Optical express - laser eye surgery

[SardineJam]

Always been keen to correct my vision, so had a consultation for the surgery last week (after receiving countless calls from them daily after registering my interest in their website).

Consultation was fine and turned out to be more than the £595, or whatever they quite on the adverts, price per eye - tbf, I am a cynic so was fully expecting this (total £2200ish).

Consultation went okay but I have had dry and watery eyes on/off since and this is putting me off making a decision.

Have received a couple of missed calls from them as well as follows up email since and now I feel that as they have my details it's just going to be a hard sell until they make me buckle - AIBU to think this? And is it worth me doing it? Thoughts on negotiating the price?

NoCakeLeft I know my fears are probably unwarranted and I know it's not the same thing, but I know someone who had a breast enlargement in Bulgaria and excuse the pun, but it went tits up because she could hardly go back and forth for aftercare after complications!

I do like the idea of doing it through a hospital - paying for it is no issue, it's the hard sell principle!

Had mine done at Moorfields about 8 years ago, great no regrets at all. Felt like you had been peeling onions for a couple of hours then wow you can just see clearly ! Paid about 4k, which was about double what I could have paid 'in the high street ' but it's your eyes ! Felt more confident that if anything was to go wrong I was in an eye specialist hospital and that made the extra cost worth it for me. Both sisters have had it done at Optical express since me with no problems to be fair, but for me was worth the extra for peace if mind.

Try Centre for Sight in London/SE. The staff also do nhs work and have restored my vision with corneal transplants, cataract removal and intraocular lenses. They're also the team that restored Katie Piper's sight. Really cutting edge stuff and one of the top teams in the UK.

I used optical express and can't fault them. I had the surgery about 8years approx and not had any problems. I still have free check ups with them too! Eyesight better than 20 20

Please please please do your research before getting this done. I am probably in the minority here but my family are living with the effects of complications. Please just be aware of the risks and make sure you have done all your research and be comfortable with what you are doing and the surgeon you are choosing.

SardineJam well, my sister went back once - the next day. After that she went home and had her checkups here at the regular opticians.
Of course if money is not an issue it's easier to do it in UK.
Although I wouldn't do it in Optical Express. I have only once registered interest in it and they have been pestering me for the past 5 years. Fuck that. I hate hard sell.

I had laser surgery twice. First time 23 years ago with optimax and had no problems. My eyesight improved massively but regressed a little over the years. It was so easy the first time I had it done again 6 years ago with optical express in Shaftesbury Avenue. I had lots of problems with dry eyes afterwards and my eyes were totally stuck together in the mornings to the point that it i had tearing pains opening my eyes which was really scary. I was very unimpressed with their aftercare. They just didn't want to know and could not get rid of me fast enough at my aftercare appointments. They got me mixed up with another patient and tried to do the pressure (air puff) tests just after i had surgery which would have been excruciating if I hadn't stopped them. Generally i think the laser surgery is a good idea but I definitely would not recommend optical express. I have read of lots of bad things about them and it was certainly my experience that they just seem to be after your money and the aftercare is very poor if you have any problems. The dry eyes did eventually heal up - it took about 2 years though!

By all means get laser surgery if you are considered an appropriate candidate for it but I wouldn't do it at Optical Express. They are known for pushing it on people who aren't suitable candidates for the procedure and their follow up isn't very good - especially if you have any problems afterwards. I've had to deal with some cases involving them and I certainly wouldn't go to them for laser surgery if I was getting it done.

If they are giving you the hard-sell then that would set off alarm bells for me; no responsible surgeon would want any patient to undergo a procedure like that unless they were absolutely sure - and in fact, many would recommend getting a second opinion.

If you really want it, get a second opinion from a really good specialist, and don't be tempted by a cheaper deal; it's your eyes, it's worth investing in a proper, responsible, and skilled surgeon.

My friend is a Harley St eye surgeon.
NONE of his colleagues have had this procedure .
Draw your own conclusions

I didn't go with the first company I talked to. I wanted to discuss it with the surgeon who'd be doing the surgery, so I went to another company who offered that (Optimax did not). My surgeon had done over 6,000 of the procedures I was having done.

