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Original poster

Laser Eye Surgery

51 replies

Toooldtoworry · 06/03/2023 10:57

I just wondered if someone who has had laser eye surgery can give me an idea of how long it was before you were able to drive/use a VDU again.

I want to get it done maybe next year as need to save but recovery is going to have an impact and I can't really find a good answer online.

OP posts:
Snozzlemaid · 06/03/2023 21:24

Also would be interested in the cost if anyone's had this done recently?

Also is there a time when you become too old to have this done?

NomadicSpirit · 06/03/2023 21:27

Got both my eyes done in 2000 using LASIK. I was a bit scared to be honest, but it's been the best money I've ever spent.

I could see well enough to go home on the train within 15 minutes. There was some pain occasionally over the next 24 hours and I had to take drops for a week.

I went from a -4.5 prescription to 22/20 vision. I have started needing reading glasses for reading the tiny instructions on the side of food packets and I wear glasses at night for driving as my eye sight has declined with age to 20/20 vision. Not bad for 23 years and nearly 60 year old eyes.

I couldn't get over how crystal clear everything looked after the operation and how much of a differences it made to my life.

NomadicSpirit · 06/03/2023 21:32

I had an astigmatism as well (still have it obviously). Felt no pain at all during the procedure. Some pressure and a smell of cooking chicken.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
WinterMusings · 06/03/2023 22:27

Manybeards · 06/03/2023 20:49

I was -7 with stigmatism in both eyes. I was also + 1 for reading so was coming up to needing varifocals. My distance is now 20/20 But still need reading glasses.

@Manybeards

can i ask... what was your general eyesight like before having it done & after?

I have astigmatism in both eyes. (They have to flatten my glasses.). My issues are difficult to describe, but I can still read quite tiny print, but not as tiny as I used to be able to. I find reading printed letters & forms a lot harder. I can't just scan anymore. I wear glasses for driving& they do help, but could be better. Everything in a room is a bit fuzzy, my driving glasses help, but they make me feel motion sick when I'm walking around.

i used to have remarkably good eyesight, opticians always used to comment on it. So I assume the astigmatism is a relatively new thing (2020 I first got glasses & I'm 54) Now it's awful & it's exhausting me.

I also want to find a top optician, but no idea how to distinguish one from another.

i

viques · 06/03/2023 23:15

WinterMusings · 06/03/2023 22:27

@Manybeards

can i ask... what was your general eyesight like before having it done & after?

I have astigmatism in both eyes. (They have to flatten my glasses.). My issues are difficult to describe, but I can still read quite tiny print, but not as tiny as I used to be able to. I find reading printed letters & forms a lot harder. I can't just scan anymore. I wear glasses for driving& they do help, but could be better. Everything in a room is a bit fuzzy, my driving glasses help, but they make me feel motion sick when I'm walking around.

i used to have remarkably good eyesight, opticians always used to comment on it. So I assume the astigmatism is a relatively new thing (2020 I first got glasses & I'm 54) Now it's awful & it's exhausting me.

I also want to find a top optician, but no idea how to distinguish one from another.

i

Show quote history

I bit the bullet and went privately to Moorfields. My reasoning was I was only going to do this once and I didn’t have a spare pair of eyes in the cupboard.

JamBiscuitBun · 07/03/2023 00:31

pebbles3004 · 06/03/2023 20:05

@badg3r 10 years wow - and do you still have 2020 vision after all this time? I'd do it if it lasted, but I've read that your eyes will continue to deteriorate so may end up back in glasses anyway? I'm short sighted so it's not to do with my age - I'm 34 and needed glasses since I was a child.

Yes the eyes continue to deteriorate over life. My optician had his eyes lasered but he now has to wear glasses to read his computer screen. That made me think it was pointless.

WinterMusings · 07/03/2023 01:28

viques · 06/03/2023 23:15

I bit the bullet and went privately to Moorfields. My reasoning was I was only going to do this once and I didn’t have a spare pair of eyes in the cupboard.

Show quote history

@viques oh I'm totally resigned to going private. My problem has been knowing which one to choose. What to look for etc

ill see if there's a Moorfields near me.

