I developed short-sightedness (myopia) with astigmatism in my late teens when I first started to wear glasses.

 

I soon grew tired of glasses and disliked wearing them in particular when out socialising with friends as I often felt self-conscious. The next step for me was contact lenses which I initially embraced as I felt liberated and which allowed me to lead a more active sporty lifestyle. However I became complacent wearing contact lenses and would over-wear them and my eyes often felt tired and irritated. I also suffered from frequent headaches. A serious eye infection resulted in my optician forbidding me from wearing them for a whole year. 

 

When I was first considering laser eye treatment I was initially quite sceptical about possible risks and side-effects involved in the procedure and the likelihood of its success as I knew I had a complicated prescription. Any fears or concerns I had were quickly allayed through the clinic and I was given excellent pre-op advice with an opportunity to chat to the optometrist and surgeon beforehand.

 

I underwent a 20 minute Lasek laser operation which involved the use of anaesthetic eye drops and the entire procedure was pain-free – all I had to do was relax and keep my head still for seconds at a time. Afterwards my eyes did water a lot – I was give antibiotic and steroid eye drops and anaesthetic eye drops to take as prescribed. I did experience some pain but learned that using saline drops and taking regular analgesia soon relieved this.

 

I was better in 2 days and after only a week noticed a dramatic improvement in my eyesight although there was some blurred vision in one eye. My vision continued to improve day by day and I would delight in the things I could suddenly see (unaided).

 

I felt I had been given the gift of sight back again (having previously struggled to see anything clearly more than a foot away from me).

 

After about 4-6wks I was fully recovered and my vision is now 20-20 in one eye and near perfect in the other. I can now run, swim, cycle and play squash and am no longer a slave to expensive and potentially harmful contact lenses. I am very happy with my decision to have laser eye treatment - my only regret is not doing it sooner!. I would not hesitate in recommending VIP who ensured I had all the information and guidance necessary to make an informed decision and would like to thank all the clinicians (nurses, optometrist, surgeon) and support staff who ensured my whole experience of laser eye treatment was a positive one.

 

As cliché as it sounds it honestly was a life-changing experience for me with VIP.

 

Sinead Peters