Day 6 - one week check up

Technically there's only been 6 days since I had my laser eye surgery, but I was told it was fine to book my one week check up on the 6th day.

My appointment was at 11am. This time I was one of the few people in the waiting room who'd already had surgery done. There were a few people who looked to be having first consultations, and one nervous young man who was about to have his surgery performed. He seemed pretty nervous. I felt like telling him it was just a short blip of discomfort, but thought better of it. To be honest I wouldn't have traded places with him for anything. Laser eye surgery was not one of my most enjoyable experiences. I can't imagine surgery whilst awake could ever be. It was worth it though, I know that, I'm just not sure I'd want to go through it again...

I had the same optomotrist as my check up after 24hrs. This time we did a little check of the vision and prescription. The short of it is that I can the line below 20/20 with each eye on it's own, and with both eyes together could make out most of what was really pretty tiny print. I've no idea what the 0/0 number of that was but hey it's not all about the numbers. It's about the night vision, the close up vision, the everyday life vision.

Next he measured my prescription and told me there was no prescription registering in either eye. Yahoo! That made me happy. For the first couple of days after the surgery I'd been worried that my right was a little blurrier than the left, this was clearly where it was healing as it's barely noticable now. And with no prescription there will be no need for retreatment. I have to say I'm breathing a little sigh of relief.

I mentioned about the ghosting around bright things with my left eye and he had a good look with a microscope at both my eyes, spending a little longer on the left so I was sure he'd tell me he could see an infection. But he couldn't. It was all clear he said, but just to be sure he advised me to go back to using my antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops every 2hrs again in my left eye. I'm to do this for a couple of days and then go to four hourly for about four days. My right eye however is fine, and I can stay at four hourly until Friday lunchtime (this will be 9 days after surgery) when my right eye can stop having drops.

I put my drops in my left eye once we got to the car. They do feel more comfortable with the drops more regularly. Right now they're both feeling pretty good. Reading this computer screen is a little bright on a white page, but I'm not squinting any longer. And that's 6 days after laser eye surgery (Ultralasik plus Intralase to be exact).

I really am glad looking back that I opted for the Intralase instead of having lasek. My three hours of discomfort would have been three days. But well if I'd had to go for lasek, I still would have had it done.

Walking past people wearing glasses in the street I feel like saying "You really don't have to you know! Ditch those specs!" I know it's not for everyone. It's a daunting idea. It's one of those situations where you often hear far more about the bad experiences people have than the bad. My mother was always keen to point out that the majority of doctor's still wear glasses, "And why is that? Because they know the risks that's why!" she'd always tell me. But well, I took the plunge and 6 days after surgery my vision is better than 20/20. There's a good experience for you. I'm definitely in favour of laser eye surgery. Provided it's with a good provider, and based on my experiences I'd recommend Ultralase to anyone.

Days 4 & 5

Woke up on day 4 with a slightly dry feeling left eye, I was happy to get the drops in as soon as possible. Other than that everything seemed fine. If anything I think I started taking my new vision for granted and probably pushed it a little bit, read a few chapters of a book and for the first time I had no afternoon nap. Well I've had laser eye surgery, not suddenly become an old aged pensioner!

I washed my hair in the morning on day 4. I sat in the bath and used the shower head as I sat tilting my head back. I got more water on the floor than myself at times it seems but it did the trick. Clean again.

Not wearing make up is starting to frustrate me a little. I don't always wear any, mascara and lip gloss at most really but not even being able to make the effort is getting to me. It's like when I buy new clothes and want to look nice - I've got new eyes and want to go out and make the most of it.

Day 5 my left eye was still feeling a little strange. A little dry. A little blurry up close. I took my dog for a walk and the wind was blowing on my face (I had sunglasses on) and whereas my eye would normally water in the wind, the wind just made my eye feel a little dry. Nothing really to worry about but each time the drops were due I was glad to put them in.

I noticed looking at the cooker clock that my left eye was a little hazy, but only on bright things. The cooker digits are bright green. I wasn't too troubled though because I knew I was going for my check up the next day. Probably overdid it with the computer in the evening, sending emails to my friends to let them know how I'm getting on. I'm taking this all for granted now too much maybe. Time to go back to resting them in the evenings.

