I got my new glasses today and now can finally really see in the ‘new’ eye. Yay! It’s also become obvious that the other eye is going to need to be done in the next few months. It’s on the downhill slide.
huzzah!
today was my follow up. all is good. inflammation is gone. as usual swelling in my face does not resolve easily, my left eye is within parameters. no bulging or anything, just a teensy bit bigger than it was.
back for an exam in december and that is when i will have any new prescription done. mostly movie/sports that sort of thing correction, for when i’m dealing with only distance vision stuff.
i do need magnifiers for a handful of things, like knitting with very fine #1 needles, or super fine print, otherwise i’m glasses free; which is very surreal.
I’m still adjusting to not needing glasses all the time. Not needing them for using a computer, for example. Being able to see my bedside clock when I wake up without fumbling for glasses.
I saw a specialist that monitored my cataracts. My cataracts were measured several times.
I reached a point that changing my prescription wouldn’t help my failing vision.
Doc recommended surgery. He did one eye and then the other eye six weeks later.
The difficult decision is deciding if I wanted near vision or far. I choose far vision. I can read my smart tv menus without glasses and I can drive without them.
I asked about multifocal lens. My doc didn’t recommend them. He said it was a compromise with unsatisfactory near and far vision.
Multifocal lens tech will probably improve in the next few years.
The past few weeks I’ve been noticing a cloudiness in my left eye. Sort of a seeing through a smudge feeling. Night vision is a little worse than it was, and reading a white backlight computer screen takes a little more focus than it did. I called my eye doctor, and she confirmed that the “secondary cataract” was ripe in my left eye and it is time for a YAG laser treatment.
Apparently they are graded by quarters of the eye, and my left eye is 3.5 quarters. My right eye is only one quarter, so it isn’t clear if the specialist will want to treat it now, or wait.
In any case, I’m waiting for a call from the surgical center to confirm and coordinate. It should be a very simple procedure. I do need to know how much downtime I’ll have (hours? a day?) and if I need a driver. I have a packed schedule coming up, so that’s going to help determine when I can get this taken care of.
This was totally expected as a likely possibility, so between that and the actual symptoms I was having, I was prepared for the news.
In my case, it was really simple. The actual procedure took about 1/2 hour and I was able to drive myself. Your surgeon may be different of course, so you should ask them when you schedule.
Same with my wife, but she wasn’t allowed to drive for 48 hours.
I’m hoping for the “drive yourself home” option, obviously, but have already put out feelers for a driver just in case.
Hopefully they call this morning. I’m heading out for a four day cruise. We have a 3 hour drive to the port, and I’m not driving, so I can handle some logistics if they call while we’re on the road. Otherwise, it’s going to have to wait until Monday afternoon.
I just got mine done. They made me wear clear eye protectors for the first day (and at nite also for a week) and my eyes were so dilated there was no way I could drive home. Vision is great, colors are even brighter. You do have to use a lot of prescription eyedrops for several weeks. They said no driving for 24 hours. The procedure was pretty short.
Worst part was the eye protectors at nite, but I found some strap on googles on Amazon, instead of using surgical tape.
They dilated both eyes?
Yes, they did both eyes at once. Some Doctors prefer doing one eye at a time, and I guess you might be able to sit and recover for a couple hours then drive home then.
It sounds like this might be just one eye.
I assume if they do anything to both eyes you’d need a driver. (Or to hang out for a few hours.)
They called me while we were driving to the Port for our cruise. I am scheduled for an evaluation on Thursday November 20th, which was the next available appt. They’ll confirm the diagnosis and very likely schedule the procedure. I am curious to see what they think about the other eye, and if they will want to treat it too, or wait to see if it gets worse.
As of right now, they expect that I can drive myself home, and there will be no restrictions afterwards. I have a lot of balls in the air, between my own life and my dealing with my Dad’s medical appointments, so that’s a relief.
I am on the wait list in case something comes up sooner, but at least things are moving.
You will need to do a lot of eyedrops, and likely wear a protector for the worked on eye, at least for that day and at nite for a week after.
Wow – how long ago did you have your YAG posterior capsulotomy?
I had mine done about 10 years ago, and even then it was pretty much an office procedure. The coolest thing was actually seeing the little holes blasted in the clouded capsule by the laser pulses – sounds creepier than it was, and completely painless, though I think they used lidocaine(?) eye drops. No eye drops afterward or eye protection except sunglasses. I could see perfectly & drive immediately.
Of course, there are potential complications with any surgery, so some patients will have different experiences.
Yeah, I’ve never had one, but thought it was likely to be minor from the descriptions people have posted in the past.
Nope, just a ‘simple” cataract procedure- on both eyes.
When I had mine done, on the NHS of course, they did one eye at a time, a month apart.
I arrived at the appointed time and joined the dozen or so others who were having theirs done on the same afternoon by the same consultant. I went to a side room where a technician spent some time measuring, and then back to waiting. Eventually, drops were put in and I had to wait again until I was dilated. I was also given a sedative.
The actual op was fairly quick and painless. I was in a chair with my head back and the eyelid clamped open. I was wide awake all the time as the consultant removed the cataract and replaced it with a plastic lens. To distract me, a pretty nurse was given the onerous task of holding my hand. It worked.
I went home in a taxi, with a patch on the eye and some meds (antibiotics, I guess) The patch came off next day and I found normal light totally dazzling, but that soon settled down. The correction we agreed was for distance, as I drove for a living, so I have to wear reading glasses for books and computer.
The answer for the OP’s original question must be - when you and your surgeon think you are ready.
That sounds like the original procedure, which I also had to wear clear lenses for.
This is a follow-up. They did tell me there will be about 5 days of eye drops, but said there will be no restrictions after. I specifically asked if I would be allowed to play pickleball that same day, and they said yes. Although the initial floaters may make it trickier.