Contact lenses? Was "Laser eye surgery?"

octatonic

Has anyone had laser eye surgery?
Particularly interested in anyone who has had a blended vision treatment for presbyopia.

richardhomer

No - but I'm having a stent fitted in the periphery of my right iris soon, in the latest bid to lower my inter-ocular pressure. FML....

vasselmeyer

Pfftt. Laser surgery? Get one of these...

Fretwired

I was considering it until a friend of mine had it done and then found his eyesight deteriorated about three years after the treatment. It was great from day one - he was told this was common so maybe ask the question and check with your local opticians if they know you well. My friend was 55 when he had the procedure.

https://www.londonvisionclinic.com/2013/02/can-my-sight-get-worse-again-video/

octatonic

Fretwired said:

I was considering it until a friend of mine had it done and then found his eyesight deteriorated about three years after the treatment. It was great from day one - he was told this was common so maybe ask the question and check with your local opticians if they know you well. My friend was 55 when he had the procedure.

https://www.londonvisionclinic.com/2013/02/can-my-sight-get-worse-again-video/

Yes that is my main concern.
It is a lot of money to spend (although health insurance covers a lot of it) if it doesn't work.

mike_l

My sisters colleague had it done, and ended up suing as they fucked her eyes. 

strtdv

Yes, your eyesight may deteriorate over time, in much the same way that your glasses prescription will drift over time too.
Most reputable firms now offer free re-do surgery for 5 years following initial surgery.

Personally, I'd try contacts before laser eye surgery, as I have heard one horror story in particular which put me off.

Gassage

Octa,

I have known several cricketers have this done, every single one with disasterous consquences.

The explanation is that lasering doesn't allow the eye to do quick focal changes- hence tracking a ball onto the bat is tough.

I am -6.00 in both eyes. I was advised by Dr Sheryl Clader (google her) not to do it under any circumstances if I wanted to keep batting.

strtdv

-6.00 is pretty significant, they'd need to shave a large thickness of cornea to correct that! I'm surprised anyone would even offer it to someone with eyesight that bad.

The horror story I'm aware of involved sudden, permanent, loss of sight in one eye.

octatonic

Mine isn't that bad: +0.75 in my left and +0.25 in my right, this is just age related degeneration and I only need them for reading, not distance.

Maybe I'll look at contacts.

Gassage

octatonic said:

Mine isn't that bad: +0.75 in my left and +0.25 in my right, this is just age related degeneration and I only need them for reading, not distance.

Maybe I'll look at contacts.

Jesus- I change that much in focal issues after one Friday night session!

Not too much to worry about.

cruxiform

@octatonic ;I considered it myself but after hearing that my friend needed glasses just 12 months after his (which cost £4k), I switched to contact lenses and have never looked back, pardon the pun. As a biker like yourself I find glasses a pain so always wear my contacts when riding. I can even get varifocal lenses now my prescription has changed.

Philly_Q

My parents both had it done in their 70s.  My stepmother because she was getting cataracts, I can't remember if my dad had something similar.

It seems to have been successful, my dad had been a lifetime glasses wearer, it's strange seeing him without them.  He still uses reading glasses sometimes, but they're the very low strength ones you can just buy off the shelf.

I've never really considered it myself.  My prescription is about the same as @Gassage's and I'm also now reaching the point where I need varifocals, I don't know how it would cope with that.

octatonic

cruxiform said:

@octatonic ;I considered it myself but after hearing that my friend needed glasses just 12 months after his (which cost £4k), I switched to contact lenses and have never looked back, pardon the pun. As a biker like yourself I find glasses a pain so always wear my contacts when riding. I can even get varifocal lenses now my prescription has changed.

Ok, I'll give contacts a go.

Yeah it is when riding that it most annoys- I don't need them to ride but I do if I want to check my phone when I stop, so I need to take a tang bag or tail pack with just the glasses in and then of course carry it around when I stop.

Gassage

octatonic said:

Yeah it is when riding that it most annoys- I don't need them to ride but I do if I want to check my phone when I stop, so I need to take a tang bag or tail pack with just the glasses in and then of course carry it around when I stop.

Can't your missus just check it for you as you're riding?

TimmyO

octatonic said:

Mine isn't that bad: +0.75 in my left and +0.25 in my right, this is just age related degeneration and I only need them for reading, not distance.

Maybe I'll look at contacts.

that's very mild. Most laser surgery gets its best results with much larger corrections (I looked into it for myself some years back) 

+/- 0.25 would be considered a good outcome after some procedures. 

cruxiform

octatonic said:

cruxiform said:

@octatonic ;;I considered it myself but after hearing that my friend needed glasses just 12 months after his (which cost £4k), I switched to contact lenses and have never looked back, pardon the pun. As a biker like yourself I find glasses a pain so always wear my contacts when riding. I can even get varifocal lenses now my prescription has changed.

Ok, I'll give contacts a go.

Yeah it is when riding that it most annoys- I don't need them to ride but I do if I want to check my phone when I stop, so I need to take a tang bag or tail pack with just the glasses in and then of course carry it around when I stop.

They take some getting used to but after a few days it's like second nature popping them in. Consult with your optician as I'm sure you will anyway, for advice. For riding a bike it's so comfortable as not all helmets (in my experience very few) accommodate glasses well. However, that's not your problem, it's off bike but I guess you have to find a compromise.

octatonic

Daily disposables or monthly?
Cost isn't that much of a factor but faffing about with them is.

cruxiform

It's up to you but I use dailies. Always have. I get my prescription from my optician then order from  https://www.contactlenses.co.uk  I've used them for 6 years now. Very quick and reliable.

Gassage

octatonic said:

Daily disposables or monthly?
Cost isn't that much of a factor but faffing about with them is.

You big wimp! I can put my lenses in whilst cleaning my teeth at the same time.

octatonic

Gassage said:

octatonic said:

Daily disposables or monthly?
Cost isn't that much of a factor but faffing about with them is.

You big wimp! I can put my lenses in whilst cleaning my teeth at the same time.

That isn't what I mean- I won't mind putting them in.

I was more trying to decide how much work it takes to clean the monthly ones every day.
I've never had contacts so I don't know how long it takes.
If it is a 10 second process then fine, if it is 10 mins then I'll get annoyed.