Cataract Surgery coming soon

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carolinemc

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
1,779
Location
kansas city, mo
Well, I am looking forward to soon having Cataract Surgery. What made me so mad yesterday. I go to the Eye Clinic and the new Doctor said that the cataracts was getting worse. I can't even read the closed captioning on my television. I wondered why my eyeglass lens was dirty so much. But this doctor was up front and to the point. I know they do this all the time and we have me set up for consult next month. I am already legally blind in the left eye from an eye stroke from 2017. So I hope that maybe they might be able to also do something for the left eye when they work on that one. Trying to keep my spirits up. Had to share. Have a great day everyone.
 
carolinemc said:
Well, I am looking forward to soon having Cataract Surgery. What made me so mad yesterday. I go to the Eye Clinic and the new Doctor said that the cataracts was getting worse. I can't even read the closed captioning on my television. I wondered why my eyeglass lens was dirty so much. But this doctor was up front and to the point. I know they do this all the time and we have me set up for consult next month. I am already legally blind in the left eye from an eye stroke from 2017. So I hope that maybe they might be able to also do something for the left eye when they work on that one. Trying to keep my spirits up. Had to share. Have a great day everyone.
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I am so sorry that you’re blind in one eye! However, I am pretty sure that you will not regret having cataract surgery - I had that done four years ago and the best thing about it is that I came out of it with 20/20 vision. After being severely myopic since college I suddenly can see everything that’s far away quite clearly. The surgery left me needing glasses for reading but that’s quite acceptable after needing to wear super strong glasses for many years. The surgery itself is quite a piece of cake. Thanks for sharing and I wish lots and lots of luck!
 
I had cataracts removed from both eyes 4+/- years ago and was amazed how much sharper everything was. The sharpness has softened a little but I am really glad I had it done. No pre-surgery prep and did not have to hold any warfarin.

BTW, my youngest son, age 60, had Cataract Surgery this past Friday and he was scared to death. I talked with him earlier today and he told me "it was a piece of cake"........hope yours goes as well.
 
Hope it all goes well for you, I had lasik eye surgery 20 years ago and would do it again tomorrow. My late father lost sight in one eye from an eye stroke last year so I feel for you deeply.
Chin up 😊
 
carolinemc said:
... Trying to keep my spirits up. Had to share. Have a great day everyone.
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I believe we live in wonderful times with respect to surgery. I'm sure it'll be as good as it can be.

Meanwhile, well perhaps this will help
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I've had both eyes done. 2015. And it's amazing. There is one thing to be aware of. Manmade cataracts can get cloudy over a period of time. One of my eyes did it. The doc looked at it. Did a laser zap and cleared it all up again. This only needs to be done once as they say it does not come back.

My regular cataract change took about 15 minutes from rolling into the operating area and back into recovery. It's wonderful.
 
mecretired said:
Do you have to go off Coumadin for eye surgery?
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Yes as you would for any bleeding during a procedure. You would not want to bleed all over the doctor's and nurses. And it is with a laser, so just to keep the chance of bleed, no warfarin and the surgery is one hour or less. When I go to the consult, we will go over how long I have to stay off the warfarin. Probably just 48 hours prior. And then take the regular dose.
 
Kathmack said:
I am so sorry that you’re blind in one eye! However, I am pretty sure that you will not regret having cataract surgery - I had that done four years ago and the best thing about it is that I came out of it with 20/20 vision. After being severely myopic since college I suddenly can see everything that’s far away quite clearly. The surgery left me needing glasses for reading but that’s quite acceptable after needing to wear super strong glasses for many years. The surgery itself is quite a piece of cake. Thanks for sharing and I wish lots and lots of luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much. :)
 
carolinemc said:
Yes as you would for any bleeding during a procedure. You would not want to bleed all over the doctor's and nurses. And it is with a laser, so just to keep the chance of bleed, no warfarin and the surgery is one hour or less. When I go to the consult, we will go over how long I have to stay off the warfarin. Probably just 48 hours prior. And then take the regular dose.
Click to expand...

I suggest checking out the going off warfarin with your cardiologist. For my last surgery the surgeon said what might happen but he would find out from my cardiologist. I believe it depends upon your valve type and position. My cardiologist's nurse called me with the dosing instructions for me to go off and then back on warfarin, plus when to test.
 
tom in MO said:
I suggest checking out the going off warfarin with your cardiologist. For my last surgery the surgeon said what might happen but he would find out from my cardiologist. I believe it depends upon your valve type and position. My cardiologist's nurse called me with the dosing instructions for me to go off and then back on warfarin, plus when to test.
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I can't see the cardiologist when I want to, so I am going by the lab people that handle my pro-time and they said that i would not have to be off Warfarin. That is because it is done by laser, not by surgical knife as they used to do till laser surgery came along. Has nothing to do with type of mechanical Aortic Valve, which I have the St. Jude's leaflet valve. So I will be safe and will be going to the consult for the Cataract surgery on August 23rd. I will be fine.
 
