# Cataracts!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 2, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588 "2024-11-02T18:09:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/1 "2024-11-02T18:09:49Z")
So my vision has gotten awfully bad – hard to see faces across a room, hard or impossible to read my phone in low contrast (bright light) situations.
I figured my prescription had changed (it’s happened before, and no I don’t have diabetes) so I went to an optometrist. Cataracts! He showed me pictures - big orange blob on my eye lenses. I’ve been scrambling to find an ophthalmologist that takes my insurance who can do my eye surgery . Closest appointment I can get is on the 20th of November, almost 3 weeks from now, no idea how long to schedule surgery.
In desperation, I went to a doctor who does _not_ take my insurance, paid out of pocket for an exam. She says I need surgery, it’s pretty bad, but reassured me it takes months for your eyes to deteriorate. Glad I saw an eye MD, but it seems like my vision is deteriorating daily, one day worse than the next. My face is about 9" from my monitor as I type this. Optometrist gave me a new prescription (“they should be ready in 2-3 weeks”) but I didn’t want to wait so I got an internet pair ([zennioptical.com](http://zennioptical.com)). They’re no better. They’re bifocals and I’m looking through the lower panel to read my computer.
I’m a bit panicked – will I be blind before the surgeon can get to me?
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/2 "2024-11-02T18:20:23Z")
IMNAO, but from my experience, from the time you first notice a problem, to the time you need to have the surgery, is usually a long time, often years. I don’t think you’ll be blind within the next three weeks, but if you can get someone else to do the driving until your get the surgery I think that would be wise.
I also will need to have the surgery done at some point, but my annual check-ups don’t show it getting worse that fast. If your Ophthalmologist is saying you have months before you need the surgery I would trust that, but in the meantime rest your eyes whenever you can and make an appointment with a surgeon who will take your insurance as soon as feasible. Worst case scenario you’ll have to pay full price to get it done sooner by someone else if that becomes necessary.
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/3 "2024-11-02T18:24:35Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#):
>
> from the time you first notice a problem, to the time you need to have the surgery, is usually a long time, often years
I first noticed the problem in September. My prescription did change, a bit dramatically (I can post new/old numbers if anyone wants) but also the cataracts. From late summer until now it was annoying to “shit I can’t see!”. It seems pretty fast.
> [@](#):
>
> Worst case scenario you’ll have to pay full price to get it done sooner by someone else
Any ideas what that costs? $5k? $15k? $150k?
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/4 "2024-11-02T18:27:09Z")
OK, I found a blogger who had the surgery as an elective procedure in 2022. [$10,000](https://jabberwocking.com/my-bionic-eyes-a-final-report-and-assessment/)
Hell, I might pay that. Eyesight is pretty useful.
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### Author:  [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/5 "2024-11-02T18:29:10Z")
> [@squeegee](#):
>
> Any ideas what that costs? $5k? $15k? $150k?
According to one online source " The cost of cataract surgery in the United States can range from $3,500 to $7,000 per eye, but the exact cost depends on several factors. Are you on Medicare? Apparently they will pay a good part of the cost.
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/6 "2024-11-02T18:30:00Z")
Sadly Covered California, I’m only 62.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/7 "2024-11-02T18:31:17Z")
Here are two threads from this year covering much the same ground. Which themselves cite older threads.
June 2024:
> [@In YOUR opinion, when’s the best time to get cataract surgery?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-when-s-the-best-time-to-get-cataract-surgery/1003189):
>
> I have cataracts in both eyes, but only one has become an issue, mainly with my distance vision. For now, I have glasses that can correct it, but the day will come when that isn’t possible any more. It’s disturbing to have haloes around bright lights – it’s bad enough that I don’t like to drive at night, and seeing my own personal rainbows around white text on black backgrounds isn’t as cool as I would have imagined it. On the other hand, I went to the ophthalmologist to have my eyesight evalu…
October 2024:
> [@Cataracts -- what to expect in early stages](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts-what-to-expect-in-early-stages/1008643):
>
> I visited my regular optometrist yesterday, as I do every year, to update my glasses prescription. I expressed a feeling that bright lights are not as bright as they used to be, and he confirmed that I have the beginnings of cataracts in both eyes. I’m 75, and have worn classes since I was 12 (I wore contacts instead for a few years in my 30s). Three years ago (I think, or it might be two) a different optometrist said that I would notice visible indications of cataracts within 5 years. Looks li…
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/8 "2024-11-02T18:35:19Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#):
>
> If your Ophthalmologist is saying you have months before you need the surgery I would trust that
I wouldn’t. The notion that cataracts need to “mature” is largely nonsense perpetuated by doctors who want you to keep paying for exams. Go to a place that specializes in eye surgery rather than to your corner ophthalmologist.
> [@squeegee](#):
>
> Any ideas what that costs? $5k? $15k? $150k?
I seem to remember that the cost per eye was about $2500, but that was some years ago. My insurance covered it.
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/9 "2024-11-02T18:44:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> Go to a place that specializes in eye surgery rather than to your corner ophthalmologist.
Recommendations for finding such a place? As far as I know, all ophthalmologists are surgeons. If I type “eye surgery” into Google Maps, I find one place about 40 minutes from me in San Jose.
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/10 "2024-11-02T19:04:49Z")
Huh, I typed “eye surgery” and my locale into Google, and fourth hit was the doctor I saw yesterday.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/11 "2024-11-02T19:55:04Z")
Your vision should NOT be deteriorating on a daily basis like this! I’d have the opthalmologist explain this, pronto!
I was at the opthalmologist office years ago when an emergency case man was brought in by his wife. I could hear almost everything from the next exam room. He’d been seen just 2 weeks earlier by someone else, but somehow whatever it was has been missed. The deoc said he’d have lost his vision completely if he’d been brought in a day later.
