laser eye surgery-opinions please.

[Mirage]

I've been thinking of having this for a few years now and wondered if anyone has any experience/advice for me.TBH I'm not even sure if my eyes are suitable as I'm VERY short sighted.
Thankyou.

I was very shortsighted and had mine done - its been brilliant, absolutely brilliant. To be able to get up in the morning and see immediately, not need to worry about losing a contact lense in a swimming pool or wear heavy glasses that fall down your nose.

I was shit scared though before I had it done.

Thankyou Mummygogo,that is great news!

Do you mind me asking where you had it done? I've seen the ads on tv for Optimax,and a local optician is also advertising the procedure,but I'm not sure which is best.The cost seems to be about £395 per eye.

How shortsighted are you? My optician told me they can correct down down to about -4.5 now (which would mean I would still need to wear specs or lenses to be able to see anything!) so if you are VERY shortsighted it might not solve the problem entirely.

I would go in and talk to your regular optician about it.

I have a prescription of -10.25 in both eyes and think about laser eye surgery occasionally but have the fear in the back of my mind that if something went wrong I would have had it so to speak.

I am sure many ppl with eyesight worse than mine have had it done successfully but I would really want to know avout the surgeon a lot before doing it.

I have also heard that the £395 operations are not the best available. Reading your post Grumpla has depressed me as I am more short sighted than -4.5.

I'm sure I've heard of ppl with prescriptions of up to -30 having laser surgery so it can be done. But I don't thibk the £395 per eye places are necessarily the best

Hi, it?s Lindsay here from Optical Express. I am about to become a new mum and saw this posting on my lunch hour. I?ve had laser eye surgery, I?m happy to answer any specific questions you may have. Our surgeons can correct from -12.00 to +4.50 with a laser procedure and from -20.00 to +15.00 with permanent implantable contacts lenses (also known as IOLs/RLEs). The best course of action is to go and see if you are suitable, most laser eye surgery providers offer free consultations including Optical Express.

I hope that helps and look forward to receiving everyone?s advice in three weeks on my new born baby, I am really nervous!

I had laser eye surgery one year ago at the London Vision Clinic. The precision they achieve is incredible. I am now taking my 20/12 vision completely for granted after 25 years of wearing contact lenses. There is loads of information on their website which you may find useful even if you decide to go somewhere else.

Please do your research carefully.

I did and went to the East Grinstead centre for sight in Sussex after being recommended by my independent optician. Mr Daya, the consultant, oftens has to correct mistakes made by the "cheaper" practitioners. People travel from all over the south of England and London to be operated on by him but he is more expensive.
The results, for me, were fantastic and I wish the technology had been available years earlier.

My mum's a doctor. The clinic where she works occasionally invites lecturers/researches to come and talk about recent advances in the medical science. A few years ago they had one guy talk about the possible side-effects of laser therapy which apparently go as far as to do something to your blood plasma, potentially resulting in cancer. APPARENTLY research into this is patchy because the laser surgery business is so big it's blocking any attempts at looking into its safety long-term. BUT I can't vouch for the validity of this info unfortunately :(

That said, I'd LOVE to have one done myself as I'm currently -6 and getting worse.. but too effing scared

Best of luck LindseyOE, my main tip would be to stock your freezer with ready meals (I used to cook massive meals and freeze the leftovers), also stuff like cheese sandwiches that you'd then stick in the oven/microwave, etc. A lifesaver in the first weeks. Also tell your DH to drive absolutely EVERYONE away from your house (apart from your mum maybe if you trust her completely). A little thermos flask for your tea would come in handy coz babies are experts at not letting mum have anything while it's hot. And don't get too fixated on labour, take your final PG days as they come
Fingers crossed!

Big thing to take into account- it can cause DRY EYES!! Especially if u r over 40. Dry eye syndrome kicked in with me last year and I had to abandon plans for laser surgery. My Doc said it was a very bad idea. taking lots of Omega 3 oil now which has helped but still eyes always painful & often red.

kerrymumbles
My optometrist said the same. While I would love good eyesight, I wouldn't risk it as I already suffer from dry eyes.

