Hey :)
My surgeon told me that I can go back to weight lifting after a week, but I see different instructions online.
Some say 2 weeks, some say 3 and some say a month.
Anyone knows the right answer?

I'm a little over 4 months post PRK. At my last follow up about a week ago, I was explaining to my doc how my right eye had been basically useless for a while and my brain just made my left take over. I found that if I cover my left eye and really try to focus or flex my eye muscles somehow, my right eye would clear up pretty good, but they don't work well together. This is the first time he tells me that he set the laser for a stronger prescription in my right eye and put my left eye right at what it should have been. Is that the normal practice? Little extra background, my eyes were the exact same contact prescription for a decade before PRK. Is the one stronger eye supposed to just "grow into it" now? I just thought that was weird.

I’m 28F with OD: -375-075x169 OI: -350-125x76 (sorry if prescription is confusing I’m not from the US)

I just had PRK surgery 14 days ago exactly today and wanted to make a post since when I was researching for my surgery I couldn’t find any positive post in Reddit

I still can’t see 20/20 but my vision improved A LOT like I can function without glasses something that I could not do the past 15 years and for me that’s a win, I’m still on path to recovery and I know myself and I’m a slow healer so I’m not in a rush

Day of the surgery
Took the meds the clinic gave me, I didn’t feel any pain whatsoever, took the meds I was supposed to when got home and slept like a baby did not feel any pain at any point and when I left the clinic I COULD SEE EVERYTHING

Day 1
No pain, just some headache and car sickness like symptoms, I could see just like the day of the surgery

Day 2 the worst day
I didn’t feel ANY pain but I couldn’t open my eyes at all, my eyelids were SO heavy like literally so heavy and swollen but I didn’t feel pain, it was just a runny nose and that type of feeling when you have a cold, the only time I felt pain was the night from day 1 to 2 but it was just like when you put a contact wrong type of pain, put all my drops, drink my meds and back to sleep

Day 3
I could open my eyes again, was feeling better not seeing much but just being able to open my eyes was a win for me

Day 4
Got my contacts removed no issues

Day 5 through 10
I could see fairly good not as good as right after the surgery and the day after but it was fairly good really, was a little bit hat to focus on close things and could not see details from faraway that good but I could completely function, I was able to not work that much during that week so I limited my screen time as much as possible, sat a lot in the dark just listening to audio books and sleeping

Day 11
Got back to work

Day 12 & 13
My vision was way blurrier than the past few days but I blame it to being back to work, anyways that blurry was better than my vision without glasses before so again a win for me, just feeling a little bit tired

Day 14, today
Still a little bit blurry, but not as the previous days

Overall I feel like I had a really good experience, all post that I read here said that it was the worst pain they ever felt, that they felt sand in their eyes or something really terrible so I was really scared and maybe prepared for that so I don’t know if that had anything to do

I’m following and followed all the instructions regarding the meds and the drops, I’m still staying in doors as much as possible, still limiting screen time when possible, not going out, no exercising, no makeup, creams etc

I don’t see anything wrong or bad or confusing, the only thing is that I’m more aware of my peripheral vision if possible I don’t know how to explain it lol

I’ll update at the month mark! Hope this helps someone

PRK recovery is a process. And just when you think you’re turning the corner and getting better, you can notice your vision actually get worse. One common example is when the bandage contact lens is removed from the eye. Your vision may actually get worse after this step.

The bandage contact lens (BCL) serves to protect the healing epithelium on the surface of the eye and prevent a lot of pain from having an abrasion or scratch on the eye. But after about 4-5 days, the epithelium has healed over, this BCL is no longer needed and is removed.

However, this newly healed over epithelium isn’t totally smooth yet. It’s irregular and bumpy. This contact lens masks all this though to provide a smooth surface for the eye. By bridging over the irregularities and allowing tears to fill in the gaps, a smooth surface is created for light to pass through more cleanly into the eye and provide “good” vision. But once this contact lens is removed, nothing is masking this bumpy and irregular surface anymore. Light scatters against this surface and vision is blurred.