Appleblum · 07/03/2023 01:34

I had lasik in the afternoon, took a cab home, went straight to bed and woke up the next day with perfect eyesight.

gwenneh · 07/03/2023 01:34

I had mine done a month ago - just had the one-month visit today as a matter of fact.

They told me I could drive the next day and I didn't believe them, but I woke up the next day and was absolutely able to drive. I went to work the next day with no problems.

The restrictions I had were I needed to sleep with the eye protection on for seven days, no cosmetics, no water in the eyes, and no heavy workouts/exertion for a week.

It was the best thing I've ever done. My vision is 20/20 now and I am delighted - my prescription was very, very high, technically out of range of the laser, but they were able to correct it completely.

BleepBipBoop · 07/03/2023 01:44

foleys · 06/03/2023 20:15

I know of too many people who had some improvement to their prescription but not enough to be able to dispense with glasses completely. They weren't able to wear contacts afterwards, obviously after the procedure, and some never again because of the dry eye. So still wearing glasses.

oh that’s a shame! I know so many people who are thrilled with the results. But in the end you and I both have way too small of a sample size for it to be logical to make a decision that way. What do the the statistics say? It depends on the clinic I think too. The one where I had it done is very transparent with its statistics and their rate of patient satisfaction is very high, probably because they pick their patients very carefully and turn people away if they aren’t very likely to have good results.

Manybeards · 07/03/2023 07:00

WinterMusings · 06/03/2023 22:27

@Manybeards

can i ask... what was your general eyesight like before having it done & after?

I have astigmatism in both eyes. (They have to flatten my glasses.). My issues are difficult to describe, but I can still read quite tiny print, but not as tiny as I used to be able to. I find reading printed letters & forms a lot harder. I can't just scan anymore. I wear glasses for driving& they do help, but could be better. Everything in a room is a bit fuzzy, my driving glasses help, but they make me feel motion sick when I'm walking around.

i used to have remarkably good eyesight, opticians always used to comment on it. So I assume the astigmatism is a relatively new thing (2020 I first got glasses & I'm 54) Now it's awful & it's exhausting me.

I also want to find a top optician, but no idea how to distinguish one from another.

i

Show quote history

Blind as a bat before, I’ve had glasses since I was 7, now my distance is perfect. I’m +1 for reading so it’s only tiny print I struggle with now. Cost 5K 2 years ago, best thing I ever did

NomadicSpirit · 07/03/2023 07:17

Lazer surgery corrects the eye sight by reshaping the lens of the eye. It does not do prevent age related degeneration and they make that clear. As you get older, the lens of your eye stiffens and is less able to flex to focus on close objects. This will happen with our without laser surgery.

The benefits of laser surgery are that for the years up until then your vision is restored . In my case it's been 23 years and my distance vision is still fine and I have to wear reading glasses occasionally to read food packets.

WinterMusings · 07/03/2023 08:30

@NomadicSpirit that's interesting. I guess they'd be able to tell me how much is something they can correct & how much is already 'aging'. (I'm 54). Used to have extremely good eye sight. I can read small print if I concentrate, I can't scan it anymore so reading is a nightmare (& the reading glasses don't really help & are on/off/on/off.

BMW6 · 07/03/2023 08:54

Had mine done in 2009, was extremely short sighted.
Had it done 11am, could see perfectly by mid afternoon after short nap.
Never had to use glasses since. Best £3k I ever spent.

Totally painless and really interesting experience. Was aware of movement on my eyes but was just asked to keep staring ahead, no problem. Eye drops stop blink function so you can't even if you want to.
All I could see was like a really really starry night sky but don't know if that was something they did on the ceiling.

viques · 07/03/2023 09:40

WinterMusings · 07/03/2023 01:28

@viques oh I'm totally resigned to going private. My problem has been knowing which one to choose. What to look for etc

ill see if there's a Moorfields near me.

Show quote history

What I like about Moorfields is that each of their consultants has a very informative biography attached to their name, you can see their specialities and experience at a glance. My local hospitals eye department, where my dd was initially referred for cataract surgery, only has a list of names. You don’t know if they qualified five years ago or last week. (She had the surgery done at Moorfields)

foleys · 07/03/2023 11:25

I just wouldn't risk it @BleepBipBoop I wear contacts and am very vain about wearing glasses and only wear them at home (only close family have seen me wear them) so I've definitely looked into it.

