To even consider laser eye surgery?...

[MissGruffalo]

A few years back I only needed my specs for watching tv. Cut to today and I need them for most tasks. Not as short sighted as some but I definitely wouldn’t leave the house without wearing my glasses.
And I hate it.

I’m very squeamish when it comes to putting things in my eyes so I’ve never tried contacts (even though my optician says I have the perfect prescription for it!)

Has anyone had laser eye surgery? Would you recommend it?

I remember reading a few stories a couple of years ago about it going wrong and it’s always stuck with me so I’ve never considered it before. But now I’m so fed up of having to wear glasses.

Any advice?

Excuse any typos, I’ve had a couple of and it’s got me pondering!

My BF had lasik 11 years ago. He now has terrible night vision, halos, unbearable glare, blepharitis, severe unmanageable dry eyes and blinding headaches. It left him with something called high order aberrations and wearing glasses doesn’t help any of these problems. He can’t drive, had to give up a hobby he loved and was hoping to be a tutor in and wishes every day he’d never stepped foot in the clinic.

He’s since been told that he probably wasn’t a good candidate for lasik. Something to do with pupil size. I know he was one of the unlucky ones but it can go wrong and very badly.

Well, the positive outcomes sound wonderful! I would love to wake up with 20:20 vision.

But the negative outcomes have totally put me off 🙈
I don’t think it’s something I’ll be exploring, my eyesight is precious, deep down I don’t think it’s worth the risk.
Perhaps I’ll be brave and learn how to use contacts 😂

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!

I just think the potential for problems is too big especially when you factor in age-related nearsightedness and the progression thereof

WeepingWillowWeepingWino

I've rootled out the bill. Per eye exactly four years ago to the day (gosh, more recent than I thought: how did I get two extra years in?) it cost

Hospital fee: £2040
Lens fee: £445
Anaesthetist Fee: £400
Mr Allan's surgical fee: £1400

so £4285 per eye all in.

I paid up, and mysteriously got sent £180 late last year which they said I had overpaid. I don't know how I managed to do that, but I didn't argue.

It didn't hurt at all having it done, and I could see clearly the following day with each eye after it had been done. I had to put two lots of drops into my eyes for a week each and one lot stung; the other lot soothed.

There are horror stories, but this is something they are getting better at doing every year. Twenty-five years ago I wouldn't have done it; but twenty-five years ago the armed forces were not keen on it, and I was prepared to take them as a guide. Now the forces allow it for everyone except fighter pilots (I think those are still not meant to have laser eye surgery but I may have missed them saying it was now ok) and that is officers, who cost them many, many thousands of pounds to train and they don't want to waste their money by having these people made useless by a duff operation!

I asked Mr Allan what the worst that might happen to me was. He said that he had heard of one case of someone losing the sight in one eye. He had never heard of anyone losing the sight in both eyes. I don't think he reads the Sun or the Mail so maybe he wouldn't have seen about the reported suicide: what that unfortunate person had was corneal neuralgia, which may or may not have been caused by the surgery back in 1996 -- rather a long time ago in terms of the accuracy of the available procedures now.

There may have been as many as eleven suicides related to pain from Lasik surgery, and that is terrible, but I had to set it against the fact that by the end of 2013, the procedure had been done to at least 30 million people since it started to be popular in 1991. That's a pretty minimal risk factor!

WeepingWillowWeepingWino
Hmm, I’m 47 and it sounds like it’s too late for me.

Sorry, didn't see this before answering your previous post.

I was in my early sixties, with -7 or more in each eye and astigmatism. If you go and see someone who knows his stuff he will be able to tell you whether you are a suitable patient for treatment, and to blazes with your age.

Moorfields private charge for the consultation, and take that off the fee if you are able to go ahead. (And I have just realised that may be what the £180 was. How honest of them.)

Thanks Asking that’s really helpful and good to know, though I’m going to have to start saving up!

Had it done in 2010 after wearing glasses/contacts for 20 years. Best thing I ever did! You just need to research your surgeon well. Someone I knew who was a dr had researched many surgeons and got it done so I went for the same surgeon.

Avidly following as I'm currently -5.75 in both eyes and seriously considering

Had both my eyes done privately at Moorfields Eye Hospital 20 years ago. No regrets - it was life-changing. Now that I’m in my mid-40s, I do need to wear glasses but that’s fine - it was well worth it to be glasses-free in my 20s and 30s.

I had mine done about 15 years ago at Manchester eye hospital. Had the type where they don't cut into the lens. It's the best thing I've ever done and I've had 15 years of perfect Vision . Having 3 young boys it's just been amazing to be able to do all the sports and swimming etc with them without having to mess about with glasses or contact lenses.

They don't tell you about the (very real) risks and complications

That is true about optical express. I asked them about what could go wrong and they just laughed at me and said nothing!

Optimax however talked me though all of the risks etc.

