Bestwifeever
Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2007
- Messages
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Yesterday I had the second of two (ha ha) eyes operated on for cataracts. Out with the old nature-made lens, in with the new Crystalens registered trademark: Crystalens for Cataract Surgery. I have no glaucoma or retinal issues.
I am (I guess "was" is more appropriate now
) so nearsighted that I don't know if someone who started with fairly good vision would be as thrilled with the results as I am, but every morning I will be saying a thank-you prayer to St. Mary of the Cataracts for making this possible as I reach for glasses I no longer need before I realize I no longer need them (nb: my ophthalmologist had repeatedly told me over the years that I was not a candidate for laser correction, so that was off the table). It is almost impossible for me to separate the cataract removal results from the ability to see unaided for the first time in fifty years.
After deciding my deteriorating vision in my right eye was indeed due to cataracts rather than something else we've been monitoring, my ophthalmologist finally sent me to the doctor specializing in cataract surgery. I have used monovision in my contacts for a long time, but have been wearing glasses more and more. The vision in my right eye, which was the near-vision contact, had become so bad that I couldn't really read with it anyway. I decided to have both eyes corrected for distance and to wear lots of different supercute reading glasses when needed. Although the monovision had worked well for me in the past, I decided I wanted both eyes to be on the same page in terms of a permanent fix. One was corrected from -20 to -0.75 diopters (just shy of 20/20), the other from -15 to -0.50.
On December 15, the bad eye was taken care of. I could have had the second eye done two or three weeks later, but those pesky holidays fell in the interim and some travel on our part and the surgeon's pushed it back further until yesterday for the not-so-bad eye.
The first surgery was the easiest, mostly because the first anesthesiologist gave me a stronger dose of Versed, which didn't render me as sleepy as the colonoscopy dose, but kept me from being aware of much more than the brilliant light the doctor kept shining in my eye and a tiny bit of pulling and pressure. The doctor said the cataracts in that eye were very advanced and I think a little more difficult for her to take down. Yesterday's surgery was a little more unpleasant, partly because this time I could see all the prep from my now-repaired right eye, but mostly because the different anesthesiologist cut back the Versed to one-fourth the level from the first eye and I couldn't find my happy place to escape to. There was no actual pain (okay maybe just a little), but I could definitely feel much stuff going on. So anyone having this done, be sure you encourage maximum sedation--it might take fifteen minutes longer to recover from it afterward vs. the zero minutes it took me after the second surgery, but what's the rush. If I had the second experience first, I wouldn't have been so anxious to have the experience repeated.
In both cases a burqa-like drape covered me, with only the one eye visible, and little clippy clampy things kept the operable eye open for the procedure. Being so nearsighted in the operable eye each time once the burqa was applied, I really couldn't see the equipment other than the blinding light that the doctor assured me I would get used to (and indeed I did). Someone with better vision probably would see more of what surgical implements were being used (in that case, demand overexcessive sedation) and what was going on.
Because of the extreme dilation and the eye irrigation and ointments, it took maybe an hour (with lots of blinking) for me to start seeing well. Everything was immediately brighter and bluer (this would probably be true for the non-nearsighted patients too). The surgeries were both at 3:30 and by the evening I could watch television and read a book (with drugstore reading glasses). By the next morning it was awesome.
I wore a clear eyeshield until seeing the doctor the next morning, which I am to wear at night for a week. Three kinds of medications--a steroid, an antibiotic, and some magic ointment--to put into the eye several times daily this week, then only the steroid tapered off gradually for the next three weeks. There is a week of no lifting stuff and random other precautions that might put pressure on the eye but after that, everything should be back to normal. I see the surgeon again next week and then in three more weeks. She was extremely pleased at this morning's appointment and cleared me to drive.
So my results so far for the first eye are that I no longer have haloes around lights and glare at night, and a yellowish glaze covering everything--I think this result would be welcome by the non-nearsighted cataract patient. I see distances fabulously and can read up to about two feet away without reading glasses. I hope and expect the second eye will be the same.
