Cataract Surgery

Beth Gallagher

Beth Gallagher

Well-known member
I know that some of you have had cataract surgery and I'm interested in hearing about your experience. I've been reading about the various types of lens replacement and it all seems pretty complicated. If you have had cataract surgery, how did it go? Did you choose replacement lenses and if so, what type? Are you pleased with the outcome or do you have regrets?
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I know that some of you have had cataract surgery and I'm interested in hearing about your experience. I've been reading about the various types of lens replacement and it all seems pretty complicated. If you have had cataract surgery, how did it go? Did you choose replacement lenses and if so, what type? Are you pleased with the outcome or do you have regrets?
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Not sure if @Bobby Cole has noticed this thread, so tagging him. He had surgery several years ago, and it went okay as far as the surgery, but has been difficult as far as getting glasses that work for him, both before and after the surgery.
They did one eye, and then several weeks later did the other one. He can explain the problems with the glasses, and more about how the surgery went.
 
Thanks, @Yvonne Smith . Hopefully it will be a while before I have cataract surgery but I know its coming if I live that long. I want to study up and know as much about it as I can beforehand. There are so many lens choices now; I really don't want to pick the wrong ones.

@Krystal Shay -- tell us more about your recent surgery and the type of lenses you chose.
 
I had cataract surgery in April. I had both eyes done a week apart. In one eye, I had a cataract and a astigmatism that was causing me very blurry vision, even with glasses on. So annoying! I think a lot of people have astigmatism. The eye doctor told me getting a new prescription would not fix my astigmatism. The surgeon said just because I will have cataracts removed does not mean my vision will be what it was when I was 20 years old. Damn! ;) Some people will still need glasses after surgery and some will not. Everyone is different.

I went with the "toric lense" on my eye with the astigmatism, which removed the astigmatism. Toric lenses can be a little pricy and you will have pay some out of pocket expense for those lens. There is also available the Multifocal Toric Lenses which can fix both distance and close up vision, which was $3,000 per each eye, out of pocket. Ouch! However, according to the surgeon, he said the multifocal lens are nice but it can create a halo effect in bright light, which a person might see in on coming headlights in traffic at night, or in brightly lit rooms. Sometimes the halo goes away and sometimes not.

I got sick and tired of putting 3 kinds of eye drops in my eyes for 6 weeks, since I had both eyes done a week apart. It is alot of drops! But they want to make sure that you don't get any eye infection. I had an chart they gave me to keep track of the drops.

My vision seems to be much clearer and brighter. I don't have anymore blurry vision, which I am happy about! I no longer need glasses to drive or watch TV. I have to wear reading glasses for reading and the computer; close up stuff.
 
Part2:
I was a hot mess on the day of my surgery. I usually have anxiety anyway, so not surprising. I was lying on the hospital bed shaken like a leaf. The nurse came and put 3 different kinds of eye drops in my eyes every 5 minutes and I had an IV put in that was supposedly to help calm me. I thought I was going to be sedated, and I kept saying the whole time, “I’m awake! I’m awake. I didn’t think I supposed to me.” My words fell on deaf ears.😒

When I got in to the surgery room, I swear the nurse duct taped my forehead down with plastic wrap and tucked my arms in tight under a blanket so I couldn’t move. I felt like I was a human burrito. The doctor talked to me a bit before he started the procedure. He told me if I have to cough or sneeze, I should say stop. He also said he would tell me when to move my eye; up ,down, left, right, or look straight forward. I had something over my eye, while the Doc operated. All I saw was some colored lights, like a kaleidoscope and I could hear them talking. In the end, it was quick and painless. My anxiety was worse than the surgery. I did much better the following week. I knew what to expect. I liked my 2nd anesthesiologist better, when I had my other eye done. I wasn’t duct taped down or tucked in like I was the first time. I mentioned that to him and he said that wasn’t his thing. I would be plenty chilled. And I was. 😊
 
Not personal experience, but my brother had both eyes done a year or so ago. He went to an ophthalmologist that his wife had found several years before she died, and she was so thrilled by the results that he went to the same doc when his time came. He had trifocal lenses inserted, and he now says he sees better than he can ever remember seeing. He wore glasses for most of his life and now he doesn't wear glasses for anything. That seems to be his biggest adjustment--no longer wearing glasses after a lifetime of having lenses and frames on his face. He had a laser procedure done and thinks it is best, although he never had a blade procedure. A doctor here recommends using a diamond blade, as he says it heals faster.

I would like to hear from anyone who had had either procedure, especially with multifocal lenses.
 
I can pretty much relate to most of @Krystal Shay’s experience.
I write “most” because so far as both operations go, except for getting stabbed by that derned IV, it was painless and easy and the before and after eye drops are a necessary evil but again, painless.

In my case though, I got the lens that my insurance company paid for. At my age, I don’t care that I still have to wear glasses albeit with less lens’ and yes, things are brighter and colors are more outstanding but my main focus was not to be considered legally blind at some point due to cataracts.

