Optical Express

Well, it is now 12 days since my surgery. In the end I opted for LASEK because I rub my eyes a lot with hay fever and have large pupils. I was hoping that Mr Jain would make the decision for me, but he repeated what I already knew and said it was up to me. When I opted for LASEK he said he thought it was the right choice. The procedure was exactly as they had described, so no surprises there. It was a little freaky and I have never been so still in my whole life! But not actually any worse than going to the dentist. Completely painless and the team were very kind and reassuring. I was the first appointment of the day, arrived just before 8.30, went in at 9.30 and 20 minutes later was back in the wating room chatting with the next 2 people. Home by 10.30 which was amazing. The rest of that day was fine, rested as much as I could but wasn't in any pain all day. The next day was much worse although I still wasn't actually in pain, just really uncomfortable. I found it incredibly difficult to open my eyes, they just felt so heavy and I was really tired. Spent most of the day asleep. Even making phone calls was really difficult, especially looking up numbers and then dialling! I couldn't believe how pathetic I was feeling. The next day started the same, but much better by the afternoon. On the Wednesday I had my first check-up and they removed the contact lenses. My sight was already above driving standard, although I still found it hard to open my eyes for long! There was some concern as they thought I had an infection in one eye. Dasi, the optometrist (FAB!) tried to call Mr Jain, but he was unavailable, in a conference I think. She then asked if I could go to London immediately to see a different surgeon but I said I couldn't go then, maybe the next day. So I went home and we had sveral phone calls back and forwards to decide what to do. Dasi spoke to Mr Jain eventually, who prescribed some antibiotic ointment for use at night and increased the antibiotc drops to every hour! So it was back to MK just before they closed to pick up new cream, but still a lot better than an impromptu trip to London with not great vision! I have to say that Dasi was fantastic and I cannot rate the MK team highly enough. By the time I went back to the Clinic on Wed eve I felt like a different person. I could open my eyes, and sat in the waiting area without sunglasses (it's very bright in there) looking about and reading the paper! By THursday pm I was helping my daughter's class with their sewing, but after about an hour I had a bit of a headache! I had another trip to the Clinic on Friday. They decided that the "infection" is really a cluster of white blood cells, part of the body's immune system, and changed my antibiotic drops, and now only 4 x a day. I was back there today for another check up. They all greet me by name now and are very friendly! I am very pleased that this is all included in the cost! My vision is still settling and is better in my right eye than left, but it feels better to me than it ever did with glasses or lenses. Sometimes I have trouble when staring at things or trying to look at things for too long but have been told this will improve. My eyes are also still quite sensitive to light and have been in shades most of the time outside. I have to say I haven't yet been out at night, so not sure what my night vision will be like. Overall I am thrilled with my new eyes, looking forward to my vision being completely settled and no more drops. Cannot praise the MK team and the surgery team including Mr Jain of course, highly enough.

Had my initial consulation in Belfast and the team there could not have been any more helpful and put me at ease. Decided to book for Lasik at the Glasgow branch for 22/5/04. Arrived early but was dealt with immediately. Again, the whole team were superb and could not fault anyone or anything. The surgery itself was very quick, Mr Jain and the team were all very thorough and professional throughout the treatment. The part of the surgery where the flap is cut did catch me by surprise, it stung a little bit and I found it hard to keep my eyes open but it is over very quickly. Finished surgery at 3.40pm and was sitting with a glass of wine and a chinese meal at 8.15pm. How's that for a recovery !!! Would definitely recommend putting up with a little discomfort for the result. The check up yesterday morning went very well and everything is fine, vision perfect. Was back at work today, and will be driving from tomorrow. Hopefully my 1 week check up in Belfast goes well on Saturday. I feel great and am so glad I did it. Please feel free to e-mail me if you want re-assurance.

Its like theres a party in my eyes - and everyone's invited! I had LASEK surgery in Glasgow with Dr Suzanna Boytha in Glasgow, and proceeding to surgery was the best decision i have ever made. Procedure is painless. Thanks to the team (Suzy B, Joe, Fiona, Caroline, Tracy) and Optical Express. I still try to take my spex off at night after turning off the TV - and each time i find they're not there, i smile - Fantastic.

I had LASIK on my left eye on Friday, in the Manchester clinic. I don't know why I didn't have it done years ago. Its AMAZING. Totally painless, slightly uncomfortable, probably no worse than getting a scale and polish at the dentist. Within 3-4 hours my sight was improved so much that I was driving my family demented by reading everything I could...wine bottles, buses passing, vehicle reg's, if I could see it I read it out. I still look for my glasses first thing in the morning and I can't get out of the habit of trying to push them up my nose (not literally) but I can honestly say.....GO For It! The staff and Mr Aziz were great, put me at ease, talked me through every stage of the surgery, held my hand when I was nervous, even gave me a valium to stop the shakes (rendered the legs usless though. I passed the one day check up with flying colours, 20 20 vision. Only down side is, they recommend you don't fly for up to 3 months after surgery which is a bit of a bummer because we were planning to go abroad but, as far as I'm concerned it can wait, my eyes are more important.