We paid about $400 and insurance covered the rest for the first eye (I think the bill before adjustments was around $5000), so the second should be about the same.
I couldn't be more pleased today.
I am (I guess "was" is more appropriate now
) so nearsighted that I don't know if someone who started with fairly good vision would be as thrilled with the results as I am, but every morning I will be saying a thank-you prayer to St. Mary of the Cataracts for making this possible as I reach for glasses I no longer need before I realize I no longer need them (nb: my ophthalmologist had repeatedly told me over the years that I was not a candidate for laser correction, so that was off the table). It is almost impossible for me to separate the cataract removal results from the ability to see unaided for the first time in fifty years.After deciding my deteriorating vision in my right eye was indeed due to cataracts rather than something else we've been monitoring, my ophthalmologist finally sent me to the doctor specializing in cataract surgery. I have used monovision in my contacts for a long time, but have been wearing glasses more and more. The vision in my right eye, which was the near-vision contact, had become so bad that I couldn't really read with it anyway. I decided to have both eyes corrected for distance and to wear lots of different supercute reading glasses when needed. Although the monovision had worked well for me in the past, I decided I wanted both eyes to be on the same page in terms of a permanent fix. One was corrected from -20 to -0.75 diopters (just shy of 20/20), the other from -15 to -0.50.
On December 15, the bad eye was taken care of. I could have had the second eye done two or three weeks later, but those pesky holidays fell in the interim and some travel on our part and the surgeon's pushed it back further until yesterday for the not-so-bad eye.
The first surgery was the easiest, mostly because the first anesthesiologist gave me a stronger dose of Versed, which didn't render me as sleepy as the colonoscopy dose, but kept me from being aware of much more than the brilliant light the doctor kept shining in my eye and a tiny bit of pulling and pressure. The doctor said the cataracts in that eye were very advanced and I think a little more difficult for her to take down. Yesterday's surgery was a little more unpleasant, partly because this time I could see all the prep from my now-repaired right eye, but mostly because the different anesthesiologist cut back the Versed to one-fourth the level from the first eye and I couldn't find my happy place to escape to. There was no actual pain (okay maybe just a little), but I could definitely feel much stuff going on. So anyone having this done, be sure you encourage maximum sedation--it might take fifteen minutes longer to recover from it afterward vs. the zero minutes it took me after the second surgery, but what's the rush. If I had the second experience first, I wouldn't have been so anxious to have the experience repeated.
In both cases a burqa-like drape covered me, with only the one eye visible, and little clippy clampy things kept the operable eye open for the procedure. Being so nearsighted in the operable eye each time once the burqa was applied, I really couldn't see the equipment other than the blinding light that the doctor assured me I would get used to (and indeed I did). Someone with better vision probably would see more of what surgical implements were being used (in that case, demand overexcessive sedation) and what was going on.
Because of the extreme dilation and the eye irrigation and ointments, it took maybe an hour (with lots of blinking) for me to start seeing well. Everything was immediately brighter and bluer (this would probably be true for the non-nearsighted patients too). The surgeries were both at 3:30 and by the evening I could watch television and read a book (with drugstore reading glasses). By the next morning it was awesome.
I wore a clear eyeshield until seeing the doctor the next morning, which I am to wear at night for a week. Three kinds of medications--a steroid, an antibiotic, and some magic ointment--to put into the eye several times daily this week, then only the steroid tapered off gradually for the next three weeks. There is a week of no lifting stuff and random other precautions that might put pressure on the eye but after that, everything should be back to normal. I see the surgeon again next week and then in three more weeks. She was extremely pleased at this morning's appointment and cleared me to drive.
So my results so far for the first eye are that I no longer have haloes around lights and glare at night, and a yellowish glaze covering everything--I think this result would be welcome by the non-nearsighted cataract patient. I see distances fabulously and can read up to about two feet away without reading glasses. I hope and expect the second eye will be the same.
We paid about $400 and insurance covered the rest for the first eye (I think the bill before adjustments was around $5000), so the second should be about the same.
I couldn't be more pleased today.
