Considering laser eye surgery.

Just wondering if anyone has had it, is it painful and if its worth it?

Muddy conditions are p***ing me off, especially lately, having to stop and clean my glasses every 20mins or so.

There was a thread on this a month or two back. In summary lots of people recommending and some saying they knew people it had screwed up their eyesight for.

Personally I had it done a few years back on a £400 per eye deal and I know it’s an over-used phrase but it was one of the best things I’ve ever spent that sort of money on. I was at the stage I legally needed glasses to drive and watching TV without them wasn’t great, tests a couple of days after the ops were better than 20/20 and although they have gotten a bit worse since I’m still way off needing glasses and can usually still read signs etc. that people with glasses can’t.

Only downside for me was the first 36 hours after the op (I chose the older style surgery which at the time was more painful post-op but less risk of complications). I was extremely light-sensitive for a couple of days and they were sore (only needed to use the supplied pain relief drops once though). Few incidents of light-sensitive over the next year (driving to work in the morning sat in traffic with car in-front with brake lights on would from time to time cause my eyes to start streaming and and I’d need to close them due to the pain – probably only happened around 10 times though).

I’d maybe say get one done at a time to be cautious but both at the same time turned out fine for me…

The thing to remember is your age. The younger you are its rather pointless unless your eyes have stabalized and not gone worse say over 2 years. Because mine are constantly changing if i was to get Laser eye surgery now then 10 yrs down the line i would be back to where i am now wearing glasses/contacts so £2800 which it is for me would be wasted.

Once you get to an age where youe eyes have stabalized and over 2yrs hardly no change in your pescription then go for it.

Speak to your Optician as mine was very helpful and he also had his done.

I have met a lot of eye surgeons who wear glasses. Think its short term very good but as I understand it the jury is still out slightly on what the longer term outcomes are likely to be.

bear in mind if you speak to your optician that he/she sells you glasses and contact lenses so his/her advice may not be massively objective.

+1 benjamins11

I have met a lot of eye surgeons who wear glasses. Think its short term very good but as I understand it the jury is still out slightly on what the longer term outcomes are likely to be.

future corneal surgery is a concern.

research the surgeon and try a couple of different companies to seeif there is a difference in recommendation.

Final word dry, gritty eyes permantly is the pits

hi i had it done when i was about 20, cant remember exactly but a year either way, i turn 40 this year !! before i had it done i couldnt see my alarm clock while in bed.something like – 5 in one eye and -4.5 in the other. this was back in the real early days. had to travel to london to get it done. so the result is i still have 20 20 vision now!! hurt back then, but worth it. my wife had it done about eight years ago and shes sorted too.the best money i ever spent!!! optimax was the company i used so the only one i would recommend

MrsSwadey had it done a couple of years ago – mates rates at the Moorfield Eye Hospital as a friend of hers runs the private eye clinic. Which is handy, but as she has never told me the cost I think we are into full bling build custom Ti frame territory…..

She had no real discomfort other than light sensitivity – they recommend big sunglasses for a few days after. She was cleared to drive 48 hours after the op, maintains it is the best thing she has ever done.

They got her prescription down from -8.5 to about -0.5, which is pretty darned impressive.

She wants me to get mine done. I’m really impressed by what they did for her, but I ain’t letting no one cut my eyeball open with a laser while I’m still conscious.

I bottled out after having to drive a work colleague to a vocational course over a Winter. She can no longer drive at night because surgery left her with a permanent halo/seeing double distortion in her vision in low light.
Probably proceedures have improved since she had her work done but I’m not going for it.

I had LASEK in 2005.

The only thing going for the op is that its quick; it only takes a few seconds to slice a flap on your eyeball with a small blade, fold the flap back, laser, then fold it back again. If it goes ok they will do the other one right away.

Then it feels like you have onions in your eyes for about the next 4 hours. Then the result starts to come in.

Worked for me. Fantastic result actually.

The double vision thing is really common, as are some other vision distortions. I still get it if Im tired or deydrated but its still better than my -4s were before.

Dont expect perfection. Just expect to be able to see a whole lot better than before, unless of course it all goes horribly wrong – which is rare.

Tempted to look into it, pardon the pun,I hate glasses especially when riding but the risk, permanent eye damage. Way way too much of a risk over minor downside of wearing glasses.

Mate had it done, he had bad eyes, cost him a fortune. One eye is great, the other isn’t so good, suffice to say he still has to wear glasses when he’s at work.
I don’t think he would recommend it, not if your eyesight is really bad.

He did say he had second thoughts when he saw the surgeonist who was about to do the lasering was wearing glasses… 😯

Oh, and his sister is an optometrist and she told him not to bother. Needless to say he was relieved of a lot of cash for very little benefit.

Got mine done about a year and a half ago and my experience of it so far has been excellent. Went for the most expensive option they did (a little over 2k in total) with the wavefront stuff for both eyes. I got it done at optical express on the high street in Reading (sounds dodgy but they had a good setup there.)The op is a little uncomfortable but not too bad. My prescription was only about -1.5 and now my vision is perfect. Well worth it not to have to mess around with contacts before every ride. No glare at night or any of the other often reported issues. Guess the jury is still out on long term consequences though.