I've been getting braver at washing my face in the morning. Instead of just dabbing my face with the water I've gone back to using my soap and toner - but keeping it well clear of my eyes.

On the morning of day 5 I received a letter from Ultralase. It was a coversheet and an information page for me to give to my doctor which detailed the surgery I had undergone. I dropped it in at the doctors and ended up having a chat with one of the nurses about the surgery. She's always thought about having it done and was interested to meet someone who'd only just had it done.

Days 2 & 3

Waking up early most days, most likely because I've been going to bed early. I've realised that all my interests involve great eye strain - reading, working on the pc, watching films or the TV - all the things I don't want to do much at the moment as I try to rest my eyes as much as possible.

As advised in my aftercare pack I've been cleaning my eye lashes using boiled and then cooled water and quite a few cotton buds. Quite a few because my mother (a nurse) told me to change end with the cotton stick every time I sweep the eye, therefore if I were to have an infection I wouldn't be spreading it. Makes sense I guess. Although I'm not really worried too much about infections as I've done everything recommended to me and seem to be recovering well.

After 48 hours I was able to change my drops to 4 times a day rather than every 2 hours and while I feel I need the drops first thing in the morning the rest of the time they're feeling pretty good. Up until day 3 I noticed that if I looked sharply to the far right, my left eye had a kind of gritty sensation. I wouldn't say pain, just mildly strange. But that's gone now and was probably linked to the redness, which is going down more and more each day.

I've been having an afternoon nap most days. Just 30mins to an hour to rest my eyes which usually means I fall asleep. On day 3 I watched almost 2 hours of TV and by the end of it I had a mild headache. But my focus on close up objects, such as this pc screen, is improving more and more each day.

The one thing that doesn't change is the frequent bursts of amazement I experience. Walking my dog at the top of the hill above my house last night I had the wind on my face and I could see so clearly right out onto the horizon. It's strange but everything just seems so much more real when it's your bare eyes you're looking with. Of course I've seen this view with my glasses and contacts, but it's not the same. It feels somehow as if I'm seeing the truth because I'm seeing it with my naked eye!

So yes, everything's going fantastically. I'm drinking at least 2 litres of water a day, taking an omega 3 capsule once a day and also a soluble vitamin c pill which I drink with my evening meal. Whether these things have made a difference who knows, but I feel better for doing it.

The day after (First aftercare appointment)

Woke up at about 5am, I had quite a good sleep despite the eye shields taped to my face. I don't find them too bad, mainly because my natural sleeping position is on my back or side with my head tilted up. Oh and here's the pic I promised of me in them....

Lovely eh. Had to take it without flash because that might have been painful. Oh and also they tell you to put tape in a X over your eyes (two bits of tape) but I've found I'm fine with just the one. Less tape goo on your face the next morning!

So then woke up early and dozed for a while. It was amazing to be able to look at my alarm clock without my glasses. My left eye was still feeling a tiny bit gritty - no worse than normal wearing of my contact lenses though. And my eyes were both bloodshot. My left eye is the worse one for this, with patches either side of my eye, the right one just has a bloodied patch between the pupil and the inner corner of my eye. These look far worse than they feel.

My first check up appointment at Ultralase was at 9.55 and yet again I caught the train. I would have been fine to go alone but my family being my family decided someone needed to go with me. So I took my mum.

I got to the clinic and was given a certificate to confirm my lifetime guarantee. How's that for a satisfaction guarantee? If my eyes deteriorate and need retreating Ultralase will treat them completely free. As far as I know no other laser eye surgery provider does this beyond a set period of one year. The condition is that I have my eyes tested every two years at any optician I choose.

I was seen almost straightaway, and wasn't in there for more than five minutes. All that happened was I looked at the eye chart one eye at a time and read out the line I could. My right eye could read the driving standard line and the left eye could read two lines below that one. As the opthomologist explained to me, my vision is not really the important thing at this stage, it's all about how my eye is healing. He looked at my eyes with the microscope and told me that if it wasn't for the redness he would not be able to tell I'd had anything done. He said they were healing perfectly.

The redness could apparantly take up to 6-8 weeks to fully disappear, although it will be far less noticable after just one week. Seeing how it had gone down a little just overnight I fully believed him. So after confirming that I was taking my drops at the allocated intervals and checking if I had any questions I was sent on my merry way.

