(DISCLAIMER: I've read most of the former LASIK threads here, but they mostly involve getting the surgery vis-a-vis becoming a pilot, which I have no interest in.)

My best friend and I area considering getting vision correction surgery. He's signed up already. I'm still in research.

He's having the PRK surgery, and I'm leaning LASIK, but haven't done a formal consultation yet (despite being told that I'm eligible).

___________________________________________
So my request is, people here who've had either (and especially PRK), I'm wondering:

(1) which one did you have?
(2) did you get to choose or was the choice made for you?
(3) what was your recovery like?

Particularly interested in the third.

1) Lasik
2) I got Lasik because that is what my wife had and I didn’t research it
3) The first eight hours or so were rough. I woke up in the middle of the night and was able to see a lot with all the lights of downtown Spokane. My eyes would sting but I found opening my eyes to let the tears out would relieve that pressure and reduce discomfort.

It is quick but an odd procedure. I don’t regret it. I love being able to just see without glasses or contacts.

intsim wrote:

3) The first eight hours or so were rough. I woke up in the middle of the night and was able to see a lot with all the lights of downtown Spokane. My eyes would sting but I found opening my eyes to let the tears out would relieve that pressure and reduce discomfort.

Interesting. Thanks for the honesty and especially the detail.

This is exactly the type of input I was looking for.

Keep 'em coming y'all!

I had LASIK 21 years ago, so I'm not too sure that my experience will translate very well.

I did it right after working a night shift. Went home and slept. Woke up feeling fine. Had a halo in my vision for a few days. Put rewetting drops in anytime I felt the need.

As I recall, they gave me some analgesic drops for discomfort, but I really didn't have any.

I had LASIK done back in July 2004. Was uncomfortable for a couple of days, but mostly painless. Kept the eye covers on for about 48 hours along with using the eyedrops. After 3 days, I was back to normal life, and my vision has been fantastic since. It was my choice to get it done - my father had his done about 10 years earlier, except his vision declined again a few years later.

I had PRK 4 year ago. My reasons for choosing PRK: no circular scar, meaning no halo while driving at night and no disruption of tears flow. Also, no risk of the flap to be torn off. That one was important to me, since I am doing grappling. Also, with LASIK there is a remote chance that the air get trapped between the flap and the flap may pop off while scuba diving - another hobby of mine. Another important thing, with PRK less cornea is getting shaved off, leaving it thicker and stronger. Basically, the difference is that with LASIK they cut out a flap of the protective layer, shave off some cornea and then put the flap back. With PRK they grind the protective layer off, shave off cornea and then let the protective layer to grow back.
The biggest downside of PRK is the recovery. It's both more painful and takes more time. The first night I was up all night, the eyes were extremely sensitive. I remember that I had to cover the green LED light on the paper shredded, it was unbearably bright.
I've done it on Friday, and took the whole next week off. So, took me 10 days in total, so make sure that you are not alone and have someone to help you with some tasks.
Although, I was able to drive the next Friday, but I needed reading glasses before I could use computer, so you will have to see an optometrist before you can go back to work. Another thing, the vision did not fully settled until 6 month after the surgery, but those were minor fluctuations. From what I've heard the recovery after LASIK is much faster.
Overall, I do not regret doing it, and would choose RRK again.

Dogman wrote:

I had PRK 4 year ago. My reasons for choosing PRK: no circular scar, meaning no halo while driving at night and no disruption of tears flow. Also, no risk of the flap to be torn off. That one was important to me, since I am doing grappling. Also, with LASIK there is a remote chance that the air get trapped between the flap and the flap may pop off while scuba diving - another hobby of mine. Another important thing, with PRK less cornea is getting shaved off, leaving it thicker and stronger. Basically, the difference is that with LASIK they cut out a flap of the protective layer, shave off some cornea and then put the flap back. With PRK they grind the protective layer off, shave off cornea and then let the protective layer to grow back.
The biggest downside of PRK is the recovery. It's both more painful and takes more time. The first night I was up all night, the eyes were extremely sensitive. I remember that I had to cover the green LED light on the paper shredded, it was unbearably bright.
I've done it on Friday, and took the whole next week off. So, took me 10 days in total, so make sure that you are not alone and have someone to help you with some tasks.
Although, I was able to drive the next Friday, but I needed reading glasses before I could use computer, so you will have to see an optometrist before you can go back to work. Another thing, the vision did not fully settled until 6 month after the surgery, but those were minor fluctuations. From what I've heard the recovery after LASIK is much faster.
Overall, I do not regret doing it, and would choose RRK again.

Thank you for this.

It reminded me that I'd forgotten to ask the most important question (to me) of all:

For those who got PRK, did you do both eyes concurrently, or at different times?

LAX772LR wrote:

Thank you for this.

