Optimax

I just had lasik on my left eye with Dr Patel at the London branch on Thursday. Left eye -4.50 and right eye -4.25. The surgery went well and Dr Patel was very good in calming me down and encourageing me. Having one eye done was a personal decision (I was worried that something will go wrong and somehow easier to care for 1 eye, didn't regret decision). Also whenever I needed to rub my eye I had 1 other eye to do so. My prescription is +0.75 the day after the surgery. Not sure how did would change. My right eye will be done 2 weeks later. At the moment, my eye is recovering fine, no major problems or halos..etc. I wear contact lense in the other eye and the overall vision is better than perfect! Really don'y want to end up being longsighted after having my right eye done. Any others views and comments is appreciated. You can contact me if you need more advice too. Will keep posted.

I had LASEK treatment last Monday at the clinic in Birmingham, everything went well and after only one week my eyesight has improved dramatically, my right eye is weaker than the left but as the Optician told me not to rush things and give it a month I am not worried. The only advice I would give to any one having surgery is to write down all the questions that they want to ask and raise these at the consultation (my consultation lasted over an hour). I felt I knew all the plus's and minus's when I left. After the treatment just take it easy for as long as possible, I spent the second day in bed listening to the radio, resting my eyes. If anyone wants anymore information please email me. I go for my check-up on Monday 24 March - I will update you all then

It is 3 weeks today (25th Feb) since I had Lasik both eyes at Finchley Road. Initially, my right eye was not as clear as my left but over the past few days I have noticed that my vision in the right eye is now much clearer and both eyes now seem very similar. I am trying to avoid wearing the reading glasses but as I work on a pc the majority of the day I do have to succumb at times. Lighting makes a lot of difference and also what paper print is on so I don't worry about it anymore. I haven't returned to my pilates classes as yet, as I find that bending and quick movement of my head makes my eyes blur and get weird specks in my eyes so following doctor's orders and leaving it for another couple of weeks. Can't wait to get back to swimming though - roll on next week. My next check up is 3rd April so will see how my prescription is then.

It is now 4 weeks since I had my surgery at the clinic in Manchester, and I must say my vision is fantastic. Although the results were not immediate for myself and I did suffer a reaction to the drops, it was definately worth it. I would recommend this treatment to anyone who is fed up of wearing glasses, but be patient your vision improves every day. The staff at Manchester have been very helpful and have been on hand to help with any questions that I have had since the surgery. Definately money well spent.

Had my 6 week check-up & right eye is 20/20 left eye is -50, was told to go back again in 6wks, as it still looks like my left eye is still improving, but I hardly notice the difference now, except when I'm tired. I'm still very pleased with the outcome & with any luck, because of my left eye, I wont need to wear reading glasses in the future.

Had lasek treatment at optimax in birmingham on the 28th of april.What can i say apart from the fact that i am very happy with the results.I found the procedure very easy and was keept informed of what was going on at all times.Had intial pain on the night,woke up the next morning really unable to open my eyes,the same the following day.On the forth day i went back to optimax to have the bandage contacts removed,as soon as these were removed all the discomfort seemed to disappear.It has now been nearly two weeks since i had it done and my right eye which had more laser applied to it has now caught up with my left.Early indications seem to be that my eyesite is now better than 20/20 6/6.I have had no side effects of yet,no night glare or ghosting etc.I will post again after i have been to my aftercare apointment.

I have not gone ahead as yet with Laser eye surgery but have visited the Optimax clinic twice in Manchester and found that they treated me very professionally and spent over 90 minutes with me discussing why I should not consider eye surgery at the time of my visit. I would also like to say that this site is very good and that that anyone considering laser surgery on the eye should visit first. Would it be possible to provide more detailed information in the future on success rates of clinics and the specific problems arising from surgery? I was unaware that surgery could be performed by anyone with a medical qualification. I do not think this should be permitted as the eye is such a delicate organ. Again thanks to all those who put this site together. Mike Mulheran

