Laser eye surgery

the_hundredth_idiot

I had my eyes lasered 10 years ago. I had quite lop-sided myopia (6.00 right and 2.00 left, IIRC) plus a bit of astigmatism in the left.

I always said I would wait until a friend of mine (optometrist who was studying for a masters at Moorfields, or something like that) had it done. She had it done, so I went ahead and looked into it. I am a statistician (actuary) so looked into the stats behind it and asked lots of questions of the surgeon before going ahead, which gave me comfort the procedure was safe.

The procedure was performed by Optical Express in their Harley Street surgery (?). I took the day off work (it was a Friday), had the surgery done in the morning, cab home while wearing sunglasses, had a snooze and took it easy over the weekend. I was back at work on the Monday.

It was a little disconcerting having the treatment, but not painful.

Since then, my eyes have both been 20/15. I am developing a little presbyopia now as I age, but that’s to be expected and at least I don’t need bifocals.

It was a fantastic decision to have the laser treatment. I quickly forgot what a ball-ache wearing glasses was, particularly for sports. My kids can’t picture me in glasses (my reading glasses stay in the bedside drawer and are only for bedtime reading).

Tashman

ben@31 wrote:

Tashman wrote:

Just out of interest, what's the job? I know I got binned from aircrew selection for the RAF when I had my eye examination at Cranwell as that's when I was told I needed specs. With that even surgically corrected was disallowed as a potential weakness in the eye when under pressure.

The entry requirements have changed. Im sure they do allow applicants after 1 year of laser surgery. Shame Im too old :roll: But if you have a spare £70,000 you could always train to be an airline pilot

Unfortunately 20 years and £70k out of my reach

DavidJB

I had laser eye surgery 8 years ago, old I was a "perfect candidate" etc, this was vision express. Had the surgery and had halos and glare from artificial lights afterwards expect they NEVER went away. I now have really poor night vision, the reason is because my pupils dilate to outside the treated area. This should have been picked up in the initial tests but wasn't. I've had to suffer with it for years but fortunately as you get older your pupils dilate less so over time it's got a bit better and most of the time I don't notice it (Guess my brain has adjusted).

My vision has got bad again now so need glasses anyway but I've given myself a shit night vision to boot. The one thing I realised through this whole process is you only have one set of eyes don't take the risk. Oh by the way on the stats I'd be shown as a "Success" because if anything does go wrong you've signed your life away and have no comeback against the company. NEVER USE VISION EXPRESS for this. I'd also recommend against it as someone who had it and it went wrong.

FishFish

You can also safe a lot by doing the laser eye surgery yourself. Get a laser off ebay (second hand is fine). Test it out on the dog first.

joe2008

So, my consultation did not fill me with any confidence, for a start two out of the three people I saw during the consultation wore glasses. When I questioned them, one said he couldn't have the procedure because his 'pupils were scared' (I didn't ask), and the other said that he was 'having it done in November'; I thought, why wait if it's so safe, and such a must that you want me to sign up today.

I said no thanks, I'll pass, they then lowered the price by £500 which confirmed that I'd made the right decision.

rolf_f

The Hundredth Idiot wrote:

It was a fantastic decision to have the laser treatment. I quickly forgot what a ball-ache wearing glasses was, particularly for sports.

This is the problem - you notice the improvement to a situation that you were largely unaware of before. People notice change far more than the status quo. Obviously if you have laser treatment (assuming it works) you'll think it is great but a couple of years later you'll be as largely unconscious of the state of your eyes as you were before the treatment. I notice my specs on hot days when sweat runs on to them but I wipe the lenses and put them back on again. It's a mild occasional irritation I can live with.

Not sure it is any different to buying new cars - you end up with something shiny and new that makes you feel good for a while but it doesn't get you where you need to go any quicker than the old car.....

riprb89

Mine was quick I just saved money then did it without thinking. The procedure was fast and I didn't give much thought about it, my friend recommended the ophthalmologist and I trusted her more than the doctor LOL. However I really do recommend him as well he was brilliant, he didn't scare me at all he did a multiple of tests even before the surgery he did them again just to be sure, this is how you know your doctor is good.

The only awkward and a little painful part is when he used the clamp to open my eyes open under the machine, it's only because I have small eyes that's why it was uncomfortable. The procedure took less than 15 minutes. I couldn't open my eyes because it was stinging the whole day, I had to rest them. That's it the following day I was a superwoman, the feeling you got that you won't have to use your eyeglasses again was indescribable.

I'm really glad I did the Lasik surgery here https://uae.storat.com/dubai/lasik