As the title suggests i'm thinking of having laser eye surgery.
I'm freaking out about two things:
The first - actually keeping my eyes open during it and seeing the laser coming at me
.
They clamp your eye open during the procedure and you don't need to worry about blinking as they wet your eye periodically, you won't be able to blink.
The second - The info says I won't be able to drive for 7 to 14 days
I absolutely have to drive, the kids need picking up from school (although if I have it done in the holidays that won't be an issue) and I need to deliver wedding cakes 2 or 3 times a week.
It took me a week before I drove, there was no way that I could have driven before this time - I will explain this later in my post
I'm also a bit confused about Lasik and Lasek?
Any advice would be greatfully received.
Lasik and Lasek are two different procedures totally, with Lasik the cornea is cut into a flap and lifted to enable the surgeon to gain acess to your eye with the laser, this kind of procedure has a longer recovery period.
With Lasek there is no incision made, a blister is created on the cornea with alcohol and is pushed aside, the laser is then applied and the surgeon puts back the part of the cornea that he moved.
Personally I think that Lasek is the way to go, you must be very careful with Lasik not to knock your eye etc as it can dislodge your "flap" .
My surgery was done by Professor Shah who actually invented this procedure.
How did you cope with blinking?
My nearest clinic is in Aberdeen, 70 miles away, I think i'll chicken out on the way, or hyperventilate, or be sick
Did you wait long between consultation and surgery?
Any side effects?
Were you happy you did it?
Many thanks for all your advice
As I said before you don't need to worry about blinking!
I waited about 4 months between consultation and surgery, but only because I wanted to make sure that there were no holidays etc planned after I had had it done.
Side effects..... everyone reacts
VERY differently to this surgery, so you shouldn't really worry about other peoples side effects. My best friend had hers done 6 months before me and was 100% fine by the next day, she had no problems at all. I on the otherhand had a reaction to the contact lenses and ended up having to go back for an emergency appointment. I was swollen and uncomfortable but after 48 hours this subsided, once I had the bandage lens taken out I was fine.
Now my eye sight is better than 20/20, swimming and riding the coasters is fantastic, I am much less restricted, the only ongoing issue that I have is drier eyes, I use drops every morning to help, nothing major though for the advantages that it has given me!
I'm interested to see that a number of people on here have had this done.
I've considered it a couple of times (briefly), but I've always come to the conclusion that wearing glasses / contact lenses doesn't
bother me enough to risk (even though it's only a very small risk) my eyesight in the name of what is essentially cosmetic surgery.[/QUOTE]
When people have problems it's usually down to them not caring for their eyes properly following surgery, not using their prescribed drops etc or not following instructions of how to clean your eyes correctly, it's very rare for people to have a problem due to the actual surgery.
depends on the perception, mine cost nearly £3000.
Mine was near that too!
Cheap at half the price!
I've pondered over this on and off for the past couple of years and when researching last year
one thing that put me off is the fact that they have to slice the outer layer of whatever it is to get the laser to directly pointing at the pupil. I'm rather sensitive when it comes to eyes, they freak me out a little bit if I'm honest. (I'll blame that programme on the BBC a few years back where that lady sliced open a horse's eye
).
I'll probably consider it more over the next five years but I imagine I will eventually pluck up the courage (and the money!) to get it done. At aged 20 my eyesight is pretty bad, to the point where I really can't see much farther than a few inches ahead of me.
Not if you have the LASEK option! I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face before having it done!
Once I can afford it - laser surgery is on my to do list !
I dont really suit my glasses and consequently i do have to admit to wearing my contacts far too much - which is in turn damaging my eyes anyway!
From what i've heard the whole procedure is very quick - i cant honestly remember how long each eye takes approx - but i remember being pleasantly surprised with what i heard.
All the positive experiences about it on this thread here has personally made me more confident to go for it!
25 seconds an eye! very quick!
I would recommend the MEI website (which is where I had mine done) there is lots of information on there and you can also watch videos of them doing the operation.
http://www.midlandeye.com/refractive/overview.php
feel free to PM me!
Gems
