Laser eye surgery

[TeaandLemonDrizzle]

Hello,
Has anyone had laser eye surgery to correct their vision? If so, how much was it and was it ok?
I am 51 and have worn glasses/contact lenses since I was 20 but my eyes have deteriorated again and I’m not struggling to see close up stuff (with glasses) but everything is blurry if I don’t wear anything. I have to wear reading glasses on top of my contacts when working on the PC now. It has cost me a fortune over the years. I’m wondering about laser eye surgery!! Would it fix this?

Have you tried varifocal contact lenses?

I had laser surgery in 2009. Cost just under £1000 per eye but that was for the 2nd most expensive option. It was paid up in monthly installments so no large bill had to be paid up front.

I was very short sighted. Whole procedure took around 10 mins, was painless and by the end of the day (once the anaesthetic wore off) I had perfect 20/20 vision. I still have perfect vision today and have never worn glasses since right before tho op. I still to this day tho catch myself trying to push my glasses back up my nose as if they were still there!!

My understanding is they can fix many issues with vision so worth speaking to an optician.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/18/lasik-laser-eye-surgery

Read this first

Just read it. Pretty sure mine was lasik, my DB had it done and loved it so my parents offered to pay for me to have it. I was told about all the complications during my consultations. I also avoided the cheap £500 per eye procedure. No way did i want the bog standard cheap one. My eyes are precious so if i was getting it done it was worth paying for the top option, altho I opted for a manual insition instead of the laser incision which was the only difference. I had dry eyes before my procedure which never got worse. They actually got better as I wasn't forcing myself to wear contacts. No problems with night vision.

But I suppose any procedure has the posability for complications and it's about doing your own research into the different types and level of procedures and weighing up the pro's and con's based on your own circumstances.

For me, not being able to see anything without glasses, my nose always getting cut with the rubber bits, the legs digging in and hurting my ears, the ridiculous expense, the contact lenses stinging my eyes or popping out when i blinked because I had dry eyes, feeling so low with self loathing and regret when i forked out a lot of money for those lenses that darkened in the sun only to find they were so sensitive I'd be walking around feeling totally stupid with sunglasses during dull rainy days. Therefore it was the best decision of my life.

I’ll look into it. Thanks.

Had it done in 2003 and in total it cost £2000. Best money I have ever spent. Still have perfect long vision distance, however, in the last year I do need reading glasses (which they told me that would probably be the case).

I had mine done in 2004 as I was very short sighted. Best money ever spent and I wish I could have had it done when I was younger.

I'm late 50's now and a couple of years ago I got my eyes tested as I knew I was struggling reading things up close, and was given a prescription for varifocal lenses although the optician said my distance vision was still very good and didn't really need correcting.

I only wear the prescription glasses when driving at night as the glare from car headlights seems worse then but I tend to use cheap reading glasses ordinarily.

I definitely think I will look into it. I’ve been short sighted since my early twenties but then my eyes changed at 49 ish and now need reading glasses for close up stuff (but, strangely only if I’m wearing contacts for distance vision - I don’t need to wear reading glasses if I’m not wearing contacts). My distance vision has deteriorated over the last two years so I’d like to consider laser surgery.

I wonder how it works when you have always been short sighted (and struggle with distances) but then, at middle age, you struggle to see close up stuff (but only when wearing contacts for distance vision). I can read things fine if I’m not wearing contacts.

I had lasek 20 years ago (rather than lasik). Best money I ever spent. Some will still need reading glasses and it can bring forward the time you may need these but I am 58 and don't need reading glasses yet.

I had very high prescription too 7.5 and 8

@TeaandLemonDrizzle Sounds like your contact lenses are possible causing your eye muscles to strain too much when focusing on something close up rather than age related long sightedness. Have you discussed this with your optician?

*possibly

I’m one it wasn’t so positive for. I get horrific dry eyes now ( this is 12 years after surgery) and a few times a year get corneal tears that I end up having to go to hospital for. My eyesight is much better though and in general I think the positives probably outweigh the negatives

Yes, optician just said it was presbyopia (old age eye changes)! I’m not old aged!

Presbyopia starts in your 40s. It’s what makes you need reading glasses.

Had both of my eyes done 33 years ago at St Thomas Hospital in London. DH had one of his eyes done at the same time.
It was completely free as we'd volunteered to be medical guinea pigs for a procedure that was then brand new, and hadn't properly been tested in this country. I shudder about our recklessness now, but we were young then and a probably bit foolish.
Anyway it turned out to be an excellent decision. I had terrible eyesight beforehand, but all of these years later my long distance vision is still more or less perfect. I do have to wear reading glasses now that I've aged, which I was warned about at the time.
The only downside for me is that I find it difficult to drive at night because of the glare from oncoming headlights. DH doesn't get that because he only had the one eye done.

Mine cost around £4000 lasik and was worth every penny. The difference with waking up ready to see is beautiful. All the annoying, niggly, constant faff with glasses and contacts is gone! Might have to still get reading glasses as we age but my short sightedness was that of a mole person before 😄

I had TransPRK at the Moorfields Private Hospital.
It cost £5k but all the ophthalmic surgeons worked at the Moorfields NHS hospital so I felt reassured as I was terrified of damaging my eyes.
My shortsightedness was getting worse & I'd been having eye tests every year always with a change in prescription requiring yet more new glasses.
The surgery hasn't quite paid for itself yet but will do in a couple of years!

I had Lasik around 1999. I am starting to need reading glasses now in my early 50s, but they always told me that would happen, and it was for doing outdoor stuff thst I really got it done for. I went to Moorfields because if anything did go wrong, I'd be at the top eye hospital, wiyh trained surgeons (you don't have to be a surgeon to do lasik, though obviously you do need training.) I researched as much as I could before i did it. I don't think I'd have been comfortable going to one of the big providers, especially not back then. I knew others who had it done around the same time, and some did get haloing and dry eyes.

if you have it done you’ll need glasses for close up, as you’ll no longer be short sighted.

it’s possible to have a procedure called smile, which gives you a sort of varifocal correction, but satisfaction rates are lower.

it’s also possible to have one eye undercorrected called mono vision, but you’ll still need to wear glasses for certain things.

what’s your prescription? If it’s -2.00 or under, k wouldn’t have it done at your age.

The number of optometrists and opthamologists who choose to wear glasses rather than have laser eye surgery tells you all you need to know about what they think of the risks involved.

Hi OP. I had cataract surgery on the NHS. They were able to correct cloudy vision, extreme short sight and astigmatism. I now have 20/20 vision and only need glasses to read at night. I looked at laser surgery earlier but didn't like the odds. My DB had cataract surgery paying privately (£5000) and had a great outcome. I would really suggest you went to an optician and ask. Preferably one not linked to a private laser surgery clinic!

And read the report someone linked above.

I had z-lasik blended vision laser surgery in 2021 to correct short sightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia, at OCL Vision in London. The consultant also operates at Moorfields. It has been fantastic and has relieved me of wearing 3 different pairs of glasses. My eyes are slightly drier now and I do use eye gel which I was warned may be a complication, but it has been so worth it to me. The cost in my case was 5k.
I would not use one of the chains like Optical Express, who tried to convince me that my only option was much more invasive and expensive lens replacement surgery.

Don't agree, both of the operating ophthalmologists at my clinic had had laser eye surgery