Optimax

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!

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.

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.

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.