PRK Laser Eye Surgery Two Years Later

It’s been just over 800 days since I had my PRK laser eye surgery, and I am posting this to let everybody know how it settled out.

My vision is fantastic. I can see clearly, and focusing near and far is not a problem.

I am slightly more sensitive to bright light; this means that when I leave work on a very sunny day, I have to squint a bit unless I have sunglasses handy. I was always more sensitive to bright light than most people, but it’s even more noticeable now.

Any “halo effect” with my night vision is so small I can’t notice it anymore.

I have one major complaint: serious eye dryness.

When I wake up in the morning, my eyes are so dry that they are painful to open. I literally have to use my fingers to gently pry my eyelids apart if I want to avoid discomfort. To be fair, Alberta is drier than most places, and when I visit Ontario or BC, I don’t notice this as much. I have been told that a humidifier can solve the problem, but it didn’t work for me. There are also gel drops you can use in your eyes before you go to bed; these work well, but they are expensive, and I forget to put them in.

During the day, my eyes will dry out a couple of times, so I need to use drops to keep them comfortable. This is exacerbated by the fact that I stare at a computer screen for a large part of the day.

Despite the pain, I still heartily recommend the process. To put it in perspective, the dryness is exactly like what you experience when you’ve had your contact lenses in for too long. The pain in the morning is exactly like waking up after you’ve forgotten to take them out.

So I would say I suffer from slightly more discomfort now, but way more convenience. I can see the time on my alarm clock when I wake up. I can play sports, go swimming, or crash at a friend’s house without having to worry about my contact lenses. I’m very happy with the results.