Anyone had cataract surgery?

[luvgoing2disney]

I am scheduled for my yearly eye exam in a few weeks and will not be surprised if the doctor thinks it is time for cataract surgery. This has been an on-going process and together we have decided to wait as I have VERY poor vision in my other eye. I understand that this type surgery is normally no problem, but given my circumstance we have waited, not wanting to risk the loss of vision in my primary eye.

I remember the days when this surgery required wearing the dark sunglasses for a period of time and had a longer recovery period. Has anyone had this and can offer their experience with it?

 

[goofyernmost]

I am scheduled for my yearly eye exam in a few weeks and will not be surprised if the doctor thinks it is time for cataract surgery. This has been an on-going process and together we have decided to wait as I have VERY poor vision in my other eye. I understand that this type surgery is normally no problem, but given my circumstance we have waited, not wanting to risk the loss of vision in my primary eye.

I remember the days when this surgery required wearing the dark sunglasses for a period of time and had a longer recovery period. Has anyone had this and can offer their experience with it?

Actually, I just had one done last month. There is always a risk no matter what you do, but, if the eye that you are having done is you primary and your other eye isn't very good, it can be a hassle. My operated eye was my weakest one, so I had my primary to fall back on. I have heard of people that could see fairly well the next day and, of course, that didn't happen for me, it took almost 4 weeks before I started to see things in clarity. Once it did kick in, however, was I ever glad I had it done.

I wore glasses for 45 years and now I don't have too. I see thinks with the "new" eye so much clearer now then I can with my primary eye. That totally surprised me. For example, did you know that your natural lens will yellow over time making night vision more difficult and changing the tint of almost everything else? With just the one eye repaired my night vision is like it was when I was in my teens. I love it. In fact, I just yesterday set up my appointment to get my other eye done. Can't wait to do it. I think I should be able to see through walls by the time it's over.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

That's very encouraging and congratulations on your progress! I have over a year's worth of sick time accumulated and was hoping be be off just two weeks but if four are needed so be it.

Did you have it in N outpatient facility? How alert were you during the procedure?

 

[Squirlz]

I had it 2 years ago and it helped so much. I was very worried but it was not bad at all. Now it is becoming necessary in my other eye and I can't wait to get it done.

 

[minnie mum]

Did you have it in N outpatient facility? How alert were you during the procedure?

Most cataract surgeries are done in either a freestanding clinic or a day surgery. In the surgeries I worked at, patients had IV sedation so that they wouldn't move during the procedure, and had no memory of what was going on. It's a short acting sedative, but you would still be a little sleepy when you go home.

 

[Poohforyou]

My husband had it done a few years ago - maybe 4 or 5. He had both eyes done about a month apart. It was in an out patient facility. He didn't have to wear dark glasses but had a series of drops he had to put in a few times a day's of a week or so before and a few weeks after. He followed instructions exactly and had excellent results.

I don't remember him missing more than a few days of work. His vision is almost perfect. He just needs glasses for distance and has no problems with night driving or anything like that. Good luck.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've had both eyes done! The best thing I could have done. I had trouble seeing in the dark about 5 or so years ago. I was just 60. I had very bad eyesight...almost legally blind. The eye doctor caught it.....said that if he had to put a cataract in the worst place in someone eye, mine was where it would be!!! Terrific. I have no recollection of that surgery. To be honest, the week or so leading up to the surgery was a pain....many, many different drops through out the day. Same thing to a slightly lesser degree after surgery. I could see amazingly well as soon as the surgery was over!!! It was incredible. I had to wear a patch at night for the first week...so as to not disturb the eye. Then, I had to wear one contact lens in the uncorrected eye....that was also a pain.
About a year later, I informed my eye doctor that my 'quality of life was being impacted by my undone eye'.....2 months later I had that one done. I was more aware during that procedure...no pain, just was aware. I paid extra for lenses that would correct my astigmatism....so I basically got lasik surgery for $2000!!! A bargain. If I had just gone with the normal lenses, it wouldn't have cost anything.
Now, I still wear glasses, most of the time, but that's because I still need them for reading. And rather than keep taking them on and off, I just get really good readers (actual prescription ones, not from the grocery store). I'm very happy I had the surgery. I recommend it for anyone with cataracts!!

