I had PRK 15 years ago. I also woke up multiple times last night because my eyes felt like they had a bad sunburn (eyes so dry they stick to your eyelids + REM sleep.)

Some unsolicited advice: wait for widespread adoption, and review data on long term side effects from sources without a conflict of interest before you have a procedure like this. I went from 20/150 to 20/15 for a few years (which was pretty cool) but they're 20/40 now so I wear glasses/contacts when I leave the house anyway. Glasses and/or contacts aren't that bad.

If it makes you feel better, your dry eye is more likely caused by genetics than it is PRK. Many people end up with dry eye without having had any kind of laser eye surgery. I highly recommend putting some Hylo-Night / VitA-POS gel in just before bed. It lasts well into the next day.

Yeah it's probably a combination, which might explain why my experience isn't the norm. Ever since I had it done, any poke, foreign objects like sand, etc. is much more painful than before, so the pain from dryness gets amplified. I've used eye drops and gels, but the most effective thing is just avoiding things that mess with electrolyte levels, like alcohol, medications, and certain foods.

Ive also had success avoiding alcohol, beta blockers, antihistamines, and foods which cause diarrhea.

In addition, vitamin D, fish oil, regular exercise, heated eye masks, and sun seems to help too.

Best of luck! It’s an annoying condition.

My wife wasn't a candidate for LASIK due to her eyes being so bad they would have had to burn off the entire cornea to fix it. But she got ICL surgery, which is when a new lens is inserted into the middle of an eye, similar to the surgery for cataracts. $9k out of pocket, but she has 20/20 vision now.