Optical Express

I had lasek treatment in June 2004, I am over 40 and was told to expect to wear reading glasses after the procedure. I did not want to do this and nearly did not go ahead until the option of having one eye only treated was suggested. I did have my right (dominant) eye treated and now have 20/20 vision for long distance and my left eye I use for reading without glasses. It was like wearing one contact lense at first until your brain adjusts to it. I now have the best of both distance vision and I can read without glasses. There is a slight problem at night time with the halo effect from bright lights etc., but I am still confident and able to drive. The clinic recommended that I could wear a contact lense in the untreated eye just for night time driving if it was a problem. I would recommend the procedure to anyone with the dilemma of requiring reading glasses afterwards. The clinic at Barlow House, Minshull Street, Manchester are very professional and helpful and the after care is excellent.

I had worn glasses for 12years and my prescrirtion had reached -2.75. In October 2003 I had both eyes corrected by Lasik at the Manchester clinic. There was a little pain and discomfort for a few days but the improvement in my vision was apparent immediately. I have now got better than 20/20 vision and am delighted I went ahead with the procedure. The staff at the Manchester clinic on the day were fantastic and the before and after care I received from the staff at Birmingham has been excellent also. I would have no hesitation in recommending Optical Express to anybody considering having laser correction.

Had worn glasses and sometimes contact lenses for 15 years - was totally fed up with them. Went to Optical Express in Milton Keynes for a consultation to see if I would be suitable for laser correction. The optician I saw was very helpful, explaining each test he did and what each result meant. For example he explained the different complications that could arise if my cornea was too thin or if my pupils were too large etc - I was "average" on everything, making me a good candidate. Then chatted to my "counsellor" to find out more about the actual procedures. Booked the Lasik there and then. Okay, down to the nitty gritty, had my Lasik (both eyes) on 26th May 200(Milton Keynes, Mr Jain). Was a little nerve wracking waiting to go in, especially when I had to write out that I understood there was a risk of my eyes being worse after the procedure! Saw Mr Jain who checked my eyes one last time for any recent changes that would stop me going ahead - there weren't any - and then he asked me if I wanted a pill to chill me out (way to make someone nervous!). I declined. Then we go into the laser room. Eye drops to numb my eyes - okay so far. Then they put that thing on to hold my eye open - a bit uncomfortable but still okay. Then they cut the flap - also uncomfortable and freaked me out a bit, but still under control. Applied the laser - aah the easy bit, just look at the light. Flap back and more eye drops, all done on to the next one. I could tell there was an improvement immediately, even though it was blurry for a few hours. Had a nap when I got home, got up for dinner and went back to bed. By morning everything was just fantastic, a whole new world. Applied eye drops religiously and had no problems at all. Have had better than 20/20 vision since my follow up appointment the day after. It is now more than 4 months later, still perfect, no more eye drops, I can't begin to tell you how it has changed my life - had to get a new haircut of course to complete the new look hee hee!!! Would recommend it to anyone - assuming they went through the same checks to make sure they were suitable of course.

I had my treatment in June 2004. My prescription was -3.75 and now my sight is better than 20/20. I had my 3 month check-up yesterday and everything is perfect! I no longer need to go back for check-ups (apart from from the regular yearly ones) and I can play around in the swimming pool and not worry about lenses popping out. I can see first thing in the morning. Part all night and not get bloodshot eyes. It's fab!! It will change your life. It certainly has mine. ;0)