I did have one question: Whether I needed to inform my doctor that I'd had laser eye surgery. He said that there was no medical or insurance reason why I would, but in the interests of keeping my doctor informed I might like to just mention it whenever I am next in there. I think I will do. It can't hurt.

It was just gone 10am when I came out. I was due for more drops so my mum helped me put them in before we left. Being a nurse she told me I shouldn't put them in before the consultation because they would make my eyes slightly blurry. She's right you know, I have noticed that for up to 30 minutes after the drops the vision is a little more unstable. I say unstable, but this is still 100% times better than the vision I had with contact lenses. With contacts, I was never able to blink without feeling the lens on my eye - mainly because of my astigmatism - but now I get good vision without anything on the eye. Woo hoo.

I went out for lunch with my parents and grandmother when we got back. We went to a little country pub and I noticed that limited light and the mirror behind the bar made my vision a little hazy. I could still see everything but it took me a little longer to focus. After that we wandered around a garden centre and after that I was quite tired. I went home and had a nap.

I've got to say I am pleased with the results but I'm not letting myself get too excited. Resting my eyes and recovering well is my priority at the moment. It often feels like I'm wearing new prescription lenses that my eyes have to get used to. Using my eyes to concentrate on anything for any period of time gives me a dull headache. And although I'm quite comfortable typing this and closing my eyes regulalry - I wouldn't be happy if I had to go back to work without a few days to recover.

Day of laser eye surgery

First off, I 'm touch typing this without looking much so please excuse the typos. I'll come back and edit later. Oh and it's not that I can't see, it's just that I'm conscious of resting my eyes as much as possible. To let them heal and that. Anyway on to the big event...

Took the train in to Chelmsford station - yet again my appointment was around rush hour so it seemed far easier, and I'd been advised that so long as I had someone with me I'd be fine to take the train home. The first thing I did in the Ultralase clinic was sign my lifetime guarantee contract, and read through the form to declare I wanted to go ahead with the surgery, had been advised of the risks etc. Once that was done I had a few minutes to wait (I had got there a bit early), before being taken off by the surgeon tso she could look at my eyes and ask if I had any allergies, medical conditions, or "anything I wanted to tell her" I thought about confessing the time I stole a toy cat from playschool when I was about four, but thought I'd keep that to myself. She ran me through what would happen in the procedure - super efficient typical doctor speak running it off like it was nothing at all. She also mentioned that the astigmatism in my right eye made my prescription quite big (in total it's about -4 which isn't that big considering), and she said upfront that this might mean we need to tweak it to get it right. Oh well, if I have to come back so be it. With Ultralase's lifetime guarantee I knew I wouldn't have to pay again.

Back out into thte waiting room. It seemed like they had a fair few procedures booked for that day, and I rememer sharing a few nervous glances with others who were clearly about to have surgery too. I wouldn' say I was nervous, more excited and just anxious to get it all over with.

After a while I was taken through by a nurse to be 'prepped' for surgery. This involved having anisthetic drops put into my eyes, little blue bags over my shoes and my hair put back into a net. I also had browny yellow solution - idodine I think it was - put over my eyelids to make them super clean. At this point my glasses came off, hopefully for the last time. The nurse ran me through what would happen in the operation room and also the things I needed to do post surgery. She gave me a little goodie bag with six little bottles of solutions (3 sets of drops, 1 per eye to reduce the risk of cross-contamination). She also gave me my night shields and tape and showed me how to fix them on. I'll post a pic on here for you soon.

The bottles were: Red labelled antibiotics to be taken every 2 hours for 48hrs and then 4 times a day for a week. Pink labelled anti-inflammatories to be taken the same as the red bottle but leaving 5 minutes in between the drops so as not to dilute them. Then a green labelled bottle which is basically artificial tears. I'm to take these ones as and when. I thought I'd never remember any of this but of course it was all written out on information sheets for me to take away.

We kept hearing a blasting noise - the nurse told me this was the laser being used or warmed up. It was quite a loud zapping noise kind of like an x-ray machine I suppose.

