Hey moms,
I have made an appointment for a LASIK consultation. When I asked about price, the lady told me it depended on if I am a better candidate for PRK or for LASIK. PRK was about $1000 cheaper. I have not really looked into the differences yet, and I know it will be easy to look it up, but I wanted to get your advice :)
First, I read that PRK takes more time to recover from. I'm a teacher, and home all summer, but I will have my two year old daughter with me the whole time. Will I need to have my husband take off of work for awhile, or will I be able to take care of her? (This is with either surgery btw) We have no family close by, and I would hate to burden my friends with caring for my daughter for along period of time. About how long was your recovery time with either one? Were you able to go about your normal life, or was there something you had to do differently and for how long?
What was your recovery like with either PRK or Lasik? Anything else I should know? Thanks in advance!
Thanks ladies! I will for sure go with whatever the dr. recommends. It just seems like LASIK is much better, recovery time etc. I read some personal accounts of PRK and some of them still had trouble seeing three months later. Would love to hear some stories from PRK. I have really bad eyesight (contacts are -6.00 and -6.50) and I think that plays a role into which one you get. I'm hoping I can get LASIK although its more expensive, but we will see!
I had Lasik, and like the others, I needed someone to drive me home, then I took a nap, then I went to a neighborhood party that night feeling fine! I needed to put moisturizing drops in my eyes for quite some time as I have dry eyes, but eventually that need went away.
I had Lasik 7 ish years ago. You can see right away. The day of the surgery they wanted me to lay down and rest to help with healing. I would have your husband take the day off of surgery as I don't believe you can drive. After that day you should be fine and not need any help.
I would follow the discharge instructions carefully but otherwise it is the best thing I ever did for myself.
Good luck!
I had lasik done over 10 years ago and it was the best money I ever spent! I didn't even know they still did PRK; I did have a colleague who had it done about 15 yrs ago and he had a lot of problems with recovery and pain, etc, probably took him several months. With me, I had a very high prescription so they had to lase lots of stuff off, but I remember going home afterwards and taking like a 1hour nap, and it felt completely fine after that, just maybe still a little bit like some sand in your eyes, then the next morning it was almost perfect vision and no pain at all! I totally recommend it, just make sure you use a good doctor with lots of experience (I used pepose here in St. Louis) and don't skimp on the cost. This is your eyesight after all! Good luck, you'll be amazed!
I had PRk done about 4 years ago. It was not an option, the shape of my eye required this surgery instead of LASIK. Right after the surgery, i could see 20/20, like others say about LASIK. I went home, took a nap and woke with very scratchy eyes. This lasted about 3-4 days and my vision seemed to "blur" again, so I was worried, but come to find out that is completely normal for PRK. It did take about a month to regain my full vision back, but it was definitely worth the wait. i have 20/20 vision and would do it all over again! I had dry eyes for a month or two and used drops regularly, but other than that, it was fine. Message me if you have any more questions.
Meg
If you are a good candidate for one or the other, stick with the recommendation and don't let the different prices or recovery times sway you.
I had LASIK. With LASIK, they cut a little flap in your cornea before shaping the under surface and when the flap goes back in place it acts like a bandage of your own tissue which really reduces the pain and speeds up the recovery time.
You have checkups periodically over the year to check on healing up, but most people are back to work and their normal routines within a weekend - 2-3 days.
My friend had PKR, and had more pain and took longer to go back to work - about a week.
There are reasons why one method might be recommended over the other. If your cornea is too thin, LASIK might not be possible but PKR might work just fine. The point is you want the procedure which will give you the greatest change for the best success of the outcome.
Additional:
I was -14 in my left and -12 in my right.
My natural focal point was about the tip of my nose.
LASIK got me to 20/20 in 1999.
In 2007 my right needed a slight adjustment so LASIK worked well again.
I had LASIK about two years ago and was able to see when I left the office. Went home and rested and took the next day off work. The main issues were tv/phone/computer screens and driving at night. That only lasted a couple of days though. You should be able to take care of your daughter in the next day or two.
Good Luck! It is well worth it to be able to see :).
I'm eager to hear the replies. My mom had lasik about 10 years ago and it seemed like she healed right away. I don't know what PRK is as I never heard of it (or maybe I have but didn't know the abbreviation). I used to be against it but now I've been thinking about Lasik.
