Who's had cataract surgery? Feedback wanted.

[mrmikey]

I was surprised to hear they give you anesthesia (twilight) for the procedure. I thought they just did it with numbing eye drops.

Both times they gave me the option, drugs with drops or just drops...I went with the drops and had no complaints.

.....had to wear a patch for a few days to protect the eye.

Not even a patch, gave me a perforated cover to put on for the first night sleep so I wouldn't put pressure on it. Only thing they said when i walked out of surgery, "Use the elevator not the steps when you leave as your depth perception is non existent and we don't work on broken necks that well "

 

[gsganzer]

Good luck gsganzer, I'm sure you'll be happy with the results, if not a little lighter in the pocketbook.

You are not joking my friend! $12K to have both eyes done. I do have a high deductible healthcare plan and it's the start of the year.

Hopefully I'll have more medical issues this year and I'll find solace that my deductible has already been met.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Seems like they use a gallon of drops, lol! First eye they may have been light on the the anesthesia. It was like looking through a kaladiscope plus i could hear murmuring. Almost like aliens had taken me. I mentioned that for the second eye. Ha, they made sure that i was out.

 

[gsganzer]

Today is the big day. Cataract surgery scheduled for 12:30. I administered 2 different drops to the surgical eye last night before bed and have to administer a second drop of one of the meds this morning.

A little nervous. Not about the procedure, but more about the outcome.

I'll report back when I'm able.

 

[shooterdon]

Good luck!

 

[Gem99ultra]

I had the lens replacement done in both eyes 8 years ago. I'm totally pleased although I do now have to use reading glasses for close up work. Spouse is in the middle of having both eyes done now, with the first one completed. Results so far are 100% great.

I do understand that progressive lenses are near public availability, but I cannot verify that.

Tab for my lens replacement 10 years after Medicare & insurance was $1,000 per eye; initial charge was $10,000 per eye. Current price tab for spouse is now $345 per eye; $13,000 initial charge.

 

[newbury]

having an elderly aunt that kept putting off cataract surgery until she was too old for it to have made any difference

How old was that?
My 98 year old MIL had hers done when she was 96.

 

[Tinhack]

I had mine done a few years ago with Medicare. I went with single vision since all other options were my responsibility. I ended up paying, I think, about $350 per eye. I have 20/20 vision day or night but need reading glasses. For those, I just get OTC 1.5D glasses for a few bucks. I use 2.0 if I'm working on something really detailed. The doctor initially prescribed 3.0 because of my age group but I couldn't see anything with those unless it was at the end of my nose.

 

[gsganzer]

The surgery was completed on the right eye and I'm home. The entire duration was about 1 hour from entering the front door to walking out, led by my wife.

A slight amount of discomfort, mainly from stinging eye drops, and a little pressure and prodding of the eye, while they worked on it. None of it caused the least bit of concern.

Vision is slowly coming, but eye is still dilated, so really can't see yet. They also covered it with a contact that I assume they'll remove when I have my followup tomorrow. What little I do see, is a dramatically different and more vibrant color spectrum from my other eye (which will get the same procedure in 2 weeks. I've also started the post-op eye drop regiment.

Anyway, going to lie down and take a nap with the dog for a few hours.

 

[Tinhack]

What little I do see, is a dramatically different and more vibrant color spectrum from my other eye

That's what I recall too. I had to sleep with an eye patch for a couple of nights as I remember. The doctor gave me some drops to help with the pain. My follow up appointment was a week later. She was very busy.

 

[mapper]

Had mine done about 10 years ago in conjunction with DMEC cornea transplant surgery. Single focus, was near sighted all my life so I opted for distance vision. 20/25 vision. I use prescription readers as I found them more comfortable than drug store readers.
I also have driving glasses to sharpen my distance so I can read street signs from a long way off.
The surgeries were a bit more involved than regular cataract surgery, the recovery took a couple of weeks, the first week I had to lay on my back as they had put a gas bubble behind the cornea to hold the transplant tissue in place.
All things considered everything went well, I hadn't regretted it for a minute.

 

[mapper]

We are very fortunate that cataract surgery and lens replacement has come so far in our lifetime. I remember a friend and coworker of my father, a bit older than him. He developed cataracts in the late 1950's the surgery then was to remove the lens and replace it with glasses - really thick glasses that didn't really help much. He was an artist and was not able to paint much after that.
I remember thinking at that time that having cataracts really must suck, life changing suck.
My own situation would have been to go painfully blind. I am thankful every day that we live in a time when what was a one time a life changing part of aging has become a minor inconvenience at most.

 

[newbury]

I had a few relatives that had cataract surgery maybe 2 decades ago and had problems with tears in the tissue, which made me apprehensive.
Now it seems as routine as getting your oil changed at Jiffy Lube,
But it's not yet DIY.

