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Written by a patient
31st January 2017


The worst decision I’ve ever made. I've previously had LASIK from another provider several years ago, and had a perfect experience. In late 2014, having regressed to being slightly short-sighted, I made the decision to have my eyes treated again, this time with Optegra. I was told that due to corneal thickness, I would have to have LASEK rather than LASIK. I was aware that the procedure was less pleasant than the LASIK one, but decided to go ahead anyway. Optegra did not in any way prepare me for the horrible experience of having LASEK. I was in severe discomfort for at least a week. At one point I was in agonising pain for several hours. I rang them and some receptionist suggested I take paracetemol (I was already taking the maximum dosage) and snidely insinuated I had a low pain threshold. The discomfort and dry eyes gradually reduced over the next 3 months, but up to a year later, I still had to put in regular eye drops when using a screen. I was also not in any way warned about how long it would take for my eyesight to settle. I had no idea that I wouldn't be able to drive for several months. Or use a screen (i.e. go back to work properly) for a few weeks. Lastly, the outcome for my vision has not been satisfactory. I am now slightly long-sighted and need reading glasses. Throughout the healing process, it was clear to me that my right eye vision was not getting any better, but I was constantly reassured by Optegra that it would be fine. That has not turned out to be the case. My overall eyesight is apparently slightly better, but that is because my left eye is dominant and the vision in that eye was showing as fine from Optegra's eyesight tests. Although, when I had my eyes independently tested, both eyes showed as long-sighted. I cannot understand how I can have gone from around -1.5 to +0.75. When I've asked for explanations I just got told something vague about healing rates. If the issue is to do with me having astigmatism in that eye, I can't understand why they didn't recommend I have just the other eye done. Then I would still have been left with a small prescription but my overall eyesight would not have changed to long-sighted, which I absolutely hate. And I paid £1,990 for this!

Recommend
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