Hi everyone,
I was referred for cataract removal and am feeling very nervous about it.
I saw the Consultant on 21st June and he confirmed that my right eye needed to be done first, I was a bit shocked at this, as I didn't even know I had one in the left eye! He said that the one in the right eye was a Dense Brunescent white cataract and when I asked if that made things easier or more difficult, he said more care was needed to remove it.
I'm just hoping for some reassurance really. x
You did not have any vision problems before going to this doctor? Can you get a second opinion? Meanwhile try to read as much as posible online, on the subject, to feel more comfortable about the treatment. Be strong! <3
I dont know where you are but here in Oxfordshire England no one seems to ask what is goin to be done,, patients and Drs say all will be fine. Well in my case it wasnt i had a dropped nucleus( every surgeons nitemare i read) had to go back next day for another Op i demanded an anesthitic couldnt face being on the table for an 1 1/2hrs again (only through talking to others did i know i could get one! Then the eye drops were exruciatingly painful even when changed. Took to my bed for a week i felt so ill, stopped doing drops kept my eye cleaned no one noticed and i recovered fine, not for everyone but worked for me. Not in a hurry to get other one done as you can guess!
Hi Katherine,
yes I had vision problems and saw the optician a few times over 12 months as the sight in my right eye was deteriorating quite rapidly, it was her that referred me.
The silly part is, that my hubby had one done last year and I even (stupidly) watched a cataract op online. It's just the label 'Dense Brunescent White' and that he said more care was needed to remove it, that has spooked me.
Hi Liz,
Oh my goodness I'm sorry to hear of the problems you had, that must have been horrendous for you and I can understand your reluctance to get the other one done anytime soon.
I live in Devon and although the op will be funded through the NHS, iI had a choice of the hospital, so it's being done at a private one, 10 minutes from me.
The specialist nurse I saw before the Consultant took time to explain about what would happen on the day and how the Consultant often liked to give his patients a little something to calm them down if they were really stressed about it.
I'm not looking forward to lying flat for very long either as I have unstable angina and Arthritis. Oh well.
Hi Hopefully yours will be ok, i understand it normally only takes 20mins trust me to be different, it seemed to go on for ever the first time really wished i had read up on it and asked more questions.
It is natural to be nervous about cataract surgery, just like any other surgery. However, a cataract surgery is an almost painless surgery. While my wife took a tranquilizer and was on an ivy to keep her relaxed during the surgery, I opted to not have any of those, thus choosing to stay alert during the surgery to be aware of what is going on. Never felt any pain during the cataract surgery.
Thank you for that. I'm pretty sure I will opt not to have anything apart from the injections around the eye as like you, I would like to be alert to what's happening.
I think what's really bothering me is the fact that it is a dense cataract as I don't really know what that means exactly.
I think that a dense cataract is just a cataract which is harder to see through than an "average" cataract, making it harder to examine the parts of the eye behind the cataract ahead of the surgery. Thus, it requires extra care and time from the surgeon during the cataract surgery.
Some surgeons find it better to use photoemulsification with laser for removing the natural lens, specially for dense cataracts. As one surgeon states, "I am a strong advocate of phacoemulsification on hyperdense cataracts in the United States, but studies have shown that expertly performed, manual, smallincision cataract surgery can be comparable in terms of efficacy."
It is important to kniw and trust the doctor, if not, get would get a second opinion. My doctor did not explain much before surgery and I was insanely anxious for no reason. The results are not excellent but ok. I am dealing with it though.
If it is dense, get it done asap so it will not get any denser. You will be fine if your trust your doctor. <3
They should give your some relaxant but surgery is not painful at all.
I'm having surgery in my right eye first and that has the worse cataract. My left eye also has a cataract but it's not as bad and I also didn't think anything was wrong with that eye until I was told there is.
I looked it up and a brunescent cataract is a very advanced nuclear cataract. There are 3 types of cataracts besides congenital: nuclear, cortical and posterior capsular. I know I have posterior capsular and I think also cortical but I'm not positive about the cortical. The nuclear cataracts are the main ones that make the eye look cloudy I believe.
