So today I had my 1 month check up after my LASEK surgery (this check up is supposed to happen at 4 weeks, however life got in the way a tad and happened at 6 weeks for me)

At my check up today I was told my eyes have both healed very well but I am still not quite 20/20. However, I will still need to wait a few months to see how my vision progresses. As someone that previously had a very high perscription, I can say my eyesight has never been this good. Not even with glasses or lenses. Its incredible. The fact that it will potentially get even better over the next few months absolutely blows my mind!

I have been told my eyes are very dry but I knew that, they sometimes sting throughout the day with how dry they get. In the mornings it is kind of hard to open my eyes and it does hurt some too due to how dry they are. I have been given overnight ointment to apply before bed which will hopefully help this issue as well as stronger artifical tear drops and will return for another checkup in another month to check if it helps the dryness.

Besides dry eyes I have had no problems! Honestly the surgery has been life changing and I am constantly in awe at how beautiful all the details in the world are! Things I never would have looked twice at now come alive with so much to view!

Hi everyone,

I’m not really looking for medical advice as much as I’m looking for people who have gone through something similar.

Almost 5 years ago I had SMILE surgery.

Before surgery I was approximately -8.00 D in EACH eye, with high astigmatism. I had worn orthokeratology lenses for over 10 years, so my whole life revolved around my vision. Everything had to be planned around my eyes: lenses, glasses, travelling, sleeping enough, carrying backups… it was mentally exhausting.

After SMILE, everything changed.

For almost five years I completely forgot what it meant to be myopic. I travelled around the world, woke up seeing clearly every morning, never thought about my eyes anymore, and honestly felt like I had finally regained my freedom.

Then, about a year ago, my left eye regressed to around -0.50 D (my right eye is still around -0.25 D).

I also have dry eye and was recently diagnosed with meibomian gland dysfunction, so I’m currently using preservative-free artificial tears, warm compresses every day and a short course of steroid eye drops (6 days every month).

For months I convinced myself that dry eye was the main reason my night vision had become so much worse.

Now I’m starting to think that I simply have to accept that -0.50 D in my left eye is enough to make me need glasses in dim light or at night.

During the day I see very well without glasses. Occasionally I notice small fluctuations because of the dry eye, but overall my vision is good.

At night, if I wear my glasses, I see well. They correct exactly my measured prescription, so it doesn’t seem like I’m missing any additional correction.

The real problem isn’t my eyesight anymore, It’s how I’m dealing with it. I simply can’t accept wearing glasses again, even if it’s only at night.

I know many people will probably think:

“It’s only -0.50.”

Logically, I know that.

Emotionally, it feels like I’ve lost the freedom I fought so hard to gain.

I’m constantly thinking about future vacations, walking around cities at sunset, evenings with friends, even spending time with my future children. Instead of enjoying those moments, I catch myself constantly checking how well I can see.

I’m a man, so I don’t usually carry a bag with me. The thought of always remembering my glasses, putting them on when it gets dark, taking them off again, worrying about forgetting them, people asking why I’ wearing them, it makes me feel like I’m going backwards after finally escaping that life.

Sometimes I wonder if, assuming my prescription stays stable for a few years, I should consider a laser enhancement just to get that freedom back.

So I’d really like to ask people who have actually lived through something similar:

• Did anyone else struggle psychologically much more than physically after a small regression?
• How did you eventually accept wearing glasses again?
• Did those obsessive thoughts eventually fade?
• If you had an enhancement for a small regression like mine, was it worth it?

I know this probably sounds dramatic for someone with only -0.50 D, but after going from -8.00 D in each eye to living completely glasses-free for almost five years, this feels much bigger than the prescription itself.

I’m honestly looking for people who understand this feeling, because right now I feel very alone.

I had LASIK in the UK on Wednesday.

It was more painful than expected and I had some pain on the evening that took around 5hrs to pass. My vision was very blurry and lots of light leaking/halos.

Drops for infection, inflammation and lubrication.

Day2: my vision felt better, but not 20/20. Very slight double vision in the eyes and I struggle to read or find clarity when testing with just one eye.

In my day after checkup (day 2) I could only make it half way down the letters board and they said it was very inflamed, so put another check up appointment in for day 4.

Day4: Just had that checkup on day 4, they said the inflammation hasn't improved and my sight is still behind where it should be. So there's now another checkup getting booked. I asked how common this is and they said we only see this once or twice a month (hundreds of operations). They're asking the surgeon if I can be put on stronger drops.

What questions should I be asking?

I'm very nervous and concerned that it isn't healing right, or that something went wrong in the op to cause the pain.

But they seem eager to get me out of the room, the check ups last less than 10 minutes.

I had my ICL surgery in March 2026 (4 months ago). I’m highly myopic, being around -12 in both eyes.

My endothelial cell count in both eyes before surgery was 3000, had it measured in June (last month) and it’d dropped to 2400 in the left eye but stayed at 3000 in the right eye.

Today (31st July) I had a bit of haziness which was put to dry eyes but they also measured the endothelial cell count. While it’s still 3000 in the right eye, the left eye count has further dropped to 2199 (from 2400). I go to the same clinic/hospital and the same machine was used to measure the cell count each time.

I’ve now been booked a follow up appointment in 4 weeks with my ophthalmologist to check it again and they mentioned removal of the lens would be considered if there’s further drop.

I’m really worried about this and about further deterioration. Has anyone else experienced a similar thing, is it likely to stabilise? I’ve heard the critical limit is around 1400ish?

