Trish -- post-PRK and very worried

[trish]

I am 3 1/2 weeks post PRK and I now think I have made the biggest mistake of my life. I have only read a few of the posts because I can't read them. I was nearsighted, but not severely. My biggest problem was astigmatism. Contacts wouldn't work for me because they couldn't correct the astigmatism enough to be worth wearing, plus I had dry eyes. I am turning 50 next month so I knew I would need reading glasses, but before surgery I could read a magazine article in the morning without putting on my glasses, so I figured I would be able to get away with a simple pair of reading glasses. My reasons for choosing PRK were: I was told it was safer. I fly aerobatics (did). I pull negative G-loads. My daughter is a professional scuba diver. Diving with her as long as I can with better vision than I had made sense. I have large pupils, so I was worried I might have haloing with Lasik. And I heard PRK was better for someone with dry eyes.

I was told the healing would be a bit longer, but I should be able to return to work 4 days post surgery. I was told the eyes heal fast. (Six days post surgery I did return to work but my vision that afternoon was 20/80 and 20/200. I was also told before surgery by both the surgeon and my ophthalmologist that they felt very very confident that I would be able to pass the FAA requirements and complete the paperwork for the FAA 2 1/2 weeks after surgery. I had an important flying clinic to attend 3 weeks post surgery. (I missed it.)

My vision is terrible! The ghosting is unreal. I can't read street signs. I can't read my mail, books, or the computer screen even with reading glasses. I have tried several. The 1.0 seem to work the best. The 1.5 give me a massive headache, but I use a magnifying glass with one eye closed more than anything. The doctor told me to be patient. He put a contact back in one eye last week to help me function. It didn't help. He also seems to think guessing at the letters counts as being able to read them. I see him again tomorrow. I wonder what he will say.

I'm wondering now if I will ever fly again. My airshow schedule is on the wall, but I'm not confident I will be flying any of it. Note: I do not fly aerobatics in airshows. I fly in formation, only a few feet away from the next airplane. I need my eyes!

I'm using the prescription drops 4 times a day and the artificial tears in between. But I must say I use my own tears more than the fake stuff.

Even if I end up with 20/15 vision I would never have had PRK if I had known what I know now. I didn't find this sight until last week.

[dcisive]

It is disheartening to hear of such problems some folks can run into. I had my 1st PRK done last September. After the 3 month period until things leveled off and I knew what I was basically left with, I too knew it wasn't what I signed on for. I had a horrible prescription (I was 20/600 before surgery with lots of astigmatism in both eyes). I ended up with 20/30 in the left eye and 20/40 in the right with residual astigmatism in both eyes. I just knew I couldn't live with that.

The doctor agreed he felt it could be much better. I also had EBMD which was the primary reason I had the ablation in the first place, I needed to get back to some good epithelial tissue or my vision was destined to fluctuate forever with discomfort on top of that. So I went for a "redo" the 1st week of December. When I went in for my contact bandage removal on day 5, he tested my vision with them in. I was 20/20 left and 20/25 right with the corneal remodeling continuing.

at 2 weeks I was 20/20 both eyes and a bit of haloing in the right eye. This haloing disappeared at the 2 month point, and was I ever thrilled. The 3 month checkup revealed ALL astigmatism was GONE! NO halo's, and I was 20/15 in the left eye and almost exactly the same in the right. Today at 5 months both eyes are dead equal 20/15, NO astigmatism and no halos. They can get dry from time to time, so Refresh does the trick for me a few times a day. I am thrilled as the 2nd time around dialed it in nicely. considering the challenges I had prior I shouldn't have been to surprised it took more than the once only to get it dead on right. So I would encourage those of you that haven't gotten there yet hang in there. If you need another consult with another doctor it would be a good idea. But 20/20 for the most part is NOT a dream....it IS achievable.

