I was first introduced to Accuvision in autumn last year when I was at my local Opticians for a routine two year check up. I was discussing my poor eyesight with my Optician and I said that I had considered laser eye surgery but had been told when I had made enquiries with a laser eye company that they did not accept anyone with a prescription of 5.00+ and over. The laser eye company I had made enquiries with said that they had not had good results in the past with higher plus lens prescriptions and so were not taking anyone with that sort of prescription any more. I had also e-mailed another eye laser company and sent my details and they had told me that I was border-line. My Optician said that they were involved with an eye laser company called Accuvision and did I want them to have a look at my eyes and see if I was suitable for laser surgery. I agreed to this but didn’t really expect to be found suitable.

I went for the assessment. Carol did the assessment on behalf of Accuvision. She was very thorough and easy to talk to. She said that I was suitable and told me quite a lot about the procedure etc. She did not put me under any pressure to make a decision there and then and told me to go away and think about it.

It took me about six weeks to make up my mind completely. During this time I had e-mailed Accuvision with some queries and I had gone back to see Carol to discuss some points, which I wasn’t too sure of. I also kept looking at the comments of people who had previously had surgery, on Accuvision’s web site (hence my contribution).

I had the surgery on the 6th December last year. It really didn’t hurt! The Accuvision team are very friendly and understand just how apprehensive you are. I had a very lovely nurse who held my hand (I’m surprised I didn’t break her fingers I was so frightened) through the whole procedure. After the surgery my eyes just felt really heavy and felt a lot more comfortable when they were shut. After about 30 minutes my surgeon, Mr Chad Rostron, looked at them again to make sure everything was okay and I was told to keep them closed as much as possible and to go to the nearby hotel which I had booked for an overnight stay and have a sleep, which I did. I kept wondering when the pain would start but to my delight it never did. I felt well enough after a little sleep to have a meal. The discomfort I had wasn’t even bad enough for me to have to take any painkillers.

The next day I was able to see a lot more clearly although my vision was still very blurred but I wasn’t too concerned as this was what I had been told to expect. I wasn’t feeling any discomfort from the surgery at all. I went back to the clinic for an eye examination and was told that everything was going perfectly. It took quite a few weeks for my vision to settle down completely.

I have recently had a routine check up, carried out at my local Opticians, with Carol and Nick, from Accuvision. Before the surgery my eyesight prescription was 5.00+ for my right eye and 5.25+ for my left eye for distance and another 1.75+ on top of my distance prescription for close work (with astigmatism). I currently do not need glasses at all for distance vision and for computer work 1.50+ and 2.00+ for close work and reading. I was told from the outset that because of my age (56) I would still need glasses for close work. What I didn’t realise was that the lens prescription would only be a fraction of what it was before surgery.

I am delighted with the results of my surgery. It is great to wake up in the morning and not have to fumble around trying to think where you left your glasses the night before. I was totally dependent on wearing glasses and all the hassle that comes with that - but not any more! I would like to say a big thanks to the whole Accuvision team. Denise Wellock 5/5