makes my eyes water, which helps.

After my morning drops me and my pounding head went back downstairs so that I could eat some breakfast and take my last vicodin as soon as humanly possible.

After that, I laid down in bed with the curtains shut, the lights off, and a towel over my eyes and listed to Amy Poehler's audiobook, "Yes, Please" for 2.5 hours or so.

I'm feeling better now; the headache is gone and my eyes are less dry. I just ate lunch and was feeling good enough to write this blog (albeit with the brightness turned way down and my Ray Charles sunglasses on), but my right eye is still blurry.

It's nothing like the blurriness I used to experience without contacts or glasses..it's very slight. But it does make it kind of difficult to focus on the words I'm typing. The good news is that my doctor said this is expected and nothing to worry about, so I just have to kind of deal with it.

Thankfully, my left eye is still very clear and I don't have to do any work, so once I'm done with this blog I'll probably go back to Amy Poehler (great audiobook so far by the way), and then might play board games with Matt when he comes over later.

Advice to Anyone Considering this Surgery

Some people who I've talked to have said things like "tell me who it goes" and "I've been thinking of getting that surgery." I also know that when I was considering it, I was scouring the internet for blogs and other firsthand accounts, so that I could get some personal advice from someone who had been through the whole seemingly terrifying experience. So this section is for any of you considering this.

So far, on day three, I have no regrets. Despite the minor blurriness in my right eye currently, the periods of totally clear vision that I've had are, at the risk of being melodramatic, a look into my long-term future. And it looks clear. So, so very clear.

If you have terrible vision like I did (-6.50 prescription, what up?) and feel hindered by it, you should consider getting LASIK or PRK if you can afford it.

The procedure itself was scary. Going under the laser and being awake for the whole thing, and knowing that I had a job in it (look at the red light) was scary. Having to sign the consent form right beforehand, which details out every possible terrible thing that could happen (losing your eye? a corneal transplant? Overcorrection?) no matter how unlikely, was terrifying.

However, as my doctor and my research explained, all of those scenarios are very, very, unlikely. And as I learned in my business law class, they have to list out every possible scenario, no matter how unlikely, just in case. Because no one wants to get sued by the one in a trillionth person.

Plan to have some soft light available, especially in your bedroom. I haven't liked having my normal light on, so I've been using a softer lamp with one or two bulbs. Also make sure you have really good blinds covering your windows.

The first day, I literally carried a candle to/from the bathroom because the bathroom light was wayyy too bright. If I did it again, I would probably buy an electric candle to carry around.

Have someone help make your meals, but also buy food that's easy to make if you need to cook for yourself. Get lots and lots of artificial tear eye drops.

Download audiobooks, bookmark podcasts, plan to have your eyes closed. But also plan to do other activities that don't require a screen, like playing cards or board games. You don't have to have your eyes shut 24/7.

I probably could have worked yesterday and today, but I took the doctor's strong recommendation to take time off and I would suggest that if you get PRK that you do, too. Especially if you work on a computer (who doesn't these days), it will be really tiring for your eyes and you'll probably end up with a wicked headache. Note that this may be different for LASIK, since the recovery is so different.

Anyway that's it for now. I'm going to shower and stare at my feet for a little while, which I'll be able to see clearly without contacts for the first time ever (well maybe just the left foot right now, the right one might be kind of blurry).