ANYONE HERE HAD CATARACT SURGERY?

Make_My_Day

I recently went to my eye doctor and got the repeat message that I have mild cataracts, and will probably need the surgery within the next year or two. Has anyone had this surgery, and if so what were the results from your perspective? I am more than what you would call nervous about having surgery done on my eyes.

kansashunter

I have had both eyes done and it is a lot better for me. I was wearing glasses and low light was very hard to see. Can I see as good as I did in my younger days, no and some things still bother me. I don't know if they are age related or surgery related but incoming headlights really bother me and I don't adjust from dark to light or light to dark very fast. The only thing I know for sure is I get a halo effect around lights at night. I went with the lenses that allow you to see up close and far away, insurance won't cover them but I am glad I did. There are others on here that have had it so I'm sure some of them will chime in.

ilove22s

Make_My_Day said:

I recently went to my eye doctor and got the repeat message that I have mild cataracts, and will probably need the surgery within the next year or two. Has anyone had this surgery, and if so what were the results from your perspective? I am more than what you would call nervous about having surgery done on my eyes.

heres my experience.

my 1st eye was done 5+? years ago.  I had 6 eye drops to use 2 months before the surgery.  just a fyi, there is a duct from your eye to your mouth, so whatever goes in your eye, ends up in your mouth and they were not tasty.  then after the surgery i had to use them for several months too.  that was the program  back then.

The surgery was cool to me.  I spent more time in PRE-op.  If you havent been in a surgery, they may get you to come in and do a baseline EKG.  But for the most part, the may put a stint in your hand.  Its just where they can get some drugs in you fast instead of poking around for a vein.   And hopefully  the doc will come in and talk with you and mark on your forehead what eye they will work on.

The surgery was faster than the time in PRE-op.  But for the most part, the doc will stick i needle in your eye and liquefy your lens, suck it out, flush it out and then a new lens will be rolled up like a burrito and inserted in that needle.  Once inside your eye, it will automatically open up and presto, brand new eyes and hopefully 20/20 vision.  They will take some measurements of your eye before too.  You may feel some pressure on the eye during the surgery.    But when i did mine, the doc was explaining what was going on.  For the most part, the light in your eye was too bright to see anything.  But what was also cool was when i didnt have any lens in my eye, it was like looking through wax paper.  and i think the surgery was about 15 mintues... way fast.

i cant remember if they dilate your eyes, but just be ready for that and you can ask too.

But do some googling on the surgery and the type of lenses you can choose from.  They do make a mulitfocal sort of like bi or trifocal glasses.   But you should be having a consult with the surgeon/doc and see whats best for you and your needs.  Since i was really near sighted the Doc said that just the regular mono? type would be best.  He also stated that they (patients) had more issues with the multifocal types.   Dont be afraid to tell your doc, you like to play with guns.  Believe it or not Docs are human too and some do shoot.  But if you have any specific things you may want to continue to do, again, let him/her know.

One odd affect.  Your OEM lens are flexible.  Really cool and is how your eye "focuses" on things at various distances.  But with your new lens, its not flexible and the little filaments that flex your lens are severed.  So you wont be able to view (focus) on something close? and focus on it like an OEM lens.   You will see (pun intended) when you try to do it.  If you are only doing 1 eye, your other may may compensate.

Your POST-op will be fast, unless there are issues, and you may want to have someone handy to drive you home.  Chances are you will have a patch over your eye for several day AND nights just to keep you from scratching it and damaging it.  And chances are you will go back the next day for a POST-op visit and to check how things are going.

and fwiw, on my last surgery, they only used 1 eye drop and it was a week or so before and after.  way nicer and less bad taste in the mouth.

also, whats cool about the surgery is that if anything goes wrong as far as replacement lens goes, they can fix it.  They will just do it the old way of slicing your eye open, pull out the old lens, and replace with new one and let things heal on their own. 

