PRK: Stories

I am 57, and I have worn glasses since I turned 40, when I developed nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Yep, I developed all 3! It got so I couldn't do anything without my glasses. I was blind as a bat.

I started discussing Lasik with my regular eye doc about 7 years ago. He was skeptical and really discouraged me because the procedure to correct "old eyes" was still in its infancy. But each year, I'd do research and it appeared that technology had improved. Finally, I insisted and he referred me to a Lasik center to see if I was a candidate.

I went to the clinic and they did an extensive eye exam, and then told me I was not a candidate for Lasik, because my corneas were too thin. But that I could do PRK (photorefractive keratotamy), which is a bit more invasive procedure. They basically scrape your corneas off, do the corrective surgery, and then the corneas grow back after about a week. And the procedure I had done was called "Monovision," where one eye sees far and one sees up close. It was a bit more painful than Lasik, I had to hide out in a dark room for about 5 days and take a lot of tylenol. But once my eyes healed up, it took about 8 weeks for my vision to totally resolve to what it is today.

I can see the tiniest things without glasses, and my far away vision is great. It sounds weird, but your brain eventually combines the near and far eye sight, and it becomes just normal, actually better than normal, eyesight. I now see 20/20.

The only thing is I still have a bit of astigmatism so I do wear corrective lenses for computer work. But I don't need them for anything else. It has been so liberating!!! Also it is nice to be able to get dressed up, put on makeup, and not have to then put on my thick glasses. It was a miracle!!! And the best thing I ever did for myself. Worth every penny!