Laser eye treatment - who's done it?

[Rhaos]

I have astigmatism in both eyes, can I still have laser eye treatment?

 

[squarebutt]

Yes, I had. It depends on your own eyes though, on how much tissue is there and how much they are able to remove, for want of a better term.

 

[JAzz]

Mine must've been LASIK then as I could see clearly after a few hours.

I wasn't suitable for that as I have really badly dry eyes and tbh I wanted LASEK anyway but the slow healing process has been quite frustrating but what can you do. My dry eyes might have something to do with the slower recovery for me as he did tell me it is important for my eyes to be kept moist as much as possible as my cornea is healing. Last week I've been dowsing my eyes with drops every 20mins!

 

[P_A_N_I_C]

I had mine done at Optical Express, and after 9 months my left eye had developed cornial ecstacia - basically the front of my eye is no longer round, its a more oval shape giving me severely distorted vision in that eye. Infact my left eye is completely useless for anything, at all. Cannot read with it, or get it to focus at all, even with glasses.

Optical Express have been very good about it, they had me in to meet their head of surgery who explained the problem and what they are going to do to try and fix it. I've already had two further surgerys, with another appointment in just over a weeks time for a further look at how things are healing and what they can do next.

hope things get sorted Rids

 

[The Funktopus]

A friend had this done, and from his description of the operation I'd much, much, much rather stick with glasses (should I need them). I mean seeing the blade cutting your eye open, and being able to smell the burning eye tissue when they use the laser, Jesus. No thanks.

 

[Gaijin]

I'm contemplating this in the next few months but obviously at the reading stage.

Just to get my expectations in check:

1. Is it realistic and the "usual case scenario" to expect the same or better vision than I have with my contact lenses?
2. If I don't get the expected level of results, what can I expect the clinic of choice to do about it and will it be at cost?

 

[Name]

I've started considering this, however i am afraid of the words "laser" and "eye"

They cannot go well together surely, doesnt it burn/hurt ? even eye tests make my eyes stream!

 

[Shelster]

Had mine done 5 years ago and was best decision I have made, no regrets at all.

Took 24 hours for the 'gritty' feeling to go and in total about 2 weeks for the whole healing process to finish. Was legal to drive after 24 hours too.

Am not sure if it would have made a difference, but i went for the old school version of the flap cutting instead of the laser cut one. Was another £300 per eye for laser cut ( i think) so wanted to save a bit)

Very scary 15 mins while its done, but deffo worth it. Plus, you get some very funky goggles to wear at night

 

[Shelster]

I've started considering this, however i am afraid of the words "laser" and "eye"

They cannot go well together surely, doesnt it burn/hurt ? even eye tests make my eyes stream!

No nerve endings in your eyeball, so you dont feel anything other than the pressure when they move the flap around.

You do get a rather funky burnt flesh smell though.....

 

[JAzz]

A friend had this done, and from his description of the operation I'd much, much, much rather stick with glasses (should I need them). I mean seeing the blade cutting your eye open, and being able to smell the burning eye tissue when they use the laser, Jesus. No thanks.

Well my sense of smell is pretty much dead at the best of times so couldn't smell anything but the blade on the eye part is a bit freaky. You can't actually feel anything and the first eye is the worst, for the second eye you know what you expect. On the inside I was screaming like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert on the first eye but was thinking man up, man up don't be a girl etc. Before you know he is like that eye is done onto the next eye and I was oh that ain't so bad.

So my advice would be to man up you little girl

 

[JAzz]

For those interested has been just over 2 months since my LASEK procedure and in the last week have noticed my eye sight has sharpened up a fair bit. My right eye has been fairly good for 2-3 weeks now whereas the left was a bit poor so my eyesight hasn't been balanced, this last week though the left has sharpened up as well so things are very clear at the moment! Great not having to wear contacts or glasses, been a long time for my eyes to get better but it has been worth it for me! A few weeks after LASEK I was ok to drive but I just felt my vision wasn't fully sharp yet and wasn't always comfortable driving long distances.

Eyes still feel dry but nowhere near as bad as before, still keep drops with me and usually every hour or so put drops in to keeps my eyes moist. First they gave Refresh drops to put in but bought some Clinitas drops and find them a lot more longer lasting. The Refresh drops (excuse the pun) usually refresh the eye more instantly but don't really last long, the Clinitas seem to be more oily and keep my eyes feeling better for longer.

 

[Freefaller]

I'm contemplating this in the next few months but obviously at the reading stage.

Just to get my expectations in check:

1. Is it realistic and the "usual case scenario" to expect the same or better vision than I have with my contact lenses?
2. If I don't get the expected level of results, what can I expect the clinic of choice to do about it and will it be at cost?

My eyesight is better than 20/20 - but I had astigmatism too which has now gone. However, all the other people that have had it have as good as contact lens vision but with astigmatism correction.

