before phacoemulsification the capsular hexis and breaking up the lens is with laser. it actually pained a bit.
i had IV and was still totally awake. i remember whole thing. next time need more. lol
I went with the laser option as well, even though my surgeon was very frank in saying the outcomes are pretty much the same after one year with laser or traditional.
I gave a detailed review of the experience in my post about my experience with the PanOptix. The laser portion of the procedure was very comfortable and easy. No pain, no discomfort. The second portion wear the natural lens is extracted and the IOL is implanted, no pain, but wasn’t “comfortable”.
The Ativan happy pill had no noticeable impact on me at all (fully alert, no sleepy, didn’t feel different at all). I did ask afterwards what my blood pressure was during the second part of the operation, and it was slightly higher than my normal. Maybe it would have been higher still without the Ativan.
they used the catalys laser and it hurt like tiny needle pokes. they make the corneal incisions with the laser, cut the anterior capsule (capsular hexis) and with catalys they also break up the lens for easier phacoemulsifciation. i didnt not sleep at all the night earlier due to being worried.
Did they give you an Ativan to help with anxiety? After reading your description I am glad I didn’t have the laser surgery. I felt no pain or discomfort at all. Most sites say there isn’t any additional benefit anyways to using a laser.
My clinic also uses the Catalys (J&S) femtosecond laser, and I didn’t feel anything at all.Like you, I had the rubber vacuum ring to hold the eye open. The ring is filled with a saline solution that I actually found to be very comfortable!
Like everyone else I had a whole lot of eye drops pre-surgery. Some to dilate the pupils, and some topical numbing eye drops… too many eye drops to count.But I do recall that just before the moved me under the laser, they put two more numbing eye drops in my eyes. Maybe the last two eye drops made all the difference, but for me the laser portion was surprisingly comfortable.
no they had IV to help relax. the pain wasn’t a big deal but i definitely did notice it when the laser was administered.
OK glad they did give you an IV as it sounded like you were in pain!
I wonder if you would have felt the same or even more with traditional blade cataract surgery?You may just be one of the “lucky” ones who feel it more. Maybe more numbing drops would have helped.
Everyone is different, but I think most people feel little or no discomfort during the laser portion of the operation.
i do ask my dentist to give double dose anesthesia.
Last time I was at the dentist they put numbing gel on my gum so I wouldn’t feel injection as much but I must have swallowed some of the gel and my throat started to tingle - only tome I feel like that is allergic reaction so I started to panic.
that gel also doesnt do much for me. and i have a dentist appointment tomorrow morning.
It didn’t help with the injection at all. Made my throat feel like it was swelling. They left me there while freezing kicked in but I got out of that chair to find someone quick thinking I had an allergic reaction.
Good luck tomorrow - for those of us who dread going to the dentist it’s not easy to muster up the courage.
is bad teeth also a precursor to cataract? i have 2 root canals, 1 crown and one filling. my wife has such good teeth that she cannot even floss nor can they clean at dental office. there is no space between teeth.
Actually I have good teeth - haven’t had a cavity filled in years - this was an old one that needed redoing. But was told my eczema was an indication (or rather the treatments of steriods) were a contributing factor to cataracts.
Just to update this thread too…
We asked the surgeon about eye injection for catarat surgery. He said it is old skool and he would advise against it.