Posted on 10/09/2021 10:50:50 AM PDT by brianr10
So, I am finally going to have cataracts removed as th blurry vision has become too annoying. What has been your experience with this operation? Did you get the hard or the vision correcting lenses? Was it painful?
BE VERY CAREFUL.
I had cataract surgery on
one eye and it totally wrecked my cornea, had to have a corneal transplant.
Why?
Idiot doc failed to do simple test to determine whether I had corneal dystrophy. Would have taken all of 5 seconds. Used wrong drops doing cataract surgery, which Pachymeter test would have revealed.
From wikipedia
:Corneal pachymetry is the process of measuring the thickness of the cornea. A pachymeter is a medical device used to measure the thickness of the eye’s cornea. It is used to perform corneal pachymetry prior to refractive surgery, for Keratoconus screening, Cataract, LRI surgery[1] and is useful in screening for patients suspected of developing glaucoma among other uses.
Piece if cake. A great light show. No pain at all. (Both eyes)
I’ve fought with the VA for 50 years over the fact that I never had eye problems until I spent 6 to 7 hours with a night scope for 15 months. Anybody else found the same problem?
Both eyes done a few years ago...at separate times.
Wham, bam, thank you m’am...over in a jiffy and painless. No follow-up issues. Vision was much improved.
I had my right eye done by Dr. Whitsett in Houston. He has been one of the lead investigators with the FDA for new lens treatments. My left eye was still 20/20 and told me my right eye would be even better Tham my left. I got the lens that works for medium and long distances. Paid $900 for the upgrade. Could not be happier.
He advertisements the Michael Berry show,so that’s another reason I went to him.
First anniversary of my double surgeries, one month apart. Both procedures were a painless 15 minutes, preceded by an hour of a series of eye drops. I got standard replacement lenses. But my doc is a genius. He placed a less powerful lens in left eye to reduce need for reading glasses. My optometrist’s first question when I saw her the day after second surgery was “ glasses or no glasses”. Since the last pic of me without glasses was on my 8th grade diploma I opted to fine tune with progressive lenses, but I drive with my normal Randolph aviator sunglasses I had ordered a while back with no problems. Good luck with your surgery and be prepared to see things you haven’t seen in years.
Talk to your opthalmologist about what lenses are available. The quality is not that same across the board. If there is a cost difference between basic and high quality, pay it.
My husband had both eyes done at the same time last June. Never had any trouble and is delighted with the improvement in his vision. He had to have eye patches on at night for a week and eye drops for 4 weeks. It was a breeze for him!
They put lenses in as replacements for the ones they take out nowadays. It’s an intraocular transplant. It will focus somewhere either near far and maybe multiple. There are many options. Mine right eye took about a month to get used to. It is a DCB00 model 0t 13mmm 0b 6mm Diaopter +19.5d Johnson and Johnson. Get a good doc. I went to Jahnle here in Delaware county, PA
*** When the anesthesia wears off, the eye that was worked on will be looking almost straight down while the other eye is looking straight ahead. It should wear off in a few hours, but can be quite disconcerting while you are waiting for the meds to wear off.***
This didn’t happen to me that I’m aware of. I was so dilated, and that bothered me more than anything right away. I had to wait for that to wear off, several hours. Colors were beautiful and more vivid, though. Also my surgeries were a week apart. The doctor says the eyes learn to work together better that way that doing them 2 weeks apart.
You will wonder why you waited so long. It is pretty much painless, slight discomfort. Likely will not need glasses except for reading. Had mine done 15 or so years ago still see pretty well without glasses and I am 83 years old. Had retina peal of both eyes maybe 5 years ago, much more complicated but simple in the hands of a good surgeon.
I would do the surgery as soon as you are able to. It’s been a life changer for me.
I don’t need cataract surgery yet, I have mild cataracts, not bad enough to deal with. Just had my eyes checked last week and waiting on new glasses. I’m getting the progressive lenses w/ the blue screen coating. They are sorely needed, I’ve been too long waiting to do this, long past overdue.
An excellent way to prevent/delay cataracts is to wear polarized sunglasses whenever outside in the sun.
I am on the VA wait list for cataract surgery. Originally four to six weeks after my evaluation, now it is six to nine months and extending daily. Got a call yesterday from a clinic that said I could schedule right away. Then she told me that was for an evaluation, which I already had two months ago, after which they would schedule me for surgery. Two trips to the Big City
Pertinent, but oft overlooked fact: I live on an island in Alaska. (Which I consider a VERY good thing at this time, regardless) This will require round trip airfare to the Big City, one or two nights in a hotel, ground transportation and meals, all at my expense.
My expense because age related cataracts are not part of my “Service connected” disabilities. If the surgery were related to my “Infantry feet, Airborne knees, Artillery ears” or any of the other various injuries and insults my body suffered in the service of my country, the VA would pick up the tab for travel, lodging and meals. But not for this.
Now, the expense and inconvenience is just a gripe. Not having the ability to jump in the car and drive to the clinic is a choice. I live where I live by design and plan. All I ask is a little consideration. MUST they schedule two appointments two weeks apart 600 nautical miles from where I live?
“opted for an ophthamologist with 10,000 operations under his belt “
I’ve got a few years to go before needing cataract surgery, but the opthamologist I’ll go to has 30,000 ops as of right now.
I had lasik 22 years ago so I’m somewhat familiar with the experience.
Had both of mine done 3 weeks apart last year. Right took 9 minutes and left took 12. Very minor irritation when blinking the first day, fine after that. Vision greatly improved. Eyedrops are most expensive part depending on insurance, I have great Fed Benefits and still dropped $500 on drops. I got the normal lenses and still use glasses to clear up close things, though I can now drive without glasses unlike before surgery, I still wear my glasses so I can read street signs and stuff better. Well worth the trouble and no problems at all. I’m basically 20/20 at eye exam. These eye doctors can do this in their sleep.
Read my post 61 on this thread. A cautionary tale.
BTW, we never eat farmed fish, only Alaskan salmon and Norwegian cod. Yum. And my cat won’t eat any fish at all.
Had both done a few years ago. Best decision I ever made. Fixed my astigmatism. Only need glasses for distance. There was some pain with the first operation but it was gone by lunch. The second, no pain at all. I do have a good friend who had cataracts removed and she is still having some vision issues so it is not foolproof. It is, however, one of the most common surgeries in medicine now so you should have no fear having it done.
I’ve had my vision set up as monovision also, since Lasik on both eyes in 1999. It works great for me also! No complaints at all. I was skeptical when the opthamologist suggested it but he knew what he was doing.
BTW, I’ve been on statins since about 1989; no cataracts.
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