laser eye surgery - worth doing?

[Branners]

Had a couple of weeks where I just couldnt wear my contacts, one of those weeks coincided with Dragonball so had to wear my glasses for almost the whole event and have people stare at me wondering who I was (I'm Clarke Kent until I take them off and then I'm Branners Supermod).

 

So Im thinking about laser eye surgery.

 

Can those who have had it give feedback on any problems, which type you went for and which company?

 

I know the opticians on the forum always say its a really bad idea, but none of the people who have had it done seem to ever have problems.

 

So looking for advice, feedback and suggestions!!

 

thanks

JB

[peter richards]

something on watchdog i think john last week , pricing is a con , upselling depending on the script results .

had a friend who had to have it redone , so i dont think its all its cracked up to be .

do a lot of research .

[SUPRALAND]

I only thing a can tell you, its that my sister do that operation, and shes very happy with that.

No more glasses everything ok!

[neilp9876]

I know a lot of people who have had it done. Ranging from optical express to Harley Street specialists. Theyre all very happy and the results seem pretty good, i think its a fairly mature procedure now so i guess problems are fairly rare now.

 

I wouldnt do it as glasses dont bother me and i only really need them for work (staring at a pc all day), also as i understand it it cannot fix short sighted, you still need reading glasses.

[Soopra]

a friend at work had it done. she went from wearing glasses that looked like the bottom of a milk bottle to none at all. as she's a photographer in her spare time it has given her a new lease of life. i'd say it was worth every penny

[SupraMan Mk4]

I have had it done!!! I had it done with optical express, Wasnt overly expensive and it was the best thing I have ever done, and money well spent in my opinion.

[MV8]

It would be darn cooler if they could give you super vision. Now that would be worth paying thousands for.

[ScottC]

I was talking to a guy at work who's had this done and he mentioned that he now has to use eye drops everyday. Is this always the case?

[Scott]

The eyedrops are only till the eye(s) heal. Once healed they should not be required, I can't see any reason for them anyway.

[Paul]

Just got to that stage in life for reading glasses, managed to scrape through eye tests over the last few years but knew this time that I needed them as I've struggled for six months or so.

Quite keen to pick up my first pair of glasses now but couldn't handle wearing them all the time. On the subject of lazer surgery, a guy at work had it done a few months back and was in a bit of pain the first few days but is fine now, he described the op which didn't sound too pleasant tbh and had bloodshot eyes for a while.

[mellonman]

eye drops are normally only used for the first couple of weeks, my ex and one of my mates had it done at optical express i think thats what its called its at blue water think it was £1500 best thing they ever done they said to me, cant see very well when you come out though for a couple of hours. its a fast procedure

[Scott]

Just got to that stage in life for reading glasses, managed to scrape through eye tests over the last few years but knew this time that I needed them as I've struggled for six months or so.

Quite keen to pick up my first pair of glasses now but couldn't handle wearing them all the time. On the subject of lazer surgery, a guy at work had it done a few months back and was in a bit of pain the first few days but is fine now, he described the op which didn't sound too pleasant tbh and had bloodshot eyes for a while.

 

There are various options to how the treatment is done. One of the methods sounds VERY dodgy to me and I really wouldn't fancy it. Of course the other option is about 2k more.

 

Always the way isn't it.

[Kopite]

Had a couple of weeks where I just couldnt wear my contacts, one of those weeks coincided with Dragonball so had to wear my glasses for almost the whole event and have people stare at me wondering who I was (I'm Clarke Kent until I take them off and then I'm Branners Supermod).

 

So Im thinking about laser eye surgery.

 

Can those who have had it give feedback on any problems, which type you went for and which company?

 

I know the opticians on the forum always say its a really bad idea, but none of the people who have had it done seem to ever have problems.

 

So looking for advice, feedback and suggestions!!

 

thanks

JB

 

I'm not gonna say too much about it as i've lost friends over it (A lot of opticians do aftercares on behalf of the laser companies so it has no affect on work regardless of what people say)

How come you couldn't wear your contacts big man? What was happening?

 

Regarding the use of drops after it, sometimes none are needed, other times they're needed for life. Comes down to how sensitive do your damaged nerve endings get during the op and is the irritation always there resulting from dry eyes especially with the presence of air con etc. People respond differently and it's purely individual.

[pedrosixfour]

I had it done about 3 years ago, in fact myself and my two sisters all had it done at the same time in the same clinic. (A possible record?)

 

Anyhow, the immediate results were astonishing, I went from being -7 & astigmatism in both eyes (I was putting on glasses before getting out of bed and not taking them off until sleep was needed for 20 solid years, I even wore them into the shower) to being able to read a menu on a pub wall from 10 feet away within an hour of having the surgery, it truely was/is life changing.

 

But the results can vary from person to person, I myself have better than 20/20 long vision during the day but I do feel that my night vision has suffered, especially around twilight hours or in dimly lit situations I imagine I have very little perspective and things seem to blend unnaturally well into the background. But this development does coincide with a vastly increased amount of time spent in front of a computer on a daily basis so until I have a check up I can't really say what causes the problem.

 

However I still wouldn't go back to wearing glasses for a second, almost everything I did or tried or wanted to do when I was younger seemed to be hindered in someway by my poor eyesight and now its not an issue. A complete lack of balance and co-ordination will haunt me until my dying day however.

 

I believe the company I went with was Optical Express, totally professional yet friendly staff and with a good level of aftercare. I cannot remember for the life of me what my procedure was called although I know both myself and my younger sister had a different procedure than my older sister whose recovery took a lot longer and she was in a lot of discomfort after the surgery compared to us. The procedure they choose depends on the optical material the surgeons have to work with.

