Laser Eye Surgery Cost Cutting Tips

squiggle37

andothfc wrote: »

I have terrible eyesight. I'm 25 years old and around a -12! I guess I'm a hopeless case for laser surgery?

Im about the same as you -12 just found out about optimax with tesco deals gonna look into this tomorrow as i have £623 tesco points saved up.

Katykat

I asked optical express if they did the same 30% discount for NHS staff as optimax do. They said no, but they would knock £300 off as goodwill. They never even asked me for evidence that I am an NHS emplyee. I went to OE as opposed to Optimax as the clinic was in a more convinient location.
My friend rang Optimax Liverpool if they would do a discount for 7 people ( all her freinds). They got 40%, even though 3 of them were told their eyes were not bad enough to laser( which is fair enough advice).
Incidentally, I had mine done 3 1/2 weeks ago, its not rightyet, still blurry, but I'm hopeful it will resolve soon.

coopdee

Hi all,
I will start by saying its the best thing i have ever done in my life, i only had it done 13 days ago and my eye site is already 20-20.

I have been given a referal for that will give you upto £400 off you treatment, names must not be already known to them at the time i recommend you.

all i need is your name, approx age full address and phone no and i will fax of your recommendation.

my email address is [EMAIL="coopdee@hotmail.co.uk"]coopdee@hotmail.co.uk[/EMAIL]

GOOD LUCK;)

johnfthetraveller

This is from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). For the full report, see http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/index.jsp?action=article&o=31558

2.4 Safety
2.4.1 Ectasia, a condition which can result in corneal thinning, is a serious complication related to refractive surgery and can lead to loss of vision. Data from the review estimated the risk of ectasia following LASIK as a median of 0.2% (range 0 to 0.87%, overall rate of 40/10,806 eyes). However, many of the affected eyes may have been selected inappropriately for LASIK treatment, and with careful patient selection the rate might have been lower. Rates of ectasia were not reported following PRK, and very little information was reported about LASEK, with no cases of ectasia described in one case series of 171 eyes.

2.4.2 In eyes treated for myopia, loss of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity was seen in a median of 0.5% (0-20.5%) of eyes treated with PRK, 0% (0-8.2%) of eyes treated with LASEK and 0.6% (0-3%) of eyes treated with LASIK. Patients with high myopia were more likely to lose two or more lines of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity than those with moderate to low myopia.

2.4.3 Flap complications may occur during LASIK and LASEK, requiring conversion to PRK or postponement of ablation (with LASIK), and occasionally there may be loss of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity. Epithelial in-growth was reported in LASIK in a median of 1.3% (0.0 to 4.4%) of eyes.

2.4.4 Microbial keratitis was only reported in LASIK studies and occurred in 0.0 to 0.16% of eyes. This incidence was similar to, or less than, that reported for contact lens wearers.

2.4.5 Other patient-reported problems included visual difficulty in low light conditions, corneal haze, light halos and problems with glare. The occurrence of significant corneal haze was reported following all three procedures (in 0.0 to 31% of eyes treated with PRK, 0 to 25% with LASEK and 0 to 2% with LASIK). Glare and night vision difficulties were less common after LASIK. For more details, refer to the sources of evidence (see Appendix).

MyUserNamesTaken

Guess I'm not a candidate then, as I already suffer from dry eyes and "starburst"....I have night blindness too...my sight deteriorates at night to the point that I cannot drive...lights blind me. In strong daylight, I have to wear sunglasses otherwise my eyes end up killing me. All this without having any lasers near my eyes! Oh, my eyesight's really bad and i have bad astigmatism. I'm in my late 30s and my sight has not stablized since first needing glassed back when I was 11.

daveybuk

I love a bargain like everyone, but I really think this is one area where it's not about the best financial deal. You only have one pair of eyes, and nothing's going to get your sight back.

I've worn specs since I was eight, and seriously looked into laser surgery about 4 years ago. I even got as far as having all the 3D measurements taken of my eye on Harley Street. After researching the subject thoroughly via the internet I decided not to go with one of the cheaper mass market firms (far too many horror stories), but to pay double to be operated on by a surgeon from Moorfields Eye Hospital.

I knew four people who'd had the surgery previously and all, on the face of it, were happy. However, when I delved a bit deeper, two of them had required another treatment on one eye and none of them had 20-20 vision in both eyes. They were so pleased to be rid of glasses that being able to see 'well enough' was fine.

Given that nobody has any idea of the long term effects (i.e. potential collapse of the cornea in old age because it's been weakened) and, given the advances in contact lens technology, I decided to stick with daily disposables and now fortnightly lenses. It takes about two minutes a day to look after them - personally, I'd rather do that than risk my sight. Albeit minimal, there is a risk, and would you want to be the one?

tocanada

daveybuk, i wish i had read your posting (or any forums) for that matter before i went ahead with my surgery. i had prk on one eye and lasik on the other last week. everything seems to be progessing by the books. it's still too soon to tell whether i am satisfied with the results. however, i've been doing much more research "after" my surgery and now i am regretting my decision. i am grateful there are no complications to this point, but in retrosepct i took a great risk for minimal benefits. i don't even know why i went ahead with the surgery. contact lenses weren't even much of a hassle and glasses look a bit dorky, but who cares. i was very hesitant about it, but still went ahead and now i feel stupid. i've actually been depressed over it. but it's done and over with. i just want others to know that laser eye surgery is not risk-free and perfect. do you really want to put your eyes through the risk, albeit minimal, for a few years of 20/20 vision? i wish i hadn't done it.

cmhbyandco

tocanada wrote: »

daveybuk, i wish i had read your posting (or any forums) for that matter before i went ahead with my surgery. i had prk on one eye and lasik on the other last week. everything seems to be progessing by the books. it's still too soon to tell whether i am satisfied with the results. however, i've been doing much more research "after" my surgery and now i am regretting my decision. i am grateful there are no complications to this point, but in retrosepct i took a great risk for minimal benefits. i don't even know why i went ahead with the surgery. contact lenses weren't even much of a hassle and glasses look a bit dorky, but who cares. i was very hesitant about it, but still went ahead and now i feel stupid. i've actually been depressed over it. but it's done and over with. i just want others to know that laser eye surgery is not risk-free and perfect. do you really want to put your eyes through the risk, albeit minimal, for a few years of 20/20 vision? i wish i hadn't done it.

Oh Dear, poor you!!

The risks are minimal, look at the reasons you had it done & the effect this will have on your life. I had it done 3 years ago & it was the best thing I have ever had done.

Are you having any problems now?
Are you in any discomfort?

If no, then look at the positive points of having the surgery.

Before long you will forget that you ever wore glasses or contact lenses & having good eye sight will be the norm for you.

Good luck but please look at the more positive outcome.

chipbeck

This isn't spam but I do have about £550 of optimax vouchers that I got for the wife at Christmas. She's unfortunately not up for the operation so I'm going to get them put back on the old clubcard. That is of course unless someone wants' to take them off my hands. Can't be bothered with the hassle of ebay or any of that so if anyone is planning on getting it done let me know.

Mods if I've broken any rules then please remove the post.

Cheers

daveybuk

Tocanada,

You've had it done now and there don't seem to be any problems, so please don't get concerned about it. The horror stories that put me off were from people who had experienced problems with the surgery - you don't seem to have had that, so enjoy the experience.

I was simply trying to sound a note of caution to offset the ever-increasing hype about this treatment - it seems often to be presented as entirely 'risk-free' and that's not the case with any surgery.