As far as recovery times goes.....I had my second eye done on a Thursday, on Friday evening I was at a friends house, having photos done for my dd's senior ball....I couldn't wear any eye makeup, but I still looked fine. No one suspected I had had eye surgery the day before!!! You need to relax for the first 48 hrs but after that, I found I was able to do anything I normally did...except swim!

 

[CynBeth]

My Mom had both eyes done in Oct. She had the worst eye done first and then 2 weeks later the other eye. She had to do drops and since she is alone and was told not to bend or do heavy lifting we stayed to help her out. On really sunny days she still wears the dark glasses. Her vision was so bad her doc told her going in that she would not be able to correct her very much but it was better than she thought. She still wears glasses but her prescription is so low. She had a choice during the procedure to either be given a sedative to calm her down or be put to sleep and she chose to be put to sleep so she had to watch what she ate for a day to avoid an upset stomach due to the drugs. It was outpatient. She did have issues seeing for a bit because after the 1 eye was done the lens in her glasses for the eye that was done was removed so she was only able to see out of the eye that wasn't done yet so she was a little off. After the second one she couldn't wear glasses at all so she was really off until 6 weeks after the second eye when she could get her new glasses.

 

[disney world dreamer]

i am blind in my left eye and have 20/800 vision in my right.
i have coloboma, have had several retinal detachments, and have glaucoma.
i went to a cataract specialist at will's eye hospital in philadelphia and even he said he lost sleep over my surgery.
it went fine.
only had to wear sunglasses to the car.
had to wear a shield when i slept for the first couple days.
took eye drops 4 times per day for 2 weeks.
if you're concerned about your eye sight and have not yet then make sure you are going to a cataract specialist.

 

[goofyernmost]

That's very encouraging and congratulations on your progress! I have over a year's worth of sick time accumulated and was hoping be be off just two weeks but if four are needed so be it.

Did you have it in N outpatient facility? How alert were you during the procedure?

The time for absolute correction was a month, but, slowly everyday it got a little better. Since I still had one eye that also had started the process of cataracts affecting my vision, it wasn't obstructive, so after the surgery I wore a plastic protective bubble over the repaired eye at night while I slept to prevent me from accidentally hitting or scratching it in my sleep. My days after the first week were absolutely normal except for the fact that I was actually seeing with just my good eye. The fixed one was also allowing me to see objects but the details were quite fuzzy, but, I still had peripheral vision with it and functioned quite well. Even the first weeks restrictions were just no heavy lifting and no bending over to the point where you head was below your waist. Everything else was OK to do.

I spoke with many people that had improved vision almost immediately, I was one of the few that didn't, but, it did come about and it had more to do with my cornea them my lens. It was outpatient, I arrived at 10am and was walking out the door by 1:30pm. I had to go back the next day for a followup and then 4 weeks later for a final check. During all that time after the first week, I just did my regular routine including playing golf. It seemed a little odd without the sharper focus of my "new" eye, but, it wasn't really debilitating, just seemed a little discouraging.

I think I know where you are coming from because I am old enough that I knew people that had cataract surgery and it was a big deal requiring coke bottle type lenses in order to see at all. I was completely aware during the procedure, but, there was no pain and they sufficiently obscured my good vision so I could not really see what was happening and could feel nothing. I could hear everything they were saying though, not that I understood a lot of it. They put drops in your eye that completely numb it. I was amazed how little it bothered me during the procedure.

I'm now scheduled to have the other one done in mid March. I wish it could be sooner.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

I use to work at an eye drs office...cataract surgery now generally approves your eye sight unless you have other issues in your eye besides the cataracts and just the need to use glasses. What they do is take our the old lens (the lens thats clouded with the cataract) and put in a lens implant. Its like a 15-20 minute procedure. Very very easy procedure. You should be ok and should not worry about having it done!

 

[luvgoing2disney]

All of these are exactly what I need to hear. Thanks to all of you and congratulations on your improved vision!

 

[Jaya]

I had both eyes done, a month apart. I was totally asleep for the first one but was awake for most of the second one. I could actually see the cataract being "exploded" and extracted. The procedures were an in-and-out whiz.

