LASIK laser eye surgery

[GreenAE]

Hi all!

Looking into lasik laser eye surgery, all the people I know are all raving about it but they’ve all had it done quite recently.

would like some feedback from those that have had it 5+ or 10+ or 20+ years ago to see how’s it’s been.
Would you recommend it, how old were you when you had it and what was your original prescription.

Thank you!

@JantoDec best of luck, can't wait to hear how you get on!

Thank you both, exciting!

So I've just woken up after a couple of hours sleep actually able to see!
My vision is very blurry and my eyes are dry and gritty but so much better than before I went to sleep.

Straight afterwards I didn't really have much discomfort but about half an hour later they became really sore and watery and by the time I got home I couldn't keep my eyes open. like when you've been chopping onions, so I went to bed with my very attractive eye mask.

The procedure itself was painless but not pleasant It was over relatively quickly though and the surgeon and staff were great and reassuring.
Looking forward to see the improvement in the morning

I had LASIK in 2014 when i was 24, prescription -5.25...10 years later I still pretty much have perfect sight, just wear glasses if driving in the dark.

May I ask which company/hospital with?

I had it done in 1996 when I was 19. I was VERY (-9) short sighted. I’m 47 now and my vision has naturally declined at the expected rate for my age. I wear glasses to watch tv and read etc. it changed my life

@GreenAE I had it done with Optical Express. After care has been good as they’ve found some inflammation in one eye so am now on hourly antibiotic drops and have follow up appointments tomorrow and Monday when hopefully I’ll be discharged 🙏

Good to hear the after care is good, that’s important. Did you get lasik with the flap?

Yes, the different options were explained at each stage, LASIK was recommended but I could have gone with the other options.
I was most comfortable with LASIK as the recovery time is generally shorter and was most affordable (but still expensive!).

The surgeon repeatedly highlighted the risk of needing reading glasses sooner, possibly straight away, but thankfully my near vision is still fine, maybe not so good in low light with very small writing but don’t need glasses - yet! - and wouldn’t really bother me if I did.

The surgeon repeatedly highlighted the risk of needing reading glasses sooner, possibly straight away, but thankfully my near vision is still fine, maybe not so good in low light with very small writing but don’t need glasses - yet! - and wouldn’t really bother me if I did.

I'm 52, had LASIK about 25 years ago, and I am only just starting to need reading glasses for small text, like in my pocket dictionary for evening class. Mostly I just make sure the light's better. I don't mind about reading glasses, as that wasn't why I had them zapped.

How is it going? Hope all is well.

I had LASIK with Wavefront 18-19 years ago, in my 30s. Never regretted it, despite having had quite a few issues during healing - dry eyes for about 2 years, some reactions to eye drops etc. But it was worth it, even in those early days. Now in my 50s, I sometimes use reading glasses, need to more often, but for daily life I'm fine without. My initial prescription was - 5, - 4 ish.
I had it done at the Optimax clinic by Dr Patel, who now only works in his own clinic. At the time he'd done over 10,000 of the same procedures, which swung it for me.
My tip : sign up for info with the clinics you like. I took a few years to take the plunge, and saw that they would have great offers every now and then when they had surplus capacity in clinic. I got a great price by waiting.

Really good thank you. Had my appointment today and my vision is better than 20/20 and still have really good close vision so very happy. Feels like a miracle after 20 odd years wearing glasses/contacts.

There is still some inflammation in one eye so still on hourly drops but it’s getting better. I have another follow up appointment on Monday.

Has your distance vision remained well for the last 20 years?

Exactly my experience, what an (expensive) nightmare.

That's really bad luck :( - how disappointing after all that money and effort. Did you find out how many people end up with similar outcomes?

I had mine done when I was early 30s, some 10+ years ago. My vision wasn't perfect afterwards but huge improvement from -5 to not needing glasses. I've now got some eye issues but they're unrelated to surgery.

I'm gutted you experienced the same thing but so thankful you shared that with me. No one I've ever spoken to can understand my experience. It's almost gas lighting! So it's reassuring to know it's not just me 💐

There was a short programme about the man who pioneered lasik today - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5ypg

Did you listen to it?

@GreenAE I had PRK around 20 years ago
perfect vision still ; started recently to need reading glasses but taking a specific eye supplement , means I don’t need them

one thing id say, go to a surgeon that’s really reputable/experienced. I was all set up to have LASIK and my surgeon changed it last minute to PRK. If I had gone to someone different my eyes would be damaged .

good luck

Mostly - I was driving at the time, so was interrupted by Radio Solent telling me about the A3 at one point. (I was not on the A3.)

It won't make any difference to someone deciding whether to go for it or not, but it was interesting historically.