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Laser eye surgery with optilase

mannu_cse

I am planning to get laser eye treatment with optilase
Anyone who's got it done please share your experiences.
I am a software professional and work on computer so want to know how soon I can resume my work.

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Ardent

Got my eyes done in optilase 10 years ago. No issues. A little dryness for the first few months.

Had a full independent eye check about a year afterwards and they said they never would have known I'd had eye surgery only for I told them.

I work with computers also. I remember I took a week off but I believe you can return to work after a day or two.

kenyard

mannu_cse wrote: »

I am planning to get laser eye treatment with optilase
Anyone who's got it done please share your experiences.
I am a software professional and work on computer so want to know how soon I can resume my work.

Went to optical express first as their ads state 895 per eye. Quote of over 5 grand.

Optilase are 3000 (lasek) or 3500 (lasik) but there is also 500 off at the minute if you do 1 year guarantee.
Lasek has longer recovery (5days) the lasik is 1 day.
Same procedures as optical express. ..

Laser vision.ie do 2500 I believe...
Might be worth looking into. I had a friend who got a good discount there
I'm looking into this heavily at the moment. I really didn't want to go above 2-2.5k as the treatments are quick and straightforward nowadays...

Anyone know anywhere that is around the 2k Mark?
I'll bite at 2k for sure

mannu_cse

Hi Kenyard,

Thanks for reply, please keep me posted.
I guess LASIC is better for me as its quicker recovery.
I have VHI cover so will get 15% discount I guess. my budget is 3K.

Gingko

I had Lasik done with Optilase in January 2015. Very happy with outcome! I had -3 prescription both eyes and now have 20/20! Dryness was a problem for me for about 3 months after and up to 12 months on and off due to my eyes been sensitive and I wore contacts for many years before.

But no dryness in recent months and no need for drops. Obviously being inside is a factor especially in winter with central heating which is bad for our general health anyway and those cold winter winds. I'm delighted with outcome and my quality of life has improved with more freedom and I will actually start saving money in another year. Have discount referral here if you need one and I got the surgery done at Ely Place by Wayne Crewe Browne himself! Both pre and post surgery was first class care! Any further info required about what to expect re pre, during and post surgery then PM me as happy to help! You can return to work after a couple of days.

jive

I had it done with Optilase in Ely place and it was all good. Dry eye first thing in the morning for a few months but other than that no complications. If working on a computer I'd take a couple of days off, if you had it done on a Friday you could be back in work on the Monday. I had it done on a Friday evening after work and was back in work Monday morning.

You can get a discount and also claim 20% tax relief. PM me if you want the discount or info on the tax back. I would recommend the LASIK for quicker recovery unless you have a reason to get the LASEK (if you are into boxing/mma training for example!).

lemmno

Please please please think about every little thing before you go for it. Get two more opinions about whether you're suitable or not, get your dryness levels checked, schirmer, TBUT, eyelids and glands. It's all well and good when it goes well but absolute hell if it doesn't. If you have 3 separate opinions telling you that you're suitable then give it thought, but not befor then! I apologise for pretty much telling you what to do but the less people that have to suffer the way I have then the better.

Gingko

lemmno wrote: »

Please please please think about every little thing before you go for it. Get two more opinions about whether you're suitable or not, get your dryness levels checked, schirmer, TBUT, eyelids and glands. It's all well and good when it goes well but absolute hell if it doesn't. If you have 3 separate opinions telling you that you're suitable then give it thought, but not befor then! I apologise for pretty much telling you what to do but the less people that have to suffer the way I have then the better.

Sensible and important advise! Fair play Lemmno!

rob180

Had my eyes done on Friday in Cork, so far so good. Was able to drive home on Saturday, after the next day check up.
Will be back at work tomorrow. Very please with the results so far. Got 10% extra (Couple)discount cos the missus had the procedures done at the same time as well.

rob180

Had my week after op check up yesterday.
Everything okay, just on the "Blink" eye drops now, four times a day.
Drove in the dark for the first time last night. Did notice some starburst and halo effect from oncoming headlights but not as bad as i would have imagine.
Eyes are still abit dry first thing in the morning but it's slowly getting less and less. Maybe due to the fact iam still taken my daily dose of cod liver oil, yuck!
So after a week of getting my eyes done. Iam very please with the result and healing process.
Next check up will be in mid-August and will let you folks know on my progress.

rob180

Hi all,
Just pop in to tell everyone that all is well after the mid-August check up. Next check up will be around November. There's virtually no dryness and I don't use any eye drops anymore.
It's still a novelty waking up first thing and see everything in the room so clearly. Every now and then before bed, I even sometime try to take off my contact lenses, still thinking I am still wearing them. Only realised "oh, i don't wear them anymore".
I am really enjoying my freedom without contact lenses and glasses. Best monies I ever spent on myself.