I had Lasik Surgery on both eyes on Thursday 29th July 2004, at Optical Express Shaftsbury Ave London. I was not at all nervous, but was worried that I should be! The procedure was unpleasant and I was thinking about telling them not to do the 2nd eye but by the time I’d made up my mind my eye was taped up and I was back under the machine! I went off to the recovery room feeling a little strange. I couldn't see much as everything was very blurry. There were other patients in there and they all said they felt great. I must be a drama queen! I had a problem keeping my eyes open, it was much more comfortable keeping them shut. My eyes were streaming and very sore. Not a pain as such more like being constantly blinded by the sun, that feeling when you can't open your eyes but you keep fighting to try. I was given some extra drops and this helped temporarily. I went home and had a sleep as I was instructed. The streaming came and went at intervals for the rest of that night. I went to bed early and when I got up I could see as well as if I had my glasses on (except of course I didn't). I had no discharge or eye straining. I went for my aftercare appointment and I'm pleased to say that my vision is better than 20/20 (I never believed it would even work!). I am overjoyed with the results and I can't wait to go on holiday with just my designer sunglasses!! I would highly recommend this to anyone that is suitable. All that was 4 days ago and I have no dry eyes or any other problems so far (touch wood!). The only time I think about my glasses is when I keep trying to put them on in the mornings. Good luck to everyone that bites the bullet and goes for it. If I were asked if I would do it again, my answer would definitely be YES, it’s worth every penny.

I have considered laser surgery ever since using lenses has become irritating – the thought of having to wear glasses permanently is a frightening prospect, as I hate them. I live in Norway where the procedure is a lot more expensive than Optical Express’s offer at the moment, so decided to combine a Summer holiday over there with the surgery. I planned the trip well in advance and booked both the consultation and a Lasik operation (having –6 as my prescription I had concluded Lasik was my only option) at the same time so as to ensure I would have enough time to have my check-ups before flying back to Norway again. Consultation on the Monday (12th) went very well and I was impressed with the service I got from the two who performed all the tests. Also, the long chat with Laura about all the pros and cons was very professional too, helped particularly by the fact that she too had undergone correction a couple of years ago and had personal experience. Must admit the pupil-dilating eye drops were weird and I had big problems reading the train timetable at Piccadilly when travelling home (literally had to have my nose on the board to decipher anything close to!). Anyway, conclusion from the consultation was that I was suitable for both procedures and booked in on the Friday. Friday comes and they first perform a couple of tests (prescription check and eyeball scan, the latter of which had not been taken before) before I was called in to see Mr. Aziz for the first time. He first said that the result from the tear-production test they had taken on the Monday showed that I had a rather dry left eye, and because of that he highly recommended that I consider having Lasek rather than Lasik as dry eyes was a bigger side-effect of Lasik. I was actually equally suitable for both and that he had successfully performed Lasek up to -7 so my -6 wouldn't be a problem. I was then sent out again to reconsider which procedure to take and also to repeat the eyeball scan for my left eye as he wasn’t completely happy with the results so far. Back in again 10 mins later I was ready to say that I would consider Lasek when he told me that he had seen another problem in my left eye - the scan of the curvature showed that it stuck out slightly under the pupil which could possibly indicate a serious condition (which I can't remember what he called it) caused by a weakness in the cornea which becomes worse over time. Laser treatment in such cases is very dangerous (since it weakens the cornea even more) and he could not operate based on the info. he had. However, he said that there was a 90% chance that it wasn't this condition but that the scanner they had was not good enough to be conclusive and that I would have to have a scan on their better machine which would give conclusive results - "go and make a new appointment and we will take it from there". So, very disappointed, I went back to the reception and said that I needed an "Orb Scan". “Ok”, she said, "when can you go to London?". What!!!! A small detail Mr. Aziz had omitted to mention was that the only Orb Scan machine they had was at their Shaftesbury Ave. clinic. So at that point I decided to give up since time was running out (considering that I needed at least a week after any op. to have my check-up). I then thought that if this was a serious condition I really should check it out as soon as possible. They booked an appointment for the scan the following Wednesday and at the same time booked in an operation with the London doctor so that they could do it immediately if shown to be OK. All check-ups would then be done in Manchester. I arrived at the clinic 8:45 for my 9:00 appointment and the scan was done by 8:55! I then saw Mr. Giledi almost straight away. His conclusion was that I did not have the serious condition Mr. Aziz was worried about but that 15 years of contact-lenses had deformed my left cornea (not helped by being dry) so that 2 weeks without lenses hadn't been enough to normalise the shape. My right eye was perfectly OK. I should therefore go without lenses even longer before he could calculate the right correction to perform. "Come back in two weeks time and we can check you again!". So since that wasn't possible, I have now decided to wait until a later trip over, probably round Christmas, and in the meantime be a good girl and not use my lenses as much to see if it gets better. I have since heard of a colleague of a friend who had checks every month for almost seven months before his eyes had stabilised enough to be operated, so 2 weeks was probably a bit short. Must say though that I have been very impressed with Optical Express throughout the experience, from the receptionists to the surgeons. They have been exceedingly thorough and professional, have done all they can to accommodate my lack of availability for appointments and even gave me special eye drops to help my dry eye. All for nothing - I have been refunded the whole amount I paid upfront so I hope their offer of £600 per eye doesn't go up before I get round to doing it (as I still intend to do if/when my eye is suitable again). In the meantime, it's back to the specs and lenses (which I delighted in putting back in on leaving the London clinic) and time to reconsider Lasek again, (which may be the best alternative now having found out about my dry eye).

