My LASIK Diary 2004

 

Email me at :  nurseowens@clara.co.uk

 

My name is Fiona.

I have been wearing glasses since I was 14.

I'm now 35.

I have moderate myopia with high irregular astigmatism.

During High School I tried both gas permeable and soft contact lenses, 

but they were very uncomfortable and I soon went back to my specs.

And while I have always accepted the fact that I need 

corrective lenses, for the past 10 years I have been thinking; 

'wouldn't it be amazing if I didn't have to wear glasses?'

 

In the early 1990's  I saw an advert in a glossy magazine promoting

laser eye surgery.. It sounded too good to be true, and I was wary of the varying success rates.

But over the next few years I began to take notice of the new developments in the field of  refractive surgery, and the increasing number of clinics offering LASIK.

 

Finally,  after spending a year investigating several clinics, I made the decision to go ahead with surgery. 

My chosen clinic : Accuvision.

 

This is an account of my thoughts and experiences pre and post surgery.

You'll find all the facts and figures at the bottom of the page.

 

______________________________________________________________

 

Monday 17th May 2004

 

Initial Assessment

Arrived about half an hour early for my assessment. 

The clinic was easy to find - just along the road from Parsons Green tube station.

Starbucks is right next door.

As you walk in from the street, there is a small room with windows on both sides

which is unbearably hot, but  carry on down the stairs and you'll find a large 

air conditioned waiting room, impeccably clean with pleasing decor.

The staff were very friendly and I was seen within minutes by Nick Dash, who said the

consultation would last about an hour. He was very patient with me, especially as I

had a whole list of questions and I was eager to know everything about laser surgery!

In fact, I was such a pain in the neck, that he spent two hours with me!

<blushes> (Sorry Nick - I hope you didn't miss lunch!)

He explained everything clearly and answered all my endless queries with honesty and enthusiasm. 

I was fascinated by the amazing software I was allowed to keep colour copies  of my topography scans. 

I was told that I was suitable for surgery, but there was no pressure to book a surgery date. 

In fact I was advised to go away and think about it and have consultations elsewhere before 

making a decision. I came out of the clinic feeling very positive.

 

Tuesday May 25th 2004

 

Over the last few days I've been emailing Nick and Mike from the clinic, asking yet 

more questions about dates and costs! 

Both have replied quickly - still no pressure to have surgery.

I'm getting a bit freaked out about having my eyes cut open, and I keep going

back to lasik-eyes web site for a bit of reassurance.

Yesterday  I definitely wanted to have it done.. but today

I have my doubts. Am I being too vain and selfish? 

Am I putting my healthy eyes at risk rather than continue to wear my specs?

Will it be successful? Am I mad to want this?

Why the hell did I start this in the first place?!! 

Now I  can't think of anything else except my eyesight and it's driving me crazy!

I've also received loads of brochures from other clinics, and I've read so much about

lasik in the past week that I think I'm going round the bend... maybe I should

try and forget about it for a couple of days.

 

Friday 28th May 2004

 

Ok.. I've calmed down a bit...

And I've made my decision.

Yes. I'm going through with it ...and I've chosen Accuvision.

<sigh>

There. Now that wasn't so bad, was it?

Feel better now. :-)

 

Thursday June 17th 2004

 

I've sent Mike a £500 cheque as a deposit to confirm the surgery date.

He's going to send a 'surgery pack' in the post.

The Big Day will be Thursday 1st July.

I'm not sure if I want to tell my work colleagues...just in case I chicken out or 

something goes wrong. Maybe I'll just wait and see how many of them notice 

that I'm not wearing glasses. I can't imagine what that's going to be like.

 

Right now, without my glasses on:

 

	I can't see my alarm clock while I'm in bed
	I can't distinguish between identical shampoo bottles in the shower
	I can't drive
	I can't see myself without glasses!
	I can't watch TV
	I can't recognize people in the street
	I fall over things on the floor
	I can't see to go swimming - I have no idea where the edge of the pool is!

