Optimax

Had both eyes Lasik last Thurs, by Dr Bozaart, Leeds. He's good. op more frigtening than I'd expected - maybe I'm soft, but over quick. long-sight is so clear. Short-sight blurs a bit, but manageable so far. No light sensitivity - in fact was more problem before op. Have driven okay. So far, so good, so just fingers crossed no complics emerge. Long wait before op, but then dealt with well, plus aftercare appointment prompt and good. I go back next Thurs.

Underwent bi-lateral Lasek treatment at Manchester on March 1st, procedure performed by Dr. Ilango. All went well on the day, was not fully prepared for the strong smell of burnt tissue when the laser fired, not pleasant but a necessary by-product of the process I guess. Left immediately post-op with clear plastic shields fitted on both eyes. Could see to an extent, was even reading number plates on way back to car but shortly after getting to car the anaesthetic drops effects were diminishing and I was forced to close my eyes to stop discomfort associated with light sensitivity. Took painkillers as provided but still suffered some discomfort during the remainder of day 1. Slept well with aid of a half dose of painkiller and half dose of sleeping tablets (I don't do drugs!!). Had to manually open eyes in order to walk from bedroom to bathroom. Still uncomfortable and very sensitive to light. Stayed in bed most of Sunday (day 2). Slept with no painkillers or sleeping tabs over night. Still sore on Monday morning so I chose to keep eyes closed all day, was however confident that the discomfort and light sensitivity was becoming less of a problem so hoped to be able to open eyes on Tuesday. Tuesday (day 3). Woke in early hours and opened eyes, in darkness, to find way to toilet. No problems no pain. Likewise upon rising mid-morning. Light sensitivity became more of an issue as the day wore on so I took to wearing sunglasses indoors. Vision clarity was, at this point, about as my vision was uncorrected pre-op. (-2.00 & -2.50, no astigmatism). Wed. (day 4). Big test today, have ticket to see Utd. play Leeds at Old Trafford. Was prepared to be unable to see much but to enjoy atmosphere anyway but happily my vision had sufficiently improved to make this worthwhile not only for the sake of soaking up the atmosphere. Seated in Tier 2 of Stretford End I had difficulty in identifying individual players when the play was near the opposite goalmouth but had no difficulty in spotting that Mikael Silvestre had scored the winning goal. Now 1 week on from the op things seemed to have stabilised somewhat. Still a bit light sensitive, still not quite as clear a focus as with corrective lenses, a bit of dryness but all in all most satisfactory. Check up to come on Friday when I will post again and I would hope to be able to bump up the rating another notch presuming continuing improvement.

I finally had lasik treatment on monday at finchley road, with Dr Almasri. Dr Almasri was very nice and kept me calm during it all, as i was very nervous. My vision now is amazing, better than with my glasses. Things still look a bit odd indoors with lots of artificial lights but as its not even been a week yet i'm not worried. I did find my aftercare appointment very quick but as I didn't have any questions and there were no problems there wasn't really much more they could do. So it was straight in and out. I just can't stop smiling!

I had laser surgery done in June 2001 (PRK) at the Glasgow clinic. My left eye has been a total success and my vision is perfect. However, the vision in my right eye is still quite blurry (better than it was before though). I had to wait a year before they would even think about enhancement surgery. I then had to go back for regular checkups until my prescription stabilised. Eventually, last month I was given the all clear to the enhancement surgery which I am getting done this Saturday (8th March) at the Edinburgh Clinic. This time I am having the LASIK surgery, which I am really nervous about. It is the thought of them actually cutting my eye! Fingers crossed all goes well and I regain perfect vision in both eyes. I don't think I can go through this again.

Went back for my 3 month post op check up last Saturday (after having LASIK with Dr Patel, Finchley Rd) and they were happy to 'discharge' me as everything is perfect with my eyes. My right eye is 20/20 and my left is very slightly short sighted- this will help when I'm older and need reading glasses, BUT I think my vision is FANTASTIC, as I was approx -9 in both eyes and now can see better than when I wore contact lenses. It's the best thing I ever did. For those who still have blurry vision a week after the op- I had that for about a month afterwards and when my eyes got dry they were very blurry but now they have settled down. Up until last week I still had to use artificial tears 3 or 4 times a day but just like magic this week I have hardly used them at all. I still have slight halos around lights at night but it's not enough to bother me and I have adjusted quite well to it- anything is better than having to wear contacts and glasses especially if you've worn them since the age of 6 and after 20 years you get the freedom, I just cannot wait to swim in the sea (I used to wear my contacts in the sea and never put my head under water)- have to wait a year as I am still paying off the £1000 to have it done!!!!! I have asked if I can go for a check up in 6 months just to get the final all clear a year after the op, anyone who wants to contact me please do, I'm happy to share my experience.

Had eyes operated on Sunday 8 Sept 2002 in Edinburgh and so far brilliant! Took a couple of weeks to settle down but since then no looking back - just forward as far as I like! Would like to hear how the woman before me and the man after me got on. We'd been cancelled due to illness from the week before (twice) and were all pretty fed up before the operation! We had a change of surgeon because of it. If they remember me, please add a comment.

