Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Laser eye surgery

23 replies

Hayls · 04/08/2005 10:17

Hi
Was just wondering if anybody has had laser eye surgery to correct short/long sightedness.

I've finally decided to go for it and say goodbye to glasses but would love some feedback (good or bad!) from people who have experienced it. My mum had it done, which is what has given me the push to do it and has had no probs whatsoever.
TIA

OP posts:
northerner · 04/08/2005 12:01

Will watch this with interest. Have been considering it myself.

Original poster
Hayls · 04/08/2005 13:15

BUMP!
Anyone? I've just booked a consultation for next week...

OP posts:
Earlybird · 04/08/2005 13:22

Check the archives as there have been many threads about this.

I had the surgery done about 2 years ago. While I didn't have a bad experience, I'm not sure I would do it again. No question, my distance vision has improved radically. But, I have lost clarity for close up vision. I can no longer see well enough to pluck eyebrows, or thread a needle without magnification. Think perhaps I should have just adjusted my eyeglasses/contact lenses instead.

puff · 04/08/2005 13:34

Hayls, just in case you don't know about them, there are some new contact lenses called ortho k lenses which some people like me (and hunkermunker, another mumsnetter) are using as an alternative to laser surgery. I found out about them through her when I too was asking about the laser eye surgery on here.

They are worn only at night, taken out in the morning, and hey presto, you can see perfectly!

They shape the lense of the eye, enabling you to see without glasses or lenses, but unlike laser surgery the effect is not permanent.

shorty3 · 04/08/2005 14:05

Puff, how much do these lenses cost and where can you get them from?

Ameriscot2005 · 04/08/2005 14:06

DH & I had Lasik in April '03. We are both very happy with it. It is amazing.

compo · 04/08/2005 14:08

I don't really see the point in them Puff if you don't mind me saying. If you're going to wear lenses at night so you don't have to in the day why don't you just wear them in the day iyswim! You still have the faff of putting lenses in every night instead of every day!

Ameriscot2005 · 04/08/2005 14:35

That was my thought, Compo.

I think the thing is, though, that Lasik is a pretty much last resort. If you are truly happy with glasses or contacts, then there is no point in having the surgery - there is no gain to justify the, albeit small, risk.

puff · 04/08/2005 14:39

shorty, they aren't particularly cheap, but worth considering if you don't want to commit to permanent surgery. I pay £40 a month for lenses, any replacement through loss, solutions etc. I think you just need to ring around some opticians in your area and see if they are offering them, not all are yet.

compo - they are great for me - I have low tear production apparently which means wearing lenses during the day isn't really an option. I've tried every type and 2 hours in my eyes are on fire. Tried so many times to build up wear time, but to no avail, and I was so fed up with being stuck with glasses. These are the healthiest option for my eyes. I don't have to wear them every night - it's every other as my prescription is quite low.

With these, I pop them in before I go to sleep and forget about them. Because I'm asleep, not blinking, exposed to environmental irritants etc, they don't cause the problems daytime lenses did.

hunkermunker · 04/08/2005 14:41

When you've worn lenses every day for 14 years, not wearing them during the day is incredible.

I can now have a shower without worrying either my lens is going to get washed out (they were rigid gas permeable, so more likely to than soft), I can go swimming without having to wear prescription goggles.

My eyes are SO much more comfortable than when I was wearing lenses during the day - the air gets to them while I'm awake and if I get something in my eye, I just take it out - it doesn't involve my lens feeling uncomfy all day.

I think there are massive benefits - so I have to clean lenses and put them in each night? So what? I'd have to do that if I wore them in the day, but with the only freedom from lenses coming at night when I was asleep and couldn't enjoy it!

I didn't want surgery because I wasn't happy to take the risks with my eyes. But I did want freedom from lenses during the day - this was the perfect solution.

jabberwocky · 04/08/2005 14:59

This is definitey a good alternative to consider Hayls. Like Earlybird said, it is a trade-off. The closer you are to 40 the more important this becomes.

Original poster
Hayls · 04/08/2005 19:38

Thanks for all your replies, I really appreciate the comments. The night time lenses sound very interesting but I'm not sure I could commit myself to it iyswim. I also have quite a high prescription so I'm not sure they'd be suitable.
I think I will have the consultation and everything, do a bit more research then decide
Thanks again

OP posts:
ChicPea · 04/08/2005 22:12

Havis, I had laser eye surgery in 1993 and 1994 (one eye at a time) and thought it was wonderful. Would highly recommend it. My prescription was
-2.75 and I made it to plano which is perfect sight. Where are you going for the consultation?

ChicPea · 04/08/2005 22:14

P.S. Look at eBay and type in "Laser Eye Surgery" and you can read lots of feedback from people who have had it done.

pootlepod · 04/08/2005 22:19

I would like to get it done but every surgeon I've seen on telly that does it wears glasses.

I did change to lenses when I was 17 as I thought I would attract the boys much more! After a year, I changed back to glasses and then got loads more snogs! Now I'm married it doesn't seem to matter as much, but I would love to be able to see when swimming etc.

gingerbear · 04/08/2005 22:34

Hello Hayls. I had my eyes done just over a month 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 affter one week. 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. Now after a month, I am using 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 is slowly improving, it might be 3 months before it finally stabilises. 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.
(Embarrased about this bit, but I can now see what a sloven I am when it comes to cleaning the shower cubicle!!)

gingerbear · 04/08/2005 22:38

I did look into the lenses that hunker and puff have, but my prescription was out of the range for those ( I was almost a bat)

ChicPea · 04/08/2005 23:03

Good for you Gingerbear. Why did you chose the clinic you went to?

gingerbear · 04/08/2005 23:17

I wanted to go to Moorfields in London, as my optician knows one of the surgeons there. But 1. I couldn't afford it and 2. it is too far for me to travel for aftercare. My optician recommended ultralase. Not the cheapest, but I felt they were very honest and upfront about the risks.

edam · 04/08/2005 23:18

Check the archives, as Earlybird suggests. There are very real risks of permanent damage to your vision. Not just 'short sight' which many of us live with just fine, but real damage. Like being unable to drive at night, ever. Most people are fine - but do you want to take the risk?

hatstand · 04/08/2005 23:20

dh had it and had no probs at all

puska · 04/08/2005 23:35

hi there i had my eyes corrected last june - i had it done in my local shopping centre have a look here

for me it was the most amazing thing to wake up and be able to see the alarm clock

I would definately recommend it

ChicPea · 08/08/2005 22:33

Gingerbear, look at Optimax's patients' feedback on eBay. Cheaper than Ultralase and perform more operations so more experienced.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page