 

I need windscreen wipers on my specs when walking in the rain, they 

steam up in a warm room, and get tangled up in clothing.

Clip-on sunglasses never fit and tend to scratch the lenses, and I gave up wearing make up

years ago - there never seemed any point when the finished effect was masked by 

double glazing. When I'm tired, my glasses feel heavy and give me a headache.

And specs cost a bloody fortune! 

For the past few years I have been forking out almost £250 a time for the thinner 'high-index'

lenses rather than the usual 'coke-bottle' lenses which are heavy and ugly.

 

 

Wednesday 30th June 2004

 

My last night as a spectacled person!

I wonder how I will feel this time tomorrow?

I've put a letter chart on the wall and made a note of what I can see both with 

and without my glasses on. It's not an exact snellen chart, but as long

as I stand in the same place each time I read it, I should be able to see

any differences in my vision. 

At least I'll have some sort of benchmark I can use to monitor my progress.

With specs I can read the smallest letters, but they're not very clear.

Without specs, all  I can see is  a blurry shape on the wall!

I wonder how that chart is going to look at the various stages post-surgery?

I have bought myself a pair of sunglasses - Accuvision have advised me to bring a

pair to wear post-surgery. I'm quite excited about that, as I've never been able to wear them before.

 

Thursday 1st July 2004    Surgery Day!

 

I arrived at the clinic at 3pm. 

Surgeon Nick Jacobs carried out some more tests before the procedure 

and confirmed that he was going to treat an area of 7mm using Accuwave™ guided information. 

Then I met Joan and Vikash who did more tests - and took a 3D lateral view of my cornea.

I was asked to wear a hair net and shoe covers and then I was taken into 

surgery. I think that was the first time I realised I was nervous! 

Sitting in the waiting room and talking about slicing corneas didn't faze 

me one bit, but as soon as I walked into that operating room and saw all the 

equipment, I thought "Ohhh shit what the hell have I gotten myself into!"

Silly really, because I work in a hospital and I have been into theatre several 

times without a second thought. I guess it's just different being on the 

other side of the scrubs, if you know what I mean.:-)

 

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes,.. I had to remove my specs (for the last time!), 

and lay down on a plinth. Nick told me that throughout the procedure I needed 

to concentrate on the green light above me. I think he should amend that to 'green blur' 

because that's all I could see without my glasses. 

Anaesthetic drops were put into my eyes and I waited for a couple of minutes while 

the laser equipment was put into position. When everything was ready, 

Nick covered my left eye and then held my right eye open with a clamp.

I was expecting this part to be horribly uncomfortable, but it wasn't too bad at all.

I didn't even feel the urge to blink once it was in place. 

 

The suction ring was the worst part  - everything went dark and I felt a lot of 

downward pressure on my right eye. Throughout the whole thing, Nick was 

talking to me and explaining what was happening at every stage, which was very 

reassuring, and there was someone to hold my hand if I needed comfort.

With the suction ring in place, it was time to cut the cornea. That part was quick and 

although I felt the vibration, there was no pain at all. 

 

I suddenly saw blurred light for the first time and concentrated on the green blob while

the laser re-shaped my cornea. I could smell burning which seemed to bother 

other patients I'd talked to, but by this point I had started to relax and I 

wasn't really disturbed by it. 

Nick washed my eye with what felt like gallons of solution and the flap in my cornea 

was replaced and smoothed out  - this felt weird because I could actually feel a thin film 

descend over my eye and see something pass over the front of it. 

Still no pain at all.

The clamp was removed and I closed my right eye which was then covered. 

I was asked to move down the plinth for a moment while the laser was re-calibrated,

and then the whole procedure was carried out again on my left eye.

In total, I was in surgery for about 25 minutes.

 

When it was over,  I sat up and Nick asked me to open my eyes.

I think I said "wow" or something to that effect, because I was gobsmacked by 

how much I could see already! 

My vision was watery, but my God, what an improvement!

 

I sat on a stool while Nick looked into each eye and confirmed that everything

looked fine and that I should to go out into the waiting room and have a cup of tea

 while keeping my eyes closed for a while.