It reminded me that I'd forgotten to ask the most important question (to me) of all:

For those who got PRK, did you do both eyes concurrently, or at different times?

Both eyes at the same time. I've never heard people doing it one eye at a time. IMO it's better to do it once and forget about it.

I know of an interesting case. 2 ladies at work, identical twins, had RK and LASIK respectively. I wasn’t convinced that either one had a great outcome. I am pleased with contact lenses. The vision and comfort are completely great (thanks to the excellent optometrist I see).

LCDFlight wrote:

I know of an interesting case. 2 ladies at work, identical twins, had RK and LASIK respectively. I wasn’t convinced that either one had a great outcome. I am pleased with contact lenses. The vision and comfort are completely great (thanks to the excellent optometrist I see).

We live in the Prairies, the climate here is dry. My wife was using contacts, but after moving here switched to glasses. If you can both see far and read while wearing the contacts then I wouldn't bother with a surgery. Me, after the surgery it was like a new world reveled to my eyes, better than while I was wearing the glasses. But just to be clear, after either LASIK or PRK you would need reading glasses.

I had Lasik in 2000. I could see 20/20 walking out of the clinic. My eyes felt like they had sand in them during the ride home. The doctor said that as soon as I got home, take a 4 hour nap in a dark room.
I did and woke up with the sandy feeling gone. I used the three prescribed eye drops exactly as directed for three days. After that, my eyes were totally healed. in 2021, my eyes are still 20/20 each, but I need mild reading glasses to read fine print up close. I'm 61 years old now.

Eye surgery scares the hell out of me. What is the chance you get blinded??

Underwent LASIK in 2012 for myopia (-4.5 in each eye). I was in and out of the facility in under 2 hours. My wife drove me home early evening. Next morning went back to work. My eyes had a couple of clots which made my colleagues queasy but I didn't feel anything. They looked worse than they felt.
I had a prickly sensation for maybe 3-4 days. I was told to keep using artificial tears. For about a year my eyes would feel very dry and had to use artificial tears but today I don't feel a thing.

Best decision of my life!

PS: My wife got it done a year before I did. 3 years ago she started using reading glasses. Today, I still have perfect long distance vision but have deteriorated reading vision but can still manage without glasses.

Lasik in 2019

PRK was sold to me as alternative to Lasik only if I didn't qualify for Lasik.

1st week had bad halos and dryness. I think I took around 4 days off work. Halos while driving at night were annoying for a few months but no longer an issue. Wish I had done it years earlier. Wife did her's a couple months later.

I admit that I was afraid to do it for years. I've always been taught to not stare at lasers! The burn time was probably less than 30s per eye including formation of the flap.

drew777 wrote:

Lasik in 2019

PRK was sold to me as alternative to Lasik only if I didn't qualify for Lasik.

That's what I've mentioned in my first post: if the correction is significant, a lot of cornea needs to be shaved off. And since with PRK less cornea is getting removed, sometimes PRK can be done, while LASIK could not, because the procedure will leave cornea layer too thin.

I had LASIK done in 2000. I still have 20/15 vision on the right, 20/13 on the left and I am 44. I still don't need reading glasses, either.

The first month is a bit rough. For the first week or two, my eyes really didn't work very well in low-light conditions and I had a lot of temporary blur that cleared with a few eye blinks. Also, because it's a new prescription, I got the eyestrain headache for a few days and of course there are no glasses to take off.

For me, I tend to have big, wide pupils so I still get some "starring" around lights in the dark. There are eye drops that can slightly constrict your pupil if it expands bigger than the scar that cuts down on this effect.

But 24 years later, I still have perfect vision with no reliance on glasses or contacts. I have no regrets.

Dogman wrote:

LAX772LR wrote:

Thank you for this.

It reminded me that I'd forgotten to ask the most important question (to me) of all:

For those who got PRK, did you do both eyes concurrently, or at different times?

Both eyes at the same time. I've never heard people doing it one eye at a time. IMO it's better to do it once and forget about it.

Worked in aviation too long to trust that. Gotta ETOPS something like this one.

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

Dogman wrote:

LAX772LR wrote:

Thank you for this.

It reminded me that I'd forgotten to ask the most important question (to me) of all:

For those who got PRK, did you do both eyes concurrently, or at different times?

Both eyes at the same time. I've never heard people doing it one eye at a time. IMO it's better to do it once and forget about it.

Worked in aviation too long to trust that. Gotta ETOPS something like this one.

That's up to you, of course, but I can't imagine going through the recovery process twice. Especially with vision settling only after ~6 month. Although, I've heard that some people choose to do only one eye. That way they can see both far and close. But not with both eyes, obviously.

Dieuwer wrote:

Eye surgery scares the hell out of me. What is the chance you get blinded??

Essentially zero. It would be of such freak occurrence as to constitute a statistical anomaly.

