These Eyes Again

Posted by melodieshouse on September 26, 2008

Here’s the rest of the story to date about my laser vision correction experience. Please read my previous posts Doctor My Eyes and These Eyes to pick up my story from the beginning.

In July I started to notice things were a little less sharp while driving, particularly in my right eye, which I knew had been slightly undercorrected b/c 1) I’m over 35 and that eye was corrected more for closeup than distance, to compensate for presbyopia which becomes an issue for many around or after 40, plus 2)that was the eye with corneal issues, so it was a prudent choice. I also understood my vision can fluctuate as much as one year afterward and I still had plenty of time to settle into my final result. Therefore, I wasn’t too concerned as I had a followup in late July. The day of my appt. came and I had to cancel the appt. b/c I had a terrible migraine. I got busy in the days afterwards and didn’t call back for about 2 weeks. By that time (it was August already), I was noticing more regression, so I called and made the appt.

When I went in early Aug, my vision had lost enough sharpness I was prescribed glasses for nighttime driving, about -0.75 for the left eye and -1.25 for the right. Not very strong but enough to notice. I was put back on steroid drops (Pred Forte) 4X a day for 6wks. The steroid drops were supposed to stabilize my vision. I was told to make another appt. for 6-8wks out, which I made for 9/23, this past Tue. I was on the verge of tears in that visit. It took me about 10 days to get my glasses, and I only used them for about another week before I realized they were no longer strong enough. I called back 3 wks from my last appt. and, thankfully, the doctor wanted to see me right away so they told me to just come in. While there, the doctor said my vision had regressed big time. I was reading only 3-4 lines from the top of the eyechart. He told me to stop the Pred Forte drops immediately, and told me once my vision stabilized, he could do an enhancement if I desired. He said, however, that it could take as long as 6 months for my vision to settle to where it wanted to stay. In the meatime, I was given some soft contacts, I believe the Rx was -1.5 for the left and -2.25 for the right. I was told to come back in 3-4wks. I still had the 9/23 appt. on the books, which was 4wks away. I was feeling totally defeated, but relieved I could see again, even if w/correction.

I wore my contacts all day daily into Labor Day weekend, and by Sunday (this is ONLY 4 DAYS LATER), my contacts seemed too strong. I took them out and realized that I could actually see pretty decent, about where I was June-July. WHAAAAAA??!!! My eyes bounced back that quickly already?! Thank God!

Soooo, for the last month, my vision seems to be holding out pretty steady. I’ve used my driving glasses a couple of time in the evening and last night to drive in rainy weather, but otherwise I haven’t needed them. I went back to Dr. Rampona this past Tue, 9/23, and I’m measuring 20/25 in my left eye and 20/40 in my right. I’m 7 months out. He said it was my call whether to enhance or not but for the time being he suggested to keep waiting things out for now. He said to come back in about 3mo but if I need to come in earlier just call his cell phone.

All in all, I would have to say I’m pretty happy. My vision was 20/200 and I was very nearsighted in both eyes with a moderate degree of astigmatism in my right eye and slight astigmatism in my left eye. I could not make out facial features at 4ft. w/o my glasses. I had trouble with halos and sunbursts at night with my best corrected vision. I’ve had NONE of these issues since getting Supralase. A couple of other benefits I experienced are enhanced hand-eye coordination – I can catch things tossed at me with no warning, and I have migraines somewhat less frequently. Now for anyone else, YMMV, this is just my personal experience.

For anyone in my neck of the woods considering having laser vision correction or who is willing to travel to find a good surgeon, I definitely recommend consulting with Dr. Rampona at First Colonial Eye Center in Virginia Beach, VA. Dr. Rampona was the same doctor I saw in Dec. 2004 about getting my eyes fixed. I couldn’t have it done then because I was pregnant, so I went ahead and got new glasses. When I picked up my new glasses, my vision had changed enough in just 1 week that I had to go back in and get another refraction and new Rx. They didn’t charge me extra for it, which was a blessing b/c I had no health insurance and was paying totally out-of-pocket. FWIW the 2nd Rx stuck, my vision had gotten really squirrelly during my 1st trimester which sometimes happens (gotta love them hormones in overdrive) but didn’t happen in my previous or subsequent pregnancies. I was impressed by the concern he showed and the time and attention he paid me even though I wasn’t getting the surgery at the time. He’s been in practice more than 30yrs and more than 20 of those yrs he’s been doing vision correction surgery, back when it was just starting to be done in the U.S., so he’s very experienced.

The one thing I would say to anyone who decides to get LASIK, PRK, Supralase, etc. is this: Do your homework and have realistic expectations of your outcome. Ask lots of questions of your prospective surgeon. If he or she isn’t forthcoming with answers go elsewhere. Find a surgeon who has done 10,000+ procedures. Read the message boards on http://www.lasermyeye.org/ – a lot of people on there, particularly PRK patients, took around 3 weeks to see halfway decent, and many didn’t reach their “sweet spot” (better than 20/40) until 3-6 months post-op. For many it takes a yr or more to equal or exceed their best corrected vision (BCV). There’s a lot of marketing put out there that hypes how quickly you’ll be up and seeing great, but I can tell you that if I had a FT day job, and I had my surgery done on a Fri, I would NOT have been ready to return to work Mon. 5 days out, maybe, but probably for only 1/2 day. More like 7 days, and I would still need a ride to/from work. And I’m not a slow healer. A young man that worked for my husband had PRK done while he was in the Navy about 3 yrs ago. He said he had very little discomfort immediately post-op and after about a week he was already pretty much where he’s at now visually, which is around 20/20-20/25 in both eyes if not better. He convinced me to go through with it. There are even some people who reach 20/15 or even 20/10 over time after PRK. If you’re really lucky, you might be one of those, just don’t bank on it.

Another site with info and a discussion forum is USAEyes. They have a PDF document you can download and present to your prospective eye surgeon called 50 Tough Questions For Your Lasik Doctor.