Optical Express

Today was my 4 month follow-up appointment. In general, very good results (20/10 vision!) however my eyes are still quite dry. had Lasek Wavefront surgery on the 29th April at the Birmingham clinic. So just over four months today… and what a journey it has been. First of all, I was expecting Lasik but because of my thin cornea and because of the fact I play ice hockey (Lasek is better for people who play contact sports), it was strongly suggested to have Lasek instead, which I accepted . Absolutely no wow factor after the surgery, more of a small pain/blurry vision and a smell of burn (weird). Recovery with the contact lenses on was a nightmare, I suffered lots of pain day and night. Night pain would actually wake me up. My eyes felt ‘heavy’ all the time and sometimes it was difficult to leave them open because of the pain. 4 days later lenses were removed but the cornea had not recovered completely so it felt like I had patches of dryness in my eyes if that makes sense. Vision after removal of contact lenses was very blurry and stayed like that for a full week. 2 weeks after the surgery vision was till blurry but I could feel a small improvement each day. It is only 6 weeks after the surgery that things started to get better and that vision started to get close to 20/20. Some days were very good, others very bad. What did not help is that sometimes at night would feel very high level of pain in my eyes (some times both, sometime the left, sometime the right or vice-versa). Apparently this is due to the combination of 2 things: 1- my eyes have always been dry and the surgery has made that situation even worst, 2- apparently I leave my eyes open at night which makes my eyes very dehydrated. Those two factors combine makes the ‘tear’ film on my eyes disappeared and I feel like my cornea wants to pull apart in 2 different directions. This pain is strong enough to wake me up at night and I have sometime cried so big was the pain. To deal with that problem I now 1- always sleep with my drops to my side an literally throw drops to my eyes when I feel I’m getting this pain, 2- try to sleep with my eyes closed, 3- put Visco tears gel in my eyes when I go to bed and 4- make sure the room is well ventilated when going to bed. The number of incidents have reduced considerably since I take those precautions but it still happens from time to time. Needless is to say that I don’t see that well after one of my ‘night pain’ incidents. It takes usually 24 hr for the eye to recover is see 100% again. Another advice I would give is regarding the drops, I have tried many but the best to me are the Blink for contact lenses (the green bottle). They give samples of that bottle after the surgery. I go through one bottle in a week and at £4-5 each, I will be spending £250 a year on lubricating drops for the rest of my life… So much for the benefits… Despite all that, it was worthwhile, I’m happy with the results and would do it again. You have to be very convinced and expect 2-3 months recovery if you’re going for Lasek. Support form Optical Express has been very professional and advice very good. Good luck.

I Have just had my 3 month check up in Milton Keynes, My sight just keeps getting better and Better! Everything as been so good from the inital Consultation to today. I only have positive things to say, It's been the most wonderful experience and I would recommend the surgery and this Centre to all (I had Lasik Wavefront)

I am having wavefront lasik for my +5 / +5.5 prescription in newcstle next week (£2590) not cheap, somebody tell me I am going to have great eyesight and finally say goodbye to contacts forever. I work in a safety critical position so accurate eyesight is essential, will somebody please post their results if they have had a similar prescription as I, I would really apreciate it. Many thanks.

Treatment @ bluewater This is the easiest and greatest thing that could have happened to me apart from a minor inflamation and lots of bluewater visits. All went well and would recommened to everyone. And now i have better vision than EVER!!

Its 11 days since my lasik wavefront surgery on both eyes at Optical Express,Queen Street,Oxford and my site is 20 plus in both eyes,I have the eye sight of a 20 year old if only the rest of my body was.I am 57 yrs old.Chris Gascoigne was a superp optometrist explained every thing to me both before the operation and his after care has been superb.Mr Bal Manoj the surgeon and his team were exceptional and I cannot thank them enough for a totaly painless procedure.Thankyou.