Mrs Flamejob had custom ICLs inserted about a year and a half ago; she was coming on -10 in one eye and -8 in the other. It cost more than any of my bikes but sure was worth it. The operation only took 20min per eye too.

The only problem we have had is that she sometimes says she can see too much, which gives her a headache!

The SO had it done about 10-15 years ago when it was a day in hospital job. Only just last year did she have to get glasses again.

I had it done 6 years ago. I have astigmatism in one eye which contact lenses never corrected. Wearing glasses is useless for me as I just break them, scratch them or lose them constantly. Plus in the long run, glasses cost more.

It didnt hurt, I wasnt scared, and no part of the procedure is ‘risky’. Had it done by vision express on harley street (cosmetic surgery on harley street!). Was normal price though.

But, i wouldnt say it was perfect. My eyes were very dry for about a year. But that isnt a problem as i just used drops. But its fine now. But dont expect that to be guaranteed.

Secondly, I have blurred night vision/halos. This has improved, and doesnt effect me enough to stop doing anything in the dark. But it is noticeable. Again, dont expect it not to be worse.

I knew these things, and to be honest didnt expect it to hapen to me as many people say it went great for them. Also I went for wavefront which is supposed to be better for the blurry thing.

But even so, i would still do it again. I was crap with wearing glasses. And with the sport i was doing, having 20/20 daytime vision was more important to me as I play lots of squash, which contacts never would give me. The night time vision thing is a none issue, just mildly irritating.

I’m just trying daily disposable contacts for riding, only used once on a really crappy night up rivington and they were fine even when being splashed in the face with a combo of mud and sheep crap. A good set of crud catchers and a neoguard also help keep the stuff from hitting your face / glasses in the first place.

On the rare occassion that mud/grit gets in your eye with contacts, I remember the near impossible task of getting them out with muddy hands. Real pain in the bum. Luckily my eyesight was never that bad that i coulndt continue riding without taking them out. Suppose if i was organised i would take a spare pair while riding.

Getting mine done tomorrow at Ultralase in Edinburgh.
-7 is in each eye with astigmatism so I’m getting the all singing , all dancing treatment. Wavefront Lasik, this one

I’ll report back at the weekend/ next week*

*Unless I’m blind, obviously.

I had mine done 4 or 5 years ago. When I looked into to it for the umteenth time, I realised that the risk of sight complications from over-wearing lenses was significantly worse then the risks from laser surgery. So, really it became a simple decision (finances depending).

I went with ultralase and had their intralase technology, which redudes the risks of haloing in dim light. I have to say that it is now better then it ever was with contacts, so I consider it was worth the effort.

I also had a dry eye issue after about 18 months. I called ultralase for advice, and as they never really “sign you off” they immediately asked me to come in for a check up. They checked my eyes gave me some assurance that I was OK and also some different lubricants to help resolve the issue. That sorted it and very occasionally (once a year or so) I get a little dry eye which I self treat with some gel tears from any chemist. I wonder if I notice this stuff more having had the treatment?

My vision is still awesome, loads less faff than lenses / glasses and I reckon my eye health is way better then sticking lenses in for 18hrs a day. I’d do it again in a heart beat.

Thats me 3 days in now since being zapped. Healing up nicely.
Passed fit to drive the following day and just about making 20/20.

Eyes improving each morning I wake up, still quite sticky as there are lots of drops to take but you shouldn’t wash round the eyes for 2 weeks.

So far so good.

Best money I’ve ever spent on anything.

I asked my Boots optician what he thought of it at last eye test.
He said if you were very short sighted, it would work fine, if not it’s a waste of money. He said he had patients returning after it being done privately and didn’t help them simply because they shouldn’t have in the first place, making the comment that some places will do it privately simply to get your money. But if you’re ‘right’ for it then it is a good thing.
It souldn’t suit me, and only use galsses for reading.
Q

Had mine done a year and a bit ago by Julian Stevens at Moorfields.

I’d been yes/no about it for ages but got beyond annoyed with glasses and contacts. Final straw was the optician telling me I was developing new blood vessels on the periphery of my eyes and had to reduce the time I was wearing contacts for. A mate had Julian do his and was full of praise.

I was short sighted with an astygmatism and was unsure if my eyes would be suitable. Had an initial assessment which was incredibly thorough and the answer was yes. I had LASEK – where the corneal epithelium is scraped aside (vs LASIK where a flap is cut) – it takes a little longer to heal but there is no flap which could theoretically get flipped open later; I’m in the military and LASIK is banned anyway. I had this done – Julian fixed my eyes for the dark and tweaked distance/near vision for my job. Laser

No dry eyes beyond a couple of weeks healing. Perfect vision. Best thing ever. Was expensive BUT I went to the very best surgeon around and he has no option other than wavefront (ie the very best or nothing). With these machines an average surgeon can get a good result but you want the best to get the best. Moreover if there are any problems you are already at the number 1 place to be sorted.