I've been lasered!

Freefaller · 9 Aug 2009 at 08:33

I will do it one day. I have more important priorities at the moment though.

It takes a few days for your eyes to settle down after the op normally i hear?

Glaucus · 9 Aug 2009 at 08:48

Freefaller said:
I will do it one day.

Same. Can't wait to get it done, hope I'm suitable. But will be at least another year due to financial commitments.

And OMG that's the last thing you want to hear from a surgeon. even a GP saying that in a routine check up would mess me up.

s-man · 9 Aug 2009 at 09:53

Freefaller said:
I will do it one day. I have more important priorities at the moment though.

It takes a few days for your eyes to settle down after the op normally i hear?

Theres really a trade off to consider with the procedure regarding age and waiting:

On the one hand they like your prescription to have stabilised before you get the treatement in the first place because if your eyes are still deteriorating the correction won't last. On the other hand your eyes will continue to age and the laser treatment doesn't mean that you won't need glasses for reading in later life so to get the maximum benefit in terms of years not wearing glasses its better not to wait much beyond the point where your prescription is stable. Then theres the whole area of the technology constantly improving all the time etc etc.

I waited til I was 36 and now wish I'd done it when I was 20 but then it was nowhere near as advanced back then and I did consider it but took a similar line to some of the other posters above...

Its a tricky very personal choice but I'm glad I had it done. Pricey too...but you don't really find that out til your a bit further down the line

Edit: yes you are correct it takes a few days for your eyes to completely settle after surgery but my eyesight was 20/20 the next day so you could drive for example..

Freefaller · 9 Aug 2009 at 10:10

Well my eyes haven't changed since I was 16 (-2, -1.75) over 13 years on and it's still the same. It's a question of cost vs inconvenience - I don't mind wearing glasses or contacts still. However I take your point the sooner I can get it done the better, but I have other priorities at the moment - getting my eyes lasered though would be a great addition though.

Metalface Mark · 9 Aug 2009 at 10:11

I got mine done about 5 years ago, its been terrific ever since, it was pretty cheap when i had it done, it was a january and optimax had a sale on, buy one eye, get one free, so it was £800 all in.

I was in and out in about 10 minutes, a few follow up calls to check my eyesite and i have better than perfect vision still to this day (i can still read the bottom line on an eye test, 30/20 vision i believe it is).

Anyone considering it, go for it, its fantastic.

_dogma_ · 9 Aug 2009 at 11:15

I would love to be able to afford this. Though I'm not quite sure what happens as whenever I try and read about the procedure I feel ill. I don't like people touching my eye!

My prescription isn't stable though and I'm not sure if it can actually correct astigmatisms? And if it can't there's no point in me only getting one eye done.

Casdawer · 9 Aug 2009 at 11:31

Feek said:
That's not what you want to hear when your eye has just been lasered open!

Agreed!

ivrytwr3 said:
where did you get it done and with which company?

I;m off next Friday for a consultation and possibly the surgery too.

I went with Optical Express in Southampton in West Quays.

Farore said:
Do you get halos around bright lights at night?

Nope not really.

I had the LASIK Interlase with Wavefront - the whole shebang! Cost me £2400 in total and i'll be paying it off monthly for the next 4 years.

I'm sorry if my experience has put people off, but after waking up today and being able to open my eyes and see everything in focus is worth every single bit of discomfort.

I'm sure other peoples experiences were probably a lot different, so don't put it off just because of me

Now, i'm off to do my 3 eye drops :rolleyes:

Freefaller · 9 Aug 2009 at 11:33

You haven't put me off at all. £2400 over 4 years? How much interest?

fonzee · 9 Aug 2009 at 11:41

probably end up paying 15k... from eyecraft.

you totally put me off getting this done. thanks

ivrytwr3 · 9 Aug 2009 at 11:45

I'm off to Optimax in Nottingham and would like LASIK Interlase with Wavefront.

Casdawer · 9 Aug 2009 at 11:57

Freefaller said:
You haven't put me off at all. £2400 over 4 years? How much interest?

