Laser eye treatment - who's done it?

It’s not just putting them on, it’s keeping them clean and damage free, choosing them, going to the opticians etc, remembering to keep them with you if you only need them occasional. Just faff I’d rather not worry about.
 
Bassmansam said:
Whats life changing about it? Genuinely curious, not trolling.
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Not needing new glasses for a change in prescriptions, not needing prescription sunglasses, not having to find some first thing every day, not having to deal with condensation when in hot/humid conditions, going to the gym/pool without worrying about sweating or losing them, and the best one - having people ask “how can you read that?” Which even after 13 years still makes me chuckle.

Best 2 grand I ever spent.
 
Klunt Bumskrint said:
Been wearing glasses for well over 30 years and I really want to have it done as I'm just so sick of wearing glasses and I've never got on with contacts.
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The 30 years of wearing glasses implies you're old enough or soon will be for presbyopia to start being a significant issue and even with laser surgery you'll be needing reading glasses some of the time.

That stage of life is another case where contacts are good as you can get multi-focal and even toric multi-focal with astigmatism correction, but if you don't get on with them then glasses are the order of the day until cataracts/eye issues means you need IOLs which can also be multifocal.
 
Simon42 said:
The 30 years of wearing glasses implies you're old enough or soon will be for presbyopia to start being a significant issue and even with laser surgery you'll be needing reading glasses some of the time.

That stage of life is another case where contacts are good as you can get multi-focal and even toric multi-focal with astigmatism correction, but if you don't get on with them then glasses are the order of the day until cataracts/eye issues means you need IOLs which can also be multifocal.
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My near vision has improved to a point that it's clearer if I just look at close things without glasses. My normal short sighted prescription is about 2.25 I think
 
Klunt Bumskrint said:
My near vision has improved to a point that it's clearer if I just look at close things without glasses. My normal short sighted prescription is about 2.25 I think
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If you are -2.25D (its negative for myopia) then yes the short sight compensates for presbyopia but if you have laser correction then you will struggle more with close up vision which will worsen with age and hence the need for reading glasses or multi-focal contacts. I mention this as I've known some people shocked to end up needing readers in middle age after having laser surgery younger in life despite their vision still being perfect at mid to long range.

Many people aren't aware just how much ability to focus up close deteriorates from a few years old when we can focus at 5cm or less to 1 to 2 metres at old age :(.
 
ChrisD. said:
The fact I didn't have to faff about with glasses or contact lenses, plus perfect vision.
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My Grandad had it done as one of the very first early adopters (early 90's) and ended up with burst blood vessels later in life and was basically blind.

For me Contacts and glasses will do me. Just the thought of being blind later in life puts me off as the whole surgery is still very young. Iirc the first laser eye surgery was done in 1988 and there is next to zero evidence of the long term effects of messing with your eyes.

I can put a set of contacts in my eyes in less than a minute and keep them in my pocket. All I need is access to a tap to wash my hands or even a set of wet wipes will do.
 
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adam cool dude said:
My Grandad had it done as one of the very first early adopters (early 90's) and ended up with burst blood vessels later in life and was basically blind.

For me Contacts and glasses will do me. Just the thought of being blind later in life puts me off as the whole surgery is still very young. Iirc the first laser eye surgery was done in 1988 and there is next to zero evidence of the long term effects of messing with your eyes.
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Was there evidence that the surgery affected his blood vessels and not just one of the issues that occurs with age in some people?

While I agree any eye surgery has some risk, the risk of outside eye (laser eye correction) is extremely low. Front of the inside of the eye (IOLs for cataracts) is a little more risky but still very few issues for the vast amount of surgeries. It's only rear of the inside of the eye (vitrectomy for retinal detachment, bleeding etc) has significant risk due to maintaining inter ocular pressure via fluid loss replacement during surgery and the inherent eye issue being fixed.

However I do agree laser vision correction surgery does have some minor downsides, from some methods leaving more corneal damage than others (the cornea never heals fully which makes accidental damage more likely) to it really being best in younger people before presbyopia becomes significant and you're back to glasses some of the time (or multifocal contacts).
 
Simon42 said:
Was there evidence that the surgery affected his blood vessels and not just one of the issues that occurs with age in some people?

While I agree any eye surgery has some risk, the risk of outside eye (laser eye correction) is extremely low. Front of the inside of the eye (IOLs for cataracts) is a little more risky but still very few issues for the vast amount of surgeries. It's only rear of the inside of the eye (vitrectomy for retinal detachment, bleeding etc) has significant risk due to maintaining inter ocular pressure via fluid loss replacement during surgery and the inherent eye issue being fixed.

However I do agree laser vision correction surgery does have some minor downsides, from some methods leaving more corneal damage than others (the cornea never heals fully which makes accidental damage more likely) to it really being best in younger people before presbyopia becomes significant and you're back to glasses some of the time (or multifocal contacts).
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No evidence no but also no history in family either bar him having it done. My only concern is lack of long term viability which is yet to be seen and cannot be seen until early adopters become old. As in how does the surgery effect in long term. It is most likely going to be okay but it was a risk I just wasn't going to take.

Only place contacts become a problem is on beaches and swimming pools which is most likely a good thing being able not to see long distance!

