Guys I'm after some advice -
I've been thinking of having my eyes zapped for a while now & I finally got round to going for the tests to see if I was suitable & it turns out I am, it'll cost a fair amount of cash to have the full treatment - £2600ish, which I'm not so bothered about, the part of the treatment that freaked me out has been changed - still the idea of having your eyes screwed around with is pretty, erm, screwy.
Anyone got any experience with this sorta thing?
My sister had it done a couple years ago, she swears by it. (round about that cost too). But just because it worked for her doesn't mean it will work for everyone.
I've thought about it in the past, but I'm a coward.
A good Friend of mine had hers done last year, was as you said very expensive but she is very happy with the result.
A friend of mine had it done a few weeks ago, and is very pleased with it.. Lights during the night are blurring for him for a few weeks (it'll go away), but otherwise he's pleased :)
Not sure how it is it the UK, but he was given 3 choices. The cheap one where there were a chance of infection. The medium one where the chance of infection was low, but it would hurt loads for about a week, and then the expensive one where infection was unlikely, and it wouldn't hurt. :blink:
He went for the expensive one (I think it was about the same as the one you mentioned), and as I said he is very pleased :)
personally Im like browne, too cowardly to get one done :rolleyes:
I've only heard goof things but make sure you go to the best place. I *think* you can only have it done once so you need to make sure you do it when the time is right.
Yeah you have to plan it mate cause you eyes get tierd really quickly and takes some time to build up strenght in them.
I think you always need to factor in that
- the surgery could go wrong and you will have a problem for life
- you are young and your vision will change when you grow older (due to the eyeball getting stiffer)
- is it worth the money in comparison to glasses/lenses?
- the technology is 15 years young and is still in development and thus no one knows if there are any complications in the longer run
- you could do it abroad with the same tech at lower price
- there are more than one technique available and you should choose the one best for your eyes.
A friend of mine had it done and the procedure failed :(
Before you gasp! it just meant that she has to continue wearing glass/lenses and lost out on a few grand.
Good luck Riz.
Having only just started wearing glasses, I am only just getting the hang of forgetting where I put them.
I'm squeamish about things near my eyes, and lazers (pew pew) would freak me out...
reminds me of this (http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/060609/14578__clockwork_l.jpg) (which freaks me out)
Quotethe technology is 15 years young and is still in development and thus no one knows if there are any complications in the longer run
I'm with Mats on this one.
Any problems that could happen as long term side effects haven't shown or have been hushed up. In all i wouldn't risk my sense of sight to a trainee who is just out of college and doesn't know how to work the machine. I mean seriously if you lost the power of sight due to the operation in one or both eyes that probably one of the greatest losses i know.
It only works for certain types of eyes. If you're short sighted etc it can work. But if you're eyes are getting older it doesn't fix the need for reading glasses if what I read about it for my dad is correct.
If you do sports etc I can see it being priceless. Others less so.
As for lasers near eyes I'd be a bit jittery too. After a laser safety course at uni you realise that for a laser to burn a nice pattern in your retina which won't grow back only takes a fraction of the power that a laser needs to burn your skin (eyes are just lenses after all) That's for visible light atleast. I would imagine they use nearer IR which only causes damage to the cornea and lens both of which or fixable as far as I'm aware.
My point is, whereas lasers near you eyes are incredibly dangerous (Class III and above can cause permenant damage faster than you can blink) the surgery uses a safer laser under a very controlled environment. Fairly safe.
However I just don't like anything near my eyes at all, beam of light or not.
Quote from: Browne;269647I've thought about it in the past, but I'm a coward.
same here, I'll get it eventually, but it'll take some more years I think :)
Ok, here we go. I had it done.
I was -3.5 in one eye and -0.5 in the other. I had the 3.5 eye done and haven't had the other one done.....you can put the rest together.
I had mine done in London at Optimax in 2001. I went in, lay down and they lean you back like on a dentist chair. Then they clamp your eye open in the same way they do in Clockwork Orange.
In truth it didn't remind me of the film at all at the time, I was a little busy trying to push my head backwards through the chair to get away from the cold metal rusty bear trap they were fixing to my eyelids.
From there, once they'd ensured the rest of the cellar couldn't hear my screams they take a metal ring, about the size of your iris and push it down into your eye. Try and imagine a thumb being dipped in sand and jammed into your eye. My natural reaction was to further my development of the Gladstone Small impression I'd been working on. My head retreated and I was treated to the age old medical support of 'stop moving your eye'. Admittedly it was a little difficult to. Try at home. Push a wooden spoon into your eye whilst it's open.
