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| I have been told by a eye surgeon that I have cataracts and they should be removed. I am very nervous about this and wonder what to expect during and after surgery. I am just having one eye done first and realize I can't drive right away but I did not ask how long before I am doing normal everday things. I have read a little bit on this and some have mentioned their eyes feel scratchy afterwards.
Would really appreciate your experience on this surgery. Lois |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Relax! The actual surgery is easy. I was sedated, but not knocked out. It was over in no time. No pain at all. I had to put drops in my eyes for a few weeks after, no big deal. I also wore a plastic shield the first day and then at night for a week. You will need someone to go with you so they can drive you home. I could drive myself the next day. My eyes were not scratchy at all. Honestly, it was one of the easiest things I ever did. Are you getting standard lenses -- both for distance? Be sure you understand what your vision will be like after the surgery. You will be amazed at what you can see, and colors -- wowza. |
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| Ditto what Dedtired posted. I had one eye done, then a month later the second eye and no problems and no pain. Mine was done over 10 years ago and had multi focal lens put in for near and far. I had worn glasses for over 40 years and now don't. I do, sometimes, wear a pair of very low magnifying glasses from the $ store for reading very fine print. Didn't even have to do that until the last year or so. Repeat that last sentence of Dedtireds, it's amazing!! |
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| The thought of it can be scary, but the reality is that it the surgery is simple, safe, and quick, with a very low rate of complications. They always do one eye at a time. I had mine done 4 years ago. I wore a patch for one day, had it removed the next, had no itchiness or other symptoms, and used eye drops for about a week...no big deal. The second eye was done a month later...again no problems. The really nice thing is that they will insert a tiny artificial lens during the operation, that will pretty much correct your vision to normal. I went from being incredibly near-sighted to having close to 20/20 vision afterwards. And, of course, everything was clear again. So, don't worry. Look forward to this as something that will be an improvement. You will be happy you did it. I see better now without glasses than I did for the previous 60 years. |
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| There have been several recent posts on this, including some long ones. If you do a search, you'll find them. |
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| The only part of my cataract experience that I am not entirely happy about is that I got monovision -- one eye is set for near vision (reading) and the other for distance. I have not been able to adjust to it. I wear glasses some of the time and I got a contact lens for the eye with the near vision when I'm not wearing glasses. The contact lens is wonderful. I do have to wear readers with them. I also still see a flickering light at the side of one implanted lens and that is pretty common. It is gradually improving. Your vision will be different and even though it is very likely to be far better. Nevertheless, it requires some adjustment. Good luck. You'll do fine. |
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| Ditto to what everyone else said. It's the easiest medical experience you'll every have. My doctor even provided limo service to and from the surgery facility. |
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| And my eye dr. (who just diagnosed me with the very beginnings of a cataract--probably no need for surgery for 10-20 years) just told me that they've now got the operation down to about 5-7 minutes. It's a very minor, easy procedure. Just one thing to beware of. Unfortunately, there are some drs out there who rush to operate on cataracts, before it's really necessary. The reason is $$$--they get your money sooner, younger patients are more likely NOT to be on medicaid yet (relieving the dr. of those limitations) and younger patients are a lot more likely to opt for the high-end lenses that aren't generally covered by insurance or medicaid. Medicade doesn't pay for the better lens implants, of course, and if you have yours done using medicaid coverage, it's likely you will probably still need glasses. But you won't be able to get them for several weeks, because they cannot do a refraction until your eye is healed. I've taken both my mom and aunt to have theirs done, and even back in those days (15-20 years ago) it was a very quick, simple procedure--and it's only improved over the years. Don't worry--you'll be fine and will really appreciate the change! |
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- Posted by czech_chick (My Page) on Wed, May 30, 12 at 9:22
| My 93 year old mother had her right eye done in March and will do her left eye in November. She has no need for glasses now! Sees better than I. She had zero problems with the surgery...absolutely nothing to worry about! Carol |
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| Yes, you should check out the earlier threads on this topic. Lots of good input there. I had the cataracts removed and replaced with "mini-monovision" and am very happy with the outcome. Amazing to not need glasses for the first time since 1st grade! |
