Dear aquana,
I feel your pain; I went though it myself. Of all 4 surgeries I had, cross-linking was the worst in regards to pain! It was so painful for 2-3 days I think, although my memory is not strong as it's been almost 5 years. In fact, cross-linking was the only treatment where I felt pain, so be thankful, the worst is behind you! This treatment is
very important, as it should halt your keratoconus progression, and that's very important because from now on your vision could only get better and not worst! Well, in regards to the outcome of the treatment - I don't remember much of a difference as my vision (in left eye, which had cross-linking) was very poor, so not that much noticeable difference, and after around 2 weeks I started wearing contact lens from prior to the surgery which was not a good idea as it probably caused me a scar (which healed eventually, thankfully), and with it I could see almost as well, although a bit cloudy. Well, doctor said that the treatment flattened my cornea and helped it, although I didn't notice much of a difference apart from the fact that I couldn't squint to see as I did before.
You are currently only day 12 of the treatment and it's WAY too early to determine the visual outcome. You probably worry too much over your healing process, and that's normal. Your epithelium was scraped and the healing is
long. When doctors say 3-6 months for complete heal, they know what they say. The symptoms you describe could be caused by: dry eyes, corneal swelling (edema), haze bending the light coming through your cornea, central islands, epithelial defect, etc. These complications should resole within 3-6 months, with some slight minor improvements up to a year. I KNOW, because I had my epithelium scraped 3 times already, once because of CXL, and twice because of PRK. That being said, it might as well be surgically induced astigmatism, and also, you should be reminded that cross-linking procedure is done for halting the disease, and not in order to improve the visual acuity, and that's only a side benefit of the treatment.
And now that progression the disease is halted, cheer up!
From now on it only should get better. I know, because before the treatment I couldn't make out people faces, and spectacles did nothing to my vision. Today I drive and watch TV without spectacles, contact lenses or any other aid.
In regards,
DigiKera.