I was  so impressed that I could see where I was going ..that I nearly forgot to pick up my 

specs in the way out!

 

In the waiting room I met my friend - who was amazed that it was all over so quickly.

There was a large flat screen television on the wall showing a Wimbledon match, 

and I couldn't resist sneaking peeks at the screen. I could see the players faces 

clearly but the coloured text was a bit blurry. 

Still, it was pretty amazing to be able to see that without glasses!

 

About half an hour passed and then Nick called me into the examination room to check 

my eyes again.. he was pleased with the result. 

Back to the waiting room again, and Mike put in the first dose of antibiotic drops 

and told me to repeat the dose every hour and keep my eyes closed as much 

as possible for the rest of the day. 

He also gave me a pair of eye shields to wear at night for the next week to 

prevent me from rubbing my eyes in my sleep, and asked me to return to the 

clinic at 10 am tomorrow. 

I was advised against using the London Underground directly after surgery, so with 

my sunglasses firmly in place, my friend and I took a mini cab back to our hotel.

 

Right now I'm lying down listening to the tennis matches on tv and to 

music on my personal stereo. I've set my travel alarm clock to go off every hour to

remind me when it's time for eye drops. Putting in the drops by myself is possible, but

it's much better when done by a friend! Before surgery my near vision was extremely good, 

but at the moment it's blurry and it will be for a while until my eyesight settles down, 

so trying to put in drops while looking in a mirror is a little tricky. 

Mike gave me  a cute little zipped bag containing the drops, shields, surgical tape and 

written instructions. The whole thing has 'Accuvision' written on the side with their 

telephone number in large letters. Nice idea.

I've made calls and sent texts to friends and family.. just to let them know that I'm not blind :-)

I have been watching television for a just a few minutes every hour.. and my vision seems to 

be improving steadily. It's incredible that from across the room I can see a sign on the

back of the hotel room door that lists housekeeping telephone numbers.. 

And it's in SMALL writing. 

Yesterday I couldn't have even seen the sign itself without my specs.

Wow.

 

11pm - I look fantastic in these eye shields..... <g>

 

Friday 2nd July 2004  24 hour check up

 

It's 8.15am. 

Wore my eyes shields all night - they make my face feel tight 

and it's difficult to blow my nose around all the tape and plastic!

Had my first dose of drops, and my eyes feel ok, but they are still a bit watery.

No pain. My lashes feel sticky but I can't do anything about it - no touching my face!

I'm hoping that someone will clean me up a bit at the clinic. (If you know what I mean!)

I hope that I won't have to carry on with the drops every hour today..

 

9pm 

Spent about an hour and a half in the clinic this morning.

Discovered that I was wearing contact lenses!  I guess that was what I felt yesterday 

when Nick smoothed something over my eyes. 

Apparently this doesn't happen with every patient, it just depends on the surgeon's

evaluation immediately post-surgery.

Joan put some gel tears into my eyes so that the contacts would be easy to remove,

and then I had a go at reading the snellen chart, which was pretty amazing.

I could read the 20/20 line even though it was a bit blurry from the gel tears.

She also gave me some different drops to be used 4 times daily (steroid based, 

to reduce inflammation) and some artificial tears to be used as often as

I feel necessary. I have to keep up this regime until I return to the clinic next Friday.

I've been warned that I will see halos around lights for a little while and that 

it will be a few days before my vision settles down. My cornea will retain a 

certain amount of 'memory' and will take a few days to sit into it's new flattened 

shape over my eye. Joan also said that I am safe to drive when I feel ready.

 

My friend and I have been shopping today. I wore my sunglasses most of the time, 

and stopped at regular intervals to apply drops and to rest my eyes.

I'm tired now though, and my eyes feel a bit sore. I hope I haven't strained them too much.

One more night here in London, then we go home tomorrow.

 

Saturday 3rd July 2004

 

Before leaving London, we went on the London Eye - a perfect opportunity to test

my new vision. I could see so far into the distance it was breathtaking! Everything seems

crystal clear.

