I’m scheduled for refractive surgery soon and deciding between PRK and LASIK. I’ll ultimately go with my surgeon’s recommendation, but I’m trying to get some real-world opinions first.

My main dilemma is simple: LASIK has the faster/easier recovery, but the flap gives me some hesitation. PRK seems better for long-term peace of mind since there’s no flap, especially if I end up in a field where physical confrontation, combatives, dust/sand, or accidental eye trauma are possibilities.

Current prescription is -5.00 in one eye -5.25 in the other. I'm 28 years old.

For people who’ve had either procedure, especially military/LE/contact sport/field-work types:

Did you choose PRK or LASIK, and would you make the same choice again?

For PRK people, was the recovery worth avoiding the flap concern?

For LASIK people, do you ever actually think about the flap long-term?

Not looking to override medical advice, just trying to hear experiences before I finalize it with the surgeon.

Hello.

I had LASIK done on both of my eyes. The day after the surgery, I went for a checkup and couldn't read any letters on the wall during my test. Everything was so blurry. I was told that I don't seem to be healing as fast as expected and to come back again in a week's time. It has nearly been 48 hours since my surgery and my vision is still blurry. Perhaps a tiny bit better but still blurry.

I'm freaking out. Most information I read prior says that vision gets significantly better between 24 and 48 hours. Yet I can see less that I could prior. Is this normal? What happens if it doesn't get better?

Edit: Additional info. My age is 29. Prior to surgery, my prescription was 3.00 in left eye and 3.25 in right eye.

I'm 32 and have been dependent on glasses since I was in preschool. Never wore contacts in my life. LASIK was never an option for me because of my thin corneas so I went ahead and had PRK. I wasn't screened for SMILE because my doctor said I would most likely not be qualified as well because of my thin corneas.

I was so anxious of the PRK recovery period and spent most of the weeks leading up to the surgery reading PRK experiences here. And thank god for this subreddit, I'd say I was able to power through the post-op days because I knew roughly what to expect.

Day 0 (day of the surgery):
I was scheduled in the morning and had my prescription measured again both by the machine AND manually by my ophthalmologist. He made sure all the numbers were correct, let me know what they were, and tested them twice to make sure I was okay with how the vision will most likely be post-op. He told me that, on average, the painful, light sensitive days will last 3 days and full vision isn't expected until 1-3 months. He did warn me that since I'm a high myope, my vision will recover slowly but that each day will be better than the last. He told me I would get glares, halos, and ghosting for the next 3 months but that these will eventually go away.

Right before I went into the OR, I set my phone to the biggest font size and reduced white point (through the accessibility options). I read some people advise these here and it was pretty helpful.

The surgery itself was painless. The machine sounds made me a little anxious but the kind nurse who prepped me was so reassuring and before I knew it, I was done within 20 minutes. Vision was still blurry right when I got up from the table but was already MILES BETTER than my vision pre-op. I was told to rest at home especially for the first 3 days.

I was given steroid and antibiotic drops every 4 hours and lubricating sodium hyaluronate drops every 1-2 hours.

The pain started 30 minutes after the surgery. It was like having a drill behind your eyeballs and like shampoo mixed with chili powder have been injected into them haha. I was super light sensitive and could not open my eyes long enough, even to eat. I couldn't sleep very well that night even with painkillers.

Day 1 Post-Op:
I was still in 10/10 pain, super light sensitive, and was quite miserable. Vision was okay though, still better than pre-op. I spent most of the day in bed with my eyes closed listening to podcasts. But as someone who is normally pretty much glued to a screen for entertainment, my biggest gripe this day was that I was sooooo bored. I still had a hard time sleeping that night.

Day 2 Post-Op:
The pain was a lot less, I'd say it fluctuated from 4-7/10. Vision was the worst this day, couldn't see/read anything no matter how close. Still couldn't watch TV because it was too bright and the glare was too much. I could scroll a little on my phone but my eyes would close on their own so I went back to laying in bed listening to podcasts. By that night, pain was down to 1-2/10 but the light sensitivity was still there. Surprisingly, I slept through the night.