THe idea of the metal ring is that firstly, it holds the eye still. Secondly the eyeball squeezes up through the ring and they can then get stuck in with cutting the top layer off your eye.
Let me reiterate that point. THEY CUT THE TOP LAYER OFF YOUR EYE. Now call me old fashioned, that doesn't sound right. I was young, clearly stupid and figured I wouldn't know what they were doing. I was right with the last point, only in the wrong way.
Well, knife put away out comes the laser. Again my hairy knuckled Duckula Nanny tells me to "stop moving my eye, it'll mess up the laser".
Given the choice of sight or stillness and severe discomfort, I chose both. What a winner I am. They lasered for a bit, you see the smoke drift off your eye and it smells like burning ants when you get them with the magnifying glass. Hmmmmm......tast..y....hang on, that's my friggin' eye your burning.
Anyway, all done, lovely. "Give it 15 minutes in the waiting room and you can head off." Bugger that, I ran. Like a one eyed dribbling extra from a bad B-Movie. I caught the train and a friend met me at Westminster to get me home. I say met. He picked me up off the platform because I passed out. Hey, it's a laugh.
Anyway, I headed home and was off work for a week. Now I never got on with contact lenses, but no-one told me they'd put one in to protect my eye after the 'surgery'. So I spent 4 days, in the dark, in my bedroom with the feeling of broken glass under my eyelid. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't open my eyes, and it hurt whilst it was shut. I could have cried, had it not been so painful.
I went back and they took the lens out, lo' and behold all was fine. I can see perfectly well, it was a huge improvement. Have I got the other eye done? hell no. Would I do it again? Absolutely not. Glad I did it......um...no.
Did it work? Yes.
My step mother had it done and she was bloody fine. Sometimes it just doesn't feel like life is fair.
The whole blade thing was the bit thats put me of so far upto this point, but as it happens some bright spake figured out that laser cut things aswell as burn things & they use a laser to make the flap in you eye now instead.
I'm still not particularly sure what I'm gonna do yet.
Omg benny, your story just made my day xD bloody well written :D
Benny you should be writing a column - I'm not sure for who - but I'd read it :lmfao:
So, I figured an update could be needed.
I've just booked myself in to get zapped, hopefully it all goes well. :helpsmilie2:
Good luck :thumbsup2:
Quote from: RizZy;274340So, I figured an update could be needed.
I've just booked myself in to get zapped, hopefully it all goes well. :helpsmilie2:
Enjoy mate...the best bit is the smell of magnifying glass burning ants as they torch your cornea....
Just to reiterate, it never grows back, so don't twitch.
Good luck mate,
:crying:
Good luck mate.
So, I'm going in monday morning, I'm fully prepaired to poop my pants, hopefully it all goes well.
Good
Luck
and
see
you
around
(hopefully!)
Quote from: RizZy;276290So, I'm going in monday morning, I'm fully prepaired to poop my pants, hopefully it all goes well.
Hope it all goes well :thumb:
Quote from: Penfold;276295Good
Luck
and
see
you
around
(hopefully!)
It's not you lot seeing me around that bothers me, It's me seeing you lot again is what I'm hoping for, preferably nice & clearly.
Quote from: RizZy;276314It's not you lot seeing me around that bothers me, It's me seeing you lot again is what I'm hoping for, preferably nice & clearly.
We'll keep an eye out for your return.
:getmecoat:
Quote from: OldBloke;276315We'll keep an eye out for your return.
:getmecoat:
lol but yeh gl rizzy and where pampers they are good for pooping :D
Well, I'm done, I'm alright, my eyes feel like they've been sandblasted, my visions a bit blurry still - but for the 1st time since forever I can see, It's a bit like being in a smokey nightclub at the mo, but it's clearing steadily.
:yahoo:Superb.
Please keep updated about progress. Where did you end up going and how much cash monies did it cost?
Well seems like everything is going according to plan. Hopefully it's all turned out fine.
I had it done it Birmingham with Optical Express, took about 2 hours, with the actual zappage taking a few minutes max in total, I've had the full works done so it's cost about £2500 cash monies.
Is there any news, I'm interested myself?
Hope all is going well, mate?
Quote from: BigFatCat;276597Is there any news, I'm interested myself?
Hahaha BFC... :lmfao:
Yes, there is some news I guess.
Had a weird moment this morning, woke up, it didn't quite register that I could see & as I was about to turn the tv on I reached over to pick up my glasses & realised that they weren't there & I didn't need em anyway!
When I went to bed last night my right eye was still a bit blurry with my left being as clear as its ever been with glasses/contacts, my right eye seems to be settling as the day goes on, the paper work says it could take a few months to settle as they heal.
