Lasik Surgery on April 3rd - Lasik Eye Surgery Message Board

free2dream · 04-13-2009, 05:59 PM

I had lasik surgery on April 3rd. I am 52 and my prescription was -6.0 and -4.5 with some astigmatism. My surgery went quickly and painlessly and I've experienced no pain or discomfort. I followed my opthamologists directions and used an antibiotic and inflammatory drop for one week - also using Biotears for lubrication. Today I went for my one week checkup, and my optometrist told me I was slightly overcorrected and still have a little residual astigmatism. This totally explains my difficulty with close reading and I've been using a pair of 1.5 reading glasses to help me with computer work and reading. My vision was 20/20 in both eyes today also. My distance vision is amazing - I can see like a hawk! My vision gets a little blurry for about the first 3 feet, then is as clear as ever.

My question is has anyone else experienced this situation and does the overcorrection tend to correct itself during the healing period? I know I'm only 10 days into my healing period, and there's a lot of changes that might occur.

free2dream · 04-14-2009, 03:24 PM

What a difference a day makes! I have this little game I play every morning. I open the medicine cabinet and try to read the front of the bottles, as they tend to have larger print. Every morning for the last 10 days, it was too blurry to make out anything. Today the labels were still a bit blurry but I could see actual words! It's hard to explain if you've never experienced it - but it was so exciting - absolutely made my morning! Also today at work I've noticed that as the day progresses, my vision seems to be improving. I used my readers all morning to work on the computer; yet this afternoon they seem to be causing more blur than going without. At 52, I expect I'll need reading glasses but it would be great if my near vision would improve enough to be able to not have them hanging on my nose all the time! Will keep you posted!

landar · 04-14-2009, 05:09 PM

Encouraging to hear that your vision is good so far. I have read that overcorrection tends to fade during the healing process so that is good news for you. As you may know by now, your vision can fluctuate from day-to-day so it will take time to stabilize. My doctor said 4-6 weeks. I am your age and had -5 in each eye. Been one month and sometimes my far vision is super sharp and sometimes a bit blurry. It seems best in the morning. When I put drops in, my vision gets so sharp, it almost seems overcorrected. But a few blinks and it settles down.
I wear reading glasses for newspaper and such but I can work on the computer w/o glasses. I really do not mind wearing them.
So, how is your night vision? Do you see any halos around lights in the distance?

free2dream · 04-14-2009, 07:45 PM

I've been quite lucky - I haven't had any halos or starbursts, and I've had absolutely no problem with my night driving. My opthamologist said I had thicker corneas and smaller pupils than usual, so she really didn't expect that I might have any issues and I haven't. It's nice to hear that things will get better as time progresses. Are you using a preservative-free tear solution? I find I need to use them quite often, but haven't received the go-ahead to start using anything else yet. My vision blurs after using the BioTears, but seems to come back after a few blinks. I've read that they help with healing so I'm trying to be diligent about using them.

landar · 04-16-2009, 05:55 PM

If you have no halos or starburst then you are indeed, "lucky". I really do not understand how some do not have halos. After all, the cornea has just been sliced and burned. Stands to reason that after that trauma there would be some scattering of the light as it passes thru the cornea and that causes halos. I suspect that some patients are just more sensitive to the scattering.
I used preservative drops for about 3 weeks, then switched. My doc wanted 2 weeks of preservative free. I went to the non-preservative because it is cheaper and I can carry a re-usable bottle along in my pocket for easy hydration.
I have noticed that the halos are diminishing but still very apparent at night. I understand that it can take months for them to disappear, if in fact, they ever do disappear. Sure am hoping!