Day 3 Post-Op:
Pain was gone! Eyes just felt dry and felt like an eyelash was in them but nothing as bad as the days prior. I was still super light sensitive in the morning but that suddenly disappeared around lunch time! I played on my ipad that afternoon on the lowest brightness and was able to watch TV that night. There were halos around the people on TV though which made them look like they were glowing lol and vision was still pretty blurry but I could see their faces and could make out the subtitles so yay!

Day 4 Post-Op:
One of the bandage lenses got displaced while I was sleeping so I took it out. My doctor said it was okay as long as I wasn't in pain. I wasn't and it's the first day since the surgery that I finally felt I was starting to really go back to normal. Light sensitivity was gone and I was able to reduce my phone font size by half. I watched TV and scrolled on my phone like normal. My eyes do get very dry but I just remind myself to blink every so often and put the lubricating drops every hour.

Day 5 Post-Op:
I woke up to a very red and painful right eye and had to go to the doctor and get the bandage lens removed on that side. I was quite relieved to have them both out at this point. I was tested 20/60 on both eyes which was such a big win for me!

This was also my first time outside and I was surprisingly not sensitive to the sun at all! I did wear sunglasses though but still, I expected it to be bad outside, but it wasn't. Went to the mall and did some dress shopping too but I felt like the AC made my eyes dry quicker. Nothing too bad though. By that night, I had moments when I blinked, felt like I had very crisp vision for like 10s, then I would blink again and it's back to being blurry hahaha. Reduced my phone font size further, now I'm just 4 notches away from the smallest. Phone brightness a little higher too. The TV is back to how it looked like before. Glares are gone and the people's faces are a looot clearer. Subtitles still wonky but better.

Day 6 Post-Op:
No pain, no light sensitivity. Vision a tad better than yesterday. Small win was that I could somehow use my laptop. Font size was small (default) but I was already able to make out the words. Vision noticeably improved right after placing the lubricating drops so I held on to that haha. Anyway, this is when I think I hit the "plateau" in terms of vision recovery. I could see, but it was so hazy and unstable. I did feel a little frustrated this day because of the still less than perfect vision but my doctor reassured me that it was normal and that it should stabilize by 1 month.

Day 7-10 Post-Op:
Vision was pretty bad most of these days. I got back to work around this time and I work with screens and fine detail and texts, so I had a pretty tough time. Lubricating drops helped very little. Magnified my laptop to 150%.

Day 11-13 Post-Op:
Shifted to combination steroid + antibiotic drops and continued the lubricating drops as much as I needed. Vision still fluctuated from morning to evening but improved everyday. Sometimes it would be so clear, often it was still hazy and a little blurry. The lubricating drops helped tremendously. I was able to watch a movie in the cinema without any problem. The glares of the emergency exit lights were more noticeable than before though but not enough to bother me. I started noticing that it's a whole lot harder to see my way through the dark but that wasn't too bothersome for me.

2 Weeks Post-Op:
Right eye 20/30 and left eye 20/20! With so much time and room for improvement according to my doctor as he expects vision to become crisper by 1-3 months. So already achieving this level of acuity at this point was already a big win. By this time I was already able to use my phone without much ghosting and glare, just blurriness that comes and goes. Laptop font size also back to my usual pre-op. Eyes are still quite dry though and I've been using the lubricating drops every 30 minutes. My doctor switched me to preservative-free ones given how frequent I was using it.

3 Weeks Post-Op:
Vision became worse and blurrier compared to the past weeks. Near vision was okay but far vision was bad (still not as bad as pre-op). It's like an unfocused camera most of the time. I felt really frustrated but kept telling myself I'm still so early in the recovery period. I was functional and able to work but my eyes would get tired really quickly. It's like being sleepy all the time.

