AIBU to ask about eye laser surgery

[Scrumbleton]

I’m in my late 50s and have bad age related short sight. I’m due for my annual eye test and the prospect of spend in another £400 for varifocals that don’t really suit me. Has anyone had recent eye surgery ( I’m in London) how much did it cost and any thoughts on whether it’s effective for age related blindness

@steelseries

I had laser eye surgery in March using the new SMILE technology. It's was £2.5k per eye. I was about -5 and had an astigmatism. The procedure itself was complete key painless and only took minutes. I recovered completely perfect vision within days (although I still have some residual dryness which makes driving at night a bit of a challenge until it resolves).

Try taking omega 3 tablets or eating lots of oily fish.

@Muma1992

OP, have a Google of something called RLE. This might help :) A good surgeon will discuss all your options. Don't rush to a laser clinic that offers a deal if you book in the first consultation. A good surgeon won't rush you. Good luck :)

Do you work for an RLE provider? It's is bit odd that you seem to be recommending OP a more expensive and invasive procedure when several of us on this thread have actually HAD laser eye surgery for age related vision loss

LVC actually, but we recommend it for the younger ones (under 50) as the results last for longer and are generally better. Older people with age related vision loss tend to be not as happy with the results, as a general rule, as they are much shorter term compared. We often send people away (no commission on this!) to be treated elsewhere with different surgeries if they won't get the best results.

We get a lot of business from the most suitable candidates though :)

Also, all eye surgery is invasive to some extent and there is a reason that lens exchange is more expensive.
Obviously all I am going off here is age. I don't know anything about OP's medical history.
You seem unhappy that I have suggested an alternative for OP to merely research.

Dp went for a consultation maybe 2 years ago. He's 58. Short sight not sure what prescription but not high.
Dr said if he got short sight fixed he would then need glasses for reading. So he decided not to bother.

@Muma1992

Also, all eye surgery is invasive to some extent and there is a reason that lens exchange is more expensive. Obviously all I am going off here is age. I don't know anything about OP's medical history. You seem unhappy that I have suggested an alternative for OP to merely research.

You maybe should have declared at the start that you actually work for one of the clinics though..... Yes, I realise that older patients are often offered RLE over laser, but not in all cases, and it IS more invasive than laser

I had lens replacement 2 years ago. It's the best money I ever spent. I needed glasses for literally everything.

Now I can read, drive, chop onions, buckle a shoe up and thread a needle without scrabbling about for the 'right glasses'

It is totally life changing.

When I went to Moorfields for my next day follow up everyone in the waiting room was fully sighted, smiling and happy, we were all stuffing our old glasses into the recycling box that they send to third world countries

Good for you, not my experience at all as I said.

@Scrumbleton I had it done about 12 years ago at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Best thing I've invested in. It was £4k. I've probably saved more than that in glasses/contacts... more importantly, it's so convenient

@ClumpingBambooIsALie

Bambooshoot I'm not asking out of rudeness, I'm asking because people talking about age-related vision deterioration would usually be talking about presbyopia, whereas people talking about short-sight would usually be referring to myopia. It's not clear whether OP just has presbyopia or is myopic too (or has other stuff going on), and how successful surgery can be depends a lot on what the surgery is actually being used to treat.

I agree. “Short-sight” is not age related.

Also maybe people are being “rude” as OP claims to have “age-related blindness” or “age-related vision loss.”

Needing glasses is nothing like blindness or visual loss. Maybe it’s a bit rude to people who actually are visually impaired to say you have “age-related blindness” (which would actually mean eg macular degeneration - ie irreversible eye diseases leading to visual impairment) when actually you just need glasses, or could have laser surgery. Lucky you.

FWIW I would rather have multifocal lens implants as well - but I’d wait until I had cataracts first!

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor

When I went to Moorfields for my next day follow up everyone in the waiting room was fully sighted, smiling and happy, we were all stuffing our old glasses into the recycling box that they send to third world countries

Good for you, not my experience at all as I said.

It’s why I chose Moorfields, you can see the specialities and experience of the surgeons and have confidence in the outcomes.

Clearly a clinic where every patient is complaining is not doing a good job, I am sorry your friend had such a bad experience.

Thanks for your comments - I guess i have to decide at my age if it’s worth it for around 10 years without glasses. Cost prob balances out over that time of I’m spending £400-£500 a year on specs

Go to Moorfields Eye Hospital and have a consultation.

Best thing I have spent money on

I just had Implantable contact lens in my worse eye (for reading/close vision) and lasik with wavefront for distance on my right. I am 49 with astigmatism (quite bad) and high prescription. Happy with results so far but right eye done today so still a bit blurry and stingy although the procedure itself was painless.