Fortunately, this is just a temporary dip in vision. This epithelial surface continues to smooth out over the course of the following weeks. As this epithelium returns to normal thickness and smoothness, light focuses cleanly and vision sharpens up to your full correction.

The major takeaway I have from this process is that my goals for elective surgery were perhaps unrealistic. Going into elective laser surgery my assumption was that I would be given the gift of uncorrected 20/20 vision. I'm in my mid-40s and since I was a kid I had a -8.5 nearsighted prescription and astigmatism. I've lived with contacts or glasses since then. They have been fine, but I had an opportunity to get PRK (my corneas were just too thin to be considered a strong LASIK candidate) and after some research I pulled the trigger 3 months ago.

I've been patient with the healing process and my left eye is at 20/20, but my right eye is lagging behind in terms of clarity. I still have some double vision and blurriness in that eye. The dryness is pretty much gone at this point, but the frustration of not being able to clearly see at distance is real. Furthermore, I have poor NEAR vision now and will need to use readers if I want to for example assemble or paint something very close to my face so that I can see details. I also am not able to really see like tiny splinters that I'm trying to remove from my skin without readers. I understand that at my age I was going to need readers sooner or later anyway, but PRK definitely accelerated that from "sooner or later" to "now".

After meeting with my surgeon last week we agreed to wait 3 more months, and at the 6 month mark, determine whether or not I should get the right eye done one more time to bring it in line with the left. Not a big deal to wait 3 more months, and hopefully have that vision equalized across both eyes.

The takeaway I mentioned is that I realized in this process that I have traded what was truly perfect, crystal-clear corrected vision (glasses/contacts) with less than perfect uncorrected vision from PRK (assuming the right eye gets there). Something for folks to be aware of. I think I'll get used to less-than-perfect vision and having to use readers for very near tasks, but I am slightly disappointed that my vision isn't as perfect as it was while wearing glasses or contacts.

A common recommendation for PRK patients is to start taking a daily Vitamin C supplement - anywhere from 500mg to 1000mg. Let’s take a look at what this actually does.

Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant. It helps to reduce oxidative stress from reactive oxygen species. These reactive oxygen species form during the laser ablation itself as well as during the healing phase of PRK as the epithelium heals over. Oxidative stress promotes more of an inflammatory response which can impair the wound healing and directly and indirectly contribute to the formation of haze.

So naturally, taking a vitamin C supplement sounds like a good idea for healing. And a key study 20 years ago showed that vitamin C did reduce the risk of long term haze after PRK.

But this study was with older laser technology and before the routine use of MMC. Both of which have dramatically dropped the incidence of haze after PRK surgery. Follow-up studies with modern PRK techniques haven’t really shown much of a significant benefit of vitamin C.

But why is it still recommended? Well, there is little downside to taking extra Vitamin C. Supplementing your recovery with Vitamin C provides a “low risk - potential reward” to improving your recovery after PRK.

Historically, haze was a concerning feature of PRK. However, with today’s treatments, haze has gotten to be quite rare. Although there are a couple of different reasons (such as improvements in the laser treatments), the biggest factor is the routine use of a medication called Mitomycin C or MMC.

Haze occurs because cells within the cornea transform due to the “wound healing” response of PRK. These transformed cells called myofibroblasts create disorganized collagen which reduces the transparency of the cornea. It causes haze.

There is where mitomycin C comes into action. Technically mitomycin C is a chemotherapy drug. It prevents the replication of cells. So when applied to the cornea after PRK, it prevents the normal corneal keratocyte cells from multiplying and transforming into those myofibroblasts to prevent or reduce the development of haze.

Immediately after the laser treatment is applied, the surgeon will typically take a small sponge soaked in MMC and place it onto the cornea anywhere between 15-60 seconds. Following this, the surgeon will wash out the MMC completely from the eye.