Gingko

rob180 wrote: »

Hi all,
Just pop in to tell everyone that all is well after the mid-August check up. Next check up will be around November. There's virtually no dryness and I don't use any eye drops anymore.
It's still a novelty waking up first thing and see everything in the room so clearly. Every now and then before bed, I even sometime try to take off my contact lenses, still thinking I am still wearing them. Only realised "oh, i don't wear them anymore".
I am really enjoying my freedom without contact lenses and glasses. Best monies I ever spent on myself.

Tis a great feeling!

DFD

rob180 wrote: »

Had my eyes done on Friday in Cork, so far so good. Was able to drive home on Saturday, after the next day check up.
Will be back at work tomorrow. Very please with the results so far. Got 10% extra (Couple)discount cos the missus had the procedures done at the same time as well.

I am thinking of getting it done myself. Where did you get it done and was it expensive?

rob180

DFD wrote: »

I am thinking of getting it done myself. Where did you get it done and was it expensive?

Hi DFD,
I had the surgery done in Opera Lane in Cork city. The cost was around €3150 for both eyes.This includes an extra 10% off as the missus had the procedure done at the same time as me.

jive

DFD wrote: »

I am thinking of getting it done myself. Where did you get it done and was it expensive?

You can get €100 if you know someone who's had it done previously. If you need a referral for €100 off just send me a PM on here.

daz9941061

I had my Lasik surgery on Friday 23rd September. Happy so far. Just above 20/20 vision the next day. Back on the computer now obviously haha. Anybody has any questions just pop me a pm. Handy to answer questions and even no harm as I can also pass on the referral card as its 100 back for me and 100 off for you.

DOD555

Hi all, just though I would share my experience with laser eye surgery. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I underwent the Lasik surgery about 6 weeks ago.

Summary
Go for it! As someone who was wearing either glasses or contact lenses for the last 15 years, I find it so much easier. No more hassle of having to put in lenses when rushing for football or the gym or a night out. Shop around and get a few assessments just to ensure you are suitable, this is your eyes after all. The technology has never been more advanced so there has never been a safer time to do it (my brother and sister also got it done this year and highly recommend it). Everybody is different but I found the surgery fine, yes it was uncomfortable but only for around 20 seconds in each eye. My eyes were sore for around 2-3 hours after the surgery but after that it was fine once I put my drops in regularly (I got the Lasik treatment). It’s 6 weeks on now and no issues. Negotiate with the clinic, I got over €400 off the initial asking price. I went with Optilase who I found to be helpful and professional throughout. Please feel free to us me as a referral and you can get an additional €100 off (private mail me for details). Please read on for abit more detail (hope I don’t bore you!).

The Decision
I probably debated it for around 6 months before I finally decided to start booking consultations. It was always something I was planning on doing but I was worried my eyes hadn’t stabilised enough – my vision had changed slightly on my last 2 eye examination. But once you hit 25ish your eyes shouldn’t really change that much (I’m 31) so once you are older than 24/25 most clinics are happy to go ahead with it. Optilase gives a lifetime guarantee (and most clinics do give some form of guarantee) so if my eyes do get worse, they will give them another quick zap to fix them!

In terms of the surgery, there are 2 main types. Lasik and Lasek. You can google the difference but basically Lasik is the quick recovery option (they cut a circular flap on the eye surface first, then zap it and replace the flap) and most people get it (it’s also generally more expensive as they use 2 machines instead of one) unless there is some reason why you can’t get it (e.g. your cornea isn’t thick enough). I got my surgery done on a Friday around 4pm and was back to work on the Monday with no issues (I also have 4 computer screens and work 12 hours per day which I was worried about but no issues thankfully). I did have to turn the brightness down on my screens though.