And then...waiting. The surgeon was the only surgeon in that day and it seemed that everyone wanted her opinion on consultations etc. so she was running a bit late. I just wanted it all over with but tried to wait patiently. Then a song came on the radio that made me chuckle. I can't remember who it's by or what it's called but the first line is 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone...' and I knew my surgery was going to be soon.

I was finally called in. A bit nervous, but mostly relieved that the waiting was over. I had to lie down on a long bed, and a cushion was put under my knees to keep me comfortable. Someone asked me if I was ok and then someone else asked me to confirm my name and what type of surgery I was in for. There were little lights on the bottom of a machine above me. I had to look at them and then they went down. And then the fun began.

Okay let's face it, it wasn't fun. But I'll try to run you through an emotion free experience. First off my left eyes was covered up, then my right eye was prepared with surgical tape / bandage above and below. Next an instrument was put in to keep my eye open. This was uncomfortable as it was put in and taken out but once in a bit weird but fine. Next up they put something onto my eye to increase the pressure (this is unique to intralase and possibly standard Lasik I believe), this was pretty uncomfortable. It pressed onto my eyeball and seemed to press back into my skull. When the pressure was up I lost vision. I expected this to be scarey but actually it wasn't really. I had every confidence that my vision would be coming back. The discomfort lasted about 10 seconds and then I was swung under the intralase device. I couldn't feel a thing - except maybe a bit of pressure pushing my head back into the bed and then the pressure was released. At this point my vision came back, but not very clearly. I could feel someone fiddling and taking the flap up for the laser to do it's thing. Next I had to look at a light.

I've read people saying this but in my imagination it was a little dot of light. Actually it ws more like a hundred little lights that were clearly just the one light, it's just my vision was all over the place. The surgeon told me to look up a few times but I really had no idea where I was looking so I just tried until she said it was fine and to hold it there. Then there were three blasts of the laser. Someone advised me I might smell burning but I didn't notice it. I was too busy trying to keep my head still. After the laser bursts some solution was put in my eye and the flap replaced. Then finally the device to keep my eye open was removed and it felt much better.

Except now I had to go through it all on the other eye! At this point I realised that it was going to be worse because I knew what was coming. I've read people say this on the Ultralase forums but I guess you only really believe it when you're rught there experiencing it for yourself. So yes my left eye was a little worse.

There was a point during the procedure when I thought 'oh what am I doing?' but it was a brief flash and I knew exactly what I was doing. I was having the need for glasses and contact lenses removed from my life.

The procedure went ahead with my left eye. The uncomfortable clamp, the short discomfort of the pressure device and then the release as the laser has cut the flap. It really was so quick though. Discomfort or not, 20 minutes and it's all over.

When I was told I could get up I think I shot up so fast - glad to get away I guess - but then as I was about to get to my feet I realised I should take it slow incase I went wobbly. My body would likely be in a mild kind of shock. So I took it slowly following the nurse out of the room and into a recovery room. My vision was watery, slightly blurry, but at the same time I knew it would be great once it had healed. I could see the clock and the sign on the door. In the recovery room I sat on a reclining chair and the nurse went off to get me a cup of water and my boyfriend.

I chatted to him for a few minutes and looked around me, amazed, before my right eye started stinging and I had to keep it closed as it began to water. My left eye followed a few minutes later. I'd read descriptions of it being like chopping onions. It was at first, but then in short bursts it felt a little worse than that. As if I'd been chopping onions and then touched my eye with onion juice. If that makes any sense. I started to worry that I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes open enought to get to the train station, but then tried to relax, sit back and just do what my body was telling me to do - keep my eyes closed.

I was there for almost an hour before the surgeon called me through and I struggled to keep my eyes open enough to look at the chart. I read out on line, I could see below this but struggle to keep my eyes open long enought. It turned out the line I'd read out fairly easily was driving standard anyway. WOOHOO! Then she looked at my eyes under the microscope and told me they looked fine. I was free to go home, and should sleep for the rest of the day. 'You can drive home' she joked, looking at me struggling to open my eyes more than a little chink. Umm, maybe not.

I went back to the recovery room, got my bag and headed outside. My boyfriend had told me my eyes looked bloodshot and when I went to the bathroom before setting off I tried to sneak a look, as much as I could when my eyes just wanted to be closed. They looked very red. Most of the white in my left eye especially. It made the pain feel a little worse to look (purely psychological I know) so I stopped looking.