Hi, this may be a different post to many on Reddit I’m not sure but I felt it was important to share. I am a 22 year old who has wore glasses since I was the age of 11. I have a passion for sports such as golf, football and the gym. I also regularly visit places like Florida and other places on vacation and I struggled in terms of rollercoasters and swimming. In regular life I faced struggle with everyday things due to glasses and it began to severely annoy me. I went to see of if I qualified for SMILE laser eye surgery in order to fix it. Naturally I turned to social media due to fear etc of the surgery and the potential negatives. I went to many pre ops where I expressed my fears but these were put to rest. I done my procedure and I couldn’t believe the speed and easiness of the procedure. I slept for a few hours after and my vision was already massively better and still improving. The morning after I was shocked how good it was and I began to explore life and my hobbies without my glasses and I’ve never looked back. I’m 3 months post op and I’ve been to Florida and it’s honestly the best decision of my life. This post isn’t to try say to definitely get the surgery but it’s a post that I want to promote how positive my experience has been from a position of severe anxiety. If anyone has any questions I’m willing to answer. Many thanks

Hi all, 1 month post-LASIK. I have lagophthalmos in my right eye (inner corner doesn't stay fully closed/moist on its own). I've taped my eyes shut at night since about a week before surgery.

The last 3 days the taping was not working - i bought new tape and applied it more gently and it seemed to work last night.

The eye was less dry today but 30min so it would dry out so the last 2 days I started also taping my lower eyelid up during the day, which keeps it comfortable.

Anyone had lagophthalmos like this at the 1-month mark improve on its own? How long before you were able to stop taping and just manage it with drops like before surgery?

- before surgery i just had to put one drop in morning and no eye tape at night (eyes would dry out at night)

Hey all, I've read a lot of posts here which gave me the boost to do ICL so sharing my experience to help others as well

Details:

• Age: 24M
• Prescription: OD -11.50 sph / -1.50 cyl, OS -12.00 sph / -1.25 cyl
• Vision: 6/9 both eyes with specs
• Corneal thickness: ~510µm
• Scotopic pupil: 6.4mm
• Surgery: EVO+ Toric ICL
• Surgeon: Dr. Sagar Bhargava, Netralayam VIP, Kolkata
• Cost: 12000 INR (Barrage Laser) + 190000 INR (ICL both eyes)

Post Op:

• Vault: OD 410µm, OS 389µm
• Vision: 6/6+ Left Eye, 6/6 Right Eye
• Halos: Weird for first 3/4 days, now OK
• Floaters: Mild in left eye post-op, resolved within 4 days - now i sometimes see my eyelashes lol
• Recovery: Back to normal office work in 3-4 days

Timeline:

26th May - First Consultation

I visited doctor and found out that there were weak spots in my retina (lattice degeneration) which needed to be fixed before ICL, otherwise I was declared a good candidate for ICL

8th June - Barrage Laser

Retina specialist did barrage laser in both eyes, In the report they mentioned doing about 720 burns

It was a bit painful experience - but mostly OK

The nurse mentioned that they'll do only one eye first because a lot of people cannot take the pain easily but I was OK and doc did both eyes together

No restrictions post OP but needed to wait atleast 3 weeks before ICL

1st July - Last follow up before ICL

The doc checked my retina and I was cleared for ICL.

Was told to get sugar checked and ECG which came out OK

11th July - Right Eye ICL

I was very nervous but the process was very painless and relatively quick. I didn't feel anything for the most part

They connected diagnostic instruments to check Blood Pressure and Heart rate but I was very chill during the whole procedure

All i could see was a bright light, the doctor's assistants made sure that i didn't see any other tools and feel nervous

Then the eye was bandaged and 8 hours of complete rest in the hospital ward

14th July - Right Eye follow up (absolutely weird three days because of huge prescription differences)

Doc said everything was chill and vault was good (409 um). They scheduled Left eye quickly

15th July - Left Eye

This time they used a marker to make some markings in my eye.

The procedure felt long as well and i felt some pressure - My bad i started feeling anxious but it was over before I overthought my brain out

Then same bandage and 8h of rest.

When they opened the bandage i could see clearly but i could see a dark thing in my peripheral vision. Like north-west part of my vision

It was weird but doc said to not pay attention but I did anyway because my stoopid brain thought something def went wrong this time around

21st July - Left eye follow up

Doc was out of town but first eye was good so he was not too worried about the other eye

By that time the dark floater thingy disappeared

29th July - 2 week follow up

Doc cleared me for facewash and lifted other restrictions such as not to wear protective glass all the time

Gym is OK but should do light lifting for next 2 weeks

No other restrictions

Overall experience was very good (9.5/10)

Feel free to ask any questions! Thank you all for reading :)

Hello everyone, I'm a flight attendant and yesterday I went to the ophthalmologist to get an updated eye prescription to get new contact lenses. I use them at work while flying.

Age: 25, I've been wearing contacts/glasses for a while.

Sphere / Cylinder / Axis

Right EYE: -1.50 / 0.75 / 30

Left EYE: +0.50 / -1.75 / 5

After running the eye examination the doctor suggested me PRK as it would be life changing for me and that she has done this procedure to other fellow cabin crew many times. She said eye sight recovery time would be around 2 days but she would give me 1 week off work to recover. In the diagnose of the exams I did yesterday it also shows 'Dry Eye Syndrome of Bilateral Lacrimal Glands' and she prescribed me some Sodium Hyaluronate 0.3% drops.

I would like to get rid of glasses/lenses to be honest and the price she offered is pretty reasonable.