In terms of clinic options, the ones who give free assessments (that I could find) are Optilase (who I went with), Optical Express and the Laser Vision Eye Clinic. All are in Dublin but I think most of them branches throughout the country. Then there is the private hospitals, Wellington at the Beacon and Blackrock clinic were the two I looked into but they were €100/€125 for the assessment (which does come off the cost of surgery if you do decide to go with them) and the actually costs of the surgery was quite expensive (around €3.5k/€4k). I would recommend to go for the free assessment with all 3 if possible. Just to get the differing opinions. Optilase actually said the cornea in one of my eyes was not thick enough for the Lasik initially but then they consulted with the surgeon and he was happy to go ahead with it. I went for a consultation at the Laser Vision Eye Clinic also. They were actually the cheapest (€2.5k for either type of surgery) but I just thought Optilase were abit more modern and also seemed to used several new technologies (e.g. idesign). They worked out slightly more expensive (around €2,700 after I negotiated them down from around €3,100 (which was the initial price they gave me including a 25% discount for having my health insurance with Irish Life). I also done the surgery at short notice which was one of the reasons they gave me a discount. How bad your eyes are also effects the cost (I was short-sighted, around -3.5 in both). I actually couldn’t get an appointment with Optical express, I couldn’t do Monday-Friday with work and they seemed to have very very limited availability on Saturdays – as in you have to book 2 months in advance! I had an appointment with them but had to cancel and the next Saturday appointment was 2 months down the line. From my other consultations I knew what type of surgery I needed so I asked them for a price and was quoted something ridiculous (including my health insurance discount) so I figured there was no point in waiting for the consultation. I would highly recommend Optilase, they were very professional from the outset, all their technology was very modern and new and the people working in the clinic were extremely nice and professional.

The Surgery
I was in the clinic for around 2.5 hours but spend the majority of that waiting around. They basically do all the tests again that they completed as part of the initial assessment (to make sure there have been no changes). The Lasik surgery consists of 2 parts, the first is the cutting of the flap with a laser (you don’t even feel this). The second part is the actual surgery when they burn away (reshape) some of your cornea. This is a little more uncomfortable, they place a suction ring over your eye so you can’t close it or move it. They ask you to stare at a red target and then start the sending laser pulses to reshape the cornea. The worse your eyesight, the longer this takes. Mine was around 20 seconds in one eye and 24 in the other (I have a stigma in one of my eyes). You really just feel pressure on your eye, like somebody pressing their finger against it, but it’s not really sore, just uncomfortable. After the surgery, they give your eyes a check to make sure everything is ok and you’re done. Should have also mentioned, they put numbing eye drops into your eyes before the surgery so you don’t feel the pain as much. This wore off when I got home (around 20 minutes after the surgery) and my eyes were sore for about a 2-3 hour period (this was the worst part). I basically lay in my bed with the curtains closes and lights off but my eyes felt really watery and it was quick uncomfortable. But after the initial 2-3 hours period I got out of bed and they were still a little sore but not that bad. The following day, they were a lot better and my vision was perfect which is the main thing.

The Aftercare
I had 3 different types of drops which I had to use for the first week (I was basically putting drops in every 2 hours) and then just one of the drops 4 times a day for the next 3 weeks. I’m around 6 weeks on from my surgery now and I still find my eyes abit dry in the morning so I put drops in every morning and then maybe twice more during the day depending on how my eyes feel. I still find bridge lights sometimes a little hard to look at, for example when I’m in bed some nights, I have to turn the brightness right down on my phone. I’ve done 2 follow up checks already (one the following day after the surgery and one after 4 weeks) – they check the flap is healing correctly and also do an eyesight test. There is a 3 month check also.

So that was my experience with laser eye vision, hope it was helpful. My eyesight has never been better and apart from abit of dryness in the mornings, I have had no issues. Obviously every person is different so this is just my experience.

Also if you decide to go with Optilase, you can use me a referral and you get an additional €100 off and I also get a €100 (Private mail me for details).

More than happy to answer any questions anybody who is considering the surgery may have.

BredaK312

Hi everybody!

New to this. I've just been reading all the comments, thank you to you all. I've booked my consultation appointment with Optilase in Cork. Just wondering if anyone has paid via the finance route? What was the schedule of payment like? The lady on the phone gave me an initial quote of between €2,300 & €3,070. Does this sound about right or should I expect a higher price at the consultation?

Any info is very much appreciated.
x

mcgiggles

BredaK312 wrote:

New to this. I've just been reading all the comments, thank you to you all. I've booked my consultation appointment with Optilase in Cork. Just wondering if anyone has paid via the finance route? What was the schedule of payment like? The lady on the phone gave me an initial quote of between â‚¬2,300 & â‚¬3,070. Does this sound about right or should I expect a higher price at the consultation?