Sunglasses on I went out into the street, having to be guided by my boyfriend. I had my eyes closed a lot of the way, I could not keep my eyes open for long. They were streaming and pretty sore. When we got to the car I remember the sunlight was so bright, even with sunglasses and my eyes closed. It was like walking on a bright white beach and I could almost feel the burning of the laser on my eyes.

Once home, we put my first sets of drops in and I lay on the bed with an audiobook on my ipod. After a little while I got into the bed and dozed on and off. I did this for about three hours and after that my eyes were much better. It still felt better to keep them closed more than open but they weren't streaming.

I was well enough to go round to my parent's house for tea. Although I had my eyes closed for the whole car journey. When I did open my eyes I was amazed with the vision. Absolutely fantastic so soon after surgery!

I went to bed early, my boyfriend woke me up to put my last set of drops in as he came to bed and I remember waking up and looking at him - vision absolutely clear on the moment of waking. But I'm not thinking about my vision at this point. I'm working on the healing. Trying to drink 2 litres of water, taking omega 3 pills and closing my eyes as much as possible. I've not watched television or read, and althouhg I'm sneaking looks at the pc screen as I write this, my eyes are closed more than often. It's too important to mess about.

Anyway, so that was my day of surgery. I went for my check up today, but I'll write all about that tomorrow. For now I'm back to closing my eyes.

Two days of wearing glasses left!

I thought I'd post a photo of me in my specs, for posterity's sake. The fact that my glasses were wonky at the time of taking the photo (and I didn't realise it) just adds to my excitement at getting rid of them.

Two days left. I have to say, the excitement far far outweighs any nervousness.

I'm noticing the frames of my glasses a lot more than usual - as if I've become aware of them sitting on my face for the first time in years. How many times after surgery will I go to push them back up my nose? Will I reach for them first thing in the morning as I stumble bleary eyed out of bed?

What do I do with my glasses when I don't need them anymore? I don't think I'll throw them away. I'm a hoarder by nature, one of those 'well you never know if I might need it again' types. I'll probably keep them for the same reason people who lose weight keep their 'fat time trousers' to remind them of what life was once like. Although saying that, they probably keep them for motivation - to remind themself why they've opted for a healthier lifestyle. I can't think of a motivational reason for keeping my glasses. Except that keeping them would seem like a bad omen.

You know I never realised I was superstitious until now. My evidence: I refuse to cancel my contact lens prescription and direct debit until I've had the surgery. Don't ask me why.

Ultralase pre-surgery courtesy

I had a courtesy call from Ultralase while I was at work this morning. They wanted to double check the time and details of my appointment and to run through the surgery day. For example I'm not allowed to wear make up (on the day or for two weeks afterwards), I can't wear perfume on the day and also I shouldn't wear my soft contact lenses for a certain amount of time prior to surgery. No problem there as I haven't had mine in for two weeks now. I thought it was really nice of them to call. It seemed reassuring, and obviously a sign of a well-organised company.

Oh and she also wanted to double check about how I was going to pay. I'm currently plucking up the courage to pay with my card online or by phone. I just haven't worked up the courage to say goodbye to all those possibilities - holidays, new shoes, etc. etc. But I suppose I better had. No pay, no spec free. Actually when I mentioned to someone at work that I had to pay in advance they pulled 'ooh isn't that dodgy' face. Well no, it's not really. I mean if you go to a shop you have to buy your goods before you can leave with them. Do they think Ultralase should just zap all who come through their doors and then invoice them afterwards? Sadly life doesn't work like that.

I'm getting seriously excited having the surgery done now. A flash of nerves yes, but then a great torrent of oh wowo owowowow no more glasses! I've done my research -for example the Ultralase forums have a whole section devoted to The Treatment Day, amongst many others and that means I know I'm not in for any nasty surprises.

Only 4 more days to go!

Consultation with Ultralase (no.2) SURGERY BOOKED!

I had my consultation today at 4pm. Having been through it all just over a year ago I knew what to expect; if anything I suppose I was a little excited thinking I'm finally going to go through with this.

I took the train to Chelmsford station - the clinic is literally about a minute walk away. It seemed like the better option than getting someone to drive near to rush hour. I got there a bit early but didn't have to wait long before I was taken off for the tests with the optometrist.

