My husband recently had the PRK procedure. He had one eye done in August and one in September. He was not a candidate for Lasik either. Contrary to what you and the other posters have said, it was his understanding the PRK was much less invasive than Lasik and the recovery was actually easier. My husband's doctor is very experienced and well respected in this area of surgery. My husband did very well with it, although you will definitely be out of commission for at least the full day of surgery. He thought the first eye was a piece of cake. The second eye was more painful and although he doesn't usually swear much he was using some colorful language on the ride home after the second eye. He was pretty out of it though and doesn't even really remember that. For both procedures he pretty much slept the rest of the day, but he was back at work the next day. He definitely had discomfort with the second eye for a few days, but nothing unbearable. If you have any specific questions for him feel free to send us a private email and he can get back to you, although it wouldn't be until much later this evening. He had put off the procedure for years because it terrified him, but he was ultimately left with little choice because he had essentially damaged his corneas from years of contact overuse and he was legally blind without contacts or glasses. His vision isn't perfect, but he can now drive and watch TV without glasses. You should probably line up help for your toddler for a couple of days after the procedure, but if it is anything like my husband's experience you should be back to a fairly normal schedule soon. FYI--I don't know your doctor's policy, but my husband's doctor refuses to do both eyes at the same time. That four week interval between eyes was a little inconvenient for him, but the doctor insists upon that protocol.
Edited to add: I asked my husband for his comments. They were more about the long term success of the procedure than the immediate recovery and discomfort. He also didn't know that you weren't a candidate for Lasik. His doctor told him that PRK has fewer complications, but Lasik usually has a more dramatic effect on your vision. Also, your vision continues to change over the course of weeks and months so you won't know your ultimate result immediately. Here are his exact words: "...she should go in with eyes wide open, so to speak. PRK does not provide the precision that traditional Lasik does, so if she is looking to come out of the procedure with immediate 20/15 vision, she should do Lasik. For example, in my case, PRK took me to 20/30, starting from the equivalent of about 20/800+. PRK is also less invasive, so there is less potential for downside."
