InstantForum.NET v4.1.4Laser Eye Surgery Forumhttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Forum_Moderators@optimax.co.ukFri, 10 Feb 2012 07:18:10 GMT20http://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxIts been lovely and sunny and my vision is so sharp it is quite breathtaking..I have a little light sensitivity when the sun's really bright but it really does feel amazing to be able to see so far!Hope everyone is getting on well.Naz :)Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:34:14 GMTnaziabihttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxHi Nazi am great thanks, i have been lucky and haven't had any problems at all.RachelThu, 29 Jul 2010 11:02:17 GMTRachelfrecklehttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxThanks Rachel.How are you getting on?Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:45:52 GMTnaziabihttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxHi NazThats brilliant news! am really pleased for you :DRachel xWed, 28 Jul 2010 10:38:38 GMTRachelfrecklehttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxWent for a check up today, my remaining prescription is so low its hard to determine but my vision is 20:20, with 0.25-0.5 astigmatism in both eyes, which is a bit of a bummer but the optician assured me my vision is fantastic (which I know) and that the astigmatism is just a spheric prescription is very minor and nothing to worry about.My eyes were really dry though, had my brother's wedding and so haven't had a chance to put my drops in as much, I don't feel that they are dry at all but he said the dryness was quite significant. He has now advised me to get some Flaxseed tablets which I already knew about but decided to take cod liver oil ones instead because they were apparently better for you overall, they obviously didn't do much to help! Will be getting them now instead, hopefully there will be an improvement at my next appointment in 8 weeks.Vision wise I am very happy, I can tell that its not as sharp as straight after my surgery but I think that's more pyschological than anything else, because your vision is brand new so it feels really strong but your mind adjusts and gets used to it so you think its got blurry but it hasn't.Hope everyone else is getting on really well, will keep you updated.Naz :)Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:32:14 GMTnaziabihttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxHiI must admit i do get a bit of 'dry eye' aswell, when i mentioned it to optimax they advised to put refresh drops in twice a day even if they didn't feel dry. I hope that the new ointment helps and you can continue to enjoy you new 'eyes'.::hehe:RachelWed, 14 Jul 2010 15:43:08 GMTRachelfrecklehttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxHi RachelReally pleased you're enjoying your new vision. Like you I am amazed at what I can see and only really notice a difference when I test them with text. I haven't been doing that so much lately as I just enjoy being able to see everything else, and reading text has been getting better and better too.I had a checkup today, I was getting quite a lot of red veins growing in my eyes and they didn't seem to be going away so I thought I'd get it checked out. I put Viscotears and Refresh in a LOT, so was a bit concerned about the redness and soreness and I thought maybe I was using the drops too much.Have been given Lacrilube to use at night but have been told its nothing serious, they are just a bit dry. Turns out you can't overuse the Viscotears and Refresh, its good to keep the eyes lubricated as much as possible.Hopefully with the new ointment they'll get even better.Still loving my new vision and can't believe what I can see :)Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:20:06 GMTnaziabihttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxHiI had lasek on 1st July, and as you said it does take longer to get the best results from it. i have my 2nd appointment on tuesday am just happy not to have to wear glasses anymore though i can tell a very slight difference in my eyes (only because i have been testing them:). I think that i have been very lucky as i have a low perscription so fell in the 395 per eye group and haven't had any problems, some times my eyes feel dry in the night but other than that they are fine. Hopefully when you go to your next appointment things will have improved even more :cool:.RachelSun, 11 Jul 2010 21:06:49 GMTRachelfrecklehttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxHi Naziabithanks for update, yes you are correct Lasek does take longer to heal than Lasik.So POTENTIAL PATIENTS:the good news is that I still have some £500 off vouchers. These are good for any type of Lasik or Lasek treatment. AND your consultation is free too. So please e mail me your full name and address (ideally before you book your consultation) and I will post the voucher first class.Please read all my blogs about my amazing eye surgery. Simply click on my user name (StephenB), then click on "Show all posts by this member".I am aged 53, have worn glasses/contact lens since aged 8, and now for the first time ever I have 20/20 vision. Is the best money I ever spent. You won't regret it.StephenB07860 824 598mcfcfan@btinternet.comWed, 07 Jul 2010 00:13:27 GMTStephen Bhttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxI have now had two checkups since treatment.The first one was four days on and I had my bandage lenses removed. The Optician was pleased with the progress and said the eyes were healing well. The left eye was great but the right eye was healing slower but still on target and he said it would be like looking through a scab as the cells were regenerating. I didn't have a thorough eye test at