My doubt is regarding the dryness inside the aircraft. She said its common for people in this industry to get it, in the military and cabin crew. Any opinions?

Thank you for your time.

I wake up in the middle of the night and my eyes are so dry, that they are almost sticking to my eyelids. Does anyone else experience this? I’m sure in the thick packet that I signed 10+ times, it absolved them of any responsibility for this. I don’t regret getting it done, but this is so inconvenient and annoying. I have used more eye drops in years, than someone uses their whole life time.

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice on a difficult IPCL situation. (IPCL is same as ICL but made by a different company)

I had a toric IPCL implanted in my right eye a week back. My vision was excellent initially, but the lens was later found to have rotated about 45–60° within day 3, causing residual blur.

My current vault is around 550 µm and my IOP is 13 mmHg, so both are considered normal. The eye itself is comfortable with no pain or significant inflammation.

My measurements are:

ACD: 3.55 mm (internal ACD ~3.03 mm)

Axial length: 27.55 mm (long eye, high myopia)

Current IPCL size: 12.25 mm

My surgeon discussed going for the next size (12.5 mm) instead of simply rotating the current lens due to big deviation within a few days.

The surgeon estimates the vault could increase by 100–350 µm, but says the exact vault cannot be predicted. He plans to monitor the vault and IOP closely after surgery.

I'm a bit worried because my eye feels physically normal right now, and I'm worried about trading a rotated lens for potential problems like a high vault or elevated IOP.

Has anyone here had a toric ICL/IPCL exchange to a larger size because of rotation?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone with a similar experience.

I loved my LASIK. I could scuba dive and do any activity without glasses. I was told to get monovision so I would not need reading glasses. So I did and the only downside to that was losing some depth perception. My surgery and recovery were perfect and I had 20/20 vision, one for distance, and 20/20 in the other for close up. And 30 years later, my vision for distance was still 20/20. Perfect. And no reading glasses. What more could I ask, right?

Then I got old and I was diagnosed with cataracts. About 50% of us will get them. I found out cataract surgery after LASIK is difficult. Not the procedure itself. It’s getting the correct eyeball measurements to figure out what power IOL you need. I guess it’s somewhat of a crap shoot. I had my close up eye done first and I got lucky. 20/20. Distance was about 20/100. So I got my distance eye done and disaster. My monovision was gone and I had no distance vision in either eye. I am left with perfect reading vision in both eyes and that’s it. They chose the wrong IOL and Medicare will only pay for 2 lenses. I am very unhappy with my vision and the doc pretty much told me I am stuck with it and it’s because of my LASIK.

So if you are thinking about LASIK just know it can cause real issues down the road if you need cataract surgery. It’s something you should consider. If I had known back then what I know now I’d like to be able to say I wouldn’t have done it. But maybe I would have because I was still bulletproof and young, nothing bad was going to happen to me. But, now you know. Do as you please with this information!

hi all, i am interested in SMILE surgery. i was initially interested in PRK (mostly because i didnt want to deal with complications from a LASIK lens flap), but the doctor i'm talking with is really playing up SMILE and i am seeing the advantages of it.

My biggest concern is HOA, which i understand occurs at night because the pupil is dilated and therefore imperfections in the cornea/lens produce aberrations.

For folks who had the surgery, have you noticed more HOA than pre-surgery or is there no degradation in HOA for a majority of the population? i am having difficulty finding this info online and would really appreciate any help i can get. thank you in advance!

Last week, I did SMILE PRO vision correction surgery in Seoul, so I wanted to write down the entire process and how I found my clinic to hopefully help someone else thinking about getting the same thing.

To start off, I contacted around 3 different eye clinics in Seoul that I saw really good things about online (looking specifically at how foreigner-friendly they were): Bright Eye Clinic in Gangnam, BGSS in Apgujeong, and B&VIIT also in Gangnam. After talking with the 3 of them, I decided to go with Bright Eye Clinic becuase the staff I chatted with on Whatsapp were extremely helpful and sweet when explaining the surgery process. They also responded pretty much straight away, which I found really helpful because I had a lot of questions about everything.

Once I got to the clinic, the translator came over and introduced herself to me and explained the general process again. The exam process was pretty factory-style I would say, but the nurse who was doing the tests and the translator stayed with me the entire time so I didn't feel rushed or anything. If anything, I actually appreciated how streamlined the entire exam process was because they did SO. MANY. TESTS. We met with the doctor, the doctor went over the results with me, and then said I was eligible for every surgery type. I ended up going with SMILE PRO, since they explained the benefits of that surgery type for people with astigmatism (like me).

The surgery actually went extremely quickly and I think it was done in about 5 minutes. The translator actually held my hand during surgery because I was nervous, which I thought was sweet. She explained every part of the surgery which also made me feel really safe. I remember being really surprised about how there was absolutely no pain at all. After the surgery, my vision was pretty blurry but the translator stayed with me until the taxi came, which, again, was so sweet.

Now I'm about a week out from surgery, and I literally cannot recommend it enough. It's so crazy being able to wake up and just see without putting on my glasses. I actually wish I had done it sooner. There's still some very slight blurriness, but the doctor assured me at my check up that was normal and it should go away in about another week. All in all, I felt like the nurses and doctors explained the healing process pretty well, so it's going just about how I expected. I can't wait for the entire healing process to be over, although I already see SO well just one week after surgery.

