Laser eye treatment - who's done it?

Bounce said:
Seems cheap, someone at work said there's cost £3k per eye.

What's everyone recommend? iv heard optical express are good?

Iv heard there's LASIK and LASEK - What's the difference?
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As said above, it's worth watching some videos on each companies website as they go through the differences much better than people on here can explain.

I was put off by Optical Express, they were more salesmen than opticians. Giving one price, then ringing me for a few weeks dropping the price each time trying to tempt me. I really dislike that attitude. I also decided i'd prefer to go with somewhere that deals in eyes completely than them who just do corrective surgery. Optegra are a full eye hospital and i felt a lot more confident in them despite the higher cost.
 
Marvt74 said:
I got mine done last November at Optegra in Manchester.

I went for the SMILE procedure to try and limit recovery and reduce dry eye symptoms. I must say i found dryness still quite an issue, particularly when using a laptop or AC environments for around 6 months but, i don't have an issues now and have been on planes etc and felt fine.

One of the best things i've done. As said, it's not cheap, but worth it if you can afford it.
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I had LASIK 5 years ago and I do worry about the ability to get it touched up again in 10 or so years. I am hoping technology has improved a lot by then! Who knows, maybe it will be Cyberpunk 2030. :D
 
Marvt74 said:
As said above, it's worth watching some videos on each companies website as they go through the differences much better than people on here can explain.

I was put off by Optical Express, they were more salesmen than opticians. Giving one price, then ringing me for a few weeks dropping the price each time trying to tempt me. I really dislike that attitude. I also decided i'd prefer to go with somewhere that deals in eyes completely than them who just do corrective surgery. Optegra are a full eye hospital and i felt a lot more confident in them despite the higher cost.
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That's a good point, do you mind me asking how much did it cost in comparison to optical Express and did you have lasik or lasek?
 
Bounce said:
That's a good point, do you mind me asking how much did it cost in comparison to optical Express and did you have lasik or lasek?
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From memory

Optical Express started at £4200, then ended up dropping to around £3500

Optegra came in straight at £3600.

The above prices were both for Lasik. However i then went with the newer SMILE procedure which was £5000. It's the equivalent of keyhole surgery where they don't cut a flap, it's a small slit and they somehow cut your eye beneath the surface and then pull out the removed layer through a small hole, so in theory the recovery time is much reduced.


One thing i remember most is that Optical Express have a sliding scale of prices depending on your prescription, whereas Optegra has a flat fee. So the price difference might be a lot bigger/smaller depending on your prescription levels. Mine were -4.50 in both eyes.
 
Dug out the email I got from Optical Express in 2015:

Standard lasik treatment.

Treatment within 2 weeks: £2456
Treatment within 4 weeks: £2600

Basically they would reduce the price if you were able to take an appointment at short notice.

My prescription is only -1 / -1.25 though

I'd still like to get it done, but I've heard that the value for money isn't necessarily there as you get older, since your eyes start to deteriorate. My eyes haven't changed in like 10 years but I'll be 38 next month...
 
Bravetart said:
Dug out the email I got from Optical Express in 2015:

Standard lasik treatment.

Treatment within 2 weeks: £2456
Treatment within 4 weeks: £2600

Basically they would reduce the price if you were able to take an appointment at short notice.

My prescription is only -1 / -1.25 though

I'd still like to get it done, but I've heard that the value for money isn't necessarily there as you get older, since your eyes start to deteriorate. My eyes haven't changed in like 10 years but I'll be 38 next month...
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That's very similar to what I was offered when I had mine done nearly 9 years ago. I was about -8 in both eyes and had LASEK. They originally told me it would cost around £2.5k. however by delaying a bit they knocked some money off.

For me at -8 it was worth every single penny as I went down to 0/-0.25 and I was only 28 when I had it done.
 
Marvt74 said:
From memory

Optical Express started at £4200, then ended up dropping to around £3500

Optegra came in straight at £3600.

The above prices were both for Lasik. However i then went with the newer SMILE procedure which was £5000. It's the equivalent of keyhole surgery where they don't cut a flap, it's a small slit and they somehow cut your eye beneath the surface and then pull out the removed layer through a small hole, so in theory the recovery time is much reduced.


One thing I remember most is that Optical Express have a sliding scale of prices depending on your prescription, whereas Optegra has a flat fee. So the price difference might be a lot bigger/smaller depending on your prescription levels. Mine were -4.50 in both eyes.
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I see, I suffer from nearsightedness, my prescription is -3.25 in both eyes, my prescription has hardly changed during the last 6 years.

I will get a consultation with Optical express and Optegra and see how they compare - I just want the best value for money, but don't want to cut corners at the same time, eyes are important and if it costs more for better treatment ill pay it.

