Laser Eye Surgery

[pubrunner]

Has anyone on the forum had laser eye surgery ?

I'm considering ditching contact lenses . . . . . . . and have laser surgery.

There appear to be a range of options - apart from the 'standard' options, it is possible to have implantable contact lenses fitted, or even have the natural lens replaced. These last two are costlier, but should give better 'all-round' vision - ie, good for distance and close-up.

So, can anyone recommend any specific option . . . or should I stick with contact lenses and glasses for the fine print ?

 

[swee'pea99]

Had it done something like 15 years ago, never regretted it. I had the most basic/cheapest option, described to me as 'the most painful, but probably the best for results'. I have to say it was stupendously painful - not the actual op, of course, which was totally painless, done under weapons-grade local - but the following 2-3 days. Worth it tho'. Still have excellent vision other than for anything close up, for which I need reading glasses - but that's just age, and fully to be expected. If I had my time again I'd have done it decades earlier - basically as soon as my prescription stopped changing.

 

[fossyant]

I'm too chicken.

 

[Goonerobes]

For me it was the biggest waste of £2000 ever.

I was slightly both short sighted & long sighted & wore varifocals so having been given the impression I would be glasses free I went ahead with the procedure, which personally I didn't find too uncomfortable. However, I still found reading, in anything other than bright light, difficult so started to wear cheap reading glasses. Now 5 years or so post op I'm back to wearing varifocals again so in my case it certainly didn't work.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Had it done something like 15 years ago, never regretted it. I had the most basic/cheapest option, described to me as 'the most painful, but probably the best for results'. I have to say it was stupendously painful - not the actual op, of course, which was totally painless, done under weapons-grade local - but the following 2-3 days. Worth it tho'. Still have excellent vision other than for anything close up, for which I need reading glasses - but that's just age, and fully to be expected. If I had my time again I'd have done it decades earlier - basically as soon as my prescription stopped changing.

My prescription is still changing - 6 decades and still going

 

[nickyboy]

I had mine done at Optimax about 10 years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. I was reasonably short-sighted (about 4.0 prescription) so I had to wear glasses all the time. Outdoor in the rain was a pain and when I went on hols I couldn't make out the family in the pool.

I had Lasik (as opposed to Lasek) surgery. It is an uncomfortable procedure although not painful. That evening took some painkillers and had a nice sleep. The following day I was able to drive my car without glasses and within a week my eyesight had settled down to its current level.

Of course in the intervening 10 years other technologies have come on the market like implantable lenses but I can't comment on these. As regards long sightedness, I became slightly more long-sighted following the procedure which I was told was normal. 10 years on I'm just about getting round to thinking about reading glasses but that would be normal for my age, regardless of whether I had had eye surgery or not.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

My prescription is still changing

same here (just not the 6 decades bit!), so will never be an option and sadly contact lenses can no longer correct my vision either (and haven't been able to for 2 decades even with the changes in modern technology), so it has to be glasses or the blind as a bat act...

 

[Thomk]

I had Lasek about 12 years ago and am pretty pleased withwith it. It was painless during but painful for a couple of days after. I have since suffered from nighttime light halo effects but not terribly so. I now sometimes wear varifoculs as my sight is no longer perfect although I'm still legal to drive without them. Glad I did it.

 

[nickyboy]

[QUOTE 3342860, member: 259"]This is my problem as well.[/QUOTE]

The procedure is not pleasant but actually only lasts about a couple of minutes per eye, at least it did 10 years ago. It isn't painful, just uncomfortable because your eye is taped open and your brain's natural reaction to seeing the scalpel approaching is to get out of the way but you can't.

But for 4 minutes of this I've had 10 years of perfect sight. Knowing what I know about the procedure now I wouldn't hesitate to have it done

 

[TissoT]

Use to do a lot of work for a Doctor (eye specialist) he told me there had not been enough research
Done in this area ... Stay clear Those where his words !

 

[Norry1]

I had laser surgery a year or so ago. It wasn't painful at the time (but a bit weird) and sore for a couple of days.

I'm very happy with the quality of my distance sight. However, whilst I knew that my close vision would be rubbish, I didn't realise "close" extended to 4-5 feet. I am 53 though, so for younger people I would definitely recommend it. I am a bit 50/50 about whether it was good for me or not.

I may now look to see if there is a procedure that fixes close vision problems.

 

[Ron-da-Valli]

I 'm in the same situation as nickyboy. I used Optimax ten years ago. The eyes taped open is a bit scary but the procedure wasn't painful. It was a bit uncomfortable for a day or two but after that my eyesight was bob on. They gave me a pre med so I was practically in a coma by the time the op started. Well worth it.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Use to do a lot of work for a Doctor (eye specialist) he told me there had not been enough research
Done in this area ... Stay clear Those where his words !

The reason most eye specialists haven't had the procedure themselves is the conservative view is that you want a 20-year track-record before you can be even slightly confident about the long-term effects, and because the techniques are always advancing, current-day techniques are completely different to those done 20 years ago. Typically techniques change significantly in under five years, so there isn't even a five-year history for today's approaches.