I see so many sportsmen like rally drivers and F1 drivers who wear contacts/glasses as well as footballers and they have the best doctors around them.
 
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adam cool dude said:
No evidence no but also no history in family either bar him having it done. My only concern is lack of long term viability which is yet to be seen and cannot be seen until early adopters become old. As in how does the surgery effect in long term. It is most likely going to be okay but it was a risk I just wasn't going to take.

Only place contacts become a problem is on beaches and swimming pools which is most likely a good thing being able not to see long distance!

I see so many sportsmen like rally drivers and F1 drivers who wear contacts/glasses as well as footballers and they have the best doctors around them.
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Sportsmen wouldn't take the permanent risk while they're actively playing. What happens after may be a different story.
 
I've just had mine today :D
LASIK + iDesign

My eyesight was pretty horrid... -6.25 with -3.5 astigmatism (right) and -4.5 with -4 astigmatism (left)
Have to say it's pretty liberating to see without glasses 24/7 and the most noticeable thing is the improved FOV when previously was literally limited to the size of the lens i picked for my glasses

Everything is still slightly blurry as it's only been about 7 hours post treatment
We shall see tomorrow lol (literally and figuratively :cry: )

Total damage = £5300
This includes pre-op assessment (needed 4x "dry eye checks"), both eyes done and the follow-ups at day 1, 1 month and 3 months
 
Penfold101 said:
Welcome to a new world of freedom!
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indeed! i've been wearing glasses since 6 years old it's so odd that i'm now no longer scrambling to find them

i took a nap once i got home and when i woke up was trying to feel around for my glasses and then it clicked that i could see without them :cry:
breaking the habit of feeling around the bed/bedstand for the glasses will take a while though lol
 
tamzzy said:
indeed! i've been wearing glasses since 6 years old it's so odd that i'm now no longer scrambling to find them

i took a nap once i got home and when i woke up was trying to feel around for my glasses and then it clicked that i could see without them :cry:
breaking the habit of feeling around the bed/bedstand for the glasses will take a while though lol
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I took the plunge 13 years ago - these days I forget I ever had it done most of the time and perfect vision is just the norm!
 
I had it done around 20 years ago, I was -6.5 and -6, both with a lot of astig. Although my accuracy without glasses improved a lot, my accuity declined. I to this day have halos around anything that has contrast, for exampe white subtitles on a black background looks like semi-double vision in the vertical field. I also lost a lot of contrast, for example looking in a sock drawer in mid light it's difficult to see socks of different shades. Looking at the night sky can be a mess. My eyesight with glasses after surgery has never been as good as my eyesight with glasses before surgery. I think the surgeon messed up the corneal/pupil diameter thing, at the opticians, when he shines his penlight into my eye, I can see the test board a lot better. Suggests to me that the accuity issue is lessened when my pupils are smaller.

Anyhow, prior to the surgery, my glasses went on before I got out of bed, and were taken off last thing as I got into bed. I could not operate even a short distance without them. Showering, I really couldn't see my lower "bits". After surgery I was able to play some indoor football without glasses for the first time.

After some years my sight has worsend a little, so I'm now -1.5 and -1, no astig on one eye, a little in the other. It's not good enough for driving standard. On the plus side, as I approach 61yrs, I do not need reading glasses. Although I do need to take my glasses off to reading, whereas maybe 8-10 years ago I could read with them on.

So for me, the operation was quite a disapointment, it took a long time for my brain to mostly compensate/ignore the halos, but they are still there. However overall, the operation did improve my day to day life significantly.
 
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tangey said:
I had it done around 20 years ago, I was -6.5 and -6, both with a lot of astig. Although my accuracy without glasses improved a lot, my accuity declined. I to this day have halos around anything that has contrast, for exampe white subtitles on a black background looks like semi-double vision in the vertical field. I also lost a lot of contrast, for example looking in a sock drawer in mid light it's difficult to see socks of different shades. Looking at the night sky can be a mess. My eyesight with glasses after surgery has never been as good as my eyesight with glasses before surgery. I think the surgeon messed up the corneal/pupil diameter thing, at the opticians, when he shines his penlight into my eye, I can see the test board a lot better. Suggests to me that the accuity issue is lessened when my pupils are smaller.

Anyhow, prior to the surgery, my glasses went on before I got out of bed, and were taken off last thing as I got into bed. I could not operate even a short distance without them. Showering, I really couldn't see my lower "bits". After surgery I was able to play some indoor football without glasses for the first time.

After some years my sight has worsend a little, so I'm now -1.5 and -1, no astig on one eye, a little in the other. It's not good enough for driving standard. On the plus side, as I approach 61yrs, I do not need reading glasses. Although I do need to take my glasses off to reading, whereas maybe 8-10 years ago I could read with them on.

So for me, the operation was quite a disapointment, it took a long time for my brain to mostly compensate/ignore the halos, but they are still there. However overall, the operation did improve my day to day life significantly.
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Yeah, a proper surgeon would dilate your pupils and tell you if the diameter will exceed the area of correction (6mm iirc). If it does, you will get all the issues you describe. If you fall into this category, it is best to avoid surgery if you're on the higher myopia levels. This is another one of the reasons it is best to avoid a high street clinic and just go for somewhere proper like the LVC from the get-go.
 
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