I talked with two different surgeons; one patched after surgery and the other didn’t. I understand the results are the same either way, and many doctors just go with the way they were trained.
I also has the clear patch for sleeping, and glad I had it for my left eye; that is the side I sleep on. It didn’t bother me at all to wear it while sleeping, so if it kept me from scratching my eye, I was happy to follow directions.
Today was my last day for drops in my right out; two more weeks for the left.
Traditional surgeries with monofocal lens in each eye. Although still wear reading glasses, overall big improvement. Both surgeries were easy peasy, quick. Biggest hassle was drops. I had W put in drops. Although pre surgical ocular pressure in both eyes was normal, after both surgeries ocular pressures in both eyes was rather high. This went on for several weeks. I began to worry if I had traded cataract problem for bigger glaucoma issue. (Glaucoma was one of the many possible risks of cataract surgery listed on informed consent form.) MDs believed the high ocular pressures were temporary and related to eye drops (probably steroids). Ocular pressures in both eyes eventually returned to normal range after stopping all drops and have remained normal for almost two years
First Eye is done and went smoothly. No pain, took extra precautions for possible nausea, and pleased to feel great when I woke up.
My 3 eye meds are combined into one bottle for convenience. Not covered by insurance but so worth the extra cost.
I chose basic lens set to distance vision, and am pleased. Was expecting more blurry vision the first day, and was pleasantly surprised to see distance objects more clearly on first day.
Excited to have second eye done this week. It is weird to have one eye corrected and one eye needing glasses. I am not wearing my old glasses and honestly keep thinking I am not fully dressed without them.
@powercropper Glad all is going well. I also have drops from my surgeon that are made for them, with all 3 meds in one bottle. While I know many have had to deal with 3 different drop, I would have had trouble with that at work. There were a couple of days when the first eye was getting 2 drops a day, and the second eye 4 drops and I couldn’t remember which eye I had and hadn’t done after lunch at work. I also was using rewetting drops a couple of times as I am at the computer all day. Trying to juggle 3 bottles with 2 eyes would require keeping a chart so I didn’t screw up!
I am reviving this thread. I had cataract surgery 2 weeks ago. I got a toric lens to correct astigmatism. I went from 20/50 to 20/25. I now see much more clearly. I can see leaves, flowers etc more distinctly. I also see crumbs on my kitchen floor I hadn’t noticed before.
The downside is that I have a crescent shaped shadow at the outside edge. It’s called negative dysphotopsia. I’m told that my brain will adapt to not notice it anymore but that could take 6 months.
Has anyone else had this? If I wear sunglasses with thick ear pieces, it goes away.
In my last eye appointment I found out I had cataracts in both eyes I get my eyes checked every 6 months for a different condition so it was weird that my eyes went from fine to needing surgery. I guess I will have the surgery in the summer but I haven’t looked into all the different kinds and what I should look out for. I am also not sure I trust my MD to do it. He is OK for monitoring but if I need a procedure I may look into going elsewhere. I welcome any recommendations for anyone who has had it done recently.
Just because you were told you have cataracts doesn’t mean you need to have surgery right away. YOU decide when you’re ready (unless, of course, there are other factors). I was told several years ago that I have cataracts but didn’t feel they were bad enough, so continued to monitor them every year. I made an appointment with an ophthalmologist three years ago and had the full work-up, but still decided to delay. The time for surgery is when the cataracts affect your daily life, such as trouble driving at night and when vision can’t be improved with stronger prescription. I’ve struggled with the decision every year, but finally decided that it’s time, so will discuss my options with the doctor at my appointment next month. I hope he can help me decide which vision to correct, because I’m still torn. My far vision isn’t bad but I have astigmatism, which complicates things. I don’t mind wearing glasses, but wish I didn’t need the pricey progressive lenses!
Curious if any of you that have had cataract surgery also had issues with floaters (before or after). Did it help? Make them worse? So far, Optomotrist has indicated cataracts are starting, but not bad enough yet for surgery. However, I’ve also had a significant increase in floaters over the last year. They are being monitored, but one in particular is bothersome, as it is large and floats over my main vision area. I’ve been told repeatedly, that my brain will eventually get used to them, but no luck so far (It has been about 8 months since I first noticed the larger one). Hoping that future cataract surgery doesn’t make them any worse.
I thought this was going to be my year for cataract surgery, likely early on. During my last ophthalmologist visit, I learned that my cataracts had advanced from mild to moderate. But I have no issues seeing in everyday life - no yellowing, no blurring, etc. My only problems are night vision and sun glare is almost painful. My doctor said he was surprised my vision was as good as it was.
So just as I’m getting ready to look into the process, my husband i.e. driver manages to rip off his hamstring tendon and is going in for surgery soon - and will be on crutches for six weeks. So no hurry for me, I guess.
I did chat with the ophthalmologist surgical people and set up an appointment to get checked in about a month, which will be six months since the last check up. She indicated that based on my previous records, I might not be in the “medically necessary” stages, so Medicare coverage comes into play. Money is not at all an issue but that doesn’t mean I intend to pay the entire cost!
Had my first surgery this past week. Went whole hog since I’ve worn glasses since second grade and figured why not? Got toric lens which are expensive plus lasik built into the cost.
I can’t believe how fabulous this is. Hope my other eye works out as well. I’m at 20/20 with no need for reading glasses. I debated back and forth a million times on the options but SO glad I went for it! Feeling like a kid in a candy shop!
@Marilyn I know this was posted a while ago…but I want to say. I didn’t think I had any yellowing or blurring until after I had my first cataract eye done. And boy did I ever have yellowing! I had chosen paint for my entire downstairs thinking it had a slight tinge of yellow in it…which I wanted. Well guess what…there isn’t even a tad of tinge of yellow in this paint at all. I wondered why my husband agreed to the yellowish color choice so quickly…well…it was because it wasn’t yellowish at all!
You just made me go upstairs to look at rooms I’d repainted last year to see what color they actually were! Much happier now than when I first did them I’m happy to report. Colors are much fresher! I knew one eye was dimmer but thought the other wasn’t until now and I can see the difference.
Yes….all colors were much brighter than I imagined. We had the whole interior of our house painted and I chose the colors before my cataract surgery. Pleased to say…they are so much more vibrant. But I really could see the difference after one eye. I kept closing alternating eyes…and whew! What a difference.
That’s what I’m doing now–I keep closing one eye to see the difference now that the surgery has taken place. I know I’ll forget soon afterwards but it’s really enlightening to realize how much I’ve been missing. My definition of the color “white” has changed a few shades up the gray scale.
I had my six month follow up and basically the doctor said he didn’t want to see me for a year. I likely still see too well for Medicare to consider it medically necessary. So I made an appointment for next spring and ordered new glasses. My current ones are five years old. So I’ll have slightly better correction and fresh anti-glare coating, which should help some with night vision. If the cataracts are affecting color, I sure can’t tell!
It’s all relative! You will see when you finally have your cataracts done.
My doc…it was all about the glare test. I was seeing halos around headlights heading toward me when I drove after dark. I failed the glare test easily!