Laser Eye Surgery Cost Cutting Tips

little_light

I had Lasek wavefront at Optical express 2 years ago, and my eye sight is now fantastic! I can't fault them on their follow up treatment, I was still going for check ups 12 months after surgery. I was still getting dry eyes esp in mornings so they recommended having punctum plugs put in!! there was no extra cost and they worked a treat. Would recommend it to anyone.:j

kyssyn

I know lots of people want this and I know many won't be persuaded not to but if you must do it please consider the possible consequences. Even though the odds are against losing your sight if it did happen to you it'd be the biggest regret you'll ever have.

I'm already going blind (genetic cause) and I promise you, the worst things are the things you wouldn't even think of. It's not just having to adjust to other peoples attitudes to you. Nor is it that almost every blind organisation is utterly useless and you'll mostly be without help. It's the things like being afraid to be around small children because you trip over them, always being covered with brusies because you bump into everything, dodgy knees from whacking them off walls and bollards, difficulty remembering new faces because people start to look similar, freaking out if you've lost your expensive polarised sunglasses because glare is a nightmare of a problem and feeling isolated and awkward in dark situations (pubs, clubs, anywhere at night) because your eyes won't adjust and you might as well have your eyes closed. The biggest difficulty is that even though you're the one with the problem you're also the one that has to comfort the people who love you, they'll have a much harder time accepting it. You feel a constant pressure to show everyone that you can cope because the alternative is giving up.

Sight is precious, life is extremely difficult without it. I implore everyone not to gamble something they can't risk losing. If you must go ahead then don't cut costs. Go to places with great reputations, ask questions and only go ahead with it if they answer them satisfactorily.

hethmar

Im so sorry to hear about your sight Kyssyn. And I have to say one of my biggest fears has been losing my sight.

That is the one thing that is holding me back having the CK treatment. They tell me its only one eye that needs the treatment as I have age related long sight - Im unable to see things like medicine bottle instructions etc and it drives me mad. I actually OD on some prescribed meds a few months ago because I couldnt find my glasses and assumed the 3 I could see meant take 3 when it was take 1 3 times a day.

I am still pondering the outcome though I understand that with CK the radio wave treatment has never had a bad complication world wide since it was introduced.

With kindest wishes x

amylee_2

I had my eyes done yesterday at Optical Express in Nottingham, I would highly recommend it to anyone. I had the Lasik intralase wavefront. Cost me £2900. I could see straight away as soon as I sat up all be it a little cloudy. After about 20 mins of leaving the clinic my eyes began to sting and I just wanted to close them and was aquinting on the way back to the car as it was stinging quite a bit. I got home and had a sleep for an hour or so and when I woke up I could see almost perfectly apart from things were a little blurry around the edges.
This morning when I woke up I could see perfectly and have been for my post op check up, I have 20/20+ vision within 24 hours and can drive again.....amazing :j

hethmar

Must be wonderful amy

outlaw777

driscos3000 wrote: »

I had laser surgery 1 month ago with Optical Express. Here's how it worked for me:

• You book an appointment for a consultation
• You get phoned up every week until you attend the consultation
• You attend the consultation and they give you two options normal LASIK and ultra expensive Wafefront LASIK (that the US navy use)
• You are told your eye surgery will cost £1000 an eye (I have a -6 prescription). Which shocks you a little because of the £395 per eye plastered all over the posters and TV
• You decide on normal LASIK and book two days off work
• You turn up on the day of the procedure and the first think you encounter it a man in dark glasses stumbling down the stairs. You ask if he is okay and he says that he had the surgery yesterday and has been in immense pain ever since. He has taken 11 strong pain killers overnight.
• You are not filled with confidence.
• You are told to wait in reception and asked to fill in a waiver that prevents the opticians from being liable for any. Any thing at all.
• You are meant to have read this before you turn up. I didn't. Liz, my partner did.
• You sit there for a good hour reading a book on cosmetic dentistry. You wonder why a book on cosmetic dentistry is on the table of an eye clinic. You wonder if this is the right address or if you can book a whitening procedure at the same time.
• You are called to the surgeons office. As you sit down a burly nurse shuts the door and blocks your exit.
• The surgeon explains how you really should have the WaveFront surgery that costs double the amount.
• This is 3 mins beofre he rolls you in to laser your eyes.
• You explain that the salesperson explained the options before you signed up and normal eye surgery is okay
• He reels off loads of figures with big percentages that make you wonder if you've got a 90% chance of going blind or not
• You stick to your guns and you go back out to wait
• You are called into surgery to be met with your surly surgeon and two polish nurses
• They put a hairnet on me (which made me laugh - I am bald)
• The tell you to lie down and look up into the red light
• They put a contraption on one eye that holds open your eyelid.
• They put numbing drops on the eye
• They test the drops are working by poking you in the eye with a spatula ( a medical one)
• They then put a machine onto your eye that sucks in the eyeball
• Everything goes black and you hear a buzzing sound as a medical razor blade cuts a neat circular flap in the transparent skin that covers your cornea
• The surgeon peels back this flap of skin. You can still see.
• You are reminded to look at the red light and then your hear mechanical snapping and smell burning eyeball.
• I got shouted at because I moved my eyeball when the red light seemed do disappear
• After about a minute of lasers the surgeon puts the flap of skin back over your cornea
• He spends a minute brushing the air bubbles from under this flap. You see all of this.
• He then does the other eye.
• Surgery doesn’t hurt at all
• After about 5 minutes you are told to get up
• You can see without glasses (albeit a bit blurrily)
• You are led to a darkened room where a man gives you a gift bag full of unctions
• You are told to put anti inflammatory drops in 6 times a day and anti-bacterials in 4 times a day. You are also given artificial tears. I used all of mine up during the children of courage awards.
• During the next week you have to wear really cool goggles in bed in case you rub your eyes in case you run your eyes and dislodge the flap.
• My eyes went in and out of focus during the first week
• Your eyes are dry but don’t hurt at all
• Looking at computer screen and books was difficult
• In the second week just one of my eyes went in and out of focus
• I also had dry eyes and was given a gel to supplement the artificial tears
• After 3 weeks my eyes have started to settle down.
• I have about 20/20 vision
• Screen work can be difficult but blinking and looking away from the screen usually helps

Simon
www.stopsmokingshop.co.uk

What branch?

hethmar

LOL, I take it that so you can avoid it Outlaw?

samuela66

Luvmyfreebies wrote: »

Hey Samuela66 - how are things now? So sorry to read you were having problems, very different to my own experience. Has your left eye cleared yet?

Hiya,

Left eye still blurry and a bit sore still, got steroid drops now!!!!!! go back thursday, i have noticed my vision changing throughout the day sometimes both eyes are blurry and occasionally my left eye appears clearer than my right eye................weird, so glad though not to be wearing my glasses
xx

outlaw777

hethmar wrote: »

LOL, I take it that so you can avoid it Outlaw?

Exactly! Spill the beans.....

frogstomp

BernardM wrote: »

http://mattmcmahon.com/eyeknowwhy/index.htm Could be permanent http://www.mattmcmahon.com/eyeknowwhy/complica.htm

http://mattmcmahon.com/eyeknowwhy/firsttim.htm

10-year old research - thanks!

:T

I had my eyes zapped by Ultralase about 10 months ago and can recommend their service - very professional.

The procedure itself can prove uncomfortable (although not painful) but is tolerable, especially taking into account the relatively brief duration. I am going back for a (free) re-treatment at the end of the month and I wouldn't consider that if the treatment was that bad.

My first treatment took me from a prescription of -10 to around -1.5.. it was explained that a re-treatment may be required due to the fact that any further increase at that point could have caused warping around the edge due to heat build-up from the laser.

It is a risky thing to have done - all surgical procedures carry an element of risk - but my view is that the risk is low (especially with modern techniques such as IntraLase) in comparison to the potential benefits.