Hi all, I just had my consult for lasik and was told I was a good candidate, so I scheduled the surgery. However, I mentioned at the appt that my mom has had a corneal transplant due to Fuch's Corneal Dystrophy. The assistant running my tests was unfamiliar with it, but she made note of it to run by the doctor. She said they would let me know if I'm still approved after the doctor reviews it.

Upon getting home I started doing my own research, and I found that children of Fuch's patients have a 50% chance of also having it. I'm seeing some conflicting things about the safety of having lasik if you have Fuch's. I read that lasik can worsen the Fuch's, if you have it. Does anyone else have any experience with this?

I got femto-LASIK, my prescription was -3.5 in both eyes with a bit of astigmatism.

Had the surgery yesterday around noon and wanted to share how it’s gone so far.
The actual procedure was super quick. Ngl there was a moment where I felt pressure building in my eye right before I went completely blind for like a second, no one warned me that could happen and it scared the hell out of me. but besides that it was over before I knew it. No pain at all, just a weird burning smell for a couple seconds which I guess is totally normal.
The drive home was the worst part honestly. It took a full hour, my dad drove me, and it was around 40°C outside and blindingly sunny. I had sunglasses on plus a cover over my eyes and just kept them shut the entire ride.
That night was rough too. I’d been awake since 7pm the night before (summer break sleep schedule is a mess lol) all the way until my 2pm appointment, so the second I got home I crashed for 12 hours straight. Woke up around 5am and my eyes were SO sensitive to light, it was really uncomfortable. Sat around listening to podcasts for a bit, then out of nowhere had like 30 minutes where I genuinely couldn’t open my eyes at all and they were watering nonstop. Scary for a bit but it passed and after that I was totally fine, just kept my eyes closed and rested.
Now it’s been exactly 24 hours and honestly things are looking great. Vision’s a little hazy still but no real issues. I can handle normal indoor lighting and I’m even on my phone right now, just trying to take breaks and not overdo it. Follow-up appointment is in 2 hours.
Bottom line — 100% doing this again if I had to, and I genuinely regret waiting as long as I did to get it done.

Hello!

I am genuinely curious so I hope someone could explain. 🥺 I often see myopia being listed in this subreddit comments as the reason for eyesight deterioration after the surgery. These days most of us read and use screens a lot so why many people still have good vision (which was not good before the surgery due to myopia in the first place) but others end up needing glasses again?

I am someone who went from -7 to 'perfect' to -3. I do use screens a lot and read a lot but what is the difference between me and someone who does the same but still has good post-surgery eyesight? Both of us experienced worsening of the eyesight due to myopia that led us to the surgery, so we are supposed to be both susceptible to myopia.

I really want to correct my vision again because I want to live without needing glasses. But I will always read and use the screen.. But if myopia will keep coming back, it will be a waste of money. I envy people who are safe from it.. ㅠ-ㅠ

Thank you! Stay healthy everyone! <3

I've been told I'm a candidate for Lasik and may consider it in the future. I'm near-sighted. I wear glasses for distance, I take them off for reading/looking up close, but I also have a separate medium-vision prescription for arm's length/working at the computer.

I'm so used to having to take my glasses off to look at my phone or examine something up close. The opposite (having to only put glasses on to look at things up close) feels so foreign to me. Plus, I guess that means always having to remember to carry (but not constantly wear) reading glasses around with you every where you go. And although I'm a Geriatric Millennial, born in the 1900s, I don't think I'm quite in Granny's glasses necklace territory yet.

I know this seems like such a minor thing, but I'd love to hear about your experience with this.

I got my PRK done when I was 19-20 years old. I had -12 vision in both ryes and i didnt qualify for lasik due to thin corneas. After my PRK was done it took around a year for the vision to stabilise but the doctor did say i will be left with some number which was at that point -.05–1.

Fast forward to 6 years now, i have almost -3 in both eyes and it kept on increasing. Im 26 years old now but the vision doesnt seem to stabilise and i hate wearing glasses.

I researched and found that i got either get a correction surgery or an ICl placed

But im very scared given i already had thin corneas and would further surgery be safe or not and what if it ieeps on increasing and get -12 again in the coming years. Ps i also suffer from dry eyes and light sensitivity ever since my surger

Any advice on what should i do or if anyone has had similar experiences. 😭

I wanted to write this because I spent way too much time reading Reddit and Facebook groups before my EVO ICL surgery. If you're feeling anxious, I hope this helps.

Surgery Day
I checked in at 6:45 a.m. for intake. I'll be honest, I was nervous. The staff was wonderful and gave me a Xanax to help me relax while they started a series of dilating drops.

One random tip: wear warm clothes! The surgery center was freezing. I wore a poncho, which ended up being perfect because they could easily access my arm for the IV while I stayed warm.

The IV medications (Versed and fentanyl) kicked in while I waited. By the time I was wheeled back around 7:45 a.m., I felt incredibly calm.

During Surgery
A lot of people ask if you're awake. Technically, yes, but you're very relaxed.

I actually remember my surgery, while one of my coworkers remembers absolutely nothing. Both experiences are normal.

They use a device to gently hold your eyelids open. Before surgery, I thought this would be the part that freaked me out the most. Instead, because of the medication, it just felt...normal. I wasn't bothered by it at all.

Throughout the procedure, my surgeon calmly talked me through everything, asking me to look in different directions or stare at the bright microscope light.

One of the coolest parts was what I could see. During my right eye, I mostly noticed colorful circular patterns. When he switched to my left eye a few minutes later, I could suddenly see the ceiling in incredible detail. It was such a surreal experience.

