Optimax

Well I've been in for my checkup today and as expected I was 20/20 in both eyes. The only side effect I've had is a slight haze, but hopefully that will clear in the next couple of weeks. Unlike some other posts, I'm glad I waited until now to have the operation. I always got on well with contact lenses and I suspect the advances of technolgy and experience have been significant with the laser eye surgery over the past few years. This made me very comfortable with the entire procedure and the expected results. The only other point I'd like to mention is the choice between Lasik and PRK. I was suitable for either treatment, but opted for Lasik due to the faster recovery. People in a similar situation need to carefully weigh the pros and cons between the two procedures and make an informed choice. I'll post again after my next check up, but ifn people are suitable for laser eye surgery I would certainly recommend it.

I just wanted to add my comments to this site. I had Lasek on both eyes at the same time at the Croydon site with Dr Hoe on the 30th Sept. Six weeks on and I am so so so so pleased with my eyes. On the day of the surgery I was ok and had spoken to Steve who is on this website at the Croydon office as he had a check that day. I was really positive about the out come as Dr Hoe was lovely during the consultation. It was me who messed up with my nerves going to pot when I had my first eye lasered. I kept moving and the laser stopped about five times. When I had the other eye done I was more relaxed and the laser only stopped once. It was all completely painless. Like everyone writes, you can see whats going on but no pain is felt at all. I had two days with my eyes closed with lots of friends popping round to talk to me which was great! When I went back to have my contact lenses taken out I knew that the first eye I had done was not good - all I could see was a cloud the other eye was perfect. She assumed me it was still healing where my vision is. When I went back for my second check up three weeks later my eye had improved so much. It was still not as good as the other one but not by much. I had a slight haze when looking at print. She assured me that my eyes are still improving. Now six weeks on the haze has gone and I am so happy with how good my sight is - when reading things with friends my eye sight is better than theirs which is amazing. Im so glad I went a head and had it done. I went to optimax as a work colleague had hers done with them too. Thank you optimax I am 100% happy with how you have improved my eye sight.

I had Epiflap lasek at the bristol clinic all the staff are very nice . I had pain for about 2 days it was the best thing i have ever done now two of my mates are having laser treatment so give it a go

I had LASIK treatment on the 3rd october 2003 at Birmingham. My prescription was -4.5 in both eyes. Dr Madhu was my surgeon and did my consultation too, although Michael did my aftercare. I did loads of research on the net and even found a video of the procedure, i wasnt nervous at all, quite excited really...... That was until i lay down in the operating room and just went to pot. But Bob the assistant was soooo nice to me and answered all my silly questions and told me i was really brave. The laser had to be started again once on my left eye because of me... but everything was ok. The actual treatment was painless but quite uncomfortable and i was absolutely petrified. After it was all over i cried my eyes out (after asking Bob if it was ok to cry....lol) It was just the whole experience was so emotional. Dr Madhu checked me over 30 mins later and i went home.... About 2 hours later i just wanted to scratch my eyes out , they were so irritable.... just the anathestic wearing off... But went straight to bed when i got home till the next morning...When i woke up i could not believe my eyes.... i Could see brilliant...Went for my next day aftercare with Michael who was really nice, answered all my other daft questions...told to come back in a week. My following appointment a week later my right eye is now perfect and my left is only -0.25 which is great, although it should improve for my next monthly appointment so should have perfect vision then. Overall i would recommend LASIK to anyone umming and arring about it..... best thing i ever did... Dr Madhu in my opinion was a great surgeon, Bob was absolutely brilliant, and Michael a great guy. They treated me with every respect and i didnt feel that they were just doing there job, they had passion which was great Thumbs Up! to Optimax and the great staff!