Congratulations to all those who post their comments after 24 hours to say their eyesight is perfect - so did I. However, I had surgery in April and am booked in to have my left eye "done" again as the surgery caused astigmatism in both eyes which makes everything blurred. They reckon my right eye is not so bad but I think it will still need doing again so will wait and see how the left one goes. It's cost me a fortune in bus & train fares getting from Huddersfield to Leeds on a very regular basis for checkups prior to re-surgery. At last my optometrist is moving to Huddersfield so checkups will be less time consuming. When they did all the pre-surgery checks weeks ago in Leeds they said they would forward the details to my original sugeon on Manchester and I should get a call within 2 weeks - 3 weeks later I was chasing them and then I was told I had to have ANOTHER checkup in 4 weeks before they would make another booking (nothing had changed). My optometrist is brilliant - very informative and helpful but the re-booking has been slower than necessary even though I explained it's difficult driving in the dark and I have to squint ay my computer screen 9 hours per day. As for a 2 to 3 hour appointment - why?? You are in and out in 15 to 20 mins so get real - I think my surgeon had a lunch break when I arrived and then I was rushed out of the recovery room as they needed it for the next person - I was not happy with this. Anyway, sorry for the rant but be prepared for potential problems. I am happy I had it done but frustrated that it caused unexptected problems which don't seem to be reported on this website. Good luck to everyone!

Having laser surgy was the best decision I have ever made, it has changed my life. At oxford optical express the staff are so friendly and caring, they make you feel really comfortable and calm about every aspect of the surgy. My surgeon - Stefan Klopper was great, he spoke calmly and made me feel relax about what was happening. My Optometrist - Chris Gascoigne explained everything clearly and answered all my questions.

I had lasek wavefront treatment at glasgow optical express on 5th september to correct my short sightedness (prescription, -1.75, -2.25) treatment came to just under £2000. originally wanted lasik but was told on the day of surgery i wasn't suitable because my corena tissue was too thin, was a bit disappointed because I wasn't told this at the consultation and I knew the recovery for lasek was more painful and lasted longer, but I went ahead with it. the 4 days I had the contact lense in was uncomfortable but not painful. it helped if I just sat and watched the tv and didn't move my eyes much. eyesight varied when the lense was in, sometimes it was very blurry but I thnk this was more down to the lense itself and not my actual eyesight. the lense came out 4 days after and instantly I could see everything clearly ... amazing! now it's just over a week after surgery and I have been told I have better than 20/20 vision. very pleased indeed! when driving at night i notice that red lights can have a bit of halo effect but nothing major, that should ease off in the next few weeks.

I am nearly two months on now from my last comments. Have to say that it is lovely not wearing glasses or lenses. However, I have still variable vision. Some days its quite bad by evening with lots of blurring, although the eyedrops help. other days is perfect. I do worry about whether it will settle into the good or the bad version over time. They said I had longer to heal because I had to go back one week after surgery as I had 'creases' in both the flaps they had cut (Lasik). Do be aware that this is a possibility. The surgeon discovered this at my one week checkup, and decided to lift the flaps and smooth them down again, then put a contact lens over it for twentyfour hours to hold it in place. This was all major hassle and I would advise that if you are thinking of surgery you do treat it seriously and don't book an important work thing or a holiday in the first two weeks. I lost work as a result of having to be out of action for two weeks. Still, I am happy with all the treatment I had and the lovely (still improving i hope) vision. Think it is well worth doing. Do it but do it cautiously. Oh - also spoke to a girl at our one month checkup who had Lasek same day as i was there, and she said was in agony for four days, and now her eyes keep swelling up, going out anywhere in the evening is tricky for her especially if its smoky, and she wouldn't dream of night driving as haloing is so bad - she didn't opt for wavefront as I did. I have no haloing at all.

I am so glad I have had my eyes done, I was in 2 minds about it, I thought I would wait a few more years for technology to advance etc etc and it was eventually only after my mother kept going on about what a life-changing experience it was that I decided to go ahead with it. It is difficult to describe what a massive difference it makes to your quality of life on a day-to-day basis. I have had to wear contact lenses/glasses for almost 20 years. In the last couple of years, my eyes have been constantly red and sore and I have spent hundres of pounds on glasses, sunglasses, prescription lenses, contact lenses, eye tests etc. Now, I no longer have sore red eyes and I look like 'me', not a clumsy fool blundering around with glasses. Although I was warned that I might experience dry eyes after the operation, my eyes are less dry than they were when I had to wear lenses. I would only recommend people to have it done at ProVision. Having talked to friends, colleagues and family members who have used other clinics, it is clear that ProVision have the most up-to-date equipment and the most experienced, professional and polite medical staff. They make the whole experience stress free and put a huge emphasis on making you feel relaxed, making sure you are happy with what is going on, and most importantly, give lots of advice on after-care - I have heard that some clinics give you little or no after-care and are only concerned with getting the next patient through to surgery. The procedure takes litterally 10 minutes and you don't even have to have an injection. Another huge bonus is that you don't feel like you are in a 'clinic' at all, but a rather smart hotel!