Arrived home late - eyes very tired. Looking out of the window during the bus

journey home I was seeing huge halos around traffic lights and car headlights were far

too bright to look at. I hope this gets better..

 

Sunday 4th July 2004

 

My eyes felt fine when I woke up this morning.. everything pretty clear.

I woke up in the middle of the night to a strange sight..when I first moved into my flat 

5 years ago, someone gave me some glow-in-the-dark stars which I stuck on my

bedroom wall. I've never actually seen them in the dark - once I took my specs off 

and turned out the light, I was virtually blind. 

So at 3 o'clock this morning when I opened my eyes I saw the heavens open. 

It was like being in the London Planetarium!

Couldn't go back to sleep because I was laughing too much.

 

My Uncle noticed straight away that  wasn't wearing my glasses... I'm pretty 

chuffed by that, because he's nearly 90 and isn't usually that observant!

I was tempted to drive today, but after watching a little tv and sitting in front of 

the computer for 30 minutes, my eyes felt tired.

I'm glad I took a few days off work to recover.

I'm still using the anti-inflammatory drops 4 times per day, and I use the artificial tears

when my eyes feel dry, but on the whole they feel fine.

Better than I had expected.

I looked at the letter chart on my wall today - I can see the 20/20 line 

with both the left and right eye, although I have to concentrate a bit 

to focus properly.

 

Tuesday 6th July 2004

 

Gorgeous day. Got in the car and went for a short drive wearing my sunglasses.

Before surgery, I would have never even considered sitting in the car without my specs,

as I wouldn't have been able to see the dashboard, let alone the road in front of me!

But now I have no problems at all.. in fact I was really excited by how much more 

peripheral vision I've gained.

Having worn glasses for such a long time, I became unaware of the frames in my field 

of vision, but now that my glasses are no longer there, I'm noticing that the frames 

are missing. Does that make sense? Its hard to explain.  A considerable 

percentage of my vision used to be taken up with the frames of my specs, and 

now the blinkers have been removed. Fantastic!

 

Friday 9th July 2004   1 week check-up

 

Saw Nick Dash at the clinic. He checked my eyes thoroughly and told me that they

were healing well and will continue to improve for another 3 months.

My right eye has a current prescription of 0.0 and the left is +0.5, but

this may change again as my cornea settles. I'm still seeing 20/20 on the eye chart,

and it was definitely a bit clearer today. Couldn't see the smaller 20/15 line, but Nick 

feels that given a bit more time, I might end up with 'supersight'. 

Hmm.. wait and see.

He told me to wean off the anti-inflammatory drops in the next 2 days, and gave me 

another bottle of artificial tears to use as needed.

I have to go back in about 6 - 8 weeks.

My eyes are definitely starting to feel more normal now as the swelling goes down.

Nick said that I could stop wearing the eye shields at night, but I think I'm going to carry 

on using them for at least another week. 

I haven't rubbed my eyes once since the surgery.. but I know I used to do it in my sleep,

so really it's for my own peace of mind..

 

Saturday 10th July 2004

 

I went to see 'Shrek 2' at the cinema.. that screen seems so much 

bigger without my glasses! Enjoyed the movie - eyes were a little tired afterwards,

and the screen was a little blurry during the faster action scenes, but then it's

still early days. Only had to use the artificial tears once today.

 

Monday 12th July 2004

 

Vision a little blurry in my left eye when I woke up this morning, but soon cleared.

Still getting halos and starbursts around lights at night, but this is improving and is much

better than it was a week ago.

The 20/20 line on my wall chart is becoming easier to read. Sometimes I feel that my

left eye is slower to heal than my right, but I keep changing my mind about that.

I shouldn't keep testing myself!

 

Tuesday 20th July 2004

 

Eyes have been sore and itchy today - I think it's hayfever.

Much better after anti-histamine.

 

Saturday 24th July 2004

 

Went to the annual classical music concert at Osborne House this evening.

It's an open-air, bring you own picnic event, complete with a firework display at the end.