 

Apparently myself and my older sister have unusually thin corneas and as a result we were denied surgery when we first approached the clinic about 10 years ago as the technology wasn't as advanced as it is today and the flap of tissue they need to remove prior to lasering the lens would've been prohibitively thick meaning there might not have been enough material left to correct our prescriptions completely.

 

It was this thin cornea affliction that meant my older sister had a different procedure to myself and my younger sister. I think the fact that she wore hard contact lenses constantly for about 20 years was another factor. I wore disposable soft lenses occasionally for about 10 years which are kinder to the eye.

[Kopite]

I do feel that my night vision has suffered, especially around twilight hours or in dimly lit situations I imagine I have very little perspective and things seem to blend unnaturally well into the background. But this development does coincide with a vastly increased amount of time spent in front of a computer on a daily basis so until I have a check up I can't really say what causes the problem.

 

Sounds like slight corneal transparency loss dropping your contrast sensitivity. Quite a common occurance but then contrast sensitivity is never measured in an eye test. Had a taxi driver who was 6/4 (equivalent of 20/12) in each eye which was amazing but he couldn't drive on a night any more as his corneas were a bit too hazy so he didn't feel safe. The clinic said the operation was a success, he lost his job. I just always say it's Russian Roulette - sometimes it's just luck of the draw

[pedrosixfour]

Sounds like slight corneal transparency loss dropping your contrast sensitivity. Quite a common occurance but then contrast sensitivity is never measured in an eye test. Had a taxi driver who was 6/4 (equivalent of 20/12) in each eye which was amazing but he couldn't drive on a night any more as his corneas were a bit too hazy so he didn't feel safe. The clinic said the operation was a success, he lost his job. I just always say it's Russian Roulette - sometimes it's just luck of the draw

 

That sounds like the problem alright.

 

Is that as a result of the surgery or can it be for a number of reasons?

 

Is there a remedy, besides a corneal transplant??

[Kopite]

That sounds like the problem alright.

 

Is that as a result of the surgery or can it be for a number of reasons?

 

Is there a remedy, besides a corneal transplant??

 

More than likely the laser, it's the same way plastic might discolour when heated. I don't know any remedy at all to be honest, corneal transplants usually have a similar issue due to the surgery involved as well. On the other hand, different people just have different contrast sensitivity levels and it does drop with age like most things. It's just not measured routinely even though it's probably one of the most important things with daily life.

[pedrosixfour]

More than likely the laser, it's the same way plastic might discolour when heated. I don't know any remedy at all to be honest, corneal transplants usually have a similar issue due to the surgery involved as well. On the other hand, different people just have different contrast sensitivity levels and it does drop with age like most things. It's just not measured routinely even though it's probably one of the most important things with daily life.

 

I had a feeling it might be irreversible.

 

Still, its a good excuse to get HID's on the Navara!

[RobUK]

JB ask Ellis, we got talking about it at Dragonball. He was all for it

 

Rob

[Kopite]

I had a feeling it might be irreversible.

 

Still, its a good excuse to get HID's on the Navara!

 

There's no harm hammering the lubricants (eye ones ) Sometimes if it's a bit irritated then a bit of corneal swelling can still affect night vision, so keeping it moist can sometimes help a bit.

[pedrosixfour]

There's no harm hammering the lubricants (eye ones ) Sometimes if it's a bit irritated then a bit of corneal swelling can still affect night vision, so keeping it moist can sometimes help a bit.

 

I was told I had underactive tear ducts alright (real men don't need them).

[Chris Wilson]

I used to have a good friend who was an optician and he was adamant about NOT having it done. Unless wearing glasses or contact lenses REALLY irritates you, or you have some optical condition a laser treatment can cure that optical correction won't, is it worth even the slimmest chance something may go wrong? It's not like having a crooked finger straightened, it's your two eyes. He said if you must have them operated on do one at a time over at least a six month period. He had pretty poor eyesight but was happy to wear glasses and contacts. I am a great believer in not having things "fiddled with" unless really necessary

[ellis]

I had it done 11 years ago at Optimax in London - best money I've ever spent. Had perfect vision ever since and sail through eye tests with better than 20/20 vision.

[Andy-No-Knee]

Had mine done 16 years ago in London, Optimax on the Fichley Road. £375.

It was the old style called PRK, basically they lasered the front of your eye shorter. I was very short sighted, and now I am still on 20/20 vision, though I am soon approaching the age where I will need reading glasses.

Best thing I have ever done. No regrets. Yes there were some short term issues, and one long term issue. They are both basically about night vision, now in my left eye I get a very slight halo around lights at night. Nothing too bad, and my right eye is much better at seeing in darkness than my left because of it.

 

I had to have my eyes done 6 months apart from each other due to the type of operation (Lazic and Lasac were not yet invented), basically they operated on your worst/least dominant eye to see how well it healded and then made any adjustments needed for the better/dominant eye. As mine was the right eye sronger it worked out ok for shooting and other soldier type activities.

[Bobbeh]

I got it done in March.

 

So far so good, would well recommend it! I got finally got annoyed after 20 years with glasses so opted for it this year. Painless op... I actually enjoyed the experience of it!

 

TBH in terms in value for money, its quality of life for me.. being able to swim in the sea, jetski, do sports without having to worry about glasses falling off etc. I didnt get on with contacts so.. if you do then that's cool

 

BTW - I went with Optical Express.