Today marks a significant improvement in my recovery. I woke up this morning with my distance vision very sharp and my near vision improved, but still blurry. What a difference a few hours makes! I suppose most of the healing happens during sleep, emphasizing the need for uninterrupted rest during recovery. While my vision did fluctuate again today, the ups and downs were not as drastic, though my near vision degraded as the day wore on. When I put my glasses on (with one lens removed), I could see that my distance vision is not yet 20/20, but close (I’d guess 20/30 or 20/40).

I drove home from work in twilight and didn’t notice any night-time optical abberations that many post-op PRK patients complain about. I do still see halos around lights, but they are very faint and diffused, and not at all distracting. Strangely, my glasses were responsible for creating large starburts in my untreated right eye, clearly visible in the headlights of oncomming traffic during my drive home. I attribute this to the fact that my glasses are partially crazed from heat exposure.

I addressed two concerns to my surgeon in a quick phone call earlier today: possible over correction in my left eye and the fact that my pupils are different sizes. He alleviated both concerns, explaining that pupil size can vary as much as one millimeter in healthy people, and that variation is actually quote common. He also said my near vision should improve with time, and it is probably not due to over correction because it would be difficult to accidentally over correct an eye with such a low myopic prescription. Given the fact that I made such significant progress in the past 24 hours, I’m going to wait a bit before I become alarmed. They will also test my near vision at my next post-op appointment on Monday, so that should put to rest any questions about over correction. I was also asked to pour on the preservative-free lubricating drops, even though my eye doesn’t feel dry. Apparently the cornea can dry out easily after surgery and that can affect vision and slow healing. These drops are insanely expensive, but its my eye after all.

My distance vision has been fluctuating all day with significant changes occurring every hour. It changes from slightly worse than my untreated eye to significantly better. My close vision has been consistently blurry though. I haven’t had any pain or symptoms of dry eye and I haven’t needed the lubricating drops today.