Brilliant evening with colleagues from work - fireworks weren't blurry at all, and my 

eyes are getting less tired now.

 

Friday 20th August 2004  7 week check-up

 

Saw Joan in the Accuvision clinic. 

It was very quiet in there - Friday isn't an operating day.

I can read the 20/20 line with ease now, and can pick out almost all of the letters from 

the 20/15 line with my left eye.. and a few with my right.

Maybe Nick was right about me achieving 'supersight' !

Everything still healing nicely. I had another topography scan, which I requested a copy of.

It interesting to compare the before and after surgery pictures - my cornea has been

re-shaped into a smoother curve.. without all the lumps and bumps I had before!

Amazing stuff.

I have to return for what may be my final check-up in about 6 to 8 months.

Haven't used any artificial tears for ages - don't feel that I need them.

In fact, the bottle that Nick gave me on the 9th July is still unopened!

 

Sunday 19th December 2004

 

I seem to have forgotten that I ever wore glasses! 

I do want to remind myself occasionally, because I feel that I don't want to take 20/20

vision for granted now. The last 6 months have been an amazing journey.

 

I can take a pee in the middle of the night without walking into the door.<g>

From a distance I can spot a squirrel in a tree.. in the rain. Before Accuvision performed 

their miracle I would have been squinting and fumbling to wipe the rain off my specs.

I feel like a new woman.:-)

I can read everything down to the 20/20 line on my wall chart with no problem.

There isn't another row of letters below that, so I can't test myself any further.

Halos and starbursts at night are rare now, and only really bother me

when I'm driving on an unlit road and I met an oncoming car around a bend.

I'm dazzled for a few seconds but then my sight is fine again. 

Actually, when I think about it, this isn't any different from when I wore glasses.

Oh, and all the staff at Accuvision sent me a Christmas card! 

Got a bit emotional about that...

 

Friday 4th February 2005  Final check up

 

I arrived at the clinic very early, but Joan was kind enough to see me straight away.

I was pleasantly surprised when I read the eye chart -  I could see the 20/15 line quite

well with both eyes, which is amazing. Nick was right all along!

Final prescription on auto-refraction is: Left eye +0.25 and Right eye 0.0  

Incredible result.

I asked Joan to measure my corneal thickness, so that I could put the details on this page.

I'm relieved that I still have plenty of corneal tissue left post-surgery. 

Nick Jacobs made sure that I was left with much more than the safe minimum 

amount (250 microns) - I get the impression that other clinics are not as careful.

Joan was happy to discharge me from the clinic - advising me to have regular eye tests with my optician. 

 

Sunday March 20th 2005

 

It's taken me a little while to finish and upload this page, and I apologise to those

who have been waiting for a reply from me regarding my lasik experience.

As of today, vision is great, and I only see the occasional halo/starburst around car 

headlights when I'm driving on a country road without streetlamps.

I find that my eyes get a bit tired if I spend too long sitting at the computer 

e.g. several hours, (but then I spend too much time on-line anyway!) <g>

I still have the letter chart on my wall - can read all of it with ease, even when I stand even further back.

No regrets! Amazing experience.

I've even started wearing make-up. which is unusual for me, because I've never been very girly. Can't put it on properly though!

 

 

12th November 2005

 

Went for an eye test at Specsavers today - the optician was surprisingly enthusiastic about laser surgery, but commented that my vision had been slightly 'over-corrected', and that in his view I should have been left slightly under-corrected. Okay, so he's entitled to his opinion, but I'm quite happy with my eyesight right now. I'm considering having an eye test elsewhere though, because I've had problems with Specsavers getting things wrong in the past :-)

 

 

May 5th 2007

 

Almost 3 years since this whole thing started!  

I can't believe how quickly that time has passed. I didn't have a second test in 2005 -  I have been so happy and carefree about my eyesight that I didn't think it was worth the hassle. 

But I'm due for another check up at the end of 2007.. so it will be interesting to see if my prescription has changed much.

Still no problems and no regrets. :-)

 

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

My Opinion:

 

If you are thinking about having laser eye surgery, don't rush into it.

