After having a successful emergency vitrectomy performed over nine months ago, I'm now scheduled for cataract surgery to remove the one that has grown/formed in that eye. The plan is to have a near distance lens inserted and get a new eyeglass prescription (progressives) 6-8 weeks afterward. Anyway... I'm nervous. Any advice for how to prepare for the surgery? Any advice for the recovery period? How did your procedure go? Thanks in advance for any tips and/or personal experiences you can share!
First, be ready to do the prescription eyedrops you will get. Mine started three days before surgery and continued post-surgery. You will have to wear the plastic (that's what I had) eye cover each night, to protect the eye. I bought diving goggles to prevent any water, from taking a shower, to get into the eye. Not the round, competition pool swim goggles, but the larger goggles.
I had cataract surgery done on both eyes, three weeks apart. My post-surgery, now almost 3 months, hasn't turned out as good as some. I have some Negative Dysphotopsia in each eye. IOW, a black vertical bar on each temporal side of both eyes, that shows up sometimes. Light sensitive is what I'm being told and will go away. Don't know about the "going away" thing, but my vision in my left eye, the really bad cataract one, is now 20-20 and the other eye is 20-25. Vision is unbelievably good.
Bottom Line: Simply take care of the eye and really, really follow the "don't's and do's" that are given to us.
And btw, I'm 69 years old. Even with these bars, I couldn't be happier getting this surgery (laser asst.) done.
Hi:
I think everybody has been a bit nervous before necessary eye surgery.
The good news is that, as far as I can tell, such surgeries are quite successful in the vast majority of cases; I could not be happier with my toric Symfony lenses and the excellent surgeon who installed them.
In terms of prep for the surgery I would recommend:
1) Being as fit as possible. Keep to your normal work-out routine prior to surgery.
2) Be well-rested prior to surgery -- ie lots of sleep and naps if necessary; take it easy after surgery until your surgeon says its ok to be active again.
3) Have a whole foods, natural diet.
4) Avoid stress, have your support team dialed in with respect to getting you to the surgery and helping you afterwards.
5) Follow your surgeon's suggested protocol exactly.
6) Have an upbeat playlist that always puts you in a good mood. Even listen to it during the procedure if the surgeon says that's ok.
7) Let your surgeon's staff know immediately if there are any post-surgical complications that concern you.
8) Stay positive. Studies have shown that a positive mental outlook is related to the release of dopamine and improved healing times.
Please let us know how your surgery went.
Good Luck!!!
wishing you the best. Try not to stress. There is no pain involved. it's worse getting teeth cleaned at dentist than cataract surgery. Best advice I have is to follow all the instructions given. Some only recommend wearing eye shield for day or so some say a week. But if you are a heavy sleeper or tend to rub your eyes (i tend to do that) so wear eye shield at night for longer. I wore it for 2 weeks. For me better to be safe. Also avoid getting water in your eyes or going near any dusty environments. Mist feel they are good to resume work within 48 hours but if you can take week off (I wish I had taken 2).
Make sure you start drops 2 days before surgery and follow instructions goven for the drops post op.
Also curious why the target is for near distance. If me (and going for monofocal lenses) I would target intermediate distance. Reason is the IOL in healing process moves back and forth (it is only m thick whereas your natural lens is 4mm thick. This could make you slightly more near or farsighted than the target. Maybe just something to ask ahead of time. And it could very well be your surgeon is targeting .25 or .50 further to accommodate for that.
All the best. Update us afterwards as we'd live to hear how you made out and each experience reported potentially helps a future patient in the future.
Relax, There is nothing to it. It is a simple painless procedure that takes about twenty minutes. I went home by bus an hour later. Use the eye drops, preservative free are best and don't do any heavy lifting for the next six weeks nor go swimming. Basically my life was back to normal the next day and when I went to the races on day three I thought do I need binoculars any more?? After a short sighted lifetime ( from 12 to 79) the difference in my sight was amazing from the moment I took the patch off.. the grass looked in 3D.
Derek there are times still I reach for my glasses on the night stand in the morning as that was first thing I did for years and years. I am still amazed I can see so well without glasses or contacts.
How strange the things we do. My hand sometimes goes to my pocket for cigarettes and I stopped smoking in 1993. It took many years for my wife to come into the house without looking back to see if the dog was there after it died. My wife had her first cataract done eight weeks ago and it went well but she has had a strange thing for the past couple of days. She says that when she looks at a building over the road with the one yet to be done closed the stonework looks blue but changing eyes it looks the normal grey.