Hey! I did the finance route, you have to pay â‚¬2000 then the rest you can choose to pay monthly.. which surgery is it? I paid â‚¬2600 including discounts, original price â‚¬3500.. I've heard lazik is dearer cos of the 2 machines?

BredaK312

Hey,
Thanks for your reply. You paid €600 over monthly payments is it? Gosh, It's a lot up front isn't it. What discounts did you avail of, health insurance or tax relief or both?

Thanks again

mcgiggles

BredaK312 wrote:

Hey, Thanks for your reply. You paid â‚¬600 over monthly payments is it? Gosh, It's a lot up front isn't it. What discounts did you avail of, health insurance or tax relief or both?

Yeah i didn't think it would be that much up front! Sorry mine was 2690... so 2000pm and then i chose to do 69pm for 10 months. I got 10% discount for being a therapie customer and I got 15% discount for LAYA health insurance. The tax relief you have to apply for after you have it done, it doesn't come off the payment price. I applied for the tax back after it and tbh I expected about 500 back but I only got about 300 or just over it. Dunno if its cos I'm on the lower tax bracket. But was kind of annoyed at that. But thats the government not optilase ;-)

ams

Got mine done in Optilase last week. They say the VHI discount is included in the price of 3.5k - I think its a bit of a gimmick really.

mcgiggles

ams wrote:

Got mine done in Optilase last week. They say the VHI discount is included in the price of 3.5k - I think its a bit of a gimmick really.

Which treatment did you get? My laya discount definitely came off the 3.5k! I got prk, but i heard lazik is dearer so maybe that was true for lazik?

DOD555

Yeh the discount is abit of a joke, mine was apparently 25% with Irish Life but there's no way there initial quote was actually giving you 25%. I got a quote from the Laser Vision Eye Clinic for €2,500 so I told Optilase that all I was willing to pay was €2,700 - take it or leave it and they took it. Finance option is also abit of a joke, i had (after negotiating) to pay €1700 up front and they would only finance €1,000. After claiming the 20% tax refief, mine worked out at €2,160 which isn't too bad (Lasik treatment).

Gadge

Hi guys, I'll be getting one eye done in Optilase Cork in a couple of months. If anyone wants to do a referral with me, send me a PM. Cheers!

mcgiggles

Gadge wrote:

Hi guys, I'll be getting one eye done in Optilase Cork in a couple of months. If anyone wants to do a referral with me, send me a PM. Cheers!

PM sent! Let me know if you didn't get it, sometimes my messages don't send right! Cheers!

owenc1980

Hi Guys, I'm looking for a referral discount for Optilase Dublin if anyone can help me out.

mcgiggles

owenc1980 wrote:

Hi Guys, I'm looking for a referral discount for Optilase Dublin if anyone can help me out.

PM'd you there Owen!

reddanmm

I went to optilase and got a quote for 3400 for wavefront . I also got a quote for a lower price with laser vision.ie.who had excellent reviews
When I contacted optilase about their price match promise they said that they had better spec equipment than them, even though it was the same op ( wavefront) so no discount . Also their ad for €500 off is totally misleading , nowhere in their ad does it state you will not get the lifetime gaurantee If you avail of it.

Scraggs

reddanmm wrote: »

I went to optilase and got a quote for 3400 for wavefront . I also got a quote for a lower price with laser vision.ie.who had excellent reviews
When I contacted optilase about their price match promise they said that they had better spec equipment than them, even though it was the same op ( wavefront) so no discount . Also their ad for €500 off is totally misleading , nowhere in their ad does it state you will not get the lifetime gaurantee If you avail of it.

What price did you get with the other company? It does actually say on the leaflets you get from them the t&c's of the 500 discount. I went with Optilase after researching all the providers in Dublin as it was the best price for the best technology. If you get a referral code you can get an extra 100 off and if you want to haggle I found they would come down. I paid 3000 incl the lifetime guarantee after being quoted same as you. I obsessively researched for 6 months and went to consultations with 4 places before deciding on Optilase where I had it done last week so if you have any q's feel free to ask.

mcgiggles

reddanmm wrote:

I went to optilase and got a quote for 3400 for wavefront . I also got a quote for a lower price with laser vision.ie.who had excellent reviews When I contacted optilase about their price match promise they said that they had better spec equipment than them, even though it was the same op ( wavefront) so no discount . Also their ad for â‚¬500 off is totally misleading , nowhere in their ad does it state you will not get the lifetime gaurantee If you avail of it.

Do you have health insurance? Or have you gone to therapie before? They are a sister company and you get discounts for both of those! Is that quote for prk or lasik?