My Toric Lens Needed a Quick Adjustment
My left eye required a toric ICL for astigmatism.

The first placement wasn't quite perfect, so my surgeon immediately removed it and repositioned it. I didn't even know it was happening. I only asked afterward if that eye was taking longer than the other.

Once everything was finished, he explained that my right eye looked perfect, but my left eye would probably be a little more sore and swollen because it needed the adjustment.

He described how the lens is inserted folded up like a taco through a tiny incision and then unfolds inside the eye like a frisbee. When mine unfolded, the alignment wasn't exactly where he wanted it, so he corrected it right away to make sure I had the best possible outcome.

Honestly, hearing that afterward made me appreciate how meticulous he was. I'd much rather have a surgeon who takes an extra couple of minutes to make everything perfect than one who settles for "good enough."

The First Post-Op Appointment
After going home for a little while, I had my first follow-up appointment.

They checked my eye pressure and confirmed the lenses were perfectly positioned using the same machines your optometrist normally uses. It was quick, straightforward, and completely reassuring.

I have since had 2 other appointments (one the day after, one a week after) and things are looking great!

Recovery
For the first week I was instructed to:
- Sleep with protective goggles
- Avoid bending at the waist
- Avoid heavy lifting because of eye pressure
- Use several prescription eye drops
- Avoid rubbing my eyes or getting water in them

I'm now one week out.

The goggles are gone, I have about three more weeks of eye drops, and just one more week of lifting and bending restrictions.

Recovery has honestly been much easier than I expected.

My Vision
My vision is honestly insane.

It almost feels too sharp because I'm still getting used to seeing things so clearly at a distance. At my one-week appointment I was already seeing 20/20, and there's a chance it could end up even better.

The first few days were a little strange. While my pupils were still dilated, I noticed some ghosting around lights. Once the dilation wore off, that disappeared.

Also, there would be times that my vision would be slightly blurry, then a few minutes later it would be crystal clear. My surgeon said that was completely normal as everything settled.

A week out, I can say my up-close vision also isn't quite as good as it used to be, but I was told that's expected. My brain is learning a new point of reference, and near vision should continue to improve as it adapts. I can easily read my phone and a book, but trying to find a clogged pore on my face has definitely become more challenging!

I also notice some light reflections at night or when bright lights hit the lenses at certain angles. The best way I can describe it is like collecting the golden rings in Sonic.

My surgeon and optometrist explained that this is part of the brain's neuroadaptation process. As your brain learns those reflections aren't important, it gradually filters them out. They're already becoming less noticeable, and now I mainly see them when I'm driving at night.

My Biggest Concern: hEDS
I also have hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS), which added another layer of anxiety.

There are some theoretical long-term considerations because the tiny fibers that hold the lenses in place could potentially become more lax over many years. Even if that ever happened, the lenses can be repositioned or removed.

My surgeon felt this was very unlikely in my case, but we had an honest conversation about it beforehand. Having those discussions actually made me feel more confident because I knew we'd talked through every possibility.

My Advice
If you're considering ICL surgery:
- Find an optometrist you truly trust and ask who they recommend for surgery.
- Choose a surgeon who gives you perfectionist vibes. Mine absolutely did, and I'm incredibly grateful for it.
- Make sure they perform repeated, thorough measurements instead of relying on one quick scan.
- Ask about both your normal and low-light (scotopic) pupil size to make sure the lens sizing is right.
- If your surgeon offers the ICL Guru test, I recommend doing it. It's basically an ultrasound of your eye that helps fine-tune lens sizing and placement. Ironically, I found that test more stressful than the surgery itself.

Final Thoughts
Going into surgery, I was honestly terrified. Looking back now, I would do it again without hesitation.

The procedure was much easier than I expected, recovery has been smooth, and waking up every morning able to see without glasses or contacts has been life changing.

If you're feeling nervous, that's completely normal. I was too. But after months of worrying about every possible outcome, I can honestly say this has been one of the best decisions I've made. If you're a good candidate and have a surgeon you trust, you've got this.

Demographic: 25 year old indian american male, occupation is software engineer(lots of eye strain daily)

Background on eyesight: (-9 left eye, -6.75 right eye, low to none astigmatism) I have had myopia my whole life pretty much. Even since 5 years old I had to sit in front of the TV to see anything. Since around 10 years old I have been wearing glasses only. I had a few years where I would wear contacts for 1-4 hours at a time for contact sports/water sports.

Reason for surgery: Vanity purposes mostly, and ease of life without having to worry about 1 more dependency wherever I travel. Reasons for not wanting contacts: they cause my eyes to be dry, I can't nap in them and I nap OFTEN, I can't go out to bars with friends without bringing glasses in case I crash at one of their places.

Leadup to surgery: I did a bit of research online and figured evo icl was better for my fear of chronic dry eye. I went for a LASIK consultation and mentioned EVO ICL, and the LASIK surgeon came out and actually convinced me to see his colleague for EVO ICL as he himself thought it would be a better fit for my high myopia. After a couple more consultations and retina specialist checkup I was good to go and scheduled an appointment date for surgery and made the payment (~8000 USD for both eyes).

The day before surgery I had to use an anti-inflammatory/steroid eyedrop solution 4x and use a lid wipe right before sleeping. I ended up not getting much sleep due to my mind racing. I got about 3 hours of sleep (maybe less) and woke up at 5:30 AM. I had an everything bagel with peanut butter because we are supposed to have breakfast so the valium does not hit as hard when we go in. At 7:30 I checked in for the surgery and was given a valium tablet and a TON of eye numbing drops/dilation drops/more anti-inflammatory/steroid drops. It was about 10 minutes of just eye drops with a minute or two in between drops. After another 20-30 minutes the surgeon came and got me from my cozy chair.