[Olof_LASEK_Sweden]

Hi Trish!
What was your prescription? My healing started to speed up from week 6 and onwards, and I had a comparatively short steroid regimen. Weeks 2-5 were really bad. So hang in there. I have given the feedback to my clinic that they should inform more about the long healing time prior to surgery.

[trish]

I was told today before surgery I was:
R: Sph. -1.25 Cyl. -2.75
L: Sph. -1.50 Cyl. -2.25
I wore bifocals with a reading prescription. I don't know what it was.

Today I the surgeon tried contacts. They didn't help at all. He wrote me a prescription and suggested I go to Costco with an old pair of frames. I went to LensCrafters because I didn't want to wait. They said their post-op customers can come back any time during the next 90 days to get new lenses as their prescription changes. I asked how often this happens. She said it was not rare.

The glasses don't help much with the double vision and I have to put a pair of 1.0 reading glasses over the top to even see this screen.
The scrip for today's glasses is:
R: Sph. +0.75 Cyl. -1.75
L: Sph. +0.50 Cyl. -2.00
I tried higher reading glasses with no luck.
My distance vision with the glasses is about 20/40 but not clear. I can guess some of the letters on the next chart, but it is more of an educated guess than seeing.
I was 20/20 or better with glasses before surgery.

I also was put on stronger drops: Pred Forte 4 times a day

I was told we need to wait about 3 months then most likely do more surgery. He said what happened to me is very rare. I'm having a hard time believing it is as rare as stated. Where can I find some honest statistics?
I canceled flying 3 airshows this evening. i wonder when/if I will fly the way I used to.

[Olof_LASEK_Sweden]

Hmmm, that is a slightly uncommon pre-op prescription with more astigmatism than sphere. I was trying on readers, my old glasses and everything during my worry weeks 2-5. Sometimes it seemed to make a difference. However, after week 6 the healing took off in earnest and I landed on plano, as verified by my optician. My guess would be that since in myopic correction they flatten the cornea going from being too pointing, perhaps it is too flat ( hyperopic ) initially and then starts to bulge some more again. Just my guess. Anyhow, you're too early in the healing to worry ( although just like I was, you thought you'd be back quicker and worry ).

BTW, I will update my story-post soon, I was to my final check up ( 1 year ) in march. Some small improvements on the snellen chart.

[trish]

I'm 1 day stort of 6 weeks post-surgery. Last week I went to my ophthalmologist because the presription for glasses the surgeon gave me the week before wasn't working with reading glasses over the top. I needed bifocals. My prescription changed a bit. R: Sphere +0.75 Cyl. -1.25, L: Sphere Pl Cyl. -1.75, Reading 2.00. With the glasses I saw pretty good out of my left eye, but the right eye is not very clear with or witout glasses. Still, I thought with glasses, even changing lenses every 2 to 3 weeks this whole process might be bearable. Yesterday I went for another appt. with the surgeon. Two weeks before he put me on Pred Forte 4 Xs a day. Again he confirmed I will need more surgery when I stabilize. I said if I get back to 20/20 with glasses and the double vision goes away I'm done! He said he understood, checked the pressure, said he didn't want me to change lenses, gave me more Pred Forte with instructions to go to 3 times a day in 3 weeks. My next appointment isn't for another 4 weeks. Is this often enough considering the possible reactions to Pred Forte? The drops sting so bad I have to close my eyes after work every day for several hours.

In 4 weeks I'll probably not be able to see with or without glasses. That's if I have anymore change, which the doctor thinks I will. So why can't I get another prescription in a couple weeks to make this bearable? I have to work. It's bad enough I'm in pain.

Then what? I'm afraid I may never get to 20/20 again even with glasses. What are the chances of the Pred Forte doing more damage?

The doctor points out that I am better than before surgery. The prescription may be less, but before surgery I was corrected to 20/20 +. Now I am not even close.

This isn't at all what I bargained for. I definitely feel like I am being brushed off. I don't even know where I can go for a second opinion. Will another doctor cover for this doctor?

