ICL Day 7 / PRK Month 3: Follow-Up Appointment

Today I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon, which is one week since my ICL surgery (left eye) and about 3 months since my PRK surgery (right eye).

My appointment was quick, my surgeon and her fellow looked inside my eyes and tested my vision on the Snellen chart. I could see most of the 20/20 line with my right eye and all of the 20/20 line with my left eye! Together, I could read the 20/15 line. I didn't use many lubricating drops today and my appointment was in the afternoon so maybe my eyes were drier than they were right after my surgery, who knows. They also tested my eye pressure which is normal.

PRK Update (3 months post-surgery)

My PRK eye is doing well. I still see starbursts around lights regardless of whether it's bright or dark in the environment. If I squint, they go away, so I don't know if it is due to residual astigmatism, higher-order aberrations, or what. It's gotten really sunny here in the past month or two and I also have really bad glare with in the bright sunlight, even with sunglasses on. This makes it really hard to read street signs because I'll have double or triple vision in my right eye. 

ICL Update (1 week post-surgery)

My ICL eye also seems to be doing well. The surgeon said that my vault was high and we would keep an eye on it. I don't know if this means I might have to get the lens exchanged, but I'm happy to wait and see how it looks next month. I see very large, prominent halos in dim and dark environments when looking just through my left eye. Interestingly, when I use both eyes, the halos diminish greatly and some completely disappear (and so do the starbursts from my PRK eye!). I'm also still seeing a white haze in my left eye, kind of like a glaze. I'm not sure if it's from the iridectomy or corneal swelling or something else, but it does not seem to be improving. It would be a bummer to permanently lose a lot of the contrast that I originally had in my left eye. In one of my first posts I noted that the contrast in my right eye has always been much worse due to the cataract I was born with; well, for the last week, my right eye has had much better contrast sensitivity than my left eye! 

I am happy I no longer need glasses or contacts to read, write, watch TV, drive, and everything else!! I'm hoping that some of these side effects resolve -or- my brain gets used to them quickly. I have another appointment in a month so I'll update again then. 

ICL Days 1-3: I CAN SEE!

I had my ICL surgery four days ago. Just like I did for my PRK surgery in December, I'll provide a day-by-day retelling of what's happened.

Day 1: ICL Surgery 

My ICL surgery was scheduled for the afternoon, so I planned to sleep in as late as possible because I wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight or drink after 7 AM. Well, I woke up at 8:00 AM of course and then watched mindless reality TV for a few hours until it was time to go. I was still feeling really nervous.

I got to the surgery center and was taken back to get my blood pressure reading and my eye dilation started. I had to change into a gown, put on a hair net thing, and got a bunch more drops to dilate and numb my eyes, along with antibiotic drops. They put in an IV for the "light sedation."

Then I was wheeled back to the surgery room and told to look at the bright light. I was conscious but because of the light sedation I was feeling pretty good. I was told to stare at the light, so I did. My surgeon didn't say much to me during the procedure but I did express that I was feeling some pain. I'm not sure if she did the iridectomy before the ICL insertion or after. Then my vision went out for about a minute and the surgeon said that the pressure in my eye was very high and they were trying to bring it back down. They put some more medicine in through my IV and my vision came back. Then it was done!

I was wheeled back into my area and the surgeon explained that everything went well. I could tell immediately that my vision was super clear, at least as clear as I could see with contact lenses! However, there was a fog or haze over my vision, kind of like a white veil. 

They said I could leave and get some lunch and to come back in two hours. I changed back into my clothes and left. I tried to eat lunch but wasn't very hungry. 

When I went back to the office, my surgeon again said everything went well and my eye pressure raised because of the gel they squirt inside the eye to help protect structures in the eye during ICL insertion. I got a prescription for one day of pressure-lowering pills and they said they would check my eye pressure again tomorrow. The surgeon checked my vision and seemed very surprised that I could read the 20/20 line perfectly! 

At the end of the day, my eye was very red and sore and it felt like something was in my eye. It felt most comfortable to keep it close. 

Day 2: Hazy

Last night I wore my eye shield, and today I woke up and my vision was still hazy/foggy. It's weird because everything is really sharp but it's like I'm not seeing as much contrast because everything is whiter and more washed out. My pupil is sill a bit dilated. I can't really tell where the iridectomy is. My eye still feels sore and is a little red, but feels much better than yesterday. 

Today I had a follow up appointment which I could have driven to myself but just to be safe I got a ride since this appointment location is about 30 minutes away. My appointment was quick. My eye pressure was normal, and I could read every letter on the 20/15 line! Amazing! I asked when the haze/fog would go away and was told in about a week. 

I'm noticing that when it's dark, I see some thin halos around lights. When it's dark inside and I watch TV, I also see some larger/fuzzier halos radiating from the bright spots on the TV. 

Day 3-4: Healing

Yesterday and today have been similar to day 2. I am still seeing white haze/fog but my vision is still very sharp. My eye feels better every day and it's no longer red. I think my pupil is back to the same size as my PRK eye. I definitely don't have any white line from the iridectomy/iridotomy, which I was concerned about because I have very round eyes and my lids don't always cover the top of my irises.

I have a follow-up appointment in just a couple of days, which will also serve as the 3-month follow-up for my PRK surgery, so I'm anxious to get an update about how both eyes are healing.