I do not wear glasses anymore! This is big news for someone who has been a four-eyes almost all of her life. I've tried contacts but never found them comfortable (dry eyes). Some people suit glasses and look good in them. I'm not one of those people. It doesn't help that I'm a size six (UK) and only 5ft 2 and have a head in proportion to my midget-sized body, meaning that most glasses look enormous on me. And now I'm an international athlete (meaning I run in London and when I'm abroad) and I run in the rain, wind and snow, wearing glasses became even more of an irritant. A run in the winter would typically involve me having to use my fingers as windscreen wipers in order to see anything in front of me. But all of that is now over ...
I have R to thank. That and a few glasses of vino. We had R around to dinner and he talked (at some drunken length) about how his laser eye surgery was the best thing he ever did. That same night I drunkenly went onto the internet and booked myself a consultation. I had an appointment the next day and a further appointment for laser eye surgery only one week after that.
The procedure itself didn't hurt. It was done privately but by an NHS surgeon. I googled him beforehand and was pleased to see that he seemed to have extensive experience! And, unlike the procedures of old (or the cheaper procedures of the current day), no knife was used - in fact, I couldn't see any implements at all descending onto my eye (which is what I was most worried about). All I could see were some flashing lights and all I could feel was, at one point, some pressure. And then after about five or ten minutes it was all over. That was a Saturday morning. I was warned I would experience "some discomfort" after the anaesthetic eye drops wore off and for about four hours but was told I would be fine to go back to work on Monday.
Now, if you're reading this and thinking about getting the surgery done, there are a few points to note.
1. The prices advertised are not the prices they charge. Those prices are to get the old-fashioned "slice and dice and zap" surgery. The more modern (and painless) version is a fair bit more expensive (all up it cost me around £3,000).
2. Discomfort is a medical term for "pain". Once the eye drops wore off my eyes did hurt for about three hours and I had to keep them closed. The pain was bearable thanks to a couple of valium downed with some red wine. But it wasn't pleasant. After those three or four hours, there was no more pain. But my eyes did feel really dry and gritty for about a week - they felt like my eyes felt when I'd had contact lenses in for too long. But that was manageable with eye drops.
3. I got the most high-tech (and so expensive) procedure done. I have no idea what the other procedures are like. Thankfully, there are interest free payment plans, so for me it was pretty economical (considering my astigmatism and expensive prescription). But it may prove less so if you have a pretty run-of-the-mill prescription.
4. The advice that I would be fine for work on Monday was totally wrong. First of all, I looked like a zombie from 28-days later. My eyes were so bloodshot a worried colleague ran up to me and said very loudly "oh my god, your eyes are bleeding!!". But, more importantly from a functional perspective, my eyes were hyper sensitive to light and the vision still was pretty blurry, particularly when looking at a computer screen. Perhaps if I didn't have a computer-based job I would have been fine but, as it was, it was not until Wednesday that I could comfortably read a computer screen.
5. It took about a week before my vision was "good". No one warned me it would take that long - up until then, I was getting tension headaches from my eyes straining. When I went into the surgery, I had only read the book of "testimonials" where people had said that their "personal experience" was that their vision was dramatically improved within an hour of the surgery. That was, most definitely, not the case for me. In fact, my vision is still improving and apparently it isn't until about 3 months after the surgery that it's at its peak. Bizarrely, I think the staff (at least at the place I went to) try to minimise what it is that you are having done. They never refer to it as "surgery", it's always referred to as "the treatment". As far as I'm concerned, a "treatment" is a facial. This is most definitely eye surgery.
6. The staff at the provider I used were much more upfront after I had the procedure done. It was only then that they admitted that for people with stronger prescriptions than mine, they have to sometimes do "top up" treatment (which they do for free) after the initial treatment, because when their eyes heal they sometimes undo (don't ask me how) the laser treatment.
7. For the first week after surgery you have to wear very unattractive goggles to bed. You also can't get your eyes wet (so no putting your face under the shower), wear makeup or play any sport (including running).
Notwithstanding all of the above, I have to say that I am incredibly glad I got the laser surgery. I got it done about three weeks ago. One eye is still a little red, but it's only noticeable up close. And my vision is terrific!
PS - the provider I used was Optical Express.
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