The 2019 Cataract Thread

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I have cataracts. I’m 56, so I shouldn’t be surprised. 6 months ago they were discovered but after talking to my optometrist and ophthalmologist the decision was made that if I could still get my vision corrected with glasses, then just do that. The right eye was the ‘bad’ one, and the left was just a baby cataract.

Well, here I am 6 months later, my ophthalmologist appt is next Friday; and I can’t freaking wait! My vision in my right eye has really degraded; so I anticipate having it done at a minimum.

Anyway, who’s had it done? How happy were you with it?

One common thing seems to be how much brighter colors are. Will I experence that even if only one eye ‘bad’? I know it’s because I don’t have anything to compare it to; but it seems to me like I can see colors now; so how much different can it be? :slight_smile:

Did the surgery help your night vision?

I’d like to hear others’ experience with cataract surgery.

2

I’m 58 and had it done last summer. Only needed it in one eye, other eye is fine.

It’s great. I wear a multi-focal contact lens in the eye I didn’t have a cataract in. The replacement lens for the cataract is a multi-focal.

So, no more reading glasses either!

Night vision? Well my cataract came on fast, got to the point I didn’t want to drive day or night unless I knew the route very well. So of course with the cataract gone, night vision is fine now.

Optometrist says my vision is 20/20 or better. Incredible, I had been wearing glasses since 3rd grade.

There’s a thread about this in MPSIMS.

3

Rats. I searched for one, and all the cataract threads I could find were at least 8 years old.

4

Here it is. I actually started it

5

I just had both eyes done a couple months ago. I posted some in the other thread but will reply to your specific questions here.

Colors: A few months ago I ordered a shirt online that came in green or gray. I ordered the green one and was a bit pissed that they sent me the gray one and when I checked into exchanging it the green was out of stock so I just kept the gray one. Wore the shirt the day of my first surgery and was surprised minutes after the surgery to see that the shirt is indeed green.

At first everything looked very blue but I guess I’ve adapted because colors just seem normal now. I also spent some time adjusting the color and brightness of my computer monitor, turning things way way down.

Night vision: I had given up night driving a couple of years ago. The glare from headlights and reflectors just about completely blinded me. On dark streets I often missed turns even on roads I was very familiar with, even missing my own driveway. I can drive just fine at night now; I occasionally see a just barely noticeable halo around lights but it is only occasional and just barely noticeable.

6

I had cataract surgery done on my right eye 5 years ago and they replaced my lens with an acrylic lens. Everything was fine until about 6 months ago when my vision started to get hazy. Went to the eye doctor and he told me that a bacterial growth was happen behind the new lens and that they would need to treat it with a laser. My first reaction was what the hell, I’m going to need another surgical procedure. But then he explained to me that they would not be cutting with a laser this time, but shining a laser into my dilated pupal to sterilize the bacteria and remove. In short, I’m fine again and I can actually read better that when it was hazy.

7

My mom, in her 80s, just had both eyes done. One in late December, the second last week. They were out patient procedures, with about the only limitation being having someone to drive you home afterwards.

Mom is thrilled. Last summer she was unable to even see that there was a sign for bathrooms, 50 yards down a hall. Now she’s using glasses only for reading. I haven’t asked her about colors.

8

So, I had my first IOL progressive lens placed in my right eye on Monday. I can see a lot better, but I’m not really noticing any difference in colors. Will that change; or is this pretty much as good as it gets? Now I can definitely see better in my right eye, but colors don’t really appear any different.
I can’t wait for the other eye to be done a week from Thursday (May 9th).

I’ve decided the best description of how much pain I’d be in was when I was told it would feel like someone splashed water in your eyes.

9

A close friend had both eyes done last month. Her doc said things look blue at first due to the presence of a little bit of blood in the eye (tiny = normal; more = not good).

My friend especially noticed it after the 1st eye: things looked more yellow in the not-yet eye, and more blue in the newly corrected one. Part of that was of course the existing lens doing some color distortion.

I’m 5 months out and still see halos at night / low light situations, but overall am very pleased. Brighter lights can often let me read things I couldn’t otherwise manage, but in general I do keep reading glasses handy.

I personally don’t recall any difference in colors, but it’s possible my particular cataract didn’t affect them that much. I had less-invasive work done than my friemd - she also had a goniotomy at the same time.

10

I had the right one done in January of this year and the left one done about a month ago. VERY happy with the results. Here’s everything I can remember that you might want to know.

I had a bad time with the anesthesia on the first one (versed + fentanyl) and asked the anesthesiologist to skip the fentanyl the second time. When I woke up from that one, my left eyeball was sore and I asked the nurse for an ice pack. After about an hour, the soreness was gone. I still felt queasy from the anesthesia for three days, although I didn’t throw up the second time (I did the first time). I’ve concluded that I’m just sensitive to anesthesia and that when you’re old (I’m 70) it takes a while for it to leave your body.

My ophthalmologist is associated with a hospital, so I wore a hospital gown on my (naked) top half, climbed into a bed, and they wheeled me to the operating room. They asked us to be there at 6:30 AM and I was released around 10:00 AM. I found out later that the docs don’t even get there til 8:30 AM. :dubious: When my late husband had it done, it was an outpatient facility, and I no sooner sat down in the waiting room than they came out and said he was done. Friends who have had it done at an outpatient facility have said they felt a little rushed, i.e., move 'em in, move 'em out. I didn’t feel rushed; I did a lot of waiting. <shrug>

When I woke up I had no bandage on my eye or anything. When I had the first eye done, I IMMEDIATELY noticed a difference. The wall of my room was white-white-white through my new eye, and sepia-toned through my old eye.

I could have driven myself to the doc the next day for the mandatory follow-up, but with the first eye, I had my friend drive me. With the second eye, I drove myself he next day. The first week I slept with a plastic shield taped over my eye. You put drops in the eye 3X a day for two weeks, then 2X a day for a week, then once a day. I had the option of getting all the eyedrops in one bottle to make it simpler (otherwise, it was two bottles at each dosing). I had to pay for those myself @ $50. Well worth it. I set alarms on my Fitbit to remind me to use the drops.

I’m on Medicare and Tricare for Life. I have not had to pay anything (except the bottle of drops). I’ve talked to some people who had to pay for the lenses. The ophthalmologist didn’t discuss different types of lenses with me beforehand. I didn’t really care (don’t know why, but I didn’t). I guess he used some sort of standard kind. I’ve been going to the guy for years and I trust him.

The best thing, as others have mentioned, is the brightness (and accuracy, one presumes) of colors. I’ve done a lot of graphic design, newsletters, photo optimization over the last few years and I shudder when I realize now that I was looking at the world and the computer screen with tea-stained eyeballs.

My distance vision is well-nigh perfect. I’ve been using readers for, well, reading, but it’s a nuisance to have to keep putting glasses on and taking them off, so I may ask for a prescription for my old, beloved frames, even if the top part is plain glass.

In conclusion, I’m glad I had it done. Also glad we only have two eyeballs, 'cause I don’t want to go through it again. The end.