Does her other eye need surgery too? I recall after first surgery how different colors looked through each eye. Didn't realize how my cataracts tinted everything brownish. But it wouldn't surprise me if IOLs tinted things as well differently.
What type of lens did she choose? Did your own experience influence her decision?
Yes, the other needs to be done. We are in the UK and the NHS does not give us a choice of lens type. The Implant ID card says ACRY SOF IQ made by Alcon Laboratories in Fort Worth. It says UV with blue light filter but I don't know if that would account for the colour change in the building over the street. She has a follow up appointment on Friday so she will ask then.
Thank you for the advice and for sharing your story, TRoper. My pre-op appointment is coming up. I will be given a physical exam and will receive instructions for surgery preparation. I imagine that will include the eye drops you mention. I'm so happy to hear that despite the 'bars' you are happy with the results!
Thank you, ed. I so hear you! All great tips you listed and I'm very, very appreciative of you taking the time to respond to my post. I've been trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle (the holidays were a challenge though haha). I love the idea of listening to an upbeat playlist - music always has a positive impact on me! I'll work on that tonight!
Much less expensive on NHS. How is near vision with that lens? Some people can get better near vision than others with monofocals and avoid the night vision issues of premium lenses.
Congrats on her successful surgery.
Neither my wife or I had drops pre surgery.
Hi SueAn! After the surgery my eye prescription changed significantly and now my eyes are more than 2.0 D apart (-4.75 and -7.00). One surgeon recommended a distance lens and then do lazik on the good eye to bring the vision in sync. The other surgeon, who I chose to go with, recommended a near distance lens that would bring it closer to the current prescription in my good eye. Knowing, of course, I'll need to continue to wear glasses, and since I've always been nearsighted anyway. Both surgeons do not believe I'll develop a cataract in the good eye until I'm in my 80's (I'm 64) - unless of course I need a vitrectomy on the good eye since I'm at risk for another retinal detachment. So, I went with the conservative approach. It's disappointing because how wonderful it would be not to need glasses. On the other hand, I've worn glasses or contacts all my life. At this point, I'd just like to have clear vision again. I'm hoping I did not make the wrong decision - I guess only time will tell (aaaack!). Thank you for responding to my question. The good people on this forum who are reaching out to me - people like you - mean the world to me.
Thank you, Derek! I am trying to relax (not an easy thing for me to do haha). Back in April I developed a detached retina and had to have emergency surgery. A side effect is a cataract. The vitrectomy was traumatic for me and the idea of having additional surgery is nerve wracking. Plus cataract surgery on eyes that have had a vitrectomy is a tad more difficult, although the surgeons I've seen all have had experience with this process (my eyeball is a little more wobbly they say). And then more complications with my eyes apparently "not being in sync" with each other.
That is a big difference between your eyes. Should be much better after surgery. If you find yourself a bundle of net es ask them for something. i took an Ativan both times. Really helped.
If I remember from my early days on these forums there was a guy from UK (James) who had his surgery done through NHS and wasn't prescribed drops prior to surgery. He had complications afterwards and was given drops then. (steriod and anti biotic drops). Perhaps these aren't covered so aren't prescribed but good precaution to use prior to surgery. They aren't covered in Canada either - out of pocket expense but some health plans with employers will cover. Mine were covered 80%.
I'm sure that all will be fine with you. As you say they have all had experience of many situations. The one doing my second cataract said 'Why do they give me all the difficult patient's' as I had Floppy Iris syndrome after having been prescribed Tamsulosin to help my urine flow .
The cataract in my left eye was much worse than the right eye, but wife and I decided, even though it cost us, to have both eyes done. After the left eye was done, I was very, very shocked at what I could now see..........clear, beautiful colors and great vision. I'd cup my hand over that left eye and the clear vision really disappeared. I absolutely knew I had to get the other eye done.
I knew what to expect from surgery on the left eye, but still, another eye surgery. I was excited, but not as excited as the first surgery.
However, other than those black vertical bars, I'm doing fine.
It's odd that there doesn't seem to be a standard with the eye-drop regimen. I had to apply two drops of an antibiotic solution only on the morning of the surgery. Just prior to the surgery, the surgical team applied a group of drops several times. After I was wheeled in for the surgery, they applied a numbing solution. Following surgery, my orders were to apply the antibiotic drops 4 times a day for a week and an anti-inflammatory in decreasing applications for a month.
Almost everyone says the operation is painless, but I did have a painful moment in my surgery. They probably didn't get the anesthesia quite right. It was only for an instant and not a big deal.