I can justify the costs by savings on glasses, I'm buying a new set every 3 years (currently I'm spending around £300 each time on glasses (Sunglasses, distance glasses), from my calculations if the corrective surgery lasts 24 years, I would be in effect saving £2,400 on glasses.
 
I have a friend who had laser correction about 15 years ago and she has to use drops several times a day and she suffers from halo effect at night (I think that's what she called it). She has always said it's the worst thing she has ever done. I also has a friend who only had one eye done, he never went back to have the other eye done. He always says his eye is great but if it was that good he would have gone back for the other eye surely
 
Deleted member 2277 said:
I have a friend who had laser correction about 15 years ago and she has to use drops several times a day and she suffers from halo effect at night (I think that's what she called it). She has always said it's the worst thing she has ever done. I also has a friend who only had one eye done, he never went back to have the other eye done. He always says his eye is great but if it was that good he would have gone back for the other eye surely
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You don't always need both doing, for example I use my left eye so little they only put a very weak lens in that side of my glasses to balance out my right eye prescription a bit but in reality they could put blank glass in there and I wouldn't notice.
 
Bounce said:
I can justify the costs by savings on glasses, I'm buying a new set every 3 years (currently I'm spending around £300 each time on glasses (Sunglasses, distance glasses), from my calculations if the corrective surgery lasts 24 years, I would be in effect saving £2,400 on glasses.
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I guess it depends on your age. I was 33 when it was done. By all studies, it seems that from age 45 the eyes start deteriorating, so i went on the basis that i'd hopefully get 12years out of it. I might get longer (and might get less), I probably spend around £300 a year on a mix of glasses/contact lenses etc.

For me the convenience was the biggest impact for me. I wore contact lens' i could sleep in and it was great most of the time. However i got an infection and moved to dailies. The hassle of taking them out at night and waking up not being able to see etc, along with wearing glasses at times when running in the rain which caused me hassle. That was the main push for me. However now i've had it done i wish i'd done it a lot earlier.
 
Marvt74 said:
I guess it depends on your age. I was 33 when it was done. By all studies, it seems that from age 45 the eyes start deteriorating, so i went on the basis that i'd hopefully get 12years out of it. I might get longer (and might get less), I probably spend around £300 a year on a mix of glasses/contact lenses etc.

For me the convenience was the biggest impact for me. I wore contact lens' i could sleep in and it was great most of the time. However i got an infection and moved to dailies. The hassle of taking them out at night and waking up not being able to see etc, along with wearing glasses at times when running in the rain which caused me hassle. That was the main push for me. However now i've had it done i wish i'd done it a lot earlier.
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I'm similar age (31 now), it sounds as if you've had a good experience of it which has given me confidence, I have heard of horror stories. I read a survey that the amount of people having corrective eye surgey has declined a lot during the last 10 years, I don't understand why as surely people would want the procedure done and have a better quality of life.

When you had the smile surgey, was there any pain felt?
 
Bounce said:
When you had the smile surgey, was there any pain felt?
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I had LASEK and was in agony from mine for about a week and regretted having it done. I was so sensitive to light, I had to lay in the living room with the curtains pulled, sunglasses on and a cushion over my head otherwise my eyes started streaming. However, I'd say now that it was totally worth any pain and suffering I went through in that first week. My missus had LASIK done on hers and I warned her it might be painful. She has the lowest pain threshold of anyone I know, but apart from her eyes looking red afterwards, was absolutely fine with no discomfort.
 
Bounce said:
I'm similar age (31 now), it sounds as if you've had a good experience of it which has given me confidence, I have heard of horror stories. I read a survey that the amount of people having corrective eye surgey has declined a lot during the last 10 years, I don't understand why as surely people would want the procedure done and have a better quality of life.

When you had the smile surgey, was there any pain felt?
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I think horror stories are certainly prevalent and i suppose the issue is that negative reviews are always shouted louder.

During the procedure there was no pain at all, i'd been absolutely dreading it before hand as i'm pretty rubbish at things like this. However it was all done in around 15 minutes.

There was some pain for around 24 hours afterwards. Mainly around sensitivity to light. With it being done in November, we drove home at 4pm and it was dark and so car headlights were brutal. I ended up just closing my eyes and that generally helped. Then at home i was watching tv later that night feeling good.

My main issues were around loss of focus/dryness for a few weeks afterwards as mentioned above. This was only experienced during work, i work on spreadsheets so i probably spend too long staring at tiny numbers and not blinking enough. Eye drops help here and Optegra were great at giving me them for as long as i needed them (and they're around £12 a bottle so it adds up quickly).
 
