Optimax

Had Epi-Lasek on both eyes in the Optimax clinic in MAnchester. The surgeon was Dr. Doyle. My prescription was left eye -2.25, right eye -2,5 slight astighmatism in both eyes. My left eye is -0,5 , right eye 0 now, can read one line from the bottom with no problems. No more glasses, Hurray!!! Went to checkup on last Friday they told me to use artificial tears for some weeks and the left eye might even get better. I work a lot on computers and I can feel my eyes getting very dry. I am very happy with the result. Optimax and Dr Doyle were very efficient and professional. But if you are squimish and need a lot of attention like calming words or hand holding - forget it. Its in - out, next patient, which is reassuring in a strange kind of way. You feel like its not a big deal and they must know what they are doing with these many patients going in and out. Some of the girls on reception and doing the pre-examinations I found a bit unprofessional. One of the girls on reception couldn't answer me a single question (and they were questions they must get asked every day). But to be fair there were also good ones. Also I had a different person doing pre-and post op examinations everytime I went. One took the initial reading, one did the pre-op prep, one took the bandage lenses out, another one did the eye test a week after. So, as I said before no personal service but that wasn't a problem for me. Everything is very well documented and explained on paper, so you can inform yourself in your own time. Procedure was painless and quick, although a couple of hours after the op I was very uncomfortable (no pain, but its like somebody has thrown a handful of peper in your eyes)and wished I saved up more money to do LASIK! I had Wed-Fri off and caught up listening to my CDs and listened to talking books. By Saturday I was fine to go out again (only with dark sunglasses) and Monday went back to work. All in all I would recommend Optimax, they are still one of the cheapest of them all, very professional and I did feel in good hands. Dr. Doyle was recommended by a work colleague and he was fine. He remembered things about me I told him in the pre-op and that I found quite astonishing considering I had nearly 6 weeks between pre-op and op and he must have seen hundrets of patients in the meantime. So, go ahead and do it! No regrets.

I had my first check-up yesterday and I am pleased to report that my vision is v.good (could read the second to bottom line easily). My eyes are healthy and slightly long-sighted which should correct itself in the coming weeks. Overall the best £495 i have ever spent. My next appointment is in 6 weeks time so I will keep you guys posted.

Amazing 2 for 1 offer is providing by Optimax. They post me a letter and I also called them to confirm, which means you could do LASIK for both eyes by only 850 pounds! I am quite interested in this offer. If anyone also was interested it, please contact me by email. We can save 900 sterling!!!

i had Epi-Lasek treatment on Saturday 22nd May with Dr Islam. Treatment went well, first couple of days in a lot of pain (advised that this would be the case-no bandage lenses worn). It is now Thursday vision is good and improving daily (I am typing this email without too much difficulty). I found wearing dark UV protected sunglasses in the house helped enormously. I am going to my first aftercare appointment on Tuesday, if my vision improves at the rate it has day by day i think I'll be at driving standard by Saturday (which is 7 days after treatment-what they say in their literature is 7-10). I will wait until after my aftercare before I rate them, but he early signs are very good.

I have just booked for Lasik surgery with Optimax in Surgeon John Hill in Birmingham. I was wondering whether anyone had been to him and how they got on as I am really scared.

I have booked Bilateral Epi-Lasek for Saturday 22 May at the Birmingham Optimax. My prescription is -3.50 left and -2.00 right (with slight astigmatism). I have been told my doctor is going to be Dr Islam. My main concerns are post-op healing process. I wear contact lenses and although I am fine with them I am taking the plunge. If anyone has had epi-lasek with Dr Islam I would be pleased to hear your experience.

