[aloo6]

Originally Posted by blau iii

I'm looking to have PRK done later this year. I have a bad astigmatism and can't do lasik. how painful/uncomfortable was the procedure and recovery.

I had LASEK in the UK which I believe is the same as PRK. Had it done in March and can't recommend it enough.

I read a lot of the blogs online and was pretty anxious and nervous before the surgery. But my account was different, I was ok.

Realistically if you clear your diary for at least 4 days and just plan for dark rooms and radio you will be fine, it sounds sadistic but I enjoyed the time out from hectic work and being unable to use a phone due to glare and pain it was a nice break away from the world.

In the UK they give us an eyedrop painkiller/anaesthetic for extreme pain just encase it's unbearable, and I was nowhere near having to use it. I used 600mg ibuprofen and 30/500 co-codamol. The ibuprofen was really useful as it reduced the swelling on my eyelids which were pushing onto my eyes which was the most uncomfortable part, the co-codamol took the edge off it. I also had tramadol just incase

I've been using contacts for 10years and I would compare the pain within the first few days to getting soap dirt stuck under a lense when trying to put it in.

Once I got through it all I simply put the horror blogs you read online down to human nature. You very rarely praise something on the internet, but complain every time.

A realistic timeline:
Day one - pain! Basic painkillers soon as and your good.
Day two - reduction in pain but hyper sensitivity to light which brings constant tears.
Day three - reduction of pain again
Day four - start to handle light and tv, migranes after too long.
Day five - although vision is clear enough you can start to live a normal life again
Day seven - capable of driving
Up to 2 weeks - various level of vision, comes and goes.