Laser eye surgery when depressed

[Lijah82]

Hi all, I'm considering having laser eye surgery but I'm a bit worried I might be turned down as I'm on antidepressants (Prozac). I went for a consultation at Optical Express a while ago and I remember the questionnaire asking if I had suffered from depression. I wasn't on anti depressants at that time. I'm particularly interested in having the surgery at Moorfields, has anyone ever had laser eye surgery at Moorfields (or anywhere else) while on antidepressants? Btw, I have high myopia of -7 :(

[Matildathecat]

Hello, sorry this might not be any use at all but I have had laser eye surgery at Moorfields about ten years ago. I wasn't on ads, though.

I think I probably did fill in a health questionnaire but can't remember if depression was mentioned.

Other than possibly being further depressed if you weren't happy with the results I can't think of any reason why it wouldn't be possible. Read the patient info leaflet for your ads and then if unsure just call up one of the consultants secretaries and ask the question. I'm sure they will be able to get back to you with an answer.

I was and am really pleased with my results. After I had it done lots of my friends and relations had theirs done, too. All happy.

[Lijah82]

Thank you for your reply. It's good to hear that you had it done 10 years ago and are still happy with the results. Can you remember what the name of your surgeon was and what your prescription was before surgery? I'm thinking of lasek rather than lasik at Moorfields with either Julian Stevens or David Gartry. Bit worried about dry eye though as I already have a bit of that now.

[MagpieMama]

I have bipolar affective disorder and had laser eye surgery 4 years ago. They wrote to my psychiatrist (I think to enquire about mental capacity to make sure it wasn't a manic whim) but it didn't cause any issues.

[MomOfTwoGirls2]

I had lasik done 12-14 years ago. I was -7.5, and was corrected to -1. Now that I'm in my 40s, that -1 actually works to my benefit. I am delighted I had it done all those years ago.

I had mine done in US.

[Matildathecat]

Sorry, I can't remember but it was a woman. I have heard of both the names you mention and I'm sure they are both excellent.

I was very worried about the dry eyes. The reason I had the surgery was because my eyes were too dry to wear contacts. I won't lie, even now first thing in the morning they are very dry until I've done a few big blinks. Other than that, though they have been fine.

I was rising forty when it was done and so, to avoid needing reading glasses too soon I had one eye slightly under corrected so I have one long eye and one short eye. You can't tell unless they are tested individually. I'm now 48 and still don't wear glasses for anything so a very happy customer. I'm sure the techniques have improved in ten years, too.

However, I would never recommend surgery, especially non essential surgery to anyone. Just telling you my experience.

[Matildathecat]

Sorry , forgot a couple of things. I was a bit sneaky and went to Boots for a free laser consultation just to check I was a suitable candidate. Cheaper than paying for a private consultation only to find out that you aren't suitable for some reason.

Boots were a bit worried because I used to get a lot of cold sores. So when I was having the surgery my GP prescribed a course of acyclovir to keep me cold sore free as it's dangerous to get the virus into the eyes post surgery. So that was very useful to know.

[fanjobiscuits]

Dr Gartry is excellent. You can book a consultation (you pay) and raise your concerns with him. I would trust him to be honest about what would/wouldn't be an issue .

[Lijah82]

Matildathecat: I've heard about many people in their 40s having one eye undercorrected to avoid needing reading glasses. It's a good idea. I'm 31 at the moment so I'm guessing they would just correct me for distance because of my age.

MomOfTwoGirls2: Can you still function without glasses at -1? I've been wondering what I will do if I have lasik/lasek and then my eyesight regresses again in the future. I'd like to be able to still go out without glasses occasionally but not sure how good/bad -1 vision is?

[AnonymousGuest]

Julian Stevens is a highly reputable surgeon. Before going ahead with my laser eye surgery, I put my whole trust and faith in him especially after reading good reviews about him on various websites.

I never thought that a day would come when I will be one of the few people to submit a bad review about him. But I feel obliged to do so after such a horrific experience, which was in fact quite emotional and life changing.

Mr Stevens may have a high success rate, however, please do be aware that if anything does go wrong (or not as expected), YOU WILL BE LEFT COMPLETELY IN THE DARK with no explanation, acknowledgment or any sympathy.
He would not even acknowledge the fact that you did not get the expected result and would more likely make you feel as if you are a stupid psychotic patient, experiencing things that are unreal! and this is the last thing that any patient wants to go through especially when they are unwell.

Despite going through hell after my laser surgery and having a poor visual outcome, I still put my trust in him. I was very patient, calm and waited for him to give me an explanation. I would not have even submitted such a review if he at least ACKNOWLEDGED the poor outcome. But instead I felt that his attitude completely changed after the operation did not go as expected; he was more rushed, dismissive in my appointments and insisted that things were COMPLETELY fine.

I hope the rest of the refractive surgeons in the ophthalmic field do not lack accountability as Mr Stevens does, and I do hope that no one will have to go through my journey.

[AnonymousGuest]

Stay away from Julian Stevens- bad experience

[HFelton]

I had lasik surgery with Julian Stevens and my journey has been a very similar experience to the above post. After never having a dry eye problem and never requiring eye drops before lasik I now endure chronic dry eyes every single day. I now can't endure office environments or any other heated or air conditioned environments. Not easy when you live in the 21st century. Its been a emotional journey to say the least.

I have also been calm and patient with Julian during all my appointments but I have found Julian dismissive and uncaring. I have been so vulnerable through this process and have felt so alone. I took my husband to one of my appointments and as we left the building my husband turned to me and said it was clear Julian had washed his hands of me.

To the original post, to answer your question regarding anti depressants and eye laser surgery it is a fact that anti depressants dry out your eyes so I would definitely be thinking long and hard before making this decision. That's not to say you will have dry eyes after laser surgery. There certainly are success stories. I wish you all the best and to the above poster I truly hope your condition improves as I know how difficult it is and how hard it is to face each day.

[HFelton]

I would like to add that Julian's attitude towards me completely changed as soon as I started having issues post lasik. He became dismissive and rude. It's such a frightening experience when your eyes are compromised and to have Julian on board made the experience so much worse. I would strongly advise to find another surgeon.

[TDHManchester]

I would urge anyone considering laser eye surgery to think long and hard about it. It is not to be undertaken lightly and other alternatives may well provide a better result eg contacts

[Ila123]

Hi,
I had a strange experience with doc Julian too. He was very eager to impress me but I don’t think he listened at me much: in spite telling him that I might be pregnant he prescribed me eye drops (large amount to cover 2 months and purchase at the private pharmacy) which have an active ingredient that should not be used during pregnancy and it is recommended to be used with birth control. Luckily I double checked with my gp however he shouldn’t have prescribe me those drops.

[Salamander76]

Sorry to resurrect and old thread, but I was searching for Julian Stevens' name after a bad experience with him and found this. I was actually relieved to see the messages above as his reviews elsewhere online were so good I almost thought I'd imagined it. I had a consultation with him and he was rude, patronising and actually incredibly inappropriate (among other things, making strange comments about my appearance, as well as being very condescending about my job and income). Thankfully I didn't go through with treatment because he dismissed my questions/concerns to such a degree that alarm bells rang, and reading the above comments I'm very glad I didn't. to others who've had negative experiences. Again, I'm sorry to comment on a zombie thread but the experience really upset me and I wanted to say something.