My one piece of advice is: DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE on the type of lens you want. I didn't.....I went with what the eye doctor recommended and I will regret it to my dying day. I paid $5000 extra over what Medicare paid to get a certain kind of multi-focus lens and it made my night vision absolutely horrible. Had I gone with the standard lens, I would have still had to wear glasses but I could have seen at night. Now I don't have to wear glasses but I can't drive at night and that has really impacted my life. If I had looked at the reviews before hand I would have read what people said about my particular lens and their night-vision problems and I would have been better prepared to grill the doctor. I have no one but myself to blame for this, but I also think the doctor was pushing to lens to make more money.

 

[ronandannette]

I had both eyes done, a month apart. I was totally asleep for the first one but was awake for most of the second one. I could actually see the cataract being "exploded" and extracted. The procedures were an in-and-out whiz.

My one piece of advice is: DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE on the type of lens you want. I didn't.....I went with what the eye doctor recommended and I will regret it to my dying day. I paid $5000 extra over what Medicare paid to get a certain kind of multi-focus lens and it made my night vision absolutely horrible. Had I gone with the standard lens, I would have still had to wear glasses but I could have seen at night. Now I don't have to wear glasses but I can't drive at night and that has really impacted my life. If I had looked at the reviews before hand I would have read what people said about my particular lens and their night-vision problems and I would have been better prepared to grill the doctor. I have no one but myself to blame for this, but I also think the doctor was pushing to lens to make more money.

Very, very good information - thank you. I have congential cataracts right smack in the center of both my eyes. At age 45 I'm on a waiting list to have both eyes done within 72 hours of each other. I'm getting "done" at a world-renowned eye clinic and although I completely trust the care I'll be getting, I've been very uncomfortable with how hard they've been selling the multi-focal lens upgrade. I've decided not to take them and not to take the kind that would correct my mild astigmatism. Having the physical obstruction removed should resolve the serious issues I have with low-light (i.e. night driving), and correcting my distance vision will be life-changing. I've actually worn glasses since I was 2 and having to maintain them for astigmatism and perhaps reading will help me to continue to look and feel like myself.

 

[aprilgail]

That's very encouraging and congratulations on your progress! I have over a year's worth of sick time accumulated and was hoping be be off just two weeks but if four are needed so be it.

Did you have it in N outpatient facility? How alert were you during the procedure?

You should not need 4 weeks off just for cataract surgery, I took my brother for it on a Friday and he was back teaching on Monday. Two month ago I took my mom to have hers done, she said she was alert through the whole thing. She also had one good eye and one bad eye- her "crazy eye" as she calls it- it looks out instead of straight and the eye sight is very bad. She needed the surgery on her good eye. Since medicare didn't cover the laser surgery only the old fashioned hand type we opted to pay the extra 1500.00 to get the laser surgery because of the fact that it was her primary eye and we didn't want to take any chances. If she needed it on the "crazy eye" we would not have went with the laser. By the next day her eyesight was 100% better- The whole bunch of drops were a pain, she is 87 years old and it was very confusing for her, she read one of the labels and it said to "use one drop 4X a day, space drops 5 minutes apart" so in her mind that meant she could put a drop of that in and wait 5 minutes and put another drop of that in when it really meant wait 5 minutes until you put the other type of drop in. She kept thinking she could put the 4 drops of that one kind in over a 20 minute period then move on to the next type of drops. There were 4 bottles of drops to put in some 4 times a day some 3 and they changed by the week. The co-pays for her for each bottle of drops was 35.00 X 4 and then she had to get 2 of them refilled, we happened to be in for a check up and I mentioned how much the co-pay was and that I had to get her refills and they handed me 2 bottles of the drops for free- if she ever needs them again I will remember that!!

