Anyone had laser eye surgery?

[Ladycurd]

I'm booked in for a few weeks time, not nervous about procedure oddly but worried about after effects - night glare, dry eyes or things more serious. So many rave about it but there has been a bit of hard sell from company which makes me wary.
So thought I'd ask mne tetra who had had it done for their experiences.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

I've toyed with the idea over the years, but thought I would only ever consider it if I was no longer able to wear contact lenses for any reason.

Then I read this article last year at work www.mddionline.com/article/harvard-professor-blasts-cdrh-failure-protect-lasik-patients. Although it isn't very detailed and you would need to look into it a lot more thoroughly to be sure of the risks, it has made me think twice about even considering it.

[kinkytoes]

I was too squeamish for years. Then a switch flicked over and I was ready to go for it. Best money I ever spent. The procedure was uncomfortable, but with the anaesthetic you can't really feel the clamp and you can't really see anything that's going on either. I had a lovely nurse with an Irish accent holding my hand which also helped!

Afterwards I had a couple of wobbly moments where I thought I'd messed up with the drops/accidentally touched the surface of the eye etc, but the aftercare was excellent and they gave me extra check ups on request. The biggest risk is from infection, and if you're careful with looking after your eyes in the weeks after the procedure then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[VideoEtTaceo]

I would really like it, but have a scar one of my eyes from an operation on eye muscles an worry this would rule me out - has anyone been in a similar position?

[YellowStripe]

I had Lasek (longer recovery time) three years ago (Optimax) on a prescription of -5.75 + astigmatism. Unfortunately my eyes seem determined to be myopic and I've been wearing glasses again for just over a year. Even though I had no issue with the procedure itself or recovery etc, I feel as though I would be pushing my luck to have a re-treat.

I did have dry eyes on and off for a while; just got used to carrying a couple of Clinitas droppers with me everywhere!

Tbh if you are feeling pressured into having it, I would go with a different company.

[skrumle]

i had wavefront lasik done just less than a year ago (average-ish prescription, -3.5/-4). no regrets, dry eyes for a few months but my night vision is slightly better than it was.

[notapizzaeater]

Video I had a corneal scar from a corneal ulcer about 5 years before but was ok.

[specialsubject]

I haven't had it done - the reason I am answering is to tell you why. My prescription is about -4, not 'bump into the furniture' but certainly no TV or driving without specs or lenses.

my optician told me many years ago to wait 10 years. I did - by which time my prescription was wandering about and has continued to do so. You need a stable prescription.

it doesn't prevent the need for reading glasses, which is just starting for me.

it would have been great not to have glasses or lenses, but the 1 in 20 complications risk put me off (The Space Shuttle had better odds). Maybe that has changed?

If you have it done I really hope you are one of the 19 for whom it works really well with no problems. But as the optician also said; no-one ever had their sight damaged by spectacles.

[YankNCock]

I was -7.25 in both eyes, with large pupils and thin corneas, so my wavefront lasik was a one shot deal, they wouldn't be able to do any further treatment if I needed more correction.

They said I'd most likely still need glasses to read or drive.

It's been 8 years for me now, still 20/20 vision! I'd do it again in a second.

[QOD]

LASIK or whatever by optimax about 19 yrs ago. Stars round headlights yes, sun dazzled, yes (I have an odd habit of having one eye shut in the sun) , regrets? No
My right lens was milk bottle thick, I had my dominant eye with moderate sight done, it's slightly long sighted now.
I never got my bad eye done, my brain re routed itself. I tried to wear glasses with clear lens for the done eye and prescription for the poor sighted one as in those days, you had them done as separate procedures.

Couldn't get on at all, was very stressful, kept going cross eyed, felt sick, couldn't see. Went bare eyed for a couple of days and suddenly could see perfectly.

I even went to am independent optician last year about gettin my bad eye done and she said absolutely not, no point, there is no risk to either eye, if I ever got an actual eye injury in the done eye of course I may need to rethink!

So I'm -4.75 in one eye and +o.25 in the other and see perfectly

[Capitola]

My dh had it done last year.

He was severely short sighted. -4 in one eye, -6 in the other. He wore contact lenses which had always been fine, but as he's in his 40s, he'd started to get long sighted and he was struggling to read with or without lenses.

He had LASIK and it has been a huge success. He had some sort of tweak to mean both his long and short sight are fine now. I think one eye was adjusted to correct the long sightedness (might have that wrong). So he's gone from being Mr Magoo to having 20/20 vision.

He had to wear his glasses for a week or so before surgery. He hated this as he was terribly self conscious about them and hadn't worn glasses outside the house for decades.

The immediate aftermath from the procedure was awful. Once the anaesthetic drops had worm off he was in complete agony, I have never seen him so distressed. But that bit only lasted about 3 hours. He was not nervous about the procedure, but I was there and thought it horrendous, but I'm really squeamish about eyes.

Despite this, he thinks it's the best thing ever and recommends it all the time. On a cosmetic triviality, his eyes (which always used to look a bit bloodshot) look really clear with gleaming whites - like a child's.