So, ask about whats going to happen and if you have any concerns you can jot them down to and go down the list so you dont forget anything.  Its part of their job to explain whats going to happen and so forth.  

You may find that its not so scary as you "think".  

Gene L

I also had both eyes, different times, of course.  The benefits were immediate; could see w/out glasses except for reading and even then, if there's enough light, I don't need readers.

Surgery doesn't require putting you to sleep and takes about 4-5 minutes.No pain at all.  I got a metal eye patch with holes immediately after surgery; could see through it but nothing could get in my eye except light.

Fading a bit now; it's been probably 12 + years and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if that were possible.  Immediate great vision.

jaywapti

I had both eyes done last year, I had no pain or discomfort, I had one eye done and the other 2 weeks later, Interesting thing after the 1st eye i noticed if I closed the eye that had the surgery everything with the other eye had a slight green hue, asked the doc about it, he said it was not uncommon . I wanted the best long range vision, and i got it, my distance vision is 20/15 in the left and 20/10 right. In Oct. i got my new drivers licence , passed the eye test with no restrictions on my DL . I wear a very slight correction for reading, sitting here at the computer I dont need glasses to read the screen at 18" but the keyboard is fuzzy at 12" without reading glasses. At the range I had to change all the focus on rifle scopes, spotting scopes and binoculars and can now shoot with open sights without glasses. For thoes that dont know me Im 83, had i any idea how great the surgery was ,all I can say is "why did I wait so long"

JAY

Gene L

Add: I don't remember if they did an IV or not, wouldn't be surprised if they did.  There is a doctor(s) that do this on an assembly-line type business and they have it down to a science.  One of my eyes is darker than the other (the lens, that is) probably due to the implant aging. had an exam last Wednesday, my vision is still pretty good and I'm 75 yoa going on 76. I have an astigmatism which the surgery didn't correct, but it's not bad.

NN

I did it and am  glad I did.

Others have covered the most important issues.

Clean and I had the same after surgery instructions:
no dirty work for 30 days, ie, no dusting, yard work, gardening, anything dusty, and do not clean the bird cage if you have one.

I had one issue that took some time to work through---I got a reflection off the edge of the
left lens, so sayith the eye doc. That stopped a couple of years later. It did not hurt vision.

Now I believe that issue was a reflection sagging tissue above the eye that I did not notice
because of poor vision before the procedure. So, I still see ghost images in my left that are not there if I pull up the left part of the eyebrow.

Not my call; but, I'd say go for it.

Ranger4

I had one eye done two weeks ago and the other was set for Monday which I cancelled.  Worst mistake I have made and here is why.  No two people are the same.  I have astigmatism.  I had night vision problems and simply was not shooting as well, even through a scope.  The surgeon made me sign a document indicating I would need glasses for reading and put the long range lens in.  Big mistake.  Because I cannot see to read anything with that eye anymore.   I cannot even read the time on my watch 2 inches from my eye.


 I see at distance maybe 3-5% more clear.  I have to have a massive power lower lense to read anything.  In the eye they did not do, I can see to reload ammo, meaning see fine detail, read small labels, etc without glasses.  I can no longer read anything with the new lense in place, I only have distant vision.


Not everyone can have the lense that gives both near and far vision and those who can often have halos and worse night vision, so I did not qualify for them.  I have asked to have the surgery done over and try the new lense with both near and far vision. The surgeon, a former national president of the ophthalmology association has advised that I must not have listened to her and she says very few people complain as I have.  I do precision work, I assume most people do not.

I have worn glasses most of my life, however, this really destroys my ability to read small things or anything like tie flies or something like thread a needle or even to work with  small parts on guns.  The glasses needed are far stronger than anything available like reading glasses.

I have been told for 3 years that I would need cataract surgery some day and this year a very young doctor said it was time.  So, I have cancelled the second surgery and will try to get by with glasses but will never let them touch my other eye unless I simply cannot drive.  I am lucky they did my weak eye first.