Had my eyes Lasered around 9 years ago. I know I will need reading glasses at some point. I used to have very good close up vision which sadly I don't have now but then I couldn't see faces of people I was sat in the same room with before. My only regret is not doing it sooner.

I had mine done at Ultralase, Newcastle. Previous patients included Paul Collingwood- England cricketer famous for brilliant catches. He had it done during his career, not after. That convinced me!

I had mine done a decade ago with an eminent surgeon and am very glad I did, although I had some haloing in one eye and had to have it retreated (free of charge). You should be able to see the success and failure rates for your surgeon to help you make a decision.

If your prescription is changing fast it is likely to continue to change. I wouldn’t opt for laser treatment until it is stable. And it won’t stop you needing reading glasses when you’re older.

I’ve had a decade with perfect vision and only in the last few months have started needing glasses for driving at night.

Mine was done by optical express - High street - just walked in one day and decided to take the plunge. I stupidly watched a YouTube video of the procedure the day before having it done. Not clever!

This thread has been enlightening.

I'm 33 and my prescription is still getting wildly worse very year, my sight is awful, my glasses are like bottles!
I've worn glasses since I was 3 so don't remember life before them.
I have astigmatism badly as well..

I genuinely believe being able to see without glasses would be life changing for me. I can't wait to see if my eyes stabilise enough for me to have laser eye surgery or lenses replacement done..

I appreciate it's not for everyone and there are risks - but it was life changing for me. Was so bloody shortsighted and so sick of glasses. Also do a lot of scuba diving so hated the faff with contact lenses and salt water. 8 years and have had no problems - no halos, dry eye, nothing. Although my eyes sting like a bastard when peeling onions which didn't used to bother me before!

I paid up, and mysteriously got sent £180 late last year which they said I had overpaid. I don't know how I managed to do that, but I didn't argue.I paid up, and mysteriously got sent £180 late last year which they said I had overpaid. I don't know how I managed to do that, but I didn't argue.

Was that at moorfields? I had a random refund last year -they had had an audit and had been overcharging people.

It was life-changing for me in terms of convenience and confidence, but I still need eyedrops at night for dryness and will never be able to work comfortably in air-conditioned buildings. Immediately after the procedure I wondered how I could have been so careless with my precious sight. So - properly mixed feelings.

I know someone with very bad eyesight who had this done and it worked perfectly.

Still perfect vision two years later.

I've had it, no real horror story, have slightly drier eyes and night driving halos. I'm back to wearing glasses again after 6 (?) years.

Reviews are a bit of a mixed bag and you're right to research.

What I will say is, yes it's permanent... but it doesn't stop your eyes from changing. If your prescription is prone to change, it will still change. Laser eye surgery won't prevent that change. Providers tend to omit that bit from their sales pitch.

And it can only fix one distance... so if you have it to see in the distance, chance are you'll need reading glasses somewhere in your 40/50s.

My SIL had it and almost went blind. Not allowed to drive any more and has been seeing a specialist in the US for treatment with specialised contacts to keep her eye shape stable.

I'm very short sighted but would never consider the surgery. It's still relatively new and the data about how eyes age in the decades after the surgery just isn't there yet. Eyes are so precious...why take an un-necessary risk with your sight when glasses and contacts work so well.

Getmyfrownupsidedown
And it can only fix one distance... so if you have it to see in the distance, chance are you'll need reading glasses somewhere in your 40/50s.

What I had done was one eye adjusted for distance and the other for reading/computer use.

This sounds as if it couldn't be possible, and I took a bit of convincing about it being sensible, but it really does work: one of my eyes has long sight, the other near sight, and the combination is able to see both distances clearly. The brain is amazingly good at adapting to what it has available to work with.

For about a month, if I covered the "distance" eye I couldn't see distance clearly and if I covered the other I couldn't use the computer, but it seems to have adapted so it's now hard to tell which is which if I cover one and then the other, as I just have. I've no idea what may be going on there!

I only know one person who had it done in her 60s

Everything was fantastic for a few years then the problems started.

Now she wishes she had never had it done.

I had mine done around 15 years ago and I'm still glasses free. Go for it.

Dooooo itttttt! I'm the biggest wimp when it comes to pain and I'm so glad I went for it- TWICE. I was practically blind without glasses (-7.50 in both eyes) and was fed up of my prescription constantly changing/the expense of having thinner lenses put into frames (I couldn't get on with contact lenses), glasses slipping off during intense workouts. The first time I had it done- it felt as if I could see through walls! My vision settled after the surgery (which was painful but doable) but I was still left with a small prescription after a few weeks so I went back to have that corrected. I'm not going to lie- it hurts like hell afterwards but you've got a load of medication/eye drops to see you through. The only downside in my case (everyone is different) is that my near vision suffered- things like threading a needle are a pain and I get the halo effect at night. But, I'm so glad I went for it. Seriously do it if you can. And don't skimp on the different types of surgeries- go for the best/most expensive one. Best £3800 I spent!