Eye lazer consultation Monday

faithcecilia

Just wondering if there are any questions I should be asking? I feel I have done enough research that my main questions will be 'how soon?' and 'how much?' but I am sure there are other, possibly more important questions! Thanks.

faithcecilia

OK so I managed to think of the quetions to ask in the consultation.

I am booked for Lasik treatment a week on Thurs (11th) in Southampton, and as I live on IOW I need to sty in a hotel overnight in Soton:mad:

So 2 questions now:

1) What should I expect from the procedure? and
2) How am Igoing to fill my evening in the Travelodge???

Many thanks

FC

Thriftysolo

Before you have this procedure done, I would recommend -- if you haven't already done so -- viewing sites like lasikdisaster.com and lifeafterlasik.com which will help you fully appreciate any risks and possible complications which might be involved in the surgery that you may not be aware of.

If you have already done so, then great, you are probably a well informed patient, and I wish you the best of luck. if not, then it's not too late to increase your awareness and make a more informed decision about whether you want to proceed with the operation. I recommend that you also read 'the lasik report' (just google it, it's a pdf.)

Sorry if this sounds like I'm trying to scare you -- I'm not. I simply don't like the idea that someone may be going into a procedure without being completely informed. I apologise if you have researched the situation fully. All the best.

Craig

Guinea_2

Hi

I wish you all the success with your laser treatment, although bear it in mind that it doesn't always work. I had my eyes lasered in May of last year and I am now back wearing glasses. I have had so much trouble trying to get the opticians to admit that my eyes were not 20:20. I have had numerous appointments with two opticians. The first one said that the treatment worked brilliantly and I had perfect vision. I insisted that I didn't have perfect vision and I had glare at night, although when booking my appointment I was encouraged to choose the laser treatment that would stop this. I then insisted that I saw another optician who then said that I did have 20:2o vision, although I now had astigmatism in both eyes, therefore not having perfect vision. I have been told that I can either wear glasses and/or contact lenses while I await having the treatment done again. Another fly in the ointment so to speak is that as I am now pregnant I cannot have the treatment until I have stopped breast feeding and waited another three months!!!!!
Also, I had weeping eyes for weeks after having the treatment which I had several lots of drops to help me with as I found that lots of the drops didn't help. Then I had dry eye which I had to go through the same process for and now they are back to normal so to speak, although I am wearing glasses!

I would say to think very long and hard about whether you really want laser treatment or whether you could live with contact lenses.
Just think....:)

Poosmate

I've had my eyes laser'd about 5/6 years ago. I consider it the best thing I've ever done - a true miracle.

I was very short sighted and wore contact lenses. I decided to have laser treatment after a very dodgy pair of ill fitting contact lenses and an advert on tv seemed to be on every channel I watched - it was a sign! The cost at the time was £1k per eye! But I got a special offer and had both done for £1k.

I always get mixed up with the names of the two main treatments (Lasik and Lasek), but I had the intrusive one where they slice your cornea off almost completely (making it like a flap). Then they lasered the lens as necessary and replaced the flap of cornea. The flap of cornea sort of acts like a natural plaster (kind of like a scab over a grazed knee), it's never been detached from you eye so it's not like a graft which could have dried out or be rejected when reintroduced to your eye. So recovery is quicker and it's less painful and less susceptible to infection.

My brothers had the other treatment where the cornea is lasered. If you've ever scratched your cornea you will know how painful that is! Their recovery was longer and more painful as it took a few days for the cornea to heal.

I was picked up from the eye clinic and went back to work with a patch on my eye. Didn't do much work to be honest because everyone was asking what I'd done to my eye! Within a few hours (3/4) I could actually see definite lines rather than blurred shapes. I actually cried when I saw the stationery cupboard! I had a lift home from work on the first day. The worst part was resisting the need to rub my eye because it was itchy, felt like there was grit in it, more uncomfortable than painful, but it did drive me nuts!

I had to go back to the clinic the following day for them to check all was healing well (and that I hadn't rubbed my eye and knocked the cornea out of place) and also for more antibiotic eye drops (this was standard procedure). I then had to return a couple of days later and again about a week after that.

At the time I had mine done there was an article in the newspaper about a man who'd been treated at the clinic I was going to. His operation had gone wrong. Everyone who knew I was having mine done was quick to show me the headlines - I read the whole article. Although the man's operation went wrong, he refused corrective treatment, he didn't return for the scheduled check ups and so hadn't had the necessary antibiotic eye drop treatments post op that would have minimised the damage that ultimately occurred.

You say you are booked in for one night at a Travelodge, what are you going to do about the aftercare? The post op check ups? The additional antibiotic drops they will use? Please don't underestimate how vulnerable you will feel post op even with one functioning eye. Are you having both done at the same time? I had mine done one at a time (it was their policy at the time I guess just in case anything did go wrong).

I hope all goes well for you. If you have the procedure I had, depending on your pain threshhold it won't really hurt, it's just very uncomfortable, but then I was in awe of the whole procedure and I think that over rode the pain receptors! By the time I thought "Actually, I don't think I like this, it's starting to hurt", the lady said. "Ok, that's it, you're all done". I must also add, my eyes are very small which was a bit troublesome for them and a worry for me because at one point I thought they were going to say they couldn't do it! Also, please remember my procedure was about 5/6 years ago so I'm sure they will have tweaked and tuned the procedure to perfection by now.