If you look under reviews you see people saying similar.

Greenvelvetdress · 07/03/2023 14:05

I had mine done April 2021, best decision ever. My eyes were both -3. I had LASIK which is the least invasive at a private centre in an NHS hospital, it cost me £3000.

My eyes are still perfect now, had an eye test after a year which showed 20/20 vision, have no regrets at all.

ChatterMonkey · 22/04/2023 20:19

Just had mine done at around 2pm today!

Eyes feel a bit gritty and dry, but vision is pretty much perfect barring a slight blurr every so often which i gather is completely normal this soon after getting it done!

So happy with the results already!

Lottie2shoes · 23/04/2023 06:01

Hmmm. Tough one. Most people I know that have it done, seem to be happy with the results, not sure of any side effects. There is one person though that had to go back to glasses within 2 years and they said they felt it wasn't worth it because they could barely afford it anyway and they had too many side effects and after all that had to go back to wearing glasses.
They could not even wear contacts after as their eyes became super dry etc.
Just want you to go in with as much info as possible.
Also it was a very reputable company and there were talks of lifetime guarantees etc but it all went to dust. They did not get back a single penny and was offered only a 10 percent discount if they wanted to redo it.

sparklyruby · 23/04/2023 06:07

Following this thread with interest as I have my procedure booked at Optegra in London in a few weeks' time.

Has anyone here used Optegra for their procedure?

brianixon · 23/04/2023 06:31

Comments here directed towards those considering surgery.
I needed operations on my eyelids, Moorfields was my local hospital. Many visits to hospital prior to and after ops. I asked nurses and junior doctors who wore spectacles if they had considered laser surgery.

Answers from nurses was negative including, "NO Way" or "no ewww" and a shudder.
Even a nurse who admitted she had worked in operating theatre where they did that work.
One junior doctor had had it done. He was happy with results. but said come and ask me in 10 years time. He had it done at Moorfields but paid for it.

ChatterMonkey · 23/04/2023 08:44

For the first time in my life, i woke up this morning and could see....!

So happy with the results, eyes feel a bit dry and scratchy, but nothing worse than if i had lenses in all day.

Not too keen on the eye drops, is it normal to be able to taste them after youve put them in your eyes??

Sunshineandshowers39 · 23/04/2023 10:03

gwenneh · 07/03/2023 01:34

I had mine done a month ago - just had the one-month visit today as a matter of fact.

They told me I could drive the next day and I didn't believe them, but I woke up the next day and was absolutely able to drive. I went to work the next day with no problems.

The restrictions I had were I needed to sleep with the eye protection on for seven days, no cosmetics, no water in the eyes, and no heavy workouts/exertion for a week.

It was the best thing I've ever done. My vision is 20/20 now and I am delighted - my prescription was very, very high, technically out of range of the laser, but they were able to correct it completely.

What was your prescription?

I've worn glasses every day since I was six (experimented with contacts but my eyes are so dry so never really took to them) and so they're literally a part of me, so not sure if I'd ever be brave enough (or want to spend the money), but interested to know what the limits are?

My prescription is -11 and -12 ish (inc astigmatism) so not sure if that would be too high anyway?

gwenneh · 24/04/2023 13:54

Sunshineandshowers39 · 23/04/2023 10:03

What was your prescription?

I've worn glasses every day since I was six (experimented with contacts but my eyes are so dry so never really took to them) and so they're literally a part of me, so not sure if I'd ever be brave enough (or want to spend the money), but interested to know what the limits are?

My prescription is -11 and -12 ish (inc astigmatism) so not sure if that would be too high anyway?

Show quote history

Mine was -9.75 on the left and -11.25 on the right. The right eye was technically out of range of the laser so there was the possibility of needing a second procedure to get it all the way there, but in the end it wasn't necessary.

Greenvelvetdress · 24/04/2023 18:17

Yeah normal @ChatterMonkey jt