Investigate several clinics and remember you don't have to commit to anything until

you feel ready. 

When choosing a company, remember that you are purchasing eye surgery.

Delicate eye surgery, not a winter sweater from a catalogue.

You're only going to have this sort of thing done once, so chose wisely.

When I was researching lasik, I came across several well-known clinics who were willing to

offer me discounts if I introduced a friend.. or give me a 'buy one eye get one free' deal

if I applied before a certain date. I walked away from all of them.

The scariest poster I saw announced 'big reductions on lasik - end of season sale!'

Sale?!  

Ahem.. <swallows with difficulty> ..don't go there. Please.

 

Become as knowledgeable as you can on the subject so that you can quiz your chosen clinic as much as possible. 

 

Speak to people who have been treated by several different clinics and visit this web site:   http://www.lasik-eyes.co.uk/ 

Once you have chosen your clinic, ask lots of questions. 

When you have an initial assessment, ask for copies of your test results 

and their surgeons CV's - then go home and think about it some more.

 

Be aware of the risks and be aware of what you are committing yourself to.

When I signed a consent form before surgery I accepted that

there was a small chance that things may go wrong. 

I made that choice and accepted responsibility for my consent.

This sounds scary, but it's the same with any surgical procedure.

Your clinic can provide you with amazing technology, but it is

also your responsibility to look after yourself and follow the post-surgery

guidelines.

 

 

Why I chose Accuvision:

 

Small, friendly and highly knowledgeable company.

No gimmicks or discounts.

Not only was I treated as an individual, but each of my eyes were too!

I wasn't pressured into anything - in fact I was advised to go away and 

consider everything carefully before making any decisions.

I requested copies of scans and the CV's of both surgeons and I was 

given all the information I wanted without question and without delay.

The Fulham road clinic is clean and comfortable, and their technology

is up to date. 

All staff are very friendly and are enthusiastic about their work.

All my questions were listened to with respect answered with patience in a 

language that I understood. 

 

Places of interest:

 

http://www.accuvision.co.uk/

http://www.lasik-eyes.co.uk/ 

http://www.howstuffworks.com/lasik.htm

http://www.lasereyesurgery.co.uk/les/lasereyesurgery/

http://homepages.tesco.net/steven.mercer/

__________________________________________________________________

 

Facts and Figures:

 

Date: Thursday 1st July 2004

Clinic: Accuvision,  42-48 New Kings Road, Fulham, London SW6 4LS

www.accuvision.co.uk

Cost: £3200

 

Prescription before Accuwave™ Lasik:

Right:    -5.50   - 1.75    x20

Left:       -5.00   -1.50     x162

(With glasses I could just about see the 20/20 line on the 

snellen chart, but without them I could barely make out the largest letter

unless I squinted!)

 

Prescription 7 months after Accuwave™ Lasik:

Right: 0.0

Left: +0.25

(Improvement of 1 line compared to best vision pre-surgery,

so I am now able to read the 20/15 line ..which is one line

better then 20/20 without glasses)

 

Prescription 16 months after Accuwave™ Lasik:

(at Specsavers Opticians)

Right: +0.50

Left: +0.75

 

Before and After Topography scans: Click here.

These scans were taken before surgery (17.05.04)

and then 7 weeks later (20.08.04)

 

Corneal thickness* (pre surgery): 

Right   532

Left     540

 

Corneal thickness* (post surgery): 

Right: 425

Left: 419

(This leaves at least 320 microns in the stromal bed, which

thankfully is a lot more than the safe minimum recommended 

level of 250 microns)

 

* in microns

 

With thanks....

 

To Celina, my patient friend who looked after me during the whole experience.

To Leece and Jules, who would have come with me if I had asked.. :-) 

 

To Nance, who made it all possible. 

 

I decided to make this page after reading another

'lasik journal' by Steve Mercer, whose honest approach

helped me with my own decisions regarding surgery.

You can find his page here. Thanks Steve!

 

And the biggest thank you of all ..to the staff at Accuvision.