 

[gsganzer]

I had my post-op follow-up this morning. The Dr. removed the temporary contact and checked the results of the procedure, proclaiming the lens placement was perfect and everything looks good. I still have dilation and swelling from the procedure, so my vision still isn't great. It seems to get better every hour though. Colors are more vibrant and "bluer" then with my non-op eye. I have another follow-up early next week and they're still scheduled to do the second eye at the end of the month.

I have a regimen of eye drops to take for the next month. A steroid 3x/day for the first 2 weeks, then 2x/day for week 3, then 1x/day for week 4. An antibiotic, 4x daily for 2 weeks, then Prolensa, 1x/day for 4 weeks. The eye drops are actually welcome, they help with the eye irritation/scratchiness. I also have to wear some clear goggles when I sleep, so I don't rub my eyes. I don't give the goggles much chance, my wife says I thrash like an out of water fish all night when I sleep.

I expect my eye and eyesight will be pretty good after today.

 

[gsganzer]

It's been one week and I had another follow-up doctor appointment today. Everything is coming along great. My far, intermediate and dashboard length vision is superb. My near reading vision has started getting better beginning today. I can read my cell phone fine. A magazine, newspaper or computer is readable, but I prefer some 1.25 readers (I used to use 2.0 readers). This might be what I'm left with, which is perfectly fine, or it might continue improving. Especially when I have the second eye done. It's weird how each eye might not be able to read something clearly, but when viewed with 2 eyes together, the brain uses the image from both to fill in any discrepancies.

I haven't done much in the dark yet, other than driving to the gym the past couple mornings before sun up. No issues with glare, halo's etc, that I could detect. But it was a short drive and not many people on the road at 4-5 am.

I'm scheduled to have the second eye done next Monday.

 

[gsganzer]

Well, tomorrow I have the second eye done. It was supposed to happen last week, but our ice storm put the squash on it. So far, I've been very happy with the first eye. No issues whatsoever. I can see far, intermediate and near very well. I'm even typing this, glasses free. My brain is still trying to get used to what eye is dominant for reading. It used to be my right eye, then it got the cataract, so the left eye became dominant while using reading glasses. Now it's back to the right eye working the best with the new lens. It'll be good when I get the second eye corrected so my brain can get settled out.

With the multi-focal lens, I've had no issues with night vision. I do see the halo's, glare, spider web reflections that they refer to from bright lights, but it's not distracting or an impairment in any fashion. Strangely, I kind of find it amusing in a weird way, and it doesn't seem to create an issue with night driving at all. I'm still administering eye drops, 1x/day and another 3x/day.

Fingers crossed that the left eye goes just as well tomorrow. My left eye is my shooting eye, so I'm kind of nervous. I have lots of hunting days left in me.

 

[1Mech]

I had lasik way back about 1998, I was very nearsighted. I used monovision then and was pleased with it, never needed reading glasses, I thought that would work with the cataract, not thinking, it is a non living lens replacing a live lens. The live lens can still make adjustments as needed, but not the replacement. If getting corrective lenses with your cataract surgery, get the multi focal!! Otherwise, you will be needing glasses.

 

[gsganzer]

I had the cataract surgery on my left eye yesterday. I now have a matched pair, with both eyes having multifocal lenses!

My second eye wasn't as "discomfort free" as my first one. I had the surgery at noon, and by 7pm I was in a lot of discomfort, feeling like I had something in my eye, my eyeball was sore when I looked around, burst blood vessels, blurred vision in that eye etc. I popped some ibuprofen, squirt the drops in my eyes and went to bed at 7pm, wearing my "Buzz Lightyear" goggles to keep from rubbing my eyes in my sleep.

This morning, most of the discomfort had passed and I had my follow-up appointment. The doctor said the lens placement is perfect and things will improve after all the swelling subsides. Now at noontime, my eye feels pretty good and my vision is starting to get dialed in. I'm still typing this without glasses of any type.

Just like the first eye, I have a regimen of eyedrops to take, consisting of a 4x/day antibiotic, a 3x/day steroid and then another 1x/day called "Prolensa". Prolensa are like magic drops and seem to eradicate all the discomfort. I look forward to using the Prolensa each morning.

So far, no qualms at all about going with multifocal lenses. I can do everything glasses free! I'm looking forward to doing some project welding in a few more weeks, but I'm not willing to jump into it until I'm 100% cleared to start doing stupid stuff . I 100% wear safety glasses, but I don't dare risk a foreign object in my eye, which always seems to be a challenge when welding/grinding, even with the best safety glasses.

Before this cataract surgery, I was really struggling to see the weld puddle when welding out of position (welding fencing, deer feeders etc.). It was compounded by having a bad cataract in one eye, but the monovision was also an issue as I welded across my field of vision, trying to keep the dominant reading eye in position.

I'll report back on the night vision with multifocals, now that both eyes match, once all this settles out and I have more mileage.

 

[Liquidsilver]

Glad it's gone well. Yes, once that second eye settles down, you should be in good shape!