Cataract Surgery

Beth Gallagher said:
Just got back from the ophthalmologist and finally have my left eye cataract surgery scheduled for next Thursday. After a lot of back-and-forth with the doctor, we decided that my best option is the standard monofocal lens and I will continue to wear glasses as needed. He could not say whether spending the $$ on toric lenses would be a true benefit in my case since I have a small amount of astigmatism. The additional cost would be close to $8,000 which includes laser surgery for both eyes. So no; it's not worth it to me for a "maybe." Besides I'd have to go across town to the Medical Center to the laser treatment facility versus an outpatient facility clinic that's convenient on this side of town.

As it stands, I will have manual surgery with standard lenses, and probably still wear glasses for my best vision but I don't care about that. I'm used to my glasses so that's no biggie.
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Fingers and tails crossed.
 
Tick-tock. Surgery is in 3 days and I'm starting to get nervous. I have picked up the after-surgery eye drops and have my final costs/prepays taken care of. I suppose as bad as my left eye has gotten, at least the surgery can't make it any worse. 😨 :cool:
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Tick-tock. Surgery is in 3 days and I'm starting to get nervous. I have picked up the after-surgery eye drops and have my final costs/prepays taken care of. I suppose as bad as my left eye has gotten, at least the surgery can't make it any worse. 😨 :cool:
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Everyone I know who has had cataract surgery has said that it wasn't nearly as bad as they had feared.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Tick-tock. Surgery is in 3 days and I'm starting to get nervous. I have picked up the after-surgery eye drops and have my final costs/prepays taken care of. I suppose as bad as my left eye has gotten, at least the surgery can't make it any worse. 😨 :cool:
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I was nervous as I could be, and I literally shivered, while I was getting prepped. 😨 It was a total waste of good anxiety. :D It was easy and painless. Good luck with your surgery!
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Tick-tock. Surgery is in 3 days and I'm starting to get nervous. I have picked up the after-surgery eye drops and have my final costs/prepays taken care of. I suppose as bad as my left eye has gotten, at least the surgery can't make it any worse. 😨 :cool:
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It's natural to be nervous. I've not had it done but I know many who have and all of them said it was an ok process , nothing to worry about.
My husband is going to need them doing soon.
Sending best wishes.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Tick-tock. Surgery is in 3 days and I'm starting to get nervous. I have picked up the after-surgery eye drops and have my final costs/prepays taken care of. I suppose as bad as my left eye has gotten, at least the surgery can't make it any worse. 😨 :cool:
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I was nervous bringing my husband for his first,years ago, but it was like watching a line into a car wash with gurneys all lined up.
But after, if you go back and re read all my previous posts when you can actually SEE them. Don't hold them against me.
; )
 
I'm pretty sure this is going to be almost exactly the same "experience" as the vitrectomy surgery I had on my left eye last December. I was also on a gurney, bundled up to keep my arms from moving, and given twilight sedation. My doctor told me afterwards that they had "difficulty" with me because I kept saying I was hot and struggling to get up, haha. (Apparently I was kicking so how's that for a mental image??) 😏 I'll have to warn the anesthesiologist this time.
 
Finally got my transportation squared away for this and got in to see Doctor Surly all over again. Now he says my cataracts are so dense that basic monofocal lenses are my only option. He can't see my retinas enough to ensure there isn't a factor knocking me out of consideration for advanced lens options. He also said the lens proteins are coagulated enough now that he can't rule out complications requiring additional surgeries later.

And, of course, it's all my fault. 🤣

I feel SO much better! 😝
 
Jacob Petersheim said:
Finally got my transportation squared away for this and got in to see Doctor Surly all over again. Now he says my cataracts are so dense that basic monofocal lenses are my only option. He can't see my retinas enough to ensure there isn't a factor knocking me out of consideration for advanced lens options. He also said the lens proteins are coagulated enough now that he can't rule out complications requiring additional surgeries later.

And, of course, it's all my fault. 🤣

I feel SO much better! 😝
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It's fairly common for large, thick cataracts to "block" the ability to view the retina. Hopefully you don't have any macular/retinal issues and the cataract removal will be all you need. Something like 90% of all cataract surgeries use the standard monofocal lens so you'll be in good company. Those lenses have the lowest complication rate which sounds good to me. Was your surgery date scheduled?
 
Beth Gallagher said:
It's fairly common for large, thick cataracts to "block" the ability to view the retina. Hopefully you don't have any macular/retinal issues and the cataract removal will be all you need. Something like 90% of all cataract surgeries use the standard monofocal lens so you'll be in good company. Those lenses have the lowest complication rate which sounds good to me. Was your surgery date scheduled?
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Yes. Dec 10th then about another week for the right eye.

I had a clean exam the last few times and I've had no other symptoms so I think the retina is likely ok. That leaves the issue of cleaning out the "pocket" where a new lens gets inserted. That rear membrane can wrinkle and create visual woes if bits of natural lens remain.
 
Jacob Petersheim said:
Yes. Dec 10th then about another week for the right eye.

I had a clean exam the last few times and I've had no other symptoms so I think the retina is likely ok. That leaves the issue of cleaning out the "pocket" where a new lens gets inserted. That rear membrane can wrinkle and create visual woes if bits of natural lens remain.
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Yeah, I've got scar tissue on my retina from a vitreous detachment; I had surgery on that last December which caused my cataract to grow faster. I am "not a candidate" for the multifocal lenses because of my retinal damage, so I'm getting the monofocals, too. It's kind of a relief to not have to decide what kind of expensive lenses to choose.

My first eye is scheduled for Thursday, and the other one two weeks later. We can share war stories. :D
 
Ken Anderson said:
My wife told me today, about her cataract surgery, that there was a lot of worrying that went into it, but that it wasn't actually painful.
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Since I have had eye surgery, I'm not concerned about any pain. My worries are that something will go wrong and my eye(s) could be messed up. I have read too many Cataract Horror Stories on Reddit. But these are the only eyes I have so I'm nervous. 1794369830645.gif
 
Beth Gallagher said:
Since I have had eye surgery, I'm not concerned about any pain. My worries are that something will go wrong and my eye(s) could be messed up. I have read too many Cataract Horror Stories on Reddit. But these are the only eyes I have so I'm nervous. View attachment 6399
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That's also my dilemma. I'm having trouble with headlights when driving at night. And after my recent eye exam & new glasses, one eye is not completely correctable.
 
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