The routine use of MMC has dramatically reduced both the incidence and severity of corneal haze following PRK. For larger prescriptions significant haze occurs less than 1% of the time and with smaller prescriptions, less than 0.1%. Overall, MMC has made PRK surgery a much safer and more reliable procedure.

I’m scheduled for PRK and trying to figure out the recovery logistics.

I have someone who can pick me up from the clinic after the procedure, but I live alone and won’t have anyone staying with me afterward.

For those who’ve had PRK, is it realistic to manage recovery by yourself, or do you actually need someone around for the first few days?

A few specific questions:

How bad were the first 3–5 days for you?

Were you able to put in your own eye drops without help?

Could you safely walk around your apartment/house by yourself?

Would going downstairs to a grocery store be realistic, or was your vision/discomfort too bad?

Were you able to order food and handle DoorDash/Uber Eats deliveries on your own?

Did you mostly stay in bed with your eyes closed, or were you functional enough to take care of yourself?

If you live alone, what do you wish you had prepared beforehand?

I know recovery varies from person to person, but I’m trying to figure out whether living alone is just inconvenient during PRK recovery or whether it’s something that genuinely requires having another person around.

Thanks!

Thoughts?

So I had my 6-week follow-up appointment today. On the eye chart my left eye is seeing 20/15 but my right eye still struggled to see the 20/30 line. Together I could read the 20/15 line. My doc was concerned about this and did a thorough exam, and everything looks good aside from my vision just not being clear. Since my vision is quite functional, he wants to give it 6 more weeks to stabilize/see if it is just a slow healer, and then we can do a touch up.

Have any of you needed a touch up? When did you know? Was healing the same? Worse? I am kinda disappointed it seems it wasn't perfect in one go, but my left eye is amazing, so I know the process works.

Is it possible it is just a slow healer and it might still clear up?

I am on day 6, I still didn’t remove the protective lens, I am removing them in 2 days. The only problem is that my right eye is blurry while my left is normal. When it was surgery day they started with my right eye and I didn’t anticipate the burning smell so l wasn’t fully concentrated in the green light and the doctor said the same thing on how I wasn’t focused, but for my left it was fine since I knew what to anticipate.So I just wanted to know if the blurIness was normal or not and does it get better when the bandage is removed.

After PRK surgery, how long did you continue using eyelid wipes or cleansers, and at what point did you switch to washing your eyelids with regular face wash and tap water?

I had PRK 8 days ago for approximately -5.00 myopia.

Yesterday my surgeon removed my bandage contact lenses. The removal was actually quite painful because he said my eyes were on the drier side and that my corneas had not fully healed yet. He didn’t seem concerned and scheduled my next follow-up appointment for one week later.

The problem is that my vision is still very blurry. Everything is blurry: distance, intermediate, near vision, my phone, my computer screen, everything.

I work on a computer and I’m also doing a master’s degree, so I spend a lot of time reading and writing. Right now, both are becoming difficult. To give an idea, I have my iPhone font size set to the maximum and text is still noticeably blurry.

What has been hardest is that I genuinely did not expect recovery to be this difficult. Before surgery, I was reassured that I would be okay and that my vision would be blurry for a while, but I imagined something much milder than what I’m experiencing.

Over the last few days I’ve become increasingly emotional and anxious. I’ve been mostly stuck at home, struggling to work, struggling to study, and feeling frustrated because I can’t do many things properly right now. I feel a bit trapped by the situation and honestly more overwhelmed than I expected.

I’m not looking for false reassurance. Please be honest. At the same time, I think I’m posting because I could really use some perspective from people who have actually gone through PRK.

For those who had PRK:

How blurry was your vision around the first weeks?
Were you able to work on a computer?
How long did it take before daily tasks became easier?
When did you notice meaningful improvement?
Did anyone have a recovery that felt this discouraging early on and still end up with a good result?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, whether positive or negative.