I've never regretted the surgery. It's been over 10 years now.

I also went to Dr David Gartry at Moorfields - can't recommend him highly enough. I didn't want to mess about with my eyes and knew the treatment would be high quality and that I was in a good place for if I needed particular aftercare.

I had a consultation at optical express. I asked them what could go wrong and they laughed and said nothing would go wrong!

I did get my eyes done at optimax at finchley road, London. They were excellent and explained everything thoroughly. There was no hard sell or anything. It was more expensive than optical express but they were sort it. I had mine done 7 years ago.

I had my vision corrected with them in Birmingham approx 3 years ago, had LASIK, cost around £4K. It was a small miracle as far as I was concerned!

I was quite short sighted, so the first thing I did each morning was to reach for my specs. The freedom of being able to see clearly in the shower, or in the rain, or to go swimming and not have to worry about prescription goggles is fabulous. Simply not to have the weight/feeling of glasses on my face was such a novelty - spent the first few months still trying to push them up my nose even though they weren't there!

When I took my specs off on the treatment table everything was blurred, but when I sat up a few minutes later I could clearly read the sign over the doorway across the room - amazing.

I was really scared, so an extra member of staff came into the room to hold my hand and make soothing noises. The procedure was strange and a bit unpleasant, but not painful. I'm a real wimp but I'd have it done again in a heartbeat and second time around I'd be a bit apprehensive perhaps, but not frightened.

I'd say they do downplay the level of discomfort immediately post-op - after the anaesthetic drops wore off my eyes were very sore and streaming and I had to keep them closed, so you'll need someone with you to take you home. BUT, my recovery time was very quick. I got home, drank a fair amount of Bailey's, napped on the sofa for a couple of hours and when I woke up my eyes felt much less sore. The next morning they just felt a bit gritty and the next day they were back to normal. I think they say the first 6 or 7 hours are the worst and it's best to sleep through them.

I didn't have any eye drops or anything, just had to wear goggles during the night and sunglasses outside for a week or so - which was probably the worst bit because I felt daft wearing sunglasses in October.

A couple of years later I went to see my optician because the air con at work was making my eyes dry, and he said that if I hadn't told him I'd had surgery then he would never have noticed the scars because they were tiny and really hard to see - so the surgeon did a great job. Optician also told me to take cod liver oil to prevent dry eyes, I was a bit sceptical but it seems to work.

Re: the hard sell - they're a commercial business in a competitive market, like any other offering a service they chase leads. If you don't like the calls tell them to stop contacting you and to remove your details from their database. Shop round and see what other providers there are locally, but don't let it put you off having the procedure, if it's what you want.

You can't haggle over the price. I think any operation at a private hospital or clinic is expensive and this is very delicate surgery. Just because it's offered on the High Street doesn't make it less intricate or the surgeon less qualified or skilled. It's not like at the hairdressers where you can get it done cheaper if the junior practices on you!

You sound quite nervous and undecided, which is understandable. I was a terrified (but determined) bag of nerves with a very low pain threshold, so if I can do it I'm sure you can!

I had LASIK done about 18 years ago and it's brilliant. I was -5.25 and -3.25 and had 20/20 vision for years until work moved me into an internal office with no natural daylight and they slipped a bit after that. I'm sure it was that as they've never changed apart from that once! -1 now, which means glasses for driving but otherwise I go out glasses free.

It was a bit painful the next morning until they took out the "bandage" contact lenses, then it was fine.

About 20 mins after having it done, I was back in the waiting room and my dad asked me if I could read the sign on the wall and I told him not to be stupid. 5 mins later I was reading, "please will all patients turn off their mobile phones". It was bizarre!

There was absolutely no haggling where I had mine done. Which TBH I was happy about. I just wanted a true figure and to pay it.

I did watch a man at the counter trying to haggle though. Was there ages (I was waiting for some drops to take affect mid consultation) trying every way possible. He didn't get anywhere and left signing up for full cost.