Thought I'd wait for 2 months after the procedure to give everything a chance to settle down. Here's my story. Am 38 now and had worn specs & contact lenses since age 9. Had -5.25/-5.75 prescription so was pretty short-sighted. I Hated taking the kids swimming as I couldn't see anything. Getting up for the baby in the middle of the night entailed the fumbling around for the specs ritual an then looking at the digital clock 2 feet away to see what time it was. I Went to Optical Express in Newcastle in mid-July for the consultation.Everything looked ok so booked for Lasik the following week. Unfortunately, came down with conjuntivitis the next day (my kids had had it recently) so had to postpone the procedure. Glad I did, 'cause it gave me more time to do some research which made me think Lasek might be the better option. I was -5.25/-5.75 so could choose either option. As I figured it, Lasik introduces a potential weakness into the eye (the flap) and the list of post-op complications seems longer than with Lasek. I figured the extra few days healing and discomfort with Lasek would more than make up for the lower risk. Trying to reschedule was problematic as I must say Optical Express's phone system is poor - the direct line to the laser clinic sent me to a message telling me that extension was unavailable, and requests via the switchboard to call me back went unanswered. Eventually got the mobile no. of the laser counsellor and re-established contact. I have seen others comment on the poor communication : OE please take note! I went in for the procedure on 21 August. My brother had Lasek done two weeks earlier and ended up with 6/4 vision (bottom line of the chart), so that was encouraging. Dr Eve sent me downstairs for a final eye-pressure check and fields test as my pressure readings had been high the previous time. No change on the pressure readings, and another 100% score on the fields test so they decided I just had slightly high eye pressure (they were looking for a change in pressure). Decided it was safe to go ahead. Asked Dr Eve whether to go for Lasik or Lasek. He agreed with me that as I could have either I might as well go for the one with the lower risk of post-op problems, so I chose Lasek. Took the valium and felt relaxed. Then someone came in and said the computer controlling the laser had crashed and they couldn't reboot it. Had to reschedule for Thursday 26th: no problem - everyone in the room was on valium and so was very calm! :-) Went in again on Thursday 26th. Took another valium. Went to have my eyes numbed. Felt strange putting my specs in their case for the last time! I think they should hold a little memorial service there and then! Having worn specs for nearly 30 years it seemed like an important milestone. Anyway, the preparation was fine. I then went into the treatment room and sat in the chair. Actually, it was fine. I rather enjoyed it - certainly less discomfort than a trip to see the dental hygienist. All the eyedrops were painless. Sticking open the eyelids was painless. The alcohol to soften the epithelium was fine. Scraping away the epithelium was pain-free. The lasing itself didn't give any sensation. Putting back the epithelium and inserting the contact lens bandage was also totally pain-free. The really enjoyable part was the 1960s-style psychedelic light show you get during all the furtling about with your eye: a bit like one of those Windows Media Player visualisations! Following the op Dr Eve took me for a quick checkup and then I was talked through the rucksack of eyedrops that you take home. My dad picked me up and I went to Boots for a pair of sunglasses. When I got home I went to bed. I dozed for a while until I was awakened by sever discomfort in both eyes. They were both streaming with tears and felt like someone had poked them with a stick (which, I suppose, they had). I took one dose of the emergency painkiller drops, but that made no difference. It wasn't really painful so I just stuck it out. It took about 2 hours to settle down. I remained very light sensitive for a couple of days, but I didn't need to take any of the emergency drops again; I took an unopened phial back to OE on my next checkup. I had no pain at all. Over the following week my vision came in much clearer. After 4 days I went in for a checkup. The left contact lens was taken out but the right one was left in as that eye was healing more slowly. I went in 4 days after that to have the right one taken out. At the first check up I had about 6/6 vision in my left eye and about 6/7 in the right. At the second checkup (when the other bandage was taken out) I had got down to about 6/5 or 6/4 in the left and 6/6 in the right. Three weeks later they were both clocking in somewhere between 6/5 and 6/4 which is very pleasing, though the right eye still seemed slightly less sharp than the left. It's now about 7 weeks since the operation and my vision is great. I am still getting dry eyes a bit (this is more pronounced at night); sometimes very early in the morning they sting as the eyelid sticks to the eyeball (ouch!). This is getting better and I expect it to have improved even more by my 3 month checkup next month. The only problem I am really noticing is that I am finding some shops with very bright halogen lights and colourful displays make me dizzy and headachy. I went into Stationery Box two Wednesdays running and after looking at the wall of pens and highlighters came out feeling very woozy. I think that after nearly 30 years of focusing with corrective aids my eyes are just having to get used to different muscle movements. I will mention it to the optician at my next checkup if it's still a problem then. So, all said, was it worth it? Yes. With Lasek you don't get the instant results that Lasik brings, but I am more reassured knowing that my eye doesn't have a structural weakness in it (the Lasik flap), so my eyes will me more tolerant of knocks and blows; having a young baby in the house makes you conscious of such things as they do tend to poke and scratch your eyes. Actually, since the surgery I have managed to poke myself in the right eye three times and the baby scratched it once and there are no ill effects. I was expecting to feel a greater sense of freedom than I do, but I think psychologically I still think I'm wearing glasses or contact lenses. I went to play golf on Saturday and at the first tee found myself trying to push my glasses up the bridge of my nose! The staff at Optical Express were great and very helpful. If only they could get their phone system sorted out.

I had my eyes lasered yesterday at the Southampton clinic, after 20 years of wearing glasses and lenses to correct my short sightness and astigmatism. Today, I can see clearly, with the only after effect being slightly 'gritty' feeling eyes. The actual procedure feels odd, but is far less distressing than having a filling done at the dentist! I can't praise highly enough all the staff at Southampton - cheerful, sympathetic and above all, professional. FREEDOM at last to do what i want - Thank You!!!! Sava - Southampton

I was made to wait a year before I could have surgery as I had gone too long between eye tests. It was reassuring to know that they were not just after my money and that they had my long term interests as their main priority. When I did have the surgery I always felt that I could ask any question to any member of staff. The whole process from start to finish (aftercare included) was conducted in a professional and friendly way and I have no qualms in recommendiing this clinic to other people.