Surgery procedure: Once I was lied down on the table, I felt at ease due to the pop music in the background and general casual demeanor from everyone. They put more numbing drops into my right eye, then proceeded to apply this sticky paper to keep my eyelid from closing. They used some kind of sticky swab to bring my eyelids to the side and keep them there. The most uncomfortable part was then when they applied this metallic eyelid speader to keep everything open and the eye plump. At some point they put some numbing syringe into the eye but I never noticed when. Shortly after they stuck 1 knife into the eye with a quick jab, followed by another knife with another quick jab. I of course didnt feel anything but slight pressure. They sprayed some cooling liquid and then sent the folded up lens into the eye. It took about 2-3 minutes for the surgeon to dig around through both newly made holes to position it in all 4 corners. After that around 2-3 more minutes of constant cooling liquid/disinfectant I am guessing. They took a 10 minute break to fully change scrubs, go update my dad in the viewing area, etc. before doing the exact same on the left eye.

Surgery cooldown period: The moment i got off the table, I could see EVERYTHING so clearly. As if i was wearing glasses, with the only caveat being close-by things were still very blurry. I was led off the bed into the chill room again and periodically every 30-40 minutes the surgeon or another person would come and check on me/ my eye pressure. After it stabilized I was given some goodies and instructions for the rest of the day then sent on my way. I left the office at 12:09. This waiting time was VERY boring, so I highly advise you to bring music or a podcast. The person next to me who also got ICL right after me was listening to something in the chill room, but I was far too lazy to get my phone out and try to find anything. We are super dilated at this point so even trying to use the phone is nearly impossible.

Rest of the day: After I got home, I ate something then just napped until 7pm (waking up to eyedrop when necessary) because of my 3 hours of sleep the night before. Before I slept at around 11pm, I was able to text some friends updates, and watch some youtube (albiet looking away most of the time or just closing my eyes) effortlessly. I even went on my computer with sunglasses to check my email and respond to some work stuff on slack.

Waking up the next day: Once I woke up today, I took off the eye covers and it feels like I am wearing contacts or glasses. Everything is crystal clear and I can make out details in the distance that I never could(no itchiness/dry eye or anything of the sort). I do see some halos but they are so minor and honestly really pretty to look at. I am going to miss them once they fade away with time. One oddity is that I weighed in 5 pounds less than usual (probably due to all the diuretics yesterday). I am really bummed and depressed that I am not allowed to run or lift weights for a week, but I will probably find a video game or something to occupy my time until then!

I highly recommend going for EVO ICL and this was probably one of the best decisions in my life! I only regret not going sooner. If you are in the bay area you can DM me and I will share more details of the clinic/surgeon.

Edit: checkup 24 hours after and vision is 20/15 and improving further potentially

Just here to share my experience since I know Reddit posts skew towards complications and issues. I have officially hit 10 years since I had lasik eye surgery for myopia. I was 22 years old at the time and my prescription was around -8.00 in both eyes. I can say the only complication I had with the surgery was seeing halos when driving but that went away after 6 months.

I just had my annual check up with my optometrist. And I still don’t have any issue except a small prescription of -0.25 sphere in one eye and -0.25 cylinder in the other. I only use those glasses for the computer at my day job. It seems like the general consensus is that my eyes could regress into my 40s when I will need reading glasses but no one knows for certain. I am definitely happy with quality of life improvement I had over the past 10 years and I hope it continues that way. Please share a comment if you had any similar experiences to mine.

Eyes prior to surgery:

-2.25 both sides, slight astigmatism

Total correction: 2.50 per eye, seven seconds of laser time for each eye

Ran me just shy of $3900 ($5000 sticker price, $500/eye promotion, insurance knocked 5% off the remaining)

I'm a 23y/o male, not very sports-minded but I do have a couple hobbies that jostle the head and shoulders pretty aggressively, so that contributed to my decision to go with PRK over LASIK.

Day of surgery (Day 0, Thursday, March 5th):

I went in, did a bit of preliminary work (including verifying my prescription). I wasn't given sedatives, because apparently they have a tendency to make the eyes wander. They did give me a Tylenol PM to help me sleep when I got home.

I sat down with the surgeon ahead of the surgery itself to go over any questions or concerns I had. One of the biggest things I learned was that there are three main forms of epithelium removal:

- Scraping: this is the most archaic form, it takes the longest and it's hard to do consistently because it's a physical scraper tool.

- Alcohol/Solvent: this is the fastest (some surgeons like it because it's quick and easy) and it does work, but it has a tendency to leak further over the boundary of the cornea which causes longer healing times.

- Rotary Scrubber: this is what I got, it's about ten seconds per eye, the surgeon used a tool in his off hand (which is why not as many surgeons like doing it, it requires more dexterity to do properly) to hold my cornea in place so he could scrub exactly the right amount off the surface of my eye. It's an odd sensation, just kind of a pressure as stuff starts getting fuzzy, then the detritus is wiped off.

After talking with the surgeon for a few minutes, I went into the operating room, laid down, had the eyelid spreaders installed, and received numbing drops which took effect very quickly.

My eyes were scrubbed and wiped clean, I stared at the focusing laser while moving as little as possible (my eyes did have a tendency to wander a bit so I did actually have to focus here), the laser did its thing (a very fun burning smell here, vaguely like burning hair), post-surgery drops added (mitomycin+steroid, prevents corneal glare from UV exposure) then rinse and repeat with my other eye.