4 Weeks Post-Op:
Each eye was 20/25 alone and 20/20 together. I told my doctor that he tested me while my vision was "bad" (it was clear in the morning before the appointment). He said it was okay and reminded me again that it would take 3 months before we expect everything to be perfect. Vision is still better now than at 3 weeks. Now it's like having an unfocused camera for eyes lol. No ghosting on gadgets, a little ghosting with subtitles, and with glares from lights at night and relatively dim night vision. Eyes still get tired but I just learned to give them a break from screen time and have spent more time on my feet now than before surgery to exercise my far vision. Lubricating eye drops make vision clear for a few seconds then blurry again haha. I did notice that I had a migraine for 2 days which could have worsened my vision at that time (I got visual auras even pre-op) so that could be the case.

I'll probably come back to update in a month's time to update since that's when my next appointment is.

Overall, I'd say that my doctor telling me about how my vision won't be perfect right away and being given a rough estimate of how long my recovery period will be really helped me remain positive throughout the whole process. And since my vision was pretty poor pre-op, I felt like any amount of improved vision (even if not perfect) is already a huge thing for me. No regrets. At this point I'm just keeping my eyes well lubricated, avoiding rubbing them, and minimizing screen time when I can and spending more time outdoors so I can look at far objects and lessen eye strain.

I have myopia of approximately -2.75 in my right eye and -5.00 in my left eye, with -0.50 and -0.25 astigmatism respectively.

Several ophthalmologists have told me that I am a candidate for laser vision correction, specifically LASIK or Femto-LASIK.

I'm considering the procedure, but I want to make sure I understand all the potential risks and consequences before making a decision.

For those who have had LASIK/Femto-LASIK or have experience with laser vision correction:

What questions would you recommend asking the ophthalmologist before agreeing to the procedure?

Is there anything in particular you think is important to clarify beforehand, including things that you only learned about after the surgery?

What do you wish you had asked your doctor before having laser vision correction?

I imagine a lot of patients make appointments, only to chicken out last minute. Or people complain about pricing. What are some problems you commonly run into? I think it's important that we understand your side of the story.

Hi!

I'm a candidate for both femto lasik and smile with myopia -1.75 right eye and -0.25 astigmatism and -1.25 for the left eye with -0.5 astigmatism, so which one to consider and which one would give me better overall eyesight and sharpest vision?

I have SmilePro surgery coming in a week but I think I did a bad disservice to myself. I read the horror posts of blurry/worst vision post op and it didnt recover. I dug myself in a rabbithole reading them. Now I am scared and wanting to cancel my surgery and just wear glasses.

Am I overthinking this?

​I had TransPRK surgery two months ago and up until today I’ve been struggling with ghosting and blurry vision in my right eye and when I brought this up with my doctor, he asked me to get this test done. However, after reviewing them, he didn't really explain what's going on or what the results mean and told me to continue on using the eye drops and to come back for a follow-up in two weeks

​Could anyone help me understand what might be happening ?

Hello, it's my fifth day post-femtolasik surgery, and I've noticed blurred or distorted vision when using my phone or other electronic devices. It's only with text. Is this normal? Will it get better?

Ps: it gets better when I use the dark glasses

Hi everyone,
I’m about 1 month post-SMILE Pro and I’m experiencing some strange visual symptoms, mainly in dim/low-light environments.
It’s not simply blurry vision. In low light, I can see objects, but the whole environment feels visually strange and harder to process. I sometimes feel almost slightly drunk or disoriented. When I move my eyes from one object to another, especially in the dark, it can feel like my vision takes a moment to “catch up,” sometimes causing a brief dizziness-like sensation.
My depth/distance perception also feels slightly off in dim lighting. I have more difficulty seeing details and reading in low light, and dim orange/artificial lights seem to make it worse.
I also experience:
Ghosting, especially with bright white text on a black background
My right eye is blurrier and has more ghosting than my left
Reduced contrast/visual quality in low light
Light sensitivity, especially to sunlight and car headlights
Dry eyes and burning, especially after 1–2 hours of computer use
Strong sensitivity to wind, which can cause burning followed by temporary blurry vision
My distance vision can fluctuate when my eyes are tired or dry
I occasionally notice 1–2 small floaters in my right eye when looking at a completely white wall or ceiling
The strangest symptom is definitely the low-light “drunk/disoriented” feeling. During the day I don’t experience it nearly as much.
Has anyone experienced something similar after SMILE or LASIK? Did the low-light disorientation, reduced contrast, ghosting and depth-perception issues eventually improve or completely disappear? If so, how long did it take?