As part of my research, the two institutes I've narrowed my choice down to, have performed approximately 25,000 and 30,000 procedures (LASIK, PRK, Smile, etc), both dating back to the late '90s; and have no incidences of blindness as a result of surgery that I could discover (and not just them, but really, the entirety of L.A. county!).

There have been negative incidents of all types (not from them) reported, to be sure; but blindness isn't one of them.

LAX772LR wrote:

(DISCLAIMER: I've read most of the former LASIK threads here, but they mostly involve getting the surgery vis-a-vis becoming a pilot, which I have no interest in.)

My best friend and I area considering getting vision correction surgery. He's signed up already. I'm still in research.

He's having the PRK surgery, and I'm leaning LASIK, but haven't done a formal consultation yet (despite being told that I'm eligible).

___________________________________________
So my request is, people here who've had either (and especially PRK), I'm wondering:

(1) which one did you have?
(2) did you get to choose or was the choice made for you?
(3) what was your recovery like?

Particularly interested in the third.

I had Lasik surgery to correct for astigmatism. I had it done in Colombia by a doctor who went to Harvard. Paid $600 in total back in 2006. Recovery took 2-3 days. My eyesight has been perfect for the past 15 years. The only minor complaint is I seem to be a bit more sensitive to glare, especially from fluorescent light in offices, and while driving, the latter which is solvable with sunglasses.

For reference I had some colleagues do lasik in Singapore around 2010 and the doctor just botched the eye. Dude was bleeding from the eye for 3 days. In the end it was OK but not a pretty sight. Point is, whether developed or developing country, just go with a doctor that has a lot of successful experience with the procedure.

(1) LASIK
(2) I had two options to choose from; LASIK and LASEK. LASEK is cheaper but takes longer to heal, it would only make sense if I wanted to become a member of the Special Forces. Thus I chose LASIK.
(3) My eyesight was near perfect shortly after the operation. I had to administer anti-biotics by drops four or five times a day as well as regular salt water drops for a couple of weeks. No complications, and my eyesight is now a perfect 20/20.


Best decision of my life, although the procedure in itself is nauseating when you think about it. You are made to lie down and stare into the ceiling while a surgeon carefully cuts open your eyes with a scalpel and then burns your eye with the laser. You don't feel any pain at all, but that smell of burned eye...

Had it made at a private clinic in Denmark, cost me around $5,500

Dieuwer wrote:

Eye surgery scares the hell out of me. What is the chance you get blinded??

From what I gather about the anatomy of the eye it is impossible to be blinded by the LASIK procedure as the eye sight nerves are located in the back of the eye out of reach of the scalp and laser. You can still risk damage, but you are more likely of being hit by a lightening on your way to the clinic.

Are you put under complete anesthesia during the procedure?

Dieuwer wrote:

Are you put under complete anesthesia during the procedure?

Nah, just some drops to numb the eye, but you are awake and see everything.

Here's how it went for me:

1. They open up your eye "The Clockwork Orange" style - 1-2 mins
2. Put in numbing drops - 1 min
3. They open up a layer of the eye with what looks like a small can opener, then they flip it open and it all goes blurry - 1-2 mins
4. They start the laser and they tell you to just look at a red dot - 30 seconds
5. They close back that layer of the eye with what looks like a little Lego broom - 1-2 mins

Each eye is about 6-7 mins. The whole thing takes 15 mins tops.

Dieuwer wrote:

Are you put under complete anesthesia during the procedure?

I will never forget the procedure though. For each eye, I felt a quick suction, sudden darkness in that eye and a burning smell (probably from the laser). But all of that was just a couple of seconds. Not sure if any one else experienced it.

DocLightning wrote:

I had LASIK done in 2000. I still have 20/15 vision on the right, 20/13 on the left and I am 44. I still don't need reading glasses, either.

The first month is a bit rough. For the first week or two, my eyes really didn't work very well in low-light conditions and I had a lot of temporary blur that cleared with a few eye blinks. Also, because it's a new prescription, I got the eyestrain headache for a few days and of course there are no glasses to take off.

For me, I tend to have big, wide pupils so I still get some "starring" around lights in the dark. There are eye drops that can slightly constrict your pupil if it expands bigger than the scar that cuts down on this effect.

But 24 years later, I still have perfect vision with no reliance on glasses or contacts. I have no regrets.

I had LASIK in 2008 and my right eye is now 20-30 probably. I didn’t notice any side effects at all surprisingly. I have developed dry eye now in my 40s more severe than normal but I blame that on genes as my mother had severe dry eye issues in her 40s and beyond as well. Recently my ophthalmologist told me they’ve noticed nearsighted people and people who were nearsighted and got LASIK tend to need readers later than people who naturally have 20-40 or better vision their entire lives. Average age is 43 and 48 respectively for the two. There is belief that the lens flex ages better in near and former nearsighted people than it does those with good vision.