Catarac surgery

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I had cataract surgery in my right eye this past Wednesday and I am not pleased. I had been told by many that it was a piece of cake and you will be thrilled with the results. Well for me it was nether. My eye still hurts and my vision is out of focus and the light is defused with the new lens. I had a checkup with the eye surgeon on Thursday and he said everything looked good. I told him about my concerns and he said that there was still some swelling around the eye and the problem will probably clear when it is gone. I will have one more visit with him before he does the other eye. I must say, I have reservations about doing the left eye.

[osteodoc08]

If any reservations, just say wait. The gift of vision is priceless and sometimes we take it for granted. As a brother in arms, my advice is to wait until the other eye has recovered.

It is true that 99.9% of cataract surgeries are routine and have little to no complications and the outcome is usually stellar, you have hit a speed bump in recovery. Give it time. Prayers for a speedy and full recovery.

[flyingmonkey35]

Wait untill you are completely healed and satisfied with your eye before you do the next one.

Good luck

[nvbirdman]

I ended up with a small infection in my right eye after cataract surgery and my ophthalmologist had to give me a shot in the eyeball to clear it up.
Sounds horrible, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Wait a minute, that's exactly what it was.
On the bright side, when I went to renew my drivers license and passed the eyechart test I realized that with the fixed lenses I now have things should not change and I will pass it next time, and the time after that, and the time after that. I'm going to ask about that next time I see my eye doctor.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

It's a funny thing about eyesight that we can get used to just about any deficiency if it develops slowly and progressively, including cataracts, but we are instantly seriously distressed when something goes wrong suddenly. I suppose it is evolution making us particularly careful about being poked with a sharp stick anywhere so crucial to our survival.

So the after-effects of an eye operation can be extremely distressing when very little is wrong. It goes quickly, and few operations can be as much as this one like reopening a brighter world you once knew.

[C.F.Plinker]

I had my right eye done last March. About two weeks later I developed the secondary cataract (posterior capsular opacification). It is a laser office procedure to take care of that. I noticed it when I couldn't see either sight clearly with the operated eye.

Having been through it, I would not have both eyes "down" at the same time, especially if you need to drive. After the two operations I was near sighted in the operated eye because of astigmatism. This meant that I was using the non-operated eye for most of my outside activities. It wound up being 8 weeks before I could even get the prescription for the correction on the operated eye and another 3 weeks before the lenses were ready.

IF they had done the second eye and IF it would have ended up nears sighted (uncorrected) like the first BEFORE I had the glasses with the prescription to correct the first eye I would have had to severely limit my driving because I would not have felt sure enough of my ability to venture out on main streets let alone highways.

This is a long winded way of agreeing with Flyingmonkey's post.

[William Yanda]

My wife had cataract surgery over a year ago. After the surgery, she experienced flashing in that eye. Originally scheduled for the second eye in a few weeks, it was postponed indefinitely. The flashing is less frequent now but she still has not scheduled the second eye.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I appreciate all the input I got from you guys. You have given me a lot to think about. Apparently others have found that this procedure doesn't always a piece of cake. You can't imagine how many told me that one.

[9.3X62AL]

Glen, mine were done about a year apart, 4 and 3 years ago. Each one took about 2 weeks to stabilize, and close to a month to normalize. The left one got complicated and required follow-up work to reset the lens, but followed the timeline above once completed.

[Duckiller]

Glen with my first surgery my eye didn't heal properly. Waited several weeks, maybe months and went back to Dr. He stuck a needle in my eye and it soon healed. Give everything some time to heal. If it doesn't do what you think it should do have a serious talk with your Dr. He may think you are doing fine and need more time or something isn't quite right and you may need some additional treatment. In any event hold off on having any surgery on your other eye. Good luck and get well soon.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I had both done a month apart. Right eye is absolutely wonderful. Left eye is 90% of wonderful.

They were done a month apart because of caution...like you. I would not have the second done before I was completely satisfied with the first.

Not all doctors are equally proficient. Frightening, but true. If the first job doesn't turn out right I wouldn't give the same guy a whack at the second job.

If one doctor botches the job another better doctor can usually straighten it out.

Best wishes.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Thanks again guys. I am glad to report that my eye is better today. Since my surgery my eye has been out of focus. It is as though you had your spotting scope set for fifty yards and you switched to one hundred. All you have to do is turn the focus adjustment and the image clears. I can't do that with my eye but I sure wanted to. My wife says I am too impatient. She is probably right. Wives usually are, after all they have to put up with us. In my case so many people told me everything went so great and they didn't even need glasses afterward. Maybe they were not telling me the real story or could be they just don't have very good memories. I am not out of the woods yet but things do look a lot brighter today. I can't think all of you men who responded enough for all your input. You are a great bunch of guys. By the way Allen, I'll bet the temperature is a bit cooler were you live now than at your former digs. It is supposed to hit 107 here today.

[mold maker]

Sorry your experience didn't turn out as perfect as mine. I guess there are lots of reasons, for less than expected results.
I came out with 20-15 in one eye and 20-20 in the other. I had worn glasses since I was 7, and 20-40 was the best glasses could do.
I still have glasses for close work, but can see distance without, better than ever.
Give it some time and be satisfied before you give up. It can be fixed.

[oldcanadice]

First: The advice I got from my eye doc was that I should only go with a surgeon that does 100's of these a month and that there are no slam-dunks in any surgery (I've had a bunch). I wouldn't let anyone touch that other eye until the first eye heals.

Second: Things can be right and yet take a little time to work themselves out. I was worried about my wife's initial results that the doc said were good -- she was doing worse than 20/80 on the 2nd week after the op. However, she got better week by week until now at about 4 months she is 20/30 or so most of the time, which is a huge improvement. She is a very happy camper.

By the way, in both our cases, the surgeon would not do the 2nd eye for more than a month after the first to be sure there were no complications.