For anyone who is considering laser surgery but is afraid to go ahead let me say if I can do it anyone can! Here is my experience of the procedure.
I thought about having laser eye surgery years ago when it first became available but decided to let other people be the guinea pigs and wait until it had been around for a while before taking the plunge. I recently had a bonus at work that I knew was going to be enough to pay for the surgery so plucked up courage and went for it! I visited the Leeds clinic on Thursday May 5th, I was very nervous but was soon put at ease by the lovely staff there. I had a few tests before being told I was able to have the surgery should I choose to do so, there was no pressure put on me at all. I was advised though to just have the one eye done to begin with, my prescription was only - 2.00 in both eyes but at 46 years old the doctor said that if I had both done I would then need reading glasses straight away whereas if i had one done I would use one eye for distance and the other for close work.
My 2 reasons for choosing the surgery was to hopefully put an end to my migraines and for comfort. I am unable to wear contact lenses, (something to do with my tears, the lenses stick to my eyes, and I have scar tissue on one eye from the 6 months that I origionally did wear them) glasses rub me badly on the top of my right ear and due to a bump on my nose they hurt there too, I HAVE NEVER IN 19 YEARS OF WEARING GLASSES MANAGED TO FIND A SINGLE PAIR THAT FIT COMFORTABLY! Now I no longer have that problem as I decided to go ahead and have the laser surgery, I had Epi-lasik, I was told there might be a little pain and it would be a few days before I could see clearly but I didn't fancy having the outer skin on my eye cut to make the corneal flap. After 19 years of not being able to see clearly without those things on my ears and the pain from migraines I got from constantly taking my glasses off at work to read and then putting them straight back on to see distances made me feel a few days settling down period was going to be a walk in the park. HOW RIGHT I WAS! Once in the surgery the doctor put a clamp on my eyelids to hold them open and anaesthetic drops were put in my eye,(they work very fast,) the doctor scraped back the epithelium and I was ready for the laser, I counted the seconds (it was 10) and that was it, done, he folded back the epithelium, popped in a bandage lense, took off the clamp and I was ready to go, I walked out thinking "how easy was that! and why did I feel nervous about it beforehand?" I can honestly say its the best thing I have ever done, I cannot recommend this enough. As for pain, I DID NOT HAVE ANY! I was given pain relief in the clinic then 30 minutes after the surgery I went home, I went straight to bed and laid in the dark room all night as I'd been advised by someone who had also had this done previuosly, but on reflection I think I would have been ok sitting downstairs with my family, by staying in bed I forgot to take some more pain killers but didn't need them anyway, the only problem I had was that I had very runny eyes, in fact the eye that wasn't lasered was weepier than the treated one, so for a few days I couldn't see properly anyway due to my eyes streaming, I had the bandage lense taken out on Monday May 9th and for me that was the most painful part of the whole thing, although it just felt like a scratch on my eye.
For me the parts I dreaded most was the clamping of the eye and the smell of burning when the laser hit my eye, the clamp was not half as bad as I'd imagined, as for the smell, there's no getting away from it, as soon as you are in the chair you are aware of a burning smell, it probably lingers from previous patients but it's not too bad and at least it makes you less aware of the smell coming from your own operation.
By the end of the first week everything was a lot clearer to me, by the 17th, 12 days after the op I had another check up in Leeds and I could read very clearly the next to bottom line on the eye chart! I still reached for my glases on a morning and even now 2 months after the op I try to take them OFF! Because I can see I think I have them on but it's still a lovely feeling when I realise my mistake. All I can say to anyone thinking about this is go for it, painwise I imagine it can't be so bad when you consider what you get at the end, Freedom from glasses and a much easier life.
I can see clearly but I am aware of a slight double vision which I have been told my brain will eventually compensate for and I won't notice, I only have this because I am still short sighted in my right eye, I have set myself a time limit on this which I will discuss with the doctor at my check up in August, if I am still noticing the double vision I will think about having the second eye done in October, the only thing that stops me from having it done at the moment is not the thought of the laser surgery but knowing i will have to put glasses back on for reading. The fact that i would even consider going back a second time shows it can't be too bad, after all I now know EXACTLY whats involved but I would still do it.
It hasn't all been plain sailing for me, I did have a problem about 6 weeks after my op when I got up one morning and the vision in my treated eye was very blurry, as though it had all been a dream and I hadn't had it done, I went through to Leeds for a check up and they put my mind at rest, for a month after the surgery I had been putting Lacrilube in my eye before going to bed, I had finished the ointment 3 days earlier and it was this that had caused the problem, my eye was dry and the eyelid had 'stuck' to my eye and affected the vision, the check up I had still showed me as having long sight, so it was straight to the chemist for some more Lacrilube, within a couple of days of using the ointment again my eye was fine, in view of the reason why I couldn't wear contacts I shouldn't have been surprised when this hapened but it was still a bit scary at the time, the staff in Leeds again were lovely and helpful and it showed me that their care and support doesn't end when you have your op and pay your money. I am now continuing to use the ointment longer than I probably should just so it doesn't happen again.
My husband now looks at me with envious eyes and after seeing how easy I found it all he too would like the laser surgery, it looks like being a combined christmas and early birthday present for him next Jan/Feb. Thank you Optimax for providing this life changing service.
Diane Woods.
Wakefield.