Laser Eye Correction!
What you read on this page is my own version of events only. I am not a medical expert and I may well be factually wrong in a number of places. If you want to know the medical facts, go to a certified specialist!
Having worn glasses since childhood I took the plunge in December 2001 and opted for laser treatment to cure my short-sightedness.
Lots of people have asked me about it, so here is my story…
What is it?
There are two types of treatment, PRK and LASIK.
PRK is cheaper, limited to having one eye done at a time, and limited in the degree of short-sightedness it can correct. Oh yes, and it hurts. LASIK is more expensive, can have both eyes done on the same day, extends to more people (including stigmatisms), and gives “mild discomfort”.
LASIK cost me £1,000 for both eyes. This was a special offer - the normal price at the time was £1,500-£2,500, depending on where you went.
Why do it?
I have worn glasses since childhood and I’ve always disliked it. As I grew older and more aware that laser treatment could fix it once and for all, I began to get irritated big style.
Contact lenses are great once you get used to them. Having stigmatisms in both eyes meant I couldn’t use disposables (which would have been fine), so was stuck with messing around with solutions. After the hay fever period I’d have to get used to them again. Back to the specs!
Children are wonderful, and splashing around in a pool is great fun! If you’re short sighted, though, you either keep your specs on (boring!) or leave them off; leaving them off means that if the kids go more than 10 feet away they’re lost in a crowded pool. I would never be without my glasses on a busy beach.
Children, then, were the catalyst.
The Consultation (10 December)
Not everyone is suitable for treatment, so you have to go along for a consultation. This is just a series of tests, no big deal other than some drops which make you unable to focus on anything close up - very weird.
All went fine until I was asked if I had any questions. Not really, so the guy said something like, “You may have wondered if you might go blind? No-one has ever gone blind from this procedure. The worst you should expect after treatment is to possibly need glasses to drive.”
That was good enough for me.
The Treatment (18 December)
If you’re squeamish, skip the next paragraph.
The procedure is simple. They need to re-shape the front (cornea) of your eye so that light enters your eye at a different angle that your lens can focus properly onto the back of your eye. They first covered my left eye, and then stuck my right eyelid open with tape top and bottom. Then they put a kind of clamp on to keep all that in place. While I kept looking at a red dot of light, the guy put something on the surface of my eye and pressed down. At this point, I lost vision and everything went black (which is normal). Slowly, I could see the red dot again; what I couldn’t see (though I knew) was that he had sliced through the front of my eye and opened it back like a flap. Then on come the lasers for a few seconds zapping (painless, but smelly), and then he closed up the flap and said it had gone well. No stitches are necessary.
I have to say, I found it dreadfully uncomfortable (though in no way painful). It was not good to hear him say, “and now the other eye…”
The next few hours in the waiting room were pretty sore, but the pain went and that was the only pain in the whole process.
Before I left he gave me another quick sight test and told me I had driving-quality vision!
The First Week
I kept a log of how things went. These notes are based on that log!
Wednesday 19th: The next day I had a follow-up check, and was told my vision had got slightly worse (it’s supposed to get better).
This was depressing. After hearing stories of people going to work the next day after treatment things just weren’t adding up.
Deteriorated through the day until could’t read a number plate across the street. Could read ok with right eye only.
Thursday 20th: Notes read, “Vision so poor I feel I’ve screwed up my sight for ever. Things don’t even look the same colour from one eye to another.”
Friday 21st: “Family friend comes round and relates partner’s experience - same as mine!” Now that was very encouraging, I can tell you.
We went to my parents house. It was a bitter cold night and their house was lovely and warm, so when my dad saw me he asked if I’d taken my glasses off because they had steamed up? It was great to tell him what I’d had done, and my sight was slightly better too.
Monday 24th: “Went to Birkenhead for last minute shopping. Frankly startled by guality of long distance vision in left eye - could read shop titles all the way down the high street! Fab!”
Tuesday 25th December: “Best day of the campaign so far - happy Christmas! Best of all, I drove the family to church for the Christmas morning service. Right eye suddenly came crystal clear after spending an hour trying to persuade Windows XP to run some older games software…”
The First Few Months
After this, the quality of sight still fluctuated a lot from day to day. The primary reason for this is dryness. This is a major feature with LASIK treatment and I’ve probably spent about £30 per month for six months on eye drops.
Basically, when the eyes are nice and moist the vision is good, but otherwise it can be quite bad.
Results
The final results appear to be perfect sight in my left eye, and 0.25 short-sightedness in my right (chances are, your sight is about the same!). It is wonderful to be able to see without glasses. What I am left with is a kind of twinkling or smearing of lights at night - this is a known and expected part of the treatment, and can sometimes make some illuminated signs a bit hard to read.
Would I recommend it?
No. I am glad I’ve had it done, but whether or not you should have it done is not for me to say. Make up your own mind.
There are two thoughts I’ll leave you with:
1. The consent form I signed contained the phrase, “You may be bitterly disappointed”. That struck home like a thunderbolt, and kept coming back in the first few days…
2. The specialist who dealt with my aftercare said that you do have to be “pretty motivated” to have it done. He wore glasses.
