Not A Clockwork Orange! (LASIK Treatments)

Name: Bettycat

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Product:	LASIK Treatments
Date:	11/04/03 (604 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: sight!!

Disadvantages: Proven??

I was as blind as a bat, from a young girl in the 70's until, well until 4.15 yesterday afternoon actually. My prescription for all you 20:20's out there was -5.5 which is the equivalent of being able to see 30cm from the edge of your eyeball and that's it. Not just, what's the writing on the blackboard, more like, where is the blackboard?! Even at 8 years old I knew I didn't want to look like Olive from on the buses, with a wide choice of pink, blue, brown and black NHS glasses to choose from. Ah, I can hear you visually unimpaired say, but there are so many styles now. Well yes there are, but however fantastic they may look in the shop, once 2inch thick lenses are added they are not so hot.

I opted for contact lenses when I was 16 and my life was free again . I could also see what I was snogging for a change too. I just don't do glasses, they are too heavy, look awful on me and the emergency ones I had to have a few years ago made me feel ill due to the vision around the sides, I also fell down the stairs in them. Hubby has never seen me in them and I use to take them off if he phoned me! Contacts were a pain with the usual nagging from opticians 'have you been sleeping in them?' And when I got the all day all night ones I was still being told off for wearing them too much. I knew about Laser treatment and when you are as desperate as I was you would understand why I was willing. Hubby was nervous for me and wanted to wait until the time and technology was better.

On Thursday last week, exactly a week ago, I threw my all day all night contacts in the bin. I had an assessment for Lasik on the Saturday and needed to be contact free for 2 days prior. As I was eventually guided to the right door, nearly went into a posh Greek restaurant, I was introduced to the receptionists and Optician at the Advanced Laser Eye Clinic. My assessment lasted an hour and she carried out extensive eye and sight tests.

My Co
rnea was tested for thickness, glaucoma, my eyes were dropped with yellow dye to test the blood vessels and I was given 'fuzzy' eye drops which turned the sofa in reception into a zig-zag to examine my retina's health. I passed with flying colours. My eyes were slightly blurry upon leaving, with a yellow tinge. More alarming was the affect the drops had on my pupils, they were massive and the whole effect made me look like a cat on heat with liver damage. This wore off after a few hours, luckily. Due to a cancellation , they get a lot of them, more later . I could get a slot the next Wednesday. Wow! Now I started to get scared.

Lasik was first performed in 1991. It is painless and quicker than Lasek (which is cheaper) and involves a flap being cut over the lens, the laser then alters the shape of your cornea, the flap is brought back and hey presto. There are far more detailed reviews of Lasik around Dooyoo I am still extremely squeamish about the whole procedure and I know that if you are considering it then you will want to read all the reviews, pro's and cons. This is just my experience of it.

I was terrified by Wednesday afternoon, having read A Clockwork Orange at an early age the thought of eyes being forced open has lived with me a long time. Anyway, the Surgeon, the best at their Glasgow clinic examine my eyes again thoroughly and dropped in the anaesthetic now and again. My feet were covered and I had to wear a surgical hat, I padded through to the operating room and boy was I scared. I have never been as terrified in my life. Even when lying down I felt I couldn't go through with it. Everyone reassured me, so I took a deep breath and remembered that I had wanted this all my life.

I was flat and my head was slightly dipped down and held around in a padded shape. The machine was brought over my eyes, which had both been swabbed and cleaned. My left eye was covered in gauze and lightly taped. My lashes were taped
top and bottom on m
y right eye then he got the speculum (yes, argh! To the women out there but it wasn't that type of speculum!) this help my eye open so I couldn't close it. This was the bit I feared but it was fine, my left eye could blink so it felt as if my right eye could too and it was kept moist. The machine was brought closer to my eye. I could see pinpricks of white dots in a circle and a red light in the middle. The suction cup was added to my eye, everything went black for a few seconds then I could see and the laser started. It was an intermittent pulsing sound, which was no longer than a minute. There was a strange smell , I can only guess what that was- which disappeared as soon as you realised it. The other eye was done and I was sitting up and getting them checked all in the space of about 20 minutes. The actual surgery was only a few minutes each. It did not hurt at all.

In the rest room one of the nurses gave me my pack to take home, two lots of antibacterial and anti-biotic eye drops to take 4 times a day, dry eye drops for every hour or so, goggles for sleeping in and a list of do's and don'ts.

I could see as soon as I left the building. After good nights sleep my eyes felt fine, slightly dry but not more than that and today they have been getting better and better. I had a check-up at 4.15 this afternoon, 24 hours after surgery. I could read the second line from the bottom on the chart in both eyes. And my sight will improve. For my initial vision I was given a promise that 98% of patients get 20:20 vision I can live with those odds and the fact that should I need specs they wont be awful Fred Scuttle ones.

Lasik is suitable for those people with astigmatism. It is expensive but many clinics offer payment plans. Night glare or halos are usually caused by the patient having unusually large pupils, this will be checked.

I was told by the receptionist that one girl did throw a wobbly when sh
e got onto the bed and couldn't go through with it and a few patients suffer superficial tears in the skin around the eyes by resisting the speculum. I was given a disclaimer to sign that listed every possible worst case scenario , hubby read it, I couldn't, this was at the assessment. You are not pushed into anything at all. One word of warning, go to a specialist clinic and not an Optician that offers it, I have heard of a local optician that offers Lasik using an old machine that frequently breaks down mid-treatment. Not good.

If I need glasses in the future they should be age related and not due to the treatment. I am already convinced after 1 day that my eyesight is near perfect or will be, I have been waiting for this for as long as I can remember.

1 MONTH ON -

I have just had my one month check-up. I have suffered no ill effects, no starbursts or halo's and no dryness. I did however notice a slight change in sight, especially in the evening or when I get tired, my left eye seems to have better vision. At the check up this was confirmed, my right eye is 20:20 my left eye is better as I can read the bottom line on the chart. Which I am more than happy to live with! I'm back in make-up and can cry when cutting onions again - something which contacts prevented me from. The nasty veins(?) that the contacts were causing are receeding although it'll be some months for them to die. I just nodded.....

I was slightly worried when I could notice the sight difference and thought 'oh no, I'm not doing it all again' but it is hardly noticable and only when tired and I am only nitpicking. I am so pleased I had it done, its fantastic. I would recommend The Advanced Laser Clinic to anyone, research first and research again, ask friends, collegues anyone. Ask for their own patient reccommendations at the clinic or wherever you choose to go. Another word of warning, the Opticians that I mentioned before with th
e broken machine? Well they are getting sued for damaging a mans eyesight permanently and he has no comeback, be warned, get advice, don't go to cowboys. If you really want to get it done, like me, you will anyway, so get prepared.

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