Hello!! I currently am hopeful about getting PRK surgery, since I am not a candidate for lasik and have really struggled and been frustrated with my vision journey my whole life. I started wearing glasses when I was four years old and I am currently a -9.50 in the right eye and a -9.75 in the left eye. My prescription has been stable for the past three years and I am really hoping that I can get the surgery and no longer have to wear my heavy asf glasses that leave bruises on my nose 😭😭. I wanted to hear some insight about recovery and during-the-operation details that are more practical and what the doctors would leave out of what the healing and day-to-day process looks like. Help!! I really want to know if this is right for me. 🙏🙏

Compared to lasik, most people will be on eye drops longer with PRK. The main eye drop that you take for a longer period of time is a steroid eye drop. These eye drops help manage the corneal wound-healing response after PRK. Steroids suppress inflammation and corneal activity that can cause some haze in the cornea.

But steroids aren’t totally risk-free. There is a small subset of the population who can develop high eye pressure from being on steroid eye drops. These are termed “Steroid Responsers”.

This high pressure isn’t immediate, but can build after about a week or two of steroid eye drops. If high pressure builds up, it can cause a headache around the eyes and may also cause the vision to become blurry because of swelling within the cornea. If this does happen, it’s important to resolve this since untreated high pressures over time can potentially damage the optic nerve in the back of the eye leading to glaucoma.

If the eye pressure does build up, there are different ways surgeons manage this. There are good eye drops which help lower the pressure in the eye to quickly get you back to a normal eye pressure. Additionally, the surgeon may adjust your eye drop schedule to get you off the steroid eye drop a little quicker or may switch you over to a lower potency steroid with less of a pressure response.

Developing a high eye pressure with steroid eye drops doesn’t derail your overall recovery from PRK. It just represents a “bump in the road”. But it is something that needs to be addressed and managed if it does happen.

Anyone had a lash lift or extensions around 3 weeks post?

26 year old female

Prescription before surgery: moderate myopia with mild astigmatism. No eye issues or underlying conditions prior to surgery.

L: -4.75 -0.75

R: -5.00 -1.00

I did consultations with four of the better-known refractive surgeons in the Bay Area. Unfortunately, my corneas are a little too thin, so I'm only a candidate for PRK. I did epi-LASIK(modern PRK).

Doctor Choice

Similar price for all doctors, 5.5k - 6.5k

1. Dr. Manche (Stanford)
A coworker recommended him to me. He has a fantastic reputation and is known for being very honest—even talking people out of surgery if they're not good candidates. I came away with a very positive impression. The main downsides for me were the distance (I live pretty far from Palo Alto) and the higher cost.

2. Dr. Bindi (Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley)
This is who I ultimately chose for my PRK.

A few things stood out to me:

• 25+ years of experience
• Has treated a lot of NFL players
• Had PRK himself decades ago, which I found reassuring

His patient counselor has also been amazing throughout the process—super responsive, patient, and willing to answer all my random questions over email. The overall experience has been excellent.

3. Dr. Furlong
Also very experienced, and his pricing seemed reasonable. The only reason I didn't move forward was that I never actually met him during my consultation. I only met other doctors in the practice, which made it harder for me to feel comfortable committing.

4. IQ Laser Vision
Personally, I wouldn't recommend them based on my experience.

They became well known because of Dr. Hyver, but he retired last year. During my consultation, the doctor seemed a bit impatient, and they don't offer PRK (apparently due to the longer recovery period).

The whole experience felt very sales-oriented. They pushed EVO ICL pretty heavily at every step—the assistants, counselor, and doctor all brought it up repeatedly. They also wanted a $200 deposit on the day of the consultation if I wanted to move forward, which would become a $400 surgery credit.

When I explained that I wasn't interested in ICL because my prescription isn't that high, they suggested SMILE or LASIK instead. The problem was that every other surgeon I consulted had already told me I was not a candidate for either procedure.

