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Penelope Pitstop
01-Feb-07, 11:33
Hi everyone
Have any of you had any experience of laser eye correction surgery?

Fluff
01-Feb-07, 12:33
it dosnt work for everyone. and you will still need reading glasses when you are older (in your fourties)

tisme
01-Feb-07, 12:38
My mate got it done last year, worked perfectly for her, she's 34!!

Metalattakk
01-Feb-07, 13:21
Hi everyone
Have any of you had any experience of laser eye correction surgery?


Go to your GP and ask his/her advice before you do anything. Please.

Penelope Pitstop
01-Feb-07, 13:58
Go to your GP and ask his/her advice before you do anything. Please.
I've spoken to him - he had his done and though it was great. Just wanted to ask a few different folk to see what they thought...

Metalattakk
01-Feb-07, 14:21
I find it difficult to believe that a conscientious modern GP would consider such procedures as acceptable, never mind recommend them to his patients.

Unless there is a real medical necessity for laser eye surgery, then you wouldn't catch me messing around with anything as important as the only pair of eyes I'll ever have. I'll happily keep wearing the specs, ta very much.

trinkie
01-Feb-07, 14:51
I once asked my Optician what he thought about it, and he replied..
''You wont find many Opticians having it done ''

Do ask your Doctor and Optician for an opinion.

Penelope Pitstop
01-Feb-07, 15:36
I once asked my Optician what he thought about it, and he replied..
''You wont find many Opticians having it done ''

Do ask your Doctor and Optician for an opinion.

My optician was Mr O'Brien in Wick - he was really good, but unfortunately he is retired now. I did ask him a couple of years ago and he suggested Optimax in Glasgow - his son had had it done there.

Just that you hear so many different things, some folk think it is fantastic and others have had problems - knowing my luck I would be one of them so have always chickened out!:mad:

wifie
01-Feb-07, 18:02
I have a friend who is an optician and I asked her what she thought - she said it was probably pointless as by the time you are in your forties you would probably need reading glasses anyway!
I have to say the very thought of it gives me the heeby jeebies - eyes are the only thing I am really squeamish about and don't ask me why but they are the only thing I don't want donated on my organ donor card.

Fluff
01-Feb-07, 18:07
just out of curiosity, what is the prescription of your eyes penelope?

sweep
01-Feb-07, 18:59
my husband had it done in 1999 and i went along with him --he had started to have probs with disposable lenses having used them for several years
he couldn't get it in scotland at that time so went to london clinic. the results were amazing and the jam jar bottom glasses were ditched,he's never looked back especially as he loves sports.
no sign of needing reading glasses yet but that's a small price to pay

yenkro
01-Feb-07, 19:37
I had it done over 2 and a half years ago in Glasgow at Optical Express. they now do it in Inverness and a few folk from work have had it done there and not one of us has looked back, we have all been a success. But the optician's won't do it unless your eyes are totally suitable. It takes about 2 hours for the consultation to see if you can have it done or not

luskentyre
01-Feb-07, 20:43
I had it done in December last year and can honestly say it's fantastic. My eyesight was quite poor and I was reliant on contact lenses for most things.

They were quite thorough with me, to the point of having three separate sight tests before the procedure, to make sure my prescription was stable.

Yes, you *might* need reading glasses when you get older, but that doesn't necessarily mean in your forties!

I asked the surgeon how many procedures she'd one - the answer was 20,000

North Rhins
01-Feb-07, 21:49
I tr yd sTarng 1nt2 the la yzur 0n mi elekt rick zaw and 1t d1d nt mayk ony difaranz. i stall hive 20 20 vishun. . :eek:
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Seriously, good luck.

Penelope Pitstop
01-Feb-07, 22:01
I had it done in December last year and can honestly say it's fantastic. My eyesight was quite poor and I was reliant on contact lenses for most things.

They were quite thorough with me, to the point of having three separate sight tests before the procedure, to make sure my prescription was stable.

Yes, you *might* need reading glasses when you get older, but that doesn't necessarily mean in your forties!

I asked the surgeon how many procedures she'd one - the answer was 20,000

Can i ask where you went to get it done?

Penelope Pitstop
01-Feb-07, 22:03
just out of curiosity, what is the prescription of your eyes penelope?
It's about -3.75 or -4.00

stekar
01-Feb-07, 22:17
I had my eyes done about three years ago by Ultralase. My prescription was quite bad -6.00 and -5.25 and now my eyesight is perfect.

Though I will probably need reading glasses in due course not having to wear specs or contact lens all the time is brilliant. Before I got out of bed I had to put my specs on as I couldn't even see the time on the bedside clock!

It is a tough decision to make, as you only have one pair of eyes and if anything goes wrong......

I didn't have both eyes done at the same time on the recommendation of the clinic. When I had the first one done it was incredibly sore and blurred for a couple of weeks. I did worry at first that it might have gone wrong. I did find it difficult to drive, in fact I stopped driving as I found it difficult to judge distances (ie when passing parked cars) and was a bit disoreintated even though I could still see clearly with my specs on with my untreated eye.

Then when the second eye was done it wasn't as painful and my sight was clear within a day or two.

BIG decision to make, but I'm so glad I had it done as I could no longer tolerate contact lens and hated wearing specs, not because of how they looked, but the nuisance of getting them wet in the rain, steaming up in cold weather and kids that always seemed to knock them which hurt and usually bent the frames.