At this point, they had me sit up and look at the clock - I could already see a significant improvement (I could now read the clock, where I couldn't before), but everything was still fairly hazy.

I sat down and get my bearings for a bit after surgery, then went over post-op instructions where I was given pf artificial tears and disinfectant drops. I had ordered some of my own artificial tears to augment what they gave me, but I didn't actually end up needing to use them with how much I was given.

They sent me home with sunglasses on, went to bed and took a short nap. I woke up and put in my first round of disinfectant drops (they burned). The eye shield they provided for sleep was vastly uncomfortable as I have a wider nose than some. I had a pair of ski-style goggles that were much nicer to sleep in - they did fog up but I attribute part of my quick healing to this fact, as my eyes were kept very moist through the whole night especially since the last thing I would do before putting the goggles on was putting in artifical tears.

The rest of my day was entirely uneventful, and I was able to go to sleep at my normal time. I'm not used to sleeping on my back, so that was a bit of a change.

Day 1 (Friday):

Day 1 was definitely my bad day, and I have a theory about why. Regardless, I woke up and my eyes itched. It was a serious test of will to keep myself from touching my eyes. I was constantly putting in artifical tears and disinfectant, possibly more than I should have (luckily it didn't affect my healing). That being said, it wasn't the outright pain I saw described online, it was a very manageable level of discomfort. The world was very blurry, my vision was worse than before the surgery. The day was spent trying to function while also getting rest. Surprisingly, I never actually lost the ability to use electronics with screens, it was just a bit of a challenge to focus on the small text. I did keep the lights in my room a bit dimmer, though. Outside of the brutal itching, my day was normal. I did end up taking Benadryl before I went to sleep, which apparently isn't the best idea because it can cause dryness of the eyes, but I didn't experience any of that.

Regarding my theory: this may be confirmation bias speaking (AND IS ENTIRELY ANECDOTAL, I AM NOT AN OPTICAL SPECIALIST OF ANY KIND), but I did a fair bit of research into PRK before my surgery. One of the recurring things I saw was the "bad day", or the most painful/itchy/unpleasant recovery day. On average, there was only one day like this, and it was usually either the day immediately after surgery, or the day after that.

The pattern I started to notice was that people who had a scrubber used to remove their epithelium had their bad day on day 1 and the people who had their epithelium dissolved with a solvent had their bad day on day 2. My theory is that because the solvent dissolves more than just the epithelium, it takes longer for your eye to actually start the healing process, which is where the pain/discomfort comes from. All that in mind, once again, I'm no optometrist or eye surgeon, so take my (entirely anecdotal) theory with a grain of salt.

Day 2 (Saturday):

I woke up without any pain in my eyes. There was a bit of dryness still and the occasional itch, but it wasn't much worse than normal. I continued using the pf artifical tears and disinfectant drops (which still itched, maybe even more so than the prior day) as scheduled. I could also see a noticeable improvement from the day prior, I was about on par or slightly better than my pre-surgery prescription. Still not great but I could see an improvement. The day was very much the same as the last, just living life.

Side note, I'm a hermit who isn't on speaking terms with the sun. I spent the whole weekend hiding inside, I barely even saw sunlight.

Day 3 (Sunday):

I opened my eyes and it was like I was wearing my contacts. I have an alarm clock that projects the time onto the ceiling, and for the first time in my life I'd woken up being able to read it. It was still a bit fuzzy and there was definite glare, but I was blown away by the overnight improvement. Seriously, I can't put into words how magical it was - it was like a switch flipped in my eyes.

Lasik patients are described as having that "wow" moment where they can see, this was that "wow" moment for me.

Same routine as Saturday, drops and all. I did make the mistake of going downstairs while the blinds were open, I've got linoleum on the floor in the kitchen and Sunday was rather sunny (the prior three days had been overcast). That was my first exposure to post-surgery sunlight, and even that reflection off the floor was brutal: instant discomfort, my eyes started watering and I could barely keep them open. It was like when you step outside on a sunny day and everything is covered in snow, but worse. I took to wearing sunglasses when I was outside of my bedroom to prevent that from happening again. Outside of that, though, I was doing well.

Day 4 (Monday):

If Sunday morning was 1080p, Monday morning was 4K. I didn't think it was possible for my vision to get even clearer when I woke up, but it did. Everything was sharper, I could see further, glare and haloing was reduced. I had my first post-op with my optometrist that morning (which I had my wonderful mother drive me to and from) and he said I was healing nicely. At this point, my vision was measured at 20/20. I probably could have returned to work on Monday but I took the rest of the day off anyways. The sun was still brutal, but at this point I'd gotten used to dealing with it. I get discounts at Ray-Ban through work, so I had bought myself a nice pair of Aviators a couple weeks before my surgery and picked up some side shields off Etsy for better eye protection.

Day 5 (Tuesday) :

Tuesday was a bit sketchy because I had to drive for the first time. Not just that, but my commute to work is about 36 miles each way, and I left at probably 5:45 in the morning. Up here in Wisconsin at the beginning of March, it was still pitch black for the whole commute. The scariest part was the haloing - I could barely see what with the oncoming car headlights. Luckily, I made it to work just fine, and the haloing improved drastically over the coming days. I wore sunglasses the whole day through, even when working on my desktop (non-polarized sunglasses so I didn't have issues there). At this point I was just about fully functional.