 

[goofyernmost]

You should not need 4 weeks off just for cataract surgery, I took my brother for it on a Friday and he was back teaching on Monday. Two month ago I took my mom to have hers done, she said she was alert through the whole thing. She also had one good eye and one bad eye- her "crazy eye" as she calls it- it looks out instead of straight and the eye sight is very bad. She needed the surgery on her good eye. Since medicare didn't cover the laser surgery only the old fashioned hand type we opted to pay the extra 1500.00 to get the laser surgery because of the fact that it was her primary eye and we didn't want to take any chances. If she needed it on the "crazy eye" we would not have went with the laser. By the next day her eyesight was 100% better- The whole bunch of drops were a pain, she is 87 years old and it was very confusing for her, she read one of the labels and it said to "use one drop 4X a day, space drops 5 minutes apart" so in her mind that meant she could put a drop of that in and wait 5 minutes and put another drop of that in when it really meant wait 5 minutes until you put the other type of drop in. She kept thinking she could put the 4 drops of that one kind in over a 20 minute period then move on to the next type of drops. There were 4 bottles of drops to put in some 4 times a day some 3 and they changed by the week. The co-pays for her for each bottle of drops was 35.00 X 4 and then she had to get 2 of them refilled, we happened to be in for a check up and I mentioned how much the co-pay was and that I had to get her refills and they handed me 2 bottles of the drops for free- if she ever needs them again I will remember that!!

I will admit to the eye drops being a hassle. To help me not forget when to do it I just took a pad of paper and wrote down when I was to take each during the day. That made it a lot easier as I could check off each one as I did it and not "forget" if I did it or not. That got easier because with mine, I did all three drops 6 times a day the first week and then two of the three, 4 times a day the week two and three . Week 4 just the one 4 times a day and then it was done.

 

[ZuZugal]

I am 50 yrs old and have had cataract surgery on both eyes, performed over the last year and a half.

Both basically went well, but a few things to think on:

Talk to the anesthesiologist before the surgery. The IV sedation med i was given seemed to have the opposite effect, so to be fully informed is a good thing.

I had "fluttering" in one eye after the surgery, but not the other. Some lens implants fit more snugly than others, and one of mine needed a little more time to let the scar tissue form around it. I wasn't prepared for that, as it happened with the first cataract surgery. I was a little "off"; felt unbalanced with the fluttering, but it only lasted a few days. 2nd eye; no fluttering.

As a PP said, be very diligent when asking questions about the lens implants. I had implants for mono-vision, and my "reading eye" implant prescription isn;t right. I am now wearing a contact in that eye as well to make the vision what it should be. Will have PRK surgery within the year to correct it. Lasik not an option for me, but after much reading on the 2 I would choose PRK anyway. I do have an astigmatism in both eyes, which probably made a difference as well. The more questions you ask the better. These are the only eyes you will ever have! You have to live with your vision, not the surgeon.

Good luck!! I was out and about the same day for both surgeries, but I know everyone is different.

 

[goofyernmost]

I'm surprised about the IV Sedation Meds that you are talking about. I had no IV and no sedation. The only thing that I was given, other then pupil dilation, were drops in my eye to numb it. I know of no other thing that was used. I was alert for the entire thing and had no pain either during or after the procedure, walked myself out the door within 20 minutes of the surgery and went home. I live by myself as well. Have others had to have an IV sedation treatment? Is it a different set of circumstances? I'm a little confused.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I'm surprised about the IV Sedation Meds that you are talking about. I had no IV and no sedation. The only thing that I was given, other then pupil dilation, were drops in my eye to numb it. I know of no other thing that was used. I was alert for the entire thing and had no pain either during or after the procedure, walked myself out the door within 20 minutes of the surgery and went home. I live by myself as well. Have others had to have an IV sedation treatment? Is it a different set of circumstances? I'm a little confused.

I work in a surgery center that performs cataract surgery, all our patients receive IV sedation. Mainly to help them relax, most are discharged within 20-30 min of the completion of the surgery

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I am very young when my cataracts started and I had to have surgery - mid 30's (2011). They did both eyes, one at a time. I was "sedated" using something that isn't really general anesthesia, but it knocked me out anyway (at least for the first eye). I was in and out in very little time. It was funny checking the difference in my vision when the first eye was done. Even colors were a little different.

The surgery was covered by my insurance. Easy peasy.

I now only need glasses for reading (due to an astigmatism I could have gotten corrected, but didn't have the cash to shell out for the more expensive lenses). The fact that I can see when I wake up is so weird to me. And I can drive without glasses.