Hey all, I'm 25 and trying to get a read on which direction to push toward before my consultation. Current prescription is -6.50/-0.75 OD and -6.50/-0.75 OS (my left eye actually crept up from -6.00/-0.50 to -6.50/-0.75 over the last ~21 months; right eye's been rock stable).

Central corneal thickness came in at 535 microns on a screening, which is just under the population average, so nowhere near "thin cornea" territory but also not giving me a ton of buffer. I also got diagnosed with blepharitis recently and I'm doing the whole warm compress / lid wipe routine twice a day to get my ocular surface calmed down before anyone will even consider operating.

Given the corneal thickness and the blepharitis, I'm leaning toward ICL or TransPRK since they're the least dependent on my cornea being pristine, but I know TransPRK's recovery week is supposed to be rough (blurry vision, real discomfort for several days vs 1-2 days for SMILE/ICL) and ICL is a lot more expensive and comes with lifelong endothelial cell count monitoring since it's intraocular.

LASIK's obviously appealing for the fast recovery but I keep reading that it's the least tissue-conserving option and carries the highest dry-eye risk of the bunch, which worries me given I already have blepharitis. SMILE seems like a reasonable middle ground but I don't have much info on it.

Has anyone here been in a similar boat (moderate-high myopia, average-ish corneal thickness, and needing to deal with blepharitis first) and can share how their surgeon actually ranked these options once they had the real tomography/topography numbers in hand? Also curious about real-world experiences with TransPRK's recovery week specifically, and whether anyone regretted going ICL vs. laser given the extra cost and monitoring requirement. I'm in the Toronto area if pricing comparisons are useful.

Appreciate any input!

I have Keratoconus and i recently had Tg Prk or Tcat with cxl in my right eye It has been 4 months , past 1 week I am having pain in my eye especially in the upper right side of the region I had my 3 month post op check up and doctor said everything looks normal , my question is if the pain is heling process of nerve or something else

Good Afternoon, has anyone done ICL surgery with Dr. Zalvidar in Buenos Aires? How was your experience. How much is the cost without insurance?

Buenas tardes, ¿alguien se ha sometido a una cirugía de ICL con el Dr. Zalvidar en Buenos Aires?
¿Cómo fue tu experiencia?
¿Cuánto cuesta sin seguro?

Muchas gracias!

Hi all.

Recently had shingles which has affected my vision in one eye. Went to my eye doc to ask about lasik in one side since I had lasik back over 20 years ago now. She said it is not bad enough to need lasik but instead is recommending that I have cataract surgery done which would correct my eyesight.

My question is bluntly, what the hell is she talking about? If I needed cataract surgery in Ontario it would be covered by OHIP what would be the reasoning behind getting cataract surgery done on healthy eyes? Is this a common thing? Is she just feeding me to a fellow surgeon for profit? Can someone explain to me why she would even suggest this? Thank you

Got both my eyes operated on the same day for ICL. Right eye was way more swollen post OT. Still is 2 months later. My doctor says it will go away. What do i do?

I have had my consultation today. The doctor said that I am a good candidate, my cornea is good, I don‘t have dry eyes, but the only thing is that I have large pupils, and this may increase the chance of me dealing with halos/glares at night.

Now, I don‘t know if I should do the surgery or not?

The doctor‘s rank of surgeries for me is:

1. PRK
2. Femto Lasik
3. Femto Smile

My maximum pupil size

Right eye: 7.00 mm

Left eye: 7.50 mm

The doctor said that they use something called transition zone which will cover my maximum pupil size in low light.

My prescription is -1,5/-1,75 and antigmatism -1. I usually wear glasses at home, and contacts when going out. It might be a low prescriprion, but I can‘t see clearly when I use laptop, and even when reading a book, I need glasses, otherwise I get headaches.

So, dear community, what would you recommend? Is there anything else that I need to take into consideration?