Hi Sukes, I'd like to tell you about my cataract operation, I reside in the northern part of Italy, I' have known my eye doctor who also operated me, for 15 years.
He first mentioned the word cataract to me I think, 7 years or so ago, that's when he first spotted it., said it was too early for operation, and he would keep an eye on it during my periodic annual visit. I wore multifocal eye glasses right along that time, About 16 months ago, I realzied that my cataract was bothering me as I kept cleaning my eye glasses but still faild to have a clear vision, yet I dragged on, dreading the operation. unitl 80 days ago, I had my right eye operated for cataract, not that my left eye is clear of cataract, but my right eye is the dominant one, so I had it operated first.
So there I was in the clinic, sitting in the waiting room with the operating gown on (they showed me to the locker room, gave me a disposal gown, disposal hair cap, disposal shoe covers), a key to lock my personal belongings in a locker, and I put the key in the tiny pocket on the front of the gown.
While waiting, they put the tinest pill inside my lower eyelid, so tiny that I thought it was an eye drop, it was not, it actually worked as a local anesthetic, then they put drops and drops again to my eye to dilate the pupil (I have the tinest pupil, so they say). After a bit less than an hour, they put me on the operation table, another nurse put an elastic band on my lower left arm, tighten it and injected me with something that makes my drowsy, too drowsy to realized that they wheeled me into the operation theatre, I vaguely heard voices, but distinctly aware of bright light very near to my eye, heard some peeping sound as the light moved around my eye for about , I think, 10 minutes, then I felt as if they put a couple of drops of ice water near my eye, some more minutes passed and I heard my doc said "all done". I felt I was being wheeled to some where, in fact I was back to the where they first put me on the operation table, a nurse told me to get up slowly, I got up, when to change back to my clothes in the locker room, there I saw in the mirror my eye was bandaged. I felt no pain, no dizziness, actually I left the clinic, walked into a drug store acroos the street to get some clean bandage in case I needed some, then I was dirven home.
The next moring (it was a Sunday), I took the bandage off myself as instructed by the doctor, I saw my upper eyelid drooped a little, a spot of my lower eyelid was red, I gently cleaned around my eye with luke warm water, put eye drops into my eye as instructed, on that morning I saw flashes of light at the far end corner of my eye, I turned on the tv, vow, the colors were so distinct, red was crimson red, black was the darkest black! picked up my smartphone and actually read all the small letters without my glasses, I was in awe of the result of the operation, I have an bionic eye (he,he).
Of course there were drops to put into my eye for a month, and for the first 3 days I also took antibiotic tablets, after op. discomfort was bearable and it is not totally
gone yet 80 days after, in fact other discomforts set in, like watery eye, negative dysfotopsia, but all in all, the positive outplays the negative, I now play tennis, drive,watch tv, write on my smartphones without eyeglasses (even with the left eye yet to be operated). 30 days after the operation, my doctor prescribed me glasses, one pair for long sight, one pair for short sight, I only wear them when I engage myself in reading long hours, or driving long hours. I presume when I'll have my left eye operated, I will do even less them with glasses.
Hope my story helps, Sukes. all the best.
I believe that all will be fine as long as you got a good surgeon! <3
I agree!
And even though it's very advanced, they do these surgeries all the time and I'm sure you'll be fine.
I would never ever watch a cataract operation online. I can't even look at the still pics of it. Try not to worry (easy for me say since I'm worried about my own surgery but trying not to).
Thank you Peggy, that's quite some story and it seems that they have a totally different approach to the operation in Italy than here.
My husband had a cataract removed last year, whilst in the waiting room they put drops in his eye several times over the space of about an hour. They called his name, off he went and was back within half an hour. No changing into a gown or any injection to make him drowsy or anything like you describe. I don't know if you had to pay for your operation, but his was on the NHS so perhaps that's why.
I'm so pleased yours was a success, I am looking forward to being able to see clearly again, but you do hear of others like Liz, with a diffferent story. I'm not looking forward to it, but I want it done now as soon as possible.
Thanks for that Nina. Do you have a date for your op yet.