I had PRK surgery done two years ago, and my vision has been fantastic. I’ve generally been pretty comfortable, but every once in a while I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and my eyelids will be stuck to my eyes. Opening them quickly before I realize this is then very painful.

It happened again early Sunday morning and my right eye still stings today. I saw Dr. Croissant (his real name), and he explained that it’s not uncommon and nothing to worry about. I have a “recurrent abrasion.” My eyes are dry, and small areas of my cornea are not totally healed since the PRK procedure; this is normal. The dryness makes my lids stick to those healing parts of the cornea and then pull them off. I’ll be using a salve at night for a while to keep the eyes lubricated until they full heal.

Just had a follow up with the eye doctor. I’m 20/10 in both eyes! I can read the bottom line on the eye chart, and the Dr. Croissant said after his examination, “I can’t tell you even had anything done.” Simply amazing.

My only side effects lately are moderate dryness in the evenings. It feels like I sort of want to take my contacts out. Easily remedied with a drop.

I saw the doctor on Friday morning (Day 14), where he found everything to be in very good shape. I was seeing 20/20 in both eyes, with slightly better vision in the left eye (the second one I had done). He did find a small amount of residual astigmatism in both eyes, which he expected would heal away over time.

My vision since Friday has improved further, and I’m just seeing great. Just looking around my cubicle, text I couldn’t read then I can now make out, and I’m talking about small print from a distance. The first weekend since both surgeries was great! I really love my new vision.

Since Tuesday, I’ve noticed slow improvements in my left eye and little if any improvement in the right. Certainly the left eye is much more comfortable that it was. It’s still a bit dilated, but I don’t need shades in normal light. I’m seeing pretty well with my right eye, and I’m getting there with my left.

Even without further improvements, I have to say that I’d do it all over. Yes, the PRK procedure is initially a bit traumatic and the recovery process is somewhat painful, certainly uncomfortable, and nervously uncertain. But for the first time in my life, I can see well. I wake up in the morning with vision as good as it was in my contacts^*, without the discomfort they brought or the bother of my glasses. It’s really a great feeling.

^*But not as good it was in my glasses, which was remarkably good. I might improve to near that, which would be awesome, but as it stands I’m pleased.

Day 11 for my right eye is day 4 for my left eye, and in that regard my experience with the left seems very similar to that with the right. Like the right, yesterday was not painful, but there was significant discomfort and itching. Also like with the right, today it’s gone, and my vision in the left has improved significantly from yesterday.

The left is still really dilated though. I’m trying to work without my sunglasses on, but it’s not easy. My vision out of my right is great, at least 20/20, and I’ve only had slight dryness, which I expect is partly due to the fact that I have to use it more while the left eye stays shut.

After a long weekend of sitting in the dark and nursing my occasionally painful left eye, I’m back at work. At my follow up this morning, my right eye could read the 20/20 line – a marked improvement over last Friday! My left eye, which could read the 20/25 line on Saturday, could read very little today. This sort of fluctuation is normal as the outer layer of the cornea heals and changes, and I’m constantly tearing from that eye as well, further blurring my vision.

The contact is out, and like with the last eye, the doctor seems pleased and all appears to be healing per normal.

The left eye surgery went about the same as the right, which is to say it went well. The pain and discomfort, while quite sharp for a moment yesterday afternoon, hasn’t been as bad as the first time around, but I think that is at least partly due to the fact that I’m managing it better (thank you, Vicodin). And let’s just say that the blackout cellular shades I put up in the spring are really paying off. It’s 70 and sunny outside, but in here it’s nearly pitch dark.

The follow up this morning went well too, and the doc says everything looks fine. Vision in the left eye was at 20/25, slightly better even than the right eye. Lighting and tearing are a factor as well as fluctuations due to the healing process, so at this point it’s certainly not as good as my right, which has been healing for a week.

The right eye is doing nicely as well, if nothing else reading and computing is much easier than two days ago.

Not much improvement today. I’m on the way to my left eye surgery as I type. More tomorrow.

Not much improvement today, although my computer screen does seem a bit easier to read. Still not great, but I feel like I can work using only my right eye all day, where as yesterday I used my left eye with my glasses on. At any rate, I’m confident enough to go through with tomorrow’s surgery on my left eye instead of delaying it a week, which had been a possibility.

So I guess that is a significant milestone: for the first time ever, I’m working without glasses in reasonable comfort. Wearing contacts at work had always driven me crazy from dryness.

Wish me luck at tomorrow’s surgery!

I’ve noticed a subtle but important improvement in my vision today: I can read my computer monitor from a normal distance. This doesn’t mean I can read it well or with the sort of clarity I get with my glasses, but it’s definitely an improvement over yesterday. Assuming linear improvement each day, I should be ready for my left eye surgery on Friday. Fingers crossed!

Also notable: I’ve had practically no pain or discomfort in my right eye in the past day. To be honest, it has felt better than the as yet uncorrected left eye, which makes little sense. Perhaps because the left is still doing most of the work and the right is closed more often. At any rate, it’s great, because I was worried I’d have severely dry eyes with this.