[mary kenny badami]

trish --

I used my privileges as a Moderator here to create a brand-new thread dealing just with your situation.
You had originally posted at the end of a very long thread, but I thought that you deserved a thread of your own.

I have never been a pilot -- but I taught "aviation-English" to students at Germany's Air Traffic Control School many years ago, and I have great respect for aviators and for air traffic controllers. I also know how vital it is to have splendid near-vision (to read the cockpit controls and written materials such as weather reports and notices to aviators) as well as distance-vision (to see out the window and verify where you are located, for goodness sake).

You wrote this morning post:

The doctor points out that I am better than before surgery. The prescription may be less, but before surgery I was corrected to 20/20 +. Now I am not even close.

And I reply: Well, then you are clearly NOT better off . . . because your BCVA (best corrected visual acuity) has been woefully diminished.
So in my opinion, your doctor is "spinning" his analysis of your situation, presumably in an effort to keep you calm.

You also wrote:

This isn't at all what I bargained for. I definitely feel like I am being brushed off. I don't even know where I can go for a second opinion.

And I reply: I had Lasik, not PRK, but the posters on this particular forum generally report that recovery can be very slow, and that measurements may fluctuate for weeks -- if not months -- after surgery. So perhaps a little more time will bring a better result . . . perhaps. Presumably most "second opinion" docs will also be those who perform refractive surgery of some sort . . . but they should have instruments such as "aberrometers," which measure your level of distortion of vision, not just via a simple big-E eye chart.

[wetland10]

I had PRK on one eye a month and a half ago. I still cannot see clearly AT ALL through that eye. It is cloudy/blurry all the time. I was given a contact lens to help with that last week and it does help. Not 100% but good enough for now. I too have no idea when this will end. It seems that most surgeons say "a while" for recovery and later on I read it could take up to 6 months to recover. I have no idea. it isn't what I signed up for either, I'm glad he suggested one eye at a time so at least I have one "good eye."

Anyone know why it takes so long for the blurriness to go away?

Wayne

[ALK-O'd]

Hi Trish! I have so much I want to say to you I don’t think I can type it out fast enough. I’ve had some flight training myself – I have my Private, Instrument, and Commercial licenses (Single Engine Land). I can certainly understand your worries but things are going to get better for you.

I had my refractive procedure 16 years ago and was left with permanent ghosting, starbursts, halos, loss of contrast sensitivity, dry eyes and over the years much of the myopia that was corrected by the procedure has ultimately returned. Thank God for the internet and sites like this one though because I have learned so much.

First off, 6 weeks out for PRK is definitely still early into the healing process. It is possible that your blurred vision and GASH symptoms (Ghosting, Astigmatism, Starbursting, Halos) may be a result of residual edema you currently have while your corneas are healing. For me, (although I had I different procedure) initially for about the first 3 or 4 months my night vision was so bad that driving was completely out of the question. However, during months 4 – 6 I did begin to see noticeable improvement. Fortunately it improved enough for me that I could begin driving again. My prescription also didn’t stabilize until about the 6 month mark. So the moral here is try, try, try your best to be patient. I know it’s impossible to “forget” about your vision because unfortunately it’s not something you can look away from. But the last thing you want to do is to rush into having more surgery. Read through as many posts as you can on this site – unfortunately you won’t find any success stories of people getting their GASH symptoms corrected by further surgeries. In fact in many cases, more surgery = more damage.

Where can I find some honest statistics?

You can’t. They don’t exist. Realize that your surgeon is telling you your prescription is lower than what it was and that therefore by definition you are a success story. So am I and so are so many others. That’s why sites like this exist so that we, the victims can come together, pool our knowledge and make better decisions.