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- Posted by linda_in_iowa (My Page) on Wed, May 30, 12 at 9:47
| Azzalea, it is Medicare, not Medicaid, you were referring to. |
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| Don't worry at all. When you get there they put drops in your eye and then take you to the area to wait. When your turn comes you go in to the procedure room and get on the table. People will be talking you through the whole thing and tell you what will happen. The anesthesiologist will administer a shot. I told mine to knock me out both times and woke up later and taken to the recovery area. Given a drink and a muffin and, when you're feeling clearheaded you can leave. It's all very simple. No need to be apprehensive at all. |
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| It went very well, I still was petrified because they were cutting on my eye so the Dr gave me a stronger dose of whatever, took me longer to recover enough to leave. Everyone else seemed to be having a good time, wish I hadn't been so scared but they were nice about it... |
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- Posted by country_bumpkin_al (My Page) on Wed, May 30, 12 at 19:59
| I'm having my right eye done June 11th, (and the left one about a month later) so I'm reading this with interest! Since I dont have insurance there was no discussion on "type" of lens. He did say I might have to wear glasses!I jst wanna SEE! My right eye is completely gone! :( |
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| country_bumpkin- When the doctor says you might have to wear glasses, it only means that you might not have perfect 20/20 vision afterwards. I went from 20/400 without glasses to 20/25 after surgery, so I still wear glasses, but now with only a tiny correction to make me 20/20. Even people who normally don't wear glasses sometimes need them afterwards because the natural lens that gets cloudy from a cataract and has to be removed has a "power," so if they didn't put in a lens to compensate you would have to wear glasses with a very high diopter correction. Remember 20-30 years ago when people who had cataract surgery had to wear glasses that made their eyes look huge? That was because they didn't have the ability at that time to insert a lens and people were left very far-sighted by the operation. Now, if you have normal 20/20 vision, you get a certain power lens inserted that should restore your acuity back to normal. If you wear glasses because you are farsighted or nearsighted, they insert a different power lens to also try to bring you to "normal." It's like having contacts...only they are behind your cornea rather than floating in front of it. |
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| It was mentioned there have been recent posts regarding cataract surgery. I went went back at least 20 pages checking to see if they would come up but so far nothing. Is there a easier way to find them? Lois |
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| Lois, yes, use the Search function. It's not the best, but it worked this time. |
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- Posted by country_bumpkin_al (My Page) on Thu, May 31, 12 at 12:11
| Thank you for the information, Kudzu9!! :) |
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| country_bumpkin- You're welcome. One other thing...type of lens. They usually try to correct you to 20/20 at distance, or maybe just make you very slightly nearsighted. The reason for this is that removal of the natural lens means you don't have an ability to focus close (if you haven't already lost that through the normal aging process). I was given the following choices: 1. "Monofocal lenses" with a power so I could have good distant vision, meaning seeing sharply from about 3-4 feet and beyond without glasses, but would need glasses for anything relatively close, like reading. 2. "Monofocal lenses" with a power so that I would be nearsighted enough to read without glasses but would need glasses for everything beyond several feet. 3. "Multifocal lenses," which is a newer style of lens that is supposed to be able to let you see pretty well at distance and pretty well closeup, but not maybe quite at 20/20. 4. Monofocal in one eye for distance and a different power in the other for reading. The brain is supposed to get used to this after a number of weeks, but some people never completely adjust, and you can't really go back and have a different lens put in if you don't like it. I opted for the first one as it is what has worked best for the most people. I would rather be able to see everything well without glasses and put on readers when needed. Also, the multifocal lenses are quite a bit more expensive, may let in a little less light, and may cause halos in certain conditions. And my father chose the fourth option and was never satisfied. As it turned out, I was about 20/25 when the surgery was done, so I can drive without glasses, and watch movies and tv without glasses if I want to. But I was used to wearing glasses, so I didn't mind having to wear a pair with a slight correction to get to 20/20. Of course, it has a bifocal for reading, too. Hope this helps with your choice. |
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| Thanks, Alisande for the link it was very helpful. Lois |
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