How long does it take to Recover from PRK?

[danthaman]

It seems to me that people have different experiences with PRK. I really did not have that much pain. My doc told me it would hurt and gave me a prescription for pain meds and I was expecting it to be miserable. I only remember feeling like I had sand or grit in my eyes for 2 or 3 days after the procedure and then they were fine, except that I had dry eyes, but the multitude of eye drops I was put on for the month following the procedure took care of that. If I had to do it over again, I would not have any problem going with PRK.

 

[bunk22]

It seems to me that people have different experiences with PRK. I really did not have that much pain. My doc told me it would hurt and gave me a prescription for pain meds and I was expecting it to be miserable. I only remember feeling like I had sand or grit in my eyes for 2 or 3 days after the procedure and then they were fine, except that I had dry eyes, but the multitude of eye drops I was put on for the month following the procedure took care of that. If I had to do it over again, I would not have any problem going with PRK.

A Harrier pilot had his eyes done the same day as me. He had no pain at all, just some discomfort. At the time, I really wished I was him.

 

[FDX]

Yesterday at my two weeks post op check up i was discussing the differences between lasik/prk with my doc. She said that if you lead an active lifestyle, prk is probably the better choice. Your eye regrows, and is "like new" again in regards to strength. Once healed, you can rub your eyes or do anything else she said. Whereas lasik tends to leave the eye slightly weaker. she said the flap is always prone to damage. She then went on to tell me of a couple of cases in which she had to repair patients eyes because the flap created by the lasik procedure had been dislodged or was completely gone. One of her patients was a women who had had lasik 6 years prior and got into a minor fender bender. the airbag in her car deployed and in it completely ripped the flap off of her eye.

 

[Trey3UofM]

Thanks for all the information but i do have two more questions. What is the Navy requirment for how long you must wait until you can go get a flight physical and do you need a waiver to submit your package for SNA?

 

[Scotty-O]

Well, I just went through this whole wringer with the Coast Guard, and I think the regs are the same as used by the Navy. ??? Correct me if I'm wrong.
That being said - if your refraction is +/-2.5 or less, the wait is 3 months after surgery, if greater than 2.5, the wait is 6 months post-op, if everything is stable. If you change more than X (I think it's 0.5 diopters) between checks that are at least 30 days apart, you have to continue to wait past the 3 or 6 months until you get two good checks 30 days apart.

Sound confusing - it is....:icon_smil

Another thing about PRK vs LASIK is the size of your pupil. If you have larger pupils, like I do, the chance of having haze or halos in your night vision goes up. This is because PRK can correct a wider surface area than LASIK, and if you have larger pupils they may expand outside the LASIK correction. I guess I heal fast 'cause I was stable after 3 weeks post op - everyone's different.

 

[blackjack_rj]

Thanks for all the information but i do have two more questions. What is the Navy requirment for how long you must wait until you can go get a flight physical and do you need a waiver to submit your package for SNA?

When I had mine done, I was told by the doctors that I had to wait 6 months before I could take a physical, and yes, I did have to have a waiver for my program, but I'm a STA-21 select.

 

[navywareagle]

are you graduating in spring '08? if so, then you still have time. I'm a 5th year senior graduating this spring. I had PRK on 11MAY2006, my flight physical and waiver process done in SEPT2006 and my waiver got approved on 22DEC2006, just in time to get my selection notice on 24DEC2006. for 60 hours after the surgery, i couldn't bear to open my eyes and they felt like sweaty sunscreen were in them. after that, i was watching tv in a dark room with sunglasses. within 2 weeks i could see 20/20 and within 3 months i could see 20/15. after 5 and a half months the flight doc said my eyes had been stable enough and had healed enough to be approved for a waiver. everybody reacts to the surgery differently though. a buddy of mine who had PRK on the same day didnt see 20/20 out of his right eye until 8 months later. i still have to put eye drops in my eyes every morning though but that is a normal side effect. hope this helps.

 

[Spence]

Healing

I'm probably just freaking out, but I had PRK done on March 22, and I had a check-up today, May 2. My right eye is about 20/25 and my left 20/40. Obvioulsy, it's been over a month, and I hope I get to 20/20 or better. Does anyone who had the procedure done have the same experience, and how long did it take to get 20/20 if at all

 

[bunk22]

I'm probably just freaking out, but I had PRK done on March 22, and I had a check-up today, May 2. My right eye is about 20/25 and my left 20/40. Obvioulsy, it's been over a month, and I hope I get to 20/20 or better. Does anyone who had the procedure done have the same experience, and how long did it take to get 20/20 if at all

I had 20/40 the next day.....20/20 within a week......20/15 within another week or so and still have 20/12 or so each eye. Everyone's different with results is my guess.

 

[NozeMan]

I'm probably just freaking out, but I had PRK done on March 22, and I had a check-up today, May 2. My right eye is about 20/25 and my left 20/40. Obvioulsy, it's been over a month, and I hope I get to 20/20 or better. Does anyone who had the procedure done have the same experience, and how long did it take to get 20/20 if at all

Relax. Had my PRK done in December, wasn't seeing 20/20 together until March or so. My right eye is still 20/25, but it's all the way down from 20/450! Some people don't always correct to 20/20, but you'll be fine and within standards. Just keep using the drops or whatever.

 

[FastMover]

It seems to me that people have different experiences with PRK. I really did not have that much pain. My doc told me it would hurt and gave me a prescription for pain meds and I was expecting it to be miserable. I only remember feeling like I had sand or grit in my eyes for 2 or 3 days after the procedure and then they were fine, except that I had dry eyes, but the multitude of eye drops I was put on for the month following the procedure took care of that. If I had to do it over again, I would not have any problem going with PRK.

+1

As far as pain, it varies from person to person. I was one of the lucky ones...I was only uncomfortable for the first three or so days after I had PRK done. My doctor didn't even prescribe pain killers for me. I also got to 20/20 (from 20/200) pretty quick. Over all I've been very happy and would definitely recommend it.

 

[Spence]

PRK Waiver

Concerning the waiver, does anybody know how it will work for me if my right had a pre-op diopter less than -6.00 (good for a 3 month waiver), but my left eye was right at -6.00 pre-op (good for a 6 month waiver). Does that mean I'll have to wait the full 6 months?

 

[MettGT]

Concerning the waiver, does anybody know how it will work for me if my right had a pre-op diopter less than -6.00 (good for a 3 month waiver), but my left eye was right at -6.00 pre-op (good for a 6 month waiver). Does that mean I'll have to wait the full 6 months?

In short, yes. For more information, check out the NAMI waiver guide.

 

[coreymiller1]

When you do PRK or lasik i'm assuming your eyes get worse as you continue to get older? if this is true can you get the procedure done again for the same results?

 

[mxracer19]

It's not quite that simple. Your vision doesn't necessarily degrade from the surgery...your corneas stiffen slowly as you get older. When you're young, they flex to accomodate near and far visual cues. As they stiffen, you might slowly lose the ability to focus on closer items. This is a natural part of the aging process, and the typical reason why most people require reading glasses around age 40. It still really depends on the person, though. This is what the doc's told me last week....Im getting my eyes cut at 10am on friday which is sweeeet. If I can remember, I'll talk to the surgeon, ask him all of these questions, and put up some gouge on the PRK forum compiling all of the common questions in this thread and others. I'd like to give back a bit to the board that gave me such a wealth of information...

-Matt