baby bears mum Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Just wondering if anyone out there has any experience of laser eye surgery. Have worn contacts for over 20 years now (not the same pair I hasten to add ) and the last lot were so poor I wasted almost a quarter of them. Went for a contact lens check on saturday and they said they had rubbed my eye and were a bad fit - same as I have always had so not quite sure what happened there. They are getting me some trial ones in but it has been such a palaver that the little niggle I've had in the back of my mind about laser surgery is now glowing. If anyone has any experience or advice I would be most grateful. I know I will get good honest advice from you lot so thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paola Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Do you know what type of surgery that is suitable for your eyes? My best friend had to have her eye cut and then lasered (sp?). It was painful and her OH got it in the ear (she is not a very good patient) but once she recovered she said it is the best thing she had ever done. Again she was a long term contact lens wearer. She said it took a while for her to stop reaching for her glasses in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 One of my colleagues went for a consultation and told me that the £395 prices you see quoted on the telly is for a basic operation where the lens of your eye is cut and that this sort of operation will not see you back at work the same day! (and is reasonably painful) He said that to get a cut-less operation you need to pay a lot more, they do add on extras and the operation he saw on telly for £395 went up to £1600 upon consultation Apparently though the results are worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlo Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I know many people who rave about laser surgery with one person stating that their eyes are now worse than before. I really wanted to have it done and went for a morning assessment. It turned out that my corneas are too thin so I am stuck with reaching for my glasses when I want to read the alarm clock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surferdog Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I got as far as booking the consultation but chickened out and cancelled at the last minute. After doing some research it appears that if you are very short sighted (like me) you may still have to wear glasses after the surgery as they cannot correct your sight 100%. The thing that really put me off was watching a documentary on it and all the eye surgeons were wearing glasses! Lots of confidence in their own procedure then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I wear glasses for driving, watching tv and using the computer. I dont like wearing them and im constantly losing them but I would never let anyone fiddle with my eyes out of choice so its a no for me to having laser surgery. I actually dont know anyone whose had it so I cant recommend either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen & co. Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I've worn glasses or contacts since I was 11, but when I asked my Optician if he would have laser surgery he said no! So I don't think I will either I imagine it would make a huge difference though but monthly soft lenses are ideal for me, and glasses for when I don't have them in, although I must be odd as I never feel dressed up enough to go out for the evening in my glasses Good luck making your mind up Karen x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 My SIL had it done years ago, one eye at a time. Her hubby forgot to wake her up to give her painkillers and she was in a dreadfull state. But that was years and years ago. Her eyesight has been fine since. My OH keeps saying I should have it done. I can't get on with contact lenses, my eyes dry out and itch. He thinks I'm being a wuss by not persevering with the contacts or having my eyes done. I've watched them doing an operation and I just don't fancy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I looked into it but the surgeon (who is a friend) found complications with one of my eyes that mean I am better not having laser yet but that it is an option for later. The other friends I know that he has operated on has been very pleased with the results. I would say go for an eye surgeon - research them and pay for the best you can. You only get one set of eyes ! You don't need to be particuarly qualified to buy a laser m/c So don't go for someone on the high St. There are different options for laser treatment and a good surgeon can explain the options and tell you which would be best. Find out what sort of follow-up they do, what they do if you're not happy etc etc. Write up lists of ques from your research before you go in. (I must admit I didn't but that was because I was going to a friend who I would trust 100% to do what was best for me). You will have to pay for an initial consultation to find out if you are suitable and to discuss the options but that is money well spent. Also worth knowing if you are short sigthed and lasering is successful you will end up needing reading glasses when you get to 40/50 ish as everyone gets more long sighted as they get older. It doesn't mean the laser treatment failed. A way around that is to have one eye under corrected slightly - again a good surgeon should offer that option. My one hesitation on laser treatment is I quite like that fuzzy can't see anything clearly first thing in the morning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theherd123 Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 My OH asked his optician about this once and the reply was something along the lines of 'im still wearing glasses but you can make your own mind up!' The OH still has contacts and glasses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I think I remember that Penguinmad has had it done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 A friend of mine had it done years ago, he had the cut method too. He was in agony for about 3 days and had to be led around because he couldn't see a thing. His sight is fine now. I would never let anyone with a laser near my eyes, sight is too precious. My friend had both eyes done at the same time, I thought it was a crazy risk to take. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 If you are very short sighted you can have the lens of your eye replaced I only know one person who has had this done and he was estatic with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I think I remember that Penguinmad has had it done. Well remembered! I've had it done twice and Mum has also had it done. I had mine done when it was pretty new and the astigmatism wasn't treated so in 2000 I had it done again as the astigmatism had gotten worse. No problems now! They re-treated me for free and it was £400 an eye originally. No cutting! The original cutting method was not as good but the new cutting method is apparently better but costs more - one of my good friends had it done that way and was also very pleased. Also one of my exes had it done. All of those treatments were done by Optimax, they are BRILLIANT and often sell on Ebay as its better to have the clinics running to capacity rather than staff sitting around - I would never hesitate to recommend them. My Aunt, Uncle & Cousin all had the cutting method done by the russians when they had their hospital ship moored out in Cyprus at the beginning of the 90's. I had my surgery in 92, Mum was a couple of years later as her eyes were worse than mine and she had to wait until the lasers were good enough. If you want anymore info then PM me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 One of the concerns with laser surgery is not it's short term efficacy - most people agree it is great! But it has not been around long enough for there to be any effective research on the long term implications. No one really knows whether or not any problems are likely to develop many years after surgery (unless any one knows of any, more recent, research! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ana's flock Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I've had it done and agree with Patricia in that you only get the one set of eyes so go for a qualified specialist. Not everyone is suitable for the operation, and also not everyone is suitable for the 'cheap' one. After the examination they found out my corneas were very irregular so the only option for me was LASIC - where each little bit of whatever it is they laser had to have a different strength. It was expensive, but money well spent. The surgeon was telling me what he was doing at each step (and yes, it did involve cutting and peeling the bit in the eye, and surprisingly it DOESN'T hurt! ...but it smells very weird ). The procedure took about 15 minutes - for both eyes, and half an hour later my vision was almost perfect. Your eyes get sensitive to light and I needed to rest them for about a day and wear sunglasses for about a week. I got the perfect excuse to get a really trendy pair . Plus the first fortnight you have to wear these weird goggles to sleep, so as not to accidentally rub the eyes during the night. I was a long-term glasses and contact lenses wearer and I waited for this operation to become fairly established before going for it. Mine was expensive but as I said worth every penny. I was very shortsighted with a tad of astigmatism thrown in for good measure - after the op I had 20/20 vision. I will be 46 next Tuesday and I've just started to notice my near sight starting to go, e.g. I need a good source of light to read ingredients lists in jars of food (small writing) and I tend to pull books a bit further when I read in bed. But oh the joys of going to the beach or driving without contacts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Also worth knowing if you are short sigthed and lasering is successful you will end up needing reading glasses when you get to 40/50 ish as everyone gets more long sighted as they get older. It doesn't mean the laser treatment failed. A way around that is to have one eye under corrected slightly - again a good surgeon should offer that option. It was only re-reading that I saw this bit - Mums eyes were done like that and she doesn't need reading glasses. I do have some readers but TBH I never have them on me when I need them (in the bath when I'm reading a book!) I also found the surgeons to be excellent in both their knowledge and their treatment of me as a person. There is a bit of a story surrounding my second treatment but they came up trumps and got me one eye done before my wedding and the other one done right after my honeymoon. I ended up getting married only being able to see properly from one (recently treated) eye whilst the other was fuzzy - My Mum got married like this too as she lost a contact lens and was wearing just one at her wedding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottishMike Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 well, as per my other thread, I'm considering 30 day lenses, and although my opticians don't offer laser eye surgery and therefore have a vested interest in selling people contact lenses instead, they do make an interesting point about the risks associated with it : http://www.blackandlizars.com/opticians/specialist/laser.php