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. 

PRK Days 1-4: Surgery, Healing, Sleeping, and So Many Eye Drops

I have been trying to stay away from screens for the last few days to let my eye heal, so this post will include information about my surgery day and the 3 days following.

Day 1: PRK Surgery Day

In the past few weeks, I filled my eye drop prescriptions (which were sent directly to the laser center) and talked to the nurse at the laser eye center who walked me through the entire procedure. On surgery day, I woke up around 5:30 AM, showered, and had my partner drive me 30 minutes to the surgery center. He dropped me off and I walked into the center for my 6:30 appointment. I paid for the surgery ($1700) with my credit card for the cash back, and will submit my receipt later to my FSA for reimbursement--yay for pre-tax health expenses!

I was the only one in the lobby at 6:30 AM, and was quickly taken back to a room where a nurse took my blood pressure. Then I was asked if I was ready, I said yes. I was given a hairnet and booties to cover my shoes and taken to an other room where I was given several rounds of numbing drops a few minutes apart each. After I was completely numbed, the nurse spread iodine on my right eye and patched my left eye. I only had surgery on my right eye today, since my left eye will get a Visian ICL implant in a few months.

My surgeon greeted me in scrubs and I was then led into the laser surgery room. I was laid down with a pillow under the laser machine. My head was positioned directly under it and my numbed eye was held open by some contraption. The surgeon then told me to look directly into the green light, which was centered between a circle of white lights. It's hard to remember exactly what happened next, since my eye was covered with liquid at times and my surgeon didn't explain what was going on, just kept telling me to keep looking at the green light. At one point I smelled burning hair and within a few minutes, it was over!

She applied the bandage contact lens and I was led to another room, left eye un-patched, removed my hairnet and booties, and the surgeon examined my eye. I could see! My vision wasn't perfect, and everything seemed very bright, but already I could tell my vision was going to be so, so much better than it had been for most of my life.

Eye Drops

I was taken to another room to rest before my afternoon follow up appointment. I drank some water, ate some snacks, and the nurse explained my aftercare regime for the first week:

• antibiotic drops four times per day
• steroid drops four times per day
• NSAID two times per day (for just 3 days) 
• preservative-free lubricant eye drops every hour when awake
• Ibuprofen four times per day 
• vitamin C once a day 

After taking my first round of eye drops, I fell asleep. When my surgeon returned for my afternoon follow-up, she said everything looked great. She warned me that my vision would almost certainly get worse before it got better, and healing time was very variable, so I could be seeing very well in two weeks or two months. The rest of day 1 was uneventful, I ate dinner then went to sleep early with an eye shield taped over my eye.

Day 2: Ouch! 

I woke up and tried really hard to avoid screens. I started listening to Serial podcast so I could close my eyes and avoid any strain. My vision was still pretty good, but as the day went on, my eye started to burn and feel like it had sand in it. My eye was watering a lot by the evening, and I was regretting not filling the prescription painkiller the doctor prescribed! I kept taking ibuprofen and and lubricant eye drops. I would get some relief, then nap, then wake up with painful watery eyes. I went to sleep early again.

Swollen Eyelid

Day 3: Feeling Great

Today I woke up feeling much better, I had no pain but my eyelids were super swollen! They weren't swollen shut, just really puffy. This was a Sunday and the laser center was closed so I decided to call the hospital to speak to the ophthalmologist on call. I got through right away and explained that my eyelids were puffy, but my eye had no pain, no redness, and my vision was the same as yesterday. She said it could be a reaction to the procedure or the a preservative in one of the prescription eye drops, and unless my vision was worse or I had pain it wasn't urgent. I stayed home for the rest of the day listening to podcasts, napped a lot, and went to bed early again. I think I've slept an average of 15-18 hours a day for these past three days!

Day 4: Still Feeling Great

Today I woke up and the puffy eyelid had completely cleared up--yay! You know when you lay down or fall asleep after you've been crying and your eyelids puff up? I think that's what happened to me two nights ago. My eyes were watering non-stop from the pain, and then I went to sleep and they kept watering. I haven't had puffy eyes since so I don't think it has to do with eye drop preservatives.

I have my next follow-up appointment in a couple of days, where the surgeon will remove my contact lens bandage.