Today's Visit to the Eye Doctor (or I'm Looking for Sympathy)

(Jim Bradley, are you listening?) I posted here 8 mos ago that I was disappointed (disgusted) to learn that I have the beginnings of cataracts in *each* eye, with the right eye being worse than the left (unusual for my young grasshopper age).

So I went to the eye dr. AGAIN this morning (I'm wearing sunglasses while I type this). I wanted to get some new reading glasses, and even though I was at the dr.'s about 8 mos. ago, I had the feeling that my prescription wasn't right anymore. So I wasn't going to spend $$$$ on new glasses without another exam. Well, it turns out the vision in my right eye HAS changed (deteriorated) considerably in 8 months. The guy can't correct the vision in the right eye anymore to match the left eye's corrected vision. That's aside from the fact that nothing looks crisp and clear anymore out of the that eye either.

8 months ago, the guy said, well it can take a long time for the cataract to develop to the point that you need to get it removed blah blah blah. Today he says, well, it's time to think about getting it removed. It's gotten so bad in 8 months, it's just going to get worse faster now.

Now I know this is not serious. I know this is a very common and minor operation. But I'm so mad. Unfortunately, the CoC here prevents me from using the language I'd like to use to express my discontent. And, then, I go home to learn we had a bear on the patio today.

Just call me Cyclops,
the Grasshopper Woodworker
 
I think you are going to be happy when 2011 is over:thumb:

My mom just had cad removal on both eyes and what ever else they do. She didn't like the downtime afterwards but she is loving her new eyes. She even ask when did I gain so much weight, so they must have done a good job on her.
 
Sorry to hear that--LOML may not be too far behind you. But on the other hand, there are much more serious things that could be wrong with the eyes....

Hope it's done and over soon! Any you did say B E A R didn't you? The worst it gets around here is skunks and coyotes.
 
I wish mine would hurry up and get bad enough to have them removed. Mine were just getting a good start about a year and half ago and they cant correct my glasses for it so just have to wait. Getting harder to see detailed stuff and it really bugs me. I also notice I have to get closer to the computer screen a lot of times to read things. :(:(
 
Sorry to hear this news Cynthia. Eye issues suck. The good side os that its repairable. I would get a second opinion just to confirm the diagnosis. Anything been in you diet that could have accelerated the development of them.
I hope Jim chimes in with loads of good info as he normally has.
Not that i dont believe you but a bear in Canada.... um not sure about that without a pic. ;)

sent from my Atrix
 
My lovely wife and I have both survived cancer, we got lucky, we know it and live our lives as well as we can. You eye problems are serious, and the down time will really suck, but like Steve said about his mom, you will be loving your new eyes when done, be happy that you live in a time when they can do something about this and that you live in a culture that can afford it :thumb:

Buck up, you can and will beat this, and be right back at it before you know it, you are tough!

Best of luck!

Cheers! :D
 
Good luck with your surgery, Cynthia. My brother (2 years older) just had it. As far as I know you go in needing glasses and come out with 20/20 (maybe need reading glasses). You should look forward to your new found vision. I think cataracts are pretty easy now days.
 
Chin up Cynthia! You strike me as someone with a good attitude, and I think beating this will require you to keep it going. All the women in my family (Mom, Grandma, Sister) have been having eye problems and surgery, and they have all done very well.

Good luck!
 
Yep, I'll trade you. I have glaucoma. Had it for several year. Fortunately I am able to control it with eye drops and hopefully that well keep it under control until I am to old to care. (Which isn't that far off....) I thank God for modern science or we both would be facing blindness..
 
Cataracts

Hi,

You said, "Jim, chime in." so don't say that you didn't ask for this.

Cataracts through the ages.

I believe that cataract surgery is the oldest recorded surgery. There was a big improvement in the surgery when bronze was invented because it could hold a sharper edge.

The cataract surgery of WWII time and up until approximately 1978 was still a pretty brutal affair. The surgery was crude, the suturing was horrible. The patients had to lie on their backs with their head sandbagged into a non-moving position. Healing time was slow.

The glasses were horrible. They made the patient's eyes look like a couple golf balls. The glasses optically cut off the peripheral vision. The patient could be standing there and suddenly from the side, without warning, another person would appear nearly in front of them. The spectacles were extremely heavy; one lens would weigh more than several pairs of today's glasses.