I has LASIK in both eyes at the Glasgow Optical Express clinic on Saturday 31st July. I had my check up on the day after and then again on Thursday 5th August and my eyes are now better than 20/20. I was -7 in my left eye and -3 in my right and I am so pleased now as I can see better than I could with my contact lenses. The procedure wasn't sore or even uncomfortable it was just slightly unpleasant. My eyes were streaming afterwards so I went home to sleep and when I woke up 4 hours later they were not even sore and I could see perfectly. My eyes have been slightly dry but they are getting better every day and it is certainly worth that minor inconvenience for the results. The only critisism I would have was the waiting about on the day of my surgery. My appointment was at 11.30 and I did not get taken until 2.30 so there was a lot of sitting aboout, which didn't help my nerves, although I was given a valium. My aftercare appointment at Edinburgh was excellent though with no waiting at all. I would definately recommend this to anyone who is thinking about it the results are so much better than I ever thought they would be.

I had Lasik done last Thursday 6th August 2004. I am pleased to say that I m very happy with the treatment and I have not experienced any problems. The staff at the Milton Keynes branch were very good and I would reccomend the treatment to anyone. I have so far only had my 1st follow up appointment so hopefully things will continue to go as planned.

I've just got home, having had Lasik at the Shaftsebury Avenue branch yesterday. The actual op was painless (although the smell was pretty gross) but after the drops wore off I had a lot of pain (for about 4 hours afterwards). I had elected to stay overnight in a nearby hotel to save journeying to home and back the next day for the check-up. I was glad of this when the pain kicked in. After the op I stumbled to my room, lay down and slept. Things got clearer from then on and were very good this morning. My vision is still not quite as good as it used to be with my glasses on (although better than they expected it to be), especially the close stuff which used to be fine without my glasses. They say that this will improve throughout the week. The anti-biotic and anti-inflammatory post op drops are quite painful (two lots 4 times a day for a week) and you can taste them - not nice. All in all I'm very pleased so far, safe in the knowledge it should keep improving. I am a little nervous about my 1 week check up at which they should know if it was too short or too long a 'burn' (I found it really hard to decide which choice was clearest each time in the pre-op checks), but would be happy to have it again for a correction if necessary as it was far less painful than I expected. Everyone else I saw had also had a positive experience, although pain levels and vision the next day varied a lot.

On June 16th I had my Lasek laser surgery, being at the tender age of 23 I had a few reservations, however my career path dictated that it was either laser surgery or not being able to follow my career goal of becoming a Police Officer. Dday came very quickly and the relaxed atmoshpere and pleasant staff at Milton Keynes really made it an enjoyable experience. I opted for the lasek over the lasik as the lasek offered greater security in the long term with regards to contact sports and I guess when I join the police I can expect to get a few punches thrown at me from time to time! The surgery went smoothly and was completely pain free, all I can describe it as is being very very weird. You are awake for the whole procedure which again is weird as you can also see what is happening. The staff were very good and explained each step as it came and went. In total it took 20 minutes to do both eyes with the laser only on for 23 seconds per eye. After the surgery I went home and straight to bed as you do feel very tired. The first couple of nights were a bit uncomfortable and the way I can describe this if you are a contact lens wearer it is the same feeling you get when you have had your contacts in for too long. I had the protective contact lenses removed 4 days after the surgery and this also helped to improve the comfort. I was a little disappointed as my vision which had improved greatly since the surgery seemed to take a step back. I asked if this was permanent and was assured that it would take at least 4 days to settle down. I awoke Tuesday morning and it was as if some one had flipped a switch while I was sleeping, my vision was brilliant! From being quite blurry on the Monday to being as clear as a bell on Tuesday, was great! I did find that my eyes did tend to dry out over night which would wake me during the night with very sore eyes, however the good news is there is an easy solution. I bought some "Simple Eye Ointment" from the chemist this is more of a gel than the eye drops given and keeps your eyes moist thoughout the night. I am now 2 months down the road from my surgery and had a check up yesterday and the results are very very good, in my right eye I have 20/20 vision and in my left eye I have better than 20/20 both eyes have completely healed and I have been told that they are as healed as if I had never had the surgery. I cannot recommend this procedure highly enough. Although it may take a little longer for the vision and healing to take place the results are FANTASTIC. I have also now been accepted into the Police which wouldn't have happened without the surgery!