Also in my case, the same people that did a great job on the surgeries basically sucked when it came to prescribing my new glasses. They tried twice and failed twice.
I finally went to an Optometrist who, after testing, told me the last prescription was totally wrong and when I got my new glasses, she was right.
The reasoning she gave is that Optometrists spend thousands of hours on the testing equipment whilst Ophthalmologists are more geared for damage, disease, prescribing drugs and surgeries.
She even followed that most Ophthalmologists do not have a lot of experience using the same equipment Optometrists do and as a matter of interest, the majority of Ophthalmologists have their interns do the testing for glasses.

Now, with all that, one guy I used to work out with got air bubbles under his new lens about a year after his operation. He said they just put him in la-la land and laser drilled holes where the bubbles occurred and made it all better.
 
I forgot about that @Don Alaska . My Ophthalmologist did my cataract surgery with the knife. He likes using the knife and feels it has less recovery time, but it was my choice. I “think” he said using the laser does take longer to heal, and it may cause a little more tissue damage, plus some Medicare insurance plans will not pay for laser when only having just cateracts removed with no special lens. The laser is computerized, whereas the knife is skill. I can’t remember all the details because there was so much information to absorb. I liked my Ophthalmologist. He took his time explaining every type of lens, procedure, cost, recovery, etc. He gave me lots of information to look at and take home so I didn’t have to make a decision right then. He never tried to talk me into or out of any type of lens. I took my husband along so he good listen and ask questions as well. Plus, my eyes were dilated and I needed a driver. I gave great consideration to the multifocal lens but the halo effect had me concerned, since I already have one floater that is permanently affixed to my retina, or the fluid between the retina and eye. I didn’t want to take a chance of having anything else unusual going on in my eye.

On my 2rd visit back to the Ophthalmologist, I polled the people sitting in the waiting room. One person in the waiting room had the multifocal lens. He said he did have halos but he didn’t want to wear glasses. It was a trade-off to him. He was in his 80’s. A couple had the toric lens and was very happy with it. But most of the older patients that were there for their post-surgery check-up didn’t get a Toric lens to correct any visual problems, such as astigmatism. They just had their cateracts removed; what Medicare would pay for.

I am all over the place here with my memory recall. I hope it makes sense.
 
Don Alaska said:
Not personal experience, but my brother had both eyes done a year or so ago. He went to an ophthalmologist that his wife had found several years before she died, and she was so thrilled by the results that he went to the same doc when his time came. He had trifocal lenses inserted, and he now says he sees better than he can ever remember seeing. He wore glasses for most of his life and now he doesn't wear glasses for anything. That seems to be his biggest adjustment--no longer wearing glasses after a lifetime of having lenses and frames on his face. He had a laser procedure done and thinks it is best, although he never had a blade procedure. A doctor here recommends using a diamond blade, as he says it heals faster.

I would like to hear from anyone who had had either procedure, especially with multifocal lenses.
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I have cataracts too, good thing about not having surgery on both at the same time is if they mess up one bad eye, you still have one half way ok eye left.
 
Beth, I had both eyes done in 2018. My cataracts were pretty bad and my Eye Doctor told me, "I prescribed the correct glasses for you, it's just that your eyes are getting worse due to the cataracts." My wife and I met the surgeon that would do the Laser Cataract Surgery and she was extremely nice. It was a week and a half in-between each surgery. Medicare helped pay for the surgery, but the new Lense that was put in each eye, we paid for. With the new lenses, I could now see excellent in "distance", but still had to wear Reading Glasses to read up close. Each Lense cost us a little over a thousand dollars.............but, it sure was worth the money!

As I was laying down in surgery, I could actually see the laser taking out the cataract. When I got home from the first surgery, I was totally/absolutely amazed at all the clear colors I could see! Each night, for about a week, I had to wear a clear plastic cup over the eye that was done, so I wouldn't touch the eye with my hand while sleeping. From "Post-Operative Care" Instructions that were given us, we bought me excellent Swim Goggles to wear into the shower, so water wouldn't get into the eye that had surgery done on it and contaminate the surgery. As for Eye Drops, I had three different kinds that I had to use three times a day. My one eye was starting to get irritated by one of the eye drops. I informed the surgeon and she had me stop those drops.

After "Post-Operative Care" was all done, my eyes were checked and I now have full 20/20 vision and still do. Wife and I told each other, "Well worth the cost of the surgery/lenses/post-operative care time". However, like any kind of "post-operative care" for any surgery, it was sort "pain in the butt" wearing the cup, wearing the Swim Goggles and doing the eye drops.
 
Krystal Shay said:
I forgot about that @Don Alaska . My Ophthalmologist did my cataract surgery with the knife. He likes using the knife and feels it has less recovery time, but it was my choice. I “think” he said using the laser does take longer to heal, and it may cause a little more tissue damage, plus some Medicare insurance plans will not pay for laser when only having just cataracts removed with no special lens. The laser is computerized, whereas the knife is skill. I can’t remember all the details because there was so much information to absorb. I liked my Ophthalmologist. He took his time explaining every type of lens, procedure, cost, recovery, etc. He gave me lots of information to look at and take home so I didn’t have to make a decision right then. He never tried to talk me into or out of any type of lens. I took my husband along so he good listen and ask questions as well. Plus, my eyes were dilated and I needed a driver. I gave great consideration to the multifocal lens but the halo effect had me concerned, since I already have one floater that is permanently affixed to my retina, or the fluid between the retina and eye. I didn’t want to take a chance of having anything else unusual going on in my eye.