Don’t despair though. If you do read through the many posts on this site one VERY common area of success you will read about over and over has to do with RGP contact lenses. I'm assuming the contact lens your doctor put in your eye was a soft one? It had to be and it's not surprising that it didn't help your vision for a number of reasons. But, I can tell you from my own personal experience that RGP contact lenses virtually eliminate 100% of my GASH symptoms !!! The only problem is finding a true expert that is good at fitting them – a precision fit with RGPs is absolutely essential to being comfortable in them. And, there are many different types of RGPs as well. What’s amazing is the lack of knowledge that eye surgeons have with regards to them. In so many cases, they would rather just tell a person that they need more surgery rather than first investigate a non-invasive option such as a contact lens… Sigh…

Also to remind you of your own words:

Even if I end up with 20/15 vision I would never have had PRK if I had known what I know now.

Well, now you know. So, don’t put yourself through this again and risk doing any further damage to your precious eye sight. Seriously, when your eyes finish healing, if you are unhappy with your vision seek an expert contact lens fitter – someone who specializes in Kerataconous patients / post refractive surgery patients. These optometrists tend to have the most experience in fitting RGPs and I’m telling you RGPs can truly work wonders. Do you know that it wasn’t until 7 years after my surgery that I discovered the miracle of RGPs? It was at this point that I had become nearsighted enough that I once again required full-time corrective lenses. I went to a handful of doctors in an attempt to once again get fitted with soft contact lenses but failed repeatedly because my corneas were just to flattened out by my surgery for a soft lens to be able to hold its shape on my eye. Finally, I agreed to try a hard lens and when my doctor put it in my eye and refracted me, I almost fell out of the chair when I saw what I saw!!!!!!!! For the first time in years the ghosting, starbursts etc… were GONE!!! I had no idea a contact lens could do anything even remotely close to what it did for me!! Needless to say, RGPs can drastically improve vision in the post-refractive surgery patient and there’s tons of data out there supporting it. It’s not even debatable. A hard lens creates a new refractive surface on the eye. The irregularities in the cornea behind the lens fill in with your own tears (or if you have dry eye like me you can get a semi-scleral or full scleral contact lens that you fill up with saline before inserting) and are thus masked. Light is then refracted normally and can focus properly on the retina. They do work. Period.

So, to recap :

1) Be patient. Your vision is going to continue to improve.
2) When your doctor tells you your eyes are fully healed, if you are not happy with the vision you have at that point, seek out an expert RGP contact lens fitter and give RGPs a shot before even considering any more surgery.
3) You grounding is only temporary. You will fly again!!!

Take care,

-Mike

[trish]

Years ago I tried several contacts. Soft, hard, perforated. None worked. I was told I had too much astigmatism for the amount of near sightedness. The best I ever got with any contacts was 20/35, not good enough for what I do in life, teaching and flying.

I have been told RGP will not work on me. And yes, I have had moderately dry eyes for years.

I really thought maybe I could get through this if I at least had the help of a new glasses prescription every 2 to 3 weeks. When the doctor refused to write me a new prescription I really felt helpless. I don't get it. Is there an advantage to going around not being able to see?

[Olof_LASEK_Sweden]

Hi Trish,
What week is it for you now? Week 6? You have now been put on more steroids, and it slows down the healing, but has been deemed necessary by your doc.

My LASEK was with MMC and only a month of steroids. Week 6, two weeks after the steroids were dropped, my healing took off in earnest. You ARE still very early in the process. Hang in there.

[trish]

I am 6 weeks post-op. The Pred Forte was given to me at week 4 as a stonger drug to "push healing". I use it 4 times a day. I am instructed to reduce to 3 times a day at week 8, however my next appointment is not until week 10. Four more weeks on this drug without monitoring seems dangerous. Am I wrong?

[Olof_LASEK_Sweden]

Hi,
The steroids influence the healing somehow, and the regimens vary among doctors and countries. It is a common experience on the forums that big improvements to the eyesight start to happen once the steroids are dropped.

I went two months unmonitored before my 1st post-op appointment, that's how they do it here. There seem to be a lot more post op appointments for patients in the US and the UK.