5.10%

I'm paying £60 a month.

philjohn · 9 Aug 2009 at 12:03

Can't LASIK surgery increase the incidence of "floaters" (small dried bits of vitreous humour that hang around annoyingly in your field of vision, moving ever so slightly so that your eye cannot filter them out as it does stationary objects such as blood vessels)?

varial · 9 Aug 2009 at 12:11

I would never like to have laser treatment and I think I would have been pooping myself if I heard him say 'o bugger!' Thankfully my eyes are not too bad.

I did have a paper cut to my eye, someone throw a magazine and a leaflet came out and hit me in the eye, 2 hours later I was in York hospital and they put this yellow stuff in my eye and they said it had taken a slice of my eye off dead in the centre! The pain relief they put in my eye was better than a orgasm, but latest just the same. Got to look like a pirate for a week though!

Feek · 9 Aug 2009 at 12:16

Casdawer said:
5.10%

I'm paying £60 a month.

Damn! If I didn't have such a bad credit rating I'd be booking myself in for that tomorrow!

s-man · 9 Aug 2009 at 13:16

Got mine done at Optical Express and once you get into the realms of the sliding scale of cost based on prescription and the 'potential' benefits of wavefront its hard to not go down the more expensive route I reckon.

My eyes were -2.00 & -2.25 and it cost approx £2800 for wavefront intralase. I paid slightly differently though...deposit up front £500 and then the rest interest free over 10 months. Its a fair whack every month but its cleared now so no long term debt which I prefer. I'm sure theres a fair few different ways to pay these days though.

I do still have slight halos around lights at night but nothing too bad...personally if you drive a lot or aren't taking much time off post procedure I would recommend getting them done in the summer to avoid exposure to lots of bright lights if you drive home of an evening...thats when I noticed it most in the early stages anyway.

As for knowing all about if beforehand...I am like that about everything else in life. Research research research then decide and purchase...but on this occasion I knew it wans't going to be a pleasant thing to investigate, I had an appreciation of the risks I was accepting and just went for it. I don't think exposure to the nitty gritty beforehand would do most people any good whatsoever...one of the very few instances where it is perhaps best not to know! Still don't recall it being a painful process though...freaky yes sore - no!

I too have heard about the floaters angle but I used to notice them occasionally before the surgery and I notice them about the same now no diff as far as I can tell.

I also had a 'moment' mid way through the cutting of the first flap and I was told in no uncertain terms 'stop moving!' so I can empathise with the OP...that just adds to your worries. The calmer you are the easier and more likely to go smoothly it is I believe. As it was I had a few issues afterwards (couple of tiny blood spots under the corneal flap) which they monitored and put me on antibiotics to try and get rid of. If they hadn't gone of their own accord it was flap off time and I REALLY didn't fancy that...fortunately they went on their own so no need.

Would also say if you have kids or toddlers then keep them well away for the first few days...my 4 year old son could not miss my eyes with his hands, feet, toy swords you name it...I was on constant high alert!!

Kaladan · 9 Aug 2009 at 13:32

I would love to get this done at some point. I seriously considered it a few years back but began reading the very worst horror stories on the internet (which statistically probably make up a very small percentage of cases) and always had in my mind that it'd turn out something like:

Also went for my last eye checkup about 2 months back and it has been the first time that my prescription has stabilised (at the age of 24), so now would probably be the time to do it.

ac1d1ty · 9 Aug 2009 at 13:35

My vision of -0.25 in one eye stopped me from joining the RAF....

benwoodcock · 9 Aug 2009 at 13:42

Where can I read about these "floaters"? It sounds like something I may have, just small parts of my vision which where light is altered slightly...

Surely you could have got a 0% credit card and saved yourself the interest OP?

I've been looking at sites like http://www.rebuildyourvision.com/ and others which advocate improving your eyes naturally - I found a few free exercises and my eyes do feel better, although neither is perfect (They were 20/25 and 20/200, haven't measured it recently)...

Strife212 · 9 Aug 2009 at 14:01

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floater

I have them pretty bad :/

N9ne · 9 Aug 2009 at 14:14

If I get it done, it would probably be at the Moorfields Eye Hospital. Best eye surgeons around!