this checkup, he just flicked the chart and asked which was the lowest line I could see. At first it was the line above the bottom, but after a couple of seconds my vision cleared and I could see the bottom line, which was 20:20. Was very pleased with this.Before my next checkup and because I no longer had the bandage lenses in, I could notice a big difference between my left and right eye. The left was very sharp, but the right was quite blurry for small text. I couldn't notice a difference with large things, it was just small text. I could see far off into the distance, individual leaves on trees and each brick of a house, things like that, things I would never have been able to see before.Had my second checkup today and had a proper eye test. My left eye is 0 (yay) but my right has a slight prescription of -0.25 and now has 1/4 astigmatism. I didn't have astigmatism before. They are healing well but are dry, even though I use Refresh drops constantly and use Viscotears in the night and sometimes in the morning. I asked the Optician whether I was progressing slower than normal and he said I was healing exactly as they expect at this stage, with my left eye being ahead of schedule. I have to say I remember he said the same at my initial consultation so I know he is being consistent and isn't trying to falsely reassure me about my right eye being blurry. I no longer have to use the FML, just lubrication from now on.All in all I am feeling better today knowing that I am on schedule, I was a little unhappy before my checkup because I didn't know where I was at.I guess I just need to remember that Lasek has slower visual recovery than Lasik and so the results aren't final and at their best yet, and yet they are very good even at this stage. It is still early days and I hope there will be more improvement in time for my next checkup in 6 weeks.I will keep the blog updated of any changes. If anyone has any questions I am more than happy to answer them :)Naz.Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:04:01 GMTnaziabihttp://faq.optimax.co.uk/InstantForum/Topic1471-4-1.aspxI read these blogs constantly before going for my own surgery, so I thought I would add my own experience. I couldn't find much on my surgeon or on the Birmingham clinic when I was looking, so I hope this helps others trying to find some info.I'm 22 and my prescription was -5.5 in the right eye and -5.75 in the left eye, no astigmatism.I have been wearing glasses since the age of about 10. At about 14 I switched to lenses and these worked great for me until I got an eye infection and my eyes couldn't tolerate lenses anymore for more than a few hours. I tried all kinds of lenses but none of them worked well for me, and my optician wouldn't let me wear them because I was getting little oxygen veins growing in my eyes which if they got up to my cornea could make me go blind! So, after years of contacts, I was forced to wear glasses. This was really difficult for me at first as I am not a glasses person, I could never find a frame to suit my face and my lenses were so thick I had to spend a fortune getting them thinned. Having said that, I did become used to wearing them towards the end, and they didn't bother me as much as they used to. I just hated being dependant on them, and having to wear them from the second I woke up to the second I went to sleep, I couldn't see a thing without them.So, after having been thinking about laser eye surgery and wanting it for a while, I decided to go for a consultation at Optimax. I was so nervous even for the consultation because ever since my eye infection a trip to the opticians never bode well with me, there was always bad news to be received! I had my consultation with Dr Amrit at Birmingham. Before meeting the optometrist a number of tests were performed, they checked my eye pressure, took a detailed map of the eyes (for the Wavefront) and checked my prescription. Dr Amrit was very thorough and explained the different types of treatments available and said he thought I would be best off with Intralase Lasik with Wavefront, as I had quite large pupils. This was just what I wanted to hear, although I read up on it I didn't even consider Lasek because of the pain and after discussing the issue of dry eyes and the fact that I thought Lasik might make these worse, I was told I would have to use drops a lot longer than other patients. This didn't bother me at all as I used tear drops and eye drops and eye sprays before anyway. I was just so pleased I was eligible for surgery, I went home feeling very good.I was given the names and phone numbers of past patients, and contacted those that had Lasik to ask if I could speak to them about their experience. A number of them replied, one of them from all the way in India which I thought was very sweet! They were all very positive about it and told me I should go for it, I didn't need much persuading but the positive feedback really helped.My treatment wasn't booked for a month and half after my consultation, during which time I must have read every blog and every review available on the Internet! I understand that not everyone has a good experience, but complications are rare and that goes for every type of surgery. Having said that I don't think people should go into this lightly, at the end of the day it is your eyes and its irreversible, you have to be really sure you want it enough and you are aware of all the risks before you go ahead.Treatment day finally arrived and although I was nervous, I was more excited. I arrived at the clinic with my friend and they took me in for the Wavefront test again, and then took me in to see the surgeon. He explained he asked for the map of my eyes to be taken again as I had an abnormal shape