[ALK-O'd]

When the doctor refused to write me a new prescription I really felt helpless. I don't get it. Is there an advantage to going around not being able to see?

mmm…Honestly, that’s not entirely unreasonable of your doc at this point. He/she is probably seeing that your vision is still fluctuating all over the place and that frankly there’s not much of a point assigning anything to your glasses because each and every day for the next few weeks you might need something different. Don’t despair, the fluctuations will calm down and eventually you will be able to hone in on a prescription worth getting.

Years ago I tried several contacts. Soft, hard, perforated. None worked. I was told I had too much astigmatism for the amount of near sightedness. The best I ever got with any contacts was 20/35, not good enough for what I do in life, teaching and flying.

I have been told RGP will not work on me. And yes, I have had moderately dry eyes for years.

I hear you. But, WHO in recent times (i.e., post surgery for you) told you contacts simply could not work for you? Was it your surgeon? I'm asking for two reasons :

1) Truthfully, ophthalmologists are not contact lens experts. I'm not being facetious in saying that. It’s just not what they specialize in. Optometrists are the ones fitting patients day in and day out with contact lenses over and over – not surgeons. I too was told by both a local optometrist AND a very highly respected eye surgeon in New York several years ago that there simply was no way I could ever wear contact lenses again based on the topography of my cornea following my surgery. Fortunately, I didn’t give up and sought out an optometrist who specifically specialized in fitting Kerataconus, post-ops and generally difficult to fit patients. It took some trial and error but in the end I have successfully proven both doctors wrong several times over. With special RGPs, my vision is good enough to qualify for an FAA Class I medical. And trust me when I tell you that my corneas are royally screwed up.

2) I’m not a doctor but I’ve been around the block many, many times with regards to being fitted for lenses since my surgery. I am also always keeping an eye out (online) for new innovations in contact lenses for post surgical patients – especially w/ dry eye. I have to say your prescription (as far as contact lenses go) isn’t high at all – even the astigmatism. It absolutely should be correctable with an RGP lens along with most (if not all) of your HOA’s (should they stick around after healing). Understand that there are thousands of individuals out there with SEVERLY distorted corneas from conditions such as Kerataconus, post cornea-transplants, refractive surgical disasters, injuries and other nightmares who suffer with way higher amounts of astigmatism (which btw is usually irregular) then you have (like -10’s and higher) for whom glasses aren’t even an option but can see clearly with specially designed RGPs. While it’s certainly true that you shouldn’t be toying with contact lenses right now while your corneas are healing, the fact is that there are so many different types of contact lenses out there for nearly every type of corneal distortion imaginable. If need be, you CAN and WILL find a solution. And if you can’t find one that you fit into off the shelf, there are a handful of specialists out there that can make a CUSTOM pair of RGP contact lenses to fit your exact needs. Google search Dr. Greg Gemoules (Dr G) of Coppell Texas, Boston Foundation for Sight in Boston, MA, and Dr. Ken Maller in Ft. Lauderdale, FL to name a few.

Yes, you may have been told already by more than one doctor that contacts won’t work for you but understand that you are no longer a mainstream patient. You are now, and forever will be a “post-op”. Most optometrists don’t have a lot of experience fitting contacts on those of us with irregular corneas – but fortunately there are some out there that do.

Yes, you just tried contacts and they didn’t work for you. Not surprising in the slightest - especially if they were soft. It’s way too early to be sticking contact lenses in your eyes. Also soft lenses may never work for you now because your corneas might be too flat for a soft lens to be able to hold its shape.

Hopefully, when your eyes finish healing you won’t need contacts at all, but my point is that if you do end up with less than desirable results, before you go back under the knife and do potentially even greater harm to your eyes, seek out the best of the best in optometry - not simply the guy up the block from you. Having dry eye, make sure it’s someone having expertise in fitting semi or full scleral lenses. Let THAT PERSON show you what can be done for you. If it comes to it, I’m certain you’ll be very pleasantly surprised…

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

[EdC]

Trish I am a pilot myself, though my medical is only a Class 3.