Just a quick update on my experiences of bi-lateral lasek. I had it done at Optimax in southampton on 23/10 with Dr Ayoubi. He was very thorough and explained everything well. He went through the procedure and the after effects & I was perfectly happy to go ahead & get it done that day. The receptionists and assistants were all very nice & the clinic wasn't very busy. Procedure itself was as described, but a little weird to go through! Coming out of the treatment room with one eye bandaged up and the other with a plastic cover over gave my 2 year old boy a shock. They gave me 2 Solphadol (paracetamol & codiene) immediately after the treatment, and gave me the aftercare pack with leaflets & drugs to go home with. This included 6 more Solphadol (worked very well but made me drowsy) and 4 Diazepam (which were prescribed as sleeping tablets but are actually anti-depressants !!) but didn't need the Diazepam. Listened to some TV that night after my wife changed my dressings (taping the eye lids closed with meopore is a good idea as it stops you opening your eyelids which causes pain), and the clear plastic lens was replaced by an absorbent pad. Slept well the first night, but had to keep draining the tears from my eyes as they were building up under the closed eyelids. Following two days were spent totally blind as it was impossible to open my eyes. This was achieved on the third day, and quickly became easier, though light sensitivity meant that I was wearing sun glasses with gas welding goggles over the top !! Day by day it got better and easier to see. At the one week checkup Dr Ayoubi said my corneas were healing perfectly & was very pleased. So was I! Its now been two weeks & my right eye is perfect ! Can read the bottom line of the chart, which I'm assured is very good. Left eye is still not brilliant, as it starts off focussing well in the morning, but just after lunchtime it gets pretty blurred, but then clears up again in the evening ! sometimes it can be as good as the right, but not for long. Its getting better day by day though, and its still early days yet. Update you all later when I have my three month checkup just before Christmas. Steve

I had bilateral lasik with Dr Hynes in Manchester on the 20th December. I was very nervous when I arrived for treatment but the premed settled me and I almost skipped into the room for my lasik. The treatment itself was surprisingly easy and I must say that Dr Hynes was very kind and professional. He really put me at ease and all the staff seemed very kind and helpful. When the premed and anaesthetic wore off I found it difficult to open my eyes although they were not painful. I slept for the rest of the day and the next day I was fine and found I was 20/20 in both eyes. I'm quite a coward and I really can't quite believe that I got myself together to do this. It's hard to believe that I do not need glasses any more. My prescription was not high, -1.75 in each eye with double astigmatism in one, but I really felt I needed my glasses to do most tasks and so I wore them from morning to night. It is wonderful not to have to wear them anymore! A big thanks to all at Optimax. I worried that the low price might mean a poorer service but I can honestly say that they were fantastic.

Clinic: Finchley Rd, London Surgeon: Dr Patel Treatment: Bilateral LASEK (+ contact lens 'bandages') Before: Right: -3.25 Left: -3.00 After (6 months later): Right: -0.50 Left: +0.25 I was a candidate for LASEK or LASIK, but chose LASEK due to the lesser risk. The treatment itself is painless and over in a matter of minutes. I guess the smell of the cornea burning or the crackling sound of the machine could be a little disconcerting, but overall there is nothing to worry about. Once finished, you can happily get up & walk out, elated in that you notice an instant significant improvement. The eye anaesthetic works, very well, lulling you into a false sense of security for the 1st hour or so afterwards. Being driven home (don't even think about driving yourself), the effects start to kick in, to the point where I just had to shut my eyes, and keep them shut, for a further 36 hours. It's not so much a painful reaction, more an irritation, akin to rubbing shampoo into the eyes. My recuperation seems more enduring than some people have suggested on this forum, and I don't consider myself the stereotypical male hypochondriac (unless I'm after sympathy), so be prepared for the worst. I suggest writing off the whole week, forgetting work (especially if computers are involved), and if possible having someone on hand to help out, otherwise you'll be walking around the home bumping into things. I found it was best to just stay in bed and sleep as much as possible. Trying to open my eyes resulted in lots of tears and severe irritation, and putting in eye drops is a real nightmare. I'm just glad I didn't have the eyes done separately and have to endure all this twice over. Day 3, and I was finally up and about and able to see properly. Day 4, and I was driving ? without glasses, weyhey! A few odd effects developed - sometimes the eyes would be painfully oversensitive to light hence the need for sunglasses, and close up work gave mild double vision, probably all down to the settling of the eyes' lenses. After a fortnight, anomalies gone, I started to reap the full benefits; but due to the long healing process with LASEK, sight continually improves over time. Initial eye-tests suggested that astigmatism had been introduced into one eye, which was worrying to hear, but eventually this just went away! The results for LASEK are not officially finalised until 6 months have passed so be careful not to pre-judge the treatment. With the left eye slightly over-corrected, combined long distance vision is better than I was expecting, and well above driving standard (my main objective & a Godsend if you ride a motorbike). Short distance was unaffected thankfully. I couldn't fault the staff - the optometrists and surgeon did an excellent job. Just be prepared for an uncomfortable time immediately after this particular treatment. In conclusion, £495 well spent.