Everything went along smoothly. The optometrist, Caroline, talked me through the tests as we did them. She did each one a couple of times to get an average reading. I sat at each machine in turn and blinked when told, held my eyes open when told, moved to the next machine when told. A bit like a robot really. We moved rooms a couple of times as they have specific rooms for specific equipment but before long we'd done all the tests and it came down to discussions on the types of surgery that I was suitable for and telling me what exactly was involved with each procedure.

The main story hadn't changed from last year - my eyes are quite steep and so I'm most suitable for Lasek or Intralase. After I'd asked all my questions (actually I didn't have to ask many, most of my list of questions she'd answered already as she went though everything).
Before she handed me over to Heather who covered all the non-clinical matters relating to surgery, Caroline showed my prescription to the surgeon Dr Vinod Gupta and he confirmed Caroline's advice.

'It's great that you have the choice.' Caroline said. I jokingly replied that actually I'd prefer it if someone else decided for me. The main difference between the two (lasek or intralase) is the recovery time. With lasek you have to wear a soft contact lens for a week after the operation and as the laser work is carried out closer to the surface it involves a slower recovery time. For example driving after about a week. With intralase an incision is made with a laser and then the work on the eye is made a lot deeper so it heals faster. Both Heather and Caroline quoted being at driving standard probably the next day, or two days after intralase. Either operation means a certain amount of instability in the vision for about two months until fully healed.

I asked Caroline if the risks of infections were different between the two and she said that there was no difference. I was torn between the two for a few minutes. Apart from the recovery time, another consideration is the cost of Intralase. (Intralase is currently £325 extra per eye with Ultralase). I'd already opted to go for wavefront having researched that and of course discussed it again with Caroline. Which meant the cost was into the multiple thousands. Ouch.

So I deliberated, I chatted with Heather, and then I decided. Yes, I'm going to have Intralase. And my surgery is now confirmed for next Weds (25th July) with Dr Tahmina Islam. I have to say I love being able to read up about my surgeon on the Ultralase website. If you've not followed any of my links here today, go and have a play on their website. All your questions will be answered I'm sure.

http://www.ultralase.com/
http://www.lasereyeforum.com/

Life without glasses

When I tell people I'm about to have laser eye surgery, a common response is, 'But glasses suit you.' It's something several people have said now, as if the decision to have my eyes lasered is based purely on looks. It's not.

It's also about being able to wake up in the morning and see without reaching for my specs; it's about knowing I can go out for the day without worrying about taking contact lens refresher drops, my glasses and a lens cloth in case it rains; it's about going for a walk and feeling the wind on my eyes. If you've never had to wear glasses you won't understand any of that.

For me, wearing glasses has always meant I'm the female version of Clarke Kent. I'm only superwoman when I'm wearing my contacts. I tend to wear my hair up more often with the specs on, no matter what the occasion I just never feel 'dressed up' unless I've got my contacts in. And because I can't wear my contacts comfortably for much longer than six hours that means I have to be economical about when I wear them. If I'm going out in the evening I have to be Clarke during the day.

It's human nature to think that changing something we don't like about our lives will make everything better. Getting rid of my glasses may not mean I'm suddenly super confident and able to cope with everything that life throws at me, but it will be one less annoyance for me to worry about.

Fingers crossed it all goes well then.

Laser eye surgery questions

I've got my second consultation booked at the Chelmsford Ultralase clinic on Tuesday 17th July. I've drawn up a list of questions that I intend to ask at my consultation:

Which type of surgery suits both my eye shape and my lifestyle? Which surgery would give me the best long-term chances of good vision and healthy eyes?

I’ve read some blogs and posts on forums where people have said things like ‘The surgeon told me that because I have thin corneas I am not suitable for lasik, but I really don’t want the longer pain and recovery time associated with lasek so I’m pushing for lasik.’ And to be honest my mind boggles with the sheer stupidity. Everyone has a different pain threshold yes, but if you’re putting your eyesight into the hands of someone else, someone you trust as an expert in their field, I think you should listen to what they suggest is best for you based on your prescription. And if you’re that worried about the pain that you would consider a riskier operation to avoid it, then personally I don’t think you should go ahead with surgery at all.