I've gotta go back over this afternoon so they can check there doing ok & if I'm good I can drive again after that.
More to follow I guess, or anything else just ask away.
I've just been over to have my eyes checked & i'm doing pretty good from the sounds of it, both eyes are already better than needed for driving, which is good, as having my mum drive me round Brum was scaring me more than the op did.
Quote from: RizZy;276652I've just been over to have my eyes checked & i'm doing pretty good from the sounds of it, both eyes are already better than needed for driving, which is good, as having my mum drive me round Brum was scaring me more than the op did.
:lmfao:glad to hear you are ok mate
Aye good news Rizzy...fresh look.:D
Have you looked in the mirror yet? Don't feel too bad.
Take heart, now they've fixed your peepers you can concentrate on the plastic surgery aspect...
Quote from: Benny;276774Have you looked in the mirror yet? Don't feel too bad.
Take heart, now they've fixed your peepers you can concentrate on the plastic surgery aspect...
Aye, I never really noticed how terrible the bags under my eyes looked when I was wearing my glasses, but I don't think any amount of works gonna save the rest of the face, clearly a lost cause. :crazy:
{some posts which fall outside this particular forum's strict policy of 'no bull, no banter' have been removed}.
http://www.deadmen.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2315
Thread resurrection alert ...
Had mine done last Tuesday at Optical Express in Cambridge. Had the Wavefront with Intralase (flap cut by laser) procedure (as approved by NASA) done on both eyes. I was short-sighted so needed glasses for distance and near distance e.g. computer work. I could read and see fine detail close up with no glasses on. Post-op I don't need glasses for distance but do for computer and reading.
OP was uneventful but I appeared to have a bad reaction to the anaesthetic. Both my eyes were bright red with tears streaming out of them. I was completely congested with a god-awful headache. I was in agony so I popped a strong painkiller and waited it out. Took about three hours to settle but more than once I considered calling the Optician to ask if I should be concerned. I'd read the blurb and knew there would be some discomfort but this was not what I was expecting to be honest.
Any way, went to bed feeling a lot better wearing my designer goggles (which I discarded after the third time they woke me up) and felt good the next day. My vision was superb but my left eye was still painful and bloodshot. Went for my check-up and was informed that there was inflammation in both eyes that shouldn't be there and that I would need to go back every day so that they could check on it. They told me to use some drops every hour and that it would soon clear up.
Saw the Optician yesterday and all is looking better. My left eye (which is the one giving me most trouble) is healed but bruised which is why I'm feeling the discomfort. My right eye is nearly there so my drops have been reduced to two-hourly with my next appointment not till Friday.
My distance vision is superb and will improve further they tell me so I'm very, very impressed with the results. I do need separate glasses for reading and computer work but I can live with that and it was what I'd expected. I found some decent looking ones in Boots for 20 quid a pair that are doing the job nicely.
Night driving is not good as I'm getting large halos around headlights etc. That should diminish over time but at this time of year driving in the dark is basically unavoidable.
Would I recommend it? Most definitely. Yes it's expensive and yes there were concerns but the procedure is a mature one and over in minutes. Whitey will be along shortly to give us his view I reckon as he had his done a week before mine.
So Rizzy, three years since your op how's thing with you now?
Trouble is that's two people having it done within a few weeks of each other both of whom have had experiences that weren't planned for and that caused a lot of discomfort. I'm sure the end result for both Whitey and Oldie will be very good but it still makes you wonder about the way the process is sold as a quick, simple, painless, back on your feet in a few hours deal. i wonder how many procedures actually go completely as advertised?
I had a bit of trouble with mine as you say, the flap on my left eye lifted off on the way back to the car from the surgery as a result of a gust of wind and me blinking hard. This resulted in about 30-45 minutes of real discomfort and some pain but the procedure itself was pain free and very little discomfort and once the flap was back down, I had minor discomfort after that (dry eyes and a little gritty). Within 24 hours of surgery I had 20/20 vision although it took a week to be able to look at the PC screen for any length of time without headaches. It's all good now and I no longer need glasses for anything. I'm really happy I had it done and would go through it all again.
I had no real issues at all, driving back from home from Birmingham where I had it done my eyes started to ache as the drops wore off, but some painkillers & a snooze sorted that out, my eyes were bruised for maybe a week or so too.
I get a bit of blurry vision for a while in the morning occasionally but I think that's down to the fact I tend to sleep almost face down mashed into the pillow, it's probably always happened but I couldn't tell before as everything was always blurry - so now it's normally clear I notice it.
One of the best things I've done for sure & if I needed it doing again as I get older & I could I'd seriously consider it.