Kayla's LJay

ETA:
well i cancelled my surgery for tomorrow.
but i think I'm going to reschedule for february.
I think I just needed a freak out.
I know that the clinic that Im at - as well as the doctor that I'm using (he pioneered PRK surgery in both Canada and the states) are the best that I can hope for.

and I also realize that alot of what it posted is just the negative experience-because people like to rant and get sympathy and I understand that.

But I'll be talking to the doctor on monday morning, air out all my concerns and then hopefully rebook for the february long weekend after I've calmed down a bit, had all my questions answered and taken some valium :P
/eta



It's the day before my eye surgery.
And I did something stupid.
I looked up people's personal experiences.
And I'm scared. Really, really scared. To the point that I'm considering cancelling my surgery.

You see, I'm scheduled to have PRK surgery tomorrow. The fundamental difference between PRK and Lasik surgery is that PRK burns away parts of the cornea while Lasik cuts a small flap into the cornea. Despite the fact that PRK is an older surgery than Lasik, PRK patients generally have MUCH longer recovery time. And pain. Lasik patients are allowed to go back to work within 1-2 days. PRK patients sometimes need to take as much as 2 weeks off.

The reason PRK was selected for me was because of two reasons. First of all, since I'm a rider. If I had lasik, and had a really nasty fall, I could risk displacing the corneal flap. Secondly, because of my age. Lasik surgery they can only do so many enhancements. With PRK they can do up to 8 enhancements, so as I age, and potentially have my eyes for another 60years, they could do correct5ive surgery, as opposed to Lasik, where they could likely only do 1-2 times more.

But reading online was horrific. Oh, there were some good results. But quite a few people said that their vision remained hazy and weak for MONTHS. That they had pain for a good week-to the point that they were put on vicodin or percocet, and given steroid drops to relieve the pain.
Lasik patients on the other hand, were pain free and their vision stabilized within a week.

I just don't have a good feeling about this anymore. Knowing my life, I hate to say it, but usually anything that can go poorly does.

I'm really, really tempted to cancel the surgery, and then go back in a couple of months and find out exactly if I can qualify for Lasik. Because PRK as it stands is making me really, really nervous. And yes, some people had fantastic results with no pain. But out of 12 personal accounts that I read, 10 of them had significant pain and fluctuating vision for up to 3 months.

So I ask myself, really, are contacts THAT bad?
I'm starting to think not.

January 2nd at 10am.
Laser eye surgery.

This procedure.

Not the lasik (the quick and painless!) one that I was hoping for. Reason they want me to do the PRK one is because of my age. I'm quite young to have laser eye surgery done, but because my vision has been so stable (no change in 3 years) they have given the ok, and I passed all the required tests (which holy god were inclusive. 2 hours and about 11 different eye tests). BUT, the problem with getting lasik is that there's really only room for 1-2 enhancements as my eyes change. And surely, in 60+ years from now, my eyes will have changed more than once. With PRK, if needed, they can do adjustments up to 6-7 times to reflect my changing eyes as I age. The upside with PRK is that, unlike lasik, there's no flap that I have to worry about dislodging (you know, should I fall off my horse, which, has been known to happen! =P) The downside is that the surgery is apparently painful, at least for the first day or two after. In fact, I'm completely housebound. I'm not allowed out of the house for 3 days-I can't read, watch tv, surf the internet, go outside or do anything except listen to music and pet my cats. Joys. (part of this is actualyl because my cornea is quite deep, which is good, but it allows them to take away a bit more for a better surgery, but longer recovery time)

I'm telling myself this is worth it, despite the possible pain. And that I will be a much happier person sans contacts or glasses. And I'm fortunate, because I still qualify as a student, and my parents' health spending account covers 85% of the surgery, so I only have about $400 to pay (and I got a nice 20% discount off my eyes for working at the Health Region, so instead of it costing $1400 an eye, it went down to $1200 an eye)

But then I had to sit through the video of the procedure of them scraping away the cornea and felt my lunch rise in my stomach :P

LOL.