My sister was so myopic she was almost considered partial sighted - over -10 in both eyes! She's had it done and although 1 eye has lost a little bit - 1 eye is still fine, and she can see fine (1 eye is 20/20 the other is ever so slightly less). However, they will be redoing the 2nd eye for free.

 

[hurfdurf]

I'm going to start looking into this again as I have heard people say they can still Box and fight after it

 

[JAzz]

I'm going to start looking into this again as I have heard people say they can still Box and fight after it

I believe you have to go for the LASEK option rather than the LASIK option if you want to take part in physical sports where there is risk of being hit in the eye.

 

[Saundie]

Rather than starting my own thread, I figured it would make more sense to post here. I had planned to have the LASIK procedure on Friday, however unfortunately we had to stop after the doctor started to create the flap on my left eye. Rather embarrassingly, I fainted while he was preparing my right eye, and I couldn't recover my composure enough to allow him to complete the procedure. He hadn't lifted the flap on my left eye, so no harm was done and my eyes are fine.

While I was recovering, he mentioned the alternatives that remained; he said that attempting to create another flap on my left eye was too risky now, so LASIK is no longer viable. He mentioned LASEK, but given that I wasn't able to cope with LASIK, I'm not sure I could face that. He also mentioned another procedure whereby they don't manipulate the lens, and perform the entire operation with lasers. He didn't tell me the name of it, but after searching online I think he was referring to "Trans-Epithelial Laser Eye Correction", which is also known as CTEN ("Customized Transepithelial No-touch"). Has anybody undergone this procedure, or know of anybody who has? I am interested in hearing personal experiences of it. Please feel free to contact me via trust if you don't feel comfortable posting in this thread.

By the way, for anybody who is considering LASIK; do not be put off by my experience! Most people cope absolutely fine with the procedure; I just happen to be ridiculously sensitive (or a massive coward, if you want to be unsympathetic )

 

[platypus]

Coward ! No I've no idea how I'd react to having a laser in my eye either.

Whilst I still consider eye surgery, now that I'm married to an optician I doubt I'd get away with it.

 

[JAzz]

It is proper scary at first, I remember when they were scraping across my eye I was freaking out, you can't feel anything but it is so weird and you keep on thinking any minute now the pain is going to kick in! Second eye was easier though, was over a lot quicker than I thought. So I wouldn't take it too heart Saundie, I've heard of people having proper break downs so it isn't uncommon. And no you're not a coward........you're a wuss

Went for my check up last week, I can now just about read two lines below 20/20 (which means I have 20/10 vision I think). Eyes are still a bit dry but that is down to me having dry eyes anyway rather than the surgery. Best thing I've had done, so great waking up in the morning and seeing everything and just being able to not worry about contacts and glasses!

Anyone know where I can get rid of my contacts? Got loads left over.

Coward ! No I've no idea how I'd react to having a laser in my eye either.

Whilst I still consider eye surgery, now that I'm married to an optician I doubt I'd get away with it.

Does your other half not approve of laser surgery?

 

[Saundie]

I am pleased to be able to report that this "wuss" (thanks JAzz ) was able to overcome his fear; I went back, and successfully got through the surgery yesterday. I went for LASIK in the end, despite being told by the previous surgeon that another flap couldn't be created. When I went in to see the surgeon he talked me through the LASIK procedure and then asked me if I had any questions, at which point I mentioned what had happened at my previous attempt. He said that he could create a flap without issue, and said that he believed LASIK was still the best choice for me, due to the benefits of faster recovery and less discomfort. I decided it'd be best to go with his suggestion, as the thought of LASEK/TESA didn't really appeal to me except as a last resort.

The procedure itself went without a hitch, though they took the precaution of propping up my knees to help me avoid passing out. Apparently it took about half an hour, though my perception of it was much shorter - I felt as though I was in there for around 10 minutes. I didn't get away completely unscathed, however, as I passed out in the recovery room. I guess I'm just one of "those people" who can't hack stressful situations, but ultimately it wasn't a big deal.

I woke up this morning with that same sense of awe many people describe. While my vision is still somewhat blurry, which is to be expected, the improvement has astonished me. I have been told to expect the blurriness to clear up over the next few days or so. It's entirely bearable, however. While it's early days, and the procedure was a bit of an ordeal, I would still say at this point that I think it's worth it. The fact that you have an excuse to wear shades for a week is almost reason enough to have it done

 

[Freefaller]

3.5 years nearly 4 and it's still the best decision I've made.

 

[vygec]

Its now just gone 10 years for me. Best decision ive made. However for the first time, my eyesight is deteriorating. I squint when viewing tv, but otherwise im fine. I cant remember which I had! Think it was lasik, im now 34.
But never looked back.