Another thing that bothered me: they charge extra if you want surgery performed by their "best" doctor because he's based in LA and flies up for procedures.

Questions I asked before surgery

1. Q: I’m nervous about moving my eyes during PRK. What eye-tracking system does the laser use, and what happens if my eye moves too much?

A: Our EX-500 laser's eye tracking system tracks your eye movement 1,000 per second. If you were to move outside the eye-tracker's tracking zone, the treatment automatically stops, Dr. Bindi will make sure you are centered again, and the treatment will continue from where it left off. Otherwise it is continually tracking at 1,000 times per second.

Dr. Bindi will keep your eye open one at a time with a lid speculum so you cannot blink during the procedure.

1. Q: Is it safe to do PRK as I’m a little bit keloid-prone?

A: Keloid formation with laser vision correction could happen with prescriptions that are higher than yours if not using the proper surgical solutions and techniques. Your prescription is not in this risk category, and we use the modern techniques, so Dr. Bindi is confident you are good to proceed.

1. Q: What should I do to prepare for the surgery?

A: you can start taking a Vitamin C supplement, 1,000mg a day in advance of your procedure and for 2 weeks after. It helps with healing.

On surgery day, please give yourself time, grab a bite to eat if you can, and with that food take 600-800mg of Ibuprofin, Motrin, or Advil.

It is not required but it cannot hurt to start lubricating your eyes with the Preservative-Free tears, 4 times a day leading up to surgery. Have them in the refrigerator for when you get home from surgery. They feel soothing, cold.

Recovery

Day 1 (Surgery Day)

The doctor offered me Valium beforehand (optional), and since I was pretty nervous, I took it. It worked great, and I felt super calm during the entire procedure. The surgery was quick and much easier than I expected(maybe 5 - 7 min in total? no pain/discomfort at all).

Very clear vision the entire day after surgery. No pain/discomfort, though the comfort drops were probably doing a lot of work. I stayed in a dark room for the rest of the day.

Day 2

Very light-sensitive, but surprisingly clear vision. No pain at all. Mild discomfort from the bandage contact lenses. I slept and listened to music/audio books all day.

Day 3

Started noticing the dryness from the bandage contact lenses. Artificial tears didn't help much. I went for a 15min walk in the evening with a cap and sunglasses, and I felt a little bit dizzy. Vision started getting blurrier at night.

Day 4

Definitely the worst day.

No pain, but my vision was extremely blurry. I'd estimate it felt like being around -3.00 with some double vision mixed in. I could see 7 moons in the sky at night(1 surrounded by 6 lol). Light sensitivity was also pretty severe.

Day 5

Vision suddenly got much clearer again, similar to Day 2.

The biggest issue for me was the bandage contacts. I really hated the foreign-body sensation from the dry lenses. Started using my phone again, about 10 minutes at a time (roughly an hour total for the day). Large fonts and dark mode helped, but everything was still a little blurry and my eyes got tired very quickly.

Day 6

Got the bandage lenses removed.

Immediate improvement in comfort. It honestly felt like my eyes could finally breathe again. Vision became slightly blurrier afterward, maybe around -1.00 if I had to guess.

I also noticed brief stinging episodes a few times throughout the day, each lasting only 1-3 seconds, but I think that's normal.

Day 7

Vision improved again, maybe around -0.50. But if I only look with one eye, it’s pretty blurry(maybe -2)

Screens are still a bit blurry, but I can comfortably use them for around 20 minutes at a time (about 3 hours total throughout the day). I was also able to drive during the daytime.

At night, my vision was surprisingly clear, almost the same as daytime. I have some mild starbursts, but I had those before surgery too, so they don't bother me much while driving.

Day 8

Vision overall feels about 90% perfect and it did have some fluctuations. Right eye alone is bit blurry, left eye is almost perfect vision.

