SIDE EFFECTS OF LASER EYE SURGERY?

[frenziednester]

I am mulling over having this done as I am so fed up with contact lenses, but I am worried about the long term side effects - has anyone out there heard of any or had any? Also, what actually happens in the op? Is it really grim?

oh well, it he was on Your and Yours... PMSL.

actually, the infection happened at one of the better places. a proper doctor and everything.

and pah! to your eyes, hunker. i'm all 7s and 8s... blaind as ay bat.

peers at screen - 10 here opticians laugh at me.

i have the 30 day keep em in lenses. wear them continuously for a month chuck em insert new ones off you go.

fabulous being able to see at night. i can see dd2's little sleeping face, couldn't do that with dd1.

mrs a, i went to get those but they couldn't get me to a stage where i could actually see properly. i think my astigmatism was too bad or something. they said, 'oh, you might not be able to see that well with them but you won't have to wear glasses...' i quite like my specs, actually, but i do dream of being able to see first thing in the morning.

ahhh my dh has a similar prob. i am slighly plagued with it too but only slightly.

I had my eyes done almost 2 years ago at Ultralase in Leeds. My prescription was -7 & -6.5 with - 1.25 astigmatism - so quite shortsighted. I had Ultralasik plus done (they cut a flap and a wave guided laser zaps the precise amount from your cornea). It was nervewracking, but not painful. For half a day afterwards I had light sensitive red, bloodshot watery eyes, but the drops and sunglasses helped. I had brilliant vision from the minute the surgery was finished. I had a follow-up appointmennt the next day - my corneas were still swollen but the irritation had gone. I was slightly long sighted (normal I am lead to believe for high prescriptions). For one week I had to use antibiotic drops as a preventative and steroid drops to reduce redness and swelling. The main problem was dry eyes. Surgery disrupts the production of tears, and in the morning it felt like my eyes were glued shut (you use artificial tears as needed - I had to stumble to the bathroom with eyes shut to put drops in before I dared open them). My next check up was a week later. The opthalmologist puts flurocene in your eyes (yellow stuff) and checks staining on the cornea - an indication of tear flow. My eyes were very dry and my vision was burring with each blink - due to lack of tears. As your cornea heals, the tears return. After a month, I used the artificial tears only once or twice a day instead of every hour. Not everyone suffers to the same extent with dry eyes. You have to be extremely cautious for the first 2 weeks not to rub your eyes, use make-up or get water in them. I wore eye shields at night for 2 weeks. My vision slowly improved, it was 3 months before it finally stabilised. If a further correction is needed, Ultralase will do it free of charge. All the aftercare and lotions and potions are included in the price too. In spite of the initial problems post treatment, it is the best thing I have ever done. To wake in the morning and see my alarm clock is the best feeling in the world.

I was aware of the risks - my optician is good friends with a surgeon at Moorfields. I waited for years for the technique to advance to the stage where my prescription could be treated successfully. I wanted the procedure done at Moorfields, but couldn't afford £4000 and it is too far from where I live to attend all the aftercare check-ups. One of the reasons I chose Ultralase is that they were very upfront with the risks, and publish results/complications freely. I also advise ANYONE contemplating LASIK to look into it in depth before deciding to go ahead. It was not a decision I took lightly.

see the thing is, if i could get it done i'd want to do one eye at a time, with a ma-hoosive delay between the two. but it's economies of scale, so i'm sure they'd charge you double.

No, tis better to get both over and done with, honestly.

Long thread about this here from moneysavingexpert.

I remember asking my mate (male) who had had it done, if he knew of any side effects - he said, yeah, sex is great now I can see what i am doing

but what if they both fo wrong, ginge? [petrified]

go wrong. and cross post with the sex, btw. i was talking about the eyes.

There will always be that risk Aitch. But a good surgeon will explain everything to you, and the risks involved. If your corneas are too thin, you might not be able to have the surgery anyway.
I waited over 10 years until the technology was available for treating my astigmatism and -7 short sight. I knew there was a risk of it not completely working (ie not 20/20 vision afterwards). I had my eyes tested recently by my optician and I have a residual -0.15 in one eye, which I knew about, but I don't need glasses or contacts anymore, and the dryness has gone completely. No night haloes or starbursts either, I can drive better at night now than I could with specs or contacts.

lol at x post btw!

hunkermunker... have you used the OrhoK thingies?

It is what my optician recommends... I am -7.0 and -7.5. I have used gas permeable lenses for ever... never had any problem. I just get fed up of waking up and being half blind. and lenses are restricting at times, esp if you are tired.

I have thought about laser surgery but because I have worn contacts for over 30 years (I am old...!) I just don't know whether I should let sleeping dogs lie....

would be dead interested to hear of your experience of orhto k

that is interesting hellibean, my optician said that at -7 and -6.5 I was too myopic to have ortho-K.

If you do a search on ortho-k, hunker did a great thread a couple of years ago - I quizzed her about them before I had my eyes lasered.

I will do a search Ginger bear... my optician personally knows the leader in the field of OrthoK and reckoned I was a prime candidate...!

I am such a scaredycat... I'm sat here with my gas permeable lenses in... I've had them in for 16 hours today (I was up v early) with absolutely no problem... and I am almost of the mind 'if it aint broke, dont fix it'.... but
at other times I hate wearing lenses... I swim a lot and its a pain... when I am tired... first thing in the morning etc.

Helliebean, are you scared of using Ortho-k? Don't be! They're fantastic! I wonder if we share an optician though - whereabouts are you?

I had it done years ago, it wasn't lasik but the other one (can't remember).
Was mega short sighted with a stigmatism.
Now have 20/20.
Night vision is still somewhat effected, get the 'glare' from lights still a little, but not too bad.
I personally found the procedure horrific but i'm not known for being brave about these things.
Recovery was pretty bad for a few days, felt like I had glass in my eyes.
If its something you really want done, then I think you need to look to the long term benefits.
Im glad I had it done, but I don't know if I could go through the procedure again if I had to.
Bit like labour!

Oh and I should add that the procedure in itself wasn't painful, just nerve racking!

I used to share a taxibus with a woman who did the ops for one of the optician chains (can't remember who) and she personally would never have it done. She said that she has seen it go wrong too many times. That put me off.

I'm also a scaredy cat and am managing quite well the last few months with monthly disposable lenses. However, I'd be interested in the ortho-k. Is that what Philip Schofield had done on This morning? I wasn't aware it was actually properly available yet - I might need to look into it.

yeah, it was weird... on This Morning they made it sound like it was brand new but it's been around for a few years up here. and at your optician pal!

Not many opticians offer it because it's expensive to get the kit to fit the lenses properly. Plus you can't sell second pairs of glasses, spare prescription sunglasses, cases, cloths, etc - just one pair of lenses every six months, some solutions and some eyedrops.

hi hunker... my optician is north of Bristol.. is that the same as you?!

I'm certainly terrified of having laser surgery but not so much for Ortho K. Its only that I have no problems ever with gas permeable and I'm just afraid that I'll saddle myself with a load of problems if I do anything.... even Ortho K.

Is it right that if you don't find it successful... you just go back to how you were with no ill effects?

No, not the same one then.

Ortho-k are just gas permeable lenses you wear at night - GPs already subtly alter the shape of your cornea, this just does it with a nicer outcome!

And yes, you go back to how you were if you leave the lenses out.

Go for it! You won't regret it, I'm sure!