I'm getting sick of glasses, breaking and bending and steaming up and looking stupid and costing money. Contacts are just as much trouble, if not more so (I tried ). Laser surgery sounds great in principle - one operation and it's permanently corrected. But does anyone have any firsthand experience with it? Is it a good idea?
Its not always a permanent correction, and if something goes wrong, you may lose the use of one eye. I've had glasses for the last 10 years or so (I'm now 22), and find a decent frame with coated lenses to be fine.
I had it done when I was 18. Of course that was a long time ago. well, sort of. I'm 26 now and I still have 20/20 vision in one eye and slightly better than 20/20 in the other. the technology is better now than it was then. I had to go 6 months before my vision got to where it is now. With the new tech they have now you have your eyesight the next day. Its quick, pretty much painless. It will take a while before you stop reaching for your glasses in the morning, and trying to adjust them during the day. but its worth it. Go for it. As for all the risks, just go in and they will tell you about them. and if they dont, leave and go somewhere else to have it done. its a lot of money and risk to leave it to someone who doesn't care enough to tell you about the risks.
I haven't heard too many horror stories, but the few people I know who have had it done were overly thrilled and excited for quite some time after the procedure.
My dad got a similar surgery (some sort of cyborg implant thing though, not laser surgery), and he can see without glasses for the first time in his life - and he's now 50. I'm quite sure that prior to his procedure, he was legally blind without glasses on... something like 20/5000 vision, or whatever the number for off-the-scale awful is.
talk to your regular optometrist as well as the people that do the surgery, depending on what your ocular problem is effects whether it can be done. (and i don't trust the surgeons to not line their pockets at customers expense) I have astigmatism where i am both long and short sighted in both eyes, my regular optometrist told me that for my condition anyone that recommends laser surgery would not be acting in my best interest, and the possible benefit simply isn't worth the risks, that was a several years ago, and technology has improved. everyone is different, so good luck if you go for laser
Good point. That's why my dad had the lens implants instead of normal laser - given how bad his vision was, they couldn't fully correct it with laser (they refused to do a partial as well, even though it would have been a massive improvement for him - presumably so it doesn't hurt their track record). And my mom can't have laser for a similar reason. Couldn't say what the condition is - could be astigmatism - but for whatever reason, the laser wouldn't work.
I got it done about 2 months ago (LASIK with intralase) and am very pleased with theb results even though it was quite expensive and am still experienceing some but not bad night time glare, does take a few days for your eyes to settle but are sound the day after. Most places offer a free consultation, i got mine done with Optical Express, fill out he form on the right and you'll get an info pack in the post
I have special lenses which overcompensate for my sight and give me above 20/20 in both eyes anyway. Laser surgery is a fine, I'm sure, and doesn't carry any more risks than any other form of out-patient procedure. What bothers me is the cost. I've had the same frames for five-six years now and they only cost me £90 - from what I hear though, Laser eye surgery costs a hell of a lot more.
My mum had it done an she says he sees everything better than ever before. Won't work for me though.. Got a lazy left-eye, 20-20 in the right and a little bit of colourblindness bunged in there for sh*ts-and-giggles.
My boss and her husband both had it. His worked fine. Hers was over corrected and is now worse. Funnily enough she chose the less risky, more painful method. They have offered to redo hers at a discounted rate lol but she's not risking it again. Another chap who used to work with us had it done a few years ago. He tried to catch the train home afterwards, forgot his painkillers and was a right mess. After a couple of weeks he was fine and his eyesight was better.
My sister had it done a couple of months ago. For a period of time afterwards your eyes will be bloody (not vision impairing, but people will notice) and you will need to use eye drops regularly. I don't remember exactly how long for but she's thrilled and it worked out that she'd save about £500 over the period between surgeries
Of the two people I know who have had it done, one had no problems other than slightly itchy eyes for a week taken care of with drops. and the other found that her eyes had not been adjusted enough, had to wait about 4 months to have it done again. however that was covered by the inital price she paid as were the glasses she had to wear for the 4 months.
If you do get it done, document it with loads of pics! I'm sure that if it was that big a risk the front pages of the Sun and other papers would be littered with Horror stories.
Whats worrying is that all you need to be in charge of one of these eye lasers is a days training. No formal qualifications at all. But then again, the machines are very expensive.
What worries me is that there's been no (AFAIK) long-term research into laser eye surgey and its effects.