With that said---The new surgery techniques are wonderful. The surgery is many times safer than a tonsilectomy and a whale of a lot less gory. With the newer techniques and implant lenses, sutures are not needed.

I was in an office where 16 to 20 cataract surgeries were done in a day. We kept a log of each thing done. Everything was done carefully and in order. For example: There were three stations that had instruments to measure the shape of the cornea. Two different techs using two different instruments routinely took the readings. If they did not agree, another tech, using yet another instrument took readings. This went on until agreement was reached.

The results of all of the surgeries were analyzed to see what could be done better.

The surgeon was superb. He could tie a knot in a suture that was so fine that you could only see it under the microscope. However, if this guy picked up a screwdriver or a hammer---Every one ran for cover because it wasn't safe to be near.

The surgical charge for each eye was almost six-thousand dollars. There was so much profit in cataract surgery that new implant lenses, new surgical equipment, etc. seemed to come out almost daily. Cataract surgery came out of the dark ages rapidly because there was a giant profit to be made. Today, we all benefit from that.

Patient "Down time" consisted of: Patient has surgery. Patient comes out of surgery. Patient given something to eat and drink because surgery was done on a fasting schedule. Patient was kept in the office for 30 minutes. Pressure readings to be sure glaucoma was not induced were taken. Patient was sent home with their eye meds and a semi-clear patch over the operated eye.

Patient was allowed to remove the patch some during the surgery day. After the one-day Post Op. the patch was to be worn at night so they would not damage themselves while sleeping. We had one patient that played golf the same day, after the surgery. Patients were not to pick up anything heavy for a few days.

Most patients had 20/20, uncorrected the day after the surgery. All patients, regardless of age, required reading glasses after the surgery. The implant lenses of that day could not change focus (they have lenses than can change focus today).

Surgery typically ran 15 1/2 to 18 minutes per eye. Only one eye was done at a time. The one-at-a-time thing is another story. We had an observation room where the family could watch the surgery. In that room was a large TV which had a view through the microscope that the surgeon was using for the surgery. There was someone in the room to explain what was going on to the family.

Most insurance companies in the USA will not pay for cataract surgery until the patient's vision has dropped to 20/60. If the patient cannot read print at 20 feet that a person with 20/20 vision could read at 60 feet they have 20/60 vision. If you happened to be an airline pilot the surgery might be done when your vision had only dropped to 20/25. That is because your livelyhood was at risk and the fact that you could become obsolete as a pilot in the time that it takes most people's vision to deteriorate to 20/60.

Off Subject For a Minute: Take a guess how often a navy pilot that lands on an aircraft carrier has to be recertified. Answer at the end of this lengthy post.

Cataract surgery is considered one of the safest surgeries to have done (at least in the USA). Yes, it is spooky because it is your eyes.

At the office we had seven (7) identical examination rooms. We would have a "Grand Rounds" type of thing for GPs, internists, etc. showing them cataract patients at different levels of cataract development. There would be a chart and a write-up about each patient so the visiting docs would know what they were looking at.

One time we had a twenty-something year old lady who had the faintest trace of a cataract beginning. Three weeks later this lady's information was obsolete. During that three-weeks her cataracts developed to something like 20/100. She was ready for surgery. She had not had any falls, blows, collisions, etc. to cause the sudden change.

People who are out in the sun a lot and who do not wear sunglasses, get their cataracts much sooner than other people. Other contributing factors are: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, dehydration, diabetes and I cannot remember what else.

If you are still with me---That navy pilot has to be recertified every seven days. That just plain blew my mind. I picked that info up at a lecture on research about refractive surgery done by the Navy. What they learned changed a lot of thinking about refractive surgery.

Enjoy,

Jim
 
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I guess it's all in how you look at things...I know I know, bad pun, but as most of you know by now, I try and make life one smile after another.
I have a younger sister who was born totally blind in one eye and legally in the other...she married a fella about 5 yrs ago, who lost all of his vision at
21 yr's of age{they're both in their late forties now} due to a disease I can't recall at the moment...Let me just say that these two folks experience life as
well as, if not better, than most. To top that off, their sense of humor makes mine about as humorous as a bowl of dirt.