I'm going to see them tomorrow and I'll be investigating the possibility of the wear all day, all night 30 day lenses, depending on whether they are suitable for my eyes, and of course, cost! If they work for you, they are definately a good alternative to laser surgery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reikiranf Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I looked into it a few years ago and was put off by one of the top guys at Moorfields eye hospital saying that the long term effects of eye surgery hadn't been studied enough and that certain procedures could reduce the thickness of the cornea by up to 40% and so consequently within the next 10 to 20 years there could be a lot of relatively young people needing cornea grafts As DH has had a cornea graft due to a hereditary eye condition and two operations for a detatched retina I would be loathe to have anything done that could result in me having major eye surgery some years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejmum Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I've worn glasses or contacts since I was 11, but when I asked my Optician if he would have laser surgery he said no! So I don't think I will either Karen x Surely this could be because it is in an opticians interests to sell more glasses and contact lenses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottishMike Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 and nothing to do with the figure of 1 in every 64 laser surgery patients having serious visual issues follwoing surgery, versus 1 in 28,000 for contacts??? - see my post above for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 My DH has LASIC surgery done at the Centre for Sight in East Grinstead. He had a very bad astigmatism and could not even get out of bed without his glasses on. Within a couple of days his eyes were fine and he could drive, see the kids in a swimming school and go running and cycling without his glasses steaming up - he didn't need any. He found contact lenses a pain as they had to be weighted and went out of focus briefly every time he blinked!!! It did cost just over £3000 but it transformed his life and they had a 100% success rate with their eye ops which they guarantee that you will be able to drive without glasses. He was told he may need reading glasses within 10 years but 7 years on he is only just noticing that he needs to hold a book a couple of centimeters further away - no need for glasses at all - the opticians are very impressed. A friend of ours plucked up courage and had hers done a couple of years ago and wondered why it had taken her so long. I know it is a little bit nasty to think of but the short period of discomfort is more than made up for in the results. Good luck woth your decision. Lx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 As I said I know of 7 people who have been treated, all sucessfully including myself who has had the treatment twice. The only one of those people to need any further intervention was Mum and her problems are to do with macular degeneration and a macular hole which CANNOT (as her Moorfields specialist told her) have anything to do with her laser surgery - laser surgery was on the front of the eye macular is the back. Her subsequent cataract surgery was also as a direct result of her macular hole surgery. Almost everyone who has macular hole surgery subsequently develops a cataract and for this reason her surgeon said he wouldn't discharge her following the first surgery as she would need to come back and have a cataract op when one developed! When her eyesight problems first developed she was obviously worried that this was a result of the laser surgery but as I said the surgeon soon put her mind at rest - as does a good google to see the condition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I'm finding this thread really interesting to read. I'm 19 and its most likely that when i'm 40 i will need to have cataract surgery. Plus before that probably laser to repair tears in my retina due to a hereditory disease. My little sister has already has laser and my mum has had it countless times and it hasn't gone wrong(yet). I know there could be complications, and im glad i can prepare in advance for surgery. In my opinion i would go and see a laser specialist and see if you are able to have to surgery and find out more information and then make your mind up. Emma Its really good to read other peoples experiences because at the moment all i hear is about my families eye operations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Marple Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Hi there , sorry I am a bit late. I had this surgery 8 years ago on both eyes - my 40th birthday present. I had been wearing glasses since I was 9, had been through all the types of contact lenses and had got to the point where I could not manage longer than about 4 hours with them in my eyes. A friend who is in his late 60s now had it done about 20 years ago. His lenses looked like the bottom of milk bottles. He has never regretted it thus far. Me neither. The joy of being able to see and find my kids, both in the sea and on the beach was incredible. I am 48 and have no issues thus far with longsightedness. It will come at some point I know. I watch my husband who is 50 struggle with reading glasses, yet he still has amzing long distance vision. I was scared, I echo many of Ana's comments. I used the same company as Penguinmad - Optimax and would definitely rate them. I am still fairly sensitive to bright sunshine - but great excuse to wear cool shades. Will give more details if you need them - pm me. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