Hi, I had lasik surgery on 16th of January at the Glasgow optimax with Dr Anwar. I had a very high prescription of -10 in both eyes, however by the day following surgery my eyes were already driving standard. Hopefullly they should improve even more over the next month. My main side effect has been the brightness of lights in the dark, with a "halo" being emitted from them. I expected this to some degree though, since my pupils were very large (about 8.5mm). It doesn't prevent me from driving at night though, which was my main concern, and hopefully this will also improve with time. The only other slight problem I have had is my eyes becoming rather dry after sleeping, or when they have been shut for a while. However, this is easily relieved by applying some artificial tear drops. Overall, I am very pleased with the results.

Left eye -1.25 and Right -1.00 with astigmatism The epi-Lasek operation was the easy part , I had both eye's done I could still see ok ,but I had plastic shields so seeing with them was not easy, pain was not bad at all ( bearable ) only had 20 seconds on each eye under the laser and had contact lens fitted. I came on the train that day so I would be returning the same way, I was told by one of the friendly and helpful staff the eye drops used at the operation would where off in 40 mins lucky the train only took 25 mins. Got home went straight to a darkened room and I mean dark and stayed there 2 days I keep my eyes closed most of the time..pain was like a slight headache, was ok on a night when the sun had gone down and the lights out. 2nd day still very sensitive to any light but no pain at all, 3rd day after care back at leeds and had contact lens removed vision a lot clearer now , watched TV with dark glasses on , eye'e a bit dry used eye drops. 4th day eye sight good but change's from day to day drove the car after 6 days no problem maybe because my eye sight was not too bad ( but not driving standard ) before the opp , hard to see close up eg : bad newspaper print and even smaller print. I went back too work 10 days later, eyes still changing slowly and i wished I had been off longer,not pain just hard focusing to see the mail I was sorting ( I work as a postman ) ok outside on delivery natural light is great and.working outside I can see every thing clear and sharp. ( excellant now well above driving standard) After the first week back at work eye's are excellent now with a slight dryness , still looking at every thing and everyone one in new light! 2 weeks I still feel like I am looking at the world with new eye's and can see things sharper and clearer than I could see before.(stopped using drops for dry eye's) I reckon it took 3 weeks to see absolutely clearly and too forget I had my eye's done it's now 6 weeks and have had no problems at all , I use reading glasses for small bad newspaper print but I would have to had because it's a age thing ( 45 years old ) I can still use the pc at home without glasses too. I did think straight after I had the operation I wished I had not, but I now know it was the best thing I have ever done and I now look at the world in a new and more interesting way.A very big thanks to all the great staff at Optimax Leeds and especially my wife dawn for helping and puting up with me during the 10 days i was at home. I read the lasek forum rom top to bottom and the words Every one is different and it takes time rings true.

Eyesight before treatment Left eye: -3.5 Right eye: -3.75 Slight astigmatism. I had bilateral LASEK treatment at the Leeds clinic on 19th December 2003 by Dr.Samuels. I had failed an eye test to get into the police so needed to get laser surgery to have any hope of getting in. So six weeks on, my eyesight is pretty much perfect. Am able to read the bottom and second to bottom lines of the eye chart with my left and right eye, respectively. This is better than 20/20 vision!! The treatment itself isn't the most pleasant thing i've ever done but it really wasn't too bad. I was in and out of the treatment room in about 10 to 15 mins and the pain through the treatment was practically non existent. As you may of read some people have quite a lot of pain afterwards while some have very little, unfortunately for me I was the prior!! I would echo an earlier comment on this site, go to the doctors prior to treatment and ask for some strong painkillers as the ones provided are only about as strong as over the counter painkillers. If you need to take them then you know they are there, if you have little pain then you have no worries!! Also remember to take sunglasses with you, especially if you have a long journey home. The worst of the pain eased after about 48 hours and after four days it had faded to just irritating dryness. This was helped by artificial tears which I used for about a week after the treatment. Small problems like slight dryness, gritiness and tiredness persisted for a couple of weeks, and they still feel gritty from time to time now, but with this treatment I think patience is the key. I'm starting to take my new eyesight for granted which I think shows how successful my treatment has been. I would certainly recommend this treatment and Optimax to anyone.