I had lasik surgery at Optical Express in Southampton's West Quay yesterday (August 25). I have just been for my check-up and everything is fine. My surgeon was Mr Wayne Crewe Brown and I was short-sighted with a prescription of roughly -3.5 in both eyes. I also had fairly bad astigmatism. I was extremely nervous on the day of the operation and briefly thought about making a run for it, but I'm so glad I didn't. The operation itself is much easier than going to the dentist. It is totally painless and very quick. I had been especially nervous of the part of the operation where the flap is created, but this part was over before I could process what was happening to me. The laser part itself was fine - I just had to stare at a flashing red light while someone counted down the seconds. It's impossible to blink as your eyelids are taped back, although you do still make the reflex movements to blink. There was a comforting hand at the top of my head throughout the procedure and then it was all over. I tottered back into the waiting room where around eight other patients were waiting to see how I fared. (I was the first one in). My eyes were blurry, but I could still see quite well. After about 15 minutes, they became slightly gritty, but that's as bad as it got and it was no where near as painful as getting an eyelash in your eye, or grit under a contact lense. I was driven home and for the rest of the day, I rested in bed with the radio on and kept my eyes closed as much as possible. I also kept on the goggles they provide you with just in case one of my children poked me in the eye! I didn't sleep much that night mainly because I was paranoid about rubbing my eye, but today, my vision is even better. This morning, I could see the TV clearly, but found it difficult to read small writing on the screen clearly. This afternoon, I'm finding it easier and easier to focus, probably as the swelling goes down. I'm not suffering with dry eye at all and hadn't been using my comfort drops much - but when I went back for my check, I was told to use them as much as every hour as my eyes would be drier than normal even if I couldn't feel it.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone at Southampton Optical Express. They were friendly, professional and kind. Today at my 24 hour check many of them stopped to see how I was and how my sight was. It's so strange. Yesterday, I couldn't see the time on the radio clock three feet from my bed and now I have 20/20 vision for the first time in 30 years!