Ask a patient: Andy's LASEK story

The laser eye surgery journey

People come to Optimax for vision correction surgery for a number of different reasons. Their glasses and contact lenses might interfere with work and hobbies, they might not like the way they look in glasses, or they simply can’t deal with the hassle of glasses and contacts anymore. Everyone has a different motivation for coming to visit us but, ultimately, they all want the same thing – to live life free from visual aids.

We love catching up with patients to find out their favourite parts of life after laser eye surgery. We recently sat down with Andy, a patient of ours treated in our Peterborough clinic, to find out about his laser eye surgery journey.

What made you want to get laser eye surgery?

I hadn’t worn glasses for most my life so then when I did need to wear them as an adult, I found them very difficult to adapt to. I always felt like I was looking at life through a window. The glasses were a nightmare to keep clean and were impossible to wear with face masks throughout the pandemic.

How strong was your prescription prior to surgery?

I don’t think it was too bad – it was around -1.25 and -1.00. (This is a mild short-sighted prescription which means that Andy could see objects fine if they were close to him, but objects in the distance appeared blurry)

What was the Optimax experience like in our Peterborough clinic?

The team at Optimax were lovely and explained the procedure in great detail. We talked a lot about what I could expect on the day of treatment and following days of recovery. Both Martyna (the clinic manager) and Arif (Optimax’s head optometrist) deserve medals.

How was your recovery process?

If I were to describe it in one word – boring. It showed just how reliant I am on technology! (We suggest that patients take a break from screens for the day of surgery and reduce their screen time in the days after, in order to help your eyes rest and heal) I was expecting to feel some pain but I really only felt discomfort for a few days (best described like having grit in your eyes). My vision was blurry and felt like it was getting slightly worse until I had my bandage lenses removed. It then quickly improved over the next few days after the removal.  (A bandage lens is a special lens we put into your eye after LASEK laser eye surgery to help your eye heal. This isn’t necessary for LASIK procedures as the process differs).

I went for a check-up last Friday, two weeks post-surgery, and I have 20/20 vision with no prescription. I can see things at a distance really well but I’m still adjusting to reading small text on a PC. (Some patients will find that their vision continues to improve gradually in the few months following surgery)

How has life changed after treatment?

It's taken some time to get used to no glasses again but it feels great to not need them! I'm quite often reaching to push my glasses up my nose and then finding they aren’t there. I can wake up in the morning and see straight away, and I can watch TV on the sofa whilst lying down without crushing my glasses.

We’re delighted that Andy is loving the results of his treatment! If you would like to learn more about the vision correction options available at Optimax, you can read further information on:

• Laser eye surgery
• Implantable contact lenses
• Lens replacement surgery
• Cataract surgery

You can book your free consultation on our website here, or give us a call (0800 093 1110) or email (enquiry@optimax.co.uk) if you’d like to learn more.