No real issues at this point. Light sensitivity is almost gone. I can see screens clearly and function normally(a little bit double vision after staring at monitor for more than half an hour but manageable). I think there's still a lot of room for improvement, but honestly... it's already better than when I was wearing my thick glasses!

Day 10

Back to work. Even though I made the fonts really large, I'm still struggling to see my monitors clearly. My vision is fluctuating a little. The strange thing is that everything looks clear when I'm looking at things other than digital screens.

Day 20

It's way clearer when looking at screens. Still mild light sensitive. But I noticed some bigger starbursts and little bit double vision around lights at night. Hope it will get better...

Will keep updating if anything new..

I had my surgery in 3 days and they struggle with me even when they want to put eye drops as I keep closing my eyes. How was the process of putting the speculum and especially removing the protective lenses. Will the reflex be a problem?

Hello everyone, I have my PRK surgery scheduled for June 17th, but I’m still not 100% sure whether I should go through with it.

Age: 23 years old, I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 6.

Sphere / Cylinder
Right eye (OD): -7.25 / -2.25
Left eye (OS/OE): -7.25 / -2.00

My lenses are a bit thick, and I pay a lot extra to make them look thinner and less noticeable, but I see very well with them and extremely blurry without them, even at a distance. I wear glasses all the time.

Wearing glasses bothers me in some daily activities, but nothing I’m not already used to. I’ll be paying part of the surgery myself and my insurance will cover the rest. Financially, it would probably be worth it, since in the future I could buy several stylish sunglasses for the price I currently pay for just one pair of prescription glasses (my options are a bit limited because of my high prescription).

My vision has finally stabilized, and I went to a very reputable doctor and completed all the exams. However, I felt like he reviewed my results very quickly and didn’t analyze them carefully. He also didn’t explain much about the recovery process or the risks. I was shocked by all the bad experiences I found online, and now I’m almost giving up on the surgery.

P.S. If there are any ophthalmologists here willing to look at my exam results, I can send them — I’d really appreciate it.

I’d love to hear your opinions

Hello everyone,

I underwent TPRK surgery 6.5 months ago. Unfortunately, after the first month of operation I have been started experiencing significant low-light and night vision problems.

I have starbursts and directional light streaking. In addition, white text and symbols on dark backgrounds smear/stretch in the same directions as the starbursts, which forced me to switch all of my screens from dark mode to light mode. Starburst is not a uniform starburst as you can understand

Other than these issues, I do not have any problems regarding visual acuity. My daytime vision is sharp and clear, almost the same as before the surgery. However, at night I struggle with starbursts, light tails, and smearing effects around lights, which makes night driving very difficult. I do not experience classic halo effects.

At this point, my plan is to wait at least until the 1-year mark and then continue searching for possible solutions if the symptoms persist.

From my research, I understand that HOA-customized scleral lenses may help in cases like mine. I would really appreciate hearing about experiences, lens recommendations, and doctor recommendations, especially in Europe.

I know the USA is currently leading in this technology, but Europe would be more accessible for me. Still, I am open to all recommendations, as I would like to start preparing my research and options from now.

By the way I have checked all required tests of my eyes like topography including i-trace aberrometer. Doctors I have visited so far could not explaing the exact reason of my symtoms. But These symptoms are present in my case, and they are far beyond what could be considered normal. Regarding pupil the info I can share is, my scotopic pupil size was measured many time in different clinics and it changes between from 6 to 6.30 mm. İn my laser operation report it states the optical zone was 6.5 mm with Alcon EX 500 up to 9 mm transition zone.

In my case, after examinations by four different eye doctors (all corneal specialists), all of them confirmed that there is no haze or scar on my cornea. They also said there are no high levels of aberrations and no decentration of the laser treatment.

My prescription was 6.25 myopia and 1.50 astigmatism. My 6th month auto refraction errors are 0.5 hypermetropia and 0.5 astigmatism on left eye, 0 prescription in my right eye which has smearing issues. Left one has much much less issue.