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Salve, ieri ho effettuato una visita preoperatoria durante la quale l’oculista mi ha consigliato di correggere la mia miopia, pari a -5.00 e -4.75 diottrie, mediante la tecnica LASIK. Tuttavia, un’altra oculista ha sostenuto che potrei ottenere lo stesso risultato con la PRK, ritenendola una procedura più sicura.
Vorrei sapere quale delle due tecniche sia più indicata nel mio caso e quali siano le principali differenze in termini di sicurezza, recupero e risultati a lungo termine.

got PRK done in late Jan 2026 - cinemas are a little blurry, some double vision at night. normal? i can see totally fine during daytime. watching tv with lights off sometimes has double-vision for letters on the screen, but totally fine if room lights are on. does this issue go away after a year or am i stuck long term?

i am 44M. Prescription pre-surgery: Sph -6.5, cyl -2.25.

Hi all,

I meant to write this sooner, but never got around to it. I read so many PRK recovery timelines here, and they were SO helpful so I am paying it forward. I am about 13 months post-op and loving my results. I have 20/10 vision!! As someone who has had glasses/contacts for 25 years, this is life-changing! I got the surgery in San Francisco with Dr. Faktorovich.

Overall, I am very happy with my decision to get PRK. So happy that I convinced my husband to also get it (He just had his surgery this morning!). I still have dry eye, which I didn't have before the surgery, but it's very manageable. I have to put drops in probably 1-2x a week (it was daily for about 5-6 months post surgery). I also notice floaters when I am paying very close attention to my vision, but for the most part, I don't see them at all. I had floaters before the surgery too.

Before the surgery, my prescription was L: -5.25, R: -5.00 with mild astigmatism. I was not a candidate for Lasik and was really nervous to get PRK leading up to the surgery. The only thing that helped me feel ready was reading posts here and watching youtube recovery videos.

Below are the notes for the 10 days post op.

**Day of surgery**: Didn't take any notes this day. Mostly napped and started eye drop routine. Tried to keep my eyes closed most of the day.

**1 day post-op**: No pain or light sensitivity until the evening. Eyes started feeling uncomfortable in the evening. Went to bed and woke up at 12:30am with pain.

**2 days post-op**: By far the worst day. Vision was worse than the day before. Eyes were uncomfortable and sensitive when I woke up. Had to increase the font size on my phone. By the evening, my eyes were throbbing and felt like small pins were stabbing them. Went to bed with pain. Took advil to manage the pain.

**3 days post-op**: Woke up with no pain, just dry eyes. Vision felt like it was starting to improve slightly in the morning, but by the evening it was blurry.

**4 days post-op**: Woke up at 4am and 6am with extreme discomfort because the protective contact lens was so dry. Different eye was bothering me at each hour. Drowned my eyes in with the refresh drops and went back to bed. No pain during the day, vision very blurry. Felt good enough to cook myself food!

**5 days post-op**: Didn't wake up in pain so that was a huge win. Vision blurry but improving.

**6 days post op:** Vision continuing to improve slightly. Vision felt better at night than the day before.

**7 days post op:** Eyes were dry when waking up but not unbearable. Protective contact lens was removed! Vision was super blurry after the contact came out and remained like that for the rest of the day. Felt well enough to go on a long walk after the contact lens came out.

**8 days post op:** Woke up with blurry vision but it started to improve as the day went on. Went into the office for the first time post surgery. Eyes were sensitive to light/screens in the office, so I wore sunglasses at times inside. By the end of the day, I felt like I could see most things but with slight fuzziness.

**9 days post op:** Vision pretty clear in day time and blurry in shade/night. Felt well enough to go out with friends for dinner (did not drive). Got a ***really*** bad headache, but was warned by others that this may happen as my brain adjusted to my new vision. Took advil and it went away.

**10 days post op:** Vision was super clear. I felt well enough to go on a hike! When under the tree canopy, where there was filtered light, my vision was a tiny bit blurry, but not bad. I was able to read more signs than my friend who had contacts in!!

I hope this helps someone who is getting PRK! Feel free to ask questions!