They were certainly granted the serenity to accept the things they can not change.

I feel that the scariness of not knowing, is definitely worse than the procedure...at least it was for me and my by-pass and probably is for most folks facing surgery.

Hang tuff Cynthia, have faith and we'll be pulling for a speedy recovery for you.

And....I thought I'd throw this in for kicks & giggles... I played DJ for their wedding reception and created this little medley... a few days later, my sister called and said that their blind friends in attendance all requested a copy as they all got a kick out of it...Chin up- soldier on!:thumb:

click on anywhere below...PS: nothing wrong with your viewer or the vid...just couldn't upload an mp3 at PB
[URL=http://s946.photobucket.com/albums/ad305/KennysShots/?action=view&current=OpentheBlinds.mp4][/URL]
 
Sympathy? Here...I found you some:

sympathy_comment_04.gif


I'm sure it'll be a hassle and a bit frightening to get everything fixed up, but I suspect the end results will be worth it.

...Let me just say that these two folks experience life as well as, if not better, than most. To top that off, their sense of humor makes mine about as humorous as a bowl of dirt...

True that. :yes: The best "blind guy" jokes I ever heard were from a blind guy who was visiting one of my good friends. (He was touring the country alone by Greyhound bus, staying with friends along the way...definitely experiencing life.) I ended up spending some time with him during the daytime when my friend was at work. He played a rockin' piano, so we did a lot of jamming, but we also just hung out and had a good time. He was a mess eating Ritz crackers, though. He couldn't tell he was getting crumbs all over the table. And no matter how much he asked, I wouldn't let him drive my van. :p

On a related note, one time years ago Stevie Wonder was on the Mark and Brian morning radio show out here in LA, and he was late getting to the studio. When he went on the air, he apologized for being late. He said "We'd have been here sooner, but they let me drive." :D
 
Ken, I like your sister and husband's (and your) sense of humor. :thumb::rofl:

I had a classmate in college that was blind and during the winter he pulled his stocking hat over his eyes...made you look twice and he also had a ski mask that had the eye holes sewn shut...He always joked his electricity bill was lower than mine because he didn't turn lights on.

Cynthia, both my MIL and FIL had the surgery done this past year. Both came out with 20/20 and couldn't be happier...as Ken said, Chin UP! :thumb:
 
Thanks for the kind words, all. I know it's statistically really safe surgery....but my dad had it a couple of years ago and he was in that less than 1% who has bad complications and had really bad glaucoma in that one eye for months. It seems to be better now......I also had a hysterectomy where the risk of injury to the bowel is also less than 1% and guess what! The guy cut into my bowel and I ended up with a bowel resection too!

.....One time we had a twenty-something year old lady who had the faintest trace of a cataract beginning. Three weeks later this lady's information was obsolete. During that three-weeks her cataracts developed to something like 20/100. She was ready for surgery. She had not had any falls, blows, collisions, etc. to cause the sudden change.

....People who are out in the sun a lot and who do not wear sunglasses, get their cataracts much sooner than other people. Other contributing factors are: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, dehydration, diabetes and I cannot remember what else.....

Thanks Jim for the detailed explanation. That's the part that really freaked me out, that it got so bad in 8 months, and he says it will get worse faster now. I thought I had years and years and years to get used to the idea. I went in happy to get some new reading glasses and came out with no glasses and a surgery date. :(

Re: your risk factors. I don't have any of them except that I never wear sunglasses and am in the sun a lot. And I think smoking is another factor.......alas.

I was thinking maybe a pirate eye patch would be a good idea.....
 
Hey I'm only 55 and have (had) one in my right eye. They called and said since I was SO YOUNG AND HEALTHY I get to be LAST:eek: Don't eat anything all day and come in at 2:30. One of the other patients was so nervous that she needed several shots of "happy juice." I was so nervous that my blood pressure was 113 / 66 :thumb:. The nurses said I was just boring. But I did win the pool for the day. That is the worst cataract of the day pool. Nurse said no one would have guessed it would be me. It has been a little over a week and doing great. By the way the surgery it self is maybe 5 minutes.
 
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