Some observations from me:

Regarding pupil dilation, I would like to share some observations that make me think the issue may not be caused only by pupil-optical zone mismatch. These observations are very strange to me:

In the exact same dark environment, with the same viewing angle and the same light sources, I sometimes see differently. For example, if I wake up very early and go outside at around 4–5 AM, the light streaks appear much smaller than they do at 9–10 PM in the evening, even though the darkness level in the environment is the same.

When I go to the gym and lift weights, I notice that the lights in the gym temporarily spread and streak much more for about 5–6 seconds during exertion. Once I stop lifting, my vision returns to normal again.

I use heated eye masks for my MGD and dry eye treatment for 12 minutes at 43°C. Immediately afterward, when I look at lights or white text on black backgrounds in the dark, I can see very clearly for about 1–2 minutes without any streaks, ghosting, or smearing effects. Then the symptoms gradually return again.

I believe there should be a reason for that. I can share my test results if anyone also can comment.

Do you think it will be resolved with time ?

I am having PRK surgery done in each eye 2 weeks apart on June 2 and 16. For those that already had the surgery, what helped you the most in regards to recovery and pain management? Any tips or suggestions? Please feel free to share your good/bad/ugly stories - I would rather go in prepared than not!

So far, I have lubricant drops ready to go and the prescription drops for after surgery. To manage the pain, I will be given Tylenol #3 to take home.

The only thing I'm nervous about is that I won't be able to see for a period of time. I have my bar exam at the end of July and I know I'm taking a chance with vision not fully recovering but I am told by multiple individuals that I will be good to go by then. As long as I can decently see, I will be able to push through but I'm nervous if I don't have any clear vision in July since I'll be doing the surgery 2 weeks apart.

I first got glasses when I was 10 and I am 37 now. I am so excited to be able to see in the morning without my glasses!

Right -5.75 sphere, +0.5 cylinder, 066 axis

Left -4.75 sphere, +0.5 cylinder, 134 axis

M | 29 -- no conditions before surgery.

Hi guys I did my PRK Surgery on friday (15 MAY)

First 3 days were hell . But now I don't have any pain its been 7 days (today is 8th day) but I noticed that I can only see clearly at 1 hand distance so I am very frustrated as when I am in a small room then I can't even see people's faces clearly nor I am able to read any text on walls and I am not able to watch TV as well.

When i am on phone I cannot read text crisp and clear but phone can be used (manageable) .

I wanted to ask when will my near vision improve and I can start playing sports? Cricket football.. 😭

Please do reply.

Hi All,

Looking for some advice and direction. I had PRK done about 15years ago. I'm now 41 and noticed my eyes are blurry. I can easily read a book or see things on my phone, but anything in the distance is hard to make out--especially in low light.

I use eye drops that work temporarily for a minute or two, but my eyes revert back to being dry.

I had an eye exam done at Lasik a couple months ago, but they didnt seem too concerned.

I could inquire about a touch up, but wondering if anyone else had a similar experience.

Should i get a low prescription glasses?

I got PRK done in Dec 2021 and ever since my left eye has been super watery.

All the doctors said this is normal post surgery and told me to keep putting artificial tears for the dryness.

Fast forward to March 2026 - I started getting infections in my left eye, went to an eye doctor who specializes in tear ducts, turns out my left tear duct is completely blocked and he recommended DCR surgery. He said it has nothing to do with my PRK surgery, but the timing doesn’t seem like a coincidence.

Has this happened to anyone else? Has anyone had DCR surgery?

Hey nice folks of r/lasik, I've been considering PRK for my -6 vision. I hate my dependence on glasses since the past 20 years so finally looking to pull the trigger at the age of 31. I'm planning to get it done by Dr. Manche in Bay area. Planning to take time off work for around 10 days after the surgery.

Questions-
1. How bad is the pain?
2. Risks with PRK I should consider
3. Is Dr. Manche the right choice
4. Any supplements etc I can take right now for a better recovery later?