laser eye treatment

[isobelsmum]

years ago a friend said she was considering this because her aunt said although it burns like mad for 2 or 3 days after its great not to have to wear glasses or contacts again.

I keep breaking my glasses and dont like contacts so considering it, but didnt want to in case i spend all that money and it doesnt work.

Now i have never heard anyone say it hasnt worked for them but am worried about the pain.

Does it hurt just afterwards. just spoken to another friend who had both eyes done at same time and said good job she did as she would have had one done then too scared to have the other done because the pain was awful afterwatrds. She ddint mention any pain during the procedure though, she said they use anaesthetic drops and its agony when they wear off afterwards. She said the procedure waasnt nice as they clamp yor eye open and you see the laser coming at you but didnt say it was painful

Been looking at some sites, it seems there are different ways of doing it. Was worried about the laser causing a burning pain but horrified to learn they make a cut in your eye first. so does the procedure itself hurt?

[jellyjelly]

From what i understand it is very successful when you have normal eyesite i cant have it done as mine are too complex and it is not recommended.

There are 2 sorts of ways to get it done and they are lasik (the newer one but heals quicker and Lasek which is the older one but i think the recovery is 6 weeks with the older one.

You could go and speak to some people but i wouldnt use a chian as you might not speak to the person that would be doing it and i think it is important to talk to the person who would be doing it.

[brimfull]

My brother had it done about 4 yrs ago and never said anything about it being really painful.He was advised to rest for about a week after and wear eye patches for about 2/3 days I think .He had it done in Canada (he lives there).He had really really bad eyesight and a stigmatism and is really pleased with the results.It's amazing to think he's worn glasses since he was two and 40 yrs later he doesn't need them.

[scienceteacher]

DH & I both had Lasik 3 years ago. It was not at all painful - they put anaesthetic drops in your eyes and it takes hours to wear off, by which time, any pain that would have been there is gone. It is important to keep your eyes closed for several hours after the surgery in order to let them heal, and we were given valium to allow us to sleep.

The actual procedure is over in seconds. The clamping isn't pleasant, but they keep your eyes still, so well worth it!

The most unpleasant part of the process is dryness in your eyes (for which you take eye drops). It's very common for this to last several weeks, and for some people, they never quite get back to where they were.

[chipmonkey]

Lasek is not an older method, it is a newer method than Lasik, the older method to this was PRK.
With LASIK an incision is made but your eye is anaesthesised (of course!) so you don't feel any pain, just a lot of pressure when the machine is attached to the eye to immobilise it. Afterwards, the cornea knits together quite quickly so most people would report a sensation like having a hair in the eye and it is is popular because it it not painful.
LASEK is used for people who are unsuitable for LASIK and is quite painful for 24 hours afterwards, though you would be given painkillers. As most people are suitable for LASIK, it is not carried out as frequently.
It is unusual for either method "not to work". But in my experience as an optometrist, the more straightforward the prescriptionm the more likely someone is to be happy with the result. On occasion I have seen situations where someone who was a -8.00 or a -9.00 ends up being a -2.50 which although much better still requires glasses fulltime. About 25% of people report "haloes" around lights when driving at night so if you do a lot of night driving this would be worth taking into consideration. And do check out the reputation of the surgeon. Preferably the person who carries out the evaluation should also be the one who does the procedure itself.

[kid]

I am very tempted to have this done myself. A friend had it done and although she does suffer from the glares of headlights at night,she is completely satisfied with the result.
As I am a big wimp, I am terrified of having it done but my eyesight is getting worse so I will need to either have the surgery or start wearing my glasses!

[throckenholt]

I happened to talk to my optician abou this on Friday - when I was going for a contact lense checkup.

He said he would not personally have it done because they could not be sure to leave you with 20/20 vision and it would not be worth it if you still had to wear galsses/lenses at the end of it.

He also said he still considered it new technology with no long term results available because it is so relatively new.

He also said it is not an nice operation to watch . He did say the operation should not hurt because they use lots of numbing drops.

He did say that the technology and the techinques are developing all the time.

[Hayls]

I had this done last November and so far have been pleased with the results. I still have quite dry eyes and had night haloes for a while (only slightly now) but my vision is excellent. IT wasn;t exactly pleasant- yes, you do smell the laser- but I was well cared for and it wasn;t painful.