3 weeks...6 weeks... it's still too early. I wouldn't even consider flying for a couple months. There is no way any flight surgeon would recommend aerobatics after 3 weeks post PRK.

For me, I'm happy with my vision, but it is a long, slow process.

Here is another site for vision info for aviators.

http://aviationmedicine.com/articles...7&contentID=67

AOPA can also help you.

pay attention to "" FAA Form 8500-7, REPORT OF EYE EVALUATION"" which your Doc will have to fill out.

[trish]

The only reason I even considered surgery at this time is that both the surgeon and my regular eye doctor stated they felt "very confident" the FAA Form 8500-7, REPORT OF EYE EVALUATION form could be filed before the flying clinic I was scheduled to attend 3 weeks post-op. It wasn't until week 4 post-op that the surgeon told me it takes at least 3 months for the eyes to stablize (required for Form 8500-7). The surgeon is a pilot. I now believe he lied to me before surgery.

As far as wanting new prescriptions for glasses to get me through this: Remember, I can not legally drive without glasses right now. I would never be able to read this with off the shelf reading glasses. I know I can't fly. I'm just trying to survive.

The plane sits in the hangar. I have already missed flying one airshow, one flying clinic, and many practice sessions. The weekend plans are off. I won't be flying in at least the next three airshows. Remember, I'm a teacher for 10 months, but I spend my summers flying airshows. I NEVER would have had any eye surgery had the doctors not used the words, "very confident". The surgeon tells me I am a very rare case. I don't think so now.

[Rebecca Petris]

Trish,

You're getting a lot of sage experienced advice here... I think that ALK-O'd's observations are particularly astute and applicable to your situation. I agree wholeheartedly with his bottom line:

1) Be patient. Your vision is going to continue to improve.
2) When your doctor tells you your eyes are fully healed, if you are not happy with the vision you have at that point, seek out an expert RGP contact lens fitter and give RGPs a shot before even considering any more surgery.
3) You grounding is only temporary. You will fly again!!!

And also his comments on ophthalmologists and contacts. Personally I think you've still got a good chance of not needing rigid lenses when you're fully healed, but if you do talk to optometrists not ophthalmologists. Wish I had a nickel for every piece of bad contact lens information/advice I've heard of post refractive patients being doled out by their surgeon. Meaning no disrespect to surgeons... it's just the plain truth.

I sent you a PM with my cell phone.

[Rebecca Petris]

Thought I'd share an additional thought here...

Originally Posted by trish

I really thought maybe I could get through this if I at least had the help of a new glasses prescription every 2 to 3 weeks. When the doctor refused to write me a new prescription I really felt helpless. I don't get it. Is there an advantage to going around not being able to see?

This is a pattern that's been echoed time and again. It's true that doctors will almost always resist prescribing any glasses until they think your vision has stabilized. This is a position that I think is sometimes held too rigidly in cases where there is a good argument for temporary correction for a patient with an evident need & motivation. We're the ones who have to get through our day and if we want to pay more for some crutches, I personally think we should get them unless there's a compelling medical reason against it. So far as I understand glasses can't hurt you. But the question is how much they'd help and for how long.

Putting myself in the doctor's shoes for a moment (not that I can easily relate but...) he may be thinking in terms of rocks and hard places, i.e. "she can be miserable without glasses or be miserable with glasses and out some $$$, which is worse?". If it were just sphere, it wouldn't be so bad, but with cylinder, which may due to edema that could change at any time... it's not entirely unreasonable of them to try to get you to stick it out. On the other hand life goes on and one has to drive, work, etc!

I've got two questions and a suggestion:
1) What's your BCVA? (i.e. 20/what when they have that prescription you mentioned in front of you) If this is 20/40 or below then that would help explain why they won't prescribe them.
2) Is your reading correction very different now from before surgery? (Did you have readers/bifocals then?)