at the back of my cornea where it thinned out at a certain point, and if I had Lasik there was a greater risk of corneal bulging. Their limit is 20 and mine was at 19. He therefore said he would be more comfortable with Lasek as it was the safer way to go. I just thought oh no! All I could think of was the pain warnings for this type of surgery, even though I had read up on it and knew it had been around for longer than Lasik and was considered much safer as there was no cutting. I dreaded the thought of it and went outside to think about it. I knew I wanted surgery that day, and trusted the surgeon completely, he was very nice and explained everything through and didn't try and play the pain aspect down but was comforting in that he said many people don't experience any more pain than that experienced with Lasik, and that the results were the same as for Lasik. So, after a little consideration I decided to just go for it and to say yes to Lasek. If nothing else, this was half the price of the Lasik I was going to have so I would just have to think about that through the pain!I was talked through the meds and drops before putting on my hairnet and going into surgery. I was very nervous but tried to detach myself and keep calm. The numbing drops were put into my eyes. I didn't find any of the surgery painful, there was some discomfort where you feel pressure against your eye but the surgeon was very good and counted down and told me there was only 5 seconds left of pressure, and sure enough the pressure stopped. I didn't like the smell of the laser much but it was bearable. I was finding it really hard to keep the eye that was covered open, because it just wanted to stay closed which made my other eye want to close but the clamp obviously kept it open. The second eye was much easier as I knew what to expect and could control my covered eye better. The last 5 seconds of looking at the laser was difficult as my covered eye wanted to blink again but I wouldn't let it so my open eye would not move. I remember seeing one of the metal instruments coming towards me and thinking uh oh, must not move! The whole process didn't take more than about fifteen minutes max and I was helped up and walked back to my friend. I wasn't focusing much but I remember getting up, and as I got to the door the surgeon told me I did very well and that it went very well, and I just thought oh my God, I can see him! I didn't expect to be able to see so well so quickly with Lasek, as its Lasik that is instant. Nevertheless, I could read the text on the wall, text I would never have been able to see before. I was given my meds, I put my sunglasses on and waited a few mins for the taxi to take us home. I just kept my eyes closed the whole way and as soon as I came home I took the painkillers as instructed as I was told not to wait for the pain. I remember when being shown the anaesthetic drops they give you in case of severe pain I was thinking, is that all you're giving me, give me some more! I was so scared of the pain I think anticipating it was the worst thing.I lay down with my eyes closed in the dark with my eye shields on. After a while my eyes began to stream, they weren't hurting they just felt really heavy and difficult to open, nothing major and certainly not unbearable. I was putting the refresh drops in every hour or so (or my friend was, bless her), not because I felt I needed them but because I had read it was good to use them and they helped the healing. It was annoying taking the shields off and putting them back on every time but I read you should keep them on for the first day and only put them on when sleeping for the next 7 days, so I kept them on. It felt better to have them on, my eyes felt more protected. I waited and waited for this unbearable, excruciating pain.. and none came! I could not believe it, it was nothing more uncomfortable than a slight stinging sensation. The anesthetic drops stayed in the fridge. If anything the worst thing was looking in the mirror and seeing how puffy my eyes were! I didn't need the sleeping tablets they gave me, I woke up a few times in the night to put the refresh drops in. Vision wise straight after my left eye was amazing, so sharp, but my right eye wasn't as sharp and was quite blurred. I didn't worry too much about this as I figured it was still early and it could take a while for it to catch up. Had my bandage lenses taken out after three days and I could read the penultimate line, and after a couple of seconds I could see the bottom line, which I was told was 20:20! I was very happy.It's been a week now, and my right eye is still the same. I think its because it was the first eye and I wasn't still enough or something, I knew what to expect with the left eye and it was really easy, so I think my right eye didn't absorb the laser enough or something.Have my next checkup next week so hopefully might see some improvement.. fingers crossed!What I would like to say is not to rule out Lasek because you think it will be too painful. If you suffer from dry eyes Lasik can potentially make these a lot worse and can take the full benefit of surgery away if it gets too severe. I have honestly not had any pain with the surgery, after the surgery or with the bandage contacts, which I thought I would have had. Also, if there is a need for retreatment, which in my case there may be, its a lot safer if you had Lasek the first time. If the surgeon advises you to consider Lasek I would encourage you to think about it, as they are far more experienced and know what they are talking about. I'm glad I did!If you'd like to know anything or ask any questions I'd be more than happy to answer if I can.Naz.Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:13:43 GMTnaziabi