Also, if you do not wear glasses or have any other issues except for the cataract you can elect monovision.   They give you a distant vision in one eye and a close vision in the other.

So, please make sure if you have astigmatism or need glasses to read now that you understand what the result will be. As a long range shooter and one who works on guns and small detail, this is the worst mistake I have ever made.  I would gladly give up the night vision issues now if I had known.  Put it off as long as you can.

This is my first post, curiously as I just had this issue.  Hope it helps.  The surgery is no big deal. I did have pretty strong pain the first day but it was gone after about 8 hours.  

tennmike

Had the cataract surgery about 4 years ago on both eyes. I'm going to have to get glasses as my right eye is showing some distance vision issues. Left eye is also showing distance vision issues, but on a much smaller scale. That isn't abnormal for lens implants. For first three years I had perfect distance vision but had to wear reading glasses and still do. You can get implants that take care of both distance and close up, but I didn't take that option due to price.

Bigslug

Both my parents and an aunt had it done, and all sprung for the multi-distance lenses.  Mom and aunt very happy; dad's was very recent and still settling in.  He had a bit of an corneal complication on one eye for which they needed to apply some localized steroids and a cover contact to help the abrasion heal up properly, but he seems mostly all past that now.

Mom's cataracts were so bad she needed to hold a book five inches from her face to read it.  Dad had the "spiderweb" type that were really starting to cause him problems.  In both their cases, the surgery was really fast.  Plan on a couple weeks of taking it easy per side.

I've been dealing with the aging effects of presbyopia (inability to change focus for distance).  LASIK not really likely to give me what I need, and multifocal glasses (progressives and now trifocals) aren't something I adapt to readily.  Observing my folk's experience from the perspective of my own is almost enough to make me say "Gee, where can I go to get cataracts?"

I wouldn't do it unless I were getting the multi-distance option.  There's possibly going to be SOME need to juggle glasses for various issues whatever you do, but the need for "on for this and off for that, and tilt your head this way or that for something else" is my current personal hell.  Remember, your dominant eye will need to go from distance back to your front sight, so the whole "one eye for close, one eye for far" approach of monovision will likely give you grief too.  As long as you're needing to go into the shop, do it right.

Tugar

I have known many people that have done that. My two cents. MAKE SURE you get a good pair of wrap around sunglasses. I have seen too many people post cataract surgery get macular degeneration. My theory is no UV protection creates that issue from the lens removal. 

ilove22s

Ranger4 said:

I had one eye done two weeks ago and the other was set for Monday which I cancelled.  Worst mistake I have made and here is why.  No two people are the same.  I have astigmatism.  I had night vision problems and simply was not shooting as well, even through a scope.  The surgeon made me sign a document indicating I would need glasses for reading and put the long range lens in.  Big mistake.  Because I cannot see to read anything with that eye anymore.   I cannot even read the time on my watch 2 inches from my eye.

I dont have an astigmatism.  But when i asked my doc about the multifocal lenses, he said "in MY case and due to my bad near sightedness, they would be a mistake" and he also said "most issues that people have had came from using them".   

Ranger4 said:

 I see at distance maybe 3-5% more clear.  I have to have a massive power lower lense to read anything.  In the eye they did not do, I can see to reload ammo, meaning see fine detail, read small labels, etc without glasses.  I can no longer read anything with the new lense in place, I only have distant vision.

My 1st eye done was fine.  I had a retinal tear/detachment in that eye too.  But sometime later that eye developed another tear.  It was repaired vis laser.  But i did notice that i did loose some of my vision somewhere and sometime.

Ranger4 said:

Not everyone can have the lense that gives both near and far vision and those who can often have halos and worse night vision, so I did not qualify for them.  I have asked to have the surgery done over and try the new lense with both near and far vision. The surgeon, a former national president of the ophthalmology association has advised that I must not have listened to her and she says very few people complain as I have.  I do precision work, I assume most people do not.