Suggestion but this is ONLY IF the Rx actually helps your vision enough to get you more functional: This might sound crazy but I'm thinking back to my post-op weeks/months when I was buying handfuls of readers in all different strengths. If the doc would agree you could get a prescription with ONLY the cyl in it i.e. correct only the astigmatism. Then, get stick-on readers (google optx 20/20, or you can also get them in my dry eye shop). As things change you can get different stick-ons, much cheaper than getting new bifocals. You may be able to accommodate for minor cyl changes.

You sound though like you're right at the timing where things are likely to start changing for the better before long. Hang in there, it really DOES get better.

[trish]

6 Weeks, 3 Days

Thought for the day:

If your driver’s license states, “must wear corrective lenses”, then until you have some documentation stating otherwise you cannot legally drive without some sort of corrective lenses. Why would a doctor not want to help you through this process with corrective prescriptions keeping you within at least 20/40 BCVA?

My problem is significant residual astigmatism. This is not a situation where I can just try out a handful of reading glasses.

When I received my first post-op glasses prescription it was from the surgeon and just for distance. I rushed a pair of old frames to a 1-hour store. They said they would gladly change the lenses for no extra cost as many times as needed for 90 days. One week later I returned with a bifocal prescription. (I didn't know stick-ons existed.) The store only charged me the upgrade difference for the bifocals.

When I said, “I’ll see you in a couple weeks”, they commented no problem.

“Come in sooner if you need to.”

I felt encouraged, but when the surgeon said he wanted to see me in four weeks and would not be writing another prescription, my balloon of hope popped.

Now that I am no longer seeing very well with or without glasses, the headaches are returning.

I have the name of another doctor for a second opinion. I will call him next week.

I read these other posts of 20/20 vision two or three weeks out. I’m jealous.

[mary kenny badami]

Trish --

Yesterday I started to reply to offer REASSURANCE:
I intended to tell you that many PRK stories told here have ended happily. (Many). (Eventually).

And then I was going to offer a SUGGESTION:
In the interim might you seek out a relatively inexpensive eye prescriber in your area, perhaps affiliated with your one-hour eyeglasses store? You wouldn’t need a surgeon for such a consult (surgeon = ophthalmologist). As you probably already know, in the USA it is the optometrists (OD = Doctor of Optometry), whose primary responsibility is to check basic eye health and prescribe glasses and contact lenses, while the surgeons are dealing with the medical side of diagnosing eye diseases and performing various procedures.

But I’m glad that I held off on posting those answers yesterday, because when I woke up this morning, what I most wanted to offer you was VALIDATION:
I think that you are correct, Trish, that you are absolutely correct, to be righteously indignant. And impatient.
And yes, even to be jealous or envious of those patients who, according to their docs and/or their own testimonies, have gotten ideal results within their anticipated timeframes.

(a) WHY SHOULD patients have to spent days, weeks, and months dealing with crummy vision and/or pain (from eyestrain, from dry eyes, etc.) which is not being corrected or remediated, while waiting for their next doctor’s appointment -- or for some down-the-road hope of eventual healing?

(b) Why do so many docs apparently fail to understand that -- while we are waiting for our next appointments or our eventual healing -- that we still have to TRY to live our everyday lives, engage in our professions, take care of our children, attend to our parents, cultivate our friendships, develop our marriages/ significant-other-relationships, enjoy our hobbies and free-time activities, and/or simply have a pain-free existence? And do the docs not understand that everyday living includes such mundane but eye-complex tasks as reading newspapers or working on computers or seeing prices clearly during a trip to a supermarket?

(c) Not to mention that -- as you so rightly point out -- our LEGAL and MORAL RESPONSIBILITY is to be visually capable of driving a car if we choose to or need to!

Much as I’m still holding out hope for a good outcome for you, Trish, I agree that you have every reason to feel discouraged just now.

I wrote a post with similar content on another Bulletin Board a few years ago, when I was still early in the process of seeking diagnoses and remedies for my own post-Lasik eye problems. I entitled it “THE WAITING ROOM” -- and I recall being both frightened and furious when I posted it.

So that’s MY thought for the day!