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### Author:  [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/12 "2024-11-02T20:00:23Z")
Yeah, I was thinking on Monday I’d call the doc who’ll see me on the 20th and explain the urgency, see if he’ll take me sooner. Not much else to be done at 1pm on a Saturday.
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### Author:  [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/13 "2024-11-02T20:06:39Z")
I like Dr. Saub at [South Bay Ophthalmology](https://www.southbayophthalmology.com/about-us/) in San Jose.
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/14 "2024-11-02T22:12:34Z")
There are a number of eye conditions that are essentially emergencies and need to be treated immediately, like retinal detachment. The symptoms are things like a sudden increase in floaters, flashes of light when you move your eyes, or a “curtain” or “veil” across your vision. If you saw an ophthalmologist and presented a recent change in vision, it seems very unlikely that she could have missed something like this. Cataracts are not an emergency, but they also don’t change on a daily or even monthly time frame. It wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion from another ophthalmologist to confirm that there’s nothing going on besides the cataracts. There may be something that needs to be done before Nov. 20, but it’s highly unlikely to be cataract surgery.
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### Author:  [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/15 "2024-11-02T22:22:33Z")
A grad student I knew several years back had a cataract in one eye that went from nothing to surgery in about 6 months, and he was a young man, about 30 y.o., so cataracts can develop quickly.
@squeegee , there is no benefit to postponing the surgery if you can have it done sooner rather than later. The cataracts will not improve on their own, and you are already concerned about driving.
I suggest, though, that you get a good surgeon, not a cheap one. If you don’t mind wearing glasses, you can get a fixed focus lens implant that won’t break the bank. If offered the choice of traditional (i.e. old-fashioned) surgery or ultrasound, choose the latter from a surgeon who specializes in it. Good luck!
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/16 "2024-11-02T22:38:43Z")
But first, be sure the problem you’re having _is_ cataracts and not something else and almost certainly more evil.
Not so scare you, but my late wife started having trouble seeing. Which arose rather quickly. It was a metastasis of her earlier breast cancer growing in her retina. The good news is we caught it early. The bad news is it later killed her after it spread into her guts.
My Dad developed retinal cancer _ab initio_. Same basic story; first concerns were rapidly deteriorating vision for no obvious reason. Same outcome; it eventually metastasized into his guts and killed him a couple years later.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/17 "2024-11-02T23:39:20Z")
I am seeing an eye surgeon every 6 months to monitor my eyes. At the last visit I was started on eyedrops for glaucoma. I also have cataracts that are slowly getting worse. She said that they would require surgery if they got to the point that a new glasses prescription won’t rectify my vision. It would cost thousands of dollars here too. Ironically I have been donating, for many years, to [The Fred Hollows Foundation](https://www.hollows.org/eye-health/diseases-and-conditions/cataract/). They state:
> It was Fred’s dream to provide low cost IOLs to the world. Part of The Foundation’s early work was to set up IOL factories in Eritrea and Nepal to lower the cost of cataract surgery in developing countries such as these. Since they’ve opened, the factories have produced over 4 million lenses. The low cost of production of the lenses means that in some countries, cataract surgery can cost as little as $25.
Won’t help me though.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [November 2, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/18 "2024-11-02T23:53:41Z")
The other threads helpfully linked by @LSLGuy are very informative reading, including about the different types of artificial lenses available.
I read them with interest since I was diagnosed with cataracts myself, mostly confined to one eye. I was also tested for glaucoma was was fortunately negative. If it’s any consolation to the OP, the diagnosis was several years ago and I’m still fine. I’d say vision in the affected eye is probably a bit worse than it was then, but certainly not dramatically so. This stuff usually develops very slowly.
When these sorts of medical conditions arise, I’m always thankful that I live in Canada where cost for medical treatment is never a concern. If anyone is wondering why I still haven’t had the cataracts treated, it’s for the following medical reason: I am a chicken-shit! 😉
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2024, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/19 "2024-11-03T00:28:49Z")
Take a quick look at this:
[**Fast-Growing Cataracts and How to Fight Them**](https://www.eyecenteroftexas.com/2023/06/fast-growing-cataracts-how-to-fight-them/)
Getting another set of experienced eyes on … your eyes … may make sense.
What you’re looking for, generically, is a corneal specialist ophthalmologist who is a cataract and refractive surgeon.
You can give this a shot – subspecialty “cataract/anterior segment:”
> **[Find an Ophthalmologist](https://secure.aao.org/aao/find-ophthalmologist)**
>
> Find an ophthlamologist in your area. You can search by location, name or subspecialty.
Look for the usual stuff: went to a good university and medical school, been at it a while…
IIRC, you’ve had a complicated health history. If you wanted to, you could always choose from this list instead and make a five-day vacation out of it:
[**Best Hospitals for Ophthalmology**](https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/ophthalmology)
If an ophthalmologist near you did his/her residency at one of these top ophthalmology teaching hospitals … that’s a plus.
Cataract surgery is a relatively simple surgery … _if_ you’re a simple case. It might be good to be sure.
Good luck!
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### Author:  [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)
#### Post date: [November 3, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cataracts/1009588/20 "2024-11-03T14:38:33Z")
> [@squeegee](#):
>
> OK, I found a blogger who had the surgery as an elective procedure in 2022. [$10,000](https://jabberwocking.com/my-bionic-eyes-a-final-report-and-assessment/)
As a reference point, in South Florida, I paid roughly $11,000 as a non-insured elective procedure in 2023. Highly respected surgeon, cutting edge laser technology, top choice of available multi-focal replacement lenses. There are options to make it cheaper without sacrificing safety, if you are willing to continue wearing glasses in some circumstances. I don’t remember how much the lens choice added to the cost, however.
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