I had my first aftercare appointment today. It’s been nearly two weeks since I had Lasek at Finchley Road. I am generally happy with the results so far, although I still have a little difficulty focusing with my left eye sometimes. However, if I realised the customer service was so bad I think I would have held on to my money a little longer before going with Optimax. I arrived for the appointment and was told that the Dr that performed the surgery called in sick, but they would have someone else see me. I was eventually seen around 45mins late. (Can we charge them if they are late for the appointment?!). I was able to read only the third line of the chart, which, to my surprise is good for only 2 weeks post opp. However the Dr. tried ascertain my prescription but couldn't get anywhere. I tried my best to see if the black circle was darker on the red or the green and I couldn't tell the difference, and I couldn't seem to read any lower than the 3rd or 4th line on the chart. Obviously annoyed with this, the doc said she wasn't get anywhere and told me to come back in 6 weeks. I asked if it was normal not be able to gain a prescription – she said ‘no’ without further explanation. I left quite worried and I now have another six weeks before I have any professional advice.

I had Lasik treatment at Finchley Road on Tuesday 25th February by Dr Patel. At my consultation the previous Friday, Dr Patel had said that he would see me at 10.00am on Tuesday and then have a check at around 11.30 before being sent home. My appointment was for 9.00 so that all forms etc could be completed before seeing Dr Patel. I was in fact seen by Dr Patel at 9.45 with the procedure completed by 10.00 and back in the waiting room. Check up by 11.00 and on my way home soon after. I was terrified sitting in the waiting room before the treatment, "am I doing the right thing" seemed to be buzzing around my head constantly. An hour and a half later after the most painless procedure I was reading the telephone numbers on the shop fronts opposite without any glasses. I have worn specs and contact lenses since I was 9. I cannot tell you how I felt, the emotions were overwhelming, being able to see unaided. All I wanted to do was call my Mum!! I am over 40...... It is now 8 days after the event. I have had no pain but my eyes have ached, very similar to someone pressing the pad of their thumb against my eye, but not all the time. I work on a pc virtually all day so I took last week off so that I could rest my eyes. Dr Patel and I discussed the fact that I would probably get 95% correct vision - if this is 95% then fantastic. Also discussed the fact that I will need reading glasses because of my age, not because of any other reason and so I have bought myself some from over the counter - better than the £350.00 per pair for my varifocals that I was having to wear along with the £150.00 per year for contact lenses and solutions. I don't have to wear my reading specs all the time but they help when my eyes are tired. This is one of the best things that has happened to me, one of the best decisions that I have ever made and some of the best money that I have ever spent. I have to go for my one week check up tomorrow. I was told last week that it can take up to 3 month's for a prescription to settle so I am not expecting any more miracles yet. I have been vigilant in using the eye drops, risking infection is the last thing that any of us need. The worst thing I think is having to wear the eye shields at night - the tape hurts your face, and boys and girls, who wants to wake up with someone that looks like a fly next to them!! I am looking forward to the end of March when I can start swimming again, and to be able to see the other people in the pool instead of having to dodge the blurred blobs. What I have to do is stop reaching for my glasses in the morning or think that I must take my contacts out - I no longer need them. I will let you know how my check up goes tomorrow. And Helen, I hope everything goes well for you.

There seems to be a "Big" problem with mass confusion amongst many of us who have undergone surgery and now are unable to focus on close up work. (Today for example I phoned the Leeds clinic, instead of the Liverpool) Do!! Purely because I am struggling to read small print. I feel this "issue" has not been/is not being explained or indeed addressed properly to many, leaving a lot of people feeling very scared, and its a big shame so many people are left worried and confused about how their short sight vision should or indeed can improve? We need to start getting in touch with people on the board who have had this treatment done months ago, and find out what we can expect the long term prognosis is going to be. And what they would be doing if they were us at this time.

I have just returned from the one week post-op consultation. I still find it incredibly hard to focus on both far (like number plates) AND near (like computers/newspapers). Its because my left eye feels very blurry. Its been the same since the day after the op. I am 27 years old and was -6.25 in both eyes (with perfect close up sight). This is my eye test results as of today (1 week after op). R +.25 / -0.50 X 70 L + 0.50 / -0.50 X 135 As you can see, both short and long sight are now affected and it’s causing me great focusing difficulties which is a big discomfort. I was told by the optometrist that it will 'probably' improve slightly, but I don’t feel very confident as it’s been the same for this week from day 1 after the op. I asked the optometrist what happens if it does indeed stay this way, and was told if it does not indeed improve, then I will probably need glasses because of the focusing issues. Also, he says with my prescription now, it is incredibly hard to have corrective surgery. I am very depressed with this piece of news. I am not very happy as I feel I was much better off with specs + £1500 extra in my bank, but I suppose I have a ray of hope. I would very much like to hear if anybody else had similar results after 1 week, and whether they did indeed get better. I am very anxious and its seriously affecting my work (web design). Please contact me if you feel you can somehow help with my anxieties :) I would love to hear from people in a similar position. p.s my * rating will improve if my eyes do get better :)