Lasik - My story - i arrived at 9.30am Monday for 10am surgery, however Mr Pael was slightly late so I was finally seen at 10.20am. The process was that I was taken into the reception area of the theatre, where I had a fancy pair of over booties and a rather dashing plastic hat put on. Fromthere I was led into the theatre where Mr Patel greeted me, and asked me to lay down on the bed, he roughly explained the process and then proceded to clean my eyes. Following this he put numerous drops into both eyes so as to numb them. He covered my right eye first and put the instrument on the left eye to cut the flap. he had told me previously that I would need the laser applied for 61 secs for the left eye and 64 for the right. I thought people only needed 10 or 15 secs. My eyes were approx -3.50 each. I was told to stare at the red light on the laser, breath deeply and that there would be a clicking noise when it was working, he also said that there would be a slight smell, horrible flesh burning smell more like. Anyway that eye was done and he did the next exactly the same, except I felt a real sharp dagger like pain when he put the flap cutting device onto my eye. once complete he said all had gone well and with a smile said goodbye. i was taken back into the reception room given some tablets and my aftercare pack. I was then asked to wait out side for a while and then I would be called in to see an optomorist. My eyes began to sting loads when I sat there waiting, and try as I might my vision was very blured, after about 20 mins, my vision very slowly started to focus, but nothing spectacular, I was called in to the opticians room where I was given the once over and told to report back in a week. Going home everything seemed so bright, I could not keep my eyes open for more than a minute or two at a time, when I got back to my car which was parked at Stanmore, I got my dad to put the first lot of eye drops in, if they were stinging before they stung like buggery now (not that I know what that feels like!!), anyway I was glad to get home and just spent the rest of the day in a darkish room relaxing. By the evening I could see a lot better, although by no means perfectly, it was like looking through skimmed milk, but I could read the programme channels and descriptions on Sky, so things were looking up. I slept roughly with the eye shields on and woke early, which didnt matter as I had to go back to the clinic to have my 1st aftercare appointment. My eyes were not stinging anymore and I felt kinda normal, in a surreal sort of way, but as per the night before my vision was still cloudy, and definately not to even driving test standard. Driving down I definately noticed that I could read things that I previously could not, but after hearing reports of immediate 20/20 vision from others, I was a little concerned. I was seen early by the optician, but found her very remote and not really that helpful in reassuring me that things would get better, she checked my flaps and they were fine, and asked me what I could see on the eye test chart, I could read down to driving test standard but it was a bit out of focus, and I still had the cloudy vision. She didnt explain anymore about the drops, which I was told she would, and after 5 mins I was sent home. I tried driving home but had to stop and let my dad drive as I was not focusing right. By late evening my eyes were improving little by lttle, but no huge advances, so I went to bed. Today i returned to work including a long drive to Cheshunt from Peterborough, I now know what they meant by the halo effect around lights etc, I kept trying to read number plates, some I could black on white, some I couldnt black on yellow, but not too bad. So here I am now 48 hours on, still cloudy, especially after the pink bottle, I am improving I think, but I just feel that I need a giant leap forward over the next few days, and hopefully things will become much more focused and less milky. Was it all worth it - A big yes, and 5 stars next week if my vision is where I want it to be.

My first "proper" aftercare appointment - 4 weeks after having had my cornea re-lifted and smoothed back again (because of a crease). Eyesight almost 20/20 - could read 4 out of 5 letters on the bottom row, not easily, but focusing quite a bit. Having had trouble with the cornea creasing, and then blurred vision in that eye, on and off for 3 weeks after my op, i was getting quite anxious over my eyesight, and frustrated that things where not going as planned - hence my last rating for Optimax was not a good one. The blurring in my right eye now seems to have cleared (probably just needed to "catch - up" with the left one) and i am very happy with my eyesight and SO glad that i had the op. Today i saw Dr. Bhadu, who checked my eyes and was very pleasant and talkative (maybe he'd seen my last post!!!!) Also saw the optician who was very nice and also very informative with any questions i asked. In hindsight, maybe i was a little over - eager with the 2 stars which i gave Optimax in my last post - however, it WAS how i felt at the time... All in all, i am one of the few who seem to have had problems after the surgery. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend people to have the op. BUT do NOT expect miracles straight away - as i did - i was just unfortunate. And always INSIST on being checked again if you feel that there is something not quite right - if i hadn't, the "crease" may not have been spotted. For this reason, Optimax get 4 stars and not 5. Feel free to email me...

Had my first check up 2 weeks after appointment. One eye is 20/20, the other is 20/35 - about +1 .00 - maybe overcorrection but might settle in time - to be honest I don;t really notice it now although the first week it was quite uncomfortable. I think people need to be aware of psychological issue they may have afterwards. Although I had a good result I was quite depressed during the 2nd week in case I had made the wrong decision. I have slight ghosting on one eye, and halos at night - I was warned about the haloes - but it does depress you at first. At the moment I'm happy to be driving along in my new designer wrap around sunspecs and able to enjoy going out without glasses ruining my look.....long may it continue One point is that I didn;t see my original consultant at the aftercare appt and I would prefer to have had a consistent contact.....Optimax take note