I would recommend anyone looking at laser companies to seriously take note!! Im one of those, if i want it i'll get it done stright away kinda people, rather than going through the motions which are tedious and drawn out, but after a recent experience with optimax i would defintaely slow down!! Dont go for the cheapest company, even if you have to get a lone from the bank to cover the extra ends then do it. So far ive been to Ultralase and Optimax for consultations, the U was free and the O cost me £60. When going to Ultralase i found the service second to none, the people are normal relaxed human beings not scared to take their time with you and the tests. They'll answer any quetsions in full and they repeated certain tests 3 times to make sure they had accurate recordings of my eyes. They explained the costs, down to the after effects and everything expected of me and what i could expect from them. Everey surgery isn't 100% is what they all tell and once you've decided that the risk is worth it, its all about picking the company and the people that you feel comfortable with. About my consultation with Optimax, i got there bang on 10 o'clock for my appt, and i didn't get seen for the initial corneal measurements etc. until 10.30. I might sound petty for saying that, but if they know how long each test will take and how many people they will be seeing that morning i dont see the problem!! Ultralase the appt was the appt time pretty much. When called into the test room, the staff looked like they were there for the money, rushing and not really giving me that customer care i wanted or expected, having had a consultation elsewhere. Plus they only did the tests once, it felt rushed and they didn't even ask me for any recent prescriptions. That annoyed me considering i had gone to all the hassle of ringing round old opticians to get them. My glasses prescription is older than my current prescription, so it would seem from my glasses that i am better than i actually am if you follow me. Anyways, i went upstairs to have my eyesight checked and to be fair the optomatrist (not sure of spelling) did seem better equipped to answer a couple of questions, my eyesight was checked and he said based on the results so far and the eye charts from downstairs i would be suitable, but the surgeon would explain further. Having gone into the surgeon's room, he seemed quite uninterested, he was paper pushing and walking to and fro from a different office. I mean, if a person walks into your building and puts their care in you hands, you want to feel they'r upbeat and feel more comfortable with them, which i think by now you know wasn't the case. He pointed to a eye diagram and told me what he would be doing, nothing in detail about what to expect in terms of pain and the actual surgery, and when i asked him how suitable my eyes were, it was something like they seem ok!! Obviously by now, im dying to jump in the chair and have it done, i got home and read up the forums on other companies on this site and they seem to offer a lot more, both in terms of customer service, making you feel relaxed about the whole process and value. Looking at the reviews of how companies have scored does help. To be honest i didnt even look at this site until after that consultation and im glad i have, because there was a case where somebody was recommended lasek treatment by Dr Patel, Finchley Road, and told by another company, not at all were they suitable. If you pay extra you haven't been conned for peace of mind. I wouldn't touch Optimax with a barge pole.

Firstly, many thanks to everyone on this forum for their information and advice. Having done a lot of research, I finally had bilateral epi-lasek with Dr Almasri at Finchley Rd on 24 April. The consultation, treatment and immediate aftermath were exactly as described by a number of people on here. My partner wasn't able to accompany me, so I had to get a taxi home and look after myself. The clinic recommended that I didn't, but actually I was fine as I was in bed and asleep almost before the anaesthetic wore off. The next day or so was uncomfortable, but bearable - just sleeping and listning to radio plays. I had the bandage lenses removed on the tuesday which I was thankful for as they had started to get very irritating. The removal of one of the lenses disturbed the surface of the eye a little and caused some blurriness, but that cleared the next day. In the next few days I started getting impatient as my vision wasn't improving as quickly as I wanted, but by the 7th day I had to drive and was (just about!) ok. I've now had the first sight test since treatment and I was pleasantly surprised to find I could read the bottom line fairly easily. I still have some astigmatism in both eyes, but not enough to bother me especially as I wore contacts that didn't correct it anyway. I haven't yet had any of the other side effects that I was worried about such as halo-ing night vision (my pupils aren't large enough for this to be likely) or hazing. All in all, a very positive experience so far - my only comment to anyone would be don't be impatient - in my experience, after the first few days, vision improves steadily and noticably day by day. My prescription prior to treatment was -3.25L -3.5R with some astig in both (I cant remember the exact figure) steve

I am due to have epi lasek treatment in Ipswich later this month and wonder if anyone else has used this clinic and would value their honest opinion. Also, I have been told that my surgeon does not advocate the use of contact bandage lenses and i want to hear experiences of people who have and have not used them post treatment in ref to pain and healing. Thank you.

Had Lasik treatment on both eyes with Dr Patel at Finchley rd clinic approx 10 hours ago. Very strange experience of treatment, but vision already very good. I recomend anyone who is sure they want this to research into and understand what to expect during and immediately after treatment. I did this and it was exactly as expected. Began with treatment and although you feel next to nothing, you see a blurred red light, hear the laser in action for only a short period of time, sight remains blurred until treatment finished, then you can see but very foggy, after approx fifteen min, the next couple of hours eyes water like mad and are best kept shut for comfort. At home started the drops and things started to become much clearer, after three hours pretty good sight and the feeling of a contact lens in. Woke early eyes sticky, no pain, feeling of lens in almost gone and vision damn good but feels improving and clearing more all the time. Strange to wake and feel like you have glasse on as can see everything good. Words to explain process. Very strange, dont expect immediate result from theatre, definately be driven there, remain calm, things settle after several hours and vision returns. I will post again in a while to conclude final results, but so far very good.