On my 2rd visit back to the Ophthalmologist, I polled the people sitting in the waiting room. One person in the waiting room had the multifocal lens. He said he did have halos but he didn’t want to wear glasses. It was a trade-off to him. He was in his 80’s. A couple had the toric lens and was very happy with it. But most of the older patients that were there for their post-surgery check-up didn’t get a Toric lens to correct any visual problems, such as astigmatism. They just had their cateracts removed; what Medicare would pay for.

I am all over the place here with my memory recall. I hope it makes sense.
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Did your surgery all resolve well? Did they have to go in with a laser to correct haziness? I understand that happens both with the knife and the laser. I haven't heard my brother complain about halos at all. He seems to be absolutely thrilled with his multifocal lenses, but then...he is my brother and might not own up to issues.
 
Don Alaska said:
Did your surgery all resolve well? Did they have to go in with a laser to correct haziness? I understand that happens both with the knife and the laser. I haven't heard my brother complain about halos at all. He seems to be absolutely thrilled with his multifocal lenses, but then...he is my brother and might not own up to issues.
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Yes, I am very happy with my surgery. I do not have any haziness at all. I am so glad to get rid of the blurry vision from the astigmatism. :)
 
Mary Robi said:
All I can tell you is do really good due diligence before you decide on a lens. I didn't; I believed the doctor when he pushed the multi-focus lens. It cost me $5000 over what Medicare paid and they actually made the "halos" worse that I see when looking at a light.
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Mary that is ridiculous, the way things are now we have to be really involved as much as possible anyway in our medical care now.
 
Mary Robi said:
All I can tell you is do really good due diligence before you decide on a lens. I didn't; I believed the doctor when he pushed the multi-focus lens. It cost me $5000 over what Medicare paid and they actually made the "halos" worse that I see when looking at a light.
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I'm trying to do due diligence, but I swear, people's experiences are all over the place. There is a Reddit group for cataract surgery and opinions/experiences are so varied. It just seems like a big crap shoot! Thanks for adding your experience.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I'm trying to do due diligence, but I swear, people's experiences are all over the place. There is a Reddit group for cataract surgery and opinions/experiences are so varied. It just seems like a big crap shoot! Thanks for adding your experience.
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just an addition to your research, how about Yelp ? I’m not talking about finding out how smiley and sweet the staff is but the post surgery results after a doctor has completed his or her work.

Everyone is going to have a different reaction to their surgeries basically due to the fact that no two persons you talk to are going to have the same medical problems and no two people are going to react the same way even if they did have the same problems…and the same doctor.

Having someone mess with your eyes is scary and intimidating at best but do know that hundreds of millions of people have had their cataracts removed which sort of gave me a little more confidence that I was doing the right thing.

So far as the lens choice goes, again, I felt that if it is going to work, put it in. Since the insurance completely covered it, I probably had the cheapest lens known to mankind to replace the growing cataracts.
The result is that I can see colors better, I can read albeit with bifocals but given the alternative choices of never being able to have glasses that worked because of the cataracts, I’m ahead of the game.
At my age, I don’t care that I can’t see a flea on a dog’s butt at 20 paces but merely that I can enjoy sight for the rest of what little time I have left in this world.
 
Beth Gallagher said:
I'm trying to do due diligence, but I swear, people's experiences are all over the place. There is a Reddit group for cataract surgery and opinions/experiences are so varied. It just seems like a big crap shoot! Thanks for adding your experience.
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I think it may be the technique and equipment as well as the individual person @Beth Gallagher. I get the same thing when I ask people, I was asking on here to see if there is a consensus.
 
Bobby Cole said:
just an addition to your research, how about Yelp ? I’m not talking about finding out how smiley and sweet the staff is but the post surgery results after a doctor has completed his or her work.

Everyone is going to have a different reaction to their surgeries basically due to the fact that no two persons you talk to are going to have the same medical problems and no two people are going to react the same way even if they did have the same problems…and the same doctor.

Having someone mess with your eyes is scary and intimidating at best but do know that hundreds of millions of people have had their cataracts removed which sort of gave me a little more confidence that I was doing the right thing.

So far as the lens choice goes, again, I felt that if it is going to work, put it in. Since the insurance completely covered it, I probably had the cheapest lens known to mankind to replace the growing cataracts.
The result is that I can see colors better, I can read albeit with bifocals but given the alternative choices of never being able to have glasses that worked because of the cataracts, I’m ahead of the game.
At my age, I don’t care that I can’t see a flea on a dog’s butt at 20 paces but merely that I can enjoy sight for the rest of what little time I have left in this world.
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@Bobby Cole did you have a laser or blade surgery? Do you remember?
 
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