Who's had LASIK or similar?

[Spagblog]

What was the procedure like?
Did your eyes hurt?
Were you scared?
What is your eyesight like now?
Do you have good night vision?

Oh, I am so sick of being a speccy four eyes. Convince me that I should get this done

[mythumbelinas]

Five of my friends have had this done and they are all so happy they did .. none have had any problems.

Procedure - takes about 15-20 mins
Fully awake, drops to numb eyes, eyeslids get clamped open, laser top layer of cornea, correct eyesight, flip back cornea ..
something like that
Need someone to be there for you to take you home, since your eyes will be heavy in feeling, and wearing big goggles

Think you have aftercare for about a month after

[Pagan]

Had the PRK, as did my DH. Both of us wished we'd had it done years ago. MY SIL and niece had the Lasik and say the same thing!

[hunkermunker]

SB, I've been flamed for mentioning this on a laser eye surgery thread in the past, but I wear lenses overnight that change the shape of my eye so I have 20/20 vision during the day. It's called ortho-k - not sure where you are in the country (I'm in west London) - it's not widely available.

Just a thought if you wanted to try it before laser eye surgery - personally, I felt the risks of it were too great for me, hence this option. But I also know several people who've had it done and been very happy with the results.

[Pagan]

Ooops, didn't answer the questions properly.

My eyes didn't hurt but were uncomfortable for the first 24 hours. But then again I wore semi permeable contact lenses so was used to enduring grit/dust with them in so probably had a higher pain threshold. My DH said his hurt a bit more but he always wore soft contacts
Wasn't scared, made sure the chap doing it had done lots before. I did get mine done at Optimax which specialises in this. I would recommend them as they pioneered laser treatment in this country and their staff are fully skilled optomotrists.
My eyesight is better than 20/20 now although I understand that once into my 50s I'll probably need reading glasses but would have done so anyway.
Night vision is fine. For first week after having it done, driving at night was difficult as I had halos round all the streetlights but it's perfectly fine now.

Get it done, you'll never regret it!

[LeahE]

How much does it cost, by the way? I keep toying with this too (particularly as my left eye is virtually perfect anyway, so I'd only really need the right one doing).

[blueteddy]

I had laser treatment years back, when they did one eye & the other 3 months later.
They put drops in my eye, clamped it open, prodded around with my eyeball using various instruments & then lasered it for 45 seconds.
I was scared & had a panic attack during the procedure.
When the anesthetic wore off, my eye really hurt & I had to take strong pain killers.
Have perfect sight now & am really pleased that I had it done!

[blueteddy]

Back then (think it was 9 years back) it cost £700 an eye.

[maretta]

My dh had this done in 2001 and he's been very pleased with it. His eyesight is now excellent.

I think he finds bright lights at night a bit of a problem but it doesn't stop him driving etc.

Before the test I think he was short sighted. I think -2

[blueteddy]

My night vision is fine, but onions sting my eyes far more than they did before I had the treatment!

[Hayls]

I had it done in Nov last year. The procedure was exactly as described (Lasik). It was uncomfortable adn my eyes watered profusely and were very sore for about 8 hours but most other people were leaving the clinic with no issues like that. I could see the next day. Actual procedure was surreal, not pleasant but they offer you a mild sedative, which I think helped me. My eyes were sensitive and achey (not sore) for a while afterwards and even now I still suffer fromo dry eyes but it is gradually getting better (I use drops 3-4 times a day) Vision now is better than when I wore glasses (one eye is slightly stronger than the other but both are pretty good, def well above driving standard) but I do still get haloes at night, which makes it a bit tricky on dark roads but doesn't stop me driving! Vision should stabilise after 3 months but up to then there is a gradual development (although mine was good after a week)

YEs I was scared but am so glad I did it.

Haloes are more common if you have large pupils (I do) and dry eye is almost inevitable if they are dry to start with (like me) but I don't regret it and am so happy when I can go swimming without making dh wear orange trunks

[fredly]

I did, about 3 years ago. I was living in the US at the time so it was done there. The procedure might be a bit different in the UK, I don't know. But I never regretted it. The operation was quite scary, it's never pleasant to have your eyes fiddled with, and it smelt of something burning !
It was not painful during or afterwards, just uncomfortable. I had to wear dark glasses for 3 days and stay indoors to avoid dust particles getting into my eyes. After those 3 days I could see perfectly and never had a problem since. I have a perfect night vision and my eye don't get dry. I wish I could have have it done before.

[fredly]

The outcome depends on the level of correction you need. The lower the defect, the higher the success. My eye sight was not that bad to start with, but I still needed lenses all the time.

[RachD]

Oh I want it, I want it, I want it now
( spolit brat, having a tantrum here !!
Costs £900 per eye - got another leflet about it today.

Am really scared though.
I wonder what the statistics are for if it goes wrong.
There are people for whom it leaves them in a terrible state and they wish they had never done it, right ?
This is eyes we are talking about.
Please tell me that statistically it is very very minor % that goes wrong.

[Hayls]

It's a very very minor % that goes wrong but obviusly there are risks. I had them all explained to me and the clinic wher I had mine done had never seen the major probs that cause major eye damage. I had a full consultation (free) where they explained it all to me. I paid &700 per eye and my vision was really quite bad (-4 and -6 I think). I wouldn't hesitate to recomend it so go for it!

[Pagan]

The PRK was £500 per eye. I do occasionally suffer from dry eyeness but believe that is inevitable. The only disconcerning thing I found with it was the smell of burning (like hair in a candle) when it was getting done but don't be put off but that - it was worth every penny and do it sooner rather than later

[granarybeck]

I had lasik surgery four years ago and it was one of the best decisions i've ever made. Only discomfort rather than painful, bit of dry eyes for a couple of weeks, but fantastic after care, i went to maxivision. It has made such a difference to my life, in terms of my confidence, how i feel about my appearnace, practicalities like swimming etc. I also used to spend lots of money on glasses as could never find ones i liked (though think they are nicer now!) and on contact lenses and solutions. So, by now am probably on way to having saved the cost of the treatment.

I wouldn't not have it done because you are scared, it really wasn't too bad, just a bit strange. Where I went they let you go and have a look round and see exactly what would happen.

[99redballoons]

Hunkermunker, where did you get the ortho-k done and how much was it (if you don't mind me asking)? I'm in NW London and would so like LASIK, but just know something will go wrong. Ortho-k sounds really interesting.