What happens if I need re-treatment? Is there a lifetime re-treatment guarantee or a time limit time, for example 12 months after which you would need to pay to have your eyes re-treated?

For instance I know Ultralase have a lifetime care guarantee which as they say is unique to Ultralase. But of course, there’s that dreaded *Terms and Conditions apply. I intend to find out what those conditions are at my consultation next week. I’m guessing age-related macular degeneration (when you get older and need reading glasses) will be mentioned in the conditions. Of course no laser eye surgery provider can stop that from happening.

How often are the aftercare appointments?

And more than that who do I get to speak to if I’m worried? Will there be a friendly voice at the end of a phone who can tell me if the sensations I experience are perfectly normal post-surgery or something a little more concerning? One of the things that impressed me about Ultralase over Optimax is that you get a personal advisor.

Who will be my surgeon? Can I see his/her CV? When will I meet him/her?

Some people go so far as to select their surgeon and book surgery specifically with them. I intend to look up my surgeon when I find out who he is, but ultimately I trust that he will be a professional. Needless to say if I find out otherwise…if his CV shows he was a vet or something random like that I would cancel without hesitation.

What is the realistic likelihood that I will be glasses free, driving standard at the very least?

20/20 would be great, but just to be driving standard would suit me fine. To be free from glasses is my aim. In the healing process it may be that I need to get some cheap reading glasses while my eyes recover. I need to ask about that too.

Will the success of my operation be judged on all aspects of my vision or just by one of those reading charts? What about night time vision, starbursts and halos, vision in limited or artificial light?

How long is this likely to be a problem – and are these taken into account and checked as part of the aftercare? If my vision in limited light is poor will re-treatment be an option to improve this?

How long is the maximum healing recovery time?

I’m fully expecting to sit up from the operation chair and start judging the success of the operation, but I know I shouldn’t. So I’ll find out the absolute maximum and try to be patient until I get closer to that time.

Will surgery affect the long term stability of my eye?

For example, if I get hit with a ball in two years’ time should I be worried?

What can I do pre and post surgery to increase my comfort and improve recovery time?

Things I’ve read about include taking vitamin C to boost healing; taking cod liver oil or flaxseed oil (supposedly a higher dose of omega 3) to reduce dry eyes; resting the eyes as much as possible. What else can I do?

Laser Eye Surgery – the story continues…

Just like a trashy American soap here’s a summary of the story so far:

I’ve worn glasses since I was about 12, then at 17 switched to contact lenses. Skip forward many years (hey not too many, I’m only 26) and I’m barely wearing my contacts at work because they’re a pain to get in first thing in the morning and working with a computer most of the day makes my eyes dry and uncomfortable.

Last year I looked seriously at having laser eye surgery and had consultations with both Optimax and Ultralase. After deciding Ultralase were far and away the better option for me, I then dropped the whole thing when my boyfriend suggested we could have a puppy instead of my laser eye surgery…such a sucker for cuddly puppies…then I found out my parents weren’t really my parents as they’d stolen me as a baby from a super-rich family who desperately wanted me back to shower me with riches…oh hang on a minute, no that last part didn’t really happen. I’m getting confused between real life and a soap opera.

Cut to the present day. I had new contact lenses last year which for the first couple of months seemed to be working out fine. Vision was perfect but very quickly I fell back into my routine of not wearing them more than I wore them. Which makes as much financial sense as buying shelf loads of out-of-date food products just in case I find someone with a time machine who can zap them all back to being in date and mould-free.

So now I’m thinking about laser eye surgery again. And I’m thinking if I don’t go through with it this time, will I come back to this every year? Like a broken record stuck on a song about whether to have laser eye surgery. I just might. So I’m about to book another consultation with Ultralase in Chelmsford, and start the whole process off again. Lasik or Lasek. Wavefront or not. Intralase or not. Hmmm. Back to the research board it is.

The most important thing is that I’ve found a swanky pair of Oakley sunglasses for my post-op light sensitive eyes – and for all those non-prescription sunny days ahead of me! (Oh won’t the anti laser eye surgery people just love that little slice of vanity in what is an otherwise very sensible blog). ahem. No but seriously, they’re very nice sunnies take a look for yourself here. And yes I was joking about this being the most important thing. It's the second most important thing after being able to see.