Once again, very best of luck to you and enjoy the miracle of almost/perfect vision.

Hope that helps

Poo

faithcecilia

Thank you for the informative replies.

Yes, I am having both eyes done, I'm having the 'flap' procedure too;). A friend who lives reasonably near the clinic (well, an hour and a half away) is meeting me there to be my chauffer and to stay overnight in the hotel with me, then drive me back to the clinic for my next day check, then drop me back at the ferry. I will probably get a taxi to meet me this end.

I am pretty good at doing eye drops myself, which is good seeings as there are 3 different ones to do! For the other follow up appointments (1week, 1month, 3months) I will just o the trip in a day, as I did for the consultation.

I am looking forward to it, but starting to feel a bit nervous too:cool: All being well I will be recovering nicely by this time next week!

Thriftysolo

faithcecilia wrote: »

Thank you for the informative replies.

Yes, I am having both eyes done, I'm having the 'flap' procedure too;). A friend who lives reasonably near the clinic (well, an hour and a half away) is meeting me there to be my chauffer and to stay overnight in the hotel with me, then drive me back to the clinic for my next day check, then drop me back at the ferry. I will probably get a taxi to meet me this end.

I am pretty good at doing eye drops myself, which is good seeings as there are 3 different ones to do! For the other follow up appointments (1week, 1month, 3months) I will just o the trip in a day, as I did for the consultation.

I am looking forward to it, but starting to feel a bit nervous too:cool: All being well I will be recovering nicely by this time next week!

Good luck with the procedure. I hope everything goes well for you.

Regards

Craig

misstipsycake

I had my eyes lasered 6 years ago (can't believe it's that long!) and I have never regretted it. I researched the procedure for around a year before I made the decision. I had several consultations before I decided on the surgeon I wanted to let lose on my eyes! It's a big decision and there can be problems. I was -6 in each eye with astigmatism and large pupils.

I travelled to London to have my eyes done (about 500 miles), I stayed with friends and had no problems with aftercare and follow-up appointments. I was happier to travel to a place a trusted instead of staying locally and taking my chances!

I had no pain following the LASIK procedure, apart from being a little dry in the first few days, my eyes were fine. I could see 20/20 almost immediately and travelled on the underground straight after.

My eyes are still pretty good and I don't need glasses yet!

Good luck for Thursday and let us know how it goes!:)

lostinrates

misstipsycake wrote: »

I had my eyes lasered 6 years ago (can't believe it's that long!) and I have never regretted it. I researched the procedure for around a year before I made the decision. I had several consultations before I decided on the surgeon I wanted to let lose on my eyes! It's a big decision and there can be problems. I was -6 in each eye with astigmatism and large pupils.

I travelled to London to have my eyes done (about 500 miles), I stayed with friends and had no problems with aftercare and follow-up appointments. I was happier to travel to a place a trusted instead of staying locally and taking my chances!

I had no pain following the LASIK procedure, apart from being a little dry in the first few days, my eyes were fine. I could see 20/20 almost immediately and travelled on the underground straight after.

My eyes are still pretty good and I don't need glasses yet!

Good luck for Thursday and let us know how it goes!:)

May I ask where in London you went? My DH is considering treatment and recommendation is a good start for personal research into it...:)

faithcecilia

Well I am just home after having the procedure yesterday. The procedure itself was more unpleasant than I expected, but strange as it sounds, I think that was because the chair reminded me of the dentist and I am extremelt phobic of the dentist:eek: It didn't take long though - 7 seconds to cut each eye, then 26secs to lazer the right and 19secs to lazer the left. The surgeon and nurses were lovely and I felt very well looked after. My surgery took place at about 4pm, I left the opticians about 5pm with sore, gritty, watery eyes (as expected) but by 10pm when my friend and I left the pub after our lovely dinner and catch up my vision was clear and my eyes tired but comfortable. I slept little, due to the combination of a snoreing bed partner:cool: and the goggles I will have to sleep in for a week - made me look like a blue bottle!!!

This morning my eyes felt absolutely normal and my vision is as good as it was with contacts (bette than with my glasses). I have some bruising on the whites and under my eyes but again I was expecting that. I went back for my next day check and she said they look perfect, and my vision is almost perfect now and she thinks if its so good on day 1 it should get even better in the next few weeks. I go back a week on Monday for my next check and have 3 lots of eye drops to use until then.

All in all, at this point, I am really happy with the results and would do it again if I went back in time.:D

faithcecilia

I thought I would keep updating here over the next few weeks as my eyes heal, in case it is helpful for anyone else considering the surgery.

So 2 days post-procedure, woke up with a headache, which I think is because the goggles are a little tight, but that has gone now. I have 2 fairly black eyes, and one eye has bruising on the white, but otherwise they look okay. The antibiotic eye drops taste horrible - is't it strange how you can taste something you put in your eyes???

Last night my eyes felt quite dry, which I was told to expect, so I was using the artificial tears about every half hour. My vivion is ever so slightly hazy, but I can read my book titles from the opposite side of the room which is great!