Laser eye surgery

[haggistramp]

using aibu for traffic. Concede im unreasonable on that point alone. My question is for anyone who has had laser eye surgery. Basically what was your prescription strength, how much were you for it and how long ago? Really tempted as heading for 40 and sick to death of contacts. Seen an ad for laser eye surgery from £19 a month which is less than I am for contacts, but wondered what the realistic price is rather than the headline price.

Like @Coulddowithanap I also had the above made clear to me, hence wondering if I’ve just got to the point where I might need glasses.

Point 3 is probably a bit like many obstetricians/gynae docs preferring CS for themselves/spouses, mostly because they spend a lot of time dealing with problems resulting from birth, but those problems represent a small fraction. Yes risk is there, but that in itself doesn’t necessarily worry me as much as it might other people.

Just a quick word of warning. I got mine done 15 years ago and for two years afterwards my vision was perfect. Then it started to deteriorate again. I'm back wearing contacts and glasses although my vision isn't as bad as it was before the laser surgery. There is a chance it can get bad again.

I did alot of research and decided against it for now. If I'd go anyway it be moorfields. Reasons not going for it... friend ended up blind for a few days (her dad had to go and collect her from work as a branch fell on her head the day after the surgery and moved something in her eye) following surgery until corrective surgery, the dry eyes and the lack of night vision. I've had several friends go through it, some great results but my friend who had the problems made me vvv wary. Research research and don't go cheap!

Another one here who had it 17 years ago.
-7 and -6.5

Was warned it might bring forward the need for reading glasses. However I am nearly 57 and still don't need reading glasses.

I had started having problems with contacts and also my glasses even with 'thin' glass were very thick. I was warned that with my prescription I may still need glasses but I didn't.

Best money I ever spent. If I woke up tomorrow with same sight as before I would 100% be booking an appointment immediately tongave it done again (which obviously won't happen but shows how much I would recommend it(.

My dh has really bad eye sight which does make life difficult for him and his father is an ophthalmologist and dh hasn’t had it done as he says the risks are too high. We used to regularly go for drinks with the eye department of a major hospital and his Dad used to point out to look around and they all wore glasses.
He did say if you are going to do it at least get it done properly. Do not go to one of the cheap optician places like optimax, optical express etc as often the people who carry out the surgery there are just retired Gp’s who have done basically a weekend course.

@HoldMyLobster

"I was curious about these statements that ophthalmologists won't risk Lasik so I did a quick google.

theophthalmologist.com/business-profession/do-ophthalmologists-undergo-lasik"

This is a highly unreliable source, as not only is the author the medical director of a LASIK clinic, the study he refers to was carried out exclusively on ophthalmologists who have performed LASIK surgery - it should have included ophthalmologists who are not paid to do LASIK surgery to provide any valuable insight.

Furthermore, whilst 95% satisfaction may be brilliant for, say, a manicure or a pair of contact lenses, I would argue that 5% is too significant a percentage to ignore when the potential negative consequences involve your eyesight.

That's a risk that could be worthwhile if you have a very high prescription or a niche career that demands perfect vision, but not one I'd be willing to take for any reason other than that 🤷🏻‍♀️

did mine 10 years ago and it was about £3k. ten years on and my eyes are starting to deteriorate again (esp with lockdown and a lot of screen time).

Please bear in mind that it doesn't stop your eyes from deteriorating with age which generally happens at 40+ so it may be a little useless at that age. you have to also have a non-changing prescription for at least two years and the recovery time and experience is far worse the older you get.

@Thecobwebsarewinning

I was -10 and - 13. I was considered too short sighted for laser surgery so 6 years ago I had intraocular lens surgery. It’s similar to cataract surgery and I had permanent varifocal lenses Inserted in my eyes. They were custom made for me and give me perfect vision, both distance and close up as well as correcting my astigmatisms and it will not deteriorate or alter over time as laser corrected eyes will.

As you can imagine going from a prescription like that to perfect vision was like a miracle. It cost £6000 and was worth every penny and it’s paid for itself in the savings I have made on glasses and contact lenses.

One of my siblings had cataract surgery in 2019 and got replacement lens that cured his short myopia. (Around -4) He still wears glasses for hyperopia. His operation was on the NHS as part of a trial.

He had looked into laser surgery years before and discounted it.

I was -8 in both eyes and has LASIK in 2006 at about £3000. I needed glasses again by 2013. Vision kept deteriorating and was finally diagnosed with post-LASIK corneal ectasia. I had to have a corneal cross-linking operation last year in one eye (the other eye is too far gone and only a corneal transplant will help if anything happens to my ‘good’ eye). I am sure what happened to me is extremely rare and it was listed as a potential side effect, you just never think those rare ones will happen to you.