Well i for one do.  I worked in the Semiconductor industry for 10 years when the surgery happened.  I had a chat with my doc about my work and my hobbies and what i was hoping the new lens would offer.   I was also doing my leather work, not so micro as macro work but with my bad eyes i was having issues seeing where to use the sewing awl and the holes it created.   In the end i was doing it by feel for the most part.

Ranger4 said:

I have worn glasses most of my life, however, this really destroys my ability to read small things or anything like tie flies or something like thread a needle or even to work with  small parts on guns.  The glasses needed are far stronger than anything available like reading glasses.

I have been told for 3 years that I would need cataract surgery some day and this year a very young doctor said it was time.  So, I have cancelled the second surgery and will try to get by with glasses but will never let them touch my other eye unless I simply cannot drive.  I am lucky they did my weak eye first.

Also, if you do not wear glasses or have any other issues except for the cataract you can elect monovision.   They give you a distant vision in one eye and a close vision in the other.

So, please make sure if you have astigmatism or need glasses to read now that you understand what the result will be. As a long range shooter and one who works on guns and small detail, this is the worst mistake I have ever made.  I would gladly give up the night vision issues now if I had known.  Put it off as long as you can.

This is my first post, curiously as I just had this issue.  Hope it helps.  The surgery is no big deal. I did have pretty strong pain the first day but it was gone after about 8 hours.  

Fwiw, i choose the cataract surgery due to the fact i would have gone blind.  not IF, but WHEN.  What i noticed that triggered my surgery was that my vision would go cloudy/splotchy and then clear up. More like someone moving a veil over  your eyes.  This would happen at every second and what i noticed was that it was funny/cool at the start when it was not so bad, but over a year it got worse where i was not feeling comfortable driving 65 mph down a freeway.  Add fog to the mix and it was like worse since that what it was almost like (not) seeing.  

I also wore glasses most of my life and i actually prefer them over contacts which i had also used.  But you have to adapt/change to the situation if you want and i did.

Sometimes you need to make a decision based on what info is handed you and live with it.

But heres my thought on such things too.

At one time, all there was from the doc was "sorry, you will go blind".  see ya later.

Now there is a method to fix most issues.  The longer you live, the better chances of a fix to be found/discovered.  

to me, i would have a chat with a different doc and maybe another one.  i would also let them know what you want/expect and see what they say.  All it cost you is time.  As i said, when i asked my doc about fixing oops, they said they would do it the previous way of slicing you eye open and swapping lenses.  

My doc also told me that some people with the lenses will develop a cloudyness under the lense and they will just use a laser to clean it off.  I think he said its a reaction to some peoples body chemistry.

And what it comes down to is the OP needs to do their own homework, become an informed consumer and their own advocate.  Listen to what the doc says about their own person case/issues and go from there.  Ask questions about any fears/issues.  You have some replys where it didnt work out, so guess what?  i hope you have some questions to ask in your specific case.   Such as ask, "what happens to me if i dont do anything"  see what the answer will be and if you can live with it.  

good luck

Make_My_Day

Thanks for all the comments and opinions. I currently have no physical eye impairments, and only need reading glasses for the newspaper or computer, and I've had the same prescription for over 25 years. When I was at the doctor's office and we were discussing the surgery, he mentioned something about using a laser to do it. I don't know what the difference is in the results, but it seems a little less scary to me using a laser rather than a knife. Frankly, I'm not really having any ill effects from these cataracts they say I have, but as long as I can see well enough to perform my regular activities, I will probably put it off as long as I can. BTW, a few people mentioned "insurance" not paying for the premium lenses. Does Medicare and United Healthcare pay for any of this?

mosseybuck

I had my right eye repaired about five years ago. I had a bad double vision problem, especially at night. Oncoming vehicles appeared to be one in both lanes! Closing one eye put them back in same lane. The procedure and the insertion of a lens in that eye corrected the problem. Surgery itself was easy, most people benefit from the procedure.