One of my friends had the implantable permanent contact lenses and is pleased with the results, but her eyesight was so bad that even glasses weren't strong enough for her.

hmm,thankyou for the advice-a lot to think through.I have been waiting for years,purely because I was dubious about the long term effects,so won't rush into it.Have got a consultation at the weekend,and am considering going back to contact lenses again,as I got on very well with those in the past.

Best of luck with the baby Lindsay.I can second the advice given-I well remember never getting a hot cup of tea.My tips would be-remember that most crying/colic type things are just a phase and will pass eventually,and if the baby cries a lot,it always seems better if you can get out of the house with a pram and walk them around in the fresh air for a bit.I found crying babies a lot less stressful once outside.

Have a friend who had it done at the East Grinstead centre that gailforce1 mnetioned. My friend is over the moon - very happy indeed.

What I did not realise though is that the laser eye surgery my friend had 'set' his eyes to long sight and he still have to wear simple prescription reading glasses.

Is that always the case?

My friend had -8.00 and was corrected successfully. At -4.5 we're not really that shortsighted!!

Personally, it would be only Moorfields for me. Low/no MRSA rates.

"What I did not realise though is that the laser eye surgery my friend had 'set' his eyes to long sight and he still have to wear simple prescription reading glasses.

Is that always the case?"

Once you reach a certain age - usually mid forties your eyes don't adjust well for reading small print and you will need reading glasses. This happens to people with good eyesight as well, so yes, it is usually the case.

Thanks for the recommendations.It is a shame that we live so far away from London.
Have spoken to dh about it and one of his colleagues had it done locally and is very pleased with the results,but I'm not sure.I might cancel my appt and go to my optician about contact lenses again.

Bunbaker - thanks for confirming that. My friend and I are both well in our 40s but must admit I am very tempted to have it done - even if I still had to have reading glasses.

I really really wouldn't go to optical express or any of these high street things. You get what you pay for in laser surgery. You need to go to moorfields and get it done properly. You will be in the minority of people who are there for a first op and not for repair to damage caused by high street opticians. I have a friend who is a consultant at moorfields and you should hear some of the horror stories she sees...

You are extremely shortsighted - go on a day trip to London (or spend the night if you are that far away) and get it done properly is my advice. And it won't cost you £395, but more like £3000.

I've had it and its brilliant - no pain or inconvenience except having to sleep in those funny eye shields. I had to pay £3.5k though/

£3.5K!!! That is it,no way.You can buy a hell of a lot of contact lenses for £3.5k.

I'm cancelling the appointment.Don't want to risk it and can't afford silly money to go to London.

If you are happy with contact lenses and don't find them uncomfortable and it doesn't interfere with your chosen lifestyle, then why have an operation? If, however, for example, you can't tolerate contact lenses, like to swim and do water sports, find glasses do not provide you with the all-round vision you need to enjoy your chosen activities even when they aren't splattered with water, and are short sighted enough that you would be severely disabled if your glasses were knocked off your face, then it is worth considering and probably worth several thousand pounds to get done. Likewise, if your chosen profession requires you to have vision that does not fall below a certain standard. Basically, you would want the immediate potential benefits to be so great to you, personally, that you would be willing to take the risk of dry eyes and other possible side effects, as well as long term future uncertainty. The risks of the operation these days going badly wrong immediately are exceptionally small if you go somewhere with an excellent reputation - the likelihood is that you will get fantastic vision with no noticeable issues over the next 10 years. Not having your eyes done, of course, brings the certainty that you will never be able to see very well and your eyesight will only get worse as you get older.

One point to bear in mind if you are very short-sighted, is that as you get older, it gets phenomenally expensive to get ultra-thin multi-focal or bi-focal plastic lenses for glasses, so you might have to start wearing very heavy, thick lenses again when you wear glasses. Not so much of a problem if your eyes can and continue to be able to tolerate contact lenses, of course, but I certainly found with my prescription that the weight of anything but very thin and light lenses in my glasses gave me a dreadful headache and irritated my nose and ears, not to mention looked pretty unsightly. Still, who knows what will happen to the eyes of people who had laser eye surgery to avoid this eventuality, as they age? It's not that long since laser eye surgery started. But then, soft contact lenses aren't so very old, either, yet people happily stick those in their eyes as though they know all the risks.