The cost of lazer eye surgery - What laser eye treatment did for me

I had laser eye surgery several years ago now and opted for Lasik eye surgery rather than Lasek surgery. The whole procedure consisted of several appointments, first to establish that my eyes were healthy and after the surgery to make sure everything was going smoothly. I had some initial apprehension but was determined to see it through after hearing from a close friend how effective lazer eye surgery was. My friend saw some deteriation several years after he had the surgery and this was in the 90's when lazer eye surgery was relatively new.

I found myself in the outer room being prepared to go into the surgery room when I first realised what I was doing and realised that I was quite scared now! The staff were excellent though through the entire procedure. It was really quite horrible though having your eye lid being pinned back and it did feel incredibly invasive being prodded in the middle of the eye. Even though the eye had been anesthetisised you are still conscious and I could feel my eye ball being pushed into the back of my head! Added to this I had to keep looking at the red dot - a projection that held my focus while they burned my eye with the lazer. This was difficult and worrying as I was anxious that a small movement of my eye would ruin the procedure! I could also smell the burning tissue of my eye as the laser did its work! I had blind sided myself to the obvious reality of lazer eye surgery by reading the previous customer comments book in the waiting area!

'Absolutely fabulous' they all said! 'Flew in and out and was back at work the next day'. Well obviously they did not have the same procedure as me since I was laid up in bed with my eyes closed in agony! The pain, once the anesthetic had worn off, was immense. It was like having grit permanently in your eye for several days at a time. I was given eye drops and pain killers to help but still found it very difficult to function.The recovery period does depend on which laser eye procedure you decide on (lasik or lasek) and also varies from person to person. Since I had one eye done at a time I had quite a few weeks out of action. I could not really do much with the good eye as the other one effected it so much. I really just had to lie down and close my eyes for much of the time.

I could see some changes however quite quickly and the vision was changing. I was quite emotional and some days it seemed as though I could see really well, then on others my vision was blurred again. This was quite hard as I was fearful that it may not be going well for some reason. There were the obligatory forms to fill in regarding potential problems and the danger of eye surgery was very comprehensively explained. Eventually all came well and my vision was superb. I had been wearing glasses since I was about 10 years old and the laser eye treatment was amazing - as they had said in the comments book!

I had one problem after the pain had subsided and I was returning to normal. I got shampoo in my eye and the pain returned. I was concerned that it might all go wrong so I went back in and got some more drops. The shampoo had pitted the front of the eye which was causing the pain. It took another week or so for it to subside.

My vision now is fantastic and I am really glad I opted for the laser eye surgery. I chose Lasik because I am an active person with an interest in sports and was told that Lasik treatment was more suitable. With Lasik a thin flap is cut into the eye surface, the laser is applied to the eye for reshaping and the flap is returned forming a natural bandage over the laser treated area. Lasek uses a thinner flap than Lasik and is often used for people who may have too thin a cornea for Lasik.

Part of my decision for choosing laser eye surgery was that with the company I chose there was the option for finance which could be paid back over 3 years. The payment of around £83 a month was not dissimilar to what I was paying for my contact lenses and glasses on a monthly basis so I decided laser eye treatment made good financial sense too. I have now paid off completely this loan and no longer have to pay for glasses or lenses.

It was recommended when I decided to choose laser eye surgery that someone come with me and help me to get home. When I had the Lasik treatment on my first eye I went alone as I had no one to bring (sigh)! I really regretted this as I had to catch a taxi home and the driver almost lit up a cigerette!! I had to stop him and explain I had just had laser eye surgery! I did come away feeling rather vunerable besides this and would definitely recommend bringing someone with you who can drive you home or at least help you.

For the eye surgery on my second eye I took a friend and felt much more confident. It even seemed easier since I knew what to expect this time.

There have been a few side effects of having laser eye surgery. These are fairly minor compared to the benefits but are worth mentioning for anyone who may be thinking of undergoing the lazer eye surgery procedure. My eyes were very sensitive following the operation. I found they were more sensitive to light and I needed to were sunglasses more than I had previously. In the mornings I would wake up with my eye lids almost glued together. This was mostly due to the constant drops which I was administering to my eyes throughout the day and because of the the healing process. This subsided after stopping the drops but the stickiness and dryness with my eyelids has continued even to today. The Lasik eye surgery creates a flap under which the cornea is altered with another laser. This process damages the cornea nerves and this can affect the tear making process. Usually these symptoms will subside after the eye surgery and this is helped by the taking of eye drops or 'artificial tears' shortly after the laser eye procedure.

The other problem which has been particularly troublesome is night driving. My night vision has been affected quite a lot and this was due to my high prescription and large pupil size. I now see halos around car lights and find glare quite a problem when driving at night. This is probably the only major inconvenience laser eye surgery has given me.

Overall I would definitely recommend laser eye surgery, especially for active people who are inconvenienced by glasses and lenses. My perscription was in the -6 dioptre area so I needed glasses or lenses for everything. This can greatly effect your confidence and lazik laser eye surgery has been a excellent answer.

Laser eye surgery can increase the rate at which your eyes deteriorate and bring on the onset of the need for reading glasses. Overall I would recommend laser eye surgery for anyone struggling with glasses or lenses and with a high prescription as long as they are aware of the potential pitfalls.

Lasik eye surgery cost me just under £3000 five years ago. I paid by finance arrangement on a monthly amount of £83 which was around what I paid for on contact lenses and glasses at the time. Now I am totally free from them and have perfect vision. I am 35 now and was glad I waited till I was over 30 for my eyes to settle down before having lazer treatment.

Lazer eye treatment is a superb alternative to wearing glasses or using contact lenses. Even so, a small percentage of people do have a range of problems and there are risks involved. It is an elective surgery after all and of the 7.6 million people in the U.S to have undergone laser eye surgery since the 1990s, 140 have complained to the FDA.