[Gingerbear]

I had LASIK done at Ultralase last June. You have to have suitable corneas - not too thin or too thick, and long/short/astigmatism within a certain range for it to be successful.
They made a contour map of my eye, and the laser was guided by the map - to zap more from some areas and less from others, to match the profile of my eyes.
The procedure is over in 30 seconds for each eye. You have anaesthetic eye drops, given by a nurse, then you go into the laser room. you lie on a guerney underneath the machine, and the surgeon clamps your eye open. They cut a hinged flap in your cornea, lift it open, then laser the eye under the flap. Then the flap is replaced. I could see the clock across the room the moment it was done. You sit up and rest while they realign the laser for your other eye. Then the process is repeated. The worst part was the pressure on the eyeball while the flap was cut - your vision goes black for a few seconds, oh, and the smell of burning when the laser is operating. Afterwards, you rest in a darkened room - to make sure you aren't going to pass out! My DH drove me home - my eyes were watery and sensitive to light for a day and I needed to rest when I got home, but there was no pain. For 2 weeks I used antibiotic eye drops and anti-inflammatory eye drops as a precautionary measure, couldn't get water in my eyes (no shower), no rubbing and had to sleep in eye shields. I had several check-ups, and my eyes were quite dry due to epithelial damage and the effect of the laser on the tear ducts - takes a while for the tear flow to get back to normal. But eye drops helped a great deal.
I was -7.00 with -1.5 astigmatism - i.e. quite short sighted, and now my sight is one less than 20/20 - I was warned beforehand that this might be the case due to my prescription, but to be honest I have never had 20/20 correction, even with glasses, so I wouldn't know what it was. My vision now is great. I would reccommend it to anyone, but read up on all the risks and the procedure before you decide on the treatment.

I waited 10 years before I had it done, as my optician had said similar things to me about the newness of the procedure and the unknown long term effects. There are risks in every urgical procedure. You need to know them all, know that you may not even be suitable for treatment, and realise that your vision might not be spot on 20/20 afterwards.

[chipmonkey]

A few opthalmic surgeons I know have said that they are wary of carrying out the procedure on very picky people who must have perfect vision at all costs because they just cannot guarantee that level of perfection. Have to agree with throckenholts optician it's not pleasant to watch but then if you're having it done yourself, you woudn't be watching! The smell is a bit yuk too if you're the squeamish type!

[scienceteacher]

In the waiting area of the place I went, they had a video link to the laser camera...

can't remember the smell.

[chipmonkey]

Oh no! Doesn't anyone ever run away?

[mumball]

eek I am going for an appointment on thursday this week, to see if I want/can have laser treatment. I am glad everyone who had it is pleased!

[chipmonkey]

mumball, saw your post on the other thread. If you have scarring it is possible that you could be advised that LASIK is not for you. PRK might be possible? However every case is individual so best of luck for Thursday, hope it all goes well!

[mumball]

Cheers ChipMonkey

[hannahsaunt]

My mum is a nurse practitioner in a UK eye hospital and dh is both and dr and received laser treatment for a detached retina. None (not one) of the consultant ophthalmologists in mum's hospital would ever consider laser eye treatment for short sightedness - too many risks (one said he wouldn't do it to his dog let alone his own eyes). Dh chatted with the consultant doing the treatment on his retina and likewise the consultant (different hospital) said never go anywhere near laser treatment - too risky (eg loss of sight...)

[scienceteacher]

I don't think there have been any cases of someone losing their sight due to corrective eye surgery.

[chipmonkey]

There have but its very rare. I know an optician who specialises in unusual cases of contact lens fitting and one of his specialisations is fitting people with contact lenses post-laser which is a very difficult thing to do as standard contact lenses can no longer be fitted. He has had people referred to him from all over Europe, occasionally where the LASIK was "botched" and some of the stories are scary. But the chances of this happening are very rare and less likely with a competent surgeon and equipment which is up-to-date and well-maintained.

[hannahsaunt]

You still might have to wear glasses/contact lenses because the correction isn't sufficiently good. Worth the money??? I don't think so. Quite a large risk really. I'm not sure that your sight is something to play with.

[blueteddy]

I was very long sighted (-6 in one eye) & had laser eye surgery 9 years ago. I have had perfect vision ever since & am very pleased I had it done.
I had it done the old way, where they do one eye one day & the other 3 months later.
I was fed up with wearing lenses, so my Dad offered to pay for me to have the surgery & I felt I couldn't refuse.
The procedure itself wasn't painful, as they numb your eyeball - but it was weird having my eye pulled & prodded about and I did have a panic attack while they were doing my first eye. That was probably because I am a big wuss though!
When the anasthetic wears of, it is quite painful. It feels like your eye has lots of gravel in it. You do get provided with painkillers & eyedrops though.
By the second or third day, I removed the eye patch & my eye was a lot less sore. Gradually you notice your eyesight getting better & better.
I had the second eye done 3 months later & haven't looked back. I now have 20/20 vision!
I would reccomend the surgery to anyone. I often forget that I once had such bad eyes!
My sister has now also had the surgery (hers was the newer type, where they do both eyes at once) & she now also has perfect sight.