One of the main issues I had immediately post surgery was my eyes streaming. Was sat with the wife having a burger in London and the poor waiter thought I was crying all the time :D.

That subsided the next day and I had the common issues, dry eyes and the feeling of grit in the eye for a little bit.

2.5 years on and I still think it was some of the best money I have ever spent.
 
So...

Today is surgery day +3 of LASEK treatment and it's been a bit of a ride.

The surgery itself was easy, no problems, and I was on my merry way 1.5 hours after getting there.

I left with some anti biotic drops, anti inflammatory drops and 3 doses of anesthetic drops.

Got home and as soon as the anesthetic wore off I was subject to stinging eyes and light sensitivity. This lasted all Thursday afternoon evening and night and all day Friday.

I only took one dose of the anesthetic Friday night to help me get to sleep. The pain relief was instant and lasted about 2 hours before I woke up again in pain.

Saturday morning saw some relief, however vision was still blurry and any kind of light source caused me searing pain. But I was down to about a 7 out of 10 for the amount of pain I was in.

By Saturday evening I could creep one eye open to help me get about, and pain was down to probably about a 5.

Today has been much better, pain almost gone completely, just left being super uncomfortable with these damn bandage lenses. Right now it feels like I've been wearing my normal contacts for waaay too long. If you wear contacts you know the feeling, it's like having something in your eye like sand that you can't get rid of.

Anyway they're coming out tomorrow morning, and hopefully that will provide even more relief.

I've managed to watch some TV tonight and can't believe how clear everything is looking, so far no artifacts or ghosting or any odd anomalies.

So in short: two days of very painful stinging eyes which has seemed to rapidly improved over the last 24 hours. :)
 
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Crizzy said:
So...

Today is surgery day +3 of LASEK treatment and it's been a bit of a ride.

The surgery itself was easy, no problems, and I was on my merry way 1.5 hours after getting there.

I left with some anti biotic drops, anti inflammatory drops and 3 doses of anesthetic drops.

Got home and as soon as the anesthetic wore off I was subject to stinging eyes and light sensitivity. This lasted all Thursday afternoon evening and night and all day Friday.

I only took one dose of the anesthetic Friday night to help me get to sleep. The pain relief was instant and lasted about 2 hours before I woke up again in pain.

Saturday morning saw some relief, however vision was still blurry and any kind of light source caused me searing pain. But I was down to about a 7 out of 10 for the amount of pain I was in.

By Saturday evening I could creep one eye open to help me get about, and pain was down to probably about a 5.

Today has been much better, pain almost gone completely, just left being super uncomfortable with these damn bandage lenses. Right now it feels like I've been wearing my normal contacts for waaay too long. If you wear contacts you know the feeling, it's like having something in your eye like sand that you can't get rid of.

Anyway they're coming out tomorrow morning, and hopefully that will provide even more relief.

I've managed to watch some TV tonight and can't believe how clear everything is looking, so far no artifacts or ghosting or any odd anomalies.

So in short: two days of very painful stinging eyes which has seemed to rapidly improved over the last 24 hours. :)
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Great to hear , what's it like now any update?
 
Crizzy said:
So...

Today is surgery day +3 of LASEK treatment and it's been a bit of a ride.

The surgery itself was easy, no problems, and I was on my merry way 1.5 hours after getting there.

I left with some anti biotic drops, anti inflammatory drops and 3 doses of anesthetic drops.

Got home and as soon as the anesthetic wore off I was subject to stinging eyes and light sensitivity. This lasted all Thursday afternoon evening and night and all day Friday.

I only took one dose of the anesthetic Friday night to help me get to sleep. The pain relief was instant and lasted about 2 hours before I woke up again in pain.

Saturday morning saw some relief, however vision was still blurry and any kind of light source caused me searing pain. But I was down to about a 7 out of 10 for the amount of pain I was in.

By Saturday evening I could creep one eye open to help me get about, and pain was down to probably about a 5.

Today has been much better, pain almost gone completely, just left being super uncomfortable with these damn bandage lenses. Right now it feels like I've been wearing my normal contacts for waaay too long. If you wear contacts you know the feeling, it's like having something in your eye like sand that you can't get rid of.

Anyway they're coming out tomorrow morning, and hopefully that will provide even more relief.

I've managed to watch some TV tonight and can't believe how clear everything is looking, so far no artifacts or ghosting or any odd anomalies.

So in short: two days of very painful stinging eyes which has seemed to rapidly improved over the last 24 hours. :)
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i had lasek many years ago at Moorfields. If you're interested in my experience over time, I wrote a blog about it here:

https://lasekeyes.wordpress.com/

Was not an easy ride but glad i did it!
 
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