[notnowImreading]

I had LASIK wavefront about five years ago. My prescription was -8 so quite a big correction. I've still got slightly better than 20-20 vision and night vision is absolutely fine. I had very dry eyes for about six months so I used systane eye drops, which were a bit more expensive but were more viscous so they were more soothing. It was quite frightening at first because one night I slept with my eyes slightly open and my cornea dried out and went yellow so I would recommend the drops and wearing a sleep mask. Suddenly, after six months, the dryness went away and my eyes were absolutely fine.

No one told me that after the op itself my eyelids would be very swollen from the clamps they use to keep your eyes still. It was so hard to keep my eyes open, I thought it was dark and therefore that I had gone blind. As long as you know that and don't try too hard to keep your eyes open, you'll be fine. It's quite a scary procedure but if you find out enough about it beforehand you should get through it okay. It is sooooo worth it!

[Creamycoolerwithcream]

I had it done 6 years ago as used to be a contact lens wearer, -3.75 and -3.25. I had no problems for 5 year but now have a very dry left eye and need glasses for Tv -0.5 and reading +0.5 so I am going to have some top up surgery next month. Night vision is quite bad when I'm driving.
I'm still really pleased I had it done but it's not turned out to be 100% perfect like I expected, probably 85%.

[Notsoskinnyminny]

YankNCock I had similar problems and astigmatism in one eye. The cost of the procedure (Optimax) rocketed from £1500 to £4500 and I was told I'd need reading glasses straight away because of my age (I was 43) and distance glasses for driving in the dark so didn't go ahead. If I'd been in my 20s/30s I probably would've had it done but I couldn't see the point of paying all that money to still have to wear glasses.

My neighbour is an optician and does consultations for a private clinic. He gave me some literature to read and links to websites and when I told him I'd decided not to go ahead he said none of the opticians in his practice (large independent firm) would have it done.

8 years later and I have monovision contact lenses and can manage without reading glasses, when I get to the point when I do need them I'll try varifocal lenses.

[VideoEtTaceo]

Ooh thanks notapizzaeater that's encouraging.

[Ladycurd]

Lots of positive feedback which is encouraging, I think I can live with the most likely risks (dry eyes and night halos) but fingers crossed I get neither.

They are only place that offers it in 100mile radius- whilst arranging the initial visit felt a bit pushy, during the consultation they weren't that bad and I have confidence in them (plus spoke to a woman in the waiting area who had literally just had it done and she was happy). So I think I'm okay plus friend of a friend has had the surgery with the surgeon who will do it and this inspires confidence as does the lack of negative reviews on googling his name!

[Randomnames]

I had this done about 18 years ago (in the twenties) best thing I ever did - any after effects were minimal as I went from a very high prescription -6.5 with astigma to no glasses needed at all. It lasted well until I hit my forties and with age I now need glasses for both long and short sightedness. But yes well worth the money to be free to wear cheap sunglasses and swim.

[ValiumQueen]

I had mine done in 2000. I was told I would still need glasses as had bad astigmatism, but have done without for all this time. I need to get them checked as I think I need glasses now. I have very bad night vision, but can manage driving when necessary.
I had the procedure when they scrape the top layer off then scrape it back again, so a three week recovery. I can still remember the pain even now

Best thing I ever paid for. Being able to see who I was shagging, play sports, go swimming, not have steamed up glasses etc. plus I saved myself a fortune.

[nikkihollis]

My friend had lasik about 8 years ago. Has had awful problems since that don't seem correctable by wearing glasses. Terrible dry eye that is hard to keep on top of (needs to use heated flannels twice a day and eye drops every few hours).

Dreadful night vision with halos, starbursts and glare that brings on bad headaches.

Light sensitivity and problems with changes in light - ie at dusk, early morning . Literally can't make out faces or details at these times.

She didn't get proper info about the possible side-effects and there was real hard sell at her first visit which seemed to gloss over risks, although she had to sign a consent form which did mention them I suppose.

[HopeClearwater]

I agree over the hard sell. The first time the side effects were really explained to me was when I was in the surgeon's chair having coughed up £3k with no going back. I cried for a week after because my eyes were so dry and I still need the gel at night. Had it done about two years ago. I notice my eyes drying out in air-conditioned environments. My sight is, however, amazing.
I've never wanted to talk anyone else into the procedure by using those money-back vouchers they give you - this is because of the dry eyes. But I love not having to wear glasses any more. It's a difficult one.

[SoldeInvierno]

I did, in hospital, in 2001. No problems. 20/20 vision since. I would not have trusted the high street clinics back then

[AngieM2]

Had it done about 15 years ago. So happy with it. Only had one eye done in the end (they balanced each other).But in my 40's now and my eyes are going shortsighted (they said this would happen). Definitely recommend it.

[AngieM2]

*longsighted (need reading glasses)

[areyoutheregoditsmemargaret]

surgery gave me 10 years of great-ish vision, one eye was never perfect especially in artificial lighting. Now I have long sight and some astigmatism and wear lenses again. I always advise against it, in hindsight risks were too great.