Cost me £1,000 per eye to have it done but the prices have come down now. I would be a bit cautious of anywhere doing it cheap, infact there was another clinic at the time which was charging £600 per eye but I was unsure of them.

No regrets for me, thankfully.

Murdina Bug
01-Feb-07, 23:26
I had mine done in 1997 by Optimax in Newcastle (closest to where I lived at the time). Mine were done 3 months apart - the minimum recommended time and they did my dominant eye first. The procedure I had involved scraping the top layer of cells off with a big cotton bud like thing (after local anisthetic drops) then the laser treatment. It was that healing up that caused the pain, which was just like having grit in your eye for a couple of days. Strangely, I also found the second one less painful - maybe it's because you are more prepared for it.

I think the favoured treatment now is to put a small incision in the top layer to lift it out the way and then fold it back down so there is a lot less recovery required and less chance of hazy vision. I actually had no problems at all and still don't after 10 years. It's not a certainty that you will need reading glasses at a later age and nothing to do with the procedure!

Like any other procedure you should do your homework and go somewhere reputable. In my opinion it's definitely worth doing.

johno
02-Feb-07, 00:42
i have two friends that had this treatment done, one just wanted to be free of glasses and the other had it done to secure a job. both are delighted with the results. i myself would do it, but at the moment i only need to wear my specs for very small print so i dont think that the £800 would be well spent.
but i still you are right to do some research before getting it done.
:eek:

Tom Cornwall
02-Feb-07, 01:13
I wouldn't do it....my son-in-laws' father had it done....Disaster!!!

Fran
02-Feb-07, 02:48
I know of a few people who have had laser eye treatment in raigmore hospital and all are fine now. the patients were mostly diabetics. Surely hospital is the best place to have it done.

Metalattakk
02-Feb-07, 05:10
Fran, laser treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy is a completely different process from the surgery being discussed here.

For a diabetic, laser surgery is done directly to the surface of the retina, burning and sealing diseased blood vessels that are growing abnormally through the retina into the eye, which then subsequently burst and bleed into the eye itself causing blindness.

The retina can only be subjected to so much laser treatment, as the scar tissue will contract over time, causing a likely retinal detachment - this is a bad thing - and for this reason it's rare for a sufferer to undergo more than 1500 laser burns to each retina.

Now, this is a completely different kettle of fish from the rather basic form of surgery (peeling away the cornea and skimming layers of the lens away with a laser) which is being scrutinised here.

luskentyre
02-Feb-07, 15:08
Can i ask where you went to get it done?

I went to Optical Express in Inverness. If you want any information on the treatment then feel free to send me a message.

Angela
02-Feb-07, 15:39
TV prog, may be of interest:

Next Tuesday (Feb 6th), BBC2 8p.m. - 4th part of the "Don't Die Young" series is about eyes.

Apparently pros and cons of laser surgery will be discussed, but as the whole programme only lasts 30 mins, it may be just very briefly.

oldmarine
02-Feb-07, 23:12
Hi everyone
Have any of you had any experience of laser eye correction surgery?


It's expensive. Check it out very carefully before you decide to have it done.

abalone
04-Feb-07, 00:04
I would suggest that any youngsters who have to wear glasses constantly should consider laser surgery. Check it out thoroughly and only have one eye done at a time.I wish it had been around when I was younger.I'm 67 and have been wearing glasses for the past 40 years.I shudder to think how much it has cost me.I need to have an eye check now and if I need new glasses I am looking at 300£ at least.I still don't need my glasses for reading or close work so it depends on the individual.

slow fade
04-Feb-07, 13:29
Hi there.
First time poster here.

I had Laser Eye Correction procedure in 2002 in Glasgow.
I had, first my left eye done...then 5 weeks later when i was happy I had the right done too.Depends on your prescription of course whether the consultant can carry out your procedure.

Im sure experiences differ from company to company.I picked the biggest and best recognised.Optimax.Very thorough examinations/evaluations to make sure your eye is the right shape for L.E.C to work.
All the procedures carried out by the staff at the Glasgow branch were done by people who worked all week in Glasgow's Southern General Hospital doing laser work for things like cataracts...then topping up their wages at the weekend by doing L.E.C's on fee paying private work.So they are all very experienced.Theres full time staff who do the evaluations and after care checks.

I hope that didnt sound too much like an advert for L.E.C but I must admit Im so pleased i had it done.I used to get conjunctivitus a lot.Sure it was wearing contacts that caused it.And Im sure all spectactle wearers know how COLD your spec frames can feel against your face on a winters morning outdoors. brrrrrrrr:lol:

Penelope Pitstop
27-Apr-07, 11:35
Update on this topic..........I had it done and it's great. Anyone thinking about getting it done feel free to PM me for details.:)

stekar
27-Apr-07, 21:49
Update on this topic..........I had it done and it's great. Anyone thinking about getting it done feel free to PM me for details.:)

Great news! Glad you got on ok, it's the best thing I ever did.
Out of curiosity, where did you get it done?

bluebell
28-Apr-07, 02:14
My sister-in-law had it done last year in glasgow and she said though it was very sore at the time she's glad she had it done, she said you can get it done the sore way that is cheaper(thats the way she had it done)or the more expensive way which is not so sore but a lot more expensive what she means by this I dono but thats what she say's