indigoblue

I'm getting a little fed up with having to wear contact lenses / glasses and was thinking about getting laser eye treatment.
Have any of you guys or gals had this treatment done?. Would love to hear about your experiences, good or bad.

Poppy girl

Pleased you brought this up I have been thinking about it as well, there seems to be so many companys out there on the band wagon,I am nervous of it going wrong or what will happen after a few years, I am going to have to do something can't read diddly sqwat close up, especially reading labels etc.

indigoblue

Poppy girl, I have been thinking the same thing!. I don't want to have the treatment and then end up with having worse eyesight then I already have at the mo - saying that , I'm blind as a bat as it is!

Dan725

My wife's had it done - several friends also; all think its brilliant. I'm still on the fence myself, however!! Maybe there is just a 0.000000000001% chance of it going wrong, or whatever - but I'd hate to draw that short straw!!

penguinsix

I'm still waiting. While the success rate is quite high, I'm more interested in the long term success rate--say after 20 years or so. How does the eye deal with the long term stresses after this surgery. I'm not sure they've had a big enough sample to study this yet (I haven't actively looked into it in awhile).

Poppy girl

Knowing my luck I would end up looking like Marty Feltman

augigi

I had it done early 2002. Hands down, best money I ever spent. Literally, ever. I wore glasses since early childhood and was quite badly myopic. Got it done before I went travelling around Europe so I didn't have to worry about glasses and prescriptions and things.

The evaluation to see if you're eligible took far longer than the actual procedure (prob 3 hrs for all the testing). I got the procedure done the day after the evaluation, as I was already booked to go overseas.

I am a nurse, but squeamish about eye surgery. They gave me some valium pre-procedure which had me nicely mellow. The worst part of the surgery was getting the retractor put in your eye - think an eyelash curler being inserted into your eyeball to hold eyelid open. *shudder*. The laser itself was superfast and when they say "keep still" or "don't blink", trust me - you really don't move a muscle or flicker an eyelid haha!!

The coolest thing was looking up at the end of the procedure and being able to read the time on the clock!

Postop - gave me some panadeine forte and said to go home, take 2 and sleep, which I did. I had plastic eye patch thingys on, so had to get someone to pick me up. My eyes were a little scratchy for a couple days, and had to put in a couple of different antibiotic eyedrops for one week.

That was really it. I went and got a 5yr checkup and eyesight is still perfect. Can't recommend highly enough, although I *would* make sure I went to an ophthalmic surgeon, rather than one of those junky chain clinics.

Norri

I had it done two years ago, would reccomend it to anybody althoughI do understand the concerns.
I could realise an improvement immediately after the op but my eyes became extremely uncomfortable overnight, but improved quickly over the next couple of days.
I still wear $store glasses to read small print as advised by the optician but otherwise it is night and day.
I'd say go for it but do research the clinic thoroughly.

kins

I had mine done at Optimax in Manchester in the UK about 2 years ago. My prescription was -7.5 and my eyes wouldn't tolerate contact lenses any more.

I had previously had a consultation at Ultralase in 2001 and was told that the combination of strong prescription and thin cornea meant I was not eligible.

Had another consultation there in 2006 and was told I could now have it done - technology moved on. However I only saw an opthalmologist and I wanted to talk to a surgeon.

Went to Optimax which uses the same technology but offers you a consultation with the surgeon who will do the surgery (also it's cheaper). He spent quite a while going through the likely result, risks, etc. He was happy that he could do both eyes twice if necessary (if the first procedure needs tuning up within a year they offer a second procedure).

I had LASIK, with the cut done with a laser rather than scalpel. My optician I saw recently said it's a good idea to have the flap cut with a laser - this is the most risky part of the operation. I also paid extra for Wavefront - I can't even remember what that was now.

The procedure itself was fine - although the smell of burning flesh is something you want to prepare yourself for. I had a killer headache and non-stop running eyes afterwards so went to bed and slept about 10 hours. Woke at 6am and wandered round the house amazed I could see perfectly. Later that day I had my 24 hour checkup and was cleared to drive.

My vision spent the next few months settling somewhat - in fact I'd gone slightly long-sighted but that gradually corrected itself.

I had an eye test just recently and the optician said I still have excellent sight both distance and close-up. I'm nearly 40 so my eyes will find reading more and more difficult over the next few years but for now I still don't need glasses.

I have a dry patch on my left eye which means my sight in that eye can be a bit blurred so I use eye drops if it interferes with my vision.

I get minor starbursts round lights at night, and I'd say my low-contrast vision is not as good as it used to be.

However the improved vision vastly outweighs those issues.

My mum had LASIK 8 years ago and has had no problems since, and I'm sure there are people who had it quite a few years before that.

I am delighted I had it done, and everyone I know who's had it has said the same thing. It is a very scary thing to do though.

indigoblue

Him indoors says that what I look like now! - charming!

md95065

I have considered laser eye surgery but so far have not gone ahead with it - the main reason being that I have been told that it would not be possible to correct my vision completely - I could get good distant vision but would still need glasses for reading and close up work. Also, right now I can still focus perfectly on things that are only a few inches away so I can read maps and fine print without glasses just by holding them really close - if I had laser surgery I would lose that ability.

Jaxbar

I was just told a similar thing at my eye test, it may help with the astigmatism but the benefit would be negated by needing glasses for distance/close work that I dont currently need. Something like that anyway.

Mummy in the foothills

I'd love to have it done, my vision is pretty bad -075. but I have a scar across my cornea according to two different ophthalmologists. I was hoping it would disappear as the years went went by but it's still there. So I'm stuck. I can at least knit and read without glasses on now, my vision is changing as I get older.

AdobePinon

Don't have it yet myself, but I've been watching all my friends get it. A couple of things I've learned...

1. You get what you pay for. Don't go cheap.

2. Go for the arrogant, filthy rich doc. He doesn't need your money, so he's not going to take any liability. If he thinks there's any chance of a screwup, he'll turn you away. Good to know. Round here, that'll run you $4000 for 100% laser (no knife) including hotel stay, followups, and lifetime gurantee. If your pescription changes, he'll fix it for free.

English Muffin

I had it done in the UK a couple of years ago and it was the best £1300 I've ever spent.