I had my eyes lasered on Friday (15th) afternoon at the Southampton clinic with Mr Jain. The surgery itself is painless, although you can feel what's going on so I would advise you to say yes to the Valium you're offered before surgery (I also took painkillers)! I was a little nervous before going into the op room, however when it came to sitting in the chair I was terrified! The nurses are fantastic - talking you through what is going on and giving you a count down to the finish. I think I must have had a look or sheer terror on my face as the nurse was telling me it would be ok and to stay calm - I have to say though, there was nothing to be scared of. Yes, it was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life and not a nice one, but as I say, it didn't hurt at all and was over in a matter of minutes. If I said I could see instantly, I would be lying, but the results straight away were amazing! I kinda felt like crying and wanted to give my big old Dad a hug….but not wanting to be a girl about the whole thing I pulled myself together. Take the darkest pair of sunglasses you have - to say you'll be sensitive to light after surgery is an understatement, think about looking into a torch and that's what it's like. I got back home about 4pm and went straight to bed for a few hours. When I got back up I found I needed to dim the lights in each room I went in, but I did grow accustomed to the light gradually. Over Friday evening and Saturday, my vision was ok, but it was a bit up and down until Sunday. Decided to do a bit of shopping on Sunday with some friends, which probably wasn't my best idea ever! Bright lights, Air-con and cold fresh air were not great. I found myself wearing my sunglasses all the time and constantly stopping to put my drops in. My advice - rest up for as long as you can before going back to work….speaking of which, it's my first day back today! I didn't come in yesterday as I felt I'd be wasting my time and slowing my recovery - I work in computers and we have bright artificial lighting everywhere! I'm still feeling a bit sensitive to bright lights, but through the day I'm getting used to it. So, it's now day 4 after surgery and I'm very pleased with the results so far. From being short sighted (-2.75 and -3.50) I'm now very slightly long sighted, however I'm told this will settle down. My left eye is fine, but I have dryness in the right eye - but this is improving everyday and I'm confident it will be gone in a couple of days. The staff at Southampton are great - it's laid back but at the same time very professional and i felt in safe hands. David there may be chatting up the female patients - but hey, at least i forgot i was nervous about the Op! I think I now have prospective clients for Optical Express through friends and family - will have to sort out a commission deal;)

I had my laser surgery two days ago on Wed 20th October under Mr Giledi and it is amazing! I have to admit to being a bit of a scaredy-cat and a panic-monster usually, but having logged onto this website and read all of the good reviews I finally found the courage to book myself in and have the treatment. My initial consultation was at the East Cheap branch where the staff were very helpful and I then had my surgery at the Shaftesbury Avenue clinic and the nurses there were wonderful and made me feel very relaxed. I have had bilateral wavefront lasik (this was recommended as I have larger than average pupils) and my sight is brilliant after only two days. The procedure was not at all painful and the only problem that I am having at the moment is that I appear to be allergic to most of the drops as I am getting a burning sensation for a good 10 minutes after applying them each time (I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had the same problem?), but I have been told that this is quite rare (just my luck!), and once they have worn off all is fine and dandy! My one bit of advice would be to try and get an appointment a week before your surgery at the clinic itself so that you can have all of the final checks before your surgery date to ensure that you are eligible - I did this and I am very glad as on the day, there were a couple of gentlemen in the waiting room with me who had been told just to come a few hours before their surgery time to have these tests and then once the final checks had been run, there was then some doubt over whether they were suitable either for their original laser option, or indeed for surgery at all! So I was glad that I had tackled this bit already prior to my surgery day as I wouldn't have wanted to go through the nerves for no reason and I felt very sorry for the other two gentlemen, but I was in and out in an hour! The aftercare so far has been good and I am now looking forward to walking up the aisle next May without my black glasses, the only problem now is that my boyfriend thinks that I may change my mind now that I can see him properly - nice try, but he won't get off the hook that easily!

My husband arranged for me to have my eyes done for an aniversary present. After a bad experience with BOOTS, Optical Express stepped in and nothing was to much trouble. My treatment was carried out at the Bristol site, and I can't thank them enough for all they have done. Very caring, very understanding, high on customer service and very profesional. A big thankyou to all the staff who really do Optical Express proud. My sight is great after only a few day's and after 20 years of wearing glasses, this really is the best present anyone could wish to recieve. Thankyou all, Val xx.