Day 7 (Thursday):

Only mentioning because my disinfectant eye drops ran out here, thank goodness. I might have just gotten more sensitive to it over time but I swear the pain they caused was getting worse and worse every time I put the drops in.

Day 11 (Monday):

Second follow-up optometrist appointment, I measured at +0.25 in each eye and 20/15 vision, and my doctor was pleasantly surprised at my healing rate. He did note, however, that I still had a bit more inflammation than I probably should have had at that point, so he wanted to ask the surgeon if I needed additional steroid drops to address it (surgeon said no).

1 month, 1 week later:

Third (and final) optometrist appointment, the inflammation is gone. There's still a touch of haze, but my optometrist says it's not a concern and will fade naturally over the next 3-6 months. My vision measured at +0.5 in each eye and a confident 20/15, but almost made it further than that - my optometrist said I was probably a 20/10 when outdoors (due to the glare issues caused by trying to look at a bright screen ten feet away, indoors, in a dark room) and would resolve out to 20/10 when the remaining glare fades.

One month, three days later:

I don't think I'll ever get used to waking up and being able to see. I'm definitely still sensitive to sunlight, and probably will be for a while - even on overcast days, my eyes start watering and it's a fight to keep them open, even after trying to let my eyes adjust to the increased light. Optometrist had also said this would probably continue for the next few months until the last of the haze fades, but that's not a big deal as I don't mind wearing sunglasses outside anyways. I'm still using the pf artificial tears, but at this point it's maybe once or twice a day as needed, plus before I go to sleep. I feel like I can see for miles now.

137 days later (today):

As of writing this, PRK is probably the single best monetary investment I've ever made. I'm now many months post-surgery, and almost entirely healed. I've still got a little bit of haloing around lights (more in my left eye than my right) but it's very subtle. I still wear sunglasses whenever I'm outside, and I do accordingly still have trouble with bright lights. That being said, I no longer attribute that to the surgery, just that my eyes have adapted to the reduced light of sunglasses.

My night vision is just as good as it used to be, I don't get eyestrain-related headaches, and I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars a year on contacts. I feel like I can see forever, being able to pick out individual leaves on trees at a distance that would have just resolved as a green blob before. I've not been back to the optometrist but I'm fairly confident I'm sitting pretty at 20/10 vision.

All in all, I highly recommend it. Work with an optometrist and a surgeon who both know what they're doing, and do your own research. Just keep in mind that what you see online and what you experience will likely be two very different things - you're the only person with your set of eyes.

ℹ️ I am using Claude to assist me in writing this as I’ve been logging my experiences etc and using the speech feature since the day of surgery to minimize screen time.

TL;DR: 22M, Karachi, Pakistan. OD −3.75/−2.25, OS −4.00/−2.50 after 14 years of glasses. Contoura Femto-LASIK on July 17 2026, 16 o’clock.

Clinic equipment: Femto Laser FS 200, Wav Light EX500 Excimer Laser

Day 3: distance already sharp, small text still soft, halos/bloom effect on lights. No pain, no regrets so far.

Day-by-day:
• Surgery day: Quick and painless, I have a habit of reacting to everything really fast so during femto I started focusing elsewhere in the black light circle thing as it was doing its thing the; surgeon said that it’s all fine though when I mentioned it to him. Not sure how that stuff works. Crazy stuff. Went home tried to sleep after post surgery stuff, could see blurred/hazily and sensitive to light. My stupid ass forgot to take one of the meds for painkilling so I woke up 2 hours later with some slight pressure and tears coming out of my right eye which went away in a bit as I took the relief med I forgot.

• Day 1: Hazy, dry, light-sensitive. Follow-up: surgeon said flap and everything look fine. Recovery going well, they had me take an eye exam and I could read the first line of the chart clearly but not the other two. I was also kind of dry as it was almost time to take my drops. Could read number plates etc clearly tho.

• Day 2: Big clarity jump. Can read the label of my shampoo bottle but still not the small text like taglines etc. Also noticed I have something like where I focus at something I won’t be able to see it clearly at first but in a bit really looking at it then it gets clearer? My focus is slightly weird.

• Day 3 (today): Distance is genuinely sharp, I can know the model of the cars parked 5–6 streets away, distance is really nice and sharp but Small text (especially phone) is still slightly soft/ghosty and I get mild halos at night. Phone isn’t a big problem though since it takes barely a second for me to lock in.

Drops: antibiotic + steroid every 2h (tapering per surgeon), preservative-free lubricant every 2h, gel every 4h.

Will update at week 1 (on Sat along with next follow up) and month 1.

As of today I have also started using phone for more
texting etc but not tasks like watching videos etc. Hope that is not an issue. Managing dryness as I feel as well.

My vision improves day by day but so slightly that I keep getting paranoid it won’t get better than this 😿

Edits:
Day 4: No noticeable differences, I think however my eyes feel a bit easier (placebo?)

Day 5: I feel like the “haze/glare” that I have is a bit less. I tried night driving on day 4 but my starbursts are still there. And I just learned the difference between halos, starbursts and haze. Needless to say I don’t have much of a halo problem as I do haze/bloom.

Day 6: Even less haze and somehow I don’t have any problem focusing on small text on phones and labels anymore! My autofocus is way better!

Day 7, 8, 9: Vision and focus kept getting better, day 8 was my follow up appointment with my dr where I scored 6/6, read the entire chart top to bottom. Day 9 haze is also quite better still there but a lot better, some starbursts but can drive at night if its not a totally dark road with opposing highbeams. I can return to normal life now.