Angie said:
I've had both eyes done. 2015. And it's amazing. There is one thing to be aware of. Manmade cataracts can get cloudy over a period of time. One of my eyes did it. The doc looked at it. Did a laser zap and cleared it all up again. This only needs to be done once as they say it does not come back.

My regular cataract change took about 15 minutes from rolling into the operating area and back into recovery. It's wonderful.
Click to expand...
I have a question, what is a manmade cataracts? Never heard of it. Are you talking about the lens? For they can be replaced over time and they tell you that. It is okay, I have been doing my homework and there is no such thing as manmade cataracts, it is something that happens naturally to the eyes as we age or a injury to the eye. Man cannot make cataracts happen. LMAO!
 
mecretired said:
Do you have to go off Coumadin for eye surgery?
Click to expand...
I did not.
My range is 2.5-3.5 and the surgeon agreed to do the procedures 1 week apart with my INR @2.0. I explained to him I had only bridged once and developed an abdominal hematoma that landed me in the hospital for 15 days, so I did not want to bridge again.
I tested at home and was retested at the surgery center (CoaguCheks both times) before each procedure.
I had no problems with either procedure.
 
Update to everyone, set the date for September 20, 2021. Hopefully get them done within the two week window. Hate tat I can't read the closed captioning on my television or read the front of the public buses. But I will have my burse, Doggie Zoey who will be caring for me. LMAO!
 
I had cataract surgery many years ago.

There was no need to go off warfarin for either procedure.

Perhaps 'man made cataracts' is an inaccurate description of what happened to me - and happens to others. There's a capsule in which the lens (and the intraocular lens) is held. When they do the surgery, they use ultrasound to liquefy the lens and suck it out of the capsule. A new lens is inserted. The small incision heals on its own.

Sometimes - and in my case, both times - a film develops in the back of the capsule, behind the lens. This film blocks light, just like a cataract does. Perhaps THIS is what they mean - a cataract that forms in response to a man made lens.

The back of the capsule is easily removed by the ophthalmologist - a laser burns tiny holes into the back of the capsule, effectively cutting all around it, and the part that has clouded up just drops off inside the eye. It quickly drops out of sight.

Now - I don't know if another lens can be implanted if this procedure is done - my expensive Crystalens stopped adjusting to distance, so I have to wear glasses again. But at least, when my glasses do their job, the view is very clear.
 
I am resurrecting this older thread to add something which might be interesting or helpful to others who will be having this common surgery.

I don't fit the mold for writing short statements suited to text messaging, email, forum posts and Twitter. I try to wrestle things into a smaller footprint. It ends up being a candidate for being too long for anyone to care to read.

So I am trying this in bulleted format.

Cataract surgery:
  • My #1 concern, I imagined/feared a knife cutting into my eyeballs while wide awake and having to hold them in position without flinching.
  • My #2 concern, suddenly having an urgent need to pee during the procedure. (I stopped drinking fluids at noon the previous day but they promptly hooked up an IV to hydrate me as standard preparation for the procedure.).
  • In the pre-surgical room they gave me 12 eye drops, 6 drops from each of two meds, one to dilate the other for pain. the second of the two left me feeling like there was an eyelash in my eyes. This did not go away.
  • Had I not known what was involved with cataract surgery I could not have figured it out going by what could be derived from observation and experience of sensations. It just felt like the surgeon was gently rubbing something on my eyeballs. The degree of discomfort never exceeded the feeling of having an eyelash in my eyes. In reality an eyelash has more urgency. In contrast, this was a livable discomfort.
  • I was grateful and felt fortunate that my heart surgeon used an advantageous sternum brace and took his time doing everything extra carefully like a perfectionist with his approach to OHS. But I did not have the bounce back to my previous normal I anticipated until 2 years later when I received a pacemaker. That was more of a game changer. I felt superhuman because my body had been compensating for my heart's problems. For a while I could have been the top pacemaker salesman in the world I was so effected by it. :))
  • But medical technology is full of surprises and benefits. My new thing is cataract surgery. Life had become dull gray cloudy blandness and now is full of exquisite color, clarity and contrast.
  • Is there anything which similarly addresses arthritis?
 
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