They say that any profit goes into there NHS clinics and there was no room for haggling. Seemed fair.

Has anyone had this done with VERY shortsighted prescription.
(Not sure if i should start a new thread for this?)

Hi Roller - one of my eyes had a prescription in excess of -7 (can't remember exactly) and that's classed as serious myopia, I think.
I also had an astigmatism which I would have ruled me out of treatment some years back but isn't so much of an issue now.

Treatment and recovery would be similar regardless of severity of prescription I think.

Moorfields. Or equivalent elsewhere in the country. Why anyone trusts these bucket shop operators with their sight is beyond me.

I know it sounds like a stupid question, but why do you want it done? what are you hoping it will achieve for you? I have been very shortsighted since about age 11 and was desperate to get mine done as I didn't like glasses but couldn't get on with contact lenses for more than a couple of hours at a time. When I could afford it I had a consultation at Birmingham Eye Hospital. The consultant was brilliant and actually talked me through what the options were. It turned out my prescription was too high (-8.75 and -7.75) and my corneas too thin for them to be able to correct my vision enough to no longer need glasses. He also talked about lens exchange. Much more expensive but increases the risk of cataracts. In the end I decided not to have it done and have found some great lenses I wear pretty much all the time. I'm quite glad I didn't have it done, I now have great sight without having had surgery, it's much cheaper too. Only downside is I can still see FA at night when I wake up and try and see the alarm clock!

Coincidence that this thread has come up, I'm excited to be going for my initial consultation this weekend - I checked out Moorfields but nearly fainted at the cost, so went to the next one on the recommended London surgeon list which is one near Harley Street. I was a bit nervous of a "high street" approach so what the hell.

I have mild strabismus in one eye, astigmatism, medium myopia (-2.5) and mild presbyopia (+1) - but apparently I'm a good candidate for "Blended Vision", a procedure this surgeon founded I believe. If I'm no good for that I might go for replacement lens surgery for a bit more money.

I've worn contact lenses for 25 years, and varifocals for the past year. I would love to be able to see properly in the shower (and avoid my DH yelling at me for leaving hairs that I can't even see); to go into the butterfly section at London Zoo!! Read the clock at night; do my hair and make up without faffing with magnifying mirrors and short brushes and spare glasses covered in hairspray and taking specs on and off.

I'm excited and not in the least bit worried about the pain, it'll be worth it. Fingers crossed I'm suitable.

I went with them 10 years ago and have regretted it ever since. I was left with double vision in one eye and pain in both eyes most of the time. The aftercare was awful, I don't think they could have cared less. It took 2 weeks before I could open my eyes and I was seriously concerned about my vision.

I now wear glasses and have worse vision than before.

Another vote for Moorfields. 12 years on still perfect vision.

Cannot abide the idea of hard sales for surgery. See and speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey.

I had a lens replacement procedure with Optical Express in Bristol 2 years ago.It is without doubt the worst decision I have ever made.Complications set in almost from the start & all optical Express did was refer me to The Bristol Eye hospital & then send me copies of any disclaimers I had signed.My vision has been severely affected to the point where I cannot see properly from my left eye & I still suffer from halos & glaring in my right eye.I am starting to wonder if I was ever suitable for this procedure having learnt a lot more about this company since the operation.I don't know if any of the problems I am having can be rectified but I would strongly urge anyone to avoid Optical Express at all costs.They are without doubt one of the worst companies I have ever been unfortunate enough to come across.

I have a similar experience to @iminshock
I know a few opticians and eye health specialists and they ALL wear contact lenses or glasses, not one of them has had laser eye surgery... that made my mind up for me!
Plus I have a friend who had constant headaches following his surgery.
Seems like I may be in the minority so best of luck whatever you decide

It was 2 years ago, so the OP has probably made up her mind!!

I don't think it's surprising opticians don't like it, given that their businesses depend on selling glasses and contact lenses. I've spoken to two eye doctors that I know about it - one says it